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This is the first book by a Malawian woman theologian. First released in 1997 it won an honorable mention in the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1998 and is now updated here with a new introduction by the author. The study traces the struggles and contribution of Chewa women to the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian. Amongst the topics are female mediumships in traditional religion, post-missionary developments in Chigwirizano, womens attempts to achieve some public manifestation of their personal relatioship to God in open ministry, and the current women's organisation in Nkhoma Synod. Dr. Isabel Apawo Phiri is in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Malawi.
The culmination of years of fieldwork in southern Malawi, River of Blood reconstructs the beginnings of the Mbona martyr cult, follows its history to the present day, and reveals the fascinating intersections of an indigenous belief system with European Christianity. In the cult of Mbona, the central African mythology of the snake that is beheaded to make the rains come has been combined with a more spiritual interpretation: the snake has been transformed into a human martyr and redeemer. According to the cult, the rainmaker Mbona was tracked down by his enemies; they cut off his head, and his blood formed the River of Blood. Mbona returned as a storm wind and asked that a shrine be dedicate...
This book brings together fifteen essays investigating aspects of interculturality. Like its author, it operates at the borderline between social anthropology and intercultural philosophy. It seeks to make a contribution to intercultural philosophy, by formulating with great precision and painful honesty the lessons deriving from extensive intercultural experiences as an anthropologist. Its culminating section presents an intercultural philosophy revolving on the tenet 'cultures do not exist'. The kaleidoscopic nature of intercultural experiences is reflected in the diversity of these texts. Many belong to a field that could be described as "meta-anthropology", others are more clearly philosophical; occasionally they spill over into belles lettres, ancient history, and comparative cultural and religious studies. The ethnographic specifics supporting the arguments are diverse, deriving from various African situations in which the author has conducted participatory field research (Tunisia, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa).
First comprehensive account of the origins and early history of the Chewa as revealed by oral tradition and archaeology that allows a more accurate picture of a pre-literate society.
This title features a general history of Malawi, focusing mainly on the colonial period, when it was know as Nyassaland, but placing that period in the context of the pre-colonial past.
This volume focuses on African indigenous women legends and their potential to serve as midwives for gender empowerment and for contributing towards African feminist theories. It considers the intersection of gender and spirituality in subverting patriarchy, colonialism, anthropocentricism, and capitalism as well as elevating African women to the social space of speaking as empowered subjects with public influence. The chapters examine historical, cultural, and religious African women legends who became champions of liberation and their approach to social justice. The authors suggest that their stories of resistance hold great potential for building justice-loving Earth Communities. This book will be of interest to scholars of religion, gender studies, indigenous studies, African studies, African-indigenous knowledges, postcolonial studies, among others.
In this book Ian Dicks informs the reader about the ways in which the Yawo of Malawi view the world. The Yawo are predominantly Muslim, yet many maintain strong links with their traditional religion. They are a largely oral society, teaching and reinforcing their beliefs and practices using oral literature, which includes myths, proverbs, proverbial stories, songs of advice and prayers at various stages of the life cycle, particularly during initiation events. Ian Dicks describes in detail the Yawo's material world, customs, beliefs and rituals, and juxtaposes these with Yawo oral literature. He then examines them under six worldview categories, the result being a rich description of the way in which the Yawo see the world. This book is not an armchair study but has the feel of being written by an eyewitness, by someone who has had first-hand experience of the subject and who seeks to describe this in a manner which is sensitive to the Yawo and their culture.
Though Malawi and Central Africa are now predominantly Christian countries, African tradition relgion remains important everywhere. Now a classic, this study was first published in 1979 against the background of neglect in publishing texts on economic and social history and other aspects of cultural development. It provides important information on Central African territorial cults, and it one of a series recording the history of African religious systems. Ten scholars report on detailed case studies conducted in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
This collection of essays is brought together in the honour of Gerhardus Cornelis (Pippin) Oosthuizen on his eighty third birthday. Pippin has been one of the most significant religion researchers and prolific Humanities publishers South Africa has ever produced. Among his friends and colleagues are some of the most important scholars of religion in South Africa and elsewhere. With his critical acumen and insightful understanding of the ebb and flow of the South African socio-political landscape of the last fifty-odd years, he has been a distinguished leader in research and has been honoured with Honorary doctorates from South Africa’s leading universities. This collection constitutes a small token of appreciation for his more than fifty years in academia and his academic leadership.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.