ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the personal consequences of religious change in a Toraja village, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It describes how Toraja villagers traditionally define and respond to wrongdoing and then examines their ambivalent reactions to alternatives suggested by Christianity. The chapter argues that studies which attempt to evaluate the relative costs and benefits of religious change should specify the subjectively perceived "fit" between old and new religious conceptions. It examines the manner in which individuals use cultural symbols and institutions to make sense of their everyday experience. The chapter discusses the Toraja setting, including a historical note on the introduction of Christianity to the South Sulawesi highlands. Nene'na Tandi says that such a perfunctory examination of the wrongdoer allows Christians to "hide their mistakes in their pockets" and he implies that this lack of rigor leaves open the possibility of continued illness and punishment, since the sick person is not forced to reveal his or her mistakes under intensive examination.
