The trajectories of Christianity and African ritual practices: the public silence and the dilemma of mainline or mission churches

In South Africa, there are mainly two Christian traditions on Christianity and African ritual practices. One being from missionaries and now mainly trailed by most white Mainline Churches and Pentecostal Churches. The other is by African Independent Churches (AIC). The first group oppose and condemn Christian involvement on any rituals related to ancestors. However, the second group perceive no conflict between Christianity and African rituals. This paper presents a brief discussion on the beliefs and views of various Christian groups on African rituals, focusing mainly on black members of the Mainline Churches. In this paper I examine literature from the 18th century and also revisit my ethnographic work which focuses on this theme in the democratic South Africa. Findings of this study suggests that black members of mainline Churches are still caught in between two identities; one being the Western package of Christianity and the African ritual practices

The trajectories of Christianity and African ritual practices: the public silence and the dilemma of mainline or mission churches

In South Africa, there are mainly two Christian traditions on Christianity and African ritual practices. One being from missionaries and now mainly trailed by most white Mainline Churches and Pentecostal Churches. The other is by African Independent Churches (AIC). The first group oppose and condemn Christian involvement on any rituals related to ancestors. However, the second group perceive no conflict between Christianity and African rituals. This paper presents a brief discussion on the beliefs and views of various Christian groups on African rituals, focusing mainly on black members of the Mainline Churches. In this paper I examine literature from the 18th century and also revisit my ethnographic work which focuses on this theme in the democratic South Africa. Findings of this study suggests that black members of mainline Churches are still caught in between two identities; one being the Western package of Christianity and the African ritual practices

The Rewards and Shortcomings of Auto-Ethnographic Study

This article is an abstract from a personal auto-ethnographic journey I undertook in my PhD research into the role of the Xhosa initiation practice in moral regeneration. In this article I explore the advantages and disadvantages of auto-ethnographic study. This includes how I was received by the communities and my informants given the fact that I investigated a practice that is part of my own culture and a practice I went through. Further, that this article is an informant s perspective in the sense that it shares opinions and perceptions of the informants on my research work.Keywords: Rewards, auto-ethnographic, shortcommings, initiation, moral regeneration

Xhosa Male Initiation And Teaching Of Moral Values: An Exploration Of The Role Of Traditional Guardians In Teaching The Initiates

This article discusses the role of Xhosa male initiation practice in the teaching of moral values and the part played by the amakhankatha (traditional guardians) in the practice. Xhosa male initiation is regarded as a rite of passage since it has a historic role in building up the moral lives of boys as they graduate to manhood. Amakhankatha are identified both from literature and the research findings as major role players in the teaching of the initiates. A shift in the approach to teaching moral values and in the practice of initiation has resulted in the death of many initiates as well as the misbehaviour of the amakrwala (new men). The author suggests that initiation practices should be redefined in order to play a positive role in building the moral fibre of Xhosa society, as it was intended in the past. As part of the solution to the problem the author suggests an informal curriculum in order to empower the amakhankatha, who will in turn teach the initiates. This curriculum comprises topics such as HIV and AIDS, crime, women abuse and what it means to be a responsible man