‘Mission Transcultural’ : Reception and appropriation of missionary strategies of the Jesuits in Paraguay by the Benedictines in St. Ottilien

This study examines how the German Benedictine Order of St. Otillien, who advanced into German East Africa in the late 19th century, accepted and appropriated the Jesuit mission strategy to Paraguay of the 17th century while revising its missionary strategy in the early 20th century. This is a case study that investigates the ‘mission transcultural’, the intercultural interaction that took place between missionaries and natives and countries in Europe across time and space. The Jesuits in Paraguay in the 17th and 18th centuries and the Benedictines in German East Africa in the early 20th century basically aimed at the same goal: Christianization and European civilizing of the indigenous peoples. Ultimately, the goal was to transplant European religion and culture, so it was a one-sided imposition of European culture, but in the process of achieving that goal, interaction between cultures was bound to occur. In order to win the hearts of native people, it was necessary for missionsaries to learn their languages and have a deep understanding of their cultures, including their beliefs and lifestyles. The natives responded by rejecting the missionaries' settlement offers or accepting them only in unavoidable circumstances. Both the missionaries and the natives ‘approached the other’ for different reasons, as a result, they became ‘marginal people’ or ‘others’ that were somewhat different from their previously held cultural identities. In this way, it can be said that various ‘mission transculturals’ were carried out over a long period of time surrounding Christian missions among missionaries of Europe and natives on continents outside of Europe, and among countries within Europe such as Germany, France, and Spain.