Prayer Letter - New Guinea News

November 27, 2004

Thanksgiving Choir

Young man in the hut holding two "bans"

The small, crowded, smoky hut was filled not only with several young men, but the resounding thud of the lizard skinned drums. I sat trying to avoid breathing too much smoke put out either by the fire in the middle of the hut or the homemade cigarettes dangling from the mouths of half the men. Every drum beat was perfectly synchronized and the singing was done with total effort as shown by the bulging veins in each of their necks. Then just as suddenly as the "choir" had pierced the jungle night with their sound all was quiet again.

This Sunday is Thanksgiving, kind of, for many of the people in our village. Though far from a land of "the Pilgrim's Pride," far from family, turkey, and pumpkin pie, only a few days after Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, Patpatar will too - sort of. For many years "church" and "religion" have been a part of the Patpatar tribe. Missionaries first came to this area many years ago and have left their mark on this civilization. One of the religious traditions is to once a year bring an offering to the church and have a big meal to show their thankfulness to what the church has done for them. This is a very festive day and filled with singing and traditional dance. In fact, it is almost a competition for many villages to see who can perform the best in the presence of all who come to watch.

Slowly breaking the sudden silence, the bugs and birds of the night jungle once again started to fill the night air with a quiet drone. Back in the hut I managed the courage to break the silence among the men and ask about the song they had just sung and had been singing night and day for the past two weeks in this small restricted hamlet set up for this occasion. "That song was to call the spirits of the dead and the spirits of our clans into our hamlet," two of the men told me. They went on to share that they would be performing at the church on Sunday and wanted to dance and look the best. By having the spirits come into the hamlet and actually indwell many of the men (causing them to shake if they were holding the "ban") they would be able to dance like they were floating on air.

It wasn't easy, they went on to explain. There were rules to be followed, taboos to be avoided, the right foods to be eaten and most importantly the right songs to be sung. However, if all went well and the spirits did come they may also answer the request of their next song. With that the drums started in again and through out the song each man named the girl he desired along with his name into the air to be taken by the spirits to the village.

Religion, church, and even missionaries have been here for years, but the message is still unclear. Western religion can mix well with traditional beliefs in the people's mind. Pray for the Patpatar people as we can hear the drums nightly from our house. Pray for us as we continue to learn their language and culture so that we can communicate clearly in their heart language the true message of the Spirit of God.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Aaron