UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Ambitious obligations : Pentecostalism, social life, and political economy on the Zambian Copperbelt Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7jt6190j Author Haynes, Naomi Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Ambitious Obligations: Pentecostalism, Social Life, and Political Economy on the Zambian Copperbelt A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology by Naomi Haynes Committee in charge: Professor Joel Robbins, Chair Professor Suzanne Brenner Professor Robert Cancel Professor Thomas Csordas Professor Jeremy Prestholdt Professor Rijk van Dijk 2012 The dissertation of Naomi Haynes is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2012 iii ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright Naomi Haynes, 2012 All Rights Reserved ! Table of Contents Signature Page……………………………………………………………………... iii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………... iv List of Figures…………………………………………………................................ vi A Note on Bemba Orthography and Pseudonyms…………………………………. vii Map……………………………………………………………………………........ ix Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………........ x Vita………………………………………………………………………………… xiv Abstract of the Dissertation………………………………………………………... xviii Introduction……………………………………………………………………....... 1 Section I: The Social World of Nsofu …………………………………………….. 32 Chapter One: Social Organization, Values, and Hierarchy in Nsofu………..………………………………………………………………... 34 Chapter Two: Relationships, Exchange, and Exchange Relationships…….…………………………………………………………… 63 Chapter Three: Copperbelt Patronage and the Global………………………….. 87 Section II: Pentecostal Sociality on the Copperbelt……………………………...... 114 Chapter Four: Pentecostal Hierarchy………………………............................... 116 Chapter Five: Gifts, Sacrifices, and the Problem of Prosperity…………………………………………………………………….. 150 Chapter Six: The Poison in the (Pentecostal) Gift…………............................... 174 Section III: When Prosperity Fails………………………………………………… 202 Chapter Seven: Pentecostalism and Its Malcontents………............................... 204 iv ! Chapter Eight: On The Circulation of Nsofu Saints………………………........ 228 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..... 250 References Cited...……………………………………………................................. 263 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………… 273 v List of Figures Figure 1: A view of Nsofu………………………………………………………. 12 Figure 2: An individual tie of ambition and obligation………................................. 59 Figure 3: The Copperbelt Social Gradient…………………………………………. 60 Figure 4: The Effects of Economic Crisis on the Copperbelt Social Gradient…………………………………………………………………. 101 Figure 5: The house where Bashi Jethro held his meetings was filled to overflowing…………………………………………………………….. 124 Figure 6: The number system used by people waiting to see Bashi Jethro……………………………………………………………………… 125 Figure 7: A thanksgiving service at Higher Calling………………………………... 161 Figure 8: Template for the invitation card for Mrs. Mwanza’s kitchen party……………………………………………………………………………... 177 ! vi A Note on Bemba Orthography and Pseudonyms The Copperbelt lingua franca is known as Town Bemba, an urban variety of iciBemba with a large lexical input from English, as well as other regional Bantu languages (Spitulnik and Kashoki 2001). Town Bemba also has a simplified grammar. In this dissertation, I follow the Bemba spelling conventions of Rev. E. Hoch’s Bemba Pocket Dictionary (Hoch 1960) whenever possible. Verbs are usually given in the infinitive form. Plural nouns are written without the preceding vowel, just as they are spoken (e.g. bafyashi, fitenge rather than abafyashi, ifitenge). The International Phonetic Alphabet symbol “!” is used for the “ng” sound (as in “sing”), in addition to the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet. Pronunciation is relatively straightforward, with the exception of the letter “c,” which in Bemba always makes the “ch” sound as in “church” or “child.” Bemba uses the cardinal vowels (i.e. a, e, i, o, u) and they do not coalesce. All individuals and congregations, as well as the township at the center of this study, have been given pseudonyms. I have tried to choose individual pseudonyms that reflect the variety of names given to and used by my informants, drawing on different Zambian languages as well as English. Some on the Copperbelt use the titles “Mr.” or “Mrs.” as well as their Bemba equivalent of “Ba.” In my writing, I also use the latter for women’s teknonyms, along with “Bashi” for men’s teknonyms. While others may write these as one word – e.g. Banamusonda, Bashijoshua – for the sake of clarity I have chosen to separate them. I use “Bana” rather than simply “Na” as a marker of respect, just as I did in the field. Most of my informants were older than me, whether in terms of calendrical or social age (i.e. as an unmarried, childless woman, even those who were vii younger than me had attained a more mature social status), and addressing them with the respectful “Ba” was therefore appropriate. viii ! Zambia and the Copperbelt ! ! ! ! ! Map copyright Paul Zulu. Used by permission. ! ix Acknowledgements It’s probably best to start this bit with a confession: I love reading acknowledgements. The thanks an author gives offer a glimpse of the web of relationships the surround her, something that seems particularly relevant when approaching works of social science, which are usually about social ties in one way or another. It may be that the central importance of relationality in my own work is an outgrowth of the rich network of people that surrounds me. In any case, I am grateful to have a chance to write my own acknowledgements, and grateful to have so many to mention in them. My preliminary fieldwork in 2006 was supported by the Center for International, Comparative, and Area Studies and the Friends of the International Center, both at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). My fieldwork in Nsofu in 2008-2009 was supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad grant and a dissertation research grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. While writing up I was supported by the Harvey Fellows program. My thanks to each of these organizations for their assistance. A version of chapter five, currently entitled “Social Seeds: Pentecostal Religious Ideas and Political Economy on the Zambian Copperbelt,” has been accepted for publication in the American Anthropologist, pending revisions. During my first stay on the Copperbelt in 2003-2004 I lived in the home of Jerry and Edith Kufuna. Together with their niece Joyce and their children Hannah, Daniel, Joshua, and (later) Jethro, they have since that time been a family to me. Without the Kufunas and their many friends I would not know how to cook nshima, speak Bemba, or x navigate the Copperbelt. Indeed, without them none of what has followed that first visit would have been possible. Natotela sana. While in Zambia, many people and institutions contributed to the success of my research. Austin Cheyeka in the Religious Studies Department at the University of Zambia offered helpful feedback and opened his classroom to me for a discussion of my findings. Dinewe Musoni, Chisengo Mushipi, and Patricia Sitali worked as my research assistants and did a simply wonderful job. At various points Lisa Ratzlaff, Dana and Carolyn Belton, Masuka Mutenda, and Phalany and Mukumbi Kabesha opened their homes to me, providing friendship, conversation, and tables large enough for me to spread out my notes. I hope that one day I can offer you the same kind of hospitality you have shown me. In Nsofu, I lived in the home of the couple I refer to here as Pastor and Mrs. Mwanza and their daughter, who I call Musonda. I am very grateful that they provided me a comfortable and quiet place to live and work. Members of their church, which I call Key of David, the two other congregations at the center of this project, known here as Freedom Bible Church and Higher Calling, as well as numerous other Pentecostal groups across the Copperbelt, always made me feel welcome. For these congregations, along with the many individuals who have shared their lives, stories, meals, and ideas with me, I am very grateful. Lastly, fieldwork would have been a much lonelier experience without Patricia and Abraham Sitali, and their son Waluna (and now Tumelo as well!). Your friendship was one of the greatest joys of my time in Nsofu. Natasha sana! Throughout my education I have been fortunate to have good teachers. Brian Howell and Dean Arnold first introduced me to anthropology while I was an xi undergraduate at Wheaton College and they have remained supportive mentors ever since. As a graduate student at UCSD I have benefitted from the training of Suzanne Brenner,