John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brotherPaton, John Gibson
Religion
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brother
Paton, John Gibson
Missionaries -- Vanuatu -- Biography; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
The final scene approached, when the men assisted their women to fill
all the allotted food into baskets, to be carried home and eaten there;
for the different Tribes do not sit down together and eat together as we
would do; their coming together is for the purpose of exchanging and
dividing the food presented. And now they broke into friendly confusion,
and freely walked about mingling with each other; and a kind of savage
rehearsal of Jonathan and David took place. They stripped themselves of
their fantastic dresses, their handsomely woven and twisted grass
skirts, leaf skirts, grass and leaf aprons; they gave away or exchanged
all these, and their ornaments and bows and arrows, besides their less
romantic calico and print dresses more recently acquired. The effusion
and ceremonial of the gifts and exchanges seemed to betoken a loving
people; and so they were for the feast—but that laid not aside a single
deadly feud, and streams of blood and cries of hate would soon efface
all traces of this day.
I had now six Stations, opened up and ministered to by Aneityumese
Teachers, at the leading villages along the coast, and forming links in
a chain towards the other Mission Establishment on Tanna. And there were
villages prepared to receive as many more. These Teachers had all been
cannibals once, yet, with one exception, they proved themselves to the
best of my judgment to be a band of faithful and devoted followers of
Christ. Their names were Abraham, Kowari, Nomuri, Nerwa, Lazarus, and
Eoufati. I visited them periodically and frequently, encouraging and
guiding them, as well as trying to interest the villagers in their
teaching and work. But, whenever war broke out they had all to return to
the Mission House, and sleep there for safety by night, visiting their
Stations, if practicable, by the light of day. My poor dear Teachers,
too, had to bear persecutions for Jesu’s sake, as the following incident
will sorrowfully prove.
A native woman, with some murderous purpose in her heart, pretended
great friendship to the excellent wife of one of my fellow-labourers.
She was specially effusive in bringing to her dishes of food from time
to time. Having thus gained confidence, she caught a little black fish
of those parts, known to be deadly poisonous, and baked it up in a mess
for the unsuspecting Teacher’s wife. On returning, she boasted of what
she had done, and thereon a friendly neighbour rushed off to warn the
other, but arrived just to learn that the fatal meal had been taken.
Beyond all reach of human skill, this unknown martyr for Christ died
soon after in great agony, and doubtless received her Master’s reward.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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