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<abstract xmlns="http://eprints.org/ep2/data/2.0">This thesis on the interaction between Mizo traditional culture and Christianity proceeds in the following five steps: &#13;
Firstly, Hnatlang practices are introduced, analyzed and identified as the principle of Mizo pre-Christian socio-cultural, political, economical, and religious development.&#13;
Secondly, it is argued that the Mizo nation embraced and appropriated Christianity based on the cognitive framework of Hnatlang which, in turn, shaped their understanding of church and mission. &#13;
Thirdly, it is proposed that a profound process of indigenous "translation", namely, by giving Hnatlang a central place in Christian understanding, was the major factor of indigenous church growth. This interpretation challenges the perspective that church growth in Mizoram was simply the fruit of the missionaries. &#13;
Fourthly, it is shown that the application of the Hnatlang principle in the mission work of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church outside Mizoram led to significant friction and cultural dislocation in the (non-Mizo) target cultures in which the Mizo-s are agents the new "European missionaries" in India (Mizo missionaries act in the same manner as most of the European missionaries). &#13;
Finally, the thesis offers a theological and missiological critique of Hnatlang practices.</abstract>
