F.

R.S
Chi
pi
ki
ripr
oduc
tion$t
muc
henj
e
Vol
ume23
1
.“Mar r
iageintheAf ri
can
Tradit
ionalRel
igioni sac ommunal
ratherthanindividualaf
fai
r.
”
Examinet hevalidityofthiscl
ai
m.
(25)

AFRICAN Tradi
ti
onalRel
i
gionhas
beendef i
nedbyJO Awol al
uasthe
i
ndigenousbeli
efsandpracti
cesof
theAf ricans.I nt heAf ric
an
Traditi
onalRel i
giont herei sani dea
ofmar ri
age.Mar riagec anbedef ined
asauni onoft woormor epeopl eof
theoppos it
es ex.I tisbel ievedt hat
marriagei nAf ri
c anTr aditi
onal
Reli
gioni sac ommunalr athert han
ani ndivi
dualaf fair,thisi sbec aus e
ther oleofr elationsc reatedaf f
ec t
thewhol ef ami l
yandnoti ndividual s
.
However ,i tc anbeal soar guedt hat
marriagei nAf ri
c anTr aditi
onal
Reli
gioni sani ndi vi
dualaf fairt aking
thec ons i
der ati
onoft hedef ini
t i
onof
marriagei tself
.Thef oll
owi nges say
seekst odi s
cusstheval
idi
tyofthe
clai
mt hatmarri
ageinAfri
can
Tradit
ionalReli
gi
onisac ommunal
rathert hananindi
vi
dualaff
ai
r.

I
tispr udenttonot ethatthereare
manyf ormsofmar ri
ages,suchas
monogamy,polygamy,polyamory,
l
evi
rateands ororat
emar ri
ages.
Pol
ygamyi swhenonemanc anhave
morethanaones pouseorwi fe.
Pol
yamor yisat ypeofmar ri
age
wheret hemanandt hewomanhave
morethanonepar t
ner.
Ac cordingt oChak abvaandDi ngani
i
nt hei rbookent itledUnder standi ng
Fami l
yandRel i
giousSt udies201 7
page1 06,t heys tatedt hatpol yamor y
typeofmar ri
agei swher es pouses
arec hos enbys omeoneel se,s uc h
ast hepar ents,fr i
endsandr el
igious
l
eader s.Thel eviratei saf orm of
mar ri
agewher et hebr otheroft he
deceas edmani sobl igedt omar ry
hisbr other’swi dow wher east he
sorotatemar ri
agei nvolvest he
husbandengagi ngi nas exual
rel
at i
ons hi
pwi ths istersofhi swi f e
af
tert
hewi f
eisdeadorhasbeen
pr
oveninf
ert
il
e.

Accordi
ngtoBour dil
li
on( 1
987),
peopl
emar ryintofami li
esandt hus,
marri
agebecomesaf ami l
yaffairand
notanaf f
ai
roft woi ndivi
dual
s .
Thereareseveralreas onswhy
marri
ageisc onsi
deredasaf ami l
y
contr
actandnotac ontractbet ween
twopeopleint heIndi genousr eli
gi
on,
especi
al
lyinShonar eli
gion.
Accordi
ngtoChak abvaandDi ngani
Underst
andi
ngFami lyandRel i
gious
Studi esVol1201 7.“Ifas oni nlaw
ormuk uwas hamar ri
es,hebec omes
amuk uwas haf ort hef amil
yandnot
foroneper son,t hes amei st rueof
thet ez varaandmur oora.Thenat ure
ofr elationst hatar ec r
eatedar e
createdf ort hef amil
yandnotf or
thei ndividualsal one.
”Ther efore,thi
s
i
ndi catesmar ri
agei nt heAf r
ican
Tradit i
onalRel i
gioni sac ommunal
rathert hani ndividualaf f
ai
r.

Thegir
lelopi
ngi
ntheShonarel
i
gion
i
sorgani
sedbyrel
ati
veses
pec
ial
l
yi n
thek ut
iz
amuk umbot ypeofmar ri
age
i
sor gani
sedbyt her elativesoft he
boy.Thi shasbeenf ur therexpl ai
ned
byP.Chak abvaandW.Di nganii n
thebookent i
tl
edUnder standi ng
Fami l
yandRel igi
ousSt udiespage
108,ast heys ubmittedt hat“She
elopesatni ghtandgoest oher
hus band’
shome.El der satt he
hus band’
shomewi llt hens enda
munyayiwhowi l
lalertt hepar ent
s
andr el
ati
vesoft hegi rl.”Ther ol
ei s
playedbymember soft he
communi t
y,henc e,thi si ndic atest hat
mar ri
agei nAf ri
canTr aditional
Rel
i
gionisac ommunalr
athert
han
anindi
vi
dualaff
ai
r.

Thec ommuni typl ayapi votalr ole

duringt hepr e-mar italandpos t-
mar i
talrit
es.I nt heShonaand
Ndebel ereli
gions ,t herear er i
tes
wher egi r
lswi l
lbeeduc atedbyt he
aunti nmar italaffairs.Theyar e
givenpr eparationl es s
onsi nmat ter
s
ofs ex,mar ri
age,pr ocr
eat i
onand
familyli
fe.Inmat tersofs ex,t here
aremanyl es sonsf orgi r
ls,t hi
s
i
nc l
udesbei ngt aughtt hatt he
primarydut yofmar r
iagei s
procreationands exualgr ati
fi
cati
onof
thehus band.Boysar eal s otaught
how t obehavepr oper l
yt owards
theirin-laws,how t oac quireweal t
h
whichonewoul dgi vet ot hepar ents
oft hegi r
laspar tofbr idepr iceor
rooraandt heywi l
lbeal s otaught
how t ol ookaf t
erc attl
e.Thi shas
beenf urthers upportedbyJMbi ti
(1991),whos ubmittedt hatboysar e
taughtwhatmos tc onc ernsmen.Al l
thiswi llleadonet os ugges tt hat
mar ri
agei nAf ri
cant raditionalreli
gion
i
sac ommunalaf fai
r.
herear epos t
-mar i
talrit
est hatar e
organisedbyc ommuni tymember s.
Oneoft henot abl emar italr i
tei s
mas ungiroandk utara.Themas ungi
ro
ri
tei sdonef ort hepr egnanc yoft he
newlymar riedwoman.Ther iteis
symbolicandr i
tual i
sti
c.Thepar ents
ofagi rlstayswi thherunt i
ls he
deli
vers.Att hes amet i
met her i
tual
kutaramwanai sc arri
edout .Thi sis
whent heaunt i
esorpar entsoft he
husbandgoest ot heirin-lawsand
theywi llbec arryingt hi
ngss uchas
whitec lothes,Af ricanbas ketsand
food.Ther ear eotherr it
ualswhi c
h
fol
low,t heseinc l
udenami ngr it
es.
Thes er itual
sar eper for
medasa
wayofc onfi
rmingt hatthenewl y
bornbabybel ongst ot hei
rf amil
y.
Ther efore,thisindicatesthat
mar riagei nAf ri
canTr adi
ti
onal
Religioni sac ommunalaf fai
ras
evidenc edbyt her oleoft he
communi tyinbot hpr e-
mar i
taland
pos t-maritalri
tes.

Thec
ommunit
yplaysapivot
alrol
e
i
nthedi
vor
ceprocedur
einAfri
can
Tradi ti
onalRel igion.Ther ear ea
numberofc aus esofdi vor cein
AfricanTr adi
t i
onalRel igion.Thes e
caus esofdi vor cei nc l
udes
unfaithfulness,t hishasl eds ome
schol arst oc onc ludet hat
unfaithfulnessi st heonl yr ealc ause
ofdi vor ceinAf r i
cant raditi
onal
Religion.Theel der sar emos tl
y
respons ibleint ryingt os olvet he
disput esi nt hemar ri
agesandi tis
alsos ubmi t
tedt hatc hiefi sus uall
y
thel as ts ol
ut i
oni nt hedi vorce
proc edurei ft hevi l
lageheaddoes
notmanaget or es olvet hei s s
ue.
Ones houldnotet hatt hereisa
tokenofdi vorcewhi chisar r
anged
byt hepar ent
sorr elati
vesingi vi
ng
thepar tnerbeingdi vorced.The
tokeni nShonar el
igionisc al
led
shereni/gupuro.Al lt hi
sindicat
es
thatthemar r
iageinAf ri
can
Tradit
ionalReli
gioni sac ommunal
affai
r.

I
nasmuc hasitc anbear guedthat
marr
iageinAfri
canTradi
ti
onal
Rel
i
gionisac ommunalaffai
r,itwil
l
beavi ol
enc
eonapl ai
nlanguageif
onei gnorest hevi ew thatmar r
iage
i
sal soani ndividualaffai
r.
Consideri
ngt hedef ini
ti
onoft het er
m
mar r
iagewhi chs aysmar ri
ageisa
unionoft woormor epeopleoft he
oppos i
tes ex,t husonei sfor
cedt o
sugges t
st hatmar ri
agei san
i
ndividualratherc ommunalaffai
r.

Themaj orreasonf ormarriagein

Afri
canTradit
ionalReli
gioni sfor
repr
oducti
onands exualregulati
on.I
t
i
sbel i
evedint heAf r
icans oci
etythat
part
nersmar r
yeac hot herf or
reproduc ti
on,s ot hatt hef ami l
y
growsbi ggerandt hes amec hi l
dren
assistthepar entsinf armi ngand
domes ticc horess uc haswas hing
plates,c ookingandf etc hingf irewood.
Itshouldbenot edt hatmar ri
agei s
fors exualr egulati
onc ons ideri
ngt he
rit
ualst hatar eper formedbef or et he
mar ri
age.Dur i
ngt hepr e-mar i
talrites
girl
sar et aughtons exualmat ters,
thishasbeenf urt
hers uppor tedby
Chak abvaandDi nganiont hei
rwor k
conc er
ningpr e-mari
talr itesi n
Indi
genousr eligi
onast heys tated
that“gi rl
swi t
haunt sar et aughthow
torespondtos exwit hthe
husband.
”Therefor
e,t hi
sindi
cates
thatmarri
ageinAf r
icanTradi
ti
onal
Reli
gi
oni sal
soani ndivi
dualaff
air
.

Basingont heabovedi scus si

on,i tis
cl
eart hatmar ri
agei nAf rican
Traditi
onalRel i
gioni sabot h
communalaf f
ai
randi ndividualaf fai
r.
Communali nthes enset hatbec ause
ofmar r
iager el
ationsthatar ec reated
aff
ec tthewhol ef amil
yandnotonl y
i
ndividuals.Itisal soani ndividual
aff
airc onsideri
ngt hei ndividual
benef i
ts,fori
nst
anc esexual
regulati
onandr eproduc
tion.Therefore,
thec lai
m whichs aysmar ri
ageisa
communalaf f
ai
rr at
herthani ndi
vidual
affai
ri slessval
id.

2,
"ATTRI
BUTESOFGOD IN
AFRI
CAN INDI
GENOUSRELI
GION"

Conc
erni
ng themoral at
tr
ibut
esof
God, many peopl
econsi
der Him
to bemer ci
ful
,s howingk i
ndnes s
andt aking pi t
yovermank i
nd.For
this r eas onHe i s r eferredt o as
″the God ofpi ty″,″ Godi s
kind″ or ″ God i smer c
iful
″.The
mer c york indnessof God i s f el
t
i
n s ituations of danger , diffi
cult
y,
i
llnes sandanxi ety. When
deliver anc eor pr otec
tioni s needed
Godi sc all
edupon t o hel p.Even
when s or r
ows have s t
ruc k
, God
maybe c all
edupont o c omf ortthe
peopl e.The Ak amba and Ak an,
speak of Hi m as ″ theGodof
comf ort″.
Themaj ori
ty ofAf ri
canpeoples
regar
d Godases senti
all
ygood,and
thereare manys i
tuati
ons inwhi c
h
Hei sc redi
tedwi t
h doi ng good t o
Hispeopl e.For instance,when
avert
ingc alamit
iessupplyi
ngrain,
provi
ding f ert
il
i
tytopeopl e,catt
le,
andf i
elds et c.

Thereare,however
,sit
uati
ons when
cal
amiti
es,misf
ort
unes
, and
suf
feri
ngs come upon f ami
li
esor
i
ndivi
dual
s,forwhich ther
eisno
explanati
on.Somes ocietieswoul d
thenc onsiderthes eto be br ought
about by God, gener al l
y t hrough
agentsl i
kes pi
ritsormagi cwor k er
s,
or aspuni shmentf orc ontravening
certai
n c ustoms or t raditi
ons.
Some peopl eshol dt hat Godi s
capable of s howinganger i n t he
form ofdeat h,dr ought,f loods,
l
oc usts
,and ot hernat ional
calamiti
es. Allt hesear ei nterpreted
ast hemani festati
ons of Hi sanger .

However
,a numberofAf
ri
can
peoples c onsi
derGodt ohave a
willwhich gover nst heuniver
seand
the f ortunesofmank i
nd.Some
consider Godt o bej ust
,nomat ter
what bef all
sthem.The Nuer ,
70
forexampl e,beli
eve t hatGod i s
alwaysr ight.Theyhol d that,″ God
rewardsgoodt o t hosewhof ol
low
good c onduc t
,and evi lto those
who f ol
low evilc onduct.
″

Concer
ning thehol
iness ofGod,
l
it
tleis sai
d dir
ectl
y byAf r
ican
peopl
es.Some s oc
ieti
eshol
d t hat
Godc annot bec har
gedwi th any
offences i
nceHei sabovet helevel
of ″ f
aul
t ″
,″ f
ail
ure″,″ wrong″ and
″unri
ghteousness″.In theeyes of
the Yor uba, Godi s ″t
hepur e
king″ … who i s wi t
hout blemish.
Thec onc eptofGod′ shol inessis
als
oi ndicatedf r
om t hef actthat
many Af ricanpeopl eshaves t
ri
ct
rul
esi n per formingri
tualsaddr essed
to God.Sac ri
fi
ci
al animal s,for
i
nstanc e, have t obe of one
sacredc olour , and pr i
es ts, or
off
iciati
ngel dersmus tr ef r
ainfrom
sexuali nterc ourseand c ertai
nf ood
or ac t
ivi
ti
esbeforeand aftert
he
ri
tual
.Thes e ri
tualfor
mali
ti
escl
ear
ly
show t hatpeopleregard Godas
holy.

Asf ort heloveofGod,t her

e ar e
practic
all
ynodi r
ectsayi
ngst hatGod
l
oves .Thisi ssomethi
ng r efl
ect
ed
also i n the dai l
yli
vesofAf ri
can
peoples.Itisr ar
et o hearpeople
tal
k i
ng aboutl ove. A person
showshi slove foranothermor e
through ac ti
ont hanthr
oughwor ds.
In t he s ame way, peopl e
experiencethel
oveof Godi n
concrete actsand bl
essi
ngs. So
theyas sumethatHelovesthem,
other
wi seHewould nothave
creat
ed t hem.

Moreover, people believet hat

manif
estations ofevil,s uch as
si
ckness, bar r
enness, death,f ai
l
ure
i
nunder tak i
ngsandt helike,c ome
fr
om mal ici
oushumanagent s,
whereasmani f
est
ati
onsofgood,s uc
h
as, health,begetti
ng many
chi
ldr
en, f erti
l
it
y,wealt
h,andt he
l
ike, come f r
om God. Theyar e
thetokens of Hisl ove t omanki
nd.
Peopl
e exper i
encethel ove of
God,even t hough t hey donot
speak of itast hough i twere
detac
hed from Hi sac t
ivi
ti
es.

To s um up, t heconc ept of

Godi n Afri
can Reli
gions as
presentedabovei s only af ew
gli
mps esof i t
.I ti s
,however ,i n
ther ealm ofGod′sacti
viti
esthatwe
fi
nd t hegreat
estnumberof
exampl esof what peopl e think
andsay about God. Mor eover
,
wefind ot herexpres
sions about
God i n ther el
i
giousac t
ivi
ti
es;
namely,pr
ayersand wor shi
p.

3"
Unfait
hful
nes
si stheonlycauseof
di
vorc
ei nIndi
genousreli
gi
on.
"
Asses
st heval
idi
tyoft hi
sasser
ti
on"

Thek
eywor
dst
her
ear
e;
unf
ai
thf
ulnes
s
onl
yc aus
eofdi
vor
cei
nIndi
genous
rel
i
gion
As
ses
s

Theques ti
onwant sust omak ea
judgementordet erminewhet her
unfaithfulnessi stheonl yc auseof
divorcei nindigenousr eli
gi
onornot .
Ther eforet hevi ew thatunf ai
thf
ulness
i
st heonl yc auseofdi vorcei n
i
ndigenousr eli
gionist oagr eat
er
extentandt oal esserext entthere
shoul dbef ac tor
swhi chs upports
thatunf ait
hfulnessisnott heonly
caus eofdi vorc einindigenous
reli
gion
 Thevi ew t hatunf aithfulnessi st he
onlyc aus eofdi vorc ei ni ndigenous
rel
igi
oni st oagr eaterext ent.Thi s
i
sbr oughtt ol i
ghtwhenwet ake
i
nt oc ons iderati
onf ac torsl ik
e
cheating,di s
hones ty,c ont i
nued
cruel
tyf rom t hehus band,s uspici
on
ofwi tchc raftes pec ial
lyont hewi fe
part,failureoft hehus bandt ogive
thef ullamountofmar ri
agegi f
tas
agreedbet weent het wof amil
ies.In
otherwor dst hef actor st hatar e
regardedasc aus esofofdi vorcei n
i
ndigenousr eli
gionar eal lpar tof
unf
ai
thf
ulnes
st heref
oreunfai
thf
ulnes
s
i
stheonl ycauseofdi vor
cein
i
ndi
genousreli
gion.

Conti
nuedc rueltyf rom thehus band
..
..
onlyahus bandwhoi sunfaithful
tohiswi f
ei sc ruelt ohi shusband.
Scholar
slikeD.Ogungbi learguet hat
conti
nuedc ruelt
yf rom t hehus band
whichisof t
enr egardedasac ause
ofdivorceisnotac auseofdi vorce
butaf actorofunf ait
hfulnesswhi c
h
i
st heonlyc auseofdi vorce.
Cheat
ing.
..
..
.us
ual
l
ybec
aus
e
partnersar eunf ait
hfultoeac hother
theyof tenc heatoneac hot her
.The
rel
ationshipof tenc rumblesbec ause
eit
heroft hepar t
ner smi ghthave
cheat edont heot her . Ats ome
pointeveni ftheper sonwhodi dt he
cheat i
ngmayber ependa,t heper son
whowasc heatedonof tenf eel
ss o
betrayedt hatt heyc an'
tgetpas tit.
Theyc onti
nuet opuni sht heirpar t
ner
fort hedeephur ttheyf eeland
becaus eoft hisdi vorceeas i
lytakes
i
tways .Sobec auset her eis
unfaithf
ulnesst herei sc heatingand
l
aterondi vor c
e
Dishonesty...
..
..
..
part
nersof t
enhide
somet hi
ngf r
om eachot herandeven
l
iet oeac hother.Thisisbec aus
eof
unfai
thful
nessbetweent hes pouses
.
Duet ot hi
st heyendupquar rel
l
ing
whichl at
erleadst odivorce.
Thereforesomes c
holar
sar guethata
quarel
lbet weenthes pousesi snota
causeofdi vorcebutapr ocessof
unfai
thful
nesswhi c
hi sthec auseof
divorc
e

Sus
pic
ionofwi
tchc
raf
tes
pec
ial
l
yon
thewi f
epar t
..
....
awifewhoi s
unfai
thfultoherhus bandcanonly
practi
sewi tchcraftwit
houther
husbandk nowingandus ual
lywhen
thehus bands us pec
tsherdivor
ce
easil
yt akesplac e

Fai
lureofthehus
bandtogivethe
ful
lamountofmarri
agegi
ftas
agreedbet
weenthetwofail
ure

Thel i
stedabovearer egar
dedas
factor
sofunfait
hful
nessnotc auseof
divorc
ebys chol
arss uchasJ. O
AwolaluandD.Ogungbile.These
schol
arss uppor
tsthevi
ew that
unfai
thf
ulnessistheonl
yc auseof
di
vorce.

Howevert oal esserscholarsli

keJ.
Mbi t
i,Chak abvaandDi nganiargue
thatunf ait
hful
nes sisnott heonl y
causeofdi vorcei nindi
genous
reli
gi
on. Ther easonbehindt hi
si s
thatt herear es omec ausesof
divorcet hatdon' thaveanyt hi
ngt o
dowi thunf ai
thful
nesss uchas
steri
l
ityorbar rennessont hewife
partandquar ellbetweenthewi f
e
andt her el
ati
vesoft hehusband.
Thereforeunfai
thful
nessi
snott he
onl
yc auseofdi vor
ceinindi
genous
rel
i
gion

[25/
046:
12PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*Typesofngoz
i*
*Mari
talngozi
*–Thi
stypeofngoz
i
ari
seswhenamarri
edwomandies
fr
om conti
nual

abus
ebyt hehus
band,whic
hmay
l
eadt hewi
fetocommitsui
cide.The
wi
femayal
so

comeasngoziwhenherc ook
ing
utensi
l
sandotherpos
ses
sionsare
confi
scat
edbythe

hus
bandorhisrel
ati
ves.Inother
words
,wher
et hepersonalbel
ongi
ngs
ofamarr
ied

womanar enotr
eturnedt
oher
maidenfami
l
ymember satdeat
h,s
he
canbecomeangoz i
spi
ri
t.
29Inaddit
ion,thedeceased
canalsocomebac kasngoz iwher
e
nobridepri
cewaspai dforherin
spi
teofrais
ingaf ami
lyandhaving
chi
l
dren,whichwouldgivethe

womanlegi
ti
mac
yforroor
a/l
obol
a
(
bri
depri
ce)
.Theothersc
enari
ois
wher
ethe

marr
iedwomanismurdered,s
uchas
t
hroughdomes
ti
cvi
olence,inwhi
ch
cas
es he
wouldcomebackasngozispi
ri
tto
seekredr
essf
rom herhus
band’
s
f
amily.

*Fal
seaccusati
onofawomanf
or
wi
tchcr
aft
*–Thi soc
cur
swher
ea
womani sfal
sely

acc
us edforwi
tchc
raftbyher
husbandorhisrel
ati
ves,t
he
deceasedcancomebac kas
angozi
.Thisangr
ys pi
ri
tcanwi
pe
outtheenti
ref
amil
y,whichmaybe
moredanger
ous

i
fthewomandidnotbearany
c
hil
drenwi
tht
hehusband.

*Parentaldi
smay/
Ethi
calngozi
*–
Parent
sc anal
sobecomengoz ito
thei
rchildrendueto

i
ll
-t
reat
ment,scol
di
ngandbeat
ing.
Themot her
’sngoz
icanbe
par
ti
cul
arl
ypr
obl
emat
ic,

asitc anl
eadtomisf
ort
unes,
i
ll
nessesanddeat
hamongt he
chi
ldr
en.Theremedyfor

t
hisparent
aldis
mayi sthr
ougha
r
it
ualknownask ut
andabots
o,wher
e
t
heguiltychi
l
d

wearsr agsandishumil
iatedduri
ng
thec ol
lect
ionofcer
eal
sf orthe
appeasementrit
ual
.
Inthiswayt heShonas
ayasa
caut
ion:“Mudzi
muwamaiunour
aya,
asiunongor
wadza

chet
e”(Theancestr
als
pir
itofa
motherki
ll
sbutthatofaf at
heronl
y
t
orment)
.30Another

l
anguage.Thi
sarti
cl
eti
tl
ec anbe
l
i
teral
lytr
ansl
atedas“Chi
nu:Ar
senal
f
orever
ywoman”.

“Kur
ume”(March)i
sthemont
hin
whic
htheart
icl
ewaspubl
is
hed.As
aweekl
ynewspaper
,

thi
sediti
onc over
ed23-29March
2010.
]Int hi
sShonamedi ar
epor
t,
Kings
toneMapupur ef
ers

tochinu(asmallc
ontai
nerofoil
),
gat
e( cl
aypotforbrewi
ngbeer)and
mukanda(astr
ingof
beadsus
edasas exualsti
mulant
)as
someofthepos s
essi
onst hata
womantradi
ti
onal
l
ybr ought

onmarri
ageintot
hefami
ly.These
aresomeoft hes
pec
iali
temst hat
coul
dbeas k
edbackby

thewoman’sparentswhens hedi
ed.
AsMapupus ays
,t hein-
lawscoul
d
i
nqui
re:“Chi
nu
negomwezvemwanaweduz vir
ipi
?”
(Wherear
et hes pec
ialc
ult
uralit
ems
ofourdaughter
?).

Theitemss ymbol
i
sedtheful
l
motherhoodofthewoman.Ifthe
hus
bandf ai
l
edtoavai
lchi
nu

andotheri
tems,t
hedec eas
edcoul
d
comebackasngoziorc ause
misf
ort
unetothehusband

s
uchasnevert
omar
ryagai
nor
di
vor
cingnew wi
ves
,spor
adi
cal
l
y.

30SeeTat i
raL.201
4.ShonaBel
ief
Sys
tems:Fi
ndingRel
evanc
yfora
New Gener
ati
on.The

JournalofPanAf r
icanStudi
es6( 8)
:
11
1s it
uati
oniswheret hewife’
s
propert
yisextort
edbyt hehus band,
i
ns t
ancedbyt heuse

ofhergoat
sorc at
tl
etopayfor
br
idepri
ceforanot
herwi
fe.I
fshe
di
esbef
ores
heget
s

pai
dback,s hec ancomebackas
ngoz
i.Thus,mot her
sareusual
l
y
tr
eat
edwi t
hdi gnit
y

andr espectbecaus
eoftheydi
e
aggr
ieved,theywouldcomebackas
anaggr i
eveds pi
ri
t.

*Ngozifrom vak washa(s

on-
in-
l
aws)/Transac
tionalngozi
*–
Tr
adit
ionall
y,ayoungman
coul
dwor kfort
hein-
lawsundert
he
pret
extthathewoul
dbegivena
wifethr
ougha

proc
essknowni
nShonaask
utema
ugar
iri
.

31Ift
hemandi
edbef
orer
ecei
vi
ng
the

promi
sedwi
fe,t
heson-
in-l
aw woul
d
comebackasngoz
i.I
ns ome
s
it
uat
ions
,theman

coul
dpayoutc at
tl
easr
oor
a(bri
de
pri
ce)
,butfai
l
edtogett
hebri
de.In
addi
ti
on,t
he

s
on-i
n-l
aw coul
dbemurder
edwhil
st
r
esi
dentwithhisi
n-l
aws
.Inal
lthes
e
s
cenar
ios,

t
hes on-
in-l
aw woul
dc omeback
seek
ingrevengeamongf ami
l
y
membersoft heinlaws.
 *Acci
dentsi
tuat
ions*–Some
manif
est
ati
onsofngoz iar
is
efr
om
sc
enari
osofac ci
dents
.

Forinstance,amot ori
stmayk i
lla
pedest
rianc rossi
ngt heroad.Inthi
s
case,thewr ongdoermus tnegoti
ate
wit
ht her elati
vesoft hedeceasedon
i
ssuesofc ompens ati
on.

Besi
despayi
ngforcompens
ati
on,t
he
wrong-
doermayhavetoassis
twit
h
theburi
al
ar
rangementt
oexpr
esshi
sremor
se.

*Ngozidemandingc ompens
ati
on
forser
vicesrendered*–Thisngozi
ari
sesfr
om aper s
on

whodieswithoutreceivi
nghi
s/her
duesforser
vicesgiven.Thi
sisalso
anot
herfor
m of

tr
ans
act
ionalngoz
iexpl
ai
nedabove.
Someservant
smayhavec ome
whi
l
stver
yyoung

orpi
ckedupasabandonedc hi
l
dren
i
nperi
odsoff ami
ne,s
tar
vat
ionor
warunti
lthey

dieinaf ami
l
y.Suchpeopl
emay
comebac kasngozi
,demandi
ng
rest
it
uti
onforser
vic
es

r
ender
edt othefami
l
ywhi
l
stt
hey
wer
es t
il
lli
vi
ng.
 *Poli
ti
calngozi*–Thi
stypeof
ngoziisanc hor
edinZi
mbabwe’
slong
hi
storyoft he

l
iberat
ionst
ruggl
e,begi
nni
ngwi t
ht he
Fir
stChimurengaWar(1896-
1897).

Chimurengawarwasas t
rugglefor
l
iberat
ionfrom colonial
i
s m.Allt he
peoplewhos acr
if
icedt hei
rl i
vesto
l
iberat
eZi mbabwe,i ncl
udingt he
greatancestorssuchas
Murenga,Chami
nuka,Kaguviand
Nehandaform acategor
yofs pi
ri
ts
thatcancomeas

ngozii
ndefenc
eoft hecount
ry.
Alt
houghtheAfri
canswer
edef eat
ed
i
nt heFir
st

Chi
murengawar,i
tissaidthat
MbuyaNehandaonceprophet
ical
l
y
dec
lar
edt hat

“Mapf
upaanguac
hamuk
a”(
My
boness hal
lri
seagain)
.When
subsequentChi
murenga

warsaros
e,theywereregardedasa
r
esul
tofk umukangoz
i(transl
ati
ngt
o
t
her i
si
ngof

bones)byZimbabwe’
sancest
ors
.
Simil
arl
y,t
hethenPresi
dentofthe
Chief
’sCounc
il
,

thelat
eChiefJonat
hanMangwende,
att
ri
butedt
her et
urnoft
helower
hal
fofoneoft
he

ZimbabweBirdsfr
om Ger
manyt
o
thebird’
savengi
ngspi
ri
t.
32

*Aggravat
edmur der
/Arc
het
ypal
ngozi
*–Thi stypeofngozimay
ari
sefrom theaggri
eved

s
pir
itofamur deredindi
vi
dualf
or
s
oci
o-economi
c,reli
gi
ousorpoli
ti
cal
r
easons
,or
c
rimi
nalact
s,s
uchasrobber
yorthe
f
orci
bl
etaki
ngofpr
oper
tyormoney
f
rom suc
h

i
ndi
vi
dual
s.Mur derisoneofthe
mostgri
evousc aus
esofngoz
i.In
Zi
mbabwe,s ome

murdererswereal
soperpet
rat
orsof
pol
it
icalviol
enc
e,aswil
lbe
el
aboratedinthecas
es

ofngoz
imani
fes
tat
ionsi
nthenext
sect
ion.Whennotappeas
ed,s
uch
ngozispi
ri
tscan

caus
ehavoc ,t
ot heext
entofwipi
ng
outenti
refami
li
es.Thefearoft
he
ngozii
nst
il
s

di
scipli
ne.AstheZi mbabwean
sc
hol arandsocialant
hropol
ogi
st
,
MichaelBour
dil
lon,

r
ight
lynot
es,“[
t]hef
earofavengi
ng
s
piri
tscanactasasanct
ionfor
et
hic
albehaviour
.”33Thisi
scr
it
ical
whenevaluati
ngt herol
eof
tr
adi
ti
onallaw,cus t
omsand

r
eli
gi
oni
nZi
mbabwe
[25/046:1 9PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Avengi ngs pi
ri
tspr omote
goodmor al
s ,itisbeli
evedt tifyou
shoutorbeatyourmot her
misfor
tuneswi l
loccurorunot anda
botsoifuaamal ec hi
ld.Soonewi ll
notbeathi sorhermot herthereby
promotingr espect
[
25/
046:
19PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Avengi
ngs
pir
it
Ar
eagent
sofs
oci
alj
ust
ice
For
cesppl
etor
espec
tthei
rpar
ent
s
Compl
esppl
etol
i
vepeac
eful
l
ynI
har
mony
For
cesppletopaydebt
sandwahz
duetothei
rworker
s

Tut
elar
y/l
i
ons
pir
it
Exerci
sethei
rcontr
ollovert
hei
r
ter
ri
torybyappoint
ingand
mai
ntai
ni
ngt
hec
hiefoft
hec
ount
ry
I
tmaybeappr oachedwenepedemi
c
di
seasethreat
ensthewhol
eareadis
zaccordi
ngt oBourdi
l
lon1
998pg
255
Thes honabeli
evetteybringrai
nn
ar es
pons i
bl
efrtheproduc
t i
onof
goodc rops
Somel i
onspi
ri
ts ac
ctoBour
dil
lon
regul
arypr
act
is
easdevi
ner
snr ules
[25/046:
20PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*Var
ioust
ypesofavengi
ng
spir
it
s*
1
.Mur
der
edper
sons
,es
pec
ial
l
ya
for
eigner
/mutor
wa.Thes pi
ri
tcomes
backt oseekrevenge,
2.Par entals pir
itagainsti t
sof f
spring.
Thisc ouldbeduet oi l
ltreat
ment
duringl i
fe-ti
me.I fac hi
ldbeat sup
ors coldsoneofherpar entsand
takesnos tepst or emedyt he
sit
uationt hr oughs t r
iki
ng
reconcil
iation,t hes piri
toft hepar ent
comesbac kasanavengi ngs pi
rit
.I t
i
snotnec ess ar
il
yangoz i,but
“kupfuka”.Themi sfort
unesar e
dir
ec t
edt ot hes pec i
fi
cc hi
ldwho
wrongedt hepar ent .Shemayc ome
backasr esul toft amperingwi t
hher
cook ingut ensils
.Thes es houl dbe
replac edwhi l
es hei ss til
lal i
ve
other wises hemaydi ewi tha
grievanc e. Non- paymentof“mombe
youmai ”byt hes on-in-law c anc ourt
thes piri
toft hedec eas edmot her.
Themot her’ss piri
ti smor e
danger oust hant hatoft hef ather
bec aus et hemot heri snotofone’ s
relations;notoft hes amet otem.
Chi l
dr enc anper for mr itualst o
placat eher .Thevi ct
im goest hr
ough
ahumi li
atingl if
et hati ncludes
withdr awi ngi ntot heout sidewor ld
(Kut andabot s o).Mayc aus ef ert
il
it
y
pr
obl
emsi
nthegi
rlc
hil
dren.
3.Themos tdreadedonei sthe
avengings pi
ri
tofadec eased
pregnantwomanorawomanwho
diess oonaftergivingbir
thasa
resul
toft hein-
law orhus band.I
t
hasat endencyofquant i
fyingit
sel
f
byc ausingorc all
ingother“ngozi”
i
nt othef amil
yoft heoff
ender.
4.Spi r
itofas er
vant(Mushandi
)/
slave(Nhapwa)canalsoc omebac k
tos eekcompensati
on,especi
al
ly
whent heydiedwithoutbeingpaid
theirdues.I
ftheper s
onwasi l
l
-
treat
ed,theymayc omes eeki
ng
revenge.Itdemandsawi f
e/vi
rgi
ngi
rl
asaf or
m ofc ompensat
ion.
5.A s pi
ri
tofas pouse/par
tnerwho
di
edt hroughnegli
genceofori l
l-
tr
eatmentorunf ai
thful
nes
soft he
otherpartner
.
[25/046:
20PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*Pos
it
ivef
unc
tionsofAl
l
ien
spir
it
s*

-*Theycanc onf
er hunt
ingtalent
s
tothei
rhost
.*Onec anbec omean
exper
tinhunti
ng.Thehosti sknown
asMudz i
mba.Suchtypeofspir
it
s
possessesmenf orexampl
e,Khumal
o
Shavi.

-*Theybes t
ow heali
ngtal
ents,*for
example,Sivi
nda Shavi. Thi
st ype
i
spopul arwithwomen.Thehos tis
abletot r
eatvarious
diseas
es,c
onvuls
ions,di
ff
ic
ultlabour
etc.Theyimpartt hi
sexpert
is
et o
theirhost
.

-*Madz
ukwaShaviexper
tintr
eat
ing
manydi
seas
es*someoft hewest
ern
medic
inec annott
reat,f
orexampl
e,
l
eprosy,epil
epsyetc.

-*Chipunha*f avoursyoungand
unmarri
edwomenasi tshost.It
*conf
ersc urat
ives k
il
lsonits*host.
I
tc ur
esdi seasesthatattac
ks mall
chi
ldr
en.

-*NyamandeShavi -Confer
s
divinator
yt alent
s.*Thehostc an
foreseei nt
ot hefut
ureandmay
war naper sonofani mpending
disasterandadvi sesthepersonof
thedivinert oconsul
ttoavertthe
disas
ter. TheBaboons pi
ri
tc an
divi
nei l
lnes
s .I
tc analsohel
pf i
nd
l
os tproperty,somethi
nghidden
(Seers
hip).

-*Mas anganoSpiri
ts pec
ial
isesin
dancing.*Itc anconferdancings k
il
ls
ont hehos tandt heper sonc an
entertai
npeopl eatceremonies( f
or
exampl e,Chakandi
wanai n
Garandichauya).

-*Zvi
penz
iShavienabl
eshos
tto
per
form duti
esregar
dedarduoust
o
per
form undernormal
ci
rcumstanc
es.*Thepersonis
i
ndustr
ious/hardworki
ng.

-*ShavireMhondor
oi sknownto
poss
es sl
ions
.*Thelionguardst
he
chi
efdom bymovingaroundatni
ght
.
Sangomapr oduceswarri
orss tr
ong
andbr avei nbattl
es.Itconferst he
abi
lit
yt ok i
llinbattl
eandpr ot
ec ts
thewhol et er
ri
toryfrom i
nvader sor
enemies .Thes pi
ri
tc anals
opr ovide
entert
ainment.
[25/046:20PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*Spi r
it
s*thatmanif
estas
thoseoft hedeadcanappearin
dif
ferent

ways ,asanc es
tral
,or dinaryor
avengings pi
ri
ts
.Whi cheverwayt hey
appear,t heydem andat tenti
onand
i
ft heirdemandsar enotmet ,they
causet rouble(*Gehman,1 999:
33)*.
Mos tAf ri
cansat tr
ibutemi sfort
unes
toas pi
r i
tualcause(*Gel f
and,
1973:61)
*.Theybel ieves piri
ts
caus
ei l
l
ness
es,di
sabi
l
it
ies
,
misf
ort
unesandevendeath*(
Mpof
u
&
Harl
ey,2002)
*.Spi ri
tspossess
peopl
eand/oranimalsandtheyc an
beexorci
sedfrom bothpeopleand
ani
mals.
[25/046:21PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*I tmus
tnotbespi
l
led
because*:

-Itwillr
esul
tin*Ngozi*or
Avengi
ngs pi
ri
t. Avengi
ngspi
ri
t
mayc aus
ehavoctoaper sonf
or
exampl
e;*itcanc ausebadl uc
ks,
misf
ort
unes,i
nfer
til
i
ty,bar
renness,
deat
h,seri
ousdiseases
*andmany
moresetbacks.

-Thebl oodofaper sonmaynotbe

spill
edbc zt hi
smayangert he
*Anc estor s
*. Byt hisdoing,t he
Anc estorsf eelverys hamef uland
humi l
iatedt heref
oret heywi l
lres
pond
through*heavypuni shment *t oa
personwhohevdonet hat.Mos t
often,*t heagr ic
ult
ur alharvestof
thatper sonwhok i
lledanot herwill
fai
l*. Ats omeext ent,theancest
ors
wil
lr esponds wi
ft
lyby*i mplyi
ng
death*ont hatperson.Ifitis
n'tso,
Anc est
orsc ouldthereforewage
*mi sf
ortunesandt roubles*uponthe
vic
tim.

-Itmus tnotbes pi
ll
ed*because
thi
smayc ausef ail
ureofrai
ns*.In
Shonac ul
ture,i tisbeli
evedthat
Godi sangeredbyt hedeathofa
murderedper sonandhec ud
ther
eforerespondbynot*gi vi
ng
rai
ns.
*Unf ortunatel
y,thi
s may
affec
tt hewholevi l
lage buts ome
sayst hataper sonwhohavedone
that*mays uf
ferheavyc asual
ties.*
Thismi ghtbef orthisspeci
ficr eason
whyi nShona,*peopl ewait
edf i
rst
forther ai
nstoc um*before t hey
i
nvadei ntoanywar .

[1
8/048:
58PM]‪+26371766
6869‬:*TENETSOFCHRI
STI
ANI
TY*

*Bel
i
efi
nJes
us*
Chris
t i
ansmodelt hems el
vesont he
l
ifeandt eachingsofJes usChr i
st.
Jesust aughtpeopl etol oveandl ove
thei
rnei ghbor .ManyChr isti
ans
worshipi nc hurches.Somegr oups
meeti nhomesandot herbui ldings .
'
Chur ch'meanst hegat heri
ngof
Chris
t i
ansaswel last hebui ldingi n
whichChr i
sti
answor ship.Thei r
l
eader sarec all
edpr i
es tsormi nis t
ers.
Diff
erentwaysofunder standing
Chris
t i
ant eachingshavel edt o
groupsofChr i
sti
answor shippingi n
dif
ferentways .Thes edenomi nat i
ons
i
nc l
udet heChur chofEngl and,t he
RomanCat holi
cc hurc
h,theEas ter
n
OrthodoxChur chandmanyot her s
.
Manyc hurcheshol das ervi
cec all
ed
Communi on,Euc hari
storMas s
,i n
whichbr eadandwi neareshared
together,justasJes usdidwithhi s
fol
lowersbef or
ehi sdeat
h.
God,Jes
usandt
hes
aint
s

*Bel
i
efi
nGod*

Chr
ist
iansbel
i
evet hattherei
sonly
oneGod,whom t heyc al
lFat
heras
Jes
usChr i
sttaughtthem.God
acc ordingt oChr is
tiani
tyi st he
Creat oroft heUni verse.Godi st he
fatherofJes usandbyvi rtueof
beingadopt edt hroughJes usChr i
st
,
Chr is
tiansal s oc al
lGodt heirfather
.
Jes ust aughtt hem t oc allGod'
Father 'andheeveni nstructedt hem
thatGodi snotonl yaf athert o
them butal ovingf atherwhoc ares
andmeet st heirver yneed.
Jes
us
Chr
is
ti
ansrec
ogni
zeJes
usast he
SonofGodwhowass enttos ave
manki
ndfr
om deat
handsin.Jesus
Chri
s tt
aughtt hathewasSonof
God.Hist eachingsc anbe
summarized,briefl
yast hel oveof
Godandl oveofone' sneighbor
.
Jesussaidt hathehadc omet o
ful
fi
llGod'slaw r at
herthant eachi
t.

*Jus
ti
fi
cat
ionbyf
ai
th*

Chri
sti
ansbelievei njust
ifi
cat
ionby
fai
th-t hatthrought hei
rbeli
efi n
Jesusast heSonofGod,andi nhi
s
deathandr esurrect
ion,theyc an
havear i
ghtrelati
onshi
pwi thGod
whosefor
givenes
swasmadeonc
e
andforal
lt hr
ought
hedeat
hof
Jes
usChrist.

*TheTr
ini
ty*

Chri
sti
ansbelievei nt heTr i
nit
y-t hat
i
s ,i
nGodasFat her ,SonandHol y
Spir
it
.Somec onfuset hi
sandt hi
nk
thatChri
sti
ansbel i
evei nthree
separ
ategods ,whi cht heydon' t.
Chri
sti
ansbelievet hatGodt ook
humanf or
m asJes usChr i
standt hat
Godi spresentt odayt hrought he
wor
koftheHolySpi
ritandevi
dent
i
ntheac
tionsofbel
i
evers.

*Li
feaf
terdeat
h*

Chr i
st
iansbelievethatther
ei sal if
e
afterearthl
ydeat h.Whil
et heac t
ual
natureoft hi
sl if
eisnotk nown,
Chr i
st
iansbelievethatmanys pi
ri
tual
experiencesint hi
slif
ehelpt ogive
them s omei deaofwhatet er
nallif
e
willbel i
ke.
 *TheSai
nts
*

Thes edays,t hewor ds ainti smos t

commonl yus edt or efert oa
Christi
anwhohasl i
vedapar ti
cularl
y
goodandhol yl i
feonear th,and
withwhom mi raclesar ec laimedt o
havebeenas s oc i
atedaf tert hei
r
death.Thef or malt i
tleofSai ntis
conferredbyt heRomanCat hol
icand
OrthodoxChur chest hrougha
processc al
l
edc anonization.Member s
oft heseChur chesal sobel ievet hat
Saintsc r
eat
edi nt hi
swayc an
i
nterc
edewi thGodonbehal fof
peopl
ewhoar ealivet oday.Thi sis
notac c
eptedbymos tProtest
ant s.In
theBible,however
,t hewor ds aintis
usedasades cri
pti
onofanyonewho
i
sac ommi t
tedbeliever,part
icularl
y
bySt .PaulintheNew Tes t
ament
(e.
g.Ephes i
ans1.1
.and1 .1
5).

*Aut
hor
it
yoft
heBi
bl
e*

TheChri
st
ianHol yBookisc all
edt
he
Bi
bl
e.ForChr i
sti
ans
,thi
sist hemost
i
mport
ants our
ceofauthori
ty.It
contai
nst het eac hi
ngsofGodand
JesusChr ist.AllChr is
tiansfrom al
l
denominationsr egar dtheBi bl
eas
thes t
art
ingpoi ntf orguidanceabout
thei
rfait
h.TheVat i
cant woc ounci
l
descri
bedt heBi bleas' thewor dsof
God,expr essedi nhumanwor d'
.The
Bibl
eismadeupoft heOl dandt he
New Tes t
ament .
TheOl
dTes
tament
Thisisalsoknownast heHebrew
BiblefortheJews .TheOl d
Tes t
amentwast ransl
atedf r
om the
origi
nalHebr
ew languagei ntoGreek
about200year sbef orethebi rt
hof
Chri
s t
.Thi str
ans l
ati
oni sk nownas
theSept uagi
nt.Thist rans
lation
contai
nss omeaddi ti
onalbook swhi c
h
arealsoi ncl
udedi nt heCat hol
ic
Bibl
esandar ek nownast he
deuteroc
anonicalbook sorApoc rypha.
Thes
ear
ethef
oll
owi
ng:

-Tobi
t
-Judi
th
-Wi
sdom
-Si
rac
h
-Bar
uch
-1and2Mac
cabees
Deut eroc anonicalarebook sthatare
regardedandac ceptedass cri
pture
byt heCat holi
csandt heEas tern
Chur chesbutt heywer enoti nthe
Hebr ew Canonandar enotr egarded
andac c ept edbyPr otestantsas
canoni cal.Thes ebook sar eus uall
y
placedaf t
ert heOldTes tamenti na
Bibl
e.I namannerofs peaki
ng,t he
OldTes tamenti sac ol
lecti
onof
book st hatwer ewr i
t t
enbef oret he
l
ifeofJes us,thefounderof
Chr
is
ti
ani
ty.Itc
ontai
nstherul
es
whi
chChris
ti
ansshoul
dliveby.
[21
/049:
25AM]‪+26371371
8046‬:*Func
tionofpr
ophet
s*

1)*Mes senger sofYahweh*: The

authorit
yenj oyedbyPr ophetsamong
thei
rpeopl edependednat ural
lyon
thef actt hatt heywer e*bearer
sof
thedi vi
newor d.
*Thust heywer e
pri
mar il
ys pokespers
onsforGodt o
thei
rpeopl e,denounc i
ngthem of
thei
rs i
ns,*pl eadingwiththem t o
repentt oGod, *enc our
agi
ngt hem to
fol
low thewi l
lofgodi nallphrases
oft hei
rlife.Henc etheyus edt he
propheticFor mula"*Thuss ayst he
Lord*". Apar tf r
om t hat,they
wer ealso*s pok
espersonsfor
monot hei
s ti
cYahwei sm*.Among
them,*Mos es*s t
andsandpr es enta
commandmentf rom Godof
wor shi
ppingofonegod*(Exodus
20:3)*

2).*Pr
ophetswer ei
nter
ces
sors
*:
Theypleadsonbehalfofpeopl
eto
Yahwehf orexampl
e;*(Gen20: 7,
Amos7: 1-6) *.Thei nt
ercess
ory
rol
ei sexpres
sedi nt hetell
sof
Eli
j
ahwhohel pedt hewidow at
Zarepathtodiscoverinherhous e
*oilandmi l
kt ok eephersel
fandher
sont i
llthenextgoodr ai
ns .
*

3)*Pr ophetsweres oc
ialr eformers*:
Theys pokeonbehal foft he*l ess
pri
vil
egedi ns oc
iet
yandbec omet he
mouthpieceoft hosewhohadno
powert os tandforthei
rright s*.In
ti
mesofi l
l-
treat
mentandi nj usti
ce,
prophetss t
oodf orthe*or dinary
peopl
ewhohadnopowert o
conf
rontleader
sandkingsin
soci
ety*forexampl
eElij
ahand
Naboth,NathanandDavid.

4)*Poli
ti
calAdvi sors*: Whenever
Ki
ngsar eenthronedanddet hroned,
Pr
ophetsarei nvolved. Her e
pr
ophetsares eent obepl ayinga
*l
eadi
ngr ol
ei nt hef ormationoft he
Ki
ngdom.*Soatt i
mes,pr ophetsar e
*r
egardedasr evolut
ionar
ies.*
pr
ophetswereagai nstthei nsti
tuti
on
ofthek i
ngswhi chwer e*f ai
li
ngt o
adequatel
yexpressloyal
tyt o
Yahweh*. Theyadvi sedk i
ngson
*acti
ont otakeandt heyal s
o
rebukedKingsonevi ldoing*for
example,NathanrebukedDavi d f
or
taki
ngUr i
ah'swif
eBat hsheba.

5)*Pr ophet
swer ec ourtoffi
ci
al
s*.
Prophetswerec onsult
edwhengr eat
eventswer eimpendingmos tl
ybef or
e
anddur ingwarseg*Ahaband
Jehoshaphattri
edtoens urevic
tory
overtheAr aeansatGi lead.
*
Jehoshaphatwishedt oheart he
wordofYahwehands ummoned400
prophets*(1Ki ngs22)*.Thuswhen
enter
inguponi mport
antundertaki
ng,
theKi ngconstantl
yappliedtot he
prophetsforthewor df rom Yahweh
egDavi dhadNat hanashi scourt
prophet,Rehoboam hadShemai ah
andJer oboam hadAhi j
ah.
[21/
048:
32PM]‪+26371371
8046‬:*Rol
esofMuhammadi
n
I
s l
am*

1
.Muhammad*advoc
atedf
or
monot heism*t hati s,wor shi
pingof
oneGodc all
ed*Al l
ah*.He
constantlyr emi ndedMus li
mst o
*havef aithi nAl l
ah*andheal so
wrotei nt heQur an,t heobj ecti
veof
everyMus li
mt owor ship*Al l
ah*.
Thef actt hathes urel
yadvoc atesf or
monot heismc anbes hownwhenhe
*destroyedi dolsi nMedi na*.Int he
1stpill
arofI s
lam (*Shahada*),
thedec larations tatedt hat"*Al lah
i
st heonl yGod*",meani ng*no
othergods *mus tbewor shi
pped
except*Al l
ah*.
2.Muhammadal s
of unc
tionsasan
*intermedi ator
*.Hehel psMus l
ims
muc hwhenevert hey*feltt heyare
farawayf rom All
ah*.Hec ould
medi tatef orthem.I notherwor ds,
hes toodasaper son*whomend
theirr elati
onshipwith Allah*.I n
mos tc ases,hec ouldactedasan
i
nt ermedi atorforthose*whoget
stumbl edi nt hefait
hofAl l
ah*.

3.Muhammadals o*funct
ionsast
he
voi
ceofthevoic
eles
s .
*.Muhammad
bec
omet heshel
terforthosewho
havebeen*deni edj usti
cebyt heir
rul
ers.* Her epeatedl
y*enc ouraged
fai
rjusti
ce*amongMus li
ms .Ins ome
way,Muhammad*bar edi njusti
ce*i n
thes oci
eti
es. Heal wayss toodf or
thosewhohave*oppr essed, abus ed,
tort
uredorevenf acedanyunf air
cir
cums t
ance*.

4.Muhammadal s
of unc t
ions*asa
greatteacher
*.Thi s*wasoneof
hi
spar amounti mport
antdut y*
befor
ehi sdeath.Het aughtMusli
ms
ondi f
fer
entas pect
sf orexample,
*Mar r
iages,Di vorce,Preservat
ionof
theenvi r
onment ,ImportanceofAl lah
aswel last heHol yQuar an.*He
constantl
yt aughtMus li
msondoi ng
*goodbehavi ort owardsothersand
alwaysbei ngobedi enttoAl l
ah*.
Mos tofal l,heac tedasagr eat
*teacherwhos etsanexampl e*f or
Mus l
imt of oll
ow.

5.Anotherroleof*Muhammadwas
thatofapr ophet*.Musl
im bel
i
eve
i
nmanypr ophetsbutMuhammadi s
thei
r*numberone*.Muhammadi s
call
ed*t hel ast*pr ophetbyMus l
i
ms.
Hel i
vedasagr eatpr ophetwho
was*obedi entt oAl l
ah*andhe
recei
vedf avouri nt heeyesof
Mus l
ims .Asapr ophet,Muhammad
*receivedr evelationfrom Al l
ahand
hepr es entedt heQuar an*t o
Mus l
ims .Asapr ophet,heal so
promot edt heuni vers
alis
m ofAl lah
andhepr omi sedMus l
imst he
*eternall i
feonl yi ftheyr emainedin
thewor dofAl l
ah*.Asapr ophet,
hegui des*Mus li
msont heimpor t
ant
aspectsofl ife.
*I not herwor ds.He
*wasmor el ikea Mes si
ah*.
6.Muhammadal so*c aredf ort he
needyort hehel pl
esspeopl ei nthe
societi
es*.Amongs tthepeopl ehe
caredf orwer e,*theor phans ,
widows ,wi dowers,theol dandal so
thedi sabled*.Onet i
me,her ecei
ved
20bagsofgr ai
nsast ohel phi s
fami l
ywi thf oodbuti nstead,he
soldt hegr ai
nsand*gavet hemoney
tot heneedy. *Heal sowr oteint he
Qur ant hatMus l
imsal soneedt o
*prac t
icel oveandc aref ort he
needy*t hrought heac tof*z akat
*
(charit
y)(Qur an4:100)
7.Anot herroleofMuhammad*was
thatofaspr eacherand
reformer.*Thiswasl argel
yevi denced
i
nhi slifeandc areer .Whathe
soughtwast hec ohes i
onofMus l
im
soc i
etyt hr
oughuni form *beliefsand
auni fi
ed*f aith.Hek new thisc oul
d
beac compli
shedonl yt hr
ought he
wor shi
poft heoneGodal oneand
throughl awsaut hor izedbyt he
sanc t
it
yofdi vinec ommand.Wi th
suc hlawsMuhammadwoul dbind
thehi thert
os cat
ter edendsof
Mus li
ms .Hepr eac hedmuc h*ont he
realpar
adi
seandthej
udgement
*of
Allahaswellast
he*her
eaf
ter
*.

*_Wi
l
laddmor
e2mol
_*
[21
/048:
34PM]‪+26371371
8046‬:*Conc
eptofAl
l
ahi
nIs
lam*

Thefir
stpar
toftheMusl
im
conf
essi
onoffai
th(
theShahada)i
s
thebasi
sforthec onc
eptofGodi n
I
s l
am.TheMus l
i
m bearswi t
nessthat
:
"Therei
snogodbutGod" .or" no
divi
ni
tybutt
he( one)Divi
ni
ty".The

r
eveal
edScr
ipt
ureofI
sl
am,t
he
Qur'
an,i
sli
keavast

comment
aryonthi
ssi
mpl
est
atement
,
drawi
ngfr
om i
tall

i
tsimpl
icat
ionsf
orhumanl
i
feand
t
hought
.
Thi
sc onc
ept
ionoftheDei
tyi
s
st
ri
ctl
ymonothei
st
icand

uni
tar
ian.Godal onehasabsol
ute
bei
ng,t ot
all
yindependent

andtot
all
ysel
f-
suf
fi
ci
ent
.What
ever
exi
st
sorevercoul
d

exis
tdoessobyHiswi
l
l.Hehasno
"part
ner
"ei
theri
n
cr
eati
ngt heuni
ver
seorin
maint
aini
ngitinexi
st
enc
e.Hei
s

notonl
yt he"Fi
rs
tCaus
e"hutal
so
ul
ti
matel
y,theonly

caus
e,andHeisHi
msel
func
aus
ed.
TheQur'
antel
l
sus:

"Say:HeisAllah.One,theut
ter
ly
Self
-suf
fi
ci
ent
:Hebeget s

notnei
theri
sHebegot
ten,andt
her
e
i
snot
hingt
hati
sli
ke

unt
oHim".I
ttel
l
susals
othat
:
"WhenHewil
lsathi
ngt
o

be.Hebuts
aysunt
oit-Be!
;andi
t
i
s".

Afur
theri
mpli
cat
ionoft
hef
ir
stpar
t
oft
heShahada

i
sthatther
ecanbenopower
,for
ce
oragenc
yinthe
heavensoronearthwhi
chi
s
i
ndependentofGod.

Everyt
hingthatexi
st
s-andever
ythi
ng
thathappens-i
s

subjectt
oHiscontr
ol;t
herei
s
nothingt
hatcancompete

wit
hHim orthates
capesHi
sgr
asp,
not
hingt
hatdoesnot
bearwi
tnesst
oHi sc
reat
ivepower
andmajest
y."The

s
evenheavensandtheear
thandall
t
hati
sthereinpr
ais
e Hi m",says
t
heQur'
an.

I
ntheIsl
ami
cvi
ew,i
tisi
mpos
sibl
e
f
orthehuman

mindtofor
m anadequat
e
conc
ept
ionofGodasHei si
n
Hi
seter
nalandabs
olut
ebei
ng.The
cr
eat
urecannot

c
ompr
ehendtheCreat
or.Ac
cor
ding
t
otheQur'
an,"No

(human)vi
si
onencompas
set
hHi
m,
yetHeencompass
eth

(
all
)vi
si
on"
.
ButIsl
am doesnotdemandbl
i
nd
bel
i
ef.TheQur'an

tel
l
susagr eatdealaboutt
he
natur
eoft
heDi vi
ne,andit

descr
ibesGodbyanumberoft
erms
-cal
l
ed" Themos
t

beaut
if
ulNames"-whi
chhel
pust
o
under
standHi
m.The
Qur
'antel
l
sus:"
Allah,ther
eisno
godbutHe,t
heLiving,

(t
heeternal
l
ySel f
-subs
ist
ent
.Sl
umber
over
tak
esHi m not,

norsl
eep.ToHi m bel
ongal
lthati
s
i
nt heheavensandall

t
hati
suponearth.Whoist
her
e
t
han(
can)i
nter
cedewit
h

Hi
m exc
eptbyHi
sleave?Hek
nows
whati
sbef
oret
hem

andwhatisbehindthem,andt
hey
compr
ehendnaughtof

Hi
sknowledgesavewhatHepl
eas
es.
Hi
sThroneextends

overt
heheavensandtheear
th,and
Heisnotweariedby

pr
eser
vingthem;andHei
stheMos
t
Hi
gh,theImmense".
Hei sAl-
Ahad."
theOne"
,abs
olut
e
uni
ty.Thi
sisin

s
har
pc ontr
asttot
heChr i
st
ian
c
oncept
ionoftheTri
ni
ty.

TheOnecannotbedi
vi
ded,norc
an
i
tbedimi
nishedor

"
humani
sed"byi
ncar
nat
ioni
nany
c
reat
edform.
Hei sAl-Azi
z."theAl
might
y",andAl
-Jabbar
",forthere

i
snooneandnot hi
ngthatc
oul
d
pos
sibl
yres
istHi
spower,

whi
chgover
nsandregul
atesal
l
exi
st
enc
einaccor
dance

wi
thapredet
erminedmeas
ure.I
t
f
oll
owst
hatthereisno
eart
hlypowert
hati snotder
ived
fr
om Him,nostrengthnor

anyvi
rt
uethati
snotloanedt
ous
byHim:andnoonecan

hel
pusexc eptbyHiswi
l
l,norc
an
anyonehar
m usunles
s

Heper
mitst
hem t
odos o(
inwhi
ch
cas
ethi
shar
mi satr
ial

t
obehor
newi
thpat
ienc
e).
Heiscal
l
edAl-Haqq,"
theTr
uth"(
or
"t
heReal
i
ty"
),

andtodenyHi
mistobef
ardi
st
ant
fr
om t
rut
hatever
y

l
evelofexper
ience.TheAr
abi
cwor
d
Al
-kaf
ir
un,andt hi
s

wor
dsugges
tsadel
i
ber
ateac
tof
"
cover
ing"
,inot
her

words
,thosewhodenyHi
m whos
e
nameis"theTr
uth"

have"cover
ed"t
hei
rown
under
standi
ngwi
thanopaque

cover
ings oasnott oseewhati
s
ult
imatel
ys el
f-
evi
dent
.

I
nsodoingtheyhaveshutoutt
he
l
i
ght
,foranot
herofHis
namesisAl-
Nur
."Li
ght
".Thes
ear
e
theywhom t
he

Qur
'andesc
ribesasthe"
bli
nd"
,for
"Al
l
ahistheLi ghtof

t
heheavensandt
heear
th"
[23/
045:
57PM]‪+26371371
8046‬:*Typesofngoz
i*
*Mari
talngozi
*–Thi
stypeofngoz
i
ari
seswhenamarri
edwomandies
fr
om conti
nual
abusebythehus
band,whic
hmay
l
eadt hewi
fetocommitsui
cide.The
wif
emayal s
o

comeasngoziwhenherc ook
ing
utensi
l
sandotherpos
ses
sionsare
confi
scat
edbythe

hus
bandorhisrel
ati
ves.Inother
words
,wher
et hepersonalbel
ongi
ngs
ofamarr
ied
womanar enotr
eturnedt
oher
maidenfami
l
ymember satdeat
h,s
he
canbecomeangoz i

spi
ri
t.
29Inaddit
ion,thedeceased
canalsocomebac kasngoz iwher
e
nobridepri
cewaspai dforherin
spi
teofrais
ingaf ami
lyandhaving
chi
l
dren,whichwouldgivethe

womanlegi
ti
mac
yforroor
a/l
obol
a
(
bri
depri
ce)
.Theothersc
enari
ois
wher
ethe
marr
iedwomanismurdered,s
uchas
t
hroughdomes
ti
cvi
olence,inwhi
ch
cas
es he

wouldcomebackasngozispi
ri
tto
seekredr
essf
rom herhus
band’
s
f
amily.

*Fal
seaccusati
onofawomanf
or
wi
tchcr
aft
*–Thi soc
cur
swher
ea
womani sfal
sely

ac
cus
edf
orwi
tchc
raf
tbyher
hus
bandorhi
srel
ati
ves
,the
dec
easedc
ancomebac kas

angozi
.Thisangr
ys pi
ri
tcanwi
pe
outtheenti
ref
amil
y,whichmaybe
moredanger
ous

i
fthewomandidnotbearany
c
hil
drenwi
tht
hehusband.

*Parentaldi
smay/
Ethi
calngozi
*–
Parent
sc anal
sobecomengoz ito
thei
rchildrendueto
i
ll
-t
reatment
,s coldi
ngandbeat
ing.
Themot her
’sngoz icanbe
par
tic
ular
lyproblemati
c,

asitc anl
eadtomisf
ort
unes,
i
ll
nessesanddeat
hamongt he
chi
ldr
en.Theremedyfor

t
hisparent
aldis
mayi sthr
ougha
r
it
ualknownask ut
andabots
o,wher
e
t
heguiltychi
l
d
wearsr agsandishumil
iatedduri
ng
thec ol
lect
ionofcer
eal
sf orthe
appeasementrit
ual
.

Inthiswayt heShonas
ayasa
caut
ion:“Mudzi
muwamaiunour
aya,
asiunongor
wadza

chet
e”(Theancestr
als
pir
itofa
motherki
ll
sbutthatofaf at
heronl
y
t
orment)
.30Another
l
anguage.Thi
sarti
cl
eti
tl
ec anbe
l
i
teral
lytr
ansl
atedas“Chi
nu:Ar
senal
f
oreverywoman”.

“Kur
ume”(March)i
sthemont
hin
whic
htheart
icl
ewaspubl
is
hed.As
aweekl
ynewspaper
,

thi
sediti
onc over
ed23-29March
2010.
]Int hi
sShonamedi ar
epor
t,
Kings
toneMapupur ef
ers
tochinu(asmallc
ontai
nerofoil
),
gat
e( cl
aypotforbrewi
ngbeer)and
mukanda(astr
ingof

beadsus
edasas exualsti
mulant
)as
someofthepos s
essi
onst hata
womantradi
ti
onal
l
ybr ought

onmarri
ageintot
hefami
ly.These
aresomeoft hes
pec
iali
temst hat
coul
dbeas k
edbackby

t
hewoman’
spar
ent
swhens
hedi
ed.
AsMapupus ays
,thei
n-l
awsc
oul
d
i
nqui
re:“Chi
nu

negomwezvemwanaweduz vir
ipi
?”
(Wherear
et hes pec
ialc
ult
uralit
ems
ofourdaughter
?).

Theitemss ymbol
i
sedtheful
l
motherhoodofthewoman.Ifthe
hus
bandf ai
l
edtoavai
lchi
nu

andot
herit
ems
,thedec
easedc
oul
d
comebac
kasngoziorcaus
e
mi
sf
ort
unet
othehus
band

suchasnevert omarr
yagai
nor
divor
cingnew wi
ves
,spor
adi
cal
l
y.

30SeeTat i
raL.201
4.ShonaBel
ief
Sys
tems:Fi
ndingRel
evanc
yfora
New Gener
ati
on.The

JournalofPanAf r
icanStudi
es6( 8)
:
11
1s it
uati
oniswheret hewife’
s
propert
yisextort
edbyt hehus band,
i
ns t
ancedbyt heuse
ofhergoat
sorc at
tl
etopayfor
br
idepri
ceforanot
herwi
fe.I
fshe
di
esbefor
es heget
s

pai
dback,s hec ancomebackas
ngoz
i.Thus,mot her
sareusual
l
y
tr
eat
edwi t
hdi gnit
y

andr espectbecaus
eoftheydi
e
aggr
ieved,theywouldcomebackas
anaggr i
eveds pi
ri
t.
 *Ngozifrom vak washa(s
on-
in-
l
aws)/Transac
tionalngozi
*–
Tr
adit
ionall
y,ayoungman

coul
dwor kfort
hein-
lawsundert
he
pret
extthathewoul
dbegivena
wifethr
ougha

proc
essknowni
nShonaask
utema
ugar
iri
.

31Ift
hemandi
edbef
orer
ecei
vi
ng
the
promi
s edwif
e,t
heson-
in-l
aw woul
d
comebac kasngoz
i.I
ns ome
si
tuat
ions,t
heman

coul
dpayoutc at
tl
easr
oor
a(bri
de
pri
ce)
,butfai
l
edtogett
hebri
de.In
addi
ti
on,t
he

s
on-i
n-l
aw coul
dbemurder
edwhil
st
r
esi
dentwithhisi
n-l
aws
.Inal
lthes
e
s
cenar
ios,
t
hes on-
in-l
aw woul
dc omeback
seek
ingrevengeamongf ami
l
y
membersoft heinlaws.

*Acci
dentsi
tuat
ions*–Some
manif
est
ati
onsofngoz iar
is
efr
om
sc
enari
osofac ci
dents
.

Forinstance,amot ori
stmayk i
lla
pedest
rianc rossi
ngt heroad.Inthi
s
case,thewr ongdoermus tnegoti
ate
wit
ht her elati
vesoft hedeceasedon
i
ssuesofc ompens ati
on.
Besi
despayi
ngforcompens
ati
on,t
he
wrong-
doermayhavetoassis
twit
h
theburi
al

ar
rangementt
oexpr
esshi
sremor
se.

*Ngozidemandingc ompens
ati
on
forser
vicesrendered*–Thisngozi
ari
sesfr
om aper s
on

whodieswithoutreceivi
nghi
s/her
duesforser
vicesgiven.Thi
sisalso
anot
herfor
m of
tr
ansac
tionalngoz
iexpl
ai
nedabove.
Somes ervant
smayhavec ome
whil
stveryyoung

orpi
ckedupasabandonedc hi
l
dren
i
nperi
odsoff ami
ne,s
tar
vat
ionor
warunti
lthey

dieinaf ami
l
y.Suchpeopl
emay
comebac kasngozi
,demandi
ng
rest
it
uti
onforser
vic
es
r
ender
edt othefami
l
ywhi
l
stt
hey
wer
es t
il
lli
vi
ng.

*Poli
ti
calngozi*–Thi
stypeof
ngoziisanc hor
edinZi
mbabwe’
slong
hi
storyoft he

l
iberat
ionst
ruggl
e,begi
nni
ngwi t
ht he
Fir
stChimurengaWar(1896-
1897).

Chimurengawarwasas t
rugglefor
l
iberat
ionfr
om col
onial
i
s m.Allt he
peoplewhos ac
rif
ic
edt hei
rl i
vesto
l
iberat
eZimbabwe,inc
ludi
ngt
he
greatanc
est
orss uc
has

Murenga,Chami
nuka,Kaguviand
Nehandaform acategor
yofs pi
ri
ts
thatcancomeas

ngozii
ndefenc
eoft hecount
ry.
Alt
houghtheAfri
canswer
edef eat
ed
i
nt heFir
st

Chi
murengawar,i
tissaidthat
MbuyaNehandaonceprophet
ical
l
y
dec
lar
edt
hat

“Mapfupaanguachamuk a”(
My
boness hal
lri
seagain)
.When
subsequentChi
murenga

warsaros
e,theywereregardedasa
r
esul
tofk umukangoz
i(transl
ati
ngt
o
t
her i
si
ngof

bones)byZimbabwe’
sancest
ors
.
Simil
arl
y,t
hethenPresi
dentofthe
Chief
’sCounc
il
,
thelat
eChiefJonathanMangwende,
att
ri
butedt
her etur
nofthelower
hal
fofoneoft he

ZimbabweBirdsfr
om Ger
manyt
o
thebird’
savengi
ngspi
ri
t.
32

*Aggravat
edmur der
/Arc
het
ypal
ngozi
*–Thi stypeofngozimay
ari
sefrom theaggri
eved

s
pir
itofamur
der
edi
ndi
vi
dualf
or
s
oci
o-ec
onomi
c,r
eli
gi
ousorpol
i
ti
cal
r
eas
ons,or

c
rimi
nalact
s,s
uchasrobber
yorthe
f
orci
bl
etaki
ngofpr
oper
tyormoney
f
rom suc
h

i
ndi
vi
dual
s.Mur derisoneofthe
mostgri
evousc aus
esofngoz
i.In
Zi
mbabwe,s ome

murderer
swereal
soperpet
rat
orsof
pol
i
ticalvi
ol
enc
e,aswi
llbe
el
abor
atedi
nthec
ases

ofngozimani
fest
ati
onsinthenext
sect
ion.Whennotappeased,s
uch
ngozispi
ri
tscan

caus
ehavoc ,t
ot heext
entofwipi
ng
outenti
refami
li
es.Thefearoft
he
ngozii
nst
il
s

di
scipli
ne.AstheZi mbabwean
sc
hol arandsocialant
hropol
ogi
st
,
MichaelBour
dil
lon,
ri
ghtl
ynot es,“[t
]hef earofavenging
spir
it
sc anac tasas ancti
onfor
ethi
calbehaviour
.”33Thi siscri
ti
cal
wheneval uati
ngt heroleof
tr
aditi
onallaw,cus t
omsand

r
eli
gi
oni
nZi
mbabwe
[24/
0412:
49PM]‪+26371643
2629‬:

Ol
dTestamentvs
.New Test
ament-
Whatar
et hedi
ff
erenc
es?
  
 
  
 

  

Questi
on:"Ol
dTes
tamentvs
.New
Test
ament-Whatarethe
di
ff
erences
?"

Answer
: 
Whil
etheBibleisaunif
ied
book,t
herearedi
ff
erenc
esbetween
theOldTest
amentandt heNew
Testament .Inmanyways ,t heyar e
compl ementar y.TheOl dTes tament
i
sf oundat i
onal ;t heNew Tes t
ament
buil
dsont hatf oundat i
onwi thf urt
her
revel
at i
onf r
om God.TheOl d
Testamentes tabli
s hesprinci
plest hat
ares eent obei l
lustr
ati
veofNew
Testamentt r uths .TheOl dTes tament
containsmanypr ophec i
est hatar e
fulf
il
l
edi nt heNew.TheOl d
Testamentpr ovi dest hehi st
or yof
a people;theNew Tes tamentf ocus
i
sona  Pers
on.TheOl dTes tament
showst hewr athofGodagai ns tsin
(withgl i
mps esofHi sgrace);the
New Test
aments howsthegrac
eof
Godtowardsinners(wi
thgl
impsesof
Hi
swr at
h).

TheOl dTes t
amentpr edict
sa
Mess i
ah(seeIsai
ah53) ,andt he
New Tes t
amentrevealswhot he
Mess i
ahis(John4: 25–26).TheOl d
Testamentrecor
dst hegi vi
ngof
God’sLaw,andt heNew Tes t
ament
showshow Jes ust heMes siah
ful
fi
l
ledthatLaw (Mat thew 5:1
7;
Hebrews1 0:
9).I
nt heOl dTes tament
,
God’sdeali
ngsar emainlywi t
hHi s
chosenpeople,theJews ;i ntheNew
Testament
,God’ sdeali
ngsar emainly
withHischurch( Matt
hew 1 6:
18)
.
Physic
albl
ess i
ngspromisedunder
theOl dCovenant(Deuteronomy29:9)
givewayt os pi
ri
tualbl
ess i
ngsunder
theNew Covenant( Ephesians1:
3).
 

TheOl dTest
amentpropheci
es
relatedtothec omi
ngofChr i
s t
,
althoughinc
redi
blydet
ail
ed,contai
na
cer t
ainamountofambigui
tyt hati
s
clearedupint heNew Testament.
Forexampl e,t hepr ophetI saiah
spok eoft hedeat hoft heMes siah
(I
s aiah53)andt hees tabl
ishingof
theMes s
iah’sk ingdom ( Is
aiah26)
wi thnoc l
uesc onc erningt he
chr onologyoft het woevent s—no
hint st hatt hes uf f
er i
ngandt he
kingdom- buildi
ngmi ghtbes eparated
bymi l
lennia.Int heNew Tes tament,
i
tbec omesc l
eart hatt heMes s
iah
woul dhave  two  advents :int hef irst
Hes uffer
edanddi ed( andr os e
agai n),andi nt hes econdHewi ll
es tabli
s hHi sk i
ngdom.  
Bec auseGod’ sr evelat i
oni nSc ripture
i
spr ogressive,t heNew Tes tament
bri
ngsi ntos harperf ocuspr inc i
ples
thatwer eint r
oduc edi nt heOl d
Tes tament.ThebookofHebr ews
des cri
beshow Jes usi st het rueHi gh
Priestandhow Hi sones acrifi
ce
replacesal lprevi ouss acri
fices ,whi ch
wer emer ef oreshadowi ngs .The
Pas soverlamboft heOl dTes tament
(Ezra6: 20)bec omest heLambof
Godi nt heNew Tes tament( John
1:
29) .TheOl dTes t
amentgi vest he
Law.TheNew Tes tamentc l
ar if
ies
thatt heLaw wasmeantt os how
ment hei
rneedofsalvat
ionandwas
neverint
endedtobet hemeansof
sal
vati
on(Romans3:
19).

TheOl dTes t
aments aw par adis elost
forAdam;t heNew Tes taments hows
how par adi
sei sregainedt hrought he
secondAdam ( Chris
t).TheOl d
Testamentdec lar
est hatmanwas
separ atedfrom Godt hroughs i
n
(Genes is3),andt heNew Tes t ament
declarest hatmanc anber estoredi n
hisr elati
onshi
pt oGod( Romans
3—6) .TheOl dTes t
amentpr edi c
ted
t
heMes si
ah’sli
fe.TheGos
pel
s
r
ecordJesus’li
fe,andt
heEpi
stl
es
i
nter
pretHisli
feandhow weareto
r
espondtoallHehasdone.

I
ns ummar y,theOldTes tamentl ays
thef oundati
onf orthecomi ngoft he
Mes siahwhowoul dsacri
fi
c eHi mself
fort hesinsoft hewor l
d( 1John
2:2).TheNew Tes t
amentr ec ordsthe
mi ni
stryofJes usChris
tandt hen
l
ook sbac konwhatHedi dandhow
wear etor espond.Botht estaments
revealthes amehol y,merc i
ful,and
ri
ghteousGodwhoc ondemnss i
nbut
des i
rest osavesinnersthroughan
atonings ac
rif
ic
e.Inbot ht est
aments,
Godr eveal
sHimselftousands hows
ushow wear etoc omet oHim
throughf ai
th(Genesis15:6;Ephesi
ans
2:8).

RecommendedRes
our
ces
: 
TheQues
t
StudyBi
ble

Rel
atedTopi
cs:
Ol
dTestamentvs
.New Test
ament-
Whatar
et hedi
ff
erenc
es?
[25/048:
44AM]‪+26373590
2514‬:RELATI
ONSHI
POFOLD AND
NEW TESTAMENT

Evenac asualreadi
ngoft heBi bl
e
communicat
est hefactthattherei s
adynamicr el
ati
onshi
pbet weent he
OldTest
amentandt heNew
Test
ament,witht heverywor dst hat
areusedoft het wodivi
sions,“Ol d”
and“New, ”confi
rmi
ngt he
rel
ati
onshi
p.TwoTes taments
compris
et heBibl
e,with“Old”and
“New”s uggest
ingconnect
ionand
conti
nuati
on.
I
nt her el
ati
onshi
pbetweent het wo
i
ss eent heunityofthet wo.And
thisuni t
yisc har
acter
izedby
continuit
yanddi scont
inuity.Some
element soft heOldar ec onti
nuedin
theNew,whi leotherel ementsare
radical
lyalter
edorevenc easetobe,
therebyal l
owingtheappear anceof
new el ements.
Butnotever yonewhohasper used
theCanonhasc omet ot hisobvi ous
conc l
us i
on.Mar ci
oni nt hes ec ond
centuryc l
earlydi vorcedt heNew
Testamentf rom t heOl dTes tament ,
teachingac ompl etedi sunitybet ween
thenat i
onofI sraelandt heChur ch,
betweent heDemi urge-Cr eat
oroft he
OldTes tamentandt heGodofl ove
oft heNew Tes tament .Whi lenot
stati
ngt hedi sparityins uchs tark
termst herehavebeent hrought he
centuriest hosewhoi nvar ying
degreesdi sparaget heOl dTes tament,
oras c r
ibet oi tinwor dorpr ac t
ice
s
omesor
tofi nf
eri
orposi
ti
onr
elat
ive
t
otheNew Test
ament.
I
nc ontrasttoMar ci
onandt ot hose
whohavei ns omemeas ureemul at
ed
hispos iti
on,t herei st hewel l-
k nown
declarati
onofAugus t
inet hat“t he
New Tes t
amentl i
eshi ddeni nt he
Old,andt heOl dTes tamenti s
unveil
edi nt heNew. ”I not herwor ds,
thet woTes tament scannotbe
separatedwi thoutdes troyi
ngt he
essenc eofeac hTes t
ament —t hey
standorf allt ogether
.Spok eni n
sli
ghtl
ydi fferentt erminologyi tc an
beaf fir
medt hatt heOl dTes tament
anti
ci
pat
estheNew Tes tament ,and
theNew Testamentispr edi
c atedon
theOldTestament.Therear et he
i
deasofannouncementi nt heOl d
andaccompl
ishmentint heNew.
Thereisadynamicr el
ati
ons hip.
TheNew Tes tamenthasnumer ous
quotes,nearlyfourhundred,from t he
OldTes tament.I nmanyc asesi tis
theNew t hatgi vesunder
standing
andc lar
itytot heOld;inf actthe
Oldc annotbeunder stoodwi t
hout
theNew.Att imestheNew t ak es
conceptsf r
om t heOldandi nves t
s
them withei t
hernew meani ngor
addi
ti
onalmeani
ng.Thetwo
Test
amentsmustber eadt
oget
her
.
Theent ireBibl
ereadsl ik
eas t
ory
from begi nni
ngt oend,andt hi
sis
truebec auseitisas i
nglestor
y,the
storyofGodandHi sChr i
st.Jesus
unequi voc al
lyaff
ir
medt hatthe
Sc r
iptur eswer eaboutHi m;wi t
hout
hesitationandwi thoutapologyHe
taughtt hatHewast hes ubj
ectof
theHebr ew OldTes tament:
Yousear
cht heScr
ipt
ures...and
i
tistheythatbearwit
nessabout
Me(Jo.5:39);
Andbeginni
ngwi thMosesandall
theProphet
s,Hei nt
erpr
etedtothem
i
nalltheSc ri
ptur
esthet hi
ngs
conc
erni
ngHi msel
f(Lu.24:27)
;

ThenHes aidtot hem,“Thes eare

thewor dswhi c
hIs poket oyou
whil
eIwass ti
l
lwi t
hyou,t hatall
thi
ngsmus tbef ul
fi
ll
edwhi chwer e
writ
tenint heLaw ofMos esandt he
Prophet
sandt hePs almsc onc er
ning
Me.”AndHeopenedt hei
r
underst
anding,thattheymi ght
comprehendt heSc ri
ptures( Lu.
24:
44)
;
Butt hosethi
ngswhichGodf or
etol
d
byt hemout hofallHisprophets
,
thattheChr i
stwouldsuff
er,Hehas
thusf ul
fi
l
led(Ac
ts3:18)
;

Is t
andher etesti
fying...s ayi
ng
nothingbutwhatt hepr ophet
sand
Mos ess aidwoul dc omet opass:
thatt heChr i
stmus tsufferandt hat
,
bybei ngt hef i
rsttor i
s efrom the
dead,hewoul dproc l
ai
ml i
ghtboth
toourpeopl eandt ot heGent i
l
es
(Acts26: 22-23);
Conc er
ningthiss alvat
ion,the
prophetswhopr ophes i
edaboutt he
gracet hatwast obeyour ssear
ched
andi nquir
edc arefull
y,inqui
ri
ngwhat
personort i
met heSpi r
itofChri
stin
them wasi ndicati
ngwhenHe
predict
edt hes uff
er i
ngsofChr i
stand
thes ubsequentglor i
es( IPet
.1:1
0-1
1);

Donott hinkthatIhavec omet o

abol
is
ht heLaw ort heProphets;I
havenotc omet oaboli
sht hem but
toful
fi
llthem (Mat
t.5:1
7).
Jesusist het hemet hatunitesthe
twoTes t
ament s
.I nHim eachi s
understood—Hei spredict
edint he
Oldandpr esentedint heNew ( see:
Confir
mat i
onofChr i
stint heOld
TestamentandPr edi
c t
ionsofthe
Prophets) .
[25/
046:06PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*IMPORTANCEOF
SALVATI
ON*

Salvat
ioni
snotjustanimpor
tant
conceptinChr
is
ti
ani
ty.Tothedevout
Chr i
s t
ian,iti sac tuallythedes i
red
outc omet obegai nedf rom livi
nga
piousChr i
stianl i
fe.I nChr ist
ianit
y,
salvationmeanset ernallif
eaf ter
deat h,andf reedom f r
om s inandt he
cons equencesofs i
n.Thes alvati
onof
as ouls parest hats oulthewr athof
God’ sj udgmentandanaf t
erli
feof
eternaldamnat ion.

*ORI
GINALSI
N*

Or
igi
nals
ini
sthei
deat
hatal
l
humanbei ngsar ebor ni mper f
ectand
sinful.SaintAugus ti
neputf ortht he
i
dea,andi thasbeenani mportant
par tofChr is
tiandoc t
ri
neevers ince.
Chr i
s t
ianswhobel ieveint hedoc tr
ine
ofor i
ginals i
nbel ievet hati texpl ai
ns
thepr esenceofi mper f
ec ti
onandevi l
i
nawor ldc reatedbyaper fectand
benevol entGod.Or i
gi
nals in( and
deat h)begani nt heGar denofEden,
whenAdam andEvedi s obeyedGod
byeat ingt hef orbiddenf ruit
.
Chr i
s t
iansbel i
evet hatt hebi rt
hof
sinc r
eatedac has mi nt he
relati
ons hi
pbet weenGodand
humani
ty.

*JESUSCHRI
ST*

Thec ent r
alfigureint hehistoryof
Chr ist
ianit
yisJes us,whodevout
Chr ist
iansbelievet obet hemes si
ah
andSonofGod.I nChr i
sti
anit
y,
salvationi snotpos si
blewithout
acc eptingJes usast heSonofGod
andt heSavi orofmank ind.Thisis
repeat edt hr
oughoutt heNew
Tes tament ,andi st hebas i
soft he
oft-quot edver s
ef rom theGos pelof
John( 3:
16)
:“ForGods olovedthe
world,thathegavehisonl y
begottenSon,thatwhosoever
bel
ievethinhi
ms houl
dnotper i
sh,
buthaveeverlast
ingli
fe.
”

*ATONEMENT*

Christ
iansbeli
evethatwhenGod
sentJes ustowal ktheear t
h,fi
rs
tas
at eacherandt henulti
matel
yasa
divi
nes acri
fi
ce,itwasanac tof
graceandl oves opower f
ulthatit
cl
os edt hechasm betweenGodand
humanity.Thisisk nownast he
Atonement.Ac cor
dingtoChr i
st
iani
ty,
anyper sonwill
ingt oseek
for
givenessandf oll
ow themessage
ofJes usChristcanr ec
eivesal
vati
on
becauseoft heAt onement.

*SALVATI
ON AND AFTERLI
FE*

ManyChr isti
andenominat
ionsteach
thatther ewardforsal
vat
ionis
eter
nalli
feaf t
erdeathandar epr
ieve
from theharshjudgmentofGodf or
eart
hlysins.Thisiswheret he
conceptofheavenc omesi n.Heaven
i
sunder s t
oodbymos tmainstr
eam
Chri
stianst obet hehol yplac
e
wheret hes oulsofs avedChrist
ians
goaf terdeat h.Inheaven,Chr i
stians
beli
evet hereisnos in,ill
ness
,or
suff
ering.Thos es oul
st hatare
admittedt oHeavenar ei nthe
constantpr esenceofGodandJes us
Chri
st,whi chinspi
resmanyChr i
s ti
ans
tos t
rivef ors al
vati
onandal if
eof
piet
y.
[25/
046:
06PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*SALVATI
ON*
*Pr
oces
sofSal
vat
ion*

Everyonewhohaseverl i
ved,
Chri
s t
ianandnon-
Chri
st
ian,wil
lfac
e
af i
naljudgmentt
odetermine
whetherheors heendsupi n
heavenorhell.

Wemus tbejus
ti
fi
ed,ormade
acc
ept
abl
et oGod.Inournatural
humanstat
e,weareallsi
nnersand
unworthyofheaven.However
,God,
i
nHi smercy,mayc hooseto
overl
ookourfaul
tsandadmi tusto
heaven.

Sal
vat
ioncomesonl
ybythegr ac
eof
God.Ther
eisnothi
ngwecandoon
ourowntoguarant
eeours
alvati
on.

Jesus'sacri
fi
cialdeat
hont hec r
oss
hasenabled( butnotguarant
eed)our
sal
vati
ont hr
oughamys ter
ywe
cannotful
lyunder st
and.
 *Condi
ti
onsf
ors
alvat
ion*

*1*.LoveGod.Not hings houldget

i
nt hewayofourt otaldevot i
ont o
God.Wemus tbehumbl e,not
arr
ogantors elf
-r
ighteous .I nanc ient
ti
mes ,peoplewer et empt edt o
wor shippagangodsandi dols.In
moder nt i
mes,wear et empt edtol et
"i
dol s"l i
kemoney,power ,pr est
ige,
careers ,hobbiesandpl eas ure
becomeourpr i
marygoal sand
conc erns.
 *2*. Loveyour" nei
ghbor."Inother
words,bek i
ndandr espectf
ulto
otherpeople.Jes usputt his
commandmentonparwi t
ht he
commandmentt ol oveGod.As
Jesusdef i
nedi t
,al lpeopl
eoft he
worldareour" neighbors
,"regardl
ess
ofr ac
e,reli
gion,nat i
onal
it
y,etc.

*3*. Putyourfait
hi nGodand
Chri
st.InBibl
icalusage,"fai
th"
meansmor ethanjustbeli
evingthat
Godexi st
sandt hatJes usisHis
di
vineSon.Tr ust
ingourl i
vestoGod
i
nst
eadofworl
dlyt
hingsi
seven
mor
eimpor
tant
.

*4*.Thehear tismor ei mportant

thanr ul
esandl aws .InJes us'ti
me,
peoplebelievedt heywoul dbes aved
i
ft heyf ol
lowedabout600r ul
esand
l
aws .ButJes uspoi nt
edoutt hat
peoplec ouldobs erveallt hoserules
ands til
lfi
ndwayst olivewi cked
andgr eedyl i
ves.Jes usandHi s
disci
pl
est aughtt hatGods ees
everyt
hingandwi l
ljudgeusbywhat
i
si nourhear ts(ourat ti
tudes,
i
ntent
ionsandmot
ives
)

*5*.Li veamor allif

e.Avoi ds i
ns
l
ikemur der,adul
tery,sexual
i
mmor al
ity,thef
t,slander,idolat
ry,
host
il
it
y,gr eed,envy,jealousy,
quar
reli
nganddr unkenbehavi or
.

*6*.Repentandf orgiveot her

s.
Noonec anc ompletel
yl iveupt o
God'sstandar
ds .Whenwef alli
nto
si
n,wemus tr epent(sinc erel
yt ur
n
awayfrom s i
nandt owar dGod) .
JustasGodi swi l
li
ngt of orgiveour
si
ns,wemus tbewi
l
li
ngt
ofor
give
ot
herpeopl
e.

*7*.DoGod' sworkonearth.I
tis
notenoughtoj us
tavoi
devil
.We
arealsocommandedtous et
he
wealt
h,tal
ent
sandabili
ti
esGodhas
gi
venust oserveGodandot her
peopl
e.

*8**.LoveGod*

Lovi
ngGodmeansnot
hings
houl
d
geti
nt hewayofourt otaldevoti
on
toGod.(Deut
eronomy6:5,Mat t
hew
22:
34-
40,
Mar k12:28-34).Inanc i
enttimes,
peoplewer etempt edtowor shi
p
pagangodsandi dol
s.Inmodern
ti
mes ,wear et emptedt olet"i
dols"
l
ikemoney,power ,poli
ti
cs,presti
ge,
career
s ,hobbies,andpl eas
ure
becomeourpr i
mar ygoalsand
concerns( Luke1 1
:42,Romans8: 28,
Ephesians5: 5,
Col
oss
ians3:
5,Phi
l
ippi
ans3:
17-
21,
1John2:
1-
6,2:
15-
17,5:
1-
3,1Ti
mot
hy
6:
10)
.

*9*.*Loveyournei
ghbor
*

TheEngl i
shwor d" l
ove"c anhave
aff
ec t
ionate,emot i
onal,romant ic,
sexual,orbenevol entmeani ngs.The
ori
ginalGr eekwor dagape,us edin
theBi ble,hasabenevol entmeani ng.
Itist hek indofl ovewedoi nst
ead
ofthek indofl ovewef eel.I tmeans
havi
ngas incer
ec oncer
nf ort he
welfareofot hersandhol dingt hem
i
nhighr egar
d.ThatiswhatJesus
meantwhenHes ai
d,"Loveyour
nei
ghbor
."
Jes ust oldHi sPar ableoft heGood
Samar it
an( Luke1 0:25-37)tos how
thata" nei
ghbor"i nc l
udesallpeople
oft hewor ld,event hoseofdifferent
nationali
tiesandr eli
gions,even
enemi es.I nHisdes c r
ipt
ionoft he
FinalJudgment( Mat thew 25:
31-46)
Jes uss tatedexpl i
c i
tlythatour
salvati
ondependsondoi ngwhat ever
wec ant ohelpot herpeopleinneed.
LovingGodandl ovi ngourneighbor s
arei nsepar abl
ec onc epts;wec an't
tr
ulyloveGodwithoutals
ol ovi
ng
otherpeopl
e(1John3:15-1
8,4:19-
21,
James2:
14-
17)
.
[25/046: 08PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Jewi sht r
aditi
ont eac hesus
toc aref orourpl anetinor dert o
preservet hatwhi chGodhasc reat
ed.
Psalm 24not es,"Theear thi st he
Lord'sandt hef ul
lnesst hereof,"a
dramat i
cas sert
ionofGod' s
owner shipoft hel and.Itf oll
ows ,
then,t hatanyac tthatdamagesour
earthisanof fenseagai nstt he
propertyofGod.TheJewi shc oncept
of 
baltas
hchi
t,"donotdes t
roy,
"
for
bidsneedl
essdes
truc
tion.

Judais m emphas izesourneedt o

preser veournat uralres our c
esand
gener atenew onesf orf uture
gener ations .TheTal mudt ellsthe
storyoft hes ageChoni ,whowas
walkingal ongar oadwhenhes aw a
manpl antingac arobt ree.Choni
as k
ed," How l ongwi llitt akef orthi
s
treet obearf rui
t?""Sevent yyears,"
themanr epli
ed.Chonit henas ked,
"Areyous ohealthyt hatyouexpec t
tol i
vet hatl engthoft i
meandeat
i
t sfruit? "Themanans wered," I
foundaf ruitf
ulwor l
dbec aus emy
ances tor spl antedi tf orme.Li k
ewis
e,
Iam pl antingf ormyc hil
dren."In
fact,t raditionval uest hisconc eptso
muc ht hatt her abbist eacht hatifa
mani spl antingat r
eeandt he
mes siahappear s,hes houldf ini
sh
planti
ngt het r
eebef oregoi ngt o
greethi m( Avotd' RebbeNat an 
31b)
.

Weareenc
our
aged 
l'
vadahul'
shamrah,
"
toti
l
landtotend,
"t obecomet he
Eart
h'sstewar ds.I nIsai
ah41 :1
7-18,
Godpr omises ,"I,theGodofI srael
,
wil
lnotf orsaket hem.Iwi l
lopen
ri
ver
si nhighpl acesandf ountainsin
themi ds
tofval leys;Iwillmak et he
wil
dernessapoolofwat erandt he
drylands pringsofwat er
."Inot her
words,wewer egi venourpl anetas
aloanf r
om God,andwes hould
workt opres ervei t
.

Cl
i
mat
eChange

Amongt
hemanyi
ssuesf
aci
ngour
planet
,cli
mat ec hangepos esahuge
chall
enget ores ourcedevel opment
andevendai l
yhabi ts.Addr essi
ng
cl
imatec hangerequiresust olearn
how tolivewi thint heec ol
ogical
l
imitsoft heear ths ot hatwewi l
l
notc ompromiset heec ol
ogicalor
economics ecuri
tyoft hosewho
comeaf t
erus .

TheTor ahcommands,"Jus
ti
ce,
just
iceshal
lyoupursue"
(Deuter
onomy16:
20),andthus,our
energypoli
cymustalsobeequitabl
e
andj ust-andt hec ount r
iesmos t
respons i
blef orc l
imat ec hanges hould
bet hos emos tr es pons iblef orfi
nding
as ol uti
ont ot hepr obl em.Judai sm
alsounder scorest hemor al
i
mper ativeofpr otect i
ngt hepoorand
vulner able:"Whenonel oves
ri
ght eous nessandj us t
ice,t heear t
h
i
sf ulloft hel oving-k i
ndnes soft he
Eternal "( Psalms33: 5).I ndeed,poor
nationsar el ik
elyt obeart hebr unt
oft henegat i
vei mpac t
sas sociat
ed
withc li
mat ec hange.
Becauseours acredt ext steachthat
humank i
ndhasanobl i
gat i
onto
i
mpr ovet hewor l
df orf utur
e
generati
ons,Jewis ht r aditi
on
encouragesf amil
i
esandc ommuniti
es
toreduc etheirwas t
eandmak e
smartc onsumerc hoices ,invest
ingin
companiest hatdonotpol l
uteand
supporti
ngbehavi orsandpol ici
esthat
encouragec onservation.

Cl
eanWat
er

Asoneoft
hemos
timpor
tant
nat uralr esour c
est ohumani ty's
sur vi
val,wat erhasas pec ialpl acei n
Jewi sht raditi
on,pl ayingar ol ei n
near lyever ymaj ors t
oryi nt hebi ble.
Isaac '
swi f
ewasc hos enf orhi m ata
wel l;thebabyMos eswass aved
afterf loat i
ngdownar iver;t he
Israelit
eswer ef reedwhent her ed
seapar ted;Mi riam wi l
lf or everbe
remember i
ngbyhergi ftofwat ert o
theJewi s hpeopl ei nt hedes ert.Our
clean,f r eshwat ers uppl i
esand
mi neralr esourcesar ebei ng
exhaus tedbyi ndus tri
aland
popul ationgr owt h,andi ti svi talt hat
wel eadi nc onservationwhi l
e
developingnat ur
alr esources.Jewish
tr
aditionhasl ongadvoc atedt hat
l
oc alandnat ionalgover nmentst ake
appropriat
emeas urest or emoveor
amel i
oratethegr owi ngt hr
eatsof
environmentalpolluti
onandt oaffor
d
protecti
ont ot heenvi ronment.

Envi
ronment
alHeal
th

Theprinc
ipl
eof pikuac
hnef esh,
savi
nghumanlivesaboveal lel
se,i
s
ourgreat
estmor alobli
gat
ion.Wear e
taught," Yous hallnots t
andi dlyby
thebloodofyournei ghbor"
(Levi
ti
c us1 9:16),andt o" choosel i
fe,
thatyouandyourdes cendantsmay
l
ive"( Deut eronomy30: 20).Itf ol
lows,
then,t hatJewi shval uesc ommand
ust opr eservet heear thandi ts
vari
edl i
fef orours akeandf or
generationst oc ome.I tisour
obli
gationt opr eservehumanl i
feby
educatingour selvesaboutt he
dangersofenvi ronment alhealthr i
sks
andwor k i
ngt opr eventthem f ort he
sakeofal lhumani ty.
Ashei rstoat raditi
onof
stewar dshi
pt hatgoesbac kto
Genes i
sandt eachesust obe
partnersi ntheongoi ngwor kof
creation,wec annotac ceptthe
escalatingdes tr
uc ti
onofour
environmentandi tsef f
ectonhuman
healthandl ivelihood.I tisours acred
dutyt oall
eviateenvi ronmental
degradat i
onandt hehumans uf
fer
ing
i
tc aus esinsteadofdes poil
i
ngour
ai
r,l and,andwat er.

Sour
ce:
 
 

Rel
igi
ousAc
tionCent
erofRef
orm
Judai
sm
[25/
046:08PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Formsofbapt
is
m

Quest
ion:"Whataretheseven
bapt
is
msment ionedi
nt heBibl
e,and
whatdot heymean?"

Ans
wer
: 
His
tor
ical
l
y, 
bapt
is
m hasbeen
usedasar it
eofi niti
ati
on,showing
thei nduc t
ee’sent ranc eint
oanew
belieforobs ervance.Bapt i
smi nthe
chur chi salsoat ok enoft he
forgivenessofs insweexper ienceat
salvation—inmuc ht hesameway
thatPi l
ateattempt edt os how his
i
nnoc encebywas hinghishandswi t
h
wat er( Matthew 27: 24),Chris
t i
ans
show t heyar ec l
eans edbyChr i
st
whent heyar ebapt izedbywat er
.

SomeBi bl
es t
udent
shavei dent
if
ied
sevenbapti
smsinSc r
ipt
ure.The
sevenbapt
is
msar
eus
ual
l
yli
st
edas
beingt
hese:

1)Thebapt is
m ofMos es( 1
Corinthi
ans1 0:
1–3)–whent he
I
s r
aelit
eswer edel iveredf r
om s laver
y
i
nEgypt ,theywer e“bapt izedinto
Mos esi nthec loudandi nt hes ea.
”
Thati s,theywer ei denti
fiedwi th
Mos esandhi sdel iveranceby
passingt hr
ought heRedSeaand
fol
lowingGod’ spr esenc eint hec l
oud
(Exodus1 3:21)
.Paulus est hisasa
compar i
sont ot hewayt hat
Christiansarei dent
if
iedwi thChr i
s t
andHi ss al
vati
on.Thos ewho
fol
lowedMos espas sedt hr
ought he
wat erandwer et husi ni
ti
atedintoa
new l ifeoffreedom andLaw- keeping;
thos ewhof oll
ow Jes usChr i
st,who
i
sgr eaterthanMos es,passt hrough
thewat ersofbapt is
m andar et hus
i
niti
at edt oanew l i
feoff reedom
andgr ace.

2)Thebaptis
m ofJohn( Mark1:
4)–
asJohnt heBapt
is
tpreached
repent
anc
eofs i
nsinpreparat
ionfor
thec omi ngoft heMes s i
ah,he
baptizedpeopl ei nt heJor dan.Thos e
whower e bapti
zedbyJohn  wer e
showingt heirfait
hi nJohn’ s
mes sageandt heirneedt oc onfess
theirs i
n.I n Act
s1 8:24–25,adi s
cipl
e
ofJohn’ snamedApol l
ospr eachesin
Ephes us;however ,onlyk nowingt he
baptism ofJohnandt heneedf or
repentanc e,heneededt obef urt
her
i
ns t
ruc t
edi nthedeat hand
resurrecti
onofChr i
st.Laterint he
samec ity, 
Ac t
s1 9:
1–7,Paul
encount erss omemor ef oll
owersof
John.Thes edisci
pleshadbeen
bapt
iz
edforr epentance,butt hey
hadnotheardoft henew bi rthor
theHolySpiri
t.Pault aughtthem the
whol
emes sageofs al
vati
oninChr i
st
,
andtheyreceivedt hemes sageand
weresubsequentl
ybapt i
zedinJesus’
name.

3)Thebapt is
m ofJesus( Matt
hew
3:1
3– 1
7)–t hi
swasJes us
’actof
i
dent i
fyi
ngwithsi
nfulhumani
ty.
AlthoughJesusdidnotneedt o
repentofs i
n,Hec amet oJohnto
bebapt iz
ed.Johnbalkedat
performingt hebapt i
sm,s ayi
ngt hat
Jesuss houldbet heonebapt i
zing
him( Matthew 3: 1
3–14).ButJes us
toldJohnt opr oceedwi t
ht he
baptism:“Leti tbes onow;i tis
properf orust odot hist of ulf
il
lall
ri
ghteous ness”( verse1 5).Int hi
s
baptism,Jes usputHi ss tampof
approvalonJohn’ smi nistryandal so
beganHi sown.AsJes usc ameup
from t hewat er
,theFat hers poke
from heaven,andt heHol ySpi r
it
desc endedi nbodi lyform uponJes us
(verses1 6–17).
4)Thebapt i
sm off i
re( Mat thew
3:1
1–1
2)–Johnpr ophes i
edt hat
Jesuswoul dbapt i
z emen“wi thf i
re.
”
Thisspeak sofJes us’judgi ngt he
worldfori t
ss i
n( s ee John5: 22).
I
mmedi atel
yaf terment i
oning
the 
bapti
s m byf ir
e,Johndes cri
bes
Jesusasover seeingahar ves tto
come:“Hi swi nnowi ngf or
ki sinhi s
hand,andhewi llc l
earhist hreshi
ng
fl
oor,gatheri
nghi swheati nt othe
barnandbur ningupt hec haffwi t
h
unquenchablef ir
e”( verse1 2;
cf.
 Matt
hew 1 3:24– 30, 36–43) .Thos e
whoar ej udgedbyChr istint helast
daywi l
lbecastint
othel
akeoff
ir
e
(Revel
ati
on20:
15)
.

5)Thebapt is
m oft heHol ySpi r
it
(Ephesi
ans1 :1
3– 1
4; 
1Cor inthi
ans1 2:
13)
–Johnal sopr edi
ctedt hatJes us
wouldbaptiz emenwi tht heHol y
Spiri
t(Matthew 3: 1
1).Thisi sa
spir
it
ualbapt i
sm,andi ti sthe
bapti
smt hats avesus .Ats alvat
ion,
wear e“immer sed”i ntheHol ySpiri
t.
TheSpi r
itc oversus ,indwellsus,f i
ll
s
us,andmak esusapar toft he
spir
it
ualbodyofChr is
t.The  bapt
ism
oftheSpiri
t i
swhati ni
ti
atesusi nt
o
new li
feinChr i
st
.Thef i
rstpeoplet o
exper
iencethebapt i
sm oft heSpi r
it
weret hebeli
ever
si nActs2  onthe
DayofPent ecost
.Thes pi
r i
tualent
it
y
knownast hebodyofChr istis
for
medbyt hi
sbapt is
m:“Wewer eall
bapti
zedbyoneSpi ri
ts oast oform
onebody”( 1Cor i
nthi
ans1 2:13)
.

6)Thebapt i
sm ofthecros
s( Mark
10:35–
39)–Jesusus edthelanguage
ofbapt i
smtorefertoHissuff
eri
ngs
(andt hos
eofHisdisci
pl
es)
.James
andJohn,t heBoaner ges ,hadc ome
toJes usas ki
ngf orapl aceofhonor
i
nt hek ingdom.Jes usas kedt hem,
“Canyou...bebapt i
zedwi tht he
bapti
sm Iam bapt iz
edwi th?”( Mark
10:
38).Theyr epli
edt hatt heyc ould,
andJes usc onfir
medi t
:“Youwi l
l...
bebapt i
z edwi t
ht hebapt i
sm Iam
bapti
zedwi t
h”( vers
e39) .The
“bapt
ism”Jes uss peaksofher eis
thesuf f
eringHewast oendur e.
JamesandJohnwoul ds uffer
,as
well
.
7)Thebapt ism ofbel ievers( Mat t
hew
28:19)–t hi
si sawas hingi nwat er
tos ymboliz
et heac t
ionoft heHol y
Spiriti nabel iever’shear t
.Believer ’
s
bapt ism i
soneoft het woor dinanc es
givent othec hurch.Di ff
erent
chur chespr acti
c edi f
ferent modesof
bapt ism,butal lwhof ol l
ow Chr ist
shoul dbebapt i
zed,s inc eiti s
commandedbyourLor d.Wat er
bapt ism pic
t ur
ess omewonder f
ul
spiritualtr
uths.Whenwear es aved,
wear e“bur i
ed”wi thChr i
s tand
“rise”t onewnes sofl i
fe;ours ins
are“was hedaway, ”andwear e
cleans ed.I tisSpi ri
tbapt is
mt hat
savesus ,butwat erbaptismi sour
outwar dexpr essionoft hatevent .
“Allofuswhower ebapt i
zedi nt
o
Chr i
s tJes uswer ebaptizedi ntohis
deat h[.]Wewer et her
efor ebur i
ed
wi t
hhi mt hr
oughbapt ismi ntodeath
i
nor dert hat
,j ustasChr istwas
raisedf rom t hedeadt hrought he
gloryoft heFat her,wet oomayl i
ve
anew l i
fe”( Romans6: 3– 4).

Ofthes evenbapt
is
msfoundin
Sc
ript
ure,onlytwoareofper
sonal
signif
icancetot heChr i
s t
iant oday:
thebapt i
sm oft heHolySpi r
it(that
savesus )andbel i
ever’
swat er
bapt i
sm( thatidenti
fi
esuswi t
ht he
church).Theot herbaptismswer e
uniquelyf orothertimes,l i
mitedt o
certai
npeopl e,or( i
nt hec aseoft he
bapt i
sm off i
re)s t
il
lfuture.
[25/
046:08PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*SALVATI
ON**I
N*
*CHRISTI
ANI
TY*

Sal
vat
ioni
sdel
i
ver
anc
efr
om danger
ors uff
eri
ng.Tos aveist odeli
veror
protect
.Thewor dc arr
iestheideaof
vi
c t
ory,heal
th,orpreservat
ion.
Somet i
mes,theBi bl
eus esthewords
savedor
salvati
ont oref
ert otempor
al,
phys ic
aldeli
ver
ance,suchasPaul’
s
deliveranc
efrom pri
son(Phi
li
ppi
ans
1:
19)

Moreof t
en,t
hewor d“sal
vati
on”
concer
nsanet er
nal
,spi
ri
tual
del
iver
ance.WhenPaultoldthe
Phil
ippi
anjai
lerwhathemus tdoto
bes aved,hewasr eferr
ingtothe
jai
l
er ’
seter
naldes ti
ny( Act
s16:
30-31
).
Jesusequatedbei ngs avedwit
h
enteri
ngthek ingdom ofGod
(Matthew 1
9:24-25).

Whatar ewes avedfrom ?Int he

Chris
tiandoctri
neofs al
vat
ion,we
ares avedfr
om “wr at
h,”thatis,
fr
om God’ sjudgmentofs i
n( Romans
5:9;1Thes s
aloni
ans5:9).Ours i
nhas
separatedusf r
om God,andt he
consequenc eofs i
ni sdeath( Romans
6:23)
.Bi bli
cals al
vati
onr ef
erst oour
deli
verancef rom thec onsequenceof
sinandt hereforeinvol
vest he
removalofs in.

Whodoest hesavi
ng?OnlyGodc an
removesi
nanddeliverusfr
om si
n’s
penal
ty(
2Ti mot
hy1 :
9;Ti
tus3:
5).

How doesGods ave?Int heChri

st
ian
doctr
ineofsal
vation,Godhas
res
cuedust hroughChr i
st(John3:1
7).
Speci
fic
all
y,i
twasJes us’deathon
thec rossands ubsequent
resurr
ecti
ont hatac hi
evedour
sal
vation(Romans5: 1
0;Ephes i
ans
1:
7).Sc r
ipt
urei sclearthatsalvat
ion
i
st hegr aci
ous,undes ervedgif
tof
God( Ephesians2:5,8)andi sonly
avail
ablethr
oughf aithinJes usChrist
(Acts4:12)

How dower ecei

ves al
vati
on?We
ares avedbyf ait
h.Firs
t,wemus t
heart hegospel—thegoodnewsof
Jesus’deathandr es
urrec
tion
(Ephesians1
:1
3).Then,wemus t
beli
eve—fullytrus
tt heLor dJesus
(Romans1 :
16)
.Thisi nvol
ves
repentance,ac hangingofmi nd
abouts inandChr ist( Ac
ts3:19)
,and
call
i
ngont henameoft heLor d
(Romans1 0:
9-1
0,13).

A def i
niti
onoft heChr i
st
iandoct
ri
ne
ofs al
vati
onwoul dbe“The
deliveranc
e,byt hegr ac
eofGod,
from et er
nalpunishmentforsi
n
whi chi sgrantedtothosewho
ac c
eptbyf ait
hGod’ scondi
ti
onsof
repentanceandf ai
thintheLord
Jesus.
”Salvati
onisavail
ablein
Jesusalone(John1 4:
6;Acts4:1
2)
andisdependentonGodal onefor
provi
si
on,assuranc
e,ands ecur
it
y.
[25/
046:
08PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*DELI
VERANCE?
*

Mai
nHebrew wordsintheOld
Tes
tament
,tr
ansl
ated''
todel
i
ver'
'
:

-yasha=salvat
ion,deli
verance;used
205t imes( '
Jeshua'i
st heJewi sh
form oft hename' Jesus',itmeans
'
Gods aves '
);
-shamar
=t opr
otec
t,toguar
d,t
o
deli
ver
;used468times

I
nt heNew Test
ament,her
ear
e
someGr eekwor
dstrans
lat
ed'
'
to
del
iver
''
:

-sozo=tosave,deli
ver
,heal,pr
otec
t;
used1 10ti
mes :Mat1:
21,8:
25,Jn3:
17;
Jn12:27;Acts1
6:31
;

-
rhuomai
=tor
esc
ue,t
odel
i
ver
;us
ed
18ti
mes :Mat6:1
3,27:43;Lk1:
74;
Rom7:24,11:
26,15:
31,2Cor1:
10,
Col
.1
:1
3,1 Thes
1:
10,2Tim3:1
1,4:1
7,1
8;
2Pet
2:7,9

-exai
reo=totearout,topl
uckout ,to
deli
ver;used8t i
mes:Mat
5:29,1
8:9;
Ac t
s7:1
0,34,
12:
11
,23:
27,26:
17;Gal
1:
4;

-apal
l
asso=torelease,t
ochange
away,todeli
ver;used3t i
mes:
Luke1
2:58;Act
s19:
12;Heb2:
15.
*Her
eareDELI
VERANCESf
rom God
forman:
*

*01
.--DELI
VERANCEFROM
PUNI
SHMENTFORSI N( HELL)
*

Jesuspai dont hec rossforours i

ns
andt hosewhot rus
ti nHim are
deli
veredfrom goingt ohell
:Is53:
5,
Rom6: 23,Jn3:
14-20,6:47,11:
25-26;
1Thes1:
10

*02.-
-DELI
VERANCEFROM THE
PRESENCEOFOURSI
N NATURE*

Wear ebor nwi thas innatur

eand
wehavei tuntilwedi e;wec ommit
sinsbecausewehaveas i
nnatur
e:
1Jn1:
8,Rom3: 23,7:1
4-25,8:1
0;
Ec l
7:
20,5:12;Jer17:
9;

*03.-
-DELI
VERANCEFROM THE
POWERAND SLAVERYOFOURSI N
NATURE*

I
tcomest
hroughl
i
vingi
nfel
l
ows
hip
wi t
hChr istundert heleadi
ngoft he
HolySpi ri
t,Chr i
st
iansarenol onger
slavesofs i
n;wehavet heopt i
ont o
wi t
hstandt heinit
iati
onsofours in
naturebyr espondingtoGod' s
i
ni t
iat
ions:Gal5:1
6;Rom6: 1
-14,8:
1-1
3,
13:14,1Pet2:
11

*04.--
DELI
VERANCEFROM SATAN
AND HISDEMONS'AUTHORI
TY:*

Col
1:1
3,Act
s26:
18whenoner ec
eives
Jesusheismovedf r
om Satan'
s
ki
ngdom i
ntoJesus
'k i
ngdom;a
Christi
ans til
lhast heopti
onto
fol
low demons 'ini
ti
ati
onsbuthewi ll
bec hasti
sedbyGod:Jn1 :
12,Heb1
2:6,
1Cor10:21,
22;aChr i
sti
anisthe
templ eoft heHol ySpiri
tand
thereforec an'
tbepos s
essedby
demons :1Cor3:
16,6:1
9,2Cor6:
16;

*05.--
DELI
VERANCEFROM THE
I
NFLUENCEOFTHEWORLD
SYSTEM*

Thewor
ldsys
tem i
scont
rol
ledby
Sat
anandbythesinnat
ureofman;
Col
3:
1,
2;Gal
1:
4,1
Jn2:
15-
17

*06.-
-DELI
VERANCEFROM SELF*

I
tc omesbyr ec
koni
ngthatwehave
diedwi t
hChr ist
,wehavebeen
rais
edwi thChr i
standplacedinthe
heavenlyplacesGal2:
20,Col3:
3,
Phil
3:20,Eph1:3,2Cor
5:1
4-1
5;Lk22:42:
'
notmywi l
lbutyoursbedone. .
.'

*07.-
-DELI
VERANCEFROM LIFE
SI
TUATIONS:
*s i
cknes
ses
,tr
ial
s,
temptat
ions1
Cor
10:
13,James
5:1
4-1
5;
2Tim3:1
1

*DELI VERANCE*i sdef i

nedas“a
rescuef r
om bondageordanger .”I n
theOl dTes t
ament ,deli
veranc
ei s
focusedpr i
mari
lyonGod’ s
deli
veranceint hemi dstoft r
oubleor
danger .HerescuesHi speoplef rom
theirenemies(1Sam1 7:
37;2Kings 20:
6),
andf r
om thehandoft hewi cked
(Ps7:2;17:
13;18:1
6-19;59:2).He
preservesthem from famine( Ps33:1
9),
death( Ps22:
19-
21),andt hegr ave
(Ps56:1
3;86:1 3;Hos ea1
3:1
4).The
mos ts t
ri
kingexampl eofdeli
ver
ance
i
st heexodusf r
om Egypt( Ex3:
8;6:6;
8:1
0),Godbei ngt heDel i
ver
erof
Isr
aelwhor es c
uesHi speople,not
becauset heydes ervet ober es
cued,
butasanexpr essi
onofHi smercy
andl ove( Ps51:
1;71:2;86:1
3).

Thedes c
ript
ionsoft emporal
del
iveranceint heOl dTes t
ament
ser
veass ymbol icrepr
esentat
ionsof
thes pir
it
ualdel iver
ancef r
om s i
n
whichi savailableonlyt hr
oughChr i
st
.
Heof f
ersdel i
veranc efrom mank i
nd’s
greatestper i
l—s i
n,evi l
,deathand
judgment .ByGod’ spower ,believers
aredel i
ver edf rom t hi
spr esentevi l
age( Gal1:4)andf r
om t hepowerof
Satan’sr eign( Col 1
:13)
.Al laspec t
sof
deli
veranc ear eavai l
abl
eonl yt hrough
theper sonandwor kofJes usChr i
st,
whowasHi mselfdel i
veredupf orus
(Rom4:25)s othatwewoul dbe
deli
veredf rom et ernalpunishmentf or
sin,the“wr at
ht oc ome”( 1Thes s1
:1
0).

Anot
heras
pec
tofdel
i
ver
anc
e
conc ernst het empor al.Whi l
e
bel i
ever sar edel i
ver edonc ef orall
ti
mef r om et ernalpuni shment ,we
areal sodel iveredI N( notal ways
FROM)t het ri
alsoft hi
sl if
e( 2Pet2:
9);
i
tmeanst hatGodk eepsyou
victori
ousi nat r
ialwi t
houtr emoving
thet r
ial,asGodi swal kingt hr
ough
thet r
ialsbyours ide,c omforti
ngand
enc ouragi ngust hrought hem asHe
us est hem t omat ureusi nthef ait
h
(1Cor10:13) .

I
nthes
ecas
es,t
otalr
esc
uei
snot
i
mmedi ate,buti
ndueti
me,af
ter
pati
encehashadi t
sper
fec
twork
(Jam1:
2-4,1
2).

Peoplear elookingmor ef orthe

*DELI VERANCEFROM EVI LSPI RI
TS*
ort hes pi
ritofl ust,jeal
ousy,et c
.
It
’si mport
antt ounder st
andt hat,as
bel
ievers,weal readyhaveet ernal
vi
ctoryoverSat ananddemons .But
wec anbedel i
veredf rom thei
r
i
nfl
uenc einourl ivesbyus i
ngt wo
weaponsGodhasgi venusaspar t
ofourSPI RITUALARMORwi thwhi ch
webat t
le“againstthepowersof
t
hisdarkwor l
dandagainstthe
spi
ri
tualforcesofevili
nt heheavenl
y
r
ealms”( Eph6:1
2-1
7),weaponsare:

*THESHIELD OFFAI
TH andt
he
of
fens
iveweaponofTHEWORD OF
GOD.*

Agai
ns ttheset woweapons,nos pir
it
canpr evai
lIs54:1
7.Byholdi
ngup
thes hi
eldoff ai
th,weexti
ngui
sht he
fl
amings pi
rit
ualarrowst
heys end
agai
ns tus,arrowsoflust
,doubt,
guil
t,jealousy,evils peech,andal l
manneroft emptati
ons .Wi tht he
swordoft heSpi ri
t,whi chi st he
WordofGod,weover comet heevil
onebyl earningthet r
uthaboutwho
wear ei nChr i
standpr ovingSat an'
s
temptati
onst obel i
esbec aus ehei s
thefatherofl i
es( Jn8:44).Byt he
off
ens i
veweaponoft heTr ut
h,we
overcomet heevilone( 1Jn2:14)

Deli
ver
ancef
rom si
n,rescuefrom
tr
ial
s,andes
c apef
rom theinfl
uenc
e
ofawor l
dint hec
ontroloftheevil
onecomeonlythroughChr i
st
,t he
SonofGodwhohasc omeand“has
gi
venusunders
tanding,sothatwe
mayknow hi
m whoi str
ue.Andwe
arei
nhim whoi strue—eveni nhis
SonJesusChri
st
.Hei sthet r
ue
Godandeter
nallif
e”( 1
Jn5:1
9,20)

The“DELI VERANCEMI NI
STRIES”of
ourdayswi l
lus ual
l
yf ocusont he
casti
ngoutofdemonsi nanat t
empt
tos ol
vepr oblemsr el
atedinfactto
thes i
nnat ure.Forexampl e,a
del
iveranc
emi ni
stermays eekt o
hel
ps omeoneover comeangerby
cast
ingoutas pir
itofanger ,which
i
snotdoc t
ri
nal:deli
verancef r
om
angercomesbys t
udyingaboutt he
l
ove,kindnessandf orgivenessof
God.Notal lsinsaret obebl amed
ondemonsbutonours innature
andman' swillthatisnots ubmit
ted
toGod.

The' heal
ers
'basicall
yc l
ai
mt oc ast
outdemonsf r
om t hosebeli
ever
s
i
nsteadoft eachi
ngt hem thebibli
cal
del
i
ver anc
e:mindr enewalRom1 2:
1-
2,
whichmeanst ot eachthem the
Bibl
eCol 3:
16andt owalki n
obediencet odoc t
ri
ne.Healer
sal so
cl
aimt obi nddemons 'worki none's
l
ifewhi chisnotdoc tri
nal
:demons
conti
nuet ooperatefr
eelybeing
al
lowedbyGodt odos ount ilthe
appointedt i
mewhent heywi l
lbe
castintot helakeoff i
reMat 8:29.
Duri
ngt he1000year srei
gnofChr i
st
ont heear thdemonswi llbebound
i
nt heabys s(hel
l)butunregenerat
e
menwi llsti
l
ls i
n.
Wear et oldtoputont hear mort o
standagai nstspir
it
ualwi ckednes s
(Eph6:1
0– 18)
.Wear etoldt or es i
st
thedevi lbys ubmitt
ingt oGod
(Jam4:7)andnotgi vehi mr oom i n
ourl i
ves( Eph4:
27).A Chr i
s t
ianc an't
bedemonpos s
essedbuthec anbe
i
nf l
uencedbydemonst hrough
doc t
ri
nesofdemons1 Ti
m. 4:1and
temptations.Judaswaspos ses s
ed
bySat anLuk e22:3butSat anonl y
i
nf l
uencedPet erinMat 16:
21 -
23.

Someonewhobel
i
evesdoc
tri
nesof
demonsc an'
tbehelpedby
'
'deli
ver
ancesessi
onsofcast
ingout
demons''butbyheari
ngand
bel
ievi
ngther i
ghtdoct
ri
ne.

At rulydemonpos s
es sedper sonhas
supernat
ur alpower ,br eaki
ngeven
chai
ns :Mar k5:3,ablet oover power7
people:Ac ts19:14-
16andhas
supernat
ur alk nowledgeAc t s1
6:17.
Demonpos sess edpeopl ec anonly
bes etfreebypr ayert oGod,whi le
peopleinfluenc edbydemonsc an
onlybes etf reebyr ecei
vingJes us
asthei
rSavi
orandbyl ear
ningto
usetheshi
el
doff ai
thandt he
SwordoftheSpir
it-theWor dof
God.

JesusexplainedinMat.1
2:44thata
demont hati schasedawaymi ght
comebac ki fthehouse(hear
t)i s
notoccupiedbyt heHol
ySpiri
t
thr
oughr eceivi
ngJesusasSavi or
.

Whenthedi
scipl
esdis
coveredthat
demonswer
es ubj
ecttothem inthe
nameandauthor
it
yofJes us,t
hey
werej oyful(Lk1
0:17;Acts5:
16;8:7;
16:
18;1 9:
12).ButJes ustol
dt he
dis
ciples,“Donotr ej
oic
eint hi
s,that
thes piri
tsares ubjec
ttoyou,but
rej
oicet hatyournamesar er ecor
ded
i
nheaven”( v.
20).

Theemphas i
sins pi
ri
tualwarfar
ei s
hi
ghl
ight
edi nvers
ess uchas1
Jn.
4:4,“You,dearchil
dren,arefrom
Godandhaveover c
omet hem,
bec
auseTHEONEWHO I SI N YOU
I
SGREATERTHAN THEONEWHO
I
SI N THEWORLD [ THEDEVI L]
.”
Thevi ctoryi soursbec auseoft he
HolySpi ri
tandJes uswhodwel l
wi t
hinus .Believersc anovercome
theirstruggleswi tht hepas t
,habits,
andaddi c
tions,bec ause“everyone
bornofGodover comest hewor l
d”
(1Jn5:
4,5).Weneedf el
lowshipwi t
h
Chr i
st
,pr ayer,theWor dofGod,
godlyc ouns el
,f ai
thandt hes uppor
t
ofagoodc hurch,butnota
“deli
verancemi nis
ter.”

Wearetol
dto“beALERTAND OF
SOBERMIND.Yourenemyt
hedevi
l
prowlsar oundl i
kear oari
ngl i
on
l
ookingf ors omeonet odevour.
RESISTHI M,STANDI NG FIRM IN
THEFAI TH' '(notbygoi ngt othe
'
deli
veranc emi ni
ster
')1Pet
5:8–1
0

JesuschasedSatannott hr
ougha
'
deli
ver
ancemi ni
str
y'butwiththe
weaponoft heWor d:'
'i
tiswr i
tt
en'
'
,
seeMat4:4,Luke4:
4;demonsf l
ee
whenyoubel i
eveandappl ythe
WordofGod.

Thek
eyt
ovi
ctor
yint
heChr
is
ti
an
l
ifeistobef i
ll
ed( contr
oll
edand
empower ed)byt heHol ySpiritona
moment -by- momentbas i
s( Eph5:1
8).
TheFat herk nowswhoar eHi s:
“Thosewhoar el edbyt heSpi ri
tof
Godar et hec hildrenofGod”
(Rom.8:
14) .TheHol ySpi r
itwi l
lnot
i
ndwellanyonewhoi snotbor n
agai
n( Jn3: 3–8;2Ti m2:1
9;Ac ts1:
8;
Rom8:9;1 Cor3:16),s othef i
rsts t
ep
i
ns piri
tualvi ctoryi st oplaceour
fai
thinJes usChr i
st.Then,r ej
oice
thatJes usi si nyouandyouhave
HispowerandHi svi ct
ory.
Amen.

-
-pl
easeconsi
ders har
ingt
his
messagewit
hf r
iends;

--
send''
addme''to+263734022204
tobeaddedt oourweeklybroadcas
t
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ist(wehaveover30.000contact
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ysendi
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www.
ggz
im.
org
[25/
046:
09PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Rol
esands
tat
usofwomen
i
nIndi
genousr
eli
gi
on

I
fwel ookf ir
statt her elati
onsof
produc tioni npr e-colonialZi mbabwe,
i
ts eemst hatwomenwer eexc l
uded
from ac cesst ol andi nt heirown
ri
ght ,al t
hought heyc oul
danddi d
i
nves tinl i
vest
oc k( whichofc ourse
requiredl andonwhi cht ograze),the
proc eedsoft heirowns k i
ll
edl abour
i
nnon- agr i
cul
turalpur suits (
Beac h,
1980) .Al thoughwomenwer e
ec onomi callyactivei nagr ic
ulturalas
wel l
asc raftproduc ti
on,andhad
somec ont rolovergr ai
ns tores,they
didnotc ontrolthemeansof
pr oduc ti
oni nagr icultureand
met al l
urgy,buti ns teadpr ovi dedmuch
oft hel abourr equi redf ort hese
oc cupat ions( Beac h,1 980;
Mac kenz ie,1975) .Oneoft hemaj or
reas onsf ort heexc lusi
onofwomen
from di r ec tc ont roloft hemeansof
pr oduc ti
onandt hef ami l
ypr oductlay
i
nt hepaymentof br i
deweai th( room,
l
obol o),whi chnotonl ytrans fer
red
rightsi nawoman' s l
abourand
repr oduc tivec apac i
tyf rom herown
fami lyt ot hatofherhus band,
butalsoi ndemni f
iedherf amil
yf or
thislos s.Fort hes er easons,iti s
pos s
iblet or egardwomeni npre-
colonials oc i
etyasc ompr i
si
ngan
equivalentt ot hec las soflabour i
n
i
ndus trials ystemsofpr oducti
on.This
classequi val
enc ehel pstoexpl ain
otherfeatur esofwomen' spos iti
onsin
thepr e-colonials ys
t em.
InZimbabweans ociety,itistrue—
wit
honeort wonot ableexcepti
ons
—t hattheonl
yr olef r
om whi ch
womenwer esystemat i
call
yexc l
uded
wast hatofformalpolit
ico-
jur
ai
aut
horit
ywhi c
h,amongot her
functi
ons ,cont r
oll
edt heal l
oc ati
on
ofl
and.Theheadwomeni n
Mani calandandMak oede,andt he
Nehor ek a(Charewa)c hi efsf
alpi nt he
Mut okodi str
ict,providet heonl y
recordedexc epti
ons t
ot hisruleof
femaleexc l
us i
onf r
om pol it
ical
authority.1Informally,however ,'i
ti
s
probabl et hatwomenal wayshad
mor es ayi nSf aonas ocietyt hanwas
formallyadmi tted'(Bour dil
lon,1 976,
72).
However,Shonawomendi dexer
cis
e
aut
hori
tyinotherrol
es:as
mother
s,es
pecial
l
yoverthei
r
daught ers;asvat ete,par ticul
ar l
yover
theeduc ati
onoft heirbr others'
chil
dren;asanc estors ,overt he
reproduc ti
vec apac ityoft heir
femal edes cendants( althought he
degreet owhi chwomenwer eabl e
toc ont r
olt hei
rownf ec undityi sl ess
cert
ai n);aspr oduc ersors ervice-
work er spos sessings pec i
als kill
s(i
n
potter yorheal i
ng,f orexampl e),over
thepr oc eedsoft heirownwor k;
asmot hersofmar rieddaught er sf or
whom r oom hadbeenpai d,over
proper ty.But aspr oper ty-owner s,
womenexper i
encedmor edi f
ficult
y
thanmeni ni nc reas i
ngt heirauthori
ty
throughac cumul at i
ngpr opert
y,for,
asHol leman( 1952,352) indi
cates,
withr espec tt ot hec oloni alperi
od,
'
mor eof t
ent hannott he
essential
needsofherc hi l
drenand
otherbl ood- relativeswi llf orc
ehert o
disposeofher stoc kbef or etheyhave
hadt imet oi nc r
eas e'.Menmay
i
ndeedhavec ons ervedt heirown
propertyhol dingsast hei rwivesniet
suchneedsf rom t heir
l
ivestock:certainlyt odaymot herswi l
l
got oext raordi nar ylengt hstok eep
theirchildreni nsc hool,l ongaf t
er
thei
rhus bandshavegi venupt rying
tof i
ndt henec essaryc ash.
Eveni n
thi
smat terofproper t
y,however ,t he
dist
ri
butionofawoman' sestateafter
herdeat happear st ohavebeen
just
if
iedwi threferencet oher
mys t
ical
capaci
ty,asas pi
rit
,t oc ause
harm,r atherthanbyhernat ural
producti
vec apacit
yasawor ker
.
Femaleauthori
tygrew overti
me,in
muc hthes amewayasdi dthatof
men.Whil
et henewly-marr
iedwif
e
hadalmostnoaut hori
tyinher
husband'
shome,byt hetimes hehad
acqui
redgrandchi
l
dren,shehad
normal lybec omeaf orceto
berec konedwi thinmos tifnotal l
mat tersaffec t
ingbot hhernat al
family( ast ete)andherhus band'
s
family( asmot her-in-i
aw).Commonl y,
pos t
-menopaus alwomenbec amea
typeof' honor arymal e'invi l
l
age
society,havi ngl ostt hemys ti
cal
i
nf l
uenc eas soc i
atedwi t
h
mens t
ruati
on,abandoneddomes ti
c
respons i
-bi
li
t i
est ot hewor kof
youngerwomen,andac quir
ed
personalpr oper ty.Nonetheless,thei
r
i
nf l
uenc etendedt or emainoutof
sight,int hepr i
vat edomai n:even
elderl
ywomendi dnotnor mally
frequentt hemal ewor l
dofpubl i
c
dec i
si
on-mak i
ngi nthedar e,This
expans i
onofawoman' saut hor
it
y
wasr el
atednotonl yt oherownl if
e-
cyc l
ebutal sotot hec ycl
esof
developmentexper i
encedbybot hthe
familyintowhi c
hs hehadbeenbor n
andt hati ntowhichs hehadmar r
ied.
Themos tpower fulwoment endedt o
belongt ot hemos tinfl
uenti
alfamili
es.
Arguabl
ythemos tint
erest
ingand
ambiguousrol
eofauthorit
yoc c
upied
bywomeni nthepre-c
oioni
alperi
od
wast hatofspi
ri
tmediums hi
p.Those
spiri
tswhopl ayapr ominentpar tin
thepubl icdomai n,both
autoc ht honouss piri
tss uchas
Chami nuk aandt hemhondor os pi
ri
ts
ofdec eas edchiefs,are
predomi nantl
ymale.Butt heir
medi ums ,whor elaythes pir
it
s'
mes sagest ot helivi
ng,wer eandare
asl i
k elyt obewomenasmen.The
mos tf amousexampl eis,of
course, Char we,t hemedi um of
Neeanda,whowasexec utedbyt he
colonialadmi nis-
trati
oni n1 898for
herr ol ei nt hedeat hofaNat i
ve
Commi ss i
onerdur i
ngt he
f
ir
stc
himur
enga.
As viki
roors piritmedi um l i
vedand
sti
lll i
vesal ifeapar tf r
om nor mal
peopl ei
nt he' pr of
ane*wor l
d.I ndeed,
somec hi
ldr
en,bot hmal eandf emale,
wer eandar emar kedf orr el
igious
servicef r
om aver year lyageand
neverl eada' nor mal 'li
fe:
binga-nyika
wer e( andar e?)dedi catedt os pecif
ic
mhondor o(Neus u,1 983,1 ),
whi l
eat
thec entr
alshr inesoft heMwar icult
theyoungdanc ers,bot hmal e
andfemal e(res pec ti
vely,hos sanah
andmbonga) ,wer e( andar e)i na
similarpos i
ti
on, alt
hought heymi ght
l
at erbemar ri
edt os eniorc ult
offici
alsinout lyingdi stric
tsand
bec omemedi umsf oranc estralspi r
it
s
(mi dzi
mu)i nc orpor atedi ntot his
cult(Daneel,1970,49- 52) .However ,
manypeopl ewhol aterbec ome
medi ums marryandbearc hil
dren
bef oreexhibitingt hosebehavi oural
sympt omswhi c hadi vinerwi ll
diagnos easbei ngc ausedbyas pi
ri
t
want ingt o'c omeout '
throughpos ses siont r
anc e.Butaf ter
thisdi agnosishasbeenmade,t he
medi um' sli
fei s'sacral
ized'.Ideall
yhe
ors hewi l
lt henef f
ectivelyterminat e
sexualac t
ivityint her ol
eofs pouse
andmovei ntos epar atel iving
quartersi nor derbet tert omeet
theneedsoft hes pir i
t.Repr oduction
shouldc ease( althoughs omet imes
'
s pir
it
c hi
ldren'doappear !
) ,andal l
other' normal 'domes ticc horesand
chil
dc arear eunder t akenby
as s
ist
ant s.( Thispat ternc ertainl
y
fi
ttedChar we,whoi sr epor tedby
colonialaut horit
iest ohavehadt wo
chil
dren,whi chNeus u( 1983)
ac c
ept swhiler ej
ec tingMut unhu's
(1976)at temptt opor trayherasa
normalmar ri
edwoman. )Themedi um
becomesi denti
fiedwi tht hes piri
t,
event houghhi sorher behaviour
whilepos sess
edi sc l
earl
y
dist
ingui
shedf rom thatwhennot
possessed.Theaut horit
yoft hes pir
it
overri
dest hepr i
ors ocialidentit
yof
themedi um;andi ti
spos si
blet hata
skil
l
edmedi um mayeveni ncrease
thei mport
ance,i nt hespi
rit
ual
hier
archy,ofhi sorhers pir
it(Fry,
1976).
I
nt her ol
eofspiri
tmedium,t hen,
thefactofbei
ngf emalewasand
cont
inuest
obeirrel
evanttot he
exer
ciseofspi
ri
tualauthor
it
y.At
l
easti npar t,thi
si sbec ausethe
demandsoft hemal es piri
tar eby
defi
nitionl egi t
imate,evenwhen
theseinterferewi tht he'modals oc i
al
personal i
ty'of 'woman*.I not her
part
sofAf rica,
womenar er eported
tous e— and,i nt ermsoft heir
'
normal 'roles ,perhapsabus e—t heir
posses sionbymal es pir
itstoes cape
thei
rs tandar diz
edf emalei denti
ty,
ortomak edemandsont hei
r
husbandsf ormat erialgoodsand
specialt reatmentt hatarenotpar tof
thei
rnor malexpec tati
ons( Lewis,
1971).Rel igiousr olesi nt
raditi
onal
beli
efs ystemst heref oreaf f
ordedand
continuet oaf f
ordexc ept i
onalwomen,
whor ef
us et oc onf or mt ot he
standar df emal e' soc i
alper sonali
ty'
,
anes caper outei ntoi ndividual
ized
pos i
tionsofpoweraswel las
author it
y,bas edont radi t
ionalreli
gion.
A par ticul
ar l
yi ntri
gui ngexampl ein
Zimbabweofwomen' si
nf l
uenceon
societalmat tersf r
om apos i
ti
onof
reli
giousaut horityi sgi venbyanear ly
colonial( male)admi nistrator:
Asalr
eadymenti
oned,awoman
namedWanawoist hepr
esent
Tswi
ki
roorWamvura.I
naboutthe
year1 914amal enat ivenamedKat i
vu
spreadt henewsar oundt hedi st
ri
ct
thathewast hepr opermedi um or
Newanaf ort heanc es t
ralspir
it
.
Char ewa[ thefemalec hiefwithwhos e
positionWanawowasas soci
atedas
medi um]c ompl ainedt ome. Ihad
Kativubr oughtupandor der
edhi m
toc eas ehi sf raudulent
repres entati
ons .Hec ompl i
edwi thout
demur ..
..Wanawohadbehaved
herself.Shehadwi el dedher
power withdi screti
onandi nthe
i
nter estsoft het ri
be.Shewas
popul arandr es pectedbyal l
,and
Iwasnotpr eparedt oal l
ow Kat ivut o
i
nterfereands poilt
hepr es ent
sati
sfactoryarrangement .Nat ural
lyt he
Tswik i
rohasanal l-
power fuli nfluence
ont hepeopl e,andt hatinfluenc emay
beexer c i
sedf orgoodorevi l
.That
thepr esentWamvur a( femal e
medi um)hasabenef i
c i
ali nfluenc eon
herpeopl et hereislittl
edoubt .The
Wabuj aar eoneoft hemos tl aw-
abidi
ngandamenabl et r
ibesi n
Mas honaland,andt hisi si nagr eat
meas ureduet ot heinfluenc eoft his
woman.TheMondor ohasdec l
ared
thr
oughhert hatthel awsof
theGovernmentmus tbeobeyed,and
i
ti spleas i
ngt onot et hatt he
i
mmedi atef ol
lower s..
.s et t
heexampl e
bypr ompt l
ypayi ngi nf ullthewhol e
amountofannualt axduebyt hem
onthedayi tisdemanded.Al soal l
cri
mesc ommi tt
edi nt hats ectionar e
i
mmedi atelyrepor tedtot hepr oper
authori
tyanddel inquent sar e
arres
tedandbr oughtt oj usti
cewi t
h
theleastpossi
bledel ay.Ther eis
muc hIc oul
dwr iteaboutt his
i
nterest
ingc haract er...( Mor k
el,1930,
13).
Ast
hisexampl
eshows
,the
defender sofr eli
gioust radition,
whet herf emal eor mal emedi ums ,
werepar adoxic all
yi napos iti
ont o
defi
neand,t her efore,t oc hanget hat
tr
adition,notl eastbec aus er eligious
authorityover rodeandt os omeext ent
determinedt hes ec ularpol it
ical
authoritynor mal lywi el
dedby
men. However ,i nt hi s- particularc ase
oft heNehor ek ac hiefship,s ec ular
poli
tical
aut hori
tywasal s oves tedi na
woman,andi ti si nt er
es ti
ngt hats he
compl ainedt othec olonialaut hor iti
es
aboutwhatc ouldbei nt erpretedasa
maleat temptt ocont rolher s
elfr ather
thant hef emal ei ncumbentoft he
medi ums hip.2I nShonas oc i
eties,it
wasandi st hes vi
kir
ooft he
mhondor o( i
nbot hc ases,int hi
s
i
ns tance,us ual l
ymal e)whoc hooses,
i
nac cor danc easmuc hwi thpubl ic
opinionas anc estr
alval i
dati
on,a
dec easedc hiefss uccessor;andwho
cont i
nuest oexer ci
seul t
imat e
authority,t hroughhi sorher
communi cat i
onwi tht hec hi
ef l
y
anc estors,overt hel i
vingc hief.Clearl
y,
therewasatl eastonec ontexti n
traditi
onals ocietyinwhichwomen
coul dwi eldes senti
all
ypol it
ical
aut
hori
ty,prec
isel
ybec
aus
eitwas
not
solabel
led.
Onemi ghtal sonot et hatwomen' s
power ,asf emales pi
ritsrather
thanmedi ums ,wasof tenas sociated
withr ain,i ncludi
ngamongt heTonga
asmpandes piri
ts(Weinrich,1977) .
Amongt heShona,mal es pi
ritsal so
bri
ngr ain,buti tisi
nteresti
ngt hat
Kamva' sr ain- maki
ngc apacit
yc auses
himt ober egarded,inpar t
soft he
northeas t,ast he'wif
e' ,
bfDz ivagur u
(Bourdill
on,1 978,242) .Of
manyexampl esoff emal er ai
e-mak i
ng
spir
its,Is hallus eonlyone,t he
l
egendofMur eri.Thedaught erofa
chiefwhos pot teds trayc attl
e,
-.Mur eriwasanger edbyher brother
's
appr opriati
onoft hos ec attl
eand
i
ns ultedbyhi sac t
ioni nof feri
ngher
as mallf ragmentoft hec ookedmeat
from oneoft hem bec aus es hewas
'
onl yawoman'( Bar r,1 946, 60).In
retali
ation,t hel egends ays ,Mur eri
hangedbot hher brother 'sc hildand
her s
el f
,butmi t
igatedherac ti
onby
promi singt obr ingr aint oherf ather
's
peopl ewhenr eques ted.Rai ni s,of
cours e,c rit
icalt odr ylandagr icult
ure,
andr ain-mak ingi st her eforeas ource
ofs i
gnif
icantpoweri nsoci
ety.
Where
females pir
itscontrolrai
n,they
contr
adictt hegener al
l
ypower l
ess
posit
ionofor di
narywomenand
provi
deanal t
ernat
ivemodelof
femalec apabil
it
ies.
Inas mallmi norit
yofar eas ,however
,
womenal sowi eldedpol i
ti
cal
authori
tyass uch.Baz el
ey( 1940,3)
notest hattheaut horit
yof
headwomeni nt heMut asaareawas
l
egiti
mat edbyt hes pi r
itmedi um of
Nyamandot a( pos si
bly,but
notexpl
icit
lynot edi nt hel egendsto
be,awoman? )
.Henot esf urt
her,
wi t
hexpl icitdi
sapproval
,t he' i
rr
egular
mar ri
agec us t
oms 'andl oosemor al
s'
oft hesewomen, allofwhom wer e
thedaught er sofc hi
efs,whi chhe
saw as' extremelybadexampl est oall
theManyi kawomen'( 1940,4) .This
view wasf ai r
lyc ommonamongWhi t
e
settl
ersgener all
yand,asGai dzanwa
(1985)s hows ,now alsoinformsBl ack
stereotypesaboutwomenwhodo
notf itthe' modals oci
alpersonali
ty'
.
Ranger( 1
985)hasnot edhow ear ly
Whi teadmi nist
rator
swer ehorr
if
iedby
theext entoff emaleindependenc e
amongt heNdebel eint he1 890s,and
setaboutmak ingdi vorcemor e
dif
fi
cul
tbyi nsi
s t
ingonhi gh
bri
dewealthpayment s.Sl oan( 1923,61)
remarkedont hef actt hati twast he
'
mor al
l
yweak amongs tthenat i
ve
womenwhoar e,fort hepr esent
,
for
cedbyt heirec onomi csit
uationto
bet heleadersofwomen' st hought
'.
But,asBaz el
ey( 1940,4)not ed,'i
f
thei
rmor al
swer eweak ,their
capaci
tyforgovernmentwas
except
ional
lystrong'.Heexami ned
nineheadwomeni nt heUmt aliand
I
nyanga( now Mut areandNyanga)
dist
ri
ctsass pecifi
cexampl es ,
showi
ng
thatt wower enotr eplac edaf ter
deat hpr imarilybec aus et hei
rl and
hadbeent ak
enbyWhi tes;threewer e
simplynotr eplacedaf t
erdeat h;two
wer ereplacedbymen;andt wower e
thens ti
l
lal i
ve.Thet raditi
onof
femal eaut hor i
tywas,asBaz eley
(1940,3)puti t,'ani ns t
it
uti
onwhi ch
i
sr apidl
ydi s appearing' .Ins ummar y,
then,i twoul dappeart hat— i nat
l
eas ts omes it
uati
onsi npre-coloni
al
Zimbabwe,whi chext endedi nto
colonialt i
mes— women' sroleswere
notonl ydi f
ferentiat
edbuti ncluded
thos eofr el
igiousandpol iti
cal
author it
y,not wit
hs tandingt heirgener al
exclus i
onf rom ar easofs ec ular
decision-mak i
ngres ervedf ormen.So
whathashappenedt oi nterruptt his
storyandt osuperimpos eonwomen
themodalf emale' soc i
alper sonal
ity'
whic happear stobec harac t
er i
sti
c
today?Is hallarguet hatt hemai n
caus ehasbeen
i
deol ogical,notwiths t
andi ngi mpor tant
mat erialc hangeswhi chhaveaf f
ec t
ed
womeni nZi mbabweans oc i
etydur i
ng
thec olonialper i
od.
[25/
046:
09PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Sek
uruFr
idayChi
sanyu
STATUSOFWOMEN I
NIR

IN Af ri
canrel
i
gion,womenenc ourage
hardwor kandi ndust
ri
al
is ati
onf or
sus t
ainabl
edevelopment.Theypl ay
ani mpor t
antroleindes i
gni ngand
i
mpl ement i
nghealthsystemsi nvolvi
ng
tradi
t i
onalmedici
nesands pir
it
pos sessi
on.Theypl ayvi
t alr ol
esi n
thedevel opmentofAf ri
can
progr ammes.

Asar
esul
t,t
heyar
ehi
ghl
y
rec
ognis
edi nt
heec onomi
csys
tems
byt herul
i
ngleader
s.

Inaddi tion,t heyr unmos toft he

fami l
yaf fair
s.I tisundi sputabl
ethat
Af r
icanwomenar et hemaj or
produc ersoff oodt hrough
subs i
stenc ef arming.Af ri
canwomen
havet henat uralk nowledgeonhow
tot il
lt hel and,usenat uralresour
ces
andmai ntai
ni tsc ons ervati
on.Thisis
bec auset heys pendmos toft hei
r
timeei therwi tht hef ami l
yori nthe
fi
elds .
Astheyc onductfarming,t
heyend
upacquir
ingk nowledgeonmedi c
inal
pl
antsforinfantimmunisat
ionand
adul
ttr
eatment .

Mos tofdomes ticdut ieswer edone

andar es til
lbeingdonebywomen
oft heAf ri
canr el
igi
on.Thes edut ies
i
ncludepr oducingf ood,s tor
age,
dis
tribut i
onandc ook ing.
Unfort unatel
y,c ol
onialismlargel
y
aff
ec tedt heval ueofAf ri
can
women’ sr ol
esandr esponsi
bil
it
iesin
thec ommuni t
ies
.TheAfri
canwomen
havei nheri
tedknowl
edgefrom ot
her
rel
igi
ons .

I
nAf ri
canr el
i
gion,mosts pir
itual
proc
essess uchast hebrewi ngof
beerforri
tuals
,buri
alsandot her
suchfunct
ionsar econductedby
women.Theyal sol
eadi ns ongand
danceats uchevents.

Sel
l
ingoftradi
ti
onalandl
ocal
medic
inei
sal s
odonebywomen.
Somehaveevenwonawar dsint
his
fi
eld.Theyr emaint hemos tval uable
as s
et sast hec ustodiansof
tradi
t i
onalmedi ci
nes.Womenl eadi n
thes electi
onoft r
adi ti
onalmedi c i
nes
forpr event i
onandt reatmentof
diseas es,mar ri
agepr otecti
on,vi rginit
y
managementandl eader shi
p.Af ri
can
womenar ec onsi
deredt obe
spiri
tual l
yc l
eanandt rustwor t
hy.I n
Af r
icanr el
i
gion,thehi ghlyrec ogni sed
spiri
tspos sessmor ewoment han
men.Thes es piri
tswi l
lbei nc har ge
ofdi fferentt r
ibes.Rel i
giondi ffers
from onegeogr aphicalar eat ot he
next.Thes epos s
es sedAf r
ican
womens hareinformat
ioni nheal th,
agri
cul
tureandr emediest oAf r
ican
probl
ems .Theyar einterestedint he
wellbeingoft hewomen,c hi
ldren
andmenoft henat i
on.Theywer e
thefaci
lit
ator
soft her ul
esand
regul
ati
onsf r
om t hes pir
it
si nmos t
Afri
canc ount
ries
.

Oraleducat
iononthec ons
ervati
on
ofbiodi
vers
ityandscar
edar eas
remainverypowerf
ulinAfri
can
rel
igi
onupt othisday.
Africanwomeni ndir
ec t
lyr ulethe
whol eofAf ri
caint heirc apac i
tyas
Africanmot hers.Theyhavemor al
ands pir
it
ualpower sac quiredt hrough
bir
th.I ns omeAf r
icanc ountri
es,
Queenswer eheadsofs t
ate
deput is
edbymen.Eveni nt r
aditi
onal
healers’as s
oc i
ati
onsand
gover nments,theys t
il
loc cupyver y
seniorpos it
ions.Af ri
canwomenar e
regardedast hebes tint er msof
i
nfluenc eandmot ivati
on.

Af
ri
canwomenar
eal
sot
hebes
t
car
egi vers,t
heyhaveaver ylow
rat
eofdi s
cri
minati
on.They
part
ici
pateinver ydif
fi
cul
tsit
uati
ons
wit
hint hei
rfamil
iesandc ommunit
ies
.

Al otofl eadershaveemer gedf rom

theAf ri
canr eli
gi
on.Af ri
canwomen
wereal sodi rec
tlyandi ndir
ectl
y
i
nvolvedi nt heliberationwar .They
providedf oodandt raditi
onal
medic i
net ot hef i
ghter s
.Somet ook
partasf r
eedom f i
ght ersandgai ned
recognit
ionasher oi
nes .
However
,aspeac emak ers
,women
of
tendiscour
agec onf
li
ctsandthe
useofhar mf
ultradi
ti
onalmedic
ines
.
I
ndeed,theydeservetobepr ai
sed.

SekuruFr i
dayChi sanyuisthe
founderandpr es
identofZimbabwe
NationalPrac
tionersAs s
oci
ati
on.
[25/
046:1
0PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Ther
oleofAnc
est
ors

Func
tionsofAnc
est
rals
pir
it
s
1
.Theyar
eint
ermedi
ator
s/medi
ator
s
betweent hepeopl
eandt he
SupremeBei ng.M.F.
C,Bour
dil
l
on
arguesthatancest
orsar
ebili
ngual
.
-Theyspeakt helanguaget hatGod
hearsandt helanguaget helivi
ng
canunderstand.--Theyk now what
thepeoplear eaft
ers i
nc etheyhad
beenthere,ands incetheyar enow
i
nt hes pi
ri
tualwor l
d,theyk now bes
t
how toappr oac
hGod,
-Afri
cansf eelsmalltoappr
oachGod
dir
ectlys ot heneedtous ethe
ancestralspiri
tsasawayt oshow
respectandc our
tesytowar
dsGod
whomustbeapproachedwi
th
humi
l
it
yandrever
ence.
-AnAf r
icanper
sondoesnot
appr
oachanel derdi
rect
ly,butdoes
sothroughhisjuni
or.
-Ancestr
alSpiri
tsar
ealways
appeasedwi thsomeceremoni
esso
ast operformthei
rint
ermedi
aryr
ole
sati
sfac
tori
ly.

2.Theyareprotectorsandguardi
ans
ofthepeopl
e.Af r
icansbeli
evethe
worldhasmysteri
ousf or
ceswhich
beyondhumani
tyc oncepti
on,f
or
example,evi
lspi
ri
ts
,nat
uraldi
sas
ter
s,
sorc
erersetc
.
-Humanitycanonlycopewi ththese
f
orcesonlywit
ht heguardi
anshi
pand
sec
uri
typrof
fer
edbyt heanc estr
al
spi
ri
tsthatcanwadeof fthese
f
orcesthatt
hreat
enthewel lbei
ngof
t
hel i
vi
ng.
3.Theydonotc ausehar m,but
misfortuneshappenwhent hey
withdraw thei
rprotect
ioninpr otest
orasas i
gnoftheirangerandt he
familybec omesvulner
abletot hese
for
c es.
-Rit
ual
sarec onduc
tedt
opl
acate
them sothattheywon’
twi
thdraw
thei
rprot
ecti
on.Theyal
somaintai
n
peaceandhar monyint
hef
ami l
y.
4.Theyf i
ghtevi lspiri
tsanddr i
ve
them awayf rom theirfamil
y
descendantswher et heyonce
belonged.Peopl eareuni tedthrough
ceremonieshel dint heirhonour.
Peoplegat heri nfri
endly,peaceful
andhappyc eremoniest ovenerate
ancestors
.
5.Theyinfl
uenc
epropermoral
behavi
ouronpeopl
e;theyshapet
he
moral
it
yoft hepeople.Thi
sisdone
thr
ought heissueofrewar
dand
puni
shment.Thos ewhoabidebyt he
res
tri
cti
onsarer ewar
dedandt hos
e
whobr eaktaboosarepuni
shed.
6.Theymeett heexpectati
onsof
peopleintheireverydayl i
fe.They
ensurefert
il
i
t ybothoft hel andand
oft hepeople.Whenawoman
begetschil
d,t heancest
or sare
thanked.
7.Theyprotec
tpeopleatdangerous
work
ingplac
es,academicendeavour
s,
goodyiel
ds/
bumperharves
ts,and
mar
ri
ages(
etc
)invar
iousent
erpr
is
es.
8.Somear eguardiansand
protec t
orsoft hel and,f
orexample,
terr
itori
als pi
rit
s.Theyar ebel
ievedto
guardagai nstfor
eign
i
nvas ion/enemies.
[25/
046:1
0PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:FRSSAMPLEQUESTI
ONS
ADVANCED LEVEL

1Thedef i
ni
tionofReligioni
s
i
ncompleteandmi sl
eadingwit
hout
theincl
usi
onofI ndi
genous
Rel
igi
on.Di
scuss
2Theat t
ri
but
esofGodi n
I
ndi
genousRel
igi
ohhasas tr
ongbias
t
owardstheIsr
ael
it
icGod.
Dis
cuss
.
3Anal
yset hec onceptof
Dzi
va/Per
enialriverinthel i
ghtof
God'sprovidenceinIndigenous
Rel
igi
on.
4Thes pir
it
ualdimensi
onofli
feis
morepr onouncedthanthephys
ical
di
mensioni nIndi
genous
Rel
igi
on.Eval
uate.
5Abili
tytoaqui r
ewealt
hyi sviewed
asabl es
singfrom Ancestorsand
pover
tyiss eenasac urs
ef rom
Ances
tors.
Towhatext
enddoyou
agr
ee/di
sagreewi
tht
heasser
ti
on.
6Averngi
ngs pi
ri
ts/Ngozipl
aysan
i
nstr
umentalroleinthepromoti
onof
Ubuntuspir
itamoungt he
Shona/
Ndebele.Anal
yse.
7Indi
genousRel
i
gionuphol
dthe
s
tatusofwomen.Dis
cus
s.
8Indi
genousRel
igi
onis
anthr
opocent
ri
c.
Analys
e
9Global
i
sat
ioni samaj orthr
eatto
Ubuntuinc ontempor
arysoci
etyin
Zi
mbabwe.I
st hi
saf ai
rassessment
.
1
0Tour
is
minZi
mbabwepl
aysaver
y
i
mport
antrol
einthepreser
vat
ionof
Sac
redplac
esinZimbabwe.
Analys
e
11MarriageinIndi
genousReligi
oni
s
not
hingmor ethanas exual
uni
on.Evaluat
e.
12Mar
ri
ageinIndi
genousrel
i
gionhas
nopl
aceforwomenr i
ghts
.Di
scus
s
1
3I ndi
genousRel
igi
onhasnopl ace
f
orwomeni nthepoli
ti
calaf
fai
rs
.
AnaIys
e
14Thec onceptofmedi umshi
phas
degradedt hestatusofwomeni n
I
ndigenousRel i
gion.Towhatext
ent
doyuagr ee/di
sagree.
1
5I ndi
genousheal
thymethodshas
f
ai
ledtoaddr es
s healt
hyc hal
l
enges
i
nc ont
emporarysoci
etyinZimbabwe.
16Tot eni
s m hasresul
tedi nthe
preservat
ionoft heNat ural
Enivi
ronmentandt hepr omotionof
TourisminZi mbabwe.Dis cuss
17Tradi
ti
onall
eader
shipprovidea
modelofgoodgovernancethat
shoul
dbeadoptedbys t
ate
gover
nanceinZimbabwe.
Evaluate.
1
8Anal ys
ethec entr
ali
tyoft
he
c
ovenantinJudaism.
1
9Theor
igi
nofpr
ophec
yin Judai
sm
i
sat horninthef l
eshamoungt
he
c
ontemporaryschol
arsof
r
eli
gi
on.Di
scuss
20Prophetswer
enothingmor ethan
ahinderancei
nt hepoli
ti
calaf
fai
rsof
Judais
m.Eval
uat
e.
21MarriageIns ti
tuti
oninJudai sm
provi
desar olemodelt hatshoul
dbe
adopted byr eli
gi
onss uchas
Indi
genousr eligionins of arasthe
uprai
singoft hes tatusofwi menis
concerned.Towhatext entdoyu
agreeordi s
agr ee
22Compar
etheper
cept
ionofdeat
h
i
nJudai
sm andI
ndi
genousr
eli
gi
on.
23Compareandc ont
rasttheconcept
ofheal
thyandwel l
beinginJudai
sm
andIndugenousr
eli
gion.
24Analysetheconnec
tionbetween
covenantandlandinJudais
m
25EvaluateJewis
hat
ti
tudet
owar
ds
theEnvir
onment.
[25/046: 10PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:“Mar ri
agei nt heAfri
can
Tradit
ionalRel
igioni sac ommunal
ratherthanindividualaff
ai
r.
”Examine
theval i
dit
yoft hisc l
aim.(25)
AFRI CAN Tr aditi
onalRel igionhas
beendef inedbyJO Awol aluast he
i
ndigenousbel i
efsandpr actic
esof
theAf ricans.I nt heAf rican
Traditi
onalRel i
giont herei sani dea
ofmar ri
age.Mar riagec anbedef ined
asauni onoft woormor epeopl eof
theoppos i
tes ex.I tisbel ievedt hat
marriagei nAf ri
canTr adit i
onal
Reli
gioni sac ommunalr athert han
ani ndivi
dualaf f
air,thisisbec ause
ther oleofr elat
ionsc r
eat edaf f
ec t
thewhol ef ami l
yandnoti ndividuals.
However ,i tc anbeal soar guedt hat
marriagei nAf ri
canTr adit i
onal
Religi
oni sani ndividualaf f
airtaki
ng
thec ons i
der
ati
onoft hedef i
ni
ti
onof
mar ri
agei t
sel
f.Thef oll
owinges s
ay
seek stodi sc
usst heval i
dityoft he
clai
mt hatmar r
iagei nAf r
ican
Traditi
onalReli
gioni sac ommunal
rathert hanani ndividualaf f
air
.

I
tispr udenttonotet hatthereare
manyf ormsofmar ri
ages,suchas
monogamy,polygamy,polyamory,
l
evi
rateands oror
atemar ri
ages.
Pol
ygamyi swhenonemanc anhave
morethanaones pouseorwi fe.
Pol
yamoryi
sat ypeofmarr
iage
wherethemanandt hewomanhave
morethanonepart
ner.

Ac c
or dingtoChak abvaandDi ngani
i
nt hei rbookent i
tledUnder standi ng
FamilyandRel i
giousSt udies201 7
page1 06,theys tatedthatpol yamor y
typeofmar ri
agei swher es pouses
arec hos enbys omeoneel se,s uc h
ast hepar ents,fri
endsandr el
igious
l
eader s.Thel evi
ratei saf orm of
marriagewher et hebr otheroft he
deceas edmani sobl i
gedt omar ry
hisbr ot
her’
swi dow whereast he
sorotatemarri
ageinvolvest he
husbandengagi nginas exual
rel
ati
ons hi
pwi t
hs i
ster
sofhi swife
aft
ert hewi f
eisdeadorhasbeen
proveni nf
ert
il
e.

Accordi
ngtoBour dil
li
on( 1
987),
peopl
emar ryintofami li
esandt hus,
marri
agebecomesaf ami l
yaffai
rand
notanaf f
ai
roft woi ndivi
dual
s .
Thereareseveralreas onswhy
marri
ageisc onsi
deredasaf ami l
y
contr
actandnotac ontractbetween
twopeopl ei ntheI ndi genousr eligion,
espec i
al l
yinShonar eli
gion.
Ac cor dingt oChak abvaandDi ngani
Under standingFami lyandRel igious
Studi esVol1201 7.“I fas oni nl aw
ormuk uwas hamar ries ,hebec omes
amuk uwas haf ort hef amil
yandnot
foroneper son,t hes amei st rueof
thet ez varaandmur oor a.Thenat ure
ofr elat ionst hatar ec reatedar e
createdf ort hef ami lyandnotf or
thei ndi vidualsal one. ”Ther efore,t hi
s
i
ndi cat esmar ri
agei nt heAf r
ican
Tradit i
onalRel i
gioni sac ommunal
rathert hani ndividualaf f
ai
r.
Thegi r
lelopingint heShonar el
i
gion
i
sor gani
sedbyr elativeses peci
all
yi n
thek ut
iz
amuk umbot ypeofmar ri
age
i
sor gani
sedbyt her elativesoft he
boy.Thi shasbeenf urtherexpl ai
ned
byP.Chak abvaandW.Di nganiin
thebookent i
tl
edUnder standi ng
FamilyandRel igi
ousSt udiespage
108,ast heys ubmittedt hat“She
elopesatni ghtandgoest oher
husband’shome.El der satt he
husband’shomewi llt hens enda
munyayiwhowi l
laler tt hepar ents
andr el
ati
vesoft hegi rl.”Ther ol
ei s
playedbymember soft he
communi ty,hence,thi
sindicatesthat
mar ri
ageinAf ri
canTradi
t i
onal
Religi
oni sac ommunalr atherthan
ani ndivi
dualaff
air
.

Thec ommuni typlayapi votalrol

e
duri
ngt hepr e-maritalandpos t-
mari
talrit
es.I ntheShonaand
Ndebelereli
gions,t herearer i
tes
wheregi r
lswi l
lbeeduc atedbyt he
auntinmar i
t alaff
airs.Theyar e
gi
venpr eparati
onl es s
onsi nmat t
ers
ofsex,mar ri
age,pr ocr
eati
onand
familyli
fe.I nmat tersofs ex,t here
aremanyl ess onsf orgi rl
s ,this
i
nc l
udesbei ngt aughtt hatt he
primarydut yofmar ri
agei s
procreat
ionands exualgr ati
fi
c ati
onof
thehus band.Boysar eal s ot aught
how t obehavepr oper l
yt owar ds
theirin-
laws ,how t oac quireweal t
h
whichonewoul dgi vet ot hepar ents
oft hegi r
laspar tofbr idepr ic
eor
rooraandt heywi llbeal s ot aught
how t olookaf t
erc attl
e.Thi shas
beenf urthers uppor tedbyJMbi ti
(1991)
,whos ubmi ttedt hatboysar e
taughtwhatmos tc oncernsmen.Al l
t
hiswi l
lleadonet osuggestthat
marr
iagei nAf
ric
ant r
adit
ionalr
eli
gi
on
i
sac ommunalaffai
r.

herear epos t
-mar i
talri
test hatar e
organisedbyc ommuni t
ymember s.
Oneoft henot abl emar it
alr i
tei s
mas ungiroandk utara.Themas ungi
ro
ri
tei sdonef ort hepr egnanc yoft he
newlymar r
iedwoman.Ther it
ei s
symbolicandr itualisti
c.Thepar ents
ofagi rlstayswi thherunt i
ls he
deli
vers.Att hes amet i
met her i
tual
kutaramwanai sc arri
edout .Thi sis
whent heaunt i
esorpar entsoft he
hus bandgoest ot heiri n-l
awsand
theywi llbec arryi
ngt hi
ngss uchas
whi tec lothes,Af ri
c anbas ketsand
food.Ther ear eot herr it
ualswhi ch
fol
low,t hesei nc l
udenami ngr i
tes.
Thes er i
tualsar eper formedasa
wayofc onfir
mi ngt hatt henewl y
bornbabybel ongst ot heirfami l
y.
Ther efore,t hi
si ndic atest hat
mar riagei nAf r i
canTr aditi
onal
Religioni sac ommunalaf fai
ras
evidenc edbyt her ol eoft he
communi tyinbot hpr e-mar i
taland
pos t-mar i
talrites.
Thec ommuni t
ypl aysapi votalr ol
e
i
nt hedi vorcepr ocedurei nAf rican
Tradit i
onalRel igion.Ther ear ea
numberofc aus esofdi vorc ein
AfricanTr adi
t i
onalRel i
gion.Thes e
caus esofdi vor cei ncludes
unfaithfulness,t hishasl eds ome
schol arst oc onc ludet hat
unfaithfulnessi st heonl yr ealc ause
ofdi vor ceinAf r i
cant r
adi t
ional
Religion.Theel der sar emos tl
y
respons ibleint ryingt os olvet he
disput esi nt hemar r
iagesandi tis
alsos ubmi t
tedt hatc hiefi sus uall
y
thel astsolut
ioni nt hedi vorce
procedurei fthevillageheaddoes
notmanaget or es
ol vet heiss ue.
Ones houldnot ethatt her eisa
tokenofdi vorc ewhi chi sar r
anged
byt hepar entsorr el at
ivesingi vi
ng
thepar tnerbeingdi vorc ed.The
tokeni nShonar el
igioni sc al
led
shereni/gupuro.Al lt hi
si ndicates
thatt hemar r
iagei nAf r i
can
Traditi
onalReligi
oni sac ommunal
affai
r.

I
nasmuc
hasi
tcanbear
guedt
hat
mar r
iageinAf ricanTr adit
ional
Reli
gioni sac ommunalaf fair
,itwi l
l
beavi ol
enc eonapl ai nlanguagei f
onei gnorest hevi ew t hatmar r
iage
i
sal soani ndividualaf f
air
.
Consideri
ngt hedef ini
tionoft het er
m
mar r
iagewhi chs aysmar r
iagei sa
unionoft woormor epeopl eoft he
oppos i
tes ex,t husonei sf or
cedt o
sugges t
st hatmar ri
agei san
i
ndividualratherc ommunalaf fai
r.

Themajorreasonformarri
agein
Afr
icanTr
adit
ionalRel
i
gionisf
or
reproduc ti
onands exualr egulation.It
i
sbel i
evedi nt heAf ri
cans ocietyt hat
partnersmar ryeac hot herf or
reproduc ti
on,s ot hatt hef ami ly
growsbi ggerandt hes amec hil
dren
assistthepar entsi nf armingand
domes ticc horess uc haswas hing
plates,c ookingandf etc hi
ngf irewood.
Itshouldbenot edt hatmar ri
agei s
fors exualr egulati
onc ons i
deri
ngt he
ri
tualst hatar eper formedbef or et he
mar ri
age.Dur i
ngt hepr e-mar i
talr i
tes
girl
sar et aughtons exualmat t
ers,
thishasbeenf ur t
hers uppor t
edby
Chak abvaandDi nganiont heirwor k
concerningpr e-marit
alr it
esi n
I
ndigenousr el
igionast heys tated
that“girlswi thaunt sar et aughthow
tores pondt os exwit ht he
husband. ”Ther efor
e,t hisindicates
thatmar r
iageinAf r
icanTr aditi
onal
Reli
gioni sal s
oani ndividualaf f
air
.

Basingont heabovedi scus s

ion,itis
cl
eart hatmar ri
agei nAfrican
Tradit
ionalReli
gioni sabot h
communalaf f
ai
randi ndi
vidualaffai
r.
Communali nthes ensethatbec ause
ofmar r
iagerel
ationsthatar ec r
eated
affectthewhol ef amilyandnotonl y
i
ndi vi
duals.Itisal soani ndi
vidual
affairconsideri
ngt hei ndivi
dual
benef i
ts,forinstanc esexual
regulati
onandr epr oducti
on.Ther efore,
thec l
ai
m whi chs aysmar ri
agei sa
communalaf f
ai
rr athert hanindividual
affairislessvalid.
[25/046:11PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*Spi r
it
s*thatmanif
estas
thoseoft hedeadcanappearin
dif
ferent

ways
,asanc
est
ral
,or
dinar
yor
avengings pi
ri
ts
.Whi cheverwayt hey
appear,t heydem andat tenti
onand
i
ft heirdemandsar enotmet ,they
causet rouble(*Gehman,1 999:
33)*.
Mos tAf ri
cansat t
ri
butemi sfort
unes
toas pi
r i
tualcause(*Gelfand,
1973:61)
*.Theybel i
eves piri
ts

caus
ei l
l
ness
es,di
sabi
l
it
ies
,
misf
ort
unesandevendeath*(
Mpof
u
&
Harl
ey,2002)
*.Spi ri
tspossess
peopl
eand/oranimalsandtheyc an
beexorci
sedfrom bothpeopleand
ani
mal
s.
[25/046:1
2PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*I tmus
tnotbes
pil
l
ed
because*:

-Itwillresul
tin*Ngoz i*or
Avengi
ngs pir
it. Avengings pi
rit
mayc ausehavoct oaper sonf or
example;*itcanc ausebadl uc
k s
,
misf
ort
unes ,i
nfer
til
i
ty,barr
enness,
deat
h,s eri
ousdiseases
*andmany
mores etbacks.

-Thebl
oodofaper
sonmaynotbe
spill
edbc zt hi
smayangert he
*Anc estors*. Byt hisdoi ng,t he
Anc estorsfeelver ys hamef uland
humi l
iatedt heref
oret heywi l
lr espond
through*heavypuni s hment *t oa
personwhohevdonet hat.Mos t
often,*t heagr ic
ult
ur alhar ves tof
thatper s
onwhok il
ledanot herwi l
l
fai
l*. Ats omeext ent ,theanc est
ors
willresponds wift
lyby*i mpl yi
ng
death*ont hatper son.I fi ti s
n'ts o,
Anc estorsc ouldther eforewage
*mi sf
or t
unesandt roubl es*upont he
victi
m.
-Itmus tnotbes pil
led*bec aus e
thi
smayc aus efail
ureofr ains*.I n
Shonac ult
ure,i tisbel i
evedt hat
Godi sanger edbyt hedeathofa
mur deredper sonandhec ud
thereforerespondbynot*gi vi
ng
rai
ns .*Unf or
tunatel
y,t hi
s may
affectthewhol evil
lage buts ome
sayst hataper sonwhohavedone
that*mays uff
erheavyc asualt
ies.*
Thismi ghtbef ort hi
ss peci
ficr eason
whyi nShona,*peopl ewaitedf i
rst
fort her ai
nst oc um*bef ore t hey
i
nvadei ntoanywar .
[
25/
046:
12PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:Ac cor
dingt oShonabelief
s,
whenevi loccurrencespers
ist
,they
ar
epr obablyc ausedbys pir
it
s.For
i
nstance,ifahus bandconst
antl
y

abuseshiswi
fephys
ical
l
y,t heShona
wil
ls us
pectt
hatt
hehus band

i
shar bour inganavengi ngs piri
t
(*Gel fand,1 973:
99*) .Others i
gnsof
thepr es enceofngoz icanbean
i
llnes
st hati sresi
stanttot reat
ment,
ormys teriousdeathsi naf amily.
Thus,anymi sfor
tunei nmany
respectsisassoci
atedwi th
possessionbyanaggr i
eveds pir
it
thatwi shest
ot aker evengeont he
i
ndividualorfamil
yt hatwr ongedthe

personduringhis/herl
if
eti
me
(*Gel f
and,1973:
61 *).TheShona
peoplearguethatt hengozispi
ri
t
shouldnotbevi ewednegativel
y
si
ncei tisas pi
ritthathasbeen
wronged*( Mpofu& Har l
ey,
2002).
*Ifthepersonwasn’
t
mist
reat
edormur der
edinthefir
st
pl
ace,ngoz
iwouldn’tbeaniss
ue.
Thisvi
ew ofngoz ii
ss ummedupby
thefol
lowingShonapr overb:*Zingiz
i
wari
kanganisi
ras
akar akuruma*( “You
havewr ongedawas p,t heref
oreit
hasbitt
enyou”(*Gel fand1 977:
114)
*.
[25/
046:
12PM]‪+26378590
5395‬:*Anc
est
rals
pir
it
s*

Thesearet hespi
rit
softhe
deceas
edmember soft hef
ami
lywho
weredec ent
lybur
iedandnow exi
st
i
ns pir
it
ualform.

Deat
hmar
ksat
rans
for
mat
ionoft
he
Afri
canper sonf rom thephysi
calto
thes pi
ri
tualf or
m.Mbi t
i(1
969)cal
ls
them thel i
ving-dead;whil
sttheyare
deadphys icall
y,theyar eal
ive
spir
it
uall
y.

Thedeadar es t
il
lpartoft hefami
l
y
andt heli
vings t
il
lhavememor i
esof
them.However ,notever yonewho
diesc anachi
eveanc estor-
hood
stat
us. Therear ecertain
prer
equisi
tes/
requi
rement sforoneto
becomeananc estr
alspirit
.
Thes
ear
e:
*Ones houl dbea*mar r
iedpers
on
with c hil
dr en*.Thi si sdonef or
purposesofc onti
nui
ty;s uchpeople
hadpar ent alresponsi
bili
tys othey
havet ol ookaf terthel i
vingusing
theexper ienc eofpar ental
responsibi
litytheygat heredint he
previ
ousl ife.

*Nec es s
aryrit
ual
ss houl
dbe
conduc tedforaper sont obec
ome
ananc estr
alspir
it
*( kur
ova
guva/umbuyi s
o).Beforetheseri
tual
s
arec onductedthespir
iti
sbeli
eved
tobedanger oustotheli
vi
ng.The
ri
tualinaugurat
esthedeadint
ot he
spir
it
ualr eal
m.

*Mor alupright ness*.Ant i-

social
behaviour,forexampl e,wi tchcr
aft,
sorcery,stealing,s oci
alout cast
s ,
ment al
lyder anged,l eperset cc annot
becomeanc es tralspir
its.I
ns ome
casesevent hei mmor albec ome
ances t
ralspirits,butt hes piri
tis
bel
ievedt ohavel essi mpac tbec ause
oft hef ai
l
uret obeexempl aryint he
pr
evi
ousl
i
fe.