Christianity, colonialism, and cross-cultural translation: Lancelot Threlkeld, Biraban, and the Awabakal

Abstract

This essay aims to reconstruct a cross-cultural conversation about sacred matters between Lancelot Threlkeld, a missionary with the London Missionary Society (LMS), and Biraban, a leading man of the Awabakal of eastern Australia. Between 1825 and 1841, Threlkeld devoted himself to learning the language of the Awabakal in hopes of converting them to Christianity, while Biraban, his principal language teacher, helped him translate Christian concepts and educated him about Awabakal traditions. The records of their endeavours are preserved, albeit in an edited and fragmented form, in the missionary's grammars, vocabularies and Scriptural translations. A close examination of these linguistic texts reveals, in outline, the dynamics of a complex, multi-faceted exchange. Read carefully-and in conjunction with Threlkeld's other writings-these texts yield new insights into the cross-cultural translation and indigenous reception of Christianity during an early period of British colonisation. 1