Becoming Believers - Adivasi Women and The Pentecostal Church

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BECOMING BELIEVERS
Adivasi Women and the Pentecostal Church
In December 2011, when I first attended prayer meetings in Pentecostal

churches and Christmas melas (celebrations) in some tribal villages in
south Rajasthan, I noticed that a majority of the participants were women.
When I discussed the growth of Christianity with the local people, I
received varied responses. Some upper caste Hindus and Jain baniyas
pointed out that ‘the adivasis will do anything for money’.1 According
to them, increasing numbers of adivasis are converting to Christianity
because the padris provide them with money, clothes, free (English-
medium) education, healthcare and other material incentives. Others
pointed out that, ‘the tribals have found the padris very trustworthy and
helpful; they have come from faraway places [e.g., Kerala and Tamil
Nadu] to work with the tribals in such adverse conditions; and unlike
local people [i.e., baniyas or traders], they do not exploit the tribals and
can come running if there is an emergency in the middle of the night; no
one else is so helpful to and concerned about the tribals’.
These explanations are only partly true and do not provide
satisfactory explanations of why the tribals convert to Christianity.
Tribal conversion to Christianity in India and several other parts of
the world has hitherto been analysed in the context of material gains
and losses. In India, most of the recent controversies and debates on
conversion and reconversion are also founded on such assumptions.
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PENTECOSTALISM AND POLITICS OF CONVERSION IN INDIA
According to such discourses, material incentives influence both the

individual’s and the group’s decision to convert. However, my fieldwork
among the Bhil tribes of south Rajasthan reveals that tribals do not find
material incentives (which are temporary) significant enough for them
to trade in their religion. Additionally, the stigma attached to religious
conversion, excommunication of the converts from the community and
the loss of traditional identity make conversion too costly for a tribal. If
material incentives do not provide a compelling explanation for tribal
conversion, what motivates them to take such a big risk?
This chapter focuses on the experiences of Pentecostal tribal women
in south Rajasthan. Studies have shown that women outnumber men in
Christianity (Chesnut, 2003: 42; Tong and Yang, 2014: 200; Woodhead,
2003: 73) and participate more actively in Pentecostal churches worldwide
(Hefner, 2010: 1031; 2013: 11; Robbins, 2004: 132;). Bernice Martin
(2003: 56) has reported that women constitute around two-third of all
adult evangelicals in the world. In the Indian context, Bauman (2015: 82)
points out that ‘while Pentecostal women in India may less frequently
than elsewhere occupy positions of formal authority, they remain quite
visible’. According to Bauman, in ‘most Pentecostal churches, [women]
comprise a clear majority of congregants (often as much as 70 per cent)
and they often participate openly and enthusiastically in worship’.
The central question in this chapter is: why do a large number of
tribal women, compared to men, convert to Pentecostalism and what
motivates them to ‘make a break’ (Meyer, 1998) with their traditional
belief system? The chapter focuses on the changes that conversion has
brought to the lives of the oppressed and underprivileged tribal women in
south Rajasthan. Following Hanneke Slootweg’s (1998: 53–71) work on
Pentecostal women in Chile, this chapter considers and analyses four inter
related aspects of religious change: (1) women’s experience of conversion;
(2) miracle/faith healing; (3) male-female interactions within the family
and outside; and (4) women’s socio-economic conditions.
The chapter argues that conversion is a complex process that cannot
be fully explained by what I refer to as ‘the material incentive discourse’.
Material incentives, though important, are short-term and temporary and
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BECOMING BELIEVERS
may not strongly influence one’s decision to convert given that there are
strong stigmas and sanctions against conversion in the tribal community.
Instead, faith and spiritual transformation, caused largely by miracle/faith
healings, have played an important role in influencing tribal women’s
decision to convert.2 Additionally, ‘hope’3 for improved socio-economic
well-being in the post-conversion period has supported their decision
(Martin, 2011). In this case, it is not the immediate and temporary material
incentives given by the missionaries and the church but tribal women’s
desire for long-lasting change caused by the Lord’s ‘blessings’(prabhu
ka ashis) that becomes important in explaining their conversion to
Pentecostalism. The chapter concludes that tribal women’s conversion
to Pentecostalism in Rajasthan could be seen more ‘as a personal strategy
in response to a specific social situation’(Slootweg,1998: 53) rather than
caused by material incentives alone.
Survey of the literature

In his book, Global Pentecostalism in the 21st Century, Robert Hefner
(2013: 11) has pointed out that ‘in some congregations in North America,
and in much of the global south, women make up the majority in the
assembly hall or the Bible study group’. Harvey Cox (2001: 137) has
also noted that women have played an extraordinary part and become
the ‘principal careers’ of global Pentecostal movement. In the context of
Latin America, Anne Hallum (2003: 171) has argued that Pentecostalism
is a movement that is primarily made up of women. The ‘attraction of
women to Pentecostalism has been attributed to its emphasis on direct
religious experience, spontaneous and ecstatic worship style, and frequent
opportunities for spiritual empowerment and social support, especially in
ministries specific to women’ (Tangenberg, 2007: 230).While Pentecostal
rebirth has had powerful gender effects, manifested though high rates of
female participation, very little scholarly work has been done to examine
the gender aspect of Pentecostalism in the Asian context where it boasts of
more than 163 million followers (Shah, 2009: xi).
There has been some important work examining the role of women
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in Pentecostalism in the context of Latin America and Africa.While the

majority of this literature has focused on gender equality and women
empowerment, some studies have also examined the religious experiences
of women in the Pentecostal church and how the church has helped them
to improve their socio-economic well-being and to cope with domestic
conflict and health problems.
Gender equality and women empowerment

According to Rabelo, Mota and Almeida (2009: 5), Pentecostalism has
not only opened up ‘new avenues for the expression of women’s agency’,
but has also contributed to ‘alter the balance of power between spouses’.
In her pioneering work in The Reformation of Machismo, Elizabeth
Brusco (1995) has discussed the implications ofthe spread of evangelical
Protestantism (not exclusively Pentecostalism) for women in Colombia.
Brusco argues that evangelical Protestantism has radically transformed
gender relations in favour of women and could be considered as
a ‘strategic’ women’s movement. According to Brusco, unlike the
Western feminist movement that promotes women’s participation in
the traditional male spheres of paid work, the Colombian evangelical
Protestantism has ‘domesticated’ men and promoted their participation
in the female sphere of family and household, which has benefited women
both materially and socially.
Following Brusco’s work, Bernice Martin (2003) has discussed the
ways in which women have ‘feminised’ the Pentecostal understanding
of God and ‘domesticated’ men. For Martin, while it is true that women
are seldom allowed to become pastors and face several constraints in
their everyday life, they are, however, particularly favoured with spiritual
gifts. With their extensive religious participation, women have used the
religious discourse:
to rewrite the moral mandate on which sexual relations and family
life rest. In societies characterised by a tradition of male dominance
they have been enabled to institute a family discipline, sanctioned
and effectively policed by the church community, which puts the
collective needs of the household unit above the freedom and
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BECOMING BELIEVERS
pleasure of men and which has called an end to the long-tolerated

double standard of sexual morality (Martin, 2003: 54).
Broadly, Martin sees Pentecostalism as a transformative mechanism

with a modernising egalitarian impulse that establishes greater gender
equality and drives the poor in the direction of modernity.
In a similar study on Pentecostal women in Chile, Slootweg (1998: 59)
has shown how Pentecostalism has offered solutions to the ‘machismo-
marianismo complex’.4 According to her, conversion has caused a great
change in the personalities of men and women. In addition, the church
has made special efforts to educate men and women about ‘correct
marital behavioural patterns’. The emphasis of the church on men to
change their attitude towards their wives and to remain sexually faithful
has improved not just gender relations but also family life in Chile.
Similar stories of transformation in gender relations can be seen in
Africa and the United States. In the context of urban Kenya, Parsitau
(2012) has shown that a new wave of women-led charismatic and
Pentecostal churches has been, by using the gospel message of salvation
and redemption, seeking to transform women’s lives and empower them,
both spiritually and materially. Similarly, Goldsmith’s study (cited in
Tangenberg, 2007: 232) among working class African-American women
on the Georgia coast (USA) shows how spiritual gifts permitted women
to be found at the centre of things and how Pentecostalism ‘offered
escape and empowerment of women whose opportunities were limited
by stigmas of gender, race and class’.
It should, however, be noted that Pentecostalism may not be always
as transformative. In his review of gender and Pentecostalism, Joel
Robbins (2010: 169) has noted that ‘Pentecostals also tend to embrace
traditional Pauline notions of patriarchy, in which women are expected
to subordinate themselves to men’.5 Bernice Martin (2003) has also
highlighted the Pentecostal gender paradox and argued that while on the
one hand Pentecostal churches seek to liberate women and transform
gender relations, they also continue to limit women’s freedom in their
everyday lives and seldom allow them to become pastors. Similarly,
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Hollingsworth and Browning (2010) have argued that Pentecostalism is

‘at once liberating and disempowering for women’.
Conversion experience
How is women’s conversion experience different from that of men?
Addressing this, Austin-Broos (1997) has, in her study on Jamaican
Pentecostal women, discussed the Christian image of a woman’s body as
a vessel for the Holy Spirit. She writes that among Jamaican Pentecostal
women, ‘the association of body/womb/vessel involves a sense that
the spirit enters the body through the vagina, thereby filling the womb
(sullying the belly). For men, the cultivation of this religious image of
body as a vessel poses certain difficulties and leads to a discourse in which
stress is shifted from the process of being filled to that of being cleansed
or purified to become worthy of the Holy Spirit’(Rabelo, Mota and
Almeida, 2009: 6).
Rabelo, Mota and Almeida discuss the conversion experience through
the embodied religious experience of poor Pentecostal women in
Salvador in northeast Brazil. Using a phenomenological approach, they
examine the relationship between body and place and ‘capture the social
and existential dimensions of the sensibilities which women develop as
members of religious community and thus address the question of how
these sensibilities, awakened and cultivated in the religious setting, help
shape embodied forms of affection and attention to oneself, to others and
to context’ (Rabelo, Mota and Almeida, 2009: 15).
Similarly, drawing on ethnographic studies from the USA, Africa
and Latin America, Tangenberg (2007) has examined ways in which
Pentecostal participation and religiosity have affected women’s self-
perceptions and social relationships. According to her, the ‘spirit-led
nature of Pentecostalism often complicated women’s ambivalence
toward their marriages and contributed to hopes that prayer, submission
and self-sacrifice could change their husbands. Sharing time and
demonstrations of spiritual gifts with other women often distracted
attention from the physical realities of abuse. Thus, women’s self-
perceptions based on religious commitments rather than human
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BECOMING BELIEVERS
experiences mediated the suffering endured in their marital relationships’

(Tangenberg, 2007: 238).
Socio-economic well-being
Several studies have shown that women experience social and economic
well-being in the post-conversion period. As discussed above, Elizabeth
Brusco’s (1995) study has shown how Pentecostalism ‘domesticated’
men, which ultimately benefitted women, both materially and socially.
Slootweg’s (1998) work in Chile has similarly shown that women
experienced improved economic and emotional status of the family in
the post-conversion period. Pentecostalism’s rigid and puritanical rules,
such as the ban on alcohol, tobacco and drugs, the tight controls on
sexual behaviour and prohibition of worldly temptations (i.e., cinema,
television and entertainment) contributed significantly towards this
direction (Martin, 1995: 108).
In an interesting study on Chimoio in Mozambique, Pfeiffer, Gimbel-
Sherr and Augosto (2007: 688) discuss how Pentecostalism has helped
women adjust to the adverse effects of neoliberal reforms. The authors
argue that the structural adjustment programmes deepened economic
disparity and household stress, which affected men and women differently.
While men engaged in ‘occult’ practices to manage misfortune related
to employment, the women increasingly sought spiritual help from
Pentecostal churches for their reproductive health problems.
The Pentecostal church has also helped women cope with domestic
conflict. For example, in his comparative study in urban Brazil, Burdick
(1990) has shown how working-class women have taken religious
help from Afro-Brazilian umbanda and Pentecostalism (and not
Catholicism) to cope with domestic conflict. Burdick (1990: 153)
argues that ‘umbanda and Pentecostalism, as cults of affliction in which
blame for domestic conflict may be safely articulated and projected on
to spiritual Others, limit the possibilities for gossip and increase those
of secrecy. They are thus more attractive to women than is the Catholic
church, which places blame for domestic conflict on human agents and,
as a local cult that recruits on the basis of prior social identity rather
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than affliction, makes women’s efforts to speak about their domestic

problems vulnerable to gossip’.
The above studies show how Pentecostalism has played an important
role in addressing the everyday problems of women in different parts of
the world. While establishing a causal relationship is difficult, it is clear
that there is a correlation between conversions to Pentecostalism and
gender equality and improvements in the socio-economic and emotional
status of the family.
Women and Pentecostalism in India

Not many studies have been done to describe the gender dimension of
Pentecostalism in India despite the fact that several women experienced
the gifts of the Spirit in Pandita Ramabai’s Mukti Mission in Kedgaon in
Pune district of Maharashtra in 1905. While there were Pentecostal-like
revivals in Tirunelveli (Madras Province) in 1860–61 and in Travancore
(Kerala) in 1874–75 (Burgess, 2001: 87), the Mukti Mission revival is
considered one of the first major global Pentecostal revivals, which even
preceded the Azusa Street revival. According to Allan Anderson (2006:
37), Pandita Ramabai, a Christian, a reformer, Bible translator and
social activist ‘played an important role in emergence of Pentecostalism
worldwide’.
In 1894, Ramabai had an experience that her biographer niece described
as ‘the blessing of the Holy Spirit’. In 1895, Ramabai established the Mukti
(salvation) Mission that aimed ‘to provide a refuge for destitute girls
and young women, particularly those who had been the victims of child
marriages and had become widows, and those rescued from starvation in
famine areas. It had 48 girls and young women in 1896, but during that
year 300 girls were rescued from famine in Madhya Pradesh and by 1900
there were almost 2,000 residents at Mukti’ (Anderson, 2006: 38). It was
‘at Mukti that disposed women and children (especially child widows
and orphans) experienced one of the greatest outpourings of the Holy
Spirit in modern times’ (Burgess, 2001: 88). ‘On June 29, 1905, evidence
of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit was reported, with several “slain in the
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Spirit” and others experiencing a burning sensation said to evidence their

baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire’ (Burgess, 2001: 88).
As discussed in Chapter 2, the Mukti Mission was directly linked
to Pentecostal revival in Rajasthan. Mrs Jiwa, a resident of the Mukti
Mission who later married Mr Jiwa from Madhya Pradesh, travelled to
Rajasthan in the early 1930s and spread Pentecostal belief and practices.
According to Lukose (2009: 106), Mr and Mrs Jiwa were the first
Pentecostal missionaries in Rajasthan. Despite the fact that women have
played a significant role in the spread of Pentecostalism, not much has
been written about Pentecostal women in India, except for the work of
Shah and Shah (2013) and Roberts (2017). Shah and Shah (2013: 195),
in their excellent article ‘Pentecost amid Pujas’, explore:
how and why a poor Dalit woman, in the context of twenty-first
century Bangalore, could conceive of Pentecostal faith as valuable
not just as a means of achieving extrinsic social and economic ends
but as a worthwhile and constitutive end in itself.
Drawing on their fieldwork among Dalit Pentecostal women in the
slums and shanty towns of Bangalore, they argue that these women‘are
actively constructing their own Pentecostalism, and in the process
Pentecostal Dalit women are defining and owning a distinct identity as
independent and active Christians’ (Shah and Shah, 2013: 195).
Following a slightly different approach, Roberts examines the content
of Pentecostal messages in a Dalit slum in northern Chennai and examines
the way it impacts women’s suffering. He argues that Pentecostal sermons
address two major sources of existential distress in slum women’s lives:
the first is the exploitation and exclusion – rooted in caste discrimination,
but simultaneously a matter of class – of all slum dwellers, both women
and men, by the dominant non-slum society; and the second is specific
to married women, who are made morally responsible for the well-
being of their households under precarious circumstances they cannot
control (Roberts, 2017: 279). With this, Roberts not only shows how
Pentecostal sermons address women’s suffering both at the collective
and interpersonal level, but also brings out the caste/class and gender
aspects of Pentecostalism.
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Both these studies have focused on Dalit Pentecostal women in slum

areas. No study has specifically documented the life-world and experience
of tribal Pentecostal women in India. This chapter attempts to provide a
holistic and in-depth ethnographic perspective on the life-world of tribal
Pentecostal women in south Rajasthan by discussing four important
and inter related aspects: the conversion experience, miracle healing,
changing gender relations and socio-economic conditions.
The conversion experience

My interactions with the tribal women reveal that most women come to
the church when they face difficulties, which may range from several kinds
of physical and mental illnesses to spirit possession, black magic, death of
animals, lack of harvest, troubles within the family, and so on. Experience
of miracle healing, however, predominantly features in women’s narratives
of conversion. Their stories also reveal that since conversion is considered
a stigma and severe punishments (e.g., excommunication from the village)
are attached to it, women take the help of the church only as a last resort.
The word-of-mouth testimony of converted relatives or acquaintances in
and outside the village act as a major and powerful medium to attract tribal
women to the church. In addition, the church has employed both male
and female volunteers to preach in nearby villages. In the post-conversion
period, the converts have realised the Holy Spirit’s presence in their lives
and have experienced divine manifestations. Their experience has been
miraculous, which has transformed their lives completely and brought
peace and happiness into their life. As Roberts (2017: 281–82) has noted,
‘a distinguishing feature of Pentecostalism, in contrast to other varieties
of Protestantism, is the idea that the Holy Spirit speaks directly through
the mouths of ordinary believers and may even reveal new teachings not
explicitly mentioned in the Bible’. For example, Poorvi Bai said:
God revealed Himself to me through a dream. I saw a narrow bridge
over a river; the river was deep and filled with rubbish. There were
two roads – one wider and the other narrower. At the other end of the
roads, there were two persons standing, one with a stick and the other
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without. The person without a stick was calling me to cross the bridge.
I asked Him which road to take and, in reply, He asked me which road
I myself wished to take. I took the narrow road but I stopped halfway.
When I looked down, I was scared to see the deep river; I was afraid
that I would fall into it. He told me not to fear and walk ahead. When
I crossed the bridge, there was no one. I woke up and realised that
prabhu Ishu Masih had revealed Himself to me through the dream. I
also realised that the road that leads to Him is narrow and dangerous.
Poorvi Bai further pointed out:
I was completely illiterate, I have never been to school. I prayed to
God that I would like to read Your message (Malik, mein aap ka
bachan mere jeevan mein thoda thoda leni chahti). In 2007, there was
prayer service in my home. I picked up the Bible and could for the
first time read the Hindi bhajan (devotional song). Now I can read
the Bible, but sometimes I have a little trouble with the grammar
(matra mein galat aajata hai). My eyesight now is also not very good.
But God has taught me all this.
Lulli Bai also narrated her conversion experience and pointed out how
she was tormented by evil spirits. But after her conversion, she is no longer
troubled by them; her life is completely transformed by the Holy Spirit
and during the post-conversion period, there is peace and happiness in
her life and her family. As she testifies:
I was very troubled. I was married, but my husband threw me out
of the house. I returned to my parents, but my husband’s family did
some black magic on me. I was fine during the day, but in the night
when I fell asleep I would see soldiers guarding me in my room. I
would hear them discuss that ‘her time is not finished yet, how can
we take her with us (yaar, iski time to puri nahi hui, kaise le ke jaaye
ise)?’ I would wake up to find no one in the room. When I went back
to sleep, they return. I was very distressed (bahut pareshani hoti thi
mujhe). I could spend the day with people but in the night I was all
alone (din mein to idhar udhar kisi ke paas din gujaar deti, aur raat
ke samay akeli). I mentioned this to my uncle and aunt who are
believers of Christ and who visit the church regularly. They asked me
to come to the church; they prayed for me and everything became
fine (Malik ke naam dua prarthana kiya, usi samay mere jeevan mein jo
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pareshani thi woh nikal gayi). After that I have a new life (born-again)
and there is peace (Malik ne naya jeevan diya, shanti hai). I also got
remarried; I now have two sons and two daughters. The Lord has
given me everything – son, daughter, husband, house – everything.
The conversion experience of the females is very different from that
of male members. The women have stronger faith than men; they are
more religious and devoted to the service of the Lord. They pray more
frequently than the men do and keep a fast on Fridays. Once they
become convinced that the Holy Spirit is responsible for the miracles in
their lives, they decide not to look back, no matter how hard the path
may be. They persuade their husbands to ‘become believers’,6 strongly
defend their faith and are even willing to leave the village and sever ties
with relatives who oppose their decision. The men, on the other hand, are
less frequent visitors to the church; many do not strictly follow the rules;
some even continue to smoke and drink after their conversion. As Sima
Bai commented:
A woman is stronger in faith than a man; she is more committed, she
prays in the morning and in the evening; she visits the church and
keeps a fast on Fridays (zyada [biswas] to mahila karti hai; prarthana
karti hai subah shaam; church aati hai aur shukravar ko upvas karti hai).
On Fridays, we get together and pray together; we also visit people’s
homes where someone is unwell or has some difficulties and pray for
their well-being; they get peace (behena behena mil ke prarthana karti
hai; kisi ke ghar mein koi zyada bimar hain ya koi pareshani hai to upvas
rakhke hum prarthana karte hai; unko shanti milti hai). We keep a fast
the whole day and break it around 6 or 7 in the evening.
Sima Bai further narrated her experience in the church. According to her:
We like it here [at the church] because we listen to the words of
God, we sing bhajans (devotional songs); we experience and feel
the presence of the Holy Spirit; He comes like the wind and touches
people (pavitr atma ko mehshoos karte hai; woh hawa ke samaan ate
hai). You can feel the difference. The believers also meet with each
other here. When we meet each other, we feel good. That’s why we
feel happy in the church.
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Hima Bai added her views on the Holy Spirit. For her, the concept of
sin is what distinguishes human beings from the Holy Spirit. According
to her, human beings are sinners, and they cannot see the Holy Spirit;
they can only feel His presence as one who is responsible for all kinds of
miracles in people’s lives. As she points out:
The Holy Spirit comes and gives us the energy to pray and survive.
With His energy we can survive in this world; we can get peace; we
can recover from any kind of diseases and face difficulties. We cannot
see the Holy Spirit (pavitr atma apan ko nahin dikhte hai). How can
we see the Holy Spirit? We humans are all sinners (pavitr atma hum
ko kaise dikhega? Hum to paapi manushya hai).
These narratives show that ‘experientialist’ religions like Pentecostalism
have enabled its ‘followers to experience the transcendent’ (Robbins,
2004: 123) and, as a consequence, women’s experience of conversion has
had a powerful transforming effect on their lives. In the post-conversion
period, they have experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit7 – at prayer
meetings, in dreams and through miracles and healings – and as a result, all
troubles and difficulties have disappeared. Conversion has not only given
them ‘hope’ but also a new community of believers. They characterise the
post-conversion period as ‘being reborn’ or having a ‘new life’ [naya jeevan
mila], which is marked by peace, prosperity and happiness. In addition,
the narratives also show that women’s experience of conversion is quite
different from that of men. Compared to the men, women are perceived
to be more religious and devoted;8 they have more time and space for the
Holy Spirit. The women believe that it is only through the Holy Spirit in
their hearts that they can face any challenge in life and survive the sufferings
of this world.
Experiences of miracle healings
In his famous book Born Again in Brazil, Andrew Chesnut (1997: 6)
argues that illness and health problems stemming from poverty and the
felt need for faith healing provide the key to comprehending the appeal
of Pentecostalism in Brazil. Based on a year of ethnographic fieldwork in
the Amazonian city of Belem and drawing from 90 life history interviews
– mostly with women – Chesnut notes that 46 per cent of the female
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interviewees had converted to Pentecostalism because of physical illness

of themselves or in their families, whereas 25 per cent of the men had.
Furthermore, approximately 80 per cent of thirty years of testimonials
compiled by the Assembly of God church in Brazil related to illness and
faith-healing (Chesnut, 1997: 8). Based on his in-depth interviews and
life histories, Chesnut identifies the following pattern of conversion to
Pentecostalism in Brazil: ‘desperation from illness and unavailability
of secular medicine in the slums, grateful acceptance of prayer for the
power of healing, the healing experience itself, then conversion and
transformation of the new Pentecostal’ (Hallum, 2003: 176).
Similarly, in south Rajasthan, due to poverty, ignorance and
unhygienic living conditions, adivasis fall sick easily. They, however,
believe this to be the work of evil spirits (dayan, dakan) and hence, do
not consider this to be a disease or visit a doctor. For them, bad luck
falls on the individual or the community when the spirits are unhappy
or angry. In order to make the spirits happy and satisfied, the tribals
go to village shamans or bhopas, who practice witchcraft and magic
(jadutona) and are supposed experts of spirit worship. Bhopas act as
the ‘intermediary between the worshipper and the worshipped; they
form the link or the medium through which the super-human and the
human elements interact and communicate with each other’ (Ahuja,
1965: 25). Depending on the nature of the disease, bhopas demand the
sacrifice of a chicken and/or goat. It is believed that the evil spirit will be
pleased only after drinking the blood of the sacrificed animal. A heavy
amount of money is demanded to conduct the tantric rituals. Because of
such demands, tribals borrow and spend a huge amount of resources in
shamanic activities and in the end do not even get cured.
Converts unanimously blamed the bhopas for being exploitative. In
fact, the shamanic system was so exploitative that the adivasis wanted
to convert and seek relief in Christianity (Turner, 1979: 265). Women
converts noted that the bhopas used to demand excessive amounts in cash
or kind when consulted for troubles or illnesses in someone’s family. As
Aaron (2009: 109) shows in the context of the Dangs, ‘bhagats [or bhopas]
conduct pujas (Hindu or indigenous worship rituals) only for money and
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thrive by inducing fear to get people to pay for these as means of healing’.
Disenchanted by the inaccessible and expensive modern medical system
and the exploitative bhopa practices, many tribal women visit the church
as a last resort. In such contexts, the Pentecostals have effectively tapped
into the existing disillusion with local healers. They have discouraged
people from going to bhopas and offered healing prayers for all kinds
of illnesses, free of cost (Aaron, 2009; Joshi, 1999).The testimonies of
women show that firm faith in Ishu Masih has done miracles (chamatkar
hua hai), and healed them of their diseases (changai mila hai) and solved
their everyday difficulties (sare kathinayien dur kiya hai).
Besides healing, what attracts tribal women to the church are the
following: (1) compared to the modern medical system and the
traditional bhopas, the church is much more accessible; (2) the healing
services are free – the patients do not have to pay and donations are
voluntary; (3) the church is welcoming and humane – the patients are
cared for with love and compassion. Disease and ailments are the first
step; they bring women to the church. The question of whether they stay
with the church or return to their earlier faith largely depends on their
cure. Convert women’s testimonies show that miracle healings have not
only made them ‘become believers’ but also strengthened their faith in
Christ. Poorvi Bai narrates the story of her own healing:
Previously I had a lot of problems, a lot of pain in my neck. Satan had
completely taken over my life; I was finished (saitan ne mere jeevan
ko pakad ke rakha tha; mein nash hogayi thi). My family members
took me to the galeghot baba (a saint specialised in treating neck
problems). I went there for almost one and a half years but there
was no improvement in my health (koi changai nahi mili). One
day I had gone to visit my sister in a nearby village and someone
suggested that if became a believer I would be cured. Soon after I
started going to the church and prayed; in two weeks, my neck was
cured (mein turant biswas kiya to Malik ne mujhe turant changai di);
I became a believer in 2002 and since then there is no turning back.
Similarly, Ratu Bai and her family adopted Ishu Masih as their saviour. As
Ratu Bai testified:
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When I was a believer of Hinduism, I was very unhappy; we used to

visit the bhopas; there were lots of troubles in life (jab samsara mein
the tab bahut dukhi the; bhopa ke paas jate the; pareshani the). We
had buffaloes, but the calves used to die; we practised agriculture,
but the harvest was bad; there was no peace. For eleven years, we
visited so many bhopas. Then, my only daughter-in-law suffered
from vaginal bleeding for two years (meri bahu thi, uski do saal tak
bahut blood jata tha). Her life was controlled by the Satan (saitan
ne unhe kabza kar ke rakha tha); someone had fed her something
through roti. I took her to the bhopas and sacrificed eleven goats,
five roosters and two hens over a few years, but there was no cure
(bhopa ke pass mein gyarah bakra kata, panch murga kata, do murgi
kata, koi shanti nahi mila). I went to many doctors also; they gave
medicines, but nothing worked. I was troubled; I had four daughters
and one son; I managed the family by selling wood. One day, Udhaba
[a local pastor in the nearby village] came to my house and said if
you believe in Ishu Masih, this bleeding will be stopped. I did not
believe him. I asked him, who is your Lord? I have been going to the
bhopas for the last eleven years, but did not get peace; is your Lord
a different one? He said that there is a living God called Jesus (ek
jeevit parameshwar Ishu Bapa); you just believe in Him. I doubted,
but Panna Baba [an old man who was present there] said, ‘If you get
cured, believe in Him; if you don’t get cured, then don’t follow Him’
(shanti mil jaye to usi rashtey pe chalna, shanti na mile to chhod dena).
Udhaba began the prayers (dua, prarthana suru kiya); the dakan
[the witch, through the daughter-in-law] opened, caught Udhaba’s
hair; Udhaba also caught her hair and continued praying. The
dakan said, ‘I have controlled her life and I will finish her’. Udhaba
replied that ‘this female belongs to Ishu Masih and you cannot do
anything to her’. After fifteen minutes of continuous prayers, the
dakan pleaded with Udhaba to let her go. The dakan promised to let
the woman go and never return. After the prayer, my daughter-in-
law felt a little pain in her stomach and went to the toilet. Through
her stool, a flesh-like thing came out and immediately after that the
bleeding stopped. Since that day, I believed in Ishu Masih and my
daughter-in-law found peace (meine biswas kiya aur mere bahuko
shanti mil gayi).
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Sima Bai also spoke about the miraculous healing of her son:
I was very unhappy; my son was not able to walk. He was five years
old, but was not walking. He also became severely ill. I admitted him
in the hospital and the doctor told me that he is not going to live very
long (hospital le ke bharti kiya, aur doctor bola yeh to rahega nahin). I
prayed to Ishu Masih, ‘Oh Lord! You have given him to me; it is your
wish; we are mere human beings, what can we do? We cannot do
anything’ (Malik, aap ne diya hai; apki ichha hai; hum to manushya
hai, kya kar sakte hai? Kuch nahin kar sakte hai). The doctor infused
blood in him. God did some miracles (Malik ne adbhut chamatkar
kiya). My son became well and he now also walks.
Not just physical illness but also immoral habits and mental illnesses are
caused by the saitan who is believed to operate in the guise of traditional
spirits or evil spirits (dushtatma). ‘Deliverance’ from dushtatma is
conceptualised as a ‘spiritual fight’ between God and Satan (as seen
in the case of Ratu Bai’s daughter-in-law) and it ‘aims at a person’s
liberation from all forms of “occultic” bondage’ (Meyer, 1998: 321).
Such deliverance rituals are also considered important to end demonic
influences in believers’ lives and help them ‘make a complete break’
with the past.9 The tribals believe that illnesses caused by evil spirits
cannot be treated by the modern medical system. While the traditional
village shamans have the ability to treat, they are not always effective in
controlling the spirit. In addition, they are quite expensive to access and
are often exploitative. In this context, the church comes to the rescue. A
converted tribal woman compared the bhopas with the church and said:
There are differences; in the church you are not required to pay;
in fact, you don’t need anything, but the bhopas demand goats and
chickens and if someone has money, he/she buys, but if someone
doesn’t how will he/she buy? In church, you only need to pray and
thank the Lord and you become well (Isme khali Malik ka dhanyavad
dena hai, prarthana karni hai; changai mil jaati hai). But for the
bhopas, even if you sacrifice goats there is no guarantee that you will
be well(Usme bakra laa ke bhi do to koi guarantee nahin leta).
According to Bauman (2015: 110), Christian ‘healing’ can be of various
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sorts, which cover the entire range of ailments for which treatment is
sought – physical, reproductive, spiritual, familial, relational and so on.
He further points out, ‘In the healing market, Christ does well, and even
many non-Christian Indians consider him a specialist of sorts in physical
and spiritual healing’ (Bauman, 2015: 103). However, the tribals believe
that it is not the Catholics or mainline Protestants, but predominantly the
Pentecostals who are effective in casting away evil. According to a tribal
convert, it is because ‘the Catholics and the CNI [Protestants; Church of
North India] people drink alcohol; they do not have strong faith (unme
itna biswas nahin hai); the Pentecostal pastors are so strong in faith that
when they pray, the evil spirit goes away (yeh [Pentecostal] padri log itna
biswasi haina, wo dua karenge to sab dushtatma bhag jayega)’. Another
tribal convert tells the story of his mother’s secret habit of drinking
kerosene and how she was cured and, with it, how the family decided
to ‘make a break’ with their traditional belief system and converted to
Pentecostalism.
My mother became ill; she was secretly drinking kerosene for almost
two years … she was forced to drink this by dushtatma. There was
no electricity at that time. She used to go to buy kerosene from the
shop; she first used to buy 250 ml to drink and then another 250 ml
to bring home. Our family members did not know about it. One day,
the shopkeeper informed my father about it. We took her to several
temples and bhopas; we did whatever was required, but nothing
happened. We also took her to doctors; they gave medicine and said
she would be fine. But she did not get cured. She drank kerosene;
did not take much food – used to eat one roti with some onions. She
became very thin. Then, we went to village [Pentecostal] church and
prayed. One week after the prayer, she vomited coal-and-yoghurt-like
thing, which looked fresh as if she had eaten it on that very day. After
this, she was completely cured and my parents became believers.
In a tribal society, all kinds of illness and troubles are believed to be caused
by Satan (saitan) or evil spirits (dushtatma). The saitan is responsible
for causing both physical and mental harm and can ruin someone’s life.
The tribals therefore prefer to address their problems through bhopas
who are the traditional spirit worshippers in the village. While it may be
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true that belief in spirits has made tribals follow shamanic practices, what
makes it widely prevalent is the lack of primary healthcare facilities in
remote villages. In addition, the modern healthcare system in the cities
is quite expensive and inaccessible. Specifically, it is harsh on the poor
and marginalised. As a result, the tribals have resorted to alternative
systems of healing and it is observed that the divine healing practices or
deliverance rituals of Pentecostalism have been quite successful and are
available (freely) in exchange for a promise of ‘becoming a believer’.
The ‘Pentecostal exorcism calls on the power of the Holy Spirit to
confront and defeat the evil spirits’ (Bauman, 2015: 106). The pastor
touches the sick part of the patient’s body, places the Bible on the head of
the patient and prays in the name of the Jesus and the Holy Spirit, which
drives away the evil spirit and cures the patient. Robbins (2004: 122) has
referred to this process as ‘spiritual warfare’, which ‘encourages believers
to view their daily life as dominated by an ongoing struggle between
God and local, demonic “territorial spirits,” and which often promotes
rituals of “deliverance” designed to rid believers of demonic influence’.
In my interviews, tribal women repeatedly testified that their lives in
the post-conversion period have been marked by good health, peace
and happiness; their ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit’ (Slootweg, 1998: 67;
Robbins, 2004: 120) has kept the evil spirits away.
Changes in male-female relations

Compared to caste Hindu society, tribal women enjoy a lot of freedom
and equality.10 The birth of a girl child is happily celebrated in the family.
Tribal women are free to work and earn their livelihood; they can also
own property. At a marriage, the girl’s parents, instead of giving, receive a
bride price. While the lack of dowry and the practice of bride price could
signify the high importance of women in tribal society, it also has negative
consequences. As Maya Unnithan-Kumar (1997) in her study of Garasia
women and David Mosse (2005) in his study of Bhil women in Rajasthan
have shown, women’s identity, status and access to property are not
independent but are usually derived from men. For them, women enjoy
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a weaker position than men in the community, both with regard to the
decision making process surrounding marriage and bride price (dej) and
matters of property. Despite such freedom, the prevalence of a patriarchal
structure is widespread (Sahoo, 2013: 103). According to Mosse (2005:
57), in a Bhil society, ‘women are rather than have property’. They are the
economic assets of the male lineage, who are bought through marriage
and bride price to work on men’s land. Mosse further notes that:
even when the husband of the woman dies, she still remains
‘property’ of the lineage and would, as matter of preference (though
not strict obligation), marry the husband’s younger brother. If she
leaves to live with another man, her husband’s kin will come and
demand compensation.
Despite being treated as property, the women still play a major role
in sustaining the household. They work day and night in the agricultural
fields and even go to the city to work as daily labourers. It is the woman
who is responsible for arranging food for the family, whether or not the
husband contributes. In order to earn for the family, tribal men commute
to the city every day for work, but while returning home they spend half
or even all their wages on alcohol and other bad habits. They return
home drunk, demand food and even abuse and torture their wives over
trivial matters. For the Pentecostals, such behaviour of the husbands in
a samsarik family11 [people who believe in Hinduism] is ‘the handiwork
of the Satan’ (saitan usko ulti buddhi deta). They emphasise that once
someone becomes a believer, the saitan will not be able to influence
his/her life. Many tribal women thus visit the church to find solace.
Aaron (2009: 109), in his study of the Dangs, found that ‘deliverance
from alcohol addiction ranks next to healing as a cause for allegiance
to Christianity, particularly among women, who readily accept Christ
after their husbands give up drinking. The change yields dual benefits,
bringing familial calm and freeing up savings’. Bauman (2015: 82)
argues that ‘Pentecostal healers are [also] considered particularly skilled
at addressing the underlying spiritual and personality sources of family
dysfunction, a skill that [might] have particular appeal to women, who
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are often disproportionately affected by such dysfunction’. Binni Bai tells

the story of her husband’s recent reformation:
I had a lot of problems; my husband used to drink a lot of alcohol.
He had health problems; we got medicines from the doctor. After
we became believers (biswas mein ane ke baad), he quit drinking. But
after some years, he became influenced by samsari log who told him
that nothing would happen [if you drink]. Then he started drinking
again a lot. I prayed to the Lord, ‘Oh lord! You are omniscient; You
are the one who will reform him’. He did not change for long time.
Whatever he earned, he used to spend on drinking with his friends;
he did not give anything for home expenses; instead he returned
home drunk in the evening and demanded food. But recently [for
the last four months], he has quit drinking. He now says that he
will not touch alcohol again. Now he gives money for running the
household; buys vegetables, spends for the education of all three
children; brings things that we lack at home; now he does everything,
whatever is required.
Binni Bai’s testimony shows that it has been a little difficult for her
husband to reform, but the result has been positive. However, in some
cases, the converts fail to break with previous practices and their belief
system, which Birgit Meyer (1998: 318) refers to as ‘sliding back’ or
‘relapsing’ into ‘heathendom’. In the case of Binni Bai’s husband, when he
was influenced by samsarik people, he behaved irresponsibly and spent
all his earnings in alcohol and bad company and, as a consequence, the
family suffered. However, with his recent change of heart, he has been
behaving as a responsible husband, takes care of his family and looks after
the well-being of his children. He no longer abuses his wife and there is
peace, love and happiness in the family.
Similar to Binni Bai’s husband, some male converts find it difficult
to reform completely and sometimes return to alcohol consumption
and other habits. Bernice Martin (2003: 56) has rightly noted that ‘the
greater propensity for backsliding among male converts suggest that
women stand to gain more and that men find the cost of the benefits they
gain higher than they can always sustain’. Interactions with tribal men
107
and women illustrate that the percentage of men who continue drinking
after conversion is very low; they have even significantly reduced their
alcohol intake. Most women, however, said that their husbands have
quit drinking and other bad habits. For example, Sima Bai said that her
husband does not drink alcohol and is not involved in any kind of bad
activities; he behave sresponsibly towards the family. He loves and cares
for her and the children; also, he is very supportive of her visiting the
church. Since he goes every day to the city to work, he often misses the
church services, but he comes to Sunday prayers and sometimes to the
evening bhajan meetings.
In most cases, the women visit the church first and become believers
and then their husbands follow them. For example, Ratu Bai’s husband,
who was a strong believer of Hindu gods and goddesses and had gone to
a faraway city to work, became convinced on hearing about the cure of
his daughter-in-law through a postcard and accepted Ishu Masih as his
saviour and almighty Lord. Similarly, Poorvi Bai’s husband who used to
be a bhopa gave up the shamanic practices and adopted Ishu Masih as the
saviour. As Poorvi Bai tells it:
My first husband used to drink and beat me, but he died of illness.
Then, I became a believer and within two years my parents got me
married to my present husband. His previous wife had also died. He
had three sons and one daughter from the previous marriage. I now
live with him. We love and take care of each other. I also love the
children. The daughter was not well; I had taken her to the hospital
and just returned. I am praying for her. Tomorrow I will again take
her to the hospital. When I remarried my husband he was not a
believer; he was a bhopa. But, later he came with me to the church and
became a believer. He gave up the shamanic practices, abandoned
idol worship (murthi puja chhod diya). He does not drink. Now, he
prays and believes in God (woh bahut biswas karte hai aur prarthana
dua bhi karte hai). When I am not at home and someone sick visits,
he prays for them and asks for the Lord’s blessings. The Lord has
transformed him (Malik ne badal diya).
The Pentecostal church strictly forbids alcohol drinking, smoking,
tambakhu chewing and other bad habits among its followers. Robert
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Hefner (2013: 10) has argued that ‘some of the most subjectively
demanding prohibitions take aim at men. Their pre-conversion privileges
are represented as sins and misdeeds indulged at the expense of their
female partner and children’. The man is ‘morally disciplined’ not only by
his wife but also by the church and is required to ‘maintain a state of inner
purity necessary to receive empowerment from the Holy Spirit’. Hefner
(2013: 9) refers to this process of moral disciplining in Pentecostalism as
‘ethical subject formation’. As a result of such disciplining of tribal male
behaviour, physical torture, beatings and verbal abuse by drunkenness
have been eliminated to a large extent. The relationship between husband
and wife has improved significantly at home. The male converts seem
more concerned about and responsible for their families. Many of these
changes in their attitude and behaviour have occurred after they started
going to the church and became believers. The gifts of the Spirit such as
love, compassion and understanding have influenced both husbands and
wives. The Pentecostal church emphasises that both husband and wife
are equal and their lives must be governed by love and trust rather than
by conflict and abuse.
Besides alcohol drinking, the patriarchal system of polygamy is widely
practiced in the tribal community, which worsens the condition of
women. Many tribal men have extra-marital affairs, elope with a girl, or
bring in a new wife. Such practices intensify conflict within the family
and worsen the relationship between husband and wife. It is the woman
who is blamed for the man’s behaviour. Similar to Roberts’ observation
in slums of Chennai, tribal culture also holds women responsible for their
own suffering. However, the Pentecostal church strongly prohibits the
practice of polygamy among its believers and emphasises a life based
on purity and morality. Discussions on fidelity, faithfulness, morality
and ethical values dominate the preachings in church. Pentecostalism
‘shifts the terms of moral responsibility in such a way that women are
no longer held to blame for their own condition’ (Roberts, 2017: 284).
The husbands are taught to become loving, remain faithful to their wives
and become responsible for their families; the women are taught to trust
their husbands and become loving and caring towards their families. Both
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men and women are advised to lead the life of a ‘good Christian’. The
Pentecostals believe that there are two kinds of Christians: ‘nominal’
Christians are Christian by birth but do not follow ‘Christian values and
morals’, whereas ‘pure’or ‘good’ Christians live their life as per the Bible.
According to Pastor Kala, ‘morality and values are quite important to
Pentecostals. Without the values of love and compassion, Christianity
will not be considered Christianity; it will lose its essence’.12
As a consequence of such teachings, the relationship between husband
and wife in Pentecostal households, compared to the tribal Hindu
households, is more equal. Because of this ‘gender-egalitarian impulse’
of Pentecostalism, women enjoy more freedom and autonomy and
their movement is not restricted as is usual in Hindu tribal households
(Anderson, 2006: 46). Sima Bai’s testimony is important to note:
Brothers and sisters from different distant villages come to the
church; we sit here, talk to each other and listen to the words of God.
By listening to and observing each other we change our lives (ekek
ko dekhke hi jeevan badalta hai). In samsarik families women are not
allowed to go out (samsarik mein kya hai na gharse jaane bhi nahin
milta); if there is a meeting somewhere nearby they cannot attend.
But no one stops us coming to the church; even if there are meetings
in Udaipur or in Tidi or some other place far away, we go there.
In fact, in Pentecostal households, the husbands encourage and are

supportive of their wives visiting the church and participating in prayers.
Therefore, we see that church services are largely dominated by women.
The major reason for this is, as Poorvi Bai points out, ‘men go out to
work; they believe in the Lord, but come to the church less often (biswas
rakhte hai magar ate kam hai)’. She further points out that the husbands
tell their wives that ‘even if I am not there, you go to the church; if I was
there, I would come with you’.
Despite segregation in the seating arrangement, the Pentecostal
church has provided an enabling environment and actively involved
women in leadership activities, which provides them with not only a
sense of self-satisfaction but also a sense of importance – that they are
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not useless and have a role to play. According to Bauman (2015: 82),
women are ‘disproportionately drawn to Pentecostalism because at
least some Pentecostal communities afford women more opportunities
for participation in leadership and/or worship than is available in other
religious contexts’. Several women have taken up seva karya or the role
of sevikas,13 i.e. women who have vowed to serve the Lord by travelling
to different villages, giving their testimony, preaching the words of God
(susamachar prachar) and making people believe in Ishu Masih.14
Specifically, women are active in prophesy, praying, healing and Bible
study; they have formed ‘praying bands’ where they ‘spread the revival
wherever they went’ (Anderson, 2006: 39).15 For example, Sima Bai
mentioned that some sisters have created a ‘prayer group’ where they
keep a fast on Fridays and visit nearby villages and pray for people who
are ill and have problems. Similarly, Poorvi Bai has taken up seva karya.
She travels to nearby villages, meets people with problems and prays for
them. She gives testimony on how Ishu Masih has transformed her life
and thus inspires people to believe in the Lord. As a result of this work, 23
families have become believers. She testifies that:
I had no understanding of life previously; I did not know how to
speak, how to behave and how to manage life. A lot has changed
in my life after I started believing in Christ; He gave me energy
and strength and completely transformed my life. He has given
me everything; now I don’t need any money or wealth; I want to
serve the Lord (Malik ne sab diya hai; abhi dhan daulat kuch nahin
chahiye; ab to Malik ka seva kar saku). I want to pray for those who
are unhappy, who are embroiled in filth and controlled by Satan. I
want them to live a good life and benefit from the Lord the way I have
(Jo dukhi hai, kichad mein hai, saitan ki jaal mein phase hue hain, unke
liye mein dua karti hun. Mere ko jo changai mili inko bhi mil jate to yeh
bhi jeevan sahi bitate).
In addition to seva karya, the women also actively participate in prayer

services, sing bhajans, provide testimonies and play an important role in
women ministries.16 ‘These settings provide opportunities for women to
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develop public leadership skills and are often the one place in patriarchal
societies where women can forge new relations outside their kin networks
without exposing themselves to charges of immorality’ (Robbins, 2004:
132). In addition, during the prayer services, the pastors repeatedly
emphasise that both men and women are equal and there should not be
any discrimination. For example, in one of the services, the following was
mentioned:
Na Koi Yehudi, Na Koi Yunani
Na Koi Stree, Na Koi Purush
Na Koi Anyajati
Hum Sab Masih Mein Ek Hai.
The gist of this is that in ancient times people were divided on the basis
of high–low or pure–impure; women were considered inferior. But
in the church there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or
gender. All are one/equal in Christ. Hefner (2013: 4) has argued that
‘Pentecostalism’s emphasis on universal access to gifts of the Holy Spirit
provided a religious rationale for women’s participation’. According to
Pastor Kala, ours is a male-dominated society and there are debates on
whether women should take a leadership role in the church and whether
they should be ordained. For him, ‘if our Prime Minister, President and
the leader of the Congress Party can be women, why cannot women lead
the church?’
Such a positive attitude of the Pentecostal leaders and the enabling
environment provided by the church have made Pentecostalism particularly
attractive to tribal women who have been exploited and abused by the
existing indigenous patriarchal system. In particular, the single, the
abandoned, the infertile, the widowed and the old women have found
the church a place of respite where they are treated with respect and
dignity rather than with the stigma and humiliation that they experience
in their everyday lives. In addition, no one in the tribal community listens
to their problems or helps them; instead they are tortured, humiliated
and labelled as inauspicious. As one pastor said, they live a very painful
life (woh bahut tadapte hai). In this context, when local pastors or sevika
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sisters visit their homes, listen to their problems, pray for their well-being
and try to help, they become happy and hopeful and begin to visit the
church. Pastor Kala explains:
In a tribal society, because of the practice of polygamy, men marry
several times and abandon their previous wives who are stigmatised
and tortured by their in-laws. Also because of health problems, the
husbands often die, making the woman a widow at a very young age
[most tribal women marry at a very young age; child marriage is quite
prevalent]. Most of them do not remarry and are subjected to stigma
and torture. Infertile women are treated as dakan (witch). Widows
are also treated as witches, considered inauspicious and are forced
to leave the village by their in-laws so that they can grab her share
of land. These women become helpless. Sometimes these widows
are forced to get married to their husband’s younger brother. If she
refuses, she is tortured. In such situations, women find the church
very helpful; they meet people in the church who do not treat them
badly, speak about love and care and extend a helping hand. They
find here a family and a community.
The above testimonies shed light on two important aspects: first,

compared to the pre-conversion period, which witnessed conflict and
unhappiness within the family, the post-conversion period is marked
by an improved relationship between husband and wife. Both of them
love, care for and respect each other. There are also significant changes
in the behaviour and attitudes of the husbands, most of whom have
given up drinking and become more responsible towards the family.
This corroborates the results of a survey of converts to Pentecostalism
in India, which pointed out that more than half the respondents faced
problems within their families before becoming Pentecostal, but 77 per
cent reported experiencing greater familial love and harmony afterwards
(Bauman, 2015: 113). Second, the church has provided an enabling
and supportive environment to tribal women, specifically the single, the
widowed, the infertile, the abandoned and the old who are stigmatised
and tortured in their everyday lives. In the church, they are treated
with dignity and respect. Pentecostalism has thus enhanced women’s
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freedom, autonomy and dignity and proven extremely empowering for

them within tribal society.
Socio-economic well-being
Sociological studies of the effects of conversion on economic status are
inconclusive; while some have argued that the status of converts has risen,
others have shown that it has not (Berger, 2010; Robbins, 2004: 136).
My interviews with tribal women, however, reveal that during the post-
conversion period, they have experienced significant improvements in
their socio-economic and material conditions. Prior to their conversion,
their life was controlled by evil spirits and saitans who troubled and
exploited them. Life was very hard and they were afflicted with extreme
poverty and illness; it was difficult to meet even the basic necessities of
life. While it is true that the interviewed women could still be considered
poor in terms of economic status, they note that they currently live a
much better life. They seem happy and believe that it has been possible
because of the blessings of the Lord. As Sabri Bai testifies:
The Lord has done a lot of miracles in my life. He has recovered
me from illness; I had previously no money, no cloth and no proper
house to live in. I spent all my money in curing illness by going to
hospital and to bhopas and sacrificing goats and roosters. All my
money was eaten up by the saitan (sare paisa nuskan saitan chhuuda
ke khaya). Now the Lord has given me new energy and enlightened
my life (abhi parameshwar ne mujhe nayi shakti diya hai; nayi buddhi
diya hai). Now I go out to work; earn money. I have saved around
15,000 rupees in the bank. I have money, clothes and have also built
a new house. The Lord has improved my life.
By ‘becoming a believer’ they have been able to cast away the evil;
their belief has also brought many intended and unintended positive
consequences to their life. They believe that there will be no difficulties in
life as long as they believe in the power of the almighty Ishu Masih; He will
save them from all adverse situations. Poorvi Bai provided testimonies on
the changes that have occurred in her life. As she commented:
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BECOMING BELIEVERS
After I became a believer, a lot has changed in my life – in food and

clothing. Previously, we did not have enough clothes; there was
no food at home – there was extreme poverty, but now there is no
poverty (mere jeevan mein bahut parivartan aya hai – khane pine se,
odhne pedhne se. Pehle to ek kapde bhi nahin milte the; pehle to bahut
garibayee thi, par abhi to koi garibayee nahi). Whatever we feel like
eating, we can get it; whatever clothes we feel like wearing, we can
buy it. Now the harvest is good – we have a well; I also have two male
goats (bakra), three female goats (bakri), two cows, one buffalo and
four calves. A lot has changed in my life; the Lord has given me His
blessings (Malik ne bahut ashish diya hai).
When I asked how she managed to achieve all this, Poorvi Bai replied
that this is all due to the blessings of the almighty (sab Malik ne diya hai;
Malik ne mere sab jaroorat aur ichha ko puri kiya hai). I probed further to
find out if she had asked God for these things. Poorvi Bai answered in the
affirmative and pointed out that she had asked God because she needed
them (Malik mujhe do, yeh sab mujhe jaroorat hai). According to her, it is
written in the Bible that ‘if you ask something of God in full faith, it will
be fulfilled; if you knock at His door, it will be opened’.
Similarly, Sabri Bai emphasises that Ishu Masih is all-powerful and can
do miracles in the life of believers. In contrast, she finds Hindu gods and
goddesses demanding and exploitative. As she comments:
If you ask [Ishu Masih], you will get; if you search, you will find. If
you knock at the door, it will open. Parameshwar [Ishu Masih] saves
us from all difficulties and troubles – from all accidents. But Hindu
gods and goddesses – some demand goats, some roosters, some
coconuts, some incense sticks and many more; they ask you to do
large rituals of worship (aur Hindu devtehai – woh to bakra mangte
hai, koi murga mangta hai, koi naariyal mangta hai, koi agarbati
mangta hai, bahut kuch; puja paath karte hai). I believe in Lord Ishu
Masih and he is always with me (mein Parameshwar ka biswas karun
aur Parameshwar mera saath hai). He does not demand anything; if
you have one rupee, you can donate. If you don’t have any money,
pray and tell him, ‘Oh, Lord, I am not finding any work, please give
me work’ (khali ek rupiah hai to daan bhet karo; agar nahi hai to Malik
115
ko bolo, hey Malik mujhe kaam nahin mil raha hai, tu kaam de). He
will give you work. Even if you ask Him for vehicles or a house, He
can give you. Whatever you ask, He will give you (Malik ko gaadi
mango gaadi de deta hai, ghar mango ghar de deta hai; jo mango woh
deta hai).
Not just Sabri Bai but also most women pointed out that whenever they
have some difficulties or need, they don’t initially know how to solve it,
but eventually it gets solved. For them, ‘the Lord always shows the way’.
The converted women have also developed a ‘community of sisterhood’
where the tribal women help and listen to each other; share each other’s
sorrow and happiness; they also go to the houses of the sick and pray for
them. They are bound by love, compassion, trust and reciprocity, which
Durkheim would refer to as strong community solidarity or ‘collective
conscience’. Unlike mainline Protestant churches where personal
‘success’ is considered as a sign of God’s idea of being a ‘chosen one’, the
Pentecostals have emphasised that individual success is not for personal
gain but for the well-being of others in the community. Converts are
encouraged to help others, so that in return the Lord will help them in
future. Describing the nature of the relationship among the women,
Poorvi Bai says that ‘the relationship amongst the women is stronger
(mahilaon mein sampark badhta hai); we pray together. When someone
is unwell or is in trouble, we pray together and they become well (milke
prarthana dua karte hai uske liye to Malik changai turant dete hai). We are
strongly bound by our faith (biswas mein majhboot hai)’.
Sunil Bhai, a local pastor, describes how he has observed changes in the
lives of the tribal people after they started coming to the church. For him,
conversion has brought ‘life transforming’ changes, not just economic
but also social and cultural, in the tribal community. As he comments:
When the non-converts visit the city, you will see that they are
wearing torn clothes. Their children are not clean. But when they
believe in Christ and become a part of this Pentecostal community
(jab yeh log ish sangati mein ate hai), then you see a significant change
in their dress, in the food and clothing of their children. They have
learnt to wash their hands with Dettol before eating and to brush
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BECOMING BELIEVERS
their teeth. Now they buy toothpaste and brush their teeth. These
practices were not followed before. After they became a part of this
community, there have been changes in the way they talk, behave
and cook their food. Now you will see their utensils are clean, their
houses are clean, everything has changed. When a family comes to
the church for the first time, you will see them with torn clothes.
When you see them the second time, there will be better clothes.
When you see them the third time, their clothes will be very clean,
even cleaner than ours. These changes are a consequence of their
conversion (woh prabhu Ishu Masih ke baton ko grahan karne ke baad
yeh badlaab ata hai). Previously, they used to cry out of pessimism
(pehele kya hota tha na woh nirashapan se rote the). But when the
Lord touches their lives, they become filled with happiness, their
children become happy. Then, there is also change in their manners,
clothing and behaviour. The whole village gets transformed (gaon ka
parivartan ho jaata hai).17
These testimonies show that conversion has brought life-transforming
changes in the socio-economic conditions of tribal women and men.
They have reformed their lives and everyday practices. The blessings
of the Lord have brought miracles and improved their lives. While the
pre-conversion period was marked by extreme poverty and an unclean,
unhygienic life, the post-conversion period witnessed improved socio-
economic well-being.
Conclusion
It is evident from the above discussion that the local Pentecostal church
has played an important role in the everyday life of poor tribal women in
south Rajasthan. All the interviewed women denied that they received
any material incentives or allurements. In fact, what attracted them to the
church are their new-found faith, blessings from Ishu Masih and moral
support from the church; these have provided the tribal women with
the courage and confidence to face any adverse situation in life. Their
testimonies show that in spite of being aware of the consequences, tribal
women took deliberate decisions to convert to Pentecostalism. Such a
117
decision on their part was influenced by two factors: first, the inability
and ineffectiveness not just of the indigenous (Hindu) belief system(the
bhopas) but also of modern medicine (the hospitals) to treat their
illnesses and diseases; in fact, both the bhopas and the modern hospital
system turned out to be exploitative and oppressive. Second, having been
disillusioned by the bhopas and the hospitals, the tribal women came
to the church as their last resort. The church to their pleasant surprise
turned out to be effective, non-exploitative, caring and compassionate.
The Pentecostal church also provided hope and optimism for a better
social and economic life.
This change was not just in an abstract sense; most women testified
that their lives have been positively transformed by the ‘blessings’ of the
Lord. They have undergone spiritual transformation and, as a result,
during the post-conversion period, they have experienced faith healing
from deadly diseases. They also pointed out that in the post-conversion
period the relationship between the husband and the wife improved and
they have experienced significant changes in gender relations within the
family and outside, particularly in the church. The church supported
the women, created an enabling environment for them and often even
used moral pressure on their husbands to reform. The husbands quit
drinking and smoking and reformed their attitude and behaviour towards
their wives. As a consequence, conflict and abuse in the family caused
by alcoholism has largely been eliminated. The husbands became more
responsible and concerned about their family and children. This has not
only brought peace, love and care into the family but also improved the
socio-economic and material conditions of the family. Since the men
no longer spent their wages on alcohol or tobacco, the family has ample
resources to buy food, clothing and other household necessities and send
their children to school.
All these changes have occurred as a result of ‘blessings’ from the
Lord. The evil spirit, which tormented their lives until their conversion,
has disappeared. The Holy Spirit has touched their lives and brought
many miracles and, as a consequence, their lives are now filled with
love, compassion, trust, understanding and care for others; they now
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BECOMING BELIEVERS
live a blessed life (pavitra jeevan). Such life-transforming spiritual and

material changes do not just defy the ‘materialist incentive hypothesis’
of conversion; they also stand as testimonies and credible explanations
of why tribal women take a deliberate decision, in spite of knowing the
adverse consequences, to ‘become believers’ of Pentecostalism and
‘make a break’ with the traditional belief system that they followed for
generations.
119

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4

In December 2011, when I first attended prayer meetings in Pentecostal

According to such discourses, material incentives influence both the

Survey of the literature

in Pentecostalism in the context of Latin America and Africa.While the

Gender equality and women empowerment

pleasure of men and which has called an end to the long-tolerated

Broadly, Martin sees Pentecostalism as a transformative mechanism

Hollingsworth and Browning (2010) have argued that Pentecostalism is

experiences mediated the suffering endured in their marital relationships’

than affliction, makes women’s efforts to speak about their domestic

Women and Pentecostalism in India

Spirit” and others experiencing a burning sensation said to evidence their

Both these studies have focused on Dalit Pentecostal women in slum

The conversion experience

interviewees had converted to Pentecostalism because of physical illness

When I was a believer of Hinduism, I was very unhappy; we used to

Changes in male-female relations

are often disproportionately affected by such dysfunction’. Binni Bai tells

In fact, in Pentecostal households, the husbands encourage and are

In addition to seva karya, the women also actively participate in prayer

The above testimonies shed light on two important aspects: first,

freedom, autonomy and dignity and proven extremely empowering for

After I became a believer, a lot has changed in my life – in food and

live a blessed life (pavitra jeevan). Such life-transforming spiritual and

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