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African Theology: A Contextual Analysis of Zimbabwe CHAPTER NINE African Theology: A Contextual Analysis of Zimbabwe Tabona Shoko Introduction T his paper seeks to explore the contribution of African scholarship to African theology in Zimbabwe. It starts with a brief history of the church in Zimbabwe, describing the missionary incursion in the country. It then tracks the growth and development of African theology in pre- and post- independence contexts before capturing the contemporary contextualisation ofAfrican theology in Zimbabwe. Missionaries in Zimbabwe Several earlier scholars have already chronicled the history of missionaries in Zimbabwe.1 This article will simply summarise pertinent issues relating to the development of theology in Zimbabwe. The incursion of Christianity inAfrica has had a tremendous impact on the growth and development of African theology. Bhila captures the implantation of Christianity in Zimbabwe in three phases: the first phase comprises the work of early Portuguese missionaries from 1560-1759; the second starts with the advent of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in 1859 and, later, the arrival of the Jesuits; the third phase starts in the 1890s when several missions were established in the country.2 Negative publicity from travellers, missionaries and explorers contributed immensely to misconceptions about and distortions of understanding of both Africa and African Traditional Religions (ATRs). As a result, the whole continent of Africa was tarred by misleading terms such as primitive, savage, native, paganism, animism, dark continent, fetishism and many more. It remains an arduous task to rescue the _________________________________ 1 See N. M. B. Bhebe, Christianity and Traditional Religion in Western Zimbabwe, 1853-1923 (London: Longman, 1979); and C. J. Zvogbo, A history of Christian Missions in Zimbabwe, 1890-1939 (Gweru: Mambo Press, 1996). See also D. N. Beach, “Initial impact of Christianity on the Shona: The Protestants and the Southern Shona” in Christianity South of the Zambezi, Vol.1, ed. J.A. Dachs (Gweru: Mambo Press, 1973). 2 H. Bhila, “Trade and Early Missionaries in Southern Zambezia” in Christianity South of the Zambezi, Vol. 2, ed. M. F. C. Bourdillon (Gweru: Mambo Press, 1977), 25. Biblical Studies, Theology, Religion, and Philosophy continent from the misconceptions under which it still suffers as a result of such fallacies. It suffices to track some key trends that account for the genesis and development ofAfrican theology. Missionaries in Zimbabwe targetedAfrican kings as access points to their subjects in order to preach the gospel of contextualisation. The history of Christian encroachment in Zimbabwe starts with the arrival of Father Goncalo da Silveira, of the Jesuit Society, the St Francis Xavier of Mozambique. His first point of call was King Munhumutapa Chirisamhuru Negomo Mupunzaguta who, impressed by the portrait of the Virgin Mary, was converted and baptized, together with his household. However his conversion was short-lived as Goncalo was mysteriously killed. His death has been the subject of controversy; either it was as a result of disillusionment with Christianity or the result of tension between the Swahili and Portuguese traders.3 What is clear is that Fr. Silveira’s presence threatened Muslim traders and his assault on Shona tradition and customs irked traditional elders who laid a charge against him saying that, “Silveira was a spy, a muroyi (wizard) and a double dealer.”4 The leadership thus instigated his execution on 6th March 1561. As a result, the first attempt to evangelise the Southern Zambezia failed. Jesuits and another missionary order, the Dominicans, later returned to the area but by the end of the 16th and 17th Centuries had made very little lasting impression. As Weller and Linden noted, “the policy of baptizing rulers only added a few Christian symbols to the traditional religious expressions of the people…Christian practices mixed with the customs of the local people”.5 Notably the Jesuit experience in the Munhumutapa kingdom set precedents for missionary activities that followed when they courted African monarchs to spearhead evangelization in an attempt to “create a place for the Shona in the commonwealth of the new Israel.”6 Verstraelen succinctly observes that the colonial occupation of 1890 fully opened the way for missionary activities in Zimbabwe.7 The second phase of missionaries in Zimbabwe opened with the advent of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in Matabeleland in 1859. After the establishment of Inyathi, various Protestant and Catholic missionary societies set up mission stations. Championed by pioneer missionaries like John Moffat, Charles Helmore and Carnegie, missionaries’ confrontation with Ndebele empires of Mzilikazi and Lobengula were quite trying. Despite their spirited efforts to evangelise, the early...

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