A revision of the author's thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1966. / Bibliography: p. #

A revision of the author's thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1966. / Bibliography: p. #

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia International University, Deutscher Zweig, Korntal, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-122).

Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia International University, 1999. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-122).

Almost all African societies have female initiation rites to mark the process of growing up. Initiation rites signal the transition from one stage in life to another. Between the two levels is “the camp,” the liminal phase, in which the initiate is secluded in order to be initiated into the mysteries of life. Through female initiation rites, positions of power and social relations within the society are demonstrated. The Bemba people of Zambia perform the Chisungu female initiation rites in which young women are initiated into adulthood through the ritual process. Chisungu female initiation rites remain an important source of traditional education on sex and the social and religious leadership roles of women in Zambia although they are now being modified and performed in a shortened form. This study builds on the scholarly work undertaken by African women theologians particularly in the last decade, to engage theologically with the subject of HIV and AIDS on the African continent. Their theoretical insights and analysis provide the critical lenses for this thesis. The objective of the thesis is to offer a gendered analysis of Chisungu initiation rites among the Bemba people, in order to retrieve the values of indigenous female initiation rites which can critique patriarchy in the context of HIV and AIDS. This objective is achieved in the following steps. Firstly the function, the form and the practices of indigenous female Chisungu initiation rites are explained. Secondly, the gendered cultural values of indigenous female Chisungu initiation rites are demonstrated while simultaneously providing details of the symbolic meaning of the rites and the interpretation of the initiation songs and the sacred emblems (imbusa). Thirdly, how gendered cultural values of indigenous Chisungu initiation rites can be retrieved for HIV prevention is illustrated. Finally the importance of inculturating the values of indigenous female Chisungu initiation rites in the UCZ with regards to empowering women in the context of HIV and AIDS is explored. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The proverbs of people - defined by Webster as short sayings "in common use expressing a well-known truth or common fact ascertained by experience or observation" - have been an object of study to many kinds of people for many decades. Robert R. Marett has said that proverbs are a key to both the language and culture of a people. But, knowledge of the language and culture of a people, in itself, cannot be satisfying to the discerning anthropologist. An effort must be made to identify and understand the categories of thought, codes and symbols that undergird their language and culture. The anthropologist cannot be satisfied to simply view their world; he must also discover the ways they view their world. He must discover their world view. Marett rightfully acknowledged that proverbs are a useful key for learning language and culture. It is the contention of this paper, however, that they are, likewise, excellent tools for world view studies. A unique opportunity arose to prove this thesis when a combination of factors presented the researcher with considerable data. First, he had learned the languages of the Shona and Bemba peoples of Southern Africa. Second, he had collected and studied the use of the proverbs of these people for twelve years. Third, others had collected and published the proverbs in different forms. The paper, then, is a presentation of the results of hours of study of 1,556 Shona proverbs, and 1,286 Bemba proverbs, plus contextual data collected from ethnographies, dictionaries, and personal observations. The theoretical framework of the paper is, of necessity, carefully presented. Necessary, because neither world view nor proverbs are well understood in the social sciences. Michael Kearney, one of the prime resources for information on world view, says that it is not a “well-established field of study in the sense that it appears in course catalogs, or that there are recognized schools of world view theory or many scholars specializing in it”. Carolyn Parker, one of the main sources of study for proverbs, says the same thing for this subject. According to her, although there has been a long history of the study of proverbs, much of that study has been characterized by shallowness, superficiality and casualness. Benefiting considerably from the contributions of these two, and others as well, the theoretical framework of this paper rises out of an anthropology characterized by the related disciplines of the cultural patterning of the 1950s with its emphasis on psychology and philosophy, the ethno-science and symbolic anthropology of the 1960s with their emphases upon linguistics and philosophy respectively. Methodologies centered around the extraction from the proverbs of all references to people and their relationships. Lists of this data were compiled and analyzed with the objective of comparing the two groups in question. Special attention was given to three categories: Self, Other' and Relationship. The data extracted was analyzed statistically by use of a chi-square test. Primary analysis, however, depended upon the content of the proverbs themselves. Problems of translation, classification, comparison and statistics were given careful consideration in the analysis. Several observations on both world views and proverbs were the result of methodologies carried out within the theoretical framework described. More than fifty dimensions of the world views of the Bemba and the Shona were brought to the reader’s attention. These dimensions point to similarities as well as distinctives between the two groups. They reinforced observations made according to other methodologies and they also revealed new possibilities for future research. Observations on the proverbs concerned the practicality of using them for the purpose of world view studies. This practicality was obvious, though it has its limitations which must be acknowledged. Application of this methodology in the social sciences may contribute to a greater understanding of people from diverse cultures.

Because many Bemba Christians do not experience the guality of life through would follow conversion they are tempted to either settle for shallow, superficial religious'experience, or, during times of crisis, revert to traditional religious beliefs and practices they know are inconsistent with their theological understanding. In order to assist Christian communicators in their task of bringing the Bemba to authentic conversion and an experience of salvation that genuinely meets their needs, we have, in this study, tendered one strategy for reaching the Bemba heart. most comprehensive idea of order. Because the heart, or worldview, is where reality is known, vaiued · and ordered, it should be the focus of Christian communication that has as its purpose restoring people to comprehensive well-being, or restoration of peace with God, others, one's self and nature. To this end, we have gathered 2,686 Bemba proverbs. from approximately fifteen previously seven Bemba informants, provided conte:-..tually deterrt"$1ed translati_ons, meanings, usages and teachings, inter alia, and have attempted, by means of employing Hiebert's critical conte:-..tualisation method ( 1985: 188), to begin constructing a contextualised local theology of marriage which is the result of engaging in a dialogue between Bemba traditional values as expressed in their proverbial lore and related biblical values. The process of contextualisation is incomplete because it is our contention that it is the responsibility local Bemba theologians, not of foreign researchers, to construct a theology of marriage that is relevant t local Bemba needs. Thus, this study does not attempt to provide theological answers to marital needs; rather, it is offered to Christian communicators for exploratory use as a beach-head for constructing a bridge across which both Bemba and biblical worldview values might be mutually enriched. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

Because many Bemba Christians do not experience the guality of life through would follow conversion they are tempted to either settle for shallow, superficial religious'experience, or, during times of crisis, revert to traditional religious beliefs and practices they know are inconsistent with their theological understanding. In order to assist Christian communicators in their task of bringing the Bemba to authentic conversion and an experience of salvation that genuinely meets their needs, we have, in this study, tendered one strategy for reaching the Bemba heart. most comprehensive idea of order. Because the heart, or worldview, is where reality is known, vaiued · and ordered, it should be the focus of Christian communication that has as its purpose restoring people to comprehensive well-being, or restoration of peace with God, others, one's self and nature. To this end, we have gathered 2,686 Bemba proverbs. from approximately fifteen previously seven Bemba informants, provided conte:-..tually deterrt"$1ed translati_ons, meanings, usages and teachings, inter alia, and have attempted, by means of employing Hiebert's critical conte:-..tualisation method ( 1985: 188), to begin constructing a contextualised local theology of marriage which is the result of engaging in a dialogue between Bemba traditional values as expressed in their proverbial lore and related biblical values. The process of contextualisation is incomplete because it is our contention that it is the responsibility local Bemba theologians, not of foreign researchers, to construct a theology of marriage that is relevant t local Bemba needs. Thus, this study does not attempt to provide theological answers to marital needs; rather, it is offered to Christian communicators for exploratory use as a beach-head for constructing a bridge across which both Bemba and biblical worldview values might be mutually enriched. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

Sickness and healing expenence is universal, but the context in which both are perceived and dealt with is particular. Culture and the individual constitute the universal context. The social structures, values, beliefs, the symbol system of a culture and the tendency of the individual to act upon his existence within cultural parameters, inform the particular context. The relationship that exists between culture and the individual is best described as dialectic. The concept of dialect is the theoretical tool to analytically show how this relationship works out in real life. At the base of this relationship operates conflict. Sickness, or permanent ill health since early childhood as shown in an in-depth case study, triggers conflict on at least two levels: the personal-psychological and the socio­ cultural level. To effectively deal with sickness and the inner conflicts caused by it, is to channel the motivation to resolve them by way of employing a symbolic idiom, a cultural symbol that attains personal meaning. G. Chewe P. of Bemba ethnicity, the main actor of this thesis, demonstrates how his life experience of sickness made various symbols become operational, how he filled them with personal meaning, and that there was no hiatus between the public and private domain. Healing requires more than medical aid. Cultural symbols that become personal symbols are often tied into religious experience of some kind. Individuals who successfully employ personal symbols eventually achieve healing because the symbolic idiom helps them to resolve intrapsychic conflict. Missiology cannot escape from two realities: culture and the individual. If anything, missiology must be interested in culture and the individual. Missiology, in the role of aide-de-camps of the Christian Mission, shows the history of how individuals connect to God, and how God transforms them in their cultural environment. To be able to achieve both goals, the issues of context and conflict must be addressed. This thesis seeks to account for the dialectic between culture and the individual, how context and conflict shaped the person and the Christian G. Chewe P. of Bemba ethnicity, and how he acted upon this context to resolve his travail. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th (Missiology)