Degree of Baccalaureate in Theology

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Browsing Degree of Baccalaureate in Theology by Author "Bwana, Alfred orwa"

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    Mourning the Dead among the Luo of South Nyanza: Reconsidering Some Traditional Luo and Christian Ways of Mourning
    (Tangaza University College, 2005) Bwana, Alfred orwa
    It is observed that many Christians, when faced with crisis moments revert to their traditional African practices.' This could be taken to mean that the Christian faith is not firmly rooted in them. Such a move is most explicit particularly during death, among others. Consequently, many Christians seem to live in a dualistic state of mind by practicing syncretism of Christianity and African Traditional Religion as they strive to meet their spiritual needs. The Christian missionary work in Africa, and now in Kenya, was characterized by demoniz_ation of the African cultural practices of the various ethnic communities. The Roman Catholics missionaries, for instance, allowed all other indigenous practices except those related to death. 2 For them, such rituals were related to ancestor worship. Accordingly, they called for radical discontinuity of the values that Kenyans and others viewed as salient. This dichotomy threatens to tear the heart of our faith. Inculturation could be the 'medicine' for it. Evidently, many African communities valued traditional practices since they adequately treated their major ideals and issues such as those regarding life and death. Christianity, however, introduced new categories of responding to similar issues. Unfortunately, some of the issues of the Africans were not adequately responded to in this new religious dispensation. Christianity failed to profoundly address what the people felt that their whole existence and survival hinged on. Consequently, the whole system of Christianity weakens whenever the people are confronted with real critical issues of life. The present study examines the traditional mourning rituals of the Luo of South Nyanza, hoping to bring to light, some of the elements that were 'buried' in the process of "planting" Christianity in Africa through the medium of other cultures. We aim to capture some of the values embedded in the rituals and find means of expressing them in a much more familiar categories. Among the ethnic groups of Kenya, the traditional Abaluyia and Luo communities are known to be very scrupulous in their funeral rituals. Being a Luo, I have taken the challenge to do this task as an insider. The Luo are believed to have migrated southward from Sudan to where they currently stay. 4 They thus have undergone a great transformation. Accordingly, it would be unrealistic to generalize about them all. This is why this study focuses on a smaller group of the Luo in South Nyanza. Nevertheless, there have been certain practices in common. Consequently, some reference to those Luo outside South Nyanza may be helpful. It should also be noted that the present tense used in most of the text signifies that the traditional values, practices and institutions are still substantially maintained.