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BARRIERS AND BRIDGES FOR THE GOSPEL AMONG YALUNKA FOLK MUSLIMS IN WEST AFRICA

By Gregory John Pruett

A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the School of Intercultural Studies FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree PhD in Intercultural Studies

March 2014

Abstract Pruett, Greg. 2014. Barriers and Bridges for the Gospel among Yalunka Folk Muslims in West Africa. Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies. PhD. 329 pp. The purpose of this research project is to study how barriers and bridges influence the reception of the Christian message by the Yalunka people in West Africa. The objective is for mission leaders to be able to determine the most effective methods and Scripture tools to use for a contextualized approach that will be most likely to attract Muslims in this region to respond to the gospel. The Central Research Issue is to evaluate bridges and barriers for the gospel among the folk Muslim Yalunka. This research utilizes a Survey Questionnaire given to Yalunka Muslims and Christians as well as missionaries. The results of the questionnaires were further validated by interviewing Yalunka Muslim background believers to determine the factors that either helped or hindered their decision to follow Christ. Ten findings emerge as the most prominent factors influencing receptivity among the Yalunka. The research provided a theoretical model applying the concept of barriers and bridges to the gospel in a way that draws conclusions about the factors that contribute to receptivity. The study shows how a certain approach to Bible Translation is needed to address the findings effectively. The barriers and bridges that emerge from the research as most prominent may be integrated into a holistic strategy that maximizes the effect of the most important bridges while minimizing the impact of the strongest barriers.

Mentor: R. Daniel Shaw ii

224 Words

Dedication

To John and Joy Pruett who introduced me to the Lord, to Gods Word, and to mission. There could be no finer example of what it means to be fully devoted to Jesus.

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Acknowledgements

There is no way to thank all who contributed to the information collected in this dissertation. I am grateful to my Yalunka friends and neighbors for teaching me so much about their setting and ideas about the world. I learned so much because of their patience. I am grateful to my wife and family for their grace as I worked on this study. I thank my work colleagues who supported my efforts in West Africa, and helped me learn to lead. Finally I thank my professors who were always available with a timely comment to keep me from getting off course. I thank R. Daniel Shaw for being my mentor for this research and enduring my scattered attention through the years as I accomplished this research alongside many other responsibilities. I owe a debt of gratitude to Viggo Sgaard who suggested the questionnaire method and worked hard to help me implement it. I also thank Evelyne Reisacher for serving on my committee and always questioning the theoretical base. Without the flexibility and encouragement of my committee, I may not have been able to persevere to the end.

Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .............................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .....................................................................................................v List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xii List of Figures ...................................................................................................... xiii List of Maps ....................................................................................................... xviii List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................... xix Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Personal Background ................................................................................6 Purpose......................................................................................................6 Goal Statement ..........................................................................................6 Significance...............................................................................................6 Central Research Issue ..............................................................................7 Research Questions ...................................................................................7 Delimitations .............................................................................................7 Definitions.................................................................................................8 Assumptions..............................................................................................8 Summary ...................................................................................................9 Part I The Yalunka People and Their Context ......................................................10 Chapter 1 Yalunka Religious History ...................................................................11 The Arrival of Islam in the Yalunka Context .........................................11 The Conversion of the Leaders of the Manding Empire.............12 The Fulbe Migrations to the Futa Jallon .....................................12 The Jakhanke Muslim Teachers..................................................13 The Yalunka Conversion to Islam ..........................................................13 The Soso Empire of Sumanguru and 13th Century Yalunka Origins................................................................................13 The Kamara and the Samura Migrations ....................................14 The Fulbe Jihad in the Futa Jallon ..............................................16 v

The Yalunka Solima Counter-Jihad against the Hubu (Fulbe) Slave Raiders .........................................................16 Samori Tur ................................................................................19 Christianity Arrived after the Yalunka Conversion to Islam ..................19 The Nature of Folk Islam ........................................................................22 Barriers and Bridges to the Gospel suggested by the Religious History............................................................................................23 Chapter 2 Yalunka Culture ...................................................................................24 Basic Worldview Assumptions of Yalunka Culture ...............................24 Time is not real--only the experience of peace or evil in time ....................................................................................25 The Unseen Powers Control Me, My Actions, and My Destiny ...............................................................................25 The Group Defines Reality the Individual is Barely Significant ..........................................................................26 Avoiding Shame before the Group Governs All Behavior .........27 The World Contains Only Limited Good and Resources ...........28 The World Operates On a System of Banned Actions ...............29 The Economic Subsystem of Yalunka Culture .......................................30 The Political Subsystem of Yalunka Culture ..........................................31 The Kinship Subsystem of Yalunka Culture ..........................................32 The Sociological Subsystem of Yalunka Culture ...................................33 Barriers and Bridges for the Gospel Suggested by the Worldview and Culture Subsystems .................................................................34 Chapter 3 The Religious Subsystem of Yalunka Culture .....................................36 The Five Pillars of Islam among the Yalunka ........................................38 Islamic Feasts ..........................................................................................39 Islamic Orders .........................................................................................40 The Unseen Powers of Yalunka Culture .................................................40 The Personal/Organic Powers Introduced by Islam................................41 The Personal/Organic Powers of the Yalunka Traditional Religion ......42 Nature Spirits ..............................................................................43 The Mechanical Powers of the Yalunka Traditional Religion................44 Traditional Sacrifices ..................................................................44 Fetishes/Charms and Family Idols (suxurene, wudi batuna) ......45 Medicine (senna) and Verbal Spells (xiriyana) ..........................46 Casting spells or hexes (tirin tiina) .............................................46 Totems.........................................................................................47 Examples of Religious Practitioners .......................................................47 Islamic Teachers (karamxne) ..................................................48 Night People (kramuxune) ......................................................48 Sorcerers and Magicians .............................................................49

Barriers and Bridges to the Gospel Suggested by the Religious Subsystem ......................................................................................49 Part II Research and Findings with Recommendations ........................................51 Chapter 4 Research Methods and Procedure ........................................................52 Identification of the Barriers to be Studied .............................................53 1. The Perception that following Jesus would mean a loss of cultural identity ..............................................................53 2. Fear of loss of prestige or status derived from association with Islam...........................................................................54 3. Fear of shame in the community caused by conversion to Christ ..................................................................................54 4. Fear of economic loss from persecution by family members on whom they depend ........................................55 5. Fear that becoming Christian may keep them from earning by corrupt means ...................................................55 6. Reluctance to give up power derived from Islamic charms and rituals ..............................................................55 7. Reluctance to give up power derived from traditional sources forbidden by Islam ................................................56 8. Unwillingness to face terminal illness without traditional medicine and power ...........................................................56 9. Fear that baptism would function as a curse if people sin afterwards ...........................................................................56 10. Persecution / Opposition by Islamic authorities ...................57 11. Persecution / Opposition by parents .....................................57 12. Persecution / Opposition by a spouse ...................................57 13. Persecution / Opposition by extended family members like in-laws .........................................................................58 14. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God ....................58 15. Christians drink alcohol and behave less morally than Muslims..............................................................................58 16. Concern that no one local understands how to practice Christianity well enough ....................................................59 17. Fear of being harmed by traditional powers if neglected or destroyed ........................................................................59 18. Fear that no one will bury them or masali them at their death...........................................................................59 Identification of the Bridges to be Studied .............................................60 1. Using prayer mats in the church instead of benches ...............60 2. Bowing and kneeling in prayer in the church like the Muslims Sali ...................................................................61 3. Using the term Yisa instead of Yesu in the church and Scripture ......................................................................62 vii

4. Allowing people to follow Jesus, attend the mosque, and call themselves Muslims ....................................................62 5. Praying and singing in the Yalunka language in church.........63 6. Teaching that Jesus will be the intercessor on the Day of Judgment ............................................................................63 7. Teaching that people who follow Jesus have their sins forgiven ..............................................................................64 8. Teaching that Jesus will save people from hell ......................64 9. Explaining the moral requirements of Christianity.................65 10. Teaching that Jesus is the sacrifice for sin ............................65 11. Concern that the local religious authorities are involved in idolatry ...........................................................................65 12. Concern that local leaders do not know how to practice Islam well enough ..............................................................66 13. Christian medical treatments and knowledge help with many ailments ....................................................................67 14. Available written Scripture in the local language .................67 15. Learning to read in Yalunka .................................................67 16. Available written Scripture in the local language in Arabic Script ......................................................................68 17. Christian preaching on the rural radio ..................................68 18. Watching the Jesus film in Yalunka .....................................68 19. A dramatized audio version of the New Testament with Proclaimers .....................................................................69 20. Influence of a nearby nucleus of Christians ..........................69 21. Christians are perceived by some as having the truth .......69 22. Christians are perceived by some as living more holy lives than Muslims .............................................................70 23. Potential economic gain from western missionaries .............70 Researching Barriers and Bridges with Survey Questions .....................70 Data Collector .........................................................................................72 Data Collection Method ..........................................................................73 Sampling .................................................................................................74 Active Interviews Procedure ...................................................................76 Limitations on the Reliability of the Data...............................................76 Chapter 5 Results of the Questionnaires and Interviews ......................................80 Summary of Quantitative Results about Barriers to the Gospel .............80 Summary of Quantitative Results about Bridges to the Gospel .............82 Barriers and Bridges Suggested in the Open-ended Questions ..............83 Consolidating Related Ideas to Simplify the Findings ...........................83 Combining the Barriers and Bridges into a List of Factors that Affect Response .............................................................................84 Analysis of Interviews ............................................................................85 Factors Affecting Reception of the Gospel among Yalunka People ......86 viii

Summary of Results: Top Ten, Middle Fifteen, and Bottom Ten ..........87 Chapter 6 Finding 1: Christian Holiness ...............................................................90 The Research Supporting the Finding.....................................................90 The Socio-Religious Background for the Meaning of Holiness .............94 Recommendations for Increasing Christian Holiness .............................96 Chapter 7 Finding 2: Competent Leadership ........................................................99 Research Supporting the Finding ............................................................99 Recommendations .................................................................................106 Working Among Folk Muslims Who Practice Idolatry............106 Training Competent Christians Leaders is Strategic ....107 Local Informal Training Recommended as a Fruitful Practice ...................................................107 Using Scripture as the Main Text for Leadership Training ................................................................109 Charismatic Leaders..................................................................111 Chapter 8 Finding 3: Proving the Truth about Salvation from Hell ...................112 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................112 The Socio-Religious Background for the Findings ..............................122 Recommendations for Proving the Truth about Salvation among the Yalunka ..................................................................................124 Redemptive Analogies and Yalunka Folk Islam ......................125 Teaching about Heaven and Hell ..............................................126 Sacrifice ....................................................................................126 Even If Jesus Comes Down ...................................................127 The Intercessor ..........................................................................129 Chapter 9 Finding 4: The Economics of Conversion..........................................131 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................131 The Socio-Religious Background for the Findings ..............................135 Recommendations for Community Development Reaching Muslims........................................................................................137 Recommendations for Economic Development Strengthening the Church ..........................................................................................137 Empowering the Church to Have Time and Resources to Evangelize ........................................................................139 Empowering the Church to Care for New Converts .................139 Recommendations for Identifying Projects that Address the Finding .........................................................................................140 Chapter 10 Finding 5: Proximity to Christians ...................................................144 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................144 Recommendations: Researching the Periphery of Islam to Find Receptive Peoples ........................................................................149 ix

Recommendations: Gospel Messengers Working Near One Another ........................................................................................153 Chapter 11 Finding 6: Learning Opportunities ...................................................154 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................154 Recommendations for Christian Learning ............................................160 Chapter 12 Finding 7: Overcoming Opposition from Relatives .........................162 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................162 Recommendations for Overcoming Opposition through Contextualization .........................................................................166 Recommendations for Group-Oriented Evangelism .............................168 Chapter 13 Finding 8: Christian Burial ...............................................................170 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................170 The Socio-Religious Background for the Findings ..............................173 Recommendations for Christian Burial ................................................177 Preparing the Body ...................................................................178 Burial.........................................................................................178 Worshipping at the Burial .........................................................179 Reading Scripture at the Burial and Teaching that Jesus Gives Victory Over Death ...............................................179 Chapter 14 Finding 9: Spiritual Power ...............................................................182 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................182 The Socio-religious Background for the Findings ................................191 Recommendations for Teaching about the Unseen Powers ..................192 Prayer for Healing .....................................................................193 Protection ..................................................................................193 Driving Out Demons .................................................................195 Chapter 15 Finding 10: The Term Son of God ...............................................197 The Research Supporting the Finding...................................................197 The Socio-Religious Background for the Findings ..............................201 Translation Controversy........................................................................202 Recommendations for Translating the Son of God in Yalunka ........204 Part III An Improved Mission Approach for the Folk Muslim Context .............206 Chapter 16 Theoretical and Methodological Contribution .................................207 The Origins of the Receptivity Principle ..............................................208 The Receptivity Principle among Muslims...........................................211 Studying Resistance ..............................................................................212 Researching Fruitful Practices that Overcome Resistance ...................214 Insider Movements to Overcome Resistance ........................................214 Studying Barriers and Bridges to the Gospel ........................................216 x

The Theoretical Construct of Bridges and Barriers as a Means to Research Receptivity ...................................................................217 The Methodological Contribution.........................................................219 Chapter 17 Bible Translation that Addresses the Findings .................................223 Scripture Engagement to Address Finding 1 and 2 ..............................226 Relevance Theory Approach to Footnotes to Address Finding 6 .........229 Audio Scripture Tools to Address Finding 6 ........................................230 Use of Arabic Script Versions of the Translation to Address Finding 7 ......................................................................................232 Use of a Form of the Bible Appropriate to Muslims to Address Finding 7 ......................................................................................233 Use of Local Key Terms to Address Finding 7, 9, and 10....................234 Choosing Names in the Bible ...................................................238 God, LORD ...............................................................................239 Jesus 239 Demons .....................................................................................240 Diviners, Divination and Casting Lots......................................241 Chapter 18 An Integrated Holistic Approach to Increasing Muslim Response to the Gospel ...............................................................................243 Strategizing by Viewing Conversion and Discipleship as a Process ....244 A Media Communication Plan..............................................................249 An Economic Development Program ...................................................250 A Discipleship Program ........................................................................250 A Strategic Approach to Preparing and Deploying Gospel Messengers ...................................................................................251 The Challenge to Integrate the Findings ...............................................252 The Role of the Gospel Messenger Beyond Contextualization and Beyond the Code Model of Communication ...............................253 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................260 Completion of the Research Project .....................................................260 Summary of Information Learned ........................................................261 Further Research ...................................................................................263 The Challenge of the Findings ..............................................................264 Appendix A Questions 1-19 About Barriers with Resulting Data ......................265 Appendix B Questions 20-45 About Bridges with Resulting Data ....................279 Appendix C Interviews 1-16 with Muslim Background Believers .....................295 References Cited ..................................................................................................321 Vita .....................................................................................................................330 xi

List of Tables Table 1: Locations of Respondents ....................................................................................74 Table 2: Ages of Respondents ...........................................................................................75 Table 3: Gender of Respondents ........................................................................................75 Table 4: Religious Status of Respondents .........................................................................76 Table 5: Final Results of Questionnaires and Interviews ..................................................87 Table 6: Ranking of Christian Holiness in the Final Results .............................................93 Table 7: Ranking of Competent Leadership in the Final Results ....................................105 Table 8: Ranking of the Truth about Salvation from Hell in the Final Results ...............122 Table 9: Ranking of Economics in Final Results.............................................................134 Table 10: Ranking of Proximity to Christians in Final Results .......................................148 Table 11: Ranking of Learning Opportunties in the Final Results ..................................160 Table 12: Ranking of Parents Opposition in the Final Results.......................................165 Table 13: Ranking of Christian Burial in the Final Results .............................................173 Table 14: Ranking of Sources of Power in the Final Results ..........................................191 Table 15: Ranking of Son of God in the Final Results ................................................201 Table 16: Sample Integrated Strategy with Three Dimensions .......................................247

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List of Figures Figure 1: Yalunka King Sewa with Fulbe Hubu Captives 1869 ........................................18 Figure 2: Average Response for Each Barrier Sorted ........................................................81 Figure 3: Average Response for Bridges to the Gospel Sorted .........................................82 Figure 4: Frequency Report of Question 41 ......................................................................91 Figure 5: Percent Affirming Question 41 by Religion.......................................................91 Figure 6: Percent Affirming Question 41 by Age ..............................................................92 Figure 7: Percent Affirming Question 41 by Gender.........................................................92 Figure 8: Frequency Report of Question 30 ....................................................................100 Figure 9: Percent Affirming Question 30 by Religion.....................................................100 Figure 10: Percent Affirming Question 30 by Gender.....................................................101 Figure 11: Frequency Report of Question 31 ..................................................................101 Figure 12: Percent Affirming Question 31 by Religion ..................................................102 Figure 13: Percent Affirming Question 31 by Gender.....................................................102 Figure 14: Frequency Report of Question 40 ..................................................................113 Figure 15: Percent Affirming Question 40 by Religion ..................................................113 Figure 16: Percent Affirming Question 40 by Age..........................................................114 Figure 17: Frequency Report of Question 27 ..................................................................114 Figure 18: Percent Affirming Question 27 by Religion ..................................................115 Figure 19: Percent Affirming Question 27 by Age..........................................................116 Figure 20: Frequency Report of Question 29 ..................................................................116 xiii

Figure 21: Percent Affirming Question 29 by Religion ..................................................117 Figure 22: Percent Affirming Question 29 by Gender.....................................................117 Figure 23: Frequency Report of Question 25 ..................................................................118 Figure 24: Percent Affirming Question 25 by Religion ..................................................119 Figure 25: Percent Affirming Question 25 by Age..........................................................119 Figure 26: Frequency Report of Question 4 ....................................................................132 Figure 27: Percent Affirming Question 4 by Religion.....................................................132 Figure 28: Percent Affirming Question 4 by Age ............................................................133 Figure 29: Frequency Report of Question 39 ..................................................................145 Figure 30: Percent Affirming Question 39 by Religion ..................................................145 Figure 31: Percent Affirming Question 39 by Gender.....................................................145 Figure 32: Frequency Report of Question 16 ..................................................................155 Figure 33: Percent Affirming Question 16 by Religion ..................................................155 Figure 34: Percent Affirming Question 16 by Age..........................................................156 Figure 35: Percent Affirming Question 16 by Gender.....................................................156 Figure 36: Frequency Report of Question 11 ..................................................................163 Figure 37: Percent Affirming Question 11 by Religion ..................................................163 Figure 38: Percent Affirming Question 11 by Age..........................................................164 Figure 39: Frequency Report of Question 18 ..................................................................171 Figure 40: Percent Affirming Question 18 by Religion ..................................................171 Figure 41: Percent Affirming Question 18 by Gender.....................................................171 Figure 42: Frequency Report of Question 6 ....................................................................183 Figure 43: Percent Affirming Question 6 by Religion.....................................................183 Figure 44: Percent Affirming Question 6 by Age ............................................................184

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Figure 45: Percent Affirming Question 6 by Gender.......................................................185 Figure 46: Frequency Report of Question 7 ....................................................................186 Figure 47: Percent Affirming Question 7 by Religion.....................................................186 Figure 48: Percent Affirming Question 7 by Age ............................................................187 Figure 49: Percent Affirming Question 7 by Age ............................................................187 Figure 50: Frequency Report of Question 14 ..................................................................198 Figure 51: Percent Affirming Question 14 by Religion ..................................................198 Figure 52: Percent Affirming Question 14 by Age..........................................................199 Figure 53: Percent Affirming Question 14 by Gender.....................................................199 Figure 54: Concept of Spiritual Progress with Affective and Cognitive Dimensions .....245 Figure 55: Evolving Roles of the Gospel Messenger as a Catalyst in the Process of Local Theologizing ..................................................................................259 Figure 56: Frequency Report of Question 1 ....................................................................265 Figure 57: Percent Affirming Question 1 by Religion.....................................................266 Figure 58: Frequency Report of Question 2 ....................................................................266 Figure 59: Frequency Report of Question 3 ....................................................................267 Figure 60: Frequency Report of Question 5 ....................................................................268 Figure 61: Percent Affirming Question 5 by Religion.....................................................268 Figure 62: Frequency Report of Question 8 ....................................................................269 Figure 63: Percent Affirming Question 8 by Religion.....................................................270 Figure 64: Frequency Report of Question 9 ....................................................................270 Figure 65: Frequency Report of Question 10 ..................................................................271 Figure 66: Percent Affirming Question 10 by Religion ..................................................271 Figure 67: Frequency Report of Question 12 ..................................................................272 Figure 68: Percent Affirming Question 12 by Religion ..................................................273 xv

Figure 69: Percent Affirming Question 12 by Gender.....................................................273 Figure 70: Frequency Report of Question 13 ..................................................................273 Figure 71: Frequency Report of Question 15 ..................................................................274 Figure 72: Percent Affirming Question 15 by Religion ..................................................275 Figure 73: Percent Affirming Question 15 by Gender.....................................................275 Figure 74: Frequency Report of Question 17 ..................................................................276 Figure 75: Percent Affirming Question 17 by Religion ..................................................277 Figure 76: Frequency Report of Question 20 ..................................................................279 Figure 77: Percent Affirming Question 20 by Age..........................................................280 Figure 78: Frequency Report of Question 21 ..................................................................281 Figure 79: Frequency Report of Question 22 ..................................................................281 Figure 80: Frequency Report of Question 23 ..................................................................282 Figure 81: Frequency Report of Question 24 ..................................................................282 Figure 82: Percent Affirming Question 24 by Religion ..................................................283 Figure 83: Frequency Report of Question 26 ..................................................................284 Figure 84: Frequency Report of Question 28 ..................................................................285 Figure 85: Frequency Report of Question 32 ..................................................................286 Figure 86: Percent Affirming Question 2 by Religion.....................................................286 Figure 87: Frequency Report of Question 33 ..................................................................287 Figure 88: Percent Affirming Question 33 by Religion ..................................................287 Figure 89: Frequency Report of Question 34 ..................................................................288 Figure 90: Percent Affirming Question 34 by Religion ..................................................288 Figure 91: Frequency Report of Question 35 ..................................................................289 Figure 92: Frequency Report of Question 36 ..................................................................290

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Figure 93: Frequency Report of Question 37 ..................................................................290 Figure 94: Percent Affirming Question 37 by Religion ..................................................291 Figure 95: Frequency Report of Question 38 ..................................................................291 Figure 96: Frequency Report of Question 42 ..................................................................293 Figure 97: Percent Affirming Question 42 by Religion ..................................................293

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List of Maps Map 1: Fulbe Migration into the Futa Jallon and Subsequent Kamara Yalunka Migrations ..................................................................................................15 Map 2: The Soso Migration to the Coast, Fulbe Migration to the Futa, the Kamara Yalunka Leaving the Futa, and the Samura Ancestor Arriving from the Manding to Establish the Solima ...............................................................16 Map 3: Further Research Indicated Along the Periphery of Islam ..................................151

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List of Abbreviations

C&MA CHE MBBs MCA PBT

Christian and Missionary Alliance Community Health Evangelism Muslim Background Believers Missionary Church of America Pioneer Bible Translators

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Introduction

This research began when my observations caused me to question common missiological teaching about Muslims. Working in West Africa, I observed that some groups of Muslims respond much more readily to the gospel than others. The common idea among missiologists is that if a Muslim group is unresponsive to the gospel, then the expatriate missionary1 has not yet contextualized well enough. However, I saw groups respond to mission methods that were not sensitive to the context while others refused even the most contextualized approach. I hypothesized that there must be cultural factors inherent to the context that affect receptivity more than the methods do. The more responsive groups I observed were less orthodox folk Muslims, Muslims who retain elements of their traditional religion and integrate them into Islam (Hiebert, Shaw, and Tienou 1999).2 Those observations caused me to question which factors were inherent to the people themselves and not the methodology. I also theorized that the factors inherent to the setting were having a greater impact than the methodology. I also supposed from my observations that certain methods were more effective than others. Eventually I decided to test my hypotheses and observations with an objective research method to be able to show others that they are valid.

1 Throughout this dissertation, my use of the term missionary will assume an expatriate. However, other terms such as gospel messenger and field worker will imply both local and expatriate workers in the Muslim context presented here. 2 Other terms like popular Islam or ordinary Muslims may eventually replace the term folk Islam and folk Muslims in missiology. Kim says that, In addressing cultural features in the Muslim world, folk Islam has been used as a popular term to refer to non-orthodox or folk religious elements that reflect ordinariness among Muslims. Folk Islam thus should not be understood as a kind of Islam; rather, it needs to be treated as an idiom to underscore the ordinary aspect in Muslim beliefs and practices (Kim 2013:3).

I started this research project to try to prove some of my hypotheses about receptivity among folk Muslims. I supposed that rural folk Muslims around the periphery of Islam were more receptive. I theorized that Scripture tools and written Scriptures would generate receptivity among folk Muslims. I anticipated that Scripture tools were far more effective in causing receptivity than contextualization methods are. I assumed that prestigious Muslims were less receptive than Muslims who were downtrodden. I theorized that rural Muslims were more receptive than urban ones. All of these ideas had root in my experience, but were not established by disciplined research. They were based on an anecdotal approach lacking the sample size needed to draw more objective conclusions. In the process of setting up a research project to prove my suppositions about receptivity I discovered a significant theoretical gap in missiology. There is not an effective theoretical model for analyzing receptivity. Receptivity when viewed as a characteristic of an ethnic group cannot be defined objectively. The variables do not lend themselves to objective description. Each individual varies and the response of the group varies over time. Different methods may affect receptivity. Historical, cultural, and environmental factors may impact receptivity. Little theory has been developed on the subject, and the idea of receptivity has gradually given way to theorizing about resistance, using synonyms like responsiveness, establishing fruitful practices, and finally examining bridges and barriers to the gospel. Fruitful practices, bridges to the gospel, and barriers to the gospel are more objectively analyzed on an individual basis. But the literature has not integrated a theoretical construct about barriers and bridges as related to the older idea of receptivity. This research contributes to missiological theory by showing that analyzing individual barriers and bridges to the gospel for an ethnic group can provide a means to draw conclusions about factors that influence receptivity.

I also discovered a methodological gap in missiology. I found no example of a valid and reliable research method to study receptivity. There were indications in the literature that missiologists expected someone to discover a way to measure and predict receptivity, but it never came to pass (McGavran and Wagner 1990:187). Charles Kraft said: Receptive populations of Muslims seem to be more often reported today than previously. These populations should be studied and the conditions on the basis of which they are receptive analyzed. These understandings plus a whole-Bible view of the approaches that can be used could lead to genuine breakthroughs. (Kraft 1979) Since the objective theoretical approach to defining receptivity never materialized, the corresponding research method to measure it also remained elusive. There are church growth analyses of receptivity in a single ethnic group that describe receptive response to the gospel in the form of churches growing numerically, but I found no approach in the literature that could be applied to the Yalunka in order to discover the factors that caused receptivity and what means would further increase the response to the gospel. In this research I experimented with a survey questionnaire methodology modeled after market research that proved to be successful. Other researchers should be able to apply a similar approach and get answers to their questions about receptivity. It may be possible to adjust the method according to context to apply it to any people group. In my research the questions did not emerge from my data because I was testing my hypotheses which I based on what I learned from listening to the local people and nearby Christians workers. My hypotheses were based on over 12 years of participant observation of the culture. I also carefully discussed the issues impacting receptivity with local Christians and gathered as many opinions on the subject as possible. I talked informally with groups of Christian leaders in the community and asked them what they thought caused the variations in responsiveness that I had observed. Based on these

discussions and my own observations of the culture over time, I hypothesized a number of potential barriers and bridges to the gospel that might be the underlying factors affecting receptivity in the setting. I tried to be comprehensive to include in my list of barriers and bridges to be studied every idea I had encountered in the local setting as a possible help or hindrance to the gospel. Then I carefully developed a list of questions for the survey questionnaire that would test each hypothesis. I included some questions about contextualization and others about Scripture tools. I thought that the Scripture tools would score higher and thereby prove my presuppositions. I included one question for each element I thought would be important based on my assumptions and experience. I included a question about many ideas that I had heard the local people mention that I assumed would not score highly. I assumed these other possible factors would provide the backdrop against which my hypotheses could emerge as central. In the actual event, the research methodology was sufficiently objective to move what I thought to be the background into the foreground contradicting many of my assumptions. Some of the assumed ideas scored highly, but for the most part, the barriers and bridges that emerged as the most crucial were the ones I never anticipatedfactors that the local people had suggested. In retrospect, this complete re-ordering of my understanding of the situation has given me confidence in the conclusions of the research. The barriers and bridges I selected to provide contrast in the research were not chosen at random. I had heard a Yalunka person use every individual barrier and bridge selected as a reason for their decision about Jesus. During my twelve years of experience, I had sufficient information to know which barriers and bridges to select for inclusion in the study. However, I lacked the breadth of experience and objectivity necessary to accurately assign a relative importance to the items. By applying a rigorous research questionnaire approach to a

large enough sample of Yalunka people, I was able to discover significant misunderstandings I had about the situation. That is one purpose of valid research. The study generated valid information from reliable data. The findings actually did support Scripture tools as being more significant as a bridge to the Gospel than contextualization. I was also able to gather evidence that suggests that Muslims around the periphery of Islam are likely to be more responsive to the Gospel. However so many other factors emerged as much more prevalent, according in the research data, that the emphasis of the project evolved in a different direction. The findings in the end came to suggest an integrated approach to mission that should prove valuable among the Yalunka folk Muslims and similar settings. The research also provided a theoretical model to follow in the future to answer questions about receptivity. In the future, researchers will be able to apply the concept of barriers and bridges to the gospel in a way that will allow them to draw conclusions about the historical, cultural, and methodological factors that contribute to receptivity in a particular context. The theoretical approach is to first collect a list of barriers and bridges to test by interacting with people in the local setting. Then the researcher may test the significance of each potential barrier and bridge using a survey questionnaire in particular among non-Christians but also including Christians and expatriate missionaries for comparison. The survey questionnaire provides the numeric data necessary to compare the relative prominence of the factors studied. The barriers and bridges that emerge from the research as most prominent may be understood as factors that greatly influence receptivity. The most prominent factors may be integrated into a holistic strategy that maximizes the effect of the most important bridges while minimizing the impact of the strongest barriers.

Personal Background My wife Rebecca and I worked from 1993 to 2006 among the Yalunka in West Africa. We lived in a small village and raised our three children among the Yalunka people. We returned to the states in 2006, but we have continued to travel back to West Africa for several weeks each year to complete a Bible Translation project in the Yalunka language. Because of our work, I speak Yalunka to a high proficiency and have significant anthropological understanding of the context.

Purpose The purpose of this research project is to study how barriers and bridges influence the reception of the Christian message by the Yalunka people in West Africa, so that missionaries will be able to determine the most effective methods and Scripture tools to use for a contextualized approach that will be most likely to attract Muslims in this region to respond to the gospel.

Goal Statement The goal is to provide mission leaders with insights and a set of guidelines that can assist them in developing strategies that will more likely create responsiveness among the Yalunka and similar peoples.

Significance Christians have begun to see the importance of reaching out to Muslims. They are watching world events with concern. Many would like to do something to show Christs love to Muslims, but they do not know what will be effective. Many Christians become 6

discouraged by the fact that some efforts to plant churches among Muslims have relatively small results. Many Christians have come to fear Muslims and regard them as enemies. I believe God must have a plan that will help more Muslims come to follow Jesus. This research provides new directions for the Church to consider that may help share the love of Christ more effectively among Muslims.

Central Research Issue The Central Research Issue is to evaluate bridges and barriers to the gospel among the folk Muslim Yalunka.

Research Questions 1. How does understanding Islam in Yalunka culture provide insight to the barriers and bridges that influence the reception of the gospel? 2. Which barriers and bridges are the most prominent and effect responsiveness the most among the Yalunka Muslims? 3. How can the factors that cause receptivity be studied? 4. What role does the Bible Translation play in the more prominent barriers and bridges to the gospel among the folk Muslim Yalunka? 5. What holistic, contextualized approach to sharing the gospel would be likely to increase the receptivity of the Yalunka people?

Delimitations This study is not an ethnography of the Yalunka people and will not cover every anthropological detail. This research will describe the barriers and bridges to the gospel of the Yalunka people of West Africa. All of the data is taken from the Yalunka context. Any extrapolation and application to other contexts will be performed by others. 7

Definitions The definitions of key terms in the central research issue are: Bridges: For the purposes of this study, I will consider bridges to mean anything that causes people to want to follow Jesus or engage Scripture including methods or factors inherent to the context. Barriers: I will consider barriers to mean anything that causes people to not want to follow Jesus or engage Scripture including methods or factors inherent to the context. The gospel: I will consider the gospel in this research to mean every kind of transformative encounter the Yalunka people have with Jesus and Gods Word in their setting. Folk Muslim: I define folk Muslim people groups to be any ethnic group where the majority of people consider themselves to be Muslim but the kind of Islam practiced may not always be considered orthodox by other Muslims because elements of the local traditional religion persist.

Assumptions My assumptions in this project reflect largely those of evangelical theology as well as the missiology taught at Fuller Theological Seminary. For this project I assume that evangelizing Muslims is a desirable goal. I assume that church planting is among the primary goals of missionaries who are trying to obey the Great Commission among Muslims. I assume that it is an appropriate goal for a missionary to introduce Scripturebased innovations into a culture in an attempt to improve the spiritual and physical welfare of the people. I assume the term Christian among the Yalunka people means people who gather in a marginally contextualized C-2 or C-3 expression of the Church (Travis 1998). For example, a church that uses the Yalunka language and takes care to limit the musical instruments to one or none, but does not use Islamic forms except in some cases they use prayer mats instead of benches, and they occasionally kneel to pray. These Christians sharply distinguish themselves from the Muslim mosques. 8

Summary Based on my observations and interactions in the context, I hypothesized barriers and bridges that affect the responsiveness of Muslims in this setting. By asking Muslims, Christians, and missionaries their opinion about these barriers and bridges, I discovered which are the most critical to the acceptance of the gospel according to the people in the setting. I compared the results of the opinion survey with interviews of MBBs in order to corroborate my findings with another research method. I determined ten factors that impact the response to the gospel more than others. I then described an integrated contextualized approach that will increase the response by maximizing the key bridges while minimizing the significant barriers. In Part I of this dissertation, I describe in chapters 1 through 3 the cultural context of the Yalunka people and their form of Islam. I show how this cultural context suggests certain barriers and bridges for the gospel that may be researched. In chapters 4 and 5 in Part II, I describe the methods of data collection and analysis that brought me to the ten major findings. I elaborate on the ten findings of my research in chapters 6 through 15 including some recommendations based on each finding to further illustrate and clarify the findings by showing how they apply in the context. In Part III, I describe the implications of the research for missiology in the final three chapters. I show how the research makes a theoretical contribution to missiology in chapter 16. In chapter 17, I show the impact of the findings on how a Bible Translation project should be properly contextualized to maximize the effect of the findings. Finally in Chapter 18, I describe how expatriate missionaries as well as local gospel messengers may integrate the ten major findings into a holistic approach to sharing the gospel that will maximize the bridges and minimize the barriers. Finally, I finish the dissertation with a concluding chapter.

Part I The Yalunka People and Their Context

The Yalunka cultural context has been greatly impacted by the historical expansion of Islam. The Yalunka culture of today exists as a result of the historical clash between Islam, traditional African culture, and Christianity. The foundational dynamic of the expansion of Islam has been described by the historian Andrew Walls. Walls pinpoints a key difference between the pattern of growth of Christianity and Islam: Christianity grows in a serial manner. It flourishes in an area and then tends to pass on preeminence to another group or ethnicity before then decreasing or dying out in the original area. On the other hand, he says, Islam can make a much better claim than Christianity for progressive expansion, for steady numerical increase and geographical growth. Generally speakingthere are some exceptionslands that became Islamic have so far remained Islamic (Walls 1996:66). The Yalunka were incorporated into the very frontier of the historically irreversible advance of Islam. Starting at the most recent historical increment of Islamic growth, would it be possible to gradually reverse the process? In Part I of this work, I describe the cultural setting starting with Yalunka religious history in Chapter 1. I then describe the worldview and cultural subsystems of the Yalunka people in Chapter 2, and I focus Chapter 3 on the religious subsystem. I derive some of my hypotheses about barriers and bridges to the gospel from an understanding of the religious and cultural setting of the Yalunka people.

Chapter 1 Yalunka Religious History

The Yalunka people are Muslims, but they are the kind of Muslims that also commonly engage in sacrifices to ancestors, bush spirits and idols. They consider themselves Muslims, but they have also retained much of their pre-Islamic religious tradition. How did the Yalunka people come to embrace Islam in this way? A look at the history of their area will provide a foundation for this research project. Yalunka religious history provides an indication of potential barriers and bridges to the gospel. Some of the reasons the Yalunka people converted to Islam in history may well be the same factors that will make them willing to convert to Christianity today. By understanding how the Yalunka people converted to Islam, it may be possible to understand some of the cultural factors that will lead them to decide to follow Jesus.

The Arrival of Islam in the Yalunka Context Islam first came to this part of West Africa through three major movements: the conversion of the leaders of the Manding Empire, the Fulbe migrations into the Futa Jalon, and the Jakhanke Muslim teachers. There were two subsequent major revival movements that furthered the growth of Islam in the area surround the Yalunka: the Tokolor Jihad of El Haj Umar Tall and the Islamic leader Samori Tur.

The Conversion of the Leaders of the Manding Empire The earliest contact between Islam and the Yalunka context came through the kings of the Manding Empire also known as Mali. Tradition connects the lineage of the royal Keita clan with the African companion of the prophet Mohammed, Bilal, who was the first to call the Muslims to prayer around 630 A.D. According to Clarke, historical sources indicate that Islam had begun to penetrate the Mandinka chiefdoms some 200 years before the emergence of the Mali empire, around 1050 A.D (Clarke 1982:40-41). Not until Mansa Musa in the early 1300s did Islam begin to change from being the religion of the emperor and the elite, to being adopted by an increasing number of the people of the empire (Clarke 1982:44). Through the 18th and 19th centuries, Islam became the prevalent religion among the Maninka people. For example, the Muslim population of the Republic of Guinea as a whole grew from 51% to 65% from 1911 to 1952 (Trimingham 1985:229). Currently the figure hovers around 85% with about 1% Catholic, 1% Evangelical and the rest traditional religion.

The Fulbe Migrations to the Futa Jallon The Fulbe migrated to the Futa Jallon in the 15th through 17th centuries from Termes northeast of the Futa Toro in Senegal in the 15th century, (Clarke 1982:84) and, during the 16th century, from Masina on the Niger river in the modern-day Republic of Mali (Trimingham 1985:39, 166). The Muslim Fulbe that migrated in the 16th century had become Muslim sometime between 1100 and 1250 A.D. They were able to begin a jihad in the 18th century with major implications for the establishment of Islam in the entire Yalunka region. The strength of Islam in the Futa Jallon would ultimately convert the coastal peoples like the Susu and Baga. The conversion of the Yalunka would largely come from the ongoing pressure of this Fulbe Islamic movement.

The Jakhanke Muslim Teachers The Jakhanke Muslim scholars promoted Islam all over the region surrounding the Yalunka people. Their own home territory was a relatively small area in Touba near Gaoual, but their scholars traveled extensively and spread Islamic knowledge over the whole region. While the principles of the Jakhanke scholars were that of spreading Islam through peaceful means, (Sanneh 1989) their teachings were not always applied peacefully by their students. Fyle reports that Foday Daramy of a Jakhanke family of the Futa Jalon capital Timbo provided the initiative for a jihad that converted the Kuranko and Sankaran Wulare peoples in 1877 adjacent to the Yalunka people (Fyle 1979:112).

The Yalunka Conversion to Islam The Yalunka people originally migrated from Mali to the Futa Jalon and adjacent areas resisting Islam along the way. They finally became Muslims in the late 1800s under increasing pressure from the major Islamic movements described above.

The Soso Empire of Sumanguru and 13th Century Yalunka Origins By the 13th century, the Soso and Yalunka developed into separate identities and the Soso moved north to establish an empire by taking over the famous Ghana Empire before being in turn driven out by the establishment of the well-known Mali Empire. Fyle affirms that the Soso of the Guinea and Sierra Leone coastal areas are to be identified as the Soso Empire that rose to power at the decline of the Ghana Empire, located on the border of Senegal and Mauretania. The traditions of the Soso identify these people with the medieval Soso Empire of Sumanguru. They state that at the fall of the Soso empire in the thirteenth century, there was a mass migration of Soso through Jallonkadu to reach the Upper Guinea coast (Fyle 1979:10). Fyle explains that Yves Persons does not accept this hypothesis (Person 1971). It would appear that Trimingham 13

agrees with Fyle (Trimingham 1985:166). I have discovered in my research that the linguistic relationship between Soso, Jalunga, and the Yalunka would support the view that the Soso were up north in the 13th century as Fyle states. The shared vocabulary scores between Soso, Jalunga, and Yalunka are consistent with a north to south dialect chain with Soso in the north rather than their current positions. According to Yalunka oral tradition, they were the great hunters of the Manding empire. During the 13th century they helped Sundiata Keita defeat Sumanguru of the Soso. As Sundiata Keita became an Islamic leader, he sent the ancestors of the Yalunka people away because they were strong animists, and he feared a conflict between their descendants. They migrated west up the Niger River some to the Futa, some north of the Futa, some to present day Dingiraye, and some to northern Sierra Leone (Pruett 2010:STE-022 Camara and Samura Manding.wav).

The Kamara and the Samura Migrations In the 15th century non-Muslim Fulbe (Fulani) herders began moving from the north into the Futa Jalon that was then largely inhabited by the Yalunka people. The Futa Jalon was originally known as Jalonkadu (the place of the Yalunka) before the Fulbe jihad of 1727 (Fyle 1979:28). Fyle makes a point of correcting the date of the arrival of the Muslim Fulani to the Jalonkadu to the end of the 16th century (Fyle 1979:33). Around the 16th century, the Kamara clan from Jalonkadu moved down into the Solima region (see Map 1).

Map 1: Fulbe Migration into the Futa Jallon and Subsequent Kamara Yalunka Migrations The Kamara Yalunka ancestor whose name is known today is Fori Firigi and his tomb is still venerated in Digila north of Passaya in the Yalunka area. The stories of the Yalunka people tell that Solimanga, the Samura ancestor of the Yalunka people arrived from the Manding to establish the Solima. His tomb is venerated on the road between Dantiliya and Heremakono. He arrived around the 17th century probably as a Maninka speaker migrating from Mali as seen in Map 2. Yalunka oral traditions claim that the Samura clan of the Yalunka ancestors of the Solima in the Faranah area of Guinea came from the Manding Empire as the Konde clan which are still prevalent among the Sankaran Kondedu of Guinea today (Fyle 1979:14). The Konde ancestor originally came from Segu (Fyle 1979:14) east of the Manding.

Map 2: The Soso Migration to the Coast, Fulbe Migration to the Futa, the Kamara Yalunka Leaving the Futa, and the Samura Ancestor Arriving from the Manding to Establish the Solima

The Fulbe Jihad in the Futa Jallon During the 18th century, the Fulbe in the Futa used Islamic jihad to overthrow the ruling Yalunka and establish the capital of their state at Timbo. The Futa Jalon jihad caused the Yalunka who stayed to become a slave caste most of whom speak Pular today. The Solima Yalunka kingdom centered on the town of Falaba in Sierra Leone reacted to the threat of the Fulbe jihad and became an anti-Islamic center of military power.

The Yalunka Solima Counter-Jihad against the Hubu (Fulbe) Slave Raiders The Yalunka formed a powerful kingdom called the Solima that provided military protection for the Yalunka and dominated northern Sierra Leone from their capital Falaba. At the same time, Fulbe slave raiders preyed on non-Muslim Yalunka villages near the Futa Jalon in the north (Pruett 2010:STE-021 en naxan fala 2.wav). The Yalunka 16

in the north began to build mosques and claim to be Muslims in order to prevent being the victims of jihad and Fulbe slave raids. Domestic slave trade and an illegal trans-Atlantic slave trade continued until the 1860s (Anstey 1975). Rankin describes the Fulbe merchants in Sierra Leone and hints at their slave trade reputation in 1834 saying: These swarthy disciples of the Prophet sweep past the English resident, whose most expensive dress is at best unsightly,...in all the noble grace of loose and flowing drapery. The sun glances upon a high cloth peaked cap of scarlet and blue, a long full white robe with falling sleeves over a tight vest... He walks with stately step along the hot street; his feet in red leather sandals, bossed and ornamented; the sacred talismans or greegrees,- red leather cases an inch square, containing a precious tutelary sentence from the Koran, are profusely suspended from round the neck; a complicated cartridge-box, decorated with a multitude of tassels, and cords of plaited leather...hangs by his side, by the short and heavy scabbard, weapon of many services...Sometimes he carries, high over head,a ponderous musket...The eye is thoughtful, the step measured, the rosary beads in his hand none can mistake him. He is a disciple of the Prophet of Mecca, he is the gold-merchant of the coast, and is more than suspected to carry on extensive commerce in human beings. (Rankin 1836:120-122) The Fulbe were still trading slaves in northern Sierra Leone as late as 1890 (Waldie 2001:27; Fyfe 1962:485). These were the Fulbe who initiated the jihads and slave trading that pressured the Yalunka people to begin to accept Islam. The history suggests that North American reliance on slaves provided some of the market pressure that inspired the slave raids that drove the Yalunka to build their first mosques. The jihad of the sword waged in Futa Jallon in the 18th century soon became little more than a cover for slave raiding (Clarke 1982:84). Fyle explains that a Fulbe group known as the Hubu rebelled against Timbo, the capital of the Futa Jalon, in 1854 and formed their own capital at Hamdallahie between Solimana and Futa Jalon. The Hubu leader, Karamoko Abal Kabba, decided to wage jihad against all neighboring pagan peoplesHis main object would therefore be Solimana which was considered the bulwark of opposition to Islam (Fyle 1979:108). 17

Figure 1: Yalunka King Sewa with Fulbe Hubu Captives 1869 (Reade 1893:428) The oral history recounts that the Fulbe began taking control of Yalunka villages and installing themselves in the Yalunka mosques as Muslim teachers, enslaving the Yalunka and taking their young men as slaves (Pruett 2010:STE-021 en naxan fala 2.wav). In response to this, the Solima Yalunka reacted and drove the Fulbe out of Yalunka territory in the South. A scene from the conflict is shown in Figure 1. The history of the Yalunka people and their long and vigorous resistance to the spread of Islam may prove an important factor in their reaction to the gospel. Does the Yalunka cultural heritage still identify with the desire to resist the tendency of Islam to supplant local culture and language? Might their history be a potential bridge for the gospel?

Samori Tur It was Samori Tur who ultimately provided the forceful impetus that converted the Yalunka people in 1884. He ordered Langaman Fali (also spelled Nfa Ali) to open the way for commerce with the British on the Sierra Leone coast in order to re-supply against the French (Person and Ligier 1983:63). The Hubu Fulbe and the Solima Yalunka Kingdom both had the potential of disrupting trade between the area where Samori based his operations and the trade routes to the Sierra Leone coast. While the Hubu slave raids had caused Islam to make superficial inroads among the Yalunka, there was not a definitive moment of overcoming the resistance to Islam until the time of Samori. The sofa warriors of Samori Tur attacked the Yalunka Solima capital and destroyed it in 1884. Shortly thereafter all the Yalunka groups were integrated into Samoris Jula Empire (Fyle 1979:122). Until this point the Solima Kingdom was considered the bulwark of opposition to Islam (Fyle 1979:108). In the 1880s Samori was in the process of strongly promoting Islam throughout his domain: All of his councilors and administrators and the leading families in the state who were non-Muslims were obliged to convert to Islam. Samori in fact wanted all his subjects to become Muslims and established a network of Muslim schools throughout this empire and staffed them with Muslim teachers who were paid from a tax collected at the village or local community level. (Clarke 1982:139) The Yalunka became Muslims definitively around 1885.

Christianity Arrived after the Yalunka Conversion to Islam Christianity first came to Guinea among the Baga people along the coast of Guinea carried by Catholic missionaries. The World Christian Encyclopedia describes the growth of Catholicism as follows: Holy Ghost priests opened a mission at Boffa in 1877 and a second one near Conakry in 1890, with White Fathers beginning work in the southeast in 1896...By 1900 there were 1,800 Catholics, rising to 6,000 (including 19

catechumens) in 1920, 20,000 in 1949 and 26,500 in 1965In 1955 an archdiocese was established at Conakry. (Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson 2001:332) The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) brought Protestant Christianity to Guinea in the early 20th century: The Christian and Missionary Alliance from the USA began work in 1918 at Baro in the Niger valley (Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson 2001:332). The work began when C&MA missionaries walked from Sierra Leone to the Niger river in 1917. The Sierra Leone conference appointed workers to make an extended trip through the country and find a good location for our first station. Occasionally these workers met a man who had heard the Word years before over in Sierra Leone, otherwise it was virgin territory where the gospel messenger had never traveled. They sailed down the Niger and many large towns were visited. (Snead 1936 :21) Yalunka Christians say that these missionaries passed through the Yalunka territory and Faranah on their way to the Niger River. Although Baro had the distinction of being the first station opened in the Niger Valley (1918) it was not the first to show a harvest. While from time to time a number were converted from that part of the field, the village remained asleep until the Fall of 1931. A church sprang forth almost in a day. (Snead 1936:22) From Baro, the C&MA missionaries spread out to establish mission stations in every major town and city. Their greatest success came among the peoples of the Forest region of southern Guinea. By 1924, the missionaries had advanced closer to the Yalunka establishing a mission station in Faranah (Snead 1936:24). One of the early efforts to evangelize the Yalunka reportedly happened sometime after 1924 when missionaries of the C&MA presented the gospel in Yatiya, Guinea. The C&MA describes it as follows: Three languages are spoken in Faranah: Kuranko, Sankaran, and YalonkaThese three groups had equal opportunity to embrace the gospel, but the Yalonka, true to their race, immediately went forward and took the leadership. One of the first converts from that tribe soon developed into a native worker and, under the direction of the missionaries, his ministry was greatly blessed in opening up many towns 20

to the gospel. Regular itinerating trips are made by the missionaries and the results have been most gratifying. Many have been baptized and are being taught to read the Word for themselves. (Snead 1936:24) The comment, true to their race indicates a peculiar rapport the Yalunka people developed with the evangelical missionaries that continues to this day. According to the local Christians, a church was established around 1936 in Yatiya, Guinea when C&MA missionaries preached the gospel and Sergeant Bokari Kamara became a Christian, quite probably the native worker described above. Up until about 2003, that 1936 church building was still being used by the government as a school building. The church in Yatiya remains largely the descendants of Sergeant Bokari Kamara. Steve Harrigan describes in detail the mission work among the Yalunka of Sierra Leone (1985). He reports that in 1901 the British and Foreign Bible Society published some Yalunka portions of Matthew. By 1907 they published the whole of Matthew as well as portions of Psalms. These works were apparently accomplished outside the Yalunka territory with some influence from the Susu language and may not have been widely used. The earliest substantial work among the Yalunka of Sierra Leone seems to be a Church Missionary Society worker by the name of M.D. Showers who ministered in the Yalunka territory from 1902 to 1909 around 20 years after the Yalunka conversion to Islam. Harrigan also describes a creole missionary named Mr. Nicol working around 1912. B.Z. Harding and Jonas Williams worked with Mr. Nicol. Harrigan also describes a negro missionary who served among the Yalunka in the mid 1930s. He summarizes the lack of impact of the work from 1900 to 1950: By all outward appearances, Christianity had left a very small mark on the Yalunka people. The work was just too difficult. The people were unresponsive, the Falaba chief hostile, the language difficult, and the literacy rate close to nil. The fruit of the missions labor was not yet to be seen. (Harrigan 1985:19) In the early 1950s MCA workers William and Ruth Harrigan started a ministry among the Yalunka at Ganya in Sierra Leone. By 1962, the first church was established with 14 baptized believers (Harrigan 1985:54). By 1978 the whole New Testament was 21

published and being distributed (1985:75). By 1983, there were churches with trained pastors in three towns (1985:81). In the early 1980s, William and Ruth Harrigan retired and mission work suspended for a time. In spite of the war in Sierra Leone, mission efforts resumed by both the MCA and PBT in 1994. In February 2013, PBT published the whole Bible in Yalunka that included a revision of the MCA New Testament. At least 3 churches have been planted on the Guinea side of the border and at least 3 persist in Sierra Leone. Some church planting work has begun to take root in Senegal and Mali as well.

The Nature of Folk Islam The history of the Yalunka people and the manner of their conversion to Islam resulted in a Folk Muslim culture incorporating Islamic practices and ideas into a preIslamic ideological system and worldview. Islam begins with the practice of the pillars and is at first more about what people do than what they think. Lewis explains the advantage of the Islamic system in Africa: Consequently, as long as traditional beliefs can be adjusted in such a way that they fall into place within a Muslim schema in which the absoluteness of Allah remains unquestioned, Islam does not ask its new adherents to abandon their accustomed confidence in all their mystical forces. Far from it. In the voluminous Quranic store-house of angels, jinns, and devils, whose number is legion, many of these traditional powers find a hospitable home; and passages from the Quran are cited to justify their existence as real phenomena. Moreover, pre-Islamic figures which can be assimilated without too great distortion to the Muslim concept of saints, especially in the mystical (Sufi) interpretation of Islam, can readily be absorbed into the chain of intermediaries along which mens humble petitions flow to the Prophet and through him to God. (Lewis 1980:60) This is the Islam found among the Yalunka. From the perspective of Islam, folk Islam does not lack validity just because it combines elements of pre-Islamic ideas and practices. The Yalunka do not view themselves as mixing Islam with incompatible

traditional religion. They are simply living out their own integrated understanding of the world. Orthodox Muslims would seek to improve the quality of the Islam found among the Yalunka, but from the point of view of Islam, however (and, a fortiori of the Arabist), this new syncretism is to be regarded merely as a temporary stage in the long journey towards a more perfect comprehension of the faith (Lewis 1980:67). All those who practice Islamic ritual are, therefore, by definition Muslim.

Barriers and Bridges to the Gospel suggested by the Religious History The history of the Yalunka people suggests a number of barriers and bridges to the gospel for this study. The Yalunka resisted Islam in favor of traditional unseen powers. Do traditional sources of power help or hinder the acceptance of the gospel today? The Yalunka people have come to be identified with Islam, but in an incomplete way. How does the barrier of Islamic identity hinder the acceptance of the gospel today? Do the remnants of traditional religion function as a potential bridge for the gospel? The Yalunka culture resisted Islamizing influences for generations in favor of their own culture. Does using the Yalunka language and cultural forms serve as a bridge for the gospel today? Does the translation of the Bible in their language then serve as a bridge? In Chapter 1, I explained how the Yalunka came to experience Islam and Christianity. However, the traditional Yalunka culture remains intact as they practice the forms of Islam. In Chapter 2, I will provide a sense of the nature of Yalunka culture. No ethnographic description of the Yalunka people currently exists, so I will attempt to provide the explanation necessary to understand this research.

Chapter 2 Yalunka Culture

In order to understand the barriers and bridges to the gospel among the Yalunka, a rudimentary understanding of the culture will be helpful. In this chapter, I begin with a description of the fundamental worldview assumptions of the Yalunka people, and then I briefly sketch four of the five subsystems of culture. In the next chapter, I describe the fifth and final religious subsystem of Yalunka culture in more detail since the religious life of the Yalunka is more relevant to this research than any other subsystem. My understanding of West African culture was significantly influenced by David Maranz (Maranz 1993). Many of the barriers and bridges selected for research in Part II are based on the worldview assumptions and culture subsystems described in this chapter.

Basic Worldview Assumptions of Yalunka Culture Based on participant observation of Yalunka culture while living in a Yalunka village from 1994 through 2006, I propose the following analysis of Yalunka worldview. During those years, I followed the methodology for discovering culture and worldview described by Shaw (Shaw 1988:23-117; Shaw and Van Engen 2003). Worldview assumptions are the most basic axioms of Yalunka culture. These assumptions guide them in how to answer the question, What is real? They help them integrate their beliefs, values and behaviors across all the culture subsystems (Kraft 1997). The

following statements are the worldview assumptions that I have been able to identify while periodically living among the Yalunka for the past 20 years.

Time is not real--only the experience of peace or evil in time The Yalunka people emphasize the experience of peace during a period of time and do not posit a western concept of time. They are therefore event-oriented and not time-oriented. The Yalunka words for late and time are borrowed from English and treated lightly. The primary time words are morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and night. Appointments are not usually made with greater precision than that and not often expected to be precisely kept when made. The burning question of Yalunka life can be found in the most basic and ubiquitous greeting of all, There was not any evil (tana) in the passing of the night / day was there? The next greeting formula follows with the same idea restated in the opposite, There was peace (hri) right? Just as the title of Dave Maranzs book implies, in West African culture, Peace is Everything (Maranz 1993). The word tana is related to the concept of things that are taboo. Today the greeting means, There is nothing bad happening today I hope. But the origins may have been more like, Nothing violated the taboos today did it? The assumption seems to be that if all the taboos (tana) of the culture are respected, the result will be peace and passing life in peace is everything.

The Unseen Powers Control Me, My Actions, and My Destiny The Yalunka sense that they are helpless before their unseen destiny. They are driven by the influences of a number of invisible powers described in Chapter 3 that define their behavior every day. This worldview assumption comes clearly into view whenever the Yalunka give account for any crime or mistake. For example, one man 25

became exasperated at a neighbor who left his cows out. The man took his own cows and maliciously put them in the field of the other person to eat his crop, an example of gross misconduct from the Yalunka perspective that resulted in a court case. Though the man himself had deliberately done the crime and freely admitted it, the conclusion of the elders was that God has done it, so the man must be forgiven. The Yalunka people have a firm belief in destiny and fatalistic control of all things by God. Whatever happens is by definition Gods will. No matter what the human agency, it must have been Gods will for it to happen and therefore God has done it and the person should not be held accountable. Other examples of this worldview theme are visible throughout the culture. Illnesses can be traced back to spiritual causes or the influence of night people. Ancestors have great control over the lives of their descendants. In many areas of life, an unseen power plays an irresistible role.

The Group Defines Reality the Individual is Barely Significant Among the Yalunka, a persons identity is defined by the groups to which he or she belongs. The individual is not significant in Yalunka culture for defining much. My interaction with the people has shown that a person alone is not authorized to choose religion, a spouse, or even answer an opinion survey about the Yalunka people without the permission of the group. Blood kin relationships dominate the relational hierarchy. I have observed that the primary association in Yalunka culture is between a nephew and his maternal uncle. A man takes care first of his sisters and their children before caring for his wives and children. The clan (siyana or xabilana) a person belongs to defines much of their life. The most common clans among the Yalunka are the Samura and Kamara. Samura people and Kamara people may intermarry, but may not marry within their clan. Naturally, a 26

persons clan then defines who their in-laws bitanne are, defining their relationship to virtually every other person in the village. Other systems of groupings overlay the system of kinship. For example, children are named for their namesake (txmana). Thus, everyone with the same name becomes grouped together as txmane. People across clan lines of the same age are grouped together as lanfane, peers. Ultimately all the clans living in a village are grouped together as the community (yamana.)

Avoiding Shame before the Group Governs All Behavior I have observed that avoiding shame governs behavior at a fundamental level. For example, indirect communication in ideal terms avoids shame. People should not communicate directly or in terms of what is real when the reality will shame someone. Shame cannot happen if the group is not present. As a Yalunka proverb notes, Eyes are ashamed in front of eyes. If the eyes of the other person are not present, then there is no sense of shame. Guilt is nearly unknown and not translatable into Yalunka with a single word equivalent. Avoiding shame leads to the importance of the intermediary called sabuna to intercede on behalf of people to make amends for wrongs. Pardoning others without consequence dinyana maintains peace by avoiding shame in the group. The way shame governs behavior becomes evident in many situations in which the society attempts to influence behavior. People who misbehave are said to have no shame. Children in the culture roam about the village in groups with virtually no way in evidence for people to influence their behavior without violence. However, if children are looking into a doorway during a meal, often the simple words, Have you no shame? softly spoken can cause the whole group to move carefully away. A person who is caught stealing may not be impacted by any sense of guilt apparent, but a quiet word to a 27

prestigious intermediary in the culture will soon be passed to prestigious people around the village until the shame of the person becomes unbearable and the behavior is quickly rectified. Yalunka culture governs behavior through shame.

The World Contains Only Limited Good and Resources In my observation of the culture, Yalunka people assume that the world is a closed system in which good is not created but viewed as a limited resource to be procured. Because there is a limit to the amount of good in the local system, a person who is rich or in any way advanced with respect to his fellow Yalunka must have taken that good from the others. Whenever an individual begins to surpass the rest of the group, others tend to make an effort to bring that person back down to the common level. Sometimes they may start rumors against a person or target the person for theft. They may deliberately burn their harvest or allow a grassfire to destroy their orchard. The person may attempt to perform good works for the common good in order to avoid repercussions and redistribute their wealth back into the society in exchange for respected status. Each group in the society competes with rival groups to gain resources of good for themselves. Individuals in the society are not encouraged to compete for their own individual good. As a result of the idea of limited good, relationships are categorized as either rivals or collaborators. Children of the same father are rivals competing for the limited good provided by the father. Children of the same mother are viewed as collaborating together for the good of their siblings and blood relatives of their mother. Villages nearby one another are viewed as competing. One potential disciple explained that he could not become a Christian and come under the authority of the church in the nearby village. He

said that the people of that other village were rivals with him and the people of his own village. Competition for limited good plays a role throughout the kinship system. Examples of limited good influencing the society can be readily observed in agriculture and business. Yalunka people say that, if a person uses only good wood in their fence, they will die. They must mix some wood that r

BARRIERS AND BRIDGES FOR THE GOSPEL AMONG YALUNKA FOLK MUSLIMS

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