Bible translator and anthropologist Dan Shaw joins us to discuss his book Singing Samo Songs: From Shaman to Pastor, drawn from over 50 years of work among the Samo people in Papua New Guinea.

In this conversation, Shaw reflects on how scripture became embedded in Samo life—not just through translation, but through singing, storytelling, and cultural ritual.

We explore how indigenous communities engage faith on their own terms, touching on themes of hybridity, contextualization, and the intersection of anthropology and mission.

What does it mean to recognize the Spirit at work in unfamiliar expressions of Christianity? And how is Christian identity shaped by the cultures that receive it?

The Book

In Singing Samo Songs: From Shaman to Pastor, Daniel Shaw examines how spiritual authority, cultural memory, and communal identity are expressed through music among the Samo people of Papua New Guinea. Structured around periods of social change and the ritual of kandila (initiation), the book traces shifts in song traditions—from ancestral chants to blended forms of praise—revealing how local meanings emerge in response to both internal dynamics and external pressures. Drawing on decades of fieldwork, Shaw offers a nuanced account of indigenous theological reflection and the continuity between traditional and pastoral roles in Samo society.

Listeners of Missiology Shelf can get 25% off Singing Samo Songs from Carolina Academic Press using the code SAMO24 at checkout. Visit cap-press.com to order.

Our Guest

R. Daniel Shaw is Senior Professor of Anthropology and Translation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Shaw holds a PhD from the University of Papua New Guinea and has worked extensively in the Bosavi region of Papua New Guinea, where he served with Wycliffe Bible Translators for over a decade among the Samo people. Since joining Fuller in 1982, he has helped shape the seminary’s programs in Bible translation and contextual missiology and currently directs doctoral-level initiatives across the Pacific region.

Shaw’s research focuses on social and cognitive anthropology, contextual theology, and the anthropology of mission, with particular interest in how cultural forms mediate Christian belief and practice. He has authored and edited numerous works, including Kandila: Samo Ceremonialism and Interpersonal Relationships (1990), From Longhouse to Village: Samo Social Change (1995), Communicating God’s Word in a Complex World: God’s Truth or Hocus-Pocus? (2003, with Charles Van Engen), and Traditional Ritual as Christian Worship: Case Studies from Around the World (2018, co-edited with William R. Burrows). A lifetime fellow of the American Anthropological Association and recipient of the American Society of Missiology’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2022), Shaw continues to contribute to scholarly and applied conversations at the intersection of culture, language, and mission theology.

Credits

Hosted by Martin Rodriguez 

Produced by Martin Rodriguez