ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines how Indian tribal reading of the Bible resists the dominance of Sanskritic philosophy in Indian biblical interpretation and challenges modes of reading that are rooted in Western intellectual tradition. Tribal biblical interpretation is an attempt to make Scripture understandable to tribal people by reading the text directly and honestly as tribal people. This chapter proposes three principles for tribal biblical interpretation: (a) decolonizing the Bible, (b) espousing a marginal perspective and (c) reading with new eyes. As an example, three passages from the New Testament are read to show how a tribal reader might read the Bible with new eyes: Mt. 2.23 where Jesus is derogatorily named the ‘Nazoraean’; Jn 10.11 where Jesus is called the Good Shepherd and Lk. 24.42-43 where the resurrected Jesus eats a piece of broiled fish.
