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J erusalem and M alaita: The Visions and Prophecies of G eorge U mai of W est K wara'ae, M alaita, S olomon I slands
Author(s) -
Brown Terry M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1834-4461
pISSN - 0029-8077
DOI - 10.1002/ocea.5109
Subject(s) - vision , theocracy , george (robot) , religious studies , theology , history , ancient history , philosophy , art history , islam
In this paper I examine the visions and teachings of G eorge U mai (c.1938–1998), an A nglican lay leader of W est K wara'ae, M alaita, S olomon I slands. In his prophecies, U mai traced M alaitans, S olomon Islanders, and many other O ceanic peoples to his ancestors who he claimed fled from J erusalem to M alaita in CE 62. According to U mai, they brought the A rk of the C ovenant from the J erusalem T emple to K wara'ae, M alaita where they buried it. I examine U mai's vision of the A rk of the C ovenant and its apocalyptic and theocratic significance for M alaita and the world. In U mai's visions, teachings, and practice, M alaitan, J ewish, and C hristian genealogy, apocalypse, and theocracy came together in a distinctive ethno‐theology that paralleled similar and prefigured later religious movements in M alaita but was too idiosyncratic to sustain.