Fire on the Island: Fear, Hope and a Christian Revival in Vanuatu

ASAO Studies in Pacific Anthropology #13

by Tom Bratrud

In 2014, the island of Ahamb in Vanuatu became the scene of a startling Christian revival movement led by thirty children with ‘spiritual vision’. However, it ended dramatically when two men believed to be sorcerers and responsible for much of the society’s problems were hung by persons fearing for the island’s future security. Based on twenty months of ethnographic fieldwork on Ahamb between 2010 and 2017, this book investigates how upheavals like the Ahamb revival can emerge to address and sometimes resolve social problems, but also carry risks of exacerbating the same problems they arise to address.

Genres: Anthropology

240 pages, Library Binding

First published April 8, 2022

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire on the Island is a stunning account of contemporary Pentecostal revivalism and its complex relationship to pre-Christian Melanesian culture. Bratrud's ethnography is sympathetic to the deeply-held beliefs of the autochthonous Ni-Vanuatu population he studies, while also acknowledging the moral dilemmas associated with religiously motivated vigilantism. Bratrud adroitly captures the piety, renewal, disquietude, and occasional hysteria that emerges from a breathtaking social movement, and expounds upon the ways in which revivals may upend the traditional social order. This is an anthropological gem.