Nxele and Ntsikana : a critical study of the religious outlooks of two nineteenth century Xhosa Prophets and their consequences for Xhosa Christian practice in the Eastern Cape

• Main Author: Tisani, Ezra Vuyisile
• Other Authors: Setiloane,Gabriel M
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2015
• Subjects: Religious Studies
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15882

Includes bibliographical references. === This research into the religious outlooks of two Xhosa prophets of the nineteenth century establishes the importance of sociopolitical factors as determinants for theology. A need has been felt therefore to investigate matters of a historical nature in the inquiry on the existence of diverse religious reactions of amaXhosa to Christianity. It has been on that same basis that the missionary activity of that same era has been evaluated in this study. Part one deals with the social life of amaXhosa as well as their political systems. It is recognised that land was regarded as an essential component of the religious life of amaXhosa. The close integration of the socio-political, economic and religious spheres of the life of amaXhosa determined that their religious ritual should be a celebration of that unity of life. The chief and inyanga were essential officiants at such religious rituals. All this arrangement accounted for a cohesion in the African traditional life. There were at the same time in-built measures for social control. Part two attempts to evaluate the reaction of nineteenth century missionaries to Xhosa traditional religion. Here there is recognition that in the coming together of amaXhosa and Europeans, there were meeting exponents of different symbolic universes. A faithful adherence to what accounted for traditional background on the part of any of the two sectors, meant that there would be conflict. Because European Christian religion had the necessary strong, political and military supportive structure, it did not simply survive but made divisions in the Xhosa religious life. This it did by posing demands that Xhosa converts should make a complete break with their past. The study ends by concluding that Western Christian religion erred in the demand to Europeanise Africans. It is suggested that so long as the tendency to destroy African traditional practices persists, there will be conflict within the church in South Africa. The church needs to relate its programme to the life of its African context.