Long conversation with Julius yesterday about how there can be a reconciliation of tribal/ cultural beliefs with Christianity. So, so interesting…though most Westerners, I suspect, would label the rituals performed for/to the ancestors as superstition, they are truly meaningful to him and other Kenyans as a way of connecting with and honoring his forebears. On reflection, not so very different from lighting candles to honor the dear departed on All Saints’ Day or keeping the photographs of dead family members in a prominent place in our homes…And he made a fine point: as log as the rituals are meant to honor, as long as they harm no one, as long as they have real significance to those performing them, why should anyone else object?
After all, those of us who are Christians perform many rituals which, to those outside the faith, may appear to be nothing more than superstitious mumbo-jumbo. Yes, that offends those of us who are believers, but think for a moment about communion and baptism and what we say they mean. Think about making the sign of the cross…or the rituals around the lighting of candles…the view from outside looking in sees only meaningless acts. It is the belief which imbues the significance…the faith milieu and inner conviction that give the meaning. How, then, can we criticize or belittle the rituals/ rites/ceremonies which have meaning for or make connectios for those who believe in them? Isn’t there more than a little arrogance in this clearly Western, post-Enlightenment mindset? And why do we so often seem to feel we have nothing to learn from cultures and peoples far more ancient than our own?
Roots go deep here in Africa…tribe/community/family have deep and eternal significance. Connections are everything- to the earth, to the past, to those long-gone as well as those presently here…which seems to me just another way of saying that all of life is Holy Ground. Perhaps this is why I walk this land always in sandals…
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