Paper short abstract

The purpose of this research is to delineate the history and development of the Catholic missions among Parkaris, with particular reference to the different stages and trends in the process of acculturation.

Paper long abstract

The tribal communities of Sindh (Kohlis) represent by themselves a minority within a minority; they are non-nomadic communities with a bhakti-like background, settled in small villages, mostly in the Pakistani desert region of Thar. Those who converted to Christianity can be considered comparatively young Christians, having the first missions been started only in early 40's. Within "tribal" Christianity, the process of acculturation has obviously played a very central role; for instance, although an attempt to develop local iconography has been made, it has never been really implemented; on the contrary, local rites enforced by the clergy are greatly influenced by local customes and usances, which for many aspects highly differ from those of "mainstream" Church of the Country.

Through an analytic study of written and oral sources, mostly focused on the documents preserved in the diocesan archives of Hyderabad, in the archives of the Saint John the Baptist Custody of Pakistan of the Franciscan Order and to other minor written sources, and on a series of interviews based on qualitative method, the purpose of this research is to delineate the history and development of the Catholic missions among Parkaris, with particular reference to the different stages and trends in the process of acculturation.