African traditional religion

African traditional medicine in transforma​tion: Part 1

August 4, 2011
This story is part one of a series in which RelZim.org is exploring the evolving state of traditional religion in Zimbabwe. For a long time, traditional medicine occupied the back tiers of the community in predominantly Christian Zimbabwe, but that has changed as many people are taking to old traditions ...

To practise Christianity without going back to certain cultural practices

August 3, 2011
reprinted from Newsday by Pastor Erasmus Makarimayi Human nature is so much obsessed with knowing beyond what is hitherto known. We go to school to acquire more knowledge. We all seek to be the first ones to have breaking news.  Everyone wants to be the first with results of which ...

Is Christian business in Zimbabwe good business?

July 11, 2011
It is amazing how many businesses in Zimbabwe, manifest their Christian identity. I am thinking of prayers on intercity buses before the beginning of the trip or Bibles available for clients at companies’ reception halls. Some time ago, I remember there was this debate at the European parliament about the ...

Africans and ancestral spirits are inseparable: Olly Masuku, famous traditional healer

June 16, 2011
translated from Ndebele by Mandla Tshuma Failure to secure employment after graduating from universities and colleges, infertility, chronic illnesses and constant involvement in road accidents by indigenous black Zimbabweans, among other far-fetched misfortunes, are nothing but indications that ancestral spirits are in pursuit of one’s life, a senior traditional healer ...

How can a family feud involving magic be stopped

June 14, 2011
by Giovanni del Autore Here is a story a friend of mine shared with me a couple weeks ago when I told him that I contribute to blogs on RelZim.org: Two brothers in the Midlands province were involved in a dispute because the young brother was going out with the ...

Njelele Shrine now less revered

June 3, 2011
“Disregard for sacred places such as the Njelele Shrine by some Zimbabweans shows how far Africans have gone astray in pursuit of foreign religions,” bemoans Gogo MaDube, a staunch traditionalist. The elderly woman, who runs Kwamatebele Herbal Life Traditional Hospital, nestled between 13th and 14th Avenues along Lobengula Street in Bulawayo, ...

The colonisation of the mind? African traditional religion in Zimbabwe vs ‘exotic religions’.

May 27, 2011
Bulawayo 24 has recently run a story on the scramble for lost souls among the Churches. There we learn about some curious ideas of a social commentator Prof. Claude Mararike. He thinks that Africans have their own culture which does not need any conversion and teaching. “People, particularly Africans, should ...