Religious Conflict

While Pagans and Christians debate fervently in Buguias, disputes seldom escalate into open confrontations. At present, leaders of both groups stress mutual respect and seek slow, deliberate change. Relations were more strained in earlier years, with tensions peaking in the 1960s after a Catholic priest hurled to the ground a sacred

Pagan marker, decrying it as the devil's sign. The incensed Pagan community responded with threats, both physical and legal. Later priests acted with more tact, and by the 1970s the two groups had reached an unsteady rapprochement. It is primarily the Jehovah's Witnesses who still occasionally infuriate Pagans, for they alone doggedly try to convert uninterested persons.

The most intense religious struggles occur upon the death of an individual survived by both Pagan and Christian offspring. Unless the deceased leaves explicit funeral instructions—and sometimes even if she or he does—the children may quarrel over the ceremony's religious content. The entire community can become involved in the ensuing arguments and intrigue. According to the resident Catholic priest, Pagan survivors have attempted on several occasions to hide death shrouds in Christian coffins.

Pagans generally respect Christian beliefs, but they nevertheless heavily pressure some converts to return to the fold, willing to accept them as fellow Pagans even if they wish to remain "part-time Christians." Elite family descendants form a particular target, since Pagans believe that even powerful ancestors may falter if denied full homage. The errant cousin or sibling may be reminded time and again of a parent's wish to be honored in the afterlife, of their family's pride and position, and of the need to follow precedent. If such entreaties are unsuccessful, relatives may threaten to deny the recalcitrant couple future business loans. As a result, even confessed Christians occasionally, if grudgingly, celebrate prestige feasts.