Chapter 15, Meeting in the Manhouse Summary and Analysis

As Richardson make his way to the manhouse for an attempt to share his first sermon with the Sawi, he describes some problems with translating. Each Sawi verb has nineteen tenses to indicate mood, and even more to indicate point of view. At this time, Richardson only knows one third of the tenses. In addition, every object in nature communicates. The Sawi have words for the way a flower smells and the ways certain things sound.

Mulling over all these problems, Richardson climbs up into the manhouse. He wonders how such a seemingly simple society developed such a complex language. He respects the Sawi men for their knowledge of many things, such as language and nature. The Sawi, however, only had a superstitious belief in the spiritual world. They feared many petty gods...