From Ghosts to God: Identity Formation among the Christians as Seen in the New Crop Festival in the Areas of Jingpo Ethnicity of Yunnan Province

Abstract

The introduction of Christianity to the areas populated by people of Jingpo ethnicity was known locally as “replacing ghosts with God.” As a compromise with the cultural traditions of the Jingpo people, the localization of Christianity worked to mitigate the tensions between the innate identity of the Jingpo aboriginals and the new identity of the converts. Nevertheless, the process also entailed an inevitable impact of the authority of God upon the validity of various native forms of ghosts that had been part and parcel of the Jingpo people’s spiritual life, which in turn facilitated the formation of the converts’ new identity as Christians, as seen in their participation in the New Crop Festival in the region of Jingpo ethnicity.