ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the Catholic catechists, and indicates some differences which the Protestant organization shows. The catechist's presence is a mark of the identity of the village. The catechetical school is the only institution which groups people of different domestic groups on a village-wide basis, and in which people participate in a wider set of social relations on a village and not on an individual basis, as people are linked to kinsmen, or to the post or to an employer. The catechist does not have much authority of his own; his personal role is that of a teacher and leader of prayers. There are other ways in which the catechist represents his village. The post may impose certain responsibilities; thus the catechist may be told to record all live births in the village for the purposes of official statistics. The sense of responsibility which the catechist feels for his village is sometimes counterbalanced by his lack of effective power.
