Parity lost

Abstract

Following Bakhtin (e.g., [1999] 1984, 184), dialogue studies have assumed at least some form of parity between dialogic participants. But what happens when parity is significantly disrupted or lost entirely? In this report of cultural practice among the Hobongan living on the island of Borneo, I examine the results of lost parity on traditional Hobongan and Christian-influenced cultural practices. The Hobongan typically acknowledge the lack of parity and ignore it, or they accept the lack of parity and try to rejoin polyphony through conversion. Syncretism presents a more complex case because dialogue remains possible: both Hobongan and Christian-influenced practices are combined to avoid unpleasant dialogues.