The Bible and Patriarchy in Traditional Tribal Society

Chingboi Guite Phaipi examines how biblical texts reinforced female subjugation in tribal societies in North east Indian (notably the Paite tribe, of which the author is a member) after tribes had accepted Christianity in the early 20th century. Phaipi shows how most tribal groups reinforced women's subordinate status by invoking newly authoritative biblical texts such as the creation stories in Genesis 1, 2 and 3. Phaipi studies the creation stories in Genesis to offer broader readings for Christian tribal communities that are communal, traditional, and struggling to retain their women and girls, particularly those who are educated. Phaipi recognises that all communities blend culture and texts as they read, reflect, preach and teach. This volume recognizes and respects tradition, traditional communities, and the enduring witness of faithful lives in tribal communities at the same time as offering ways forward with respect to unworthy cultural practices and preferences that have been legitimised by the Bible. This book offers a contextually sensitive and scholarly reading of the Bible, with particular attention to the ways patriarchal norms in biblical narratives are perpetuated, rather than considered and reformed.