Christianity and the Tribal Societies of North East India by Thomas Kochuthara provides readers with detailed and precise descriptions and narration of North East India’s Christianization. This treatise on anthropology and religion, takes readers through the different tribes’ lives and analyses their relationship with Christianity and the western or “evolved” world. In addition to that, positive aspects like the spread of education and negative aspects like the loss or contamination of tribal identity are analyzed and related to different generations and their point of view. The introduction to the different tribes then leads us through a reflection on the effects of this new religion on the north-eastern population.

Kochutara writes beautifully with long descriptions and his work shows the research and effort behind the pages. This aspect doesn’t usually come out in books, but as we’re talking about a treatise instead of a novel, it is a significant aspect that will show the author’s in-depth research.

As a reader keen on details, I appreciated the abundance of minutiae and the new information given in every paragraph can surely catch the reader’s attention. While I appreciated the details in the book I felt that there was quite a long lists of ancestors and tribes, and I think readers that are not familiar with Sanskrit will have a hard time reading them. In any case, through the course of the book the list of names leaves room for deeper reflections.

However, I appreciated the focus on the single tribes and the detailed narration that accompanied them, making the reader feel almost as part of the tribe itself and most importantly making everyone understand the importance of identity in a tribe.

The detail that makes this book interesting to younger generations is the importance given to current topics, such as gender equality and global warming. These themes represent a connection between the reader and the book, but most importantly between the reader and those tribes whose names might sound distant and unfamiliar.

Christianity and the Tribal Societies of North East India by Thomas Kochuthara provides readers with an in-depth and comprehensive piece of literature on both Indian tribes’ culture and Christianity in general. This is a highly enlightening book that I found to be engaging and informative.

Pages: 492 | ISBN: 9791220104500