Den här uppsatsen undersöker på sociologiskt vis möjligheterna att spåra möten mellan tidigamänniskor och jätteprimaten Gigantopithecus från östra Asien i myter som överlevt fram till idag,detta för att försöka peka på ett gemensamt ursprung till den ofta förekommande figurtypen jätten imyter och folksagor i världen. Teoretikerna som uppbådas till hjälp är Emile Durkheim, MartinCortazzi, Josef Ludvik Fisher samt Forrester Sibelan, vilka visar på dels hur myter fungerar och kanuppstå och hur de fungerar i relation till människor.Till metod har arbetet utgått ifrån diskursteori då denna lämpar sig väl för att förstå relationenmellan den sociala verklighet en text rör sig inom och den text sagda verklighet bidrar till att skapa.Arbetet börjar med att försöka motivera sin hypotes genom att påvisa dels belägg för att primatenoch människan i urtiden mötts och dels genom att visa på att myter och berättelser i muntlig formkan överleva länge nog för att det ska vara rimligt. Den fortsätter med att presentera och beskrivamytbildningar från olika delar av världen; Nordiska, Grekiska, Babyloniska, Indiska Afrikanska,Nord- och Sydamerikanska samt Kinesiska där fokus ligger på att jämföra och sammanföra myterför att försöka peka på samband som andra forskare redan upptäckt eller sådana som pekar mot denöstasiatiska primaten.Det visar sig snabbt att några sådana belägg inte finns att finna under de förhållanden den härundersökningen utgår ifrån när den går in på ämnet. Istället försöker den fokusera på att visa på debevisliga ursprungen från de jätterelaterade myter som i världen förekommer. Till stor del härrör de,enligt forskarna uppsatsen använder som källor, från Mesopotamien och rent sociologiskt så kanuppsatsen peka på ett samband mellan ett behov av politisk kontroll och den roll jättar i mytbildningbrukar få. Platser som Grekland, Inkariket och Kina har oberoende av varandra utvecklat deursprungliga mytbildningarna på ett sätt som underbygger auktoritära figurer både inom och utanförmyterna så att berättelserna passar den grupp som styr området, något som i viss utsträckning gällerför alla mytbildningar som undersöktes. Jättarna får ofta roller såsom förfäder eller fientliga folksom människor och deras gudar obrydda kan avsky eller diskreditera. Genomgående så stämmer dei teoridelen presenterade forskarnas teorier med det sätt som myterna som undersöks visas fungerapå. / This paper tries to explore the sociological possibilities of finding a link between interactionsbetween the giant primate Gigantopithecus and early humans of eastern Asia and surviving mythsfrom around the world that have survived up until today. Theorists that have been drafted to attemptto prove this are Emile Durkheim, Martin Cortazzi, Josef Ludvik Fischer and Forrester Sibelan,who's work revolve around the area of the inner workings of myth and its relation to the peoplesustaining them.As Method the paper operates on the basis of discourse theory as it is well suited to explain theways in which reality and text co-opt in the creation of the other.To begin with the paper puts out hypothesis strengthening research to try to show ways that theprimate in theory could have acted as a forefather to the giant, due to prehistoric humans havinginteracted with Gigantopithecus and the way oral myth is able to survive for very long stretches oftime. It continues by presenting and describing various myths from around the world; Nordic,Greek, Babylonian, Indian, African, North and South American as well as Chinese. The focus lieson showing the many themes the myths share between themselves, with an initial focus on pinningits origins to Gigantopithecus.Early on any such connections prove to be without credible proof, and as it is the paper is illequipped to attempt to claim any connections between the myths and the primate. To stay relevant,the paper tries to present other more substantiated potential origins of the concept of giants andfinds other researchers pointing towards old Mesopotamia. Sociologically however the paper canpoint towards connections between political control and the role of the giants of myths in the storiesof many of the stories it presents. Places such as Greece, the Inca empire and China all, apparentlyindependently of one another created and developed myths wherein giants assist in reinforcing theauthoritarian positions of leader characters both within and outside of the stories. Giants in mythoften played the role of ancient ancestors or non human or non tribe people that gods and peoplebereft of conscience could paint as enemies or buffoons.

In transmitting the Gospel, Western missionaries passed on their portrayal of Christ as a European. Conversion to Christianity was aimed more at promoting Western cultural, moral and spiritual issues. Western culture has thus been an obstacle or hindrance to effective cross-cultural communication of the Christian message. Batswana believers are challenged to peel the Western cultural layers off Christianity, in order to reclaim Christ. Batswana Christians will have to dress Christianity in the Tswana cultural heritage if it is to be of any lasting significance to them. Christian spirituality is centred on Jesus Christ, in the worldview of all Christians. Jesus joins faith and culture together. If Christianity is truly universal, then every culture should surrender to Jesus Christ and not to any other culture. Jesus’ question “who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8: 29), challenges Batswana Christians to write their own fifth Gospel. / Christian Spirituality Church History and Missiology / Thesis (M. Th. (Christian Spirituality))

Traditional healers are one among professionals that are viewed as the most significant people in African Society. They are accorded the highest esteem because of the role they play in saving people’s lives and promoting cultural aspects such as ukuhlonipha amasiko in isiZulu. It should be remembered that this word ukuhlonipha which means to respect, is used across cultures to maintain peace within family and society. It all depends on which culture promotes it more than others. It is sociolinguistic truism that ukuhlonipha is essentially linked to the ubuntu philosophy of African people. However, traditional healers more than other people follow ukuhlonipha culture in numerous ways, especially when they meet, being consulted and during traditional ceremonies. They serve and promote what in IsiZulu is known as ukuhlonipha, which to the uninitiated and sometimes even to the scholars of this philosophy is a mystery. It is for this reason and others that people view them as the soul of society. This study looks at relevant sociolinguistic theories especially the politeness theory to analyze most of the hlonipha features shown by traditional healers, apprentice and people during consultation. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

The last Supper Jesus had with his disciples on the night before he died on the cross is the foundation of a major liturgical celebration in the Catholic Church called 'the Eucharist'. One of the major designations of the Eucharist is that it is a sacrifice. The starting point of this work is that the sacrificial character of the Eucharist is not as meaningful and relevant for Xhosa people as it should be. The way forward is to study the Eucharistic and Xhosa sacrifices, compare them and suggest ways of rendering the Eucharistic sacrifice meaningful and relevant to Xhosa the people. Although not conclusive, the New Testament gives a strong foundation for the sacrificial understanding of the Eucharist. The Eucharist, as interpreted through the Last Supper accounts, covers all the conventional intentions of sacrifice, i.e. propitiation, communion, thanksgiving and mutual responsibility. The Fathers of the Church affirm the sacrificial character of the Eucharist with varying emphases, but taken together, their understanding shows development of thought and complementarity of themes. In the Middle Ages the most pronounced intention of the . Eucharistic sacrifice is propitiation and post Tridentine theological reflection is informed by this mentality. According to modem and contemporary thought, Christ's death on the cross, which is sacrarnentally represented in the Eucharist, is not an act performed on our behalf to appease an angry God but God's act of love towards us. The emphasis is on self-offering to God as exemplified by Christ. The Xhosa people still have regard for sacrificial rituals, but modernity has modified and sometimes changed their understanding and practice of sacrifice. The principle of God's universal salvific will and the doctrine of incarnation provide theological grounds for inculturating the Eucharist. Thus the inclusion of ancestors and use of cultural symbols in the celebration of the Eucharist may render it meaningful to Xhosa people. Relating the Eucharist to Xhosa culture will revitalise the communion element in Eucharistic sacrifice, which element has been lost sight of through the centuries. Eucharistic sacrifice in its turn will help Xhosa Catholics to have a deepened understanding of sacrifice that extends beyond performance of rituals to include self-giving. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th.(Systematic Theology)

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Orifice of Return is a collection of poetry that posits Black femme bodies as living and breathing archives, corporeal manifestations of intuitive and intellectual claims at survival. The poems in this collection illustrate the multifaceted nature of my craft, through which the personal, the collective, and the political are commingled, but wrestling forces. As Audre Lorde declares, there are many kinds of open, the poems of this collection are orifices, textual portals, spatial and temporal fissures, and entryways into Black past, present, and future. These poems use received forms (the ghazal, the ode, the cento, the obverse, litany, etc.) and employ stylistic devices like (direct address, song lyrics, colloquial speech and slang, etc.) These poems interrogate histories and imagine speculative futures for Black folks. They exist in lineage— familial, imagined, literary ancestral, and with the theoretical underpinnings of Black feminist hauntology and Toni Morrison's "rememory." Some of these poems are lyrically driven, while others are performance and rhythmically driven— all facing inwards and outwards, aware of the world they exist in. / Master of Fine Arts / ORIFICE OF RETURN is a poetry collection.

This thesis finds out how the concepts of the divine in African Traditional Religions are similar or different, particularly in Ghana and Lesotho and in other parts of Africa in general. In doing so, the researcher combines literature review of eminent scholars who have studied the religious and socio-cultural life of the people of Ghana and Lesotho in particular and Africa in general, with personal field study through dissemination of questionnaires, interviews and personal observations. Through this approach he finds out the various religious phenomena that reveal the concept of the divine in the two countries concerned and in other African countries through comparison of their worships and socio-cultural activities in order to come out with the differences and the similarities that may call for synthesis of the concept in Africa. He also finds out how the concept of the divine in Africa has been influenced by foreign religions and culture particularly Christianity, Islam, Western culture and Education. And how their services and disservices have affected the concept of the divine in Africa. The researcher also looks at the issue of monotheism as against polytheism in African religious perspective to find out whether the African Traditional Religions are polytheistic, monotheistic or monolatry. The study reveals that the concept of the divine, in the two countries under study, ends up in one Supreme deity-God- .but that the approach to the concept is not always the same. There are some differences and similarities, which also prevail in other African Traditional Religions and in Christianity. There is also a look into whether the term "African Traditional Religions" is appropriate for the religious belief and practices found in Africa, and whether a synthesis of religious practices in Africa would be possible in future. In the final analysis the study reveals that the African concept of the divine as pertains in the two countries is not different from that of Christianity and Islam but that the approach to the concept differs due to differences in the perception of the divine through sociocultural and religious milieus. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

This research sought to investigate the impact of a belief in witchcraft as an explanation for all the ills in the Hlubi community and South African societies in general - which becomes a good tool for inadequate governments. Our approach in this study has been interdisciplinary and the utilization of comparative analysis and a combination of phenomenological and qualitative research models. Economic problems create social tensions and are manifested in various ways, including witchcraft craze. The Hlubi scenario found parallels in Europe and America. Witchcraft and ancestors are considered to be the main causes of diseases but nature and ecological or environmental dangers are other factors. Pragmatic and obvious response to such phobias is seen in the protective and preventive devices provided by isangoma, amaqhira, amaxhwere, inyanga and faith healers. It is hypothesized that as long as all existential needs exist in Hlubi society witchcraft will continue to be with us, perhaps forever. / Religious Studies & Arabic / DLITT ET PHIL (REL STUD)

The commandment to honour one's father and mother is not limited to honouring parents while they are living. In Zulu culture, for both the traditionalist and Christian Zulu, honouring parents, whether alive or dead, is to relate to them with great respect. Unfortunately, this respect for the ancestors has been misunderstood by many and labeled as "worship" or, more recently, as "veneration". Affixing a religious connotation ("worship", etc.) to the relationship led to the expectation that Zulu Christians would reject their ancestors and all the rites and practices associated with them. In spite of injunctions from the Church, a marked shift is occurring among Zulu Christians as many reincorporate their ancestors into their family process. This dissertation, an exploratory study, addresses this process of reincorporation by offering a new, non-religious interpretation of the relationship. Historically, the Zulu have sought and welcomed the presence of the ancestors during stressful family transitions such as marriage, birth, puberty and death. If the Church focused on the increased anxiety and destabilization associated with these family transitions, new insights could be gained into the functional importance of the ancestors (as anxiety binders) in the family process. The application of Bowen theory, a new paradigm for practical theology, to the research data provides new perspectives and understanding into the functional importance of the ancestors for Zulu families. Central to Bowen theory is the concept of the family as an emotional unit that includes all generations, including the ancestors. This concept correlates closely with the Zulu understanding of kinship. The concepts of multigenerational transmission process and triangulation in Bowen theory offer effective theoretical bases for interpreting the ongoing relationship Zulu families have with their ancestors. This dissertation critiques certain Church practices and offers a practical theological response that can inform and enrich the Church's pastoral care. By developing a practical theology of relationships'one informed by Bowen theory, Scripture and the traditions of the Church'the Church can assist Zulu Christians pastorally as they reincorporate their ancestors into their family process. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

The high value of good health in Africa and the serious threat to life posed by diseases that plague the African continent including South Africa, are highlighted in this thesis. The question whether the church in South Africa as a stakeholder in human development in Africa, contributes meaningfully to the continental and national vision of "a better life for all" or "good health for all" is posed and an attempt made to answer it. Operating from the Western world-view, the Hervormde Kerk in Suidelike Afrika (HKSA) is found not to be contributing meaningfully to the realisation of the African vision of "good health for all". Resistance to cure and healing by means of Western medicine and pastoral care and counselling as well as a lack of spiritual and numerical growth in the HKSA are identified as consequences of the imposition of exclusively Western Christian theological formulations on the African church. The assumption underlying this thesis is that ministry to the sick in the African mainline churches should recognise the role played by supernatural forces in the belief systems of Africans regarding health and illness. This assumption is based on the fact that theological formulations are socially influenced and constructed. Following Zerfass' methodological model, this research examines the principles underlying the ministry to the sick in the HKSA and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA); highlights the core African beliefs with regard to the health and illness discourse and practice; points out the shortcomings of the current ministry to the sick in the HKSA. The findings of the investigation into the theological tradition and the results of the exploration of the literature on the African context are brought into the critical dialogue. On the strength of findings of the critical dialogue between the church's traditional theological theory and the results of the exploration of the literature on the African context, the church's healing ministry is recommended as a necessary part of the church's official task in a black South African context. / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)