Ennio Mantovani, a Divine Word Missionary, was born in Italy, studied philosophy and theology at St. Gabriel’s near Vienna and in 1962 obtained a doctorate at the Gregorian University in Rome with a specialisation in phenomenology of religion. For forty years he worked in Papua New Guinea, the first fifteen as a pioneer in the bush, then at the Melanesian Institute, Goroka, researching, lecturing, and writing on Melanesian religions and cultures. 2003-2009 he was fulltime lecturer at the Yarra Theological Union, Melbourne, on issues of culture and mission. After retiring he has published his letters from PNG 1962- 1977, Sent to Baptize or what? and the chronicle of Yobai, the parish he founded, Mission: Collision or Dialogical Encounter? In 1962 the author left Europe to join those dedicated to bringing light where there was darkness. Living as a missionary among the people of the Simbu region of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea he was surprised to discover not only the darkness he expected, but also an amazing presence of light. Since the world is always seen through the tinted glasses of one’s culture – and this is true of Divine revelation also – his first task was to learn the culture of the people, not only what they do and how they live, but why they live the way they do; to discover the core of the culture deep in their hearts and minds. “The Dema and the Christ” shares the journey of the author, the inner dialogue he entered into in order to discover how the people, through their culture, perceived Divine revelation in creation and how they responded to it. He came to understand his task as discovering the Light they had seen and helping it shine more brightly – in its own cultural way.