Edward Winter Clark (E. W. Clark) (February 25, 1830 – March 18, 1913) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

. Clark is known for his pioneering missionary work in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

and for his work on transcribing the spoken

Ao language The Ao language is a Naga language spoken by the Ao Naga in Nagaland of northeast India. Ao language cluster '' Ethnologue'' lists the following varieties of Ao. * Mongsen Khari *Changki * Chongli (Chungli) *Dordar (Yacham) *Longla Chongli and ...

into a written script. Clark created the first bilingual dictionary of the Ao language and along with his wife, Mary Mead Clark, set up the first school in the Naga hills region of North-East India. Clark documented their experience in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

and the Naga Hills in ''A Corner in India''. The Clarks are buried in the Island Cemetery in the town of Amenia in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later orga ...

Early life

Clark was born on February 25, 1830, in North East, New York, and baptized into the Baptist faith at age 14. He attended

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

from 1839 to 1841, earned his master's degree from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1857, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a preacher in 1859. Mary Mead was born in

Amenia, New York Amenia is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 4,436 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern border of the county. History Amenia is one of the original towns formed by act of March 7, 1788. It compris ...

Ministry in Nagaland

On receiving permission, Clark moved to Molungkimong in March 1876 (an

Ao Naga The Ao Nagas are a major Naga ethnic group native to Mokokchung District of Nagaland, Northeast India. Their main territory is from Tsüla (Dikhu) Valley in the east to Tsürang (Disai) Valley in the west in Mokokchung District. The Ao Nagas ...

village in the

Mokokchung district Mokokchung District (Pron:/ˌməʊkɒkˈtʃʌŋ/) is a districts of Nagaland, district of Nagaland state in India. The town of Mokokchung is its headquarters. The district is the home of the Ao Nagas. It is bounded by the state of Assam to its ...

) and lived there until October 24, 1876. Molung (Molungyimsen) is the first Christian village in Nagaland because this is the first village formed with Christian prayers. It was in Molungyimsen that the first Naga Christian Association was held. Molungyimsen is also known as the Cradle of Education because the first school in Nagaland was established in Molung (Molungyimsen) in 1878. The first book in Nagaland was written and printed in Molungyimsen. In 1894 Clark moved the Naga Mission Center to Impur which is now known as the Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (

Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang The Nagaland Baptist Church Council is a Baptist Christian organization based in Nagaland, India. It is affiliated with the Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India and the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is located in Kohima, th ...

). In 1905 Clark saw a record one hundred and ninety baptisms. The work was truly blessed of God but Clark saw that better days were yet ahead. The Nagas were well aware that to accept Christianity would mean drastic changes in their social life. "Adherents of the old, cruel faith were quick to see that the gospel of peace and love would rapidly empty their skull houses and put to rout most of the old customs handed down from forefathers, for whom they held the greatest reverence. The missionaries presence and his teaching had spread like wildfire from mountain peak to peak and everywhere was fostered the suspicious spirit. Clark died on March 18, 1913 at age 83."

Legacy

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

brought an end to the practice of headhunting and destroyed most of the traditional culture and oral knowledge of the various Naga tribes. Clark's vision for a Christian Nagaland came true, with the high price of destroying the Naga's indigenous culture though it has advantages like marking end to cruelty like headhuning. By 1980 the Naga population was 572,742 and the Baptist population was 185,987. Today the

Census of India The decennial Census of India has been conducted 16 times, as of 2021. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881. Post 1949, it has been conducted by ...

, puts the numbers of Christians to more than 90% of the population of Nagaland thus making it, with

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...

and

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

, one of the three Christian-majority states in India and the only state where Christians form 90% of the population. Nagaland is known as "the only predominantly Baptist state in the world."

References

Bibliography

*Kijung L. Ao, Nokinketer Muncgchen (Impur: Nagaland, Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang, 1972) *A. C. Bowers, Under Headhunters' Eyes (Philadelphia: Judson Press, 1929) *F. S. Downs, Christianity in North East India (Delhi, Ispeck: 1976) *Tegenfelt, A Century of Growth

External links

*
Clark – Missionary to Naga of India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Edward Winter 1830 births 1913 deaths Baptist missionaries from the United States Baptist missionaries in India Indian Protestants American evangelists Headhunting accounts and studies Mokokchung American expatriates in India 19th-century Baptists Brown University alumni Worcester Academy alumni