Turning points: decisive moments in my life as a pilgrim

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CHAPTER TWO Research Methodology: A teu le vā intra-cultural hermeneutic

In the first chapter, I presented a brief account of my faith journey as a Christian. I was able to do this by reflecting on some of the turning points in my life, which also served as signposts to different experiences and understandings of the Christian faith. Furthermore, I was able to identify my social location as a New Zealand-born Samoan Christian. With the knowledge that ideas are fluid, it is important to state my social location here and now, at the moment of the writing of this thesis.
The main objective of this chapter is to develop an understanding of my teu le vā intra-cultural hermeneutic. This chapter serves several purposes. First, I will briefly look at the concept of hermeneutics, focusing my investigation on selected components that I consider to be relevant to understanding my chosen research methodology. Then I will look at developing my teu le vā intra-cultural hermeneutic, engaging with some of the traditional and contemporary views of the Samoan concept of teu le vā with particular focus on this approach as a communication theory.
Before I investigate my research methodology, it is vital that I address the following question: What is research methodology? It is easy to be sidetracked, as in my case initially, by the notion that research methodology and research methods are one and the same thing. In fact, research methods and research methodology, despite being interconnected, are quite distinct when doing research. The distinction is explained:
The term method can be understood to relate principally to the tools of data collection: techniques such as questionnaires and interviews. Methodology has a more philosophical meaning, and usually refers to the approach or paradigm that underpins the research.1
1 Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes and Malcolm Tight, How to Research, 2nd edition (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2001), 59.
With this in mind, my chosen paradigm providing a framework for this research project is called the ‘teu le vā intra-cultural hermeneutic.’ The concept of hermeneutics and teu le vā and are derived from two distinct worldviews. The former is derived from studies in contemporary Western biblical interpretation and philosophy, and the latter is a Samoan belief system that is grounded in the Samoan spiritual, cultural, moral and ethical modes of conduct and way of living. The function of utilizing two contrasting ideologies and belief systems reflect the complex interdisciplinary, cross-cultural composition of this paper.
In the investigation of hermeneutics, I omit with caution many established theories that are considered the foundation of philosophical hermeneutics. My intention is not to undervalue these ideas, but in order to re-investigate, refine and focus my ideas from a vast history of hermeneutical tradition I will only allude to a few key insights. Many of the prominent advocates of traditional hermeneutics proposed ideas that were developed over time, but generally these scholars maintained common propositions that I will identify and accommodate in this thesis.

What is hermeneutics?

The English word hermeneutics finds its roots from an ancient Greek story of a Greek god Hermes, a character in the poems Iliad and Odyssey who was given the role of delivering messages from the gods to the mortals. In Greek philosophy, the gods were regarded as supernatural beings beyond human knowledge and wisdom. Hence the messages relayed from the gods convey meanings of a natural order beyond human understanding.2
The etymology of hermeneutics derives from the Greek verb hermeneuein, which means to interpret. Richard Palmer, a scholar in philosophical hermeneutics, separates out three main directions of the ancient usage of the term hermeneuein with a link to the story. The three directions are to express aloud in words (to say), to explain (e.g. a situation) and to translate (from another language).3 The process of interpretive mediation from one world to another signifies the ability of the messenger to say, explain and translate a message that was initially incomprehensible, to one that was clearly understood by the recipient(s) of another context. Instead of transliterating the messages word for word, Hermes interpreted the meanings for the recipients. The significance of the translation process is portrayed in the following statement…
He had to re-create or re-produce the meaning that would connect to his audience’s history, culture, and concepts in order to make sense of things…meaning happens by virtue of a “go-between” that bridges the alien with the familiar, connecting cultures, languages, traditions, and perspectives that may be similar or millennia apart. The go-between is the activity of human understanding that, like Hermes, tries to make sense of the world and the heavens.4
Another perspective with regards to the origin of the English form is given by David Jasper, a theologian who specializes in Religion and Literature. He refers to the term hermeneus. Unlike the previous literary nuance which focused exclusively on the process of mediation, hermeneus, on the other hand focused on the interpreter or expounder who translates the message. That is to say, Hermes, as a medial interpreter was responsible for translating the messages and secrets of the gods to the humans.5 On the whole, it can be concluded that hermeneutics highlights the significance of the role of the interpreter, as well as the interpreted message.

 Hermeneutics: interpretation of a text

Hermeneutics is commonly regarded as a theory of interpretation of a text, more specifically a sacred text.6 In contemporary study, hermeneutics has opened up channels for different interpretations of biblical texts and sacred documents. However, before hermeneutics developed as an interpretive theory, the traditional systematic form of scholarly reading was exegesis. Biblical exegesis demands a close reading taking the text word for word, and phrase by phrase, as the interpreter attempts to draw out the authentic meaning of the text accurately utilizing various tools of biblical criticism.7
The application of exegesis, which derives from the Greek word exegeisthai, which means to lead out,8 has a practical aspect to it. It entails a careful, historical, theological analysis of the text to give meaning.9 The objective of this approach is threefold; first, there is a need to discover the intention of the writer usually called the ‘authorial intention’10 or the author-centred interpretation.11 The ‘word of God’ is expressed through human thoughts and expressions within sacred texts, and the purpose of the scientific approach seeks to find the original meaning of these human perspectives. The relevant questions that may be asked concerning this approach are: What is the motivation behind the writing? What sources did the author use?12
Furthermore, exegesis seeks to discover the world behind the text. From here we have a picture of the sitz em leben (setting in life) of the text which looks at investigating of the geographical, linguistic, socio-political, historical and cultural context behind the text. Third, another primary goal of exegesis is to gain an understanding of the text itself as an independent entity.13 The text-centred interpretation draws the focus to the world within the text. The text is the judge implying it is a world of its own. W. Tate writes, …neither the author nor the reader is very important. Since the authors have simply internalized the conventional system, they bring only that knowledge to the text. So the meaning resides in the conventional code and not in the author’s intention or the reader’s presuppositional world.14
The traditional understanding of exegesis as a process of interpretation is an objective, scientific reading of a text. As a theory of interpretation, hermeneutics finds common ground with exegesis, though the two processes can also be differentiated. In other words, exegesis is a scientific method of interpretation that looks at the text and hermeneutics is a perspective which may, or may not, utilize exegetical research methods. Moreover, the scope of the hermeneutical approach is not be restricted to the written form, but also encompasses the verbal and non-verbal elements of interpretation. I will look at this later in the chapter.
The view that exegesis is an objective investigation has been contested by advocates of hermeneutics and some scholars of modern exegetical investigation. The line of reasoning is based on the grounds that an interpreter never enters a conversation with unbiased or unprejudiced ideas. That is to say, the process of hermeneutics is dialogical as meaning is not only drawn out of the text as in exegesis, but the meaning of that text is reshaped and revised by the reader’s preconceptions of the text.15
A transition from an objective reading to acknowledging the subjective perspectives of the reader designated a shift in worldviews during the time of the Enlightenment. A shift from a God-centred to human-centred worldview opened up an understanding that readers brought a preconceived systematic rationale into their engagement with a text.16 Thus, it can be argued that there can never be a pure, objective reading of a text because it is never exempt from the reader’s experiences and presuppositions.
It leads to an understanding of a reader-centred interpretation or eisegesis,17 whereas the Bible is never read without any intention and the reader gives personal meaning to the text.18 In other words, there is always the living context of the reader. The world in front of the text is the world where the reader lives, and the composition of a community relates to its vision, its problems and the fruits of the exegetical analysis. Michael Gorman, an advocate of modern exegetical views, alludes to the existential approach to reading scripture. He writes, Existential methods are therefore “instrumental” methods: they allow the text to be read as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. The end, or goal, of this kind of reading is often an encounter with a reality beyond the text to which the text bears witness. 19
On the whole, theorists of hermeneutics have clearly identified that biblical interpretation involves a study of the world of the author, a discernment of the text and the interpretation of the contemporary reader. An examination of the finer details of the engagement may result in complex scenarios. For instance, which exegetical tool(s) will be utilized by the reader? How will the text impact on the reader? What will provide a more authentic and relevant interpretation for the reader; exegesis, hermeneutics or both? To address the given questions, I will briefly look at the ‘hermeneutical circle’ proposed by hermeneutic theorist Friedrich Schleiermacher.20

 The ‘Hermeneutical circle’

The ‘hermeneutical circle’ stressed the significance of three key components in the hermeneutical process, which involves the dynamic interaction between the text, the world or intention of the author, and the interpretation of the reader.21 The interpreter gives personal meaning to the text and thus the bible or any text is never read without any intention. Significantly, the composition of hermeneutical analysis allows for meaningful interpretation of a text as it touches base with the realities of the contemporary world Schleiermacher uses biblical exegesis interchangeably with hermeneutics and sees a need to interpret the biblical text fully utilizing the various processes of analysis provided by both processes. The purpose of this task is to avoid misunderstanding by following the grammatical and psychological rules of interpretation. The grammatical rules, provided by exegesis investigate the faculty of language, linguistics and literary devices as a system of communicating conventional messages pertaining to the historical context of the text.22
According to Schleiermacher, the task of the interpreter in trying to identify with the author’s unique characteristics, feelings and motives may not be fully discovered using exegesis alone, rather, it may be achieved more through psychological means. The psychological approach, in line with the idiom ‘to put oneself in someone else’s shoes’ portrays the importance of gaining meaning by understanding the author’s mind, intentions, emotions and feelings. In seeking a reconstruction of the author’s experiences, the reader or interpreter is able to understand the text more accurately.

Hermeneutics: from texts to a theory of human understanding

Schleiermacher was also prominent in advocating hermeneutics beyond merely an interpretation of given texts to a generalized science of understanding. The hermeneutical task between interpreting texts engaged in similar processes to that of an oral conversation.23 Despite the fact that the focus of Schleiermacher’s ideas and work was the hermeneutical interpretation of a text, his ideas initiated a progress of theories towards a universalistic hermeneutic of interrelatedness and opening up avenues for research in human sciences.24 This was possible in cases of communicative misunderstanding in the greater domain, meaning hermeneutics was needed to provide solutions in the search for understanding.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Wilheim Dilthey, in line with Scheiermacher’s works broadened the scope of hermeneutics beyond texts by advancing a more holistic outlook encompassing all meaningful human action25 and all spheres of cultural life.26 Schleiermacher and Dilthey ignited what was regarded a revolution in hermeneutics. The new foundations set by these two scholars not only changed the nature and scope of the concept, but refined it from a ‘discipline-bound utility for safeguarding (legal, philological, biblical) interpretations into a more generalized theory of human understanding.’27
Accordingly, what is stressed here is that hermeneutics is a communication theory. This is evident in an encounter with a sacred text, because the world within the text is foreign to the reader. Hermeneutics is carried out to gain understanding and knowledge of that world, and from this view links to the communication theory.28 The scope and nature of hermeneutics, which has advanced from the insights of Schleiermacher and Dilthey has evolved to a more generalized concept beyond the confines of the interpretation of the Bible or literary text.
If hermeneutics is considered an open-ended pathway to a continuous exploration of theories of interpretation, then an attempt to find a conclusive point of reference for intra-cultural hermeneutics is a challenging task. After all, as David Jasper states, ‘Hermeneutics recognizes this slippage between intention and meaning, or worse, between the slipperiness of written words and human understanding.’29 The complexity of the task is based on the fact that hermeneutics is fluid, because interpretations change over time and is conceptualized from many vantage points.
Simply, intra-cultural hermeneutics looks at the process of interpreting relationships between and amongst people within an ethnic group or culture. In a situation where social interaction is involved and interpretation articulated, intra-cultural hermeneutics is in practice. As a communication theory, it allows for effective ways of interpreting communication within ethnic groups. It is the process of encountering the other and the way understanding these relationships contribute to social cohesion and stability within cultures. My research methodology, teu le vā, is the Samoan hermeneutical lens that thus interprets intra-cultural relationships within its cultural parameters.

 Exploring indigenous worldviews

The focus of this section looks at the nuances of teu le vā as an intra-cultural hermeneutic, providing a glimpse of the Samoan indigenous worldview. Before I address what teu le vā is, I will first examine the development of indigenous knowledge and non-Western worldviews as an emerging interest in contemporary academic studies.
The development and promotion in recent years of Pacific indigenous epistemology is an attempt by Pacific academics, theologians included, to explore and expand indigenous worldviews and forms of knowledge as an alternative to Western epistemological paradigms. Pacific indigenous knowledge, and indigenous knowledge on a wider scale has been victim to the suffocating coercion of the dominant Western paradigms since cultural contact and the exchange of experiences began. From the perspective of indigenous groups, it has fabricated the continuing problem of hegemonic domination of epistemological knowledge and inequality of power.30
The concept of Negotiated Space was advanced as a model for ‘empowering indigenised [sic] theorising’ [sic].31 Originally proposed by Maori and Pacific Island scholars, the idea was researched further in the area of Pacific Mental Health in New Zealand. Negotiated Space was developed as a response to a need to raise awareness of indigenous knowledge and worldviews as an alternative view to Western science. The model endorses a continual re-negotiating of conflicts faced by Pacific people living in between the Western worldview and indigenous cultural paradigms.32 In the process, terms such as negotiation, mutuality and reciprocity replaced hegemonic concepts historically used in colonial relationships such as assimilation and inculturation.

CHAPTER ONE: Turning points: decisive moments in my life as a pilgrim
1.1 My Home, my church…my comfort zones
1.2 The born-again phase: conscientized from the old, traditional ways.
1.3 Asking new questions…challenging previous beliefs.
1.4 The theology education experience: corned beef with substance!
1.5 My ecumenical story: Bossey Ecumenical Institute (2004-2005)
1.6 Our return home with a purpose
1.7 Social location
CHAPTER TWO: Research Methodology: A teu le vā intra-cultural hermeneutic.
2.1 What is hermeneutics?
2.2 Hermeneutics: interpretation of a text
2.3 The ‘Hermeneutical Circle’
2.4 Hermeneutics: from texts to a theory of human understanding
2.5 Exploring indigenous worldviews
2.6 Teu le vā: a cosmological model of interrelatedness
2.7 Teu le vā: an ethical relationship
CHAPTER THREE: Establishing the coconut identity
3.1 Origin and Endeavour of the London Missionary Society
3.2 Samoan primal religion: A cosmological identity
3.3 The fa’aSāmoa: an exclusive, enclosed identity
3.4 Planting of the Christian gospel
3.5 Forming a ‘Coconut identity’
3.6 Rise of the Samoan church
3.7 Congregationalism in the mix
CHAPTER FOUR: Re-establishing an identity: transplanting the coconut.
4.1 Exploring the ‘Land of the long white cloud’
4.2 Transplanting Christianity
4.3 Doorway of opportunity for the islanders
4.4 Transplanting the coconut identity
4.5 Replicating the village church
4.6 CCCS in New Zealand: embodiment of a renewed spirit
4.7 Teu le vā in New Zealand: Transplanting or Transformation?
4.8 Is there a need for transformation in the CCCS?
CHAPTER FIVE: Many variations of the coconut water: the problem of identity
5.1 Clarifying the two socio-cultural worlds
5.2 Caught in between two worlds: dilemma of New Zealand-born Samoans
5.3 An appeal towards the Samoan socio-cultural world
5.4 Transition to an alternative identity
5.5 The CCCS: A community of divided generations
5.6 New Zealand-born generations: different needs and visions.
CHAPTER SIX: Indigenous language loss: The future of gagana Sāmoa in the diaspora
6.1 Gagana Sāmoa: central to the Samoan identity
6.2 Gagana Sāmoa: subsumed by the universal language
6.3 Turn on the TV! Sesame Street is on! Linguistic postcolonialism and the survival of Gagana Sāmoa in a diverse world.
6.4 Toward preserving gagana Sāmoa
6.5 The CCCS: preserving the gagana Sāmoa, myth or reality?
6.6 Oratory Language: expressions of the cultural elite
CHAPTER SEVEN: Coconut water: a fixed or fluid identity
7.1 Globalization: promoting a Coca Cola identity
7.2 Culture…like water flowing from the mountains
7.3 Integrated concepts of culture
7.4 Global concepts of culture
7.5 Integrated concepts of culture and theology
7.6 CCCS Christianity like an ice boulder
7.7 Coconut water: an authentic witness?
7.8 Coconut water: a fixed or fluid identity?
CHAPTER EIGHT: Out of place: the voice of a NZ-born Samoan theologian in the CCCS
8.1 CCCS ministry: boxed in
8.2 What is a relevant mission for the CCCS in the twenty-first century?
8.3 CCCS pastors: preservers of tradition or agents of change?
8.4 Sacrificial giving or giving wisely?
8.5 Global and the local
8.6 Renewing attitudes of teu le vā relations
8.7 Thy Kingdom come: Christian identity as an eschatological reality
8.8 Conclusion
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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