Victory Over Fear: Charms, Witchcraft and Worldview in South-Central Malawi

Robert Beaton

Description

In this volume, the author presents much of his field research into the use of African traditional religious charms, in the Zambezi Evangelical churches of South-Central Malawi. He details the kinds of charms used, by whom, exactly how, the underlying motives, and the particular purposes. He shows how charm-dependency creates a problem for discipleship within the churches. An anthology of real-life stories of charm-usage is presented which makes for interesting reading. The basic tenets of a Chewa worldview are also articulated to demonstrate how charm-dependency and other witchcraft related activities are stimulated and perpetuated by deep-seated worldview assumptions. The voices of local pastors, student-pastors, and African authors are ‘heard’ throughout, providing a contextual feel. This book is an excellent practical resource for teaching and learning, for those involved in discipleship, theology, ATR, missions and cultural perspectives.

Sujets

• Ethnic Studies
• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: Kachere Series
• Date de parution: 25 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789996025495
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

Victory Over Fear: Charms, Witchcraft and Worldview in South-Central Malawi Volume 1 Charm-Dependency in the Zambezi Evangelical Churches: Overview, Anthology, and Worldview

Robert Beaton

Robert Beaton

VICTORY OVER FEAR: CHARMS, WITCHCRAFT AND WORLDVIEW IN SOUTH-CENTRAL MALAWI

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Copyright 2023 by Rev. Dr. Robert Beaton

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from the publishers.

Published by Kachere Series P.O. Box 1037, Zomba

ISBN: 978-99960-25-40-2 eISBN: 978-99960-25-49-5

The Kachere Series is represented outside Malawi by: African Books Collective, Oxford (also for e- books) ([e-mail])

www.africanbookscollective.com

Layout & Cover Design: Josephine Kawejere Cover Art: Lesley Beaton

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VICTORY OVER FEAR: CHARMS, WITCHCRAFT AND WORLDVIEW IN SOUTH-CENTRAL MALAWI

VOLUME 1 CHARM-DEPENDENCY IN THE ZAMBEZI EVANGELICAL CHURCHES: OVERVIEW, ANTHOLOGY, AND WORLDVIEW REV DR ROBERT BEATON

Kachere Books no. 82

Kachere Series

Zomba

2023

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Kachere Series P.O. Box 1037, Zomba, Malawi This book is part of the Kachere Series, a range of books on religion, culture and society from Malawi. Some of the related Kachere titles are: Boston Soko,Nchimi Chikanga: The Battle against Witchcraft in Malawi Rhodian G. Munyenyembe,Christianity and Socio-Cultural Issues: The Charismatic Movement and Contextualization in Malawi Andrew C. Ross,Colonialism to Cabinet Crisis: A Political History of Malawi James Tengatenga,The UMCA in Malawi: A History of the Anglican Church Uledi Kamanga ed.,Society and the Arts: Studies in Gender, Literature and Language Mzee Hermann Y Mvula,The Theory, Praxis and Pursuit of Constitutionalism in Democratic Malawi: An Old Testament Ethical Perspective. The Kachere Series is the publication arm of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of Malawi INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS: Prof. Bosman Hendrik Prof. Clement Majawa Prof. John Kapya Kaoma _____________________________________________________

Series Editors: Rev. Dr. J. Thipa, Mzee Dr. Mvula, Sheikh Dr. I.S. Mohammad, Dr. J. Mawerenga, Fr. Dr. Chaima, Dr. D. Tembo, Mr. R. Mdoka

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION 8 PREFACE 9 FOREWORD 17 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 19 ABBREVIATIONS 21 INTRODUCTION 22 SECTION ONE: CHARM-DEPENDENCY IN THE ZEC  CHURCHES 25 CHAPTER ONE: EXPLORING CHARM-DEPENDENCY  IN THE CONTEXT 26 CHAPTER TWO: CHARM-DEPENDENCY IN THE  ZAMBEZI EVANGELICAL CHURCHES: AN OVERVIEW 73 CHAPTER THREE: AN ANTHOLOGY: REAL-LIFE  STORIES OF CHARM-USAGE FROM THE GRASSROOTS  IN ZEC CHURCHES 114 SECTION TWO: CHARM-DEPENDENCY AND WORLDVIEW 174 CHAPTER FOUR: TOWARDS AN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL  RELIGIOUS WORLDVIEW: PEERING THROUGH CHEWA  LENSES 175 CHAPTER FIVE: TRADITIONAL CHEWA WORLDVIEW MOTIFS  AND THEIR CONTEMPORARY ECCLESIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL IMPACT 198 BIBLIOGRAPHY 310

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LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 Traditional Religious Practices 85 TABLE 2 Which traditional religious practices are still  followed by members? 86 TABLE 3 Traditional charms are still being used in ZEC churches 87 TABLE 4 Traditional charms are still being used by church  members/adherents 87 TABLE 5 Types of Charms Used 93 TABLE 6 Fear is the main factor behind using traditional charms 96 TABLE 7 Main Purposes for using Protective/Defensive  charms 99 TABLE 8 Primary ways charms are used for life-enhancement  or to harm others 105 TABLE 9 Church-goers use charms for which particular reasons? 112 TABLE 10 Main Themes of the Stories 115

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LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 Map of Malawi FIGURE 2 The Charm-Dependency Dynamic FIGURE 3 Photograph of Charm Pillow and Chief's Charm FIGURE 4 Photograph of Charm Constituents FIGURE 5 The 'Magic- Counter-magic- Magic' Cycle FIGURE 6 The Relationship between Worldview Motifs and Charm-dependency FIGURE 7 The 'Magic-Counter-magic-Magic Cycle' (repeat) FIGURE 8 The Main Purposes for using Traditional  Religious Charms LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A1 Thesis Abstract APPENDIX A2 Problem Statement, Research Problem/ Questions, Central Theoretical Argument and Research Objectives APPENDIX A3 Research Design and Methodology

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76 97 104 104 109

202 274

294

330

333 336

DEDICATION For the faithful Zambezi Evangelical Church pastors and student- pastors who made the Interviews and Focus Group sessions productive, enlightening and enjoyable.

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PREFACE The two volumes in this series constitute the fruit of my research interests here in Malawi over the past 8 years. As a participant observer in the milieu for the past 15 years, I have seen and heard much as I have travelled widely for ministry purposes, visiting pastors and churches, and interacting with people. There is always much more to life than meets the eye, so much more is going on in the spiritual realm. Most often, one needs to take the time and make a special effort to look beyond that which is in plain sight, in order to find the reality. As I have dug deeper- observing, asking and discussing- into culture, traditional religion and contemporary belief and practice, I have discovered that charm-dependency is a real live issue, on a large scale in Malawi. Moreover, many church-goers are depen- dent on African traditional religious charms. It is a major problem for the church because it negatively impacts discipleship, discou- raging complete faith in Jesus Christ. There is a paradox of sorts here because charm related practices are as natural as breathing to most people, yet they are generally carried out clandestinely. Charm-usage comes so naturally because it is stimulated by deep- seated traditional religious motifs in the local worldview, animated especially by those assumptions relating to traditional wisdom, witchcraft, and the fear of death. This is the subject matter for these books. The series is comprised, for the most part, of material adapted from my PhD thesis, entitled:A missiological study on African traditional religious worldview and charm-dependency in the Zambezi Evangelical Churches(2020). This study was a follow up to my second MTh (2015) which dealt with similar subject matter and constituted groundwork for the PhD. Some findings from the Master thesis, where relevant and applicable, are included. The hypothesis or central theoretical argument for the PhD study was that specific contextual, Biblical and pedagogic foundations are

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