Contemporary African Cultural Productions

5. Religiosity in Vihiga District: Modernity and Expressions of Outward Forms

5 Religiosity in Vihiga District: Modernity and Expressions of Outward Forms Susan Mbula Kilonzo Introduction From a cultural perspective, religion is a very diverse phenomenon. This is because culture influences people to behave in a certain way, affecting the way they express themselves, including their religiosity. The many African cultures can be argued to have caused religious and/or denominational diversity in African religiosity. For our purposes, a simple definition of religious diversity should be put forward: it is the assorted nature of the religions of the world as dictated by people’s needs/ tastes and cultural milieus. In Vihiga District of Western Kenya, which was the survey area for this paper, the mushrooming of Christian groups can simply be explained through the cultures of tradition and modernity. This has led to a vibrant sprouting of both African Independent Churches (AICs) and New Religious Movements (NeReMos) amidst the mainline or mission-founded churches. The diversity is in reference to the different tastes and needs of people in the district. The study will take Christianity as the point of reference and draw examples of the diverse nature of the religion in Vihiga District. This will aid in explaining the outward forms of religiosity of various religious groups in the setting of the study. In order to properly historicize our observations, it should be noted that Christianity as brought to the Africans by the missionaries was thought to be an ‘eye-opener’ to the ‘savage’ Africans. It came along with goodies such as the ‘medicine of the white man’, and education and church for the backward, pagan Africans. In most missionary-founded churches, the system of worship was inflexible and the services followed a predetermined procedure as dictated by the mother-churches abroad. The Africans aped these forms of worship, though Contemporary African Cultural Productions 84 some still retained their ancestral and indigenous forms of worship. Those who defied the conversion procedures of the white man were denied the benefits that accompanied it, which were meant for the converts, and consequently their children were not educated in missionary schools or treated in the missionary hospitals. When most of the missionary-founded churches were left in the hands of African leaders, the situation gradually changed. Whereas some of the churches readily accepted inculturation (incorporation of African forms of worship), others remained faithful to the missionaries’ approach of religiosity. It is from this time that African Christian groups started mushrooming. People founded churches that would befit their livelihoods (though this is not the sole reason for diversity, as demonstrated in Table 1). Formation of these churches has continued up to date and, as opposed to Mbiti (1973) who argues that the diverse occurrence is a messy soup, the study proves that this is a rich way for Africans to express their religiosity. The existence of these religious groups is accompanied by assorted expressions in dance, music, worship, evangelism, and artistic representations in a bid to capture both modern and traditional cultures. Statement of the Problem The way in which the diverse Christian groups express their outward forms of religiosity has been changing as mediated by their changing socio-cultural, economic, political and technological contexts. The former missionary forms of worship have to some extent been replaced by free expression of one’s religiosity in varied dance forms and worship structures accompanied by new forms of evangelism in the different churches, some of which are methods aimed at acquiring more converts. Most importantly, these forms of expressing a people’s religiosity have been contextualized in a way that fits into their cultural milieus. This has been influenced by the advance of technology. It is in this context that the need to examine the outward forms of religiosity through a cultural and contemporary analysis cannot be underestimated. This chapter endeavours to answer the following pertinent questions: • What are the causes of religious diversity in Vihiga District of Western Kenya? • What are some of the outward forms of religiosity in a religiously diverse region like Vihiga District? • In which ways are these forms of religiosity expressed? • What are some of the cultural transformations that the people of Vihiga have experienced through the wake of religious diversity and the advent of technology in the district? Kilonzo: Religiosity in Vihiga District – Modernity and Expressions 85 • What are the cultural implications of these transformations to the people of Vihiga District in the light of ’Christ and culture’ arguments...