Abstracts
Abstract
On Martha’s Vineyard there was a particularly long-lasting Puritan mission among the Native Americans. This article examines how the clergy there attempted to apply the Puritan ideal of the “visible saints” to the converted Indians and what implications Christianity should have had for their sensory experiences and sensual forms of expression. In a first step, the normative requirements that defined Puritanism around 1700 will be explained on the basis of Cotton Mather’s theology. Dealing with death and dying served as a litmus test for a successful “change of heart.” Using the example of the promotional treatise Indian Converts (1727) by the third-generation missionary Experience Mayhew, who was active on Martha’s Vineyard, the article explores the question of how the senses of hearing and seeing were evaluated in this context. Reading this source against the grain reveals normative conflicts and ambivalences that can deepen our understanding of how coexistence was enabled and to what extent sensory agency was possible for the Native Americans.
Keywords:
- Deathways,
- Seeing,
- Hearing,
- Puritans,
- Native Americans,
- New England,
- Encounters,
- Cotton Mather,
- Experience Mayhew
Résumé
Sur l’île de Martha’s Vineyard s’est déroulée auprès des Autochtones une mission puritaine particulièrement longue. Le présent article montre comment le clergé a tenté d’appliquer l’idéal puritain des « saints visibles » aux Indiens convertis et examine les implications que le christianisme a dû avoir pour leurs expériences sensorielles et leurs formes d’expression sensuelles. Dans un premier temps, les exigences normatives qui définissaient le puritanisme vers 1700 sont expliquées à la lumière de la théologie de Cotton Mather. Faire face à la mort et à l’agonie était la condition décisive d’un « changement de cœur » réussi. En prenant pour exemple le traité promotionnel Indian Converts (1727) du missionnaire de troisième génération Experience Mayhew, qui a exercé à Martha’s Vineyard, je me penche sur la manière dont l’ouïe et la vue étaient évaluées dans ce contexte. Une lecture à contre-courant de cette source révèle des ambivalences et des conflits normatifs qui peuvent nous aider à mieux comprendre comment la coexistence a pu s’instaurer et dans quelle mesure la liberté sensorielle était possible pour les Autochtones.
Mots-clés :
- Culture de la mort,
- Vue,
- Ouïe,
- Puritanisme,
- Autochtones,
- Nouvelle-Angleterre,
- Rencontres,
- Cotton Mather,
- Experience Mayhew
Appendices
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