Witchcraft, Sorcery and Spirit Possession - Pastoral Responses in Africa

Home , Obsession (Spiritism), Spirit possession

LENY LAGERWERF

WITCHCRAFT, SORCERY AND SPIRIT POSSESSION - PASTORAL RESPONSES IN AFRICA

A symposium participant cited the case of a Protestant pastor whose son was seriously ill. On the quiet his wife consulted a diviner. The latter prescribed that a sacrifice be offered on the tomb of the child's grandfather. She then . urged her husband that they act on the diviner's advice. But he angrily refused, and left the healing of their child to God's will. The boy died. The relatives of the wife then accused the pastor of being the sorcerer of his own son. Heroic as the pastor may have been, the pathos of this case consists in having defined his dilemma from the fundamentalist viewpoint: either yield back to paganism, or remain unswerving in the faith. But Fr. Hermann Hochegger_expressed his conviction . that, guided by the sound principles of "Incultura- tion Theology", Christianity in the Bandundu region still needs to equal the ritual creativity of the native religion (P. Estepa, When Medicine Man Met Missionary, in : Verbum SVD, 1982/3, 319).

In spite of all the endeavours of the Missions sorcery and witchcraft are a reality in the lives of many Christians in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately the churches did not always seem to take their members' fears seriously. In - fact they often made it impossible to speak about these matters at all. During the 1960's, however, the first signs of a new attitude among pastors became visible. Rev. H. Edjengu6l6, Principal of the Theological College at Ndoungue Cameroon, in his thesis "La puissance de 1'Evangile face au paganisme Minieh des Mbo" (1966) reports on a regional Pastors' conference of the Evan- gelical Church of Cameroon in 1962, during which some young pastors, including himself, protested against the other pastors' assertion that witchcraft does not exist or is dying out, and in this wise unknowingly inviting wizards to hide in the Christian congregations. According to Edjenguele, the 'prophe- tic' task of the church should instead be publicly to expose and accuse the wizards (90-94; quoted from : H. Ba.lz, Where the faith has to live, 1984, 386, footnote 74).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Then, since the early 1970's, a number of meetings and publications have focused attention on sorcery, witchcraft, and spirit possession and their pastoral implications. To mention some : - From 10-13 September 1972 a colloquium was held in Yaounde on 'Faith and Healing', organized by the research group of the Society of Jesus in Cameroon. The lectures read by some of the participants were published . under the title Croyance et guerison in 1973. - On 2nd June 1972 the Zairian pastor Masamba ma Mpolo took his doctor's - degree in theology at the School of Theology in Claremont, California, USA. His thesis was entitled Psychotherapeutic dynamics in African be- witches patients - Toward a muZtidimensionaZ therapy zn sociaZ psychiatry. The French edition La Ziberation des envoutes was published by the Editions CLE in Yaounde (Cameroon) in 1976. - The 4th plenary assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) held in Rome in 1975, drew the attention of all bishops to the need for conducting surveys and research into the phenomenon of sorcery (Acts, p. 296). (Who's who in African Witchcraft ?, PMV Africa Doss. 12, 1980, 5). - A colloquium organized by the World Council of Churches in Cameroon (1978) on the Religious Experience of Man in his Relations with Nature recommended that the churches study with objectivity and seriousness the beliefs and practices of sorcery (p. 32).. - At the international colloquium "Religions Africaines et Christianisme" held in Kinshasa (Zaire) in January of the same year (1978), Masamba ma Mpolo read a paper on L'impact de La religion africaine sur La psychologie et Za pastoraZe des EgZises chrdtiennes d'Afrique (The impact of the African religion on the psychology and the pastoral care of the Christian churches of Africa). (In : Cahiers des Religious Africaines, no. 21-22, 1979). - During a session in Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Fasso, then Upper Volta) in November 1979, organised by the Episcopal Committee of traditional and syncretist religions, the greater part of the three days was devoted to Father Hebga's book Sorcellerie chimere dangereuse...7, published in that same year. (L. Sanon, Compte-Rendu in : Lie CaZao 1980/1, 34-44). - Witchcraft, Traditional heaZing methods, and their impact on the Christzan was 1980's theme for research by the National Committee for research on African Culture and the expression of the Christian Message I

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access (Tanzania). Its Director, Fr. Pambe, delivered a paper on this theme at an international seminar held in St. Paul's University, Ottawa, Canada, in 1980 (I.M. Pambe, in : Service 1980/5�6, 19). - In 1982 Inades in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) published Meinrad P. Hebga's Sorcellerze et prigre de deliverance while - the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Yaounde held an interdisciplinary week on "Theologie et Sorcellerie" (Theology and Sorcery/witchcraft) in March 1984 (papers not published). Finally,

- also in 1984, Emmanuel Milingo's writings were published under the title The World in between, Christian hearing and the struggle for Spiritual survival.

Although these activities indicate a new openness to the problem of sorcery, witchcraft and evil spirits on the part of the churches and church-related institutions, there may still be a long way to go. The case of E. Milingo, former Archbishop of Lusaka (Zambia), is still fresh in our minds. In 1982, after he had devoted much time in his ministry to develop contextual pastoral care for members of his diocese who considered themselves struck by sorcery, witchcraft and spirit possession, he was summoned by the Vatican autho- rities to undergo interrogation and psychiatric investigations to determine whether he is still a Christian and does not himself suffer from delusions or any oth'er mental illness. Also Masamba ma Mpolo, dean of the Faculty of Protestant Theology and vice-president of the Church of Christ in Zaire, had to take pains to overcome suspicion :

My first involvement, in 1966, with bewitched members of my congregation, along with the publication of my preliminary study in pastoral counseling concerns with the bewitched in 1971 and proposals made for using traditional symbols and models of therapy such as the reconciliation ceremonies with ancestral spirits, aroused the suspicion of the missionary and church hierarchies. Patient explanations and carefully planned workshops with pastors and theological students have been necessary in attempting to clarify the theology behind such a pastoral approach. The oublication in French of my doctoral thesis in 1976 and other short studies focus- sing on mental health, family life, and pastoral care intended primarily for catechists, pastors, and theological colleges... and studies being made by many other African theologians and Christian social scientists ... have contri- buted to the clarification of the issue and have pointed the way toward what can be called African Theology and African Pastoral Care (Masamba ma Mpolo, Symbols and Stories in Pastoral Care and Counseling, in : Bull. of African Theology no. 11, 1984, 40). ·

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access In this issue on an African pastoral approach to witchcraft, sorcery, and spirit possession I will try to give an overview of reflections and actions sofar. Ch. II deals with the necessary conditions for an African approach, Ch. Ill highlights some basic aspects, while Ch. IV more specifically deals with healing and exorcism. Ch. I gives an introduction to the phenomena of witchcraft, sorcery and spirit possession. It is not meant as a treatise in itself, but only serves as a basis for what follows.

(From: Gwinyai H. Muzorewa, The Origins and Development of African TheoZogy, Maryknoll, Orbis Books,1985, front cover)

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access I. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Terminology

Beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery are still wide-spread in black Africa, especially in the villages. This means that in many cases death, illness and misfortune are considered the outcome of evil intent of mostly close relatives, rather than of natural causes. To appreciate the distinction between witchcraft and sorcery, it is first necessary to define magic. This is a morally neutral term in the sense that magic may be used with or without social approval. It refers to the activities or craft of the magician, a person who, suitably prepared, performs rituals aimed at controlling impersonal supernatural forces held responsible for the succession of events. In these rituals, material substances, often with characteristics or origins symbolically related to the objectivities desired, are used to the accompaniment of verbal formulae. Although a non-literate .... society . usually has its expert magicians, many forms of magic are available to its ordinary members, and the equivalent of do-it-yourself kits may be inherited, bought or borrowed ■ (M. Marwick, Introduction, in: Witchcraft � Sorcery, 1970, 12). The main difference between a sorcerer and a witch is that the former achieves his evil end by magic, whereas the latter (often though not invariably conceived of as a woman) achieves hers by some mystical power inherent in her personality, a power that does not require the help of magic (12). In this contribution the two words will mostly be used indiscriminately. One of the reasons is that in the French language -- a remarkable number of articles and books under study �have been written in French -- only the words 'sorcellerie' is used. Another reason is that both witches and sorcerers incur social dis- approval and that generalizations about both are often made. Nowaday it is not uncommon to use 'wizard' and 'wizardry' as generic terms to include respectively witches and sorcerers on the one hand and their believed activities on the other (Marwick 1-970, 131_

A clear distinction should be made between a sorcerer (black magician) and a medicine-man (nganga).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Comme la plupart des peuples africains, les Kongo font une distinction entre les sorciers, les ndoki, et les chasseurs de sorciers, les nganga, et done entre magie noire et magie blanche. La croyance aux sorciers repose sur 1'idee, commune en Afrique, que la maladie et la mort d'etres jeunes sont foncierement anormales. Elles sont provoquees, croit-on, soit par le courroux d'un esprit surnaturel (ancetre ou genie), soit par 1'action malveillante d'un humain: le sorcier (J.-F. Vincent, Le Mouvement Croix-Koma: Une nouvelle forme de lutte contre la sorcellerie en pays kongo, in: Cahiers des Etudes Africaines 1966/4, 529).

Among the Agikuyu, a sorcerer is known as a mLCrogi, a poisoner. Murogi was always a lazy, unsuccessful and somehow unbalanced person. He was against social stability and progress. Generally, murogi did his work during the night... His poison was made from deadly herbs and roots of certain trees. When a murogi was discovered, he was tried and invariably executed, either by being forced to eat his own poison, or, if he confessed, to die honourably by execution (Raphael Wanjohi, Medical and spiritual care among the Agikuyu, in: Spearhead No. 71, 1982, 44-45).

A medicine-man (white magician) on the other hand, must be an upright man, keeping his hands clean from evil, and wielding his great power solely in the interests of health and the welfare of society. A white magician or medicine-man was (a) a doctor, (b) a seer, (c) a priest and (d) a judicial prosecutor in serious public crimes. Before a person was publicly ordained a medicine-man, he had to fulfil certain requirements. He had to be called by God or ancestors to serve in that profession. It was not enough to say that such a call had been communicated to him by God or the ancestors. It had to manifest itself visibly to enable the society to judge its genuineness. His past life and family line was seriously scrutinised. If the elders were satisfied that the candidate's call was genuine and that he had also led a good life, they finally ordained him at the completion of a long and thorough training in his profession (Wanjohi, 39).

If people feel that cases of illness or death are not due to natural causes but witchcraft or sorcery, they go to the medicine-man who, through various methods, will spot the wrong-doer and help solve the social conflict which is often at the root of accusations of withchcraft. If the ancestors are responsible for the sickness or

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access calamity the diviner or medicine-man prescribes the type of sacrifice demanded by the ancestors. The ancestors belong to the category of good spirits and are in close relationship with the people (S.N.Ezeanya, God, spirits and the spirit world, in: K.A. Dickson and P. Ellingworth, eds., EibZzcaZ Revelation and African Beliefs, 1970, 43, 44).

Spirit possession is a different way of explaining illness. In that case people believe themselves to be ill because they are under the influence of one or more (evil) spirits inhabiting them.

1.2. Christ as medicine-man?

In his article 'Christ as the medicine-man and the medicine-man as Christ: a tentative history of African Christological thought', Mathew Schoffeleers, Professor of religious anthropology at the Free University of Amsterdam, raises the question why evil and human suffering is defined in essentially different ways, namely witchcraft or spirit possession.He suggests that the two options "relate to different experiences of and different attitudes to the processess of change that African communities have been subjected to from the beginning of the colonial era and onwards. Although these experiences and attitudes are of a great variety, they are all concerned with pressures in the direction of either the new or the old: to make the transition to the politically dominant culture or seek refuge in a counter-culture, or to re-adapt to the traditional environment".

Either type of pressure generates problems specific to it. As far as the transition to a new cultural environment is concerned, those problems tend to pertain first and fore- . most to the experiences.of the individual, and the idiom in which they are expressed becomes that of spirit possession and personal cleansing through exorcism. In the case of restoring the traditional environment, on the other hand, those problems tend to focus on the experiences of the community, and the appropriate idiom will be rather that of witchcraft and communual cleansing by means of witchcraft eradication movements (M. Schoffeleers. in: Man aid Life, 1982/1�2, 11-12). - .

Mathew Schoffeleers relates these two options to two processes at work with regard to the nganga. He notices that on the one hand "over

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access large parts of Black Africa, Christ and his acknowledged human representatives -- priests, prophets and ministers of the faith -- appear to be conceived of in terms of people's ideas about the traditional medicine-man... that is to say, they may positively portray Christ, priest etc., as more or less identical wi'th the nganga or they may emphasize divergences ... or do both, depending on the aspects considered ... This set of images focuses on spirit possession". On the other hand, "instances from the field of myth . and ritual as well as contemporary healing practices show that the nganga in his turn may be recast in christian or christological terms. And once again, the resulting images vary in the way similarities and divergences are stressed ... This set of images emphasizes witchcraft" (Schoffeleers 1982, 1).

Since this contribution wants do describe developments in the pastoral . care of the 'historic' churches, rather than focusing on healing churches or witchcraft eradication movements, only the theme of 'Christ as medicine-man' will be elaborated somewhat further.

In the past the missionaries took an extremely negative stand • viz-a-viz the nganga. Today's African theologians seem to be more positive about him. Schoffeleers gives some examples of theologic�l�-f who suggest that the nganga might well be the African paradigmatic figure for the biblical Christ (13) or the African prefiguration of Christ (14). This indicates -- as does the long list of publications above -- that many churches have adopted an entirely different position in relation to African traditional culture, and also that they are now moving into the field of healing which hitherto they had left to the nganga. There is a growing recognition that the problems taken to him, whether they relate to witchcraft, evil spirits or something else, do have meaning. According to Schoffeleers, these developments reflect "the main lines along which the missionary churches are transforming themselves at this point in history, viz. the de-westernization both of theology and the ministerial role. As to the more immediate causes of these developments, one could point among other things to the progressive indigenization of the

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access ecclesiastical cadres and the liberalization of theology which has become a feature of virtually all churches except those of the fundamentalist type" (Schoffeleers, 15).

One may well ask whether also the 'ordinary people' conceive the present-day priest and minister as a successor and counterpart of the nganga. Schoffeleers gives an example of a Protestant theologian from the Congo Republic who maintains that the local population itself regards priests and ministers as standing within the tradition of the traditional medicine-man (14). Some of the examples I came across seem indeed to relate the role of the priest indirectly to that of the nganga, othersare definitely not. Priests are suspected of hiding their forces. and are feared for that. Yet, priests seldom seem to test the Spirit of Power which we received from Jesus Christ (B. Adoukonou, La médecinetraditionelle et la pastorale chretienne, in: Savanes Forets 1979/2, 171). ". Sheiks and priests are supposed to have baraka (= blessing) in abundance. With this barakathey are .endowed with the power of transmitting a curse ... with the highest effectiveness. This is more so with ... the 'odd' but powerful and mysterious catholic white missionary. The big question from Christians and non-Christians today is: Why do not priests curse these days? (M. Pambe, Religious Symbols etc., in: Service 1980/5�6,32). Out of the 750 people who answered the question It is sometimes said the priests have especial secret powers to curse their enemies or to get rid of witches 20.8% agreed and 42.1% did not know but thought it could be true (Who's who in African witchcraft? in: Pro Mundi Vita Africa Dossier nr. 12, 1980, 33). A priest gave a new pair of trousers to a child preparing for his first communion. The parents pressed the child to return them, because people think that by giving presents the white man, even the missionary, buys people through sorcery in order to make them slaves or to sell them back home (Masamba ma Mpolo, Le probleme de la sorcellerie, in: Cahiers de Religious Afro- caines, no. 14, 1973, 251). Not only the missionary, but the catholic priest in general -- white or not -- is perceived as "1'homme du sacre" (man of t h �:1I"",,"orf' �*�4-�.vM�.��7�'��-� .. 1.., i. , ., r...7 �..��7 —�-� UC 4 S �,-4 -- ...... - ...... -. -...." """"'V(;,..O-""¡C;,..""",,Vl,,.4.VC;... Vc:;..vWc;..c.,..I.. W \-�t ^^ ^ij4r 1.A.1¡"� IOU:;"'....1""^^ f ^J ^J ^~ lit^J 'set apart', which is accentuated by his perpetual celibacy. In defining his position African people just use the categories which apply to men who are 'set apart' in their own society (diviners, healers sorcerers, etc.). Because of this notion of power people may go to the priest to be healed, which in·

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access the eyes of less instructed people may happen in a semi- miraculous way(L.-V. Thomas/R. Luneau, Les sages depossedes. Univers magiques d'Afrique noire, 1977, 224, transl. LL).

1.3. Healing in a time of transition

In the foregoing paragraph, it was said that the set of christological images emanating from Christian bodies, emphasized spirit possession as the principal source of human suffering, and emerged from situations . in which the major concern was transition from the old to a new order. Schoffeleers mentions Emmanuel Milingo's statements and activities as a typical example. . Milingo is deeply concerned with Zambia's present and future condition. He wants it to become a nation that is truly modern, . African and religious, and he focuses on evil spirits as the allegedly major obstacles in that connection (Schoffeleers, 24).

To put it differently: people who want to make the step to the new society conceive the traditional society under the symbol of evil spirits, which cling to them as it were, and try to draw them back. They are beset of fears, for instance about their-parents or ancestors who may feel neglected. Since especially the position of women is deeply affected by the process of modernization, it is not surprising that many women are among the possessed. In fact, becoming a medium is one of the ways for women to exert influence on the process of modernization.

(From: L. Lagerwerf, "They pray for you..."" Independent Churches and Women in Botswana. Leiden-Utrecht 1982, 87)

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access II. EVALUATION OF THE 'OLD' PASTORAL APPROACH

Two main criticisms seem to emerge from the literature on the churches' approach to sorcery and witchcraft. In the first place authors underline that the missionaries' attitude was not so much based on a true understanding of the Bible, but rather the fruit of a world-view and of a theological training that prevented them from taking African realities seriously. The second accusation is levelled at the interpretation of sin as foremost a disruption of the relation between God and man, which tends to neglect the restoring of broken relations between people.

2.1. The reality of witchcraft and sorcery

Dr. Erivwoo, an Anglican priest lecturing in Religious Studies at the University of Ibadan, Jos Campus in Nigeria, is one of those ambivalent about the attitude of the church in the past. He admits that it was mainly because of inhuman treatment inflicted upon persons accused of witchcraft, that the British Administration and the Christian missions ,. offered them protection. "But the missionaries' attitude was also inspired by ideas they inherited from eighteenth century Europe, a period when even the reality and existence of God were seriously questioned. While the nineteenth century missionaries who came to Africa rightly reacted against the agnostic and atheistic philosophy of the previous century, many of them unconsciously accepted the doctrine of the unreality of the Devil particularly with regard to a manifestation of his activities in witchcraft".

We can consider their attitude as a reaction against the excessive emphasis on the Devil and Hell in the Medieval period, and against the untold suffering and brutal treatment meted out to witches. All of these factors worked together to discredit belief in witchcraft so that it disap- peared from the European scene in the eighteenth century. The Church declared belief in witchcraft a heresy. Hutchinson, an Anglican bishop, who published his Histori- cal Essays concerning Witchcraft in 1718, is regarded as one of those who dealt the last blow to belief in witchcraft which came to be seen as a vain superstition. Since as far as they were concerned there was no such thing as witchcraft, the missionaries were simply not prepared to consider the question whether or not the person accused of witchcraft was guilty of the offence. This attitude cannot be said to have helped the cause of Christ in Africa; for even if the missionaries against the very

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access clear testimony of the Bible, could not believe in the reality of witchcraft and sorcery, these things were very live issues for the Africans (S.U. Erivwoo, Christian Attitude to Witchcraft, in : Afer 1975/1, 28).

• Much in the same line are the conclusions of a conference on messianism and sorcery/witchcraft ('sorcellerie') held in Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Fasso) in November 1979, which was organized by the Episcopal Commission of Traditional and Syncretist Religions. Point 5 of the Report deals with 'Pastors and priests vis-a-vis the problem of sorcery', and states that today it is looked upon in a more positive way than in former days when the subject was taboo. The reasons for rejection were understandable: hate within and between families and idolatric tendencies. On the other hand pastors have been deeply influenced by the repeated condemnation of sorcery since the Coricile of Ancyre in 314, Innocent VIII and Pius IX, and the protestant theology of Karl Barth. Hence, "we must liberate ourselves in order to judge sorcery/witchcraft in the light of the Bible and not in that of western civilization" (Luc Sanon, Compte-Rendu in : �e CaZao No. 49, 1980/1, 42-43).

Also Father M. Hebga, a Jesuit priest from Cameroon who has been lecturing in America, Rome, Abidjan, Kinshasa, and Douala, states that in catechesis and pastoral work no attention has been paid to sorcery/witchcraft and magic, because they were condemned as superstitious beliefs and idolatric and immoral practices. In fact, the problem of catechists and pastors is very simple : "How to lead Africans from their so-called primitive beliefs to the true faith, and from their abominable practices to the Christian moral". According to Father Hebga the problem is different for Africans. They have to face the question "How to defend health and life, essential and fundamental values of the individual and community, against attacks from wherever they come". They will try to reach this goal by all possible means. Although Christians know that "we should first seek the Kingdom of heaven and its justice", the sociologist and the pastor have to face reality. They have to start from the problems of the African and not at all from a foreign ideology on this same African. The more so since most of the 'Africans' have neither the money nor the social relations for being treated in the European way.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access No longer the impression should be given that African medicine is pagan, while its pharmaceutical competitor is Christian; that the ancestral amulets are magical while the medals, rosaries, crucifix and Christian objects of cults are free from magic because they come from Europe. It will not be easy to forbid Africans who have become Christians to assist at their ancestral cults and to call exclusively upon foreign ancestors, hailed as saints, instead. Catechists and pastors must start to re-evaluate their quiet certitudes. (M. Hebga, Sorcellerie et maladie en Afrique Noire. Jalons pour une approche catechetique et pastorale. In : TeZema 1982/4, 5-48; transl. LL).

In an article on traditional medicine and the Christian pastorate B. Adoukonou(Ivory Coast) also pleads for a reappraisal of 'nos valeurs africaines' (our African values). This should be done in the light of conversion, a phenomenon which totally affects man and his culture.

Without allowing ourselves to be conditioned by the reason and logic of the whites, we should expose the African anthropology and medicine to the light of the Christian faith. God is love as is manifested in his Son Jesus Christ. Instead of being victims of evil forces, the 'African person' should put his trust in God's love.This radical therapy will destroy, or at least weaken the whole system of manipulating forces as a means to survive (B. Adoukonou, La medecine traditionnelle et la pastorale chretienne, in : Savanes Forets 1979/2, 166-168 ; transl. LL).

Masamba ma Mpolo (Zaire) points to the negative attitude of colonial governments, Western-type services and Christian hospitals towards the . bewitched person, which have prevented the development of a dynamic therapy for the growth of the bewitched person. "There has been a lack .of incorporation of social elements such as traditional beliefs, religious practices and values, interpersonal and social structures, into the healing institutions. This has created a mechanical-medical profes- sionalism that deals with things rather than with persons seeking health and growth". He quotes Opler who once observed : .

Most colonial powers, and even missionaries, have dealt with the problem of witchcraft very ineffectively. The denial of a psychological basis for witchcraft has re- sulted in a superficial verbal attack on the evil of sorcery (M.K. Opler, Culture and Social Psychiatry, 1967, 329)..

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access "Healing professions, including psychotherapy and counselling, are therefore being challenged to take the risk of better understanding such a phenomenon as bewitchment" (Masamba ma Mpolo, Kindoki as diagnosis and therapy, in : Africa Theol. JrnZ. 1984/3, 150). One may equally wonder whether the Christian Medical Commission (CMC) of the World Council of Churches is really taking witchcraft and sorcery seriously. One of its objectives is "to promote innovative approaches to health care for the maximum benefit of individuals, families and communities, especially the deprived". The CMC has found these innovative approaches in the ideas of primary health care, and it has long been considered a pioneer in this field. In spite of this approach from the grass-roots, however, Bishop Sarpong, a Roman Catholic observer at the January 1985 meeting of the Commissioners of the CMC, had to remind the participants that

it is most important for health workers, particularly those who are trained in Western methods, to understand the traditional beliefs of the people with whom they are working. Although one cannot always agree with the traditional beliefs that people hold about health, one can understand these beliefs and respect the people who hold them (Setting our priorities for health, in : . Contact Nr. 85, 1985, 8; see also: Robin Horton 1966, 9)

Timothy Pyakalyia from Papua New Guinea agreed but also gave a warning about the harmful nature of the beliefs in magic and spells which infest some cultures. He underlined that the role of the CMC is also to move people into patterns of love and reconciliation in their lives.

I would also like to draw attention to 'Dreams in Africa'. Christian missionaries in Africa have usually been intolerant regarding dream-telling. They have even gone further than that and taught that to take dreams seriously is to offend against the first commandment. The Old 'Penny' Catechism forbade as a superstitious practice all 'trusting to charms, omens, dreams, and such like fooleries'. The usual advice given by con- fessors and spiritual directors has been to ignore dreams altogether on the grounds that one is not responsible for what happens when one is asleep and that, during sleep, one is entirely passive (A. Shorter, Dreams in Africa, in : Afer 1978/5, 283). For the reflection on the Church's attitude to sorcery and witchcraft the subject may be relevant

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access because "dream-interpretation often plays a major part in the diagnosis of illness by traditional doctors" (282), in that it may reveal whether the illness has been caused by a wrong-doer, and if so, by whom.

Criticism of the Church's attitude towards sorcery and witchcraft are not a new phenomenon. In an earlier phase, the independent churches have already aired their grievances. In his study on churches at the grass- roots in Congo-Brazzaville, Andersson reports that members of the Sal- vation Army and of various independent churches who were former catechists of the Swedish Protestant Mission, in fact accused it of having concealed the doctrine about sorcery.

The point for which the Mission is censured, namely that it is said to have concealed the truths about sorcery in the Bible (see for example, Deut. 18,10; 2 Kings 17,17), is always found in all the sects which originated in ngunzism and the Salvation Army (E. Andersson, 1968, 142).

. In a way the independent churches set an example in that they take sorcery and witchcraft seriously and offer people the kind of pastoral care that makes sense to them. A challenge that 'historic' churches are now discover- ing.

2.2. The interpretation of sin

In Africa sorcery and witchcraft are stamped as an anti-social evil because they are a threat to people's health and well-being and disrupt social relations, especially within the extended family. In its pastoral approach of the committers of these evil deeds the churches have often failed to take this into account. Heinrich Balz, in his study among the Bakosso in two anglophone provinces of Cameroon compares one of the forms of the traditional nkanag - a rite of reconciliation and/or curative treatment - with the substitute introduced by the churches. "The common nkanag takes place where sickness in the family is believed to have been caused by living persons through witchcraft. Its central element is always the confession of the family members, their withdrawal from any involvement in the patient's sickness and some visible symbolic actions, often the slaughtering of an animal" . (H. Balz, There the fa2th has to Zive, 1984, 324). The Christian substitute for nkanag as practiced by Ntungwa and all Bakossi Pastors after him are: family prayer for and with the sick, plus medical health care.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Though necessary and good, such prayer has shown itself practically to be an insufficient substitute for nkanag. But in its very insufficiency, it has at the same time provided the clue to a better and more complete theoretical understanding of the function of nkanag in the community :

that it has to do not only - if at all - with the relationship between a sick man'and God his maker, but also - and much more so - with man and those of his fellow men who are in conflict with him. Nkanag deals only indirectly with Adam, that is, with man's sin against God. But it deals directly with Cain and Abel, that is with man's sin against man. For this simple structural reason, prayer alone cannot replace it. Confession of the wrongs done or intended . against one's fellow man, and mutual forgiveness of such wrongs, has also to find its institutionalized Christian form (370-371).

Father Nxumalo compares the different ways the idea of sin is treated by the Scholastic Theology and among the Zulus in South Africa. With western Christian Theology whenever a penitent goes to confession he is expected to confess his personal sin, that is, fault committed against God and neighbour knowingly, willingly, and with full consent. But the idea of confession and sin among the Zulus is different from that of Scholastic Theology. For the Zulus, evil is sin for it destroys good relationships and causes disharmony between persons and society...

We discovered in our pastoral practice that the above is true among the Zulus. In spite of lengthy instructions based upon the catechism of Pope Pius which gives summary of Dogma of the Catholic Church, many Zulu Roman Catholics . view sin in the same way as in traditional thought. They still see sin and confession in the terms and symbols of traditional religion. The difference is that there is now a new dimension, that is Christian faith which manifests itself in belief in sacramental absolu- tion from an ordained priest. The fact that African traditional ideas of religion modify the pattern of the reception of the Christian message should not be ignored . in pastoral ministry (J.A. Nxumalo, Pastoral Ministry and African World-view, in : Jrnl of Theology for Southern Africa, No. 28, 1979, 29-30).

In an article "Medical and spiritual care among the Agikuyu in Kenya" Rev. Dr. Wanjohi also underlines the necessity of restoring relationships. After analyzing the role of a medi.cine-man (especially as priest and psychologist) in traditional Gikuyu society as a healer and a coun-

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access sellor, he concludes :

This material is essential if we are to understand what those who become Christians had to undergo, and still have to face today. Christian purification rites do not require the penitent to seek reconciliation with his community, and the very role of the medicine-man has been seen as an evil business. Yet his traditional role .of being an agent of healing and forgiveness has much to teach us as we seek ways of making our faith and sacraments meaningful in Africa (Raphael Wanjohi, in : Spearhead No. 71, 1982, 45).

When speaking about family relations it should be borne in mind that in Africa the ancestors are considered as much part of this community as the living. Therefore in traditional religion any transgression of the commands and taboos of the clan elders, who speak in the name of their ancestors, is conceived as a 'sin'. "He who disobeys them is then believed to run the risk of being struck by sickness, insanity, or even death. For the elders who rule the clans are at the same time considered as the controllers of the ancestral talismans and fetishes. With- in this mentality, Christianity is therefore viewed as a lenient religion. For though it also maintains that all evil traces its sources back to human sin (but only in a general sense), it refuses to see a direct, one-to-one relationship between personal sins and personal mis- . fortunes (John 9, 1-3). Hence, rather than consider this as 'good news', the people believe that the Christian threat against sinning lacks weight" (P. Estepa, reporting on the 16th CEEBA Symposium in Bandundu, Zaire. In : 'verbum SVD 1982/3, 318). Felix Mkhoi, Bishop of Chikwawa (Malawi) follows the same line in his intervention at the Synod of Bishops in 1983. He formulates the Afri- can perspective on sin and reconciliation as follows :

The African knows sin as a concrete existential reality. This knowledge has its foundation in the African knowledge of God, Creator of all people and all things. He not only created, but ne also controls his creatures and keeps them in being. He is the source of all life, and life is the basic value in the eyes of the African. From God it reaches every individual through the ancestors, the heroes of the past . and the deceased relatives; then through the traditional ruler, the head of the clan, and, finally, the head of the family. This order is sacred. Any action which breaks

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access or disturbs it is sinful. Consequently, the African values very highly such values as justice, love and cooperation, obedience, unity, and well-being in the family. Physical evil is mostly regarded as a result of moral evil or sin. Moreover, sin is an ali- enation from one's community. This is made evident by the kind of sanctions against a sinner. It is the task of the _ Church to know and appreciate the good values in these beliefs and practices, in order to use them profitably in its mission of reconciliation (Synod of Bishops 1983: Some significant interventions, in: Afer 1984/3, 145).

With their contributions the various authors have brought home that confession of sin and reconciliation of relatives should go hand in hand. Confession of sin however, presupposes the shouldering of one's own responsibility, which may run counter to the sometimes apparent lack of individual guilt in traditional societies. This being caused by the notion of collective culpability which is linked with the responsibility and the structure of the clan.

La culpabilite d'un membre du clan est portee par tous les membres du clan, surtout les anciens. Cette persona- lite collective contribue a creer chez 1'individu des sentiments d'evasion et la projection de la culpabilite hors de soi : La societe est peut-etre trop responsable de 1'individu, a tel point que souvent elle ne permet pas 1'epanouissement de la personne. La sorcellerie semble done etre ce sentiment general d'exteriorisation - de la culpabilite, ce sentiment de fatalisme. La society, les femmes, les oncles, les membres vivants et morts du clan, et Dieu sont souvent tenu responsables des mauvais sorts des individus ou des groupes d'individus (Masamba ma Mpolo, Le probleme de la sorcellerie, in: Cahiers des Religious Africaines, No. 14, 1973, 248).

(From: ChristZiches Afrika. Kunst und Kunsthandwerk in Sch�arza frika. St. Augus- tin 1978, 15) Looking glass fetish of the Bakongo, Zaire (with . sign of crucifix?) .

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Ill ASPECTS OF AFRICAN PASTORAL CARE

Several authors, although strong advocates of an African pastoral approach to the problem of witchcraft, sorcery and evil spirits, express their uneasiness about the possibility of stirring feelings unnecessarily by paying too much attention to these phenomena. As the fore-going chapter has shown, however, they agree that African realities should be faced rather than ignored. This chapter presents a kind of inventory of wishes and suggestions for a renewal of African pastoral care, as well as some concrete examples thereof. On the basis of literature available to me I choose the following headings : preaching/catechesis, confession/reconciliation, protection/fortification, and socio-economic development. The pastoral care of the sick will be dealt with in the following chapter.

3.1. Preaching and catechesis

One of the most essential points is to develop a living faith in God the Father. He, who cares for birds will he not care for people also ? Father Duvieusart points out that the people themselves underline the importance of this approach : .

One day, in a sermon on magic, had referred to the action of vaccination against chicken-pox, which had caused the disappearance of the illness. At the end of the Mass, a Christian, well educated and engaged in the parochial apostolate, said to me : "Father, what . you said in your sermon is right. Yet, what has libera- ted me from the fear of kindoki was telling me that God is much stronger than kindoki. (L. Duvieusart, Un cas sur dix..... inexplicable par la supercherie ! In : Hema 1984/1, 48).

Much in the same line the participants of the 16th CEEBA Symposium held in Bandundu mentioned as features of Christianity which they found at- tractively novel : its trust in a Father-God who is mightier than evil spirits and its lack of malicious rites for cursing or bewitchment (P. Estepa, When Medicine Man Met Missionary, in : Verbum SVD, 1982/3, 318).

Father Louis Oger pleads for an education devoid of dogmatism and pole- mics, and suggests that the problem of destructive sufferings should be placed in the context of redemption and salvation. -

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Over and against the anguish caused by sorcery, the libe- ration through Christ should be proclaimed; deliverance -- individual and collective -- from the bondage of evil powers (Hebr. 2,15).

He also suggests to actualize the catechesis by making liberating gestures, both towards individuals who feel bewitched and come to the priest to talk about it as well as collective gestures (see below). Father ■ Oger makes these suggestions as a foreign priest, "for a better and more functional approach to sorcery than refutations which are not accepted because they come from a foreigner, they ignore the psychic element and they do not take the sick and their social group out'of their suffering" (L. Oger, "Le pretre etranger face a la maladie", in : Spiritus, no. 81, 1980, 389-390).

Father Mubengayi, who is a professor at the Catholic Theological Faculty in Kinshasa (Zaire) goes a step further. Not only should a living faith liberate the people from fear, but through the power to Zove (1 Cor. 13, 4-7) they will be able to counter-attack the evil powers, thus striking at the roots of the evil (Mubengayi, La sorcellerie, probleme et fleau, in : TeZema 1983/2, 19-24). And indeed, proclaiming Christ should not only aim at liberating.people from fear, but also stimulate them to pray for the sorcerer so that he may convert himself.

11 faut chercher Dieu, et en cherchant Dieu, chercher 1'homme; done chercher la conversion du sorcier (objec- tif missionnaire; cf. amour des ennemis, Mt. 5, 43-45; Lc. 6, 27). Si les gens recourent encore a la sorcellerie, n'est-ce pas en partie parce que nous ne leur annonçons pas assez le Christ ? La sorcellerie est une prison, un enchatnement. Le Christ nous en delivre. 11 nous libere de la peur, de l'angoisse, du peche, source de tous les autres maux (P. Bitjick Likeng, Jesus et les premiers chretiens face a la sorcellerie, Faculte de Theologie Protestante de Yaounde, unpubl. paper, 1984, 17)

More authors could be quoted, but in essence their message is the same, namely "that Christians ought to recognize that there is witchcraft, and that it is both a subjective and objective reality emanating from the Devil; but having recognized this, like Paul when combating the Colossian error, they must also proclaim the pre-eminence and uniqueness of Christ. His all-embracing love is able to draw all men to himself,

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access (From: ChristZiches Afrika. Kunst und Kunsthand�erk in Schwarzafrika. Sankt Augustin, Haus Volker und Kulturen, 1978, 40)

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access and his infinite power can liberate all held in the bondage of sin and satan. This should be driven home into the hearts of all men, accused of witchcraft or not" (S.U. Erivwoo, Christian attitude to witchcraft, in : Afer 1975/1, 31).

3.2: Confession and reconciliation

In his study on Bakossi society and religion Balz quotes Natth. 5, 23-24. as an introduction to his chapter on wizardry :

If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled with your brother. (Balz, 1984, 319).

It is this communal aspect of reconciliation with which the following authors are dealing.

Heinrich Balz highlights the Presbyterian and more generally the Protestant tradition, where the confession of the wrongs done or intended against one's fellow man, and mutual forgiveness, has its set place in the liturgy of preparation for the Lord's Supper, and in the individual preparation where the communicant meets with the Pastor and the elders. However,

where this is practised,it should be more than a stamping of cards and collecting of money. A Christian who is not willing to forgive his brother in Christ, who instead has decided to continue to accuse him of being a murderer of men through witchcraft, should understand there that this cannot be the communion which was meant by Our Lord. But it is obvious that so far, this pastoral opportunity and those few sentences in the liturgy are rarely if at all understood in Bakossi as a functional substitute for what is going on in nkanag (Balz, 1984, 371).

Referring to the Roman Catholic Church Father Louis Oger suggests the re-evaluation of the communal dimension of the sacrament of reconciliation or confession, which have become too private and quick. The author wonders whether these communual celebrations of the sacrament of reconciliation, or these penitential ceremonies could solve the problem of the 'cleaner' (w�ucapi), who detects and judges.the sorcerers. He sup- poses that communual reconciliation could also solve another problem

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access related to sorcery, namely that of the 'public sinner' or the 'victims of sorcery'.

Twice, christians and non-christians have reproached me for accepting unsociable people at the Eucharist, i.e. people suspected of sorcery. In fact some people of a very unsociable character have been excommunicated. On the other hand other people have recently been accused who, to my mind are honest. I could not confirm this judgement which was apparently motivated by jealousy. The priest alone cannot solve this problem; he needs ' the support of the community. (L. Oger in Spirits no. 81, 1980, 391).

Also Father Adoukonou feels that, since in Africa the public confession is very important for the re-integration into the healing community, this practice might be restored and African symbolism incorporated.

Puisque la confession publique en vue de la reintegra- tion communautaire sanatrice est si importante, en Afrique, ne gagnerions-nous pas a eviter notre mime- tisme facile de 1'Occident dans le domaine de la pratique de ce Sacrament de plus en plus delaisse dans le Monde Blanc ? N'y a-t-il meme pas urgence dans la logique d'une Eglise famille a restaurer la pratique de ce sacrament en y incorporant le symbolisme africain ? (B. Adoukonou, La medecine traditionnelle et la pastorale chretienne, in : Savanes Forêts 1979/2, 170).

In fact "it is an old and much discussed question between revivalists • and more conservative Protestants - but also a known process of change between the earlier and the medieval Church - whether confession of sins should be public, or individual and private. To some extent it is true that even the general Christian public is too immature to make good use of open confession, and that it is better kept with the ordained minster as his pastoral secret. But nkanag on the other hand is an impressive reminder of the truth that a wrong can only be confessed and forgiven by the human person to whom the wrong was done, and not by the Pastor; not even by God" (Balz 1984, 371). •

After these pleadings for the (re)introduction of public confession and reconciliation with one's fellow men we shall have a closer look at some of the problems of, and possibilities for, contextualization.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access - excommunication or re-integration Sam.Erivwoo advocates that in reported cases of witchcraft, rather than ostricizing the accused, the minister should exercise his pastoral care judiciously, in effective proclamation of the Gospel, in demanding confession, where necessary, and in emphasizing prayer and granting abso- lution to the repentant sinner (Erivwoo, in Afer 1975/1, 31). Unfortunately, he does not elaborate the communal aspect, although the restoration of mutual trust seems a necessary condition for a success- ful re-integration. In order to underline the importance of re-integration I will allow myself a brief excursion into the independent churches. Some of these are well-known for their wizard-finding activities, something which is frowned upon by most of the governments. And indeed, in cases where the prophets exert a certain pressure, one may have some doubts. On the other hand these activities can be positively valued in that they aim at the rehabilitation of the wrong-doer and admittance into the community. M.L. Daneel reports on the prophet Elison in one of Zimbabwe's independent churches :

Although he carefully avoided direct imputations of wizardry, his prophecies during village baptisms tended to expose individuals guilty of anti-social behaviour. The induction of these suspects into the church, with the suggestion that such action would curb or eli- minate their destructive activities, had the salutary effect of easing tensions in the village community. It also provided prospects of rehabilitation to the self-confessed witch or the suspect rr2croyi. For, instead of urging the traditional practice of ostracism, Elison preached a message of hope and reconciliation. In this respect his church became a haven to the mis- fits and outcasts of society (M.L. Daneel, Fission-dynamics in African Independent Churches, in : W. S. Vorster (ed.), DenominationaZism - its sources and implication, 1982, 101).

A challenge to pastoral workers is the statement of a member of an independent church in Botswana that "a witch cannot be converted", im- plying that witches (often though not invariably conceived of as women) achieve their evil ends by some mystical power inherent in their personality. I do not know whether this notion also underlies the inhuman treatment of women accused of witchcraft in Gambaga in the Northern

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Region of Ghana. They have been rejected by their families -- one of them already more than twenty years ago -- and live under the most horrible and pathetic conditions in a witches' camp. If the three churches -- Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and the Assemblies of God Mission -- as well as the Department of Social Welfare had not�intervened, many more women would have been condemned to endless suffering. On the other hand, the assistance given by the three churches and the Department of Social Welfare is very negligible, although lately the churches have . started setting up programmes for supporting these women materially (G.B.K. Owusu, Plight of Gambaga witches, in : Christian Messenger, 1985/5-6-7, 1+4). Owusu does not mention the possibility of an eventual re-integration of these women into the churches, in spite of the fact that "most of the outcast women have accepted Christ as their saviour and have been baptized". In this light the example set by Bugri Buni is still more impressive. Although not being accused of being a witch, she decided to stay with the women in the camp and to assist them there.

Not in all cases are church women, perceived as witches, pitiable persons. According to Fry "the Ruwadzano (Women's Fellowship, LL) was seen by men as an arena for female politics. They quite seriously believed that the members were real witches using the Methodist Church as a cover" (P. Fry, Spirits of Protest, 1976, 130, footnote 9).

Heinrich Balz, who has been teaching and tutoring future pastors in Cameroon for nine years, equally mentions human solidarity when dealing with the nkanag. In an earlier period this traditional Bakossi rite of reconciliation and/or curative treatment has been adapted so that today no diviner is called upon to detect the wrong-doer. His competence has completely gone over to the village community, whose members must be able to solve the conflicts without certain mysterious supernatural practices. While valueing this reform positively Balz

J .� - ..- -�-�-��.-:-� �_ _ -� w_ _ -��-�—..�—--- -C- ... � L- � -———..- — - �- ....L-J-t- � - uiavo Cil.LClll, I V11 l.V V11C v, LNC 1.V11JCl,UCIII.CJ 'VI one 1.V111111U1t I l.y WII 11,.11 IIV longer relies on diviners, namely, that it should understand that while trying its best, it is neither infallible nor innocent.

The village community, in other words, is not God. The majority may have good intention of protecting the innocent victim against those who persecute or destroy him. But in spite of the good intention, the same

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access majority at the same time arbitrarily creates victims, persecuting them as wizards - which they are not - and . destroying their personalities by depriving them of human solidarity. Wickedness can exist in the individual exploiting community ties for its own egoistic ends : in this case the community intervening against him stands on the side of God. But wickedness can as well be, and often actually is, on the side of the majority projecting all its destructive instincts into an individual that "spoils the place" and who therefore has to be sacrificed as a scapegoat bearing the punishment for all the others. In that case, God stands on the side of the scapegoat bearing the punishment for all others. In that case, God stands on. the side of the scapegoat and against the community. All human societies so far known have produced scapegoats in more or less barbaric ways, by killing or isolating people from human solidarity. But to Christians it is known that they should be able to live in the community without pro- ducing scapegoats - believing in that one scapegoat who has carried away once and for all the sin of all mankind. It is a testing measure for Nyasoso Christianity to see to what extent it is able to or unable to trans- late such faith into the traditional context of nkanag and those called "the wizards" (Balz 1984, 374). w

. To a certain extent the possibility of making a scapegoat of someone reminds us of Father Oger's problem that people have been accused of sorcery who to his mind were honest. There seems to be no easy answer to this problem. Something a missionary or a local church leader could do when confronted with accusations of sorcery is "to check out the lines of tension in the local structure, probing for the sociological ingredients in the trauma" (M.A. Adeney, What is "natural" about witchcraft and sorcery ?, in : MissioZogy 1974/3, 394).

- church community and village-community The call for public confession and restoration of relationships reminds us of the fact that the church is not (should not be) an entity in itself, but part of the wider community. The support of the community for solving the problem within the church is not the only problem. Church members are also members of the traditional community, i.e. the extended family, the village, etc. The rites of healing and reconciliation performed in these communities cannot be replaced by church rites, because of the vital role of the family elders. Father Fons Stessel, a missionary with 30 years of experience in Africa, is one of those who

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access wants to overcome this 'segregation'. Referring to the traditional rites of healing and reconciliation he remarks that this is the people's real world, and not what happens in the church. 'Celebrations' of the church should become celebrations of LIFE, of THEIR life. This implies that the church should 'step into' their life (M. Colpaert, Magie in Afrika, - -in : WereZdroi�jd nr.143, 1984, 13). Heinrich Balz analyzes the situation as follow

Religious mediatorship in the Church hierarchy lies with the ordained minister, no matter whether he is called - "Reverend" or "Father". But in nkanag such mediation functions through the family head, and through the appointed speaker of the village community. A Pastor can replace neither the one nor the other. Hence his reluct- ance to place himself in an assembly where no special position is foreseen for him, where he would only be a family man. This even continues in the Christian Bakos- si families. It is neither likely nor desirable that the family head should lose all his old religious functions for the benefit of Sango Pastor. Instead, it is desirable that the problem of nkanag, parallel to the problem of Christian or traditional marriage, should invite the Pastors to rethink their role, within, .rather than above, the Christian fold and, by looking at what some of the responsible church elders are already doing, become a bit more "Presbyterian" (Balz 1984, 371).

For the Roman Catholic Church this urge for a more "presbyterian" approach seems to find its equivalent in the pleading for and actual practice of basic Christian communities. At the Synod of Bishops in 1983, devoted to the Sacrament of Penance, Raphael Ndingi Mwana 'a Nzeki, Bishop of Nakuru (Kenya), referred to them in his intervention "Penance and small Christian communities" :

The conflicts and divisions in the world start from the individual person, divided within himself. His condition spills over in society, starting from his immediate neighbourhood, the family, then the village, and so on. Consequently, in our work of reconciliation we must start �i -t- tt 4-��. �-�M�' 7 -.� tt�t�h ic* c. +ho rcl 1 nf c^i- 4 o+%/ oJw",,"' w "'WI' '"",,1;,..0 J""""�VV:;' "'11""" .... "".."- -'-" ..... "''''-'-'''J. Taking the family as the basic unit, the AMECEA countries have adopted the strategy of basing all their apostolate on the formation of smaZZ, living Christians corranunitzes, consisting of not more than fifteen families of the same village or area. _ ' This is particularly useful in Africa, where you have . very vast parishes. The formation of small living Christian communities helps to avoid anonymity, and

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access (From: Armel Duteil/Simonne Sarazin et plusieurs equipes de jeunes et d'adultes, La Sorcellerie pourquoi ? Paris, C.I.M., 1981, 22)

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access the people begin to feel that the Church is a community. They get to know one another, to help one another spiritually and materially. They pray and reflect on the word of God together and discuss matters concerning them and their neighbours, even non-Catholic or non-Christians. It is in this context that the sacrament of Penance should be celebrated. The strategy of Christian communities has started to work well in certain areas and the _ fruits are beginning to be seen (Synod of Bishops, 1983, in : Afer 1984/3, 146).

Bishop Ndingi's words seem to be echoed by the words of a woman who lives in a village in the interior of Zaire where a real basic community has started off : "Since we have created a community in the village, I am no longer afraid to walk out in the evening" (Father Duvieu- sart in his article on kindoki, in : TeZema 1984/1).

3.3. Protection and fortification

During my research in Botswana a Roman Catholic woman remarked : "Afri- cans believe one has to be protected in one way or another". Most of the 'historic' churches are well aware of this need, but have to face the problem that the message of God's caring love, prayers and the sacraments are experienced by many Christians as not fully adequate. As a consequence they look for additional means of protection and resort for instance to traditional rites and sacred objects. Today the sale of amulets and medals has assumed enormous proportions, in spite of the often considerable sums which have to be paid. Some people are concerned about this commercialization of sacred objects and criticize the traders who, by asking much money for objects of little material value, are in fact exploiting the fears of people. ' In a way people also find additional means of protection within the church. In the Roman Catholic Church e.g. devotional objects like holy water, the rosary, medals and prayer books often seem to 'replace' the traditional fetishes rejected by the missionaries. Out of the innumer- able examples I have chosen the one reported by A. Ntabona dealing with the rosary which women in Burundi are wearing around their neck. He shows that this rosary does not bear witness of a great devotion to Mary alone :

When coming across a serpent, they had the presence of mind to immobilize it, to paralyze it by throwing their

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access rosary and thus knocking down it easily... In the case of im- mobilizing the serpent by the rosary, an image probably came to their mind: that of the Virgin who bruised the deceiver of Genesis (A. Ntabone, La chretiente du Burundi a la croisee des chemins, in : Au Coeur de l'Afrique 1975/5, 243).

The protestant churches, having rejected devotional objects from the very beginning of their existence lost in Africa many members to the independent churches. Others stayed in their church but lead a dual life.

What, then, should be the African pastoral approach to the need of protection and fortification ? Rev. Th. Ekollo of the Evangelical Church of Cameroon already in 1962 stated openly that for the majority of Africans the Christian faith and the practice of fetishism were not incompatible, since by virtue of the unity of God, the power of the medicineman cannot come but from the one God he refers to.

... le fidele habituel de nos eglises a-t-il vraiment la . notion du Dieu unique qu'il confesse verbalement ? Comment peut-il en etre convaincu tout en pratiquant le fetichisme? En effet, cela est inconcevable dans la logique occidentale, mais c'est curieux de constater que, pour Za plupart des Africains, il n'y a aucun dêsaccord entre la foi chretienne et la pratique du fetichisme, tout simplement parce qu'en vertu de 1'unicite de Dieu, le pouvoir du feticheur ne peut venir d'ailleurs que du seul Dieu qu'il indique (Pasteur Ekollo, Illustration du genie africain au sein de la communaute en Afrique, in : CoZZoque sur Zes ReZi- gions, Abidjan 1961. Presence Africaine, 1962, 152. Quoted by L.V. Thomas/R. Luneau, 1977, 228)

Ntabona would not be satisfied with this approach. He has no objections to people wearing medals as a replacement of traditional amulets. Only an angel or a machine could abruptly liberate the deepest layers of the subconsciousness from the traditional motivation by a change of the object. The search for these protecting objects cannot disappear from one day to the next (252). But in the present phase of the development of the church, replacement is not enough. A rupture is needed, which also affects the very basis of the motivations that make people resort to pagan practices.

Telle est la dialectique de Tevangile : tout faire - . passer par le mystere pascal (mort, resurrection et donation de 1 ' Espri t-Saint) Ce qui suppose un travail d'approfondissement tres ardu, tres exigeant. Mais au- jourd'hui c'est devenu une priorite des priorit6s, une initiative a ne pas renvoyer a pZus tard (A. Ntabona in : Au Coeur de I' Afrique 1975/5, 256). '

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Much in the same way B. Adoukonou would reply "Yes" to the question: "Can a Christian resort to traditional means of protecting life ?", because in the traditional African context these precautions are only logical. But he warns that this does not dispense Christians from living in faith and hope, and from active charity, which helps to bring about a world in which such means of protection are no longer necessary (B. Adoukonou, Le chretien et les moyens traditionnels de protection de la vie, in:savanes forests 1981/1�2, 48-49)

Also Hebga underlines that one should neither burn the fetishes , nor christianize them since this�would not say much. The conversion to the living God, the metanoia is something totally different and is enacted at a much deeper level than the chase of sorcerers (M. Hebga, Emanc�pa- tion d'EgZises sous tutette, 1976).

The approach of the rural 'Popular Missions'in the diocese of Popoka- baka (Zaire) is based on Matthew 5, 17, where Jesus says that He has not come to abolish but to fulfill. Therefore, Father Van Roy writes, "weit do not hesitate to resort to sacramentals2),2) like the distribution of holy water at the end of the retreat, after we have asked the people to take off their amulets, charms, i.e. magic instruments of sorcery" (H. Van Roy, Missions Populaires en milieu rural, in : Telema 1982/4, 76). In answer to questions about these sacramentals, Father Van Roy explains in which respect they fundamentally differ from the traditional mzkisi. The latter have an ambivalent, or even ambiguous value, in that they are a defensive as well as an offensive weapon. They defend their owner against the enemy's attack at his vital force, but are also used as a ritual weapon against the enemy. The Christian sacramentals on the other hand, reassure people by sanctifying them, i.e. by bringing them closer to God in their concrete conditions of life (80). And although he admits that only those Christians who have

For honesty's sake it should be borne in mind that not all missionaries had an aggressive stand against fetishes. At the 16th Missiological Week of Louvain in 1936 the participants discussed e.g. "A project of legal suppression of sorcery" prepared by the colonial government, and """"'';+;�f),,.f it fnv. \/3Vt1 Allf V*/-k ?» f St t1f» t tft �+ ..1,., 1:...�1....I.. 1--i vn n b Wa t� n-1 ·11n n VUJ W .V1JVIIJ � vnn �'�J�u �� , )\.�t�JJ)�tt 1�':fU.IÇ �t... iu sorcellerie, in : Lea sorceZZerie dans Les pays de mission, 1937, 207- 232).

2) Sacramentals are certain religious practices and objects akin to the Sacraments but differing in being held not to have been instituted by Christ and therefore of much less importance. They include the sign of the cross, the saying of grace at meals, the Confiteor recited at Mass and in the Divine Office, vestments, lights, palms and ashes, the Stations of the Cross, litanies, the Angelus, the rosary, the Solemn- ization of Matrimony (as contrasted with Matrimony itself), the Churching of women, and so on.. .

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access sufficiently advanced in their faith conceive this difference, I myself think it fundamental for an African pastoral approach. The same notion of not counter-attacking one's ennemies is namely also the esse�t�Z� Christ2an aspect of healing in independent churches. Or, as the leader of a healing church in Botswana put it :

An African herbalist in that case would'send the illness back to the wrong-doer. "But we don't do that in the church.We heal, but don't hurt other people. Jesus did not do so. Did He pray : Father,'make them sick ? No, He prayed : Father, forgive,them, for they don't know what they are doing" (L. Lagerwerf, 1982, 69).

The blessing of water and other objects as an essential aspect of an African pastoral approach, is strongly supported by Father Nxumalo. He notices that in South Africa white catholics take little or no interest in taking the holy water blessed at Easter vigil ceremonies in preparation for baptism and for sprinkling the faithful at the renewal of baptism vows. Neither do white catholics, when attending - eucharist services during the year bring along flasks of water to have them blessed, nor do they bring candles and salt for that purpose. For Africans water means life and healing, or security, for instance when sprinkling their homes during a thunderstorm. And indeed the Roman Catholic 'Collectio Rituum' has beautiful prayers very suitable ' to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful, as these express the presence of the power of God in the elements blessed for the benefit of the faithful. For example, in the blessing of the water there are the following expressions : "..and instil into this element prepared by many cleans- ings the power of thy blessing: Grant that this creature of thine, in the service of the mysteries, may effect the • purpose of divine grace to banish all evil, spirits and drive away diseases"... and houses of the faithful are sprinkled with this water may be released from all un- cleanness and delivered from all harm."Let no noxious spirits remain there,.. etc." (Collectio Rituum (English), Durban 1960, 163. Quoted by J.A. Nxumalo, Pastoral ministry and African world-view, in : Jrnl of Theology for Southern Africa nr. 28, 1979, 35).

Father Nxumalo suggests to pronounce these expressions before those who want these elements, water and salt for their use, as a way of elevating their souls to God and increase their trust in Him.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access By so doing, the pastor would be certain that these symbols bring his people closer to God than trust in the elements themselves. This will help the faithful to grow in faith and not lapse to traditional practices and witchcraft (35).

He tries to drive home to his catechists that as soon as the minister neglects to help his people with his blessings the faithful becomes desperate and are tempted to have recourse to the sangoma (medicineman).

3.4. Socio-economic development

Father Matota, famous promotor of the popular retreats in the Kisantu diocese in Zaire, and one of the readers of Telema who joined the discussion on sorcery, cannot help but see it as an obstacle to development.

Les faits observes depuis mon enfance, les nombreux contacts facilites surtout par le ministere de predication des re- traits m'ont conduit a cette conclusion : sauf erreur de ma part, le kindoki constitue un obstacle majeur a 1'evolution (N.M. Matota, Le kindoko (sorcellerie?).-.. Obstacle a 1'evolution!), in : TeZema 1984/1, 45).

Facing a case of death or other miseries, the people in the village blame the bandoki. Instead of taking their own responsibility they attribute unnecessary accidents to sorcery. Even intellectuals have not always left this behind them. In spite of formal education and an unflagging struggle of missionaries kindoki is more alive than ever. Much to his regret Father Matota is not able to indicate new ways to overcome this problem since "we, African priests, inheriting the critical and depreciatory views of the foreign missionaries.. are regarded by our own people as 'alienated and blind'. So the question remains how to deliberate development from the adverse effects of kindoki (48).

The author of "Who's who in African witchcraft ?" (Singleton, I pre- sume..) wonders whether witchcraft is really an obstacle to 'progress'. He has no difficulty in presenting a number of stories confirming the fart, that witchcraft does indeed prevent proqress... "but only a certain kind of progress : the progress of a few at the expense of a majority; a progress wich makes people 'have' not 'be' more; a progress which could lead to an intensification of inter-personal relationships and an increase of social well-being.but which seems inevitably to

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access end up in isolated individualism and a neurotic rat-race" (31). He ela- borates this view in three points:

1) ... The option Africans made in the past, and which is . echoed in their witchcraft beliefs, would seem poten- tially more in keeping with what the world can realist- ically offer to the whole of mankind in the way of material well-being. ' 2) ... Witchcraft belief is part and parcel of a fundamental outlook on, and basic option about, life in the world and society... Remove witchcraft, and a substan- tially sound edifice could crumble. 3) ... It must be realized that the initial impact of this modernizing process upon traditional cultures will be not only traumatic but ambivalent (31-32).

Although valueing this 'positive' approach I cannot help raising some questions. Ad 1) Should the rich nations not be challenged to stop taking far more than their fair share in the natural resources, rather than suggesting that the Africans remain at an economically low levels ? Ad 3) Is Africa not too much perceived as an entity in itself, while in fact it is part of a world community ? Expectations have been raised; can the process of modernization be reversed ? In his anthropological study of the pastoral activities of the Roman Catholic Church in the Central African Republic, W. Eggen also raises the question of mutual suspicion as an impediment to development. The belief in sorcery blocks every initiative, because success is considered a threat to the community. He wonders whether the pastoral engagement of Christians might overcome this jealousy by creating 'communities of friends', characterized by mutual assistance. According to the author this movement already shows an increasing comradeship which many people consider a happy development against tribalism. However, in so far as these 'voluntary associations' are mainly socio-economically orientated, they reflect a modern 'manipulation' of former social rules. By making themselves dependent on an uncontrollable monetary economy, those people arrange their lives in a new way, characterized by a flight to uterine relationships, an increasing fear of sorcerers and a conjugal mobility. In an effort to counteract this situation the pastoral engagement of Christians should make them look for ways to re-invent networks of exchange which are more structured and less

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access amorph than the simple 'camaraderies', i.e. if they plan to prevent the people from becoming an agglomerate of exploited and alienated labourers (PeupZe d'autrui. Une approche anthropoZogique de Z'oeuvre pastoraZe en milieu centrafricain. 1976, 61-62).

Also Miriam Adeney appeals to missionaries to find out what channels the society provides for stimulating economic distribution, but does not elaborate this theme (Adeney, What is "natural" about witchcraft and sorcery ? in : MzssioZogy 1974/3, 394). She equally asks them to look for channels for rupturing social relations which have become too cramping. Father Mubengayi, who is a professor at the Catholic Theological Faculty in Kinshase (Zaire), and chaplain of the university parish as well as being a member of the team for promoting the apostolate of intellectuals, points in the same direction in his article on sorcery. He pleads for adapting the traditional right of collecting property to the new family situation. Or, as Father Mubengayi formulates it : no parasitism (Mubengayi, La Sor- cellerie : probleme et fleau, in : Telema 1983/2, 23). Although taking the line that sorcery is confined to the family, i.e. the clan and its members living in the village, it is clear that Mubengayi in fact writes from the perspective of the intellectuals in the urban situation.

(From: R.P. Engelbert MVENG, L'Art et Z'Artisanat a-Fricains_, Yaounde, Editions CLE, 1980, 87, 102)

266) Serpent, decor des tissages de l'Ouest-Cameroun.

84) Motif Bamoun (Cameroun) : NUE PET TU : serpent a double t�te ; sculpture de mobilier.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access IV. HEALING AND EXORCISM

In this chapter attention will be focussed on the healing aspects of an African pastoral approach to the victims of witchcraft and sorcery, and to possessed people. In the literature under study three or four different -- though not always mutually exclusive -- ways have been described: counselling and/or psycho-therapy, Sacrament of the Sick/prayers, and faith-healing/exorcism.

4.1. Counselling and/or psycho-therapy

The most distinguished author and practitioner in this field is Dr. Masamba ma mpolo, a Baptist minister, former Dean of the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Kinshasa (Zaire) and now working with the WCC') at the Department of Family Education. He is well versed in pastoral psychology and eager to penetrate and explain the dynamics of bewitchment. Basing himself on his experiences in Zaire he highlights various aspects basic to African counselling. In a more general article on the problem of 'sorcellerie' he explains that the restoration of health often has to be pursued on different levels. On the social level attention is focussed on a maladjusted personality, while on the supernatural level things play a role which may be described as inexplicable, incomprehensible, elusive,leading to the belief in the possibility of the ontological existence of evil, in a malign power of the Devil (Masamba ma Mpolo, Le probleme de la sorcellerie, in : Cahiers des religious africaines, no. 14, 1973, 264-267)..

An analysis of the implications of these levels can be found in his article "Kindoki as diagnosis and therapy". He first explains the passive-aggressive syndrome of bewitchment.

Beliefs in bewitchment are functional in as much as they are used as a channel through which people can deal with . hate, hostility, frustration, jealousy, guilt and sexual fantasies which are not culturally overtly expressed. Therapeutically, beliefs in bewitchment create social ab- reactions, thus preventing the formation of severe individual neurosis. This is the integrative function of beliefs in bewitchment as related to the displacement of a threat from within to the outside. This has the double effect of creating social and personal discomfort as well as social individual therapy. In general, the individual

') WCC = World Council of Churches .

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access deals more easily with external than with internal dangers. The aggression which is intended to destroy the outside serves as an unconscious means of assure- ing one's capacity for maturation. Aside from facili- . tating the discharge of aggression, in culturally accepted ways, beliefs in bewitchment serve another psychological function : they resolve ambivalent feelings which are encountered in the ambiguity of social relationships.

At the same time cultural patterns prescribe amiabi- lity in inter-personal relationships. Consequently, they tend to relate to each other on two levels at once. Their behaviour is simultaneously defensive and offensive and a person's remarks, for example, may just as easily imply negative effect as positive effect, even though they are presented as being solely positive. When this kind of ambiguity is pervasive in a society, ambivalence is its counterpart. Ambivalence is its counterpart. Ambivalence prohibits the organization of emotional forces and interferes with ego-integrative processes. There is in the condition of ambivalence an inherent disturbance in the experiencing of reality, for under such circumstances it is impos- ' sible to differentiate internal events from external ones. There is no way of testing what one has sensed as reality in the intentions of another person. Efforts to test reality essentially involve the projection of one's feeling to another. Therefore accusations made in bewitchment symbolism are based on a conscious awareness of hostility, on unconscious reactions to the negative aspects of an ambivalent relationship of another person.... (Masamba ma Mpolo, in : Afrzca Theological JrnZ, 1984/3, 150-151).

Beliefs in bewitchment are functional in various respects. Psycholo- gically they help the individual to deal with his/her personality crisis due to social control. The patient, through bewitchment is allowed to mistrust the environment in order to make claims for his/ her own identity. It is in fact an unconscious affirmation of one's ioU''''n\,ll "'"1.011. h+ At!\ + '31,,4 ....'" II V 1.0111.-1 +- h,." "'" Jlylllnr-';,...... ; +'.; IV411V ,.. ""l "'.... ,1'-'f' '" \""� 1, ....1.011\;;,""'- h '" ,.. ,..,lel4ofs ,",,...''';,,.ç,.. arc ""...... ,.." a...... l'-tJl\;;...,)\...II\..U,'-'IVII "',.. ,... "'" � ...... ;,.. "'" of unconscious striving of the ego towards integrity, in that they seem to be concerned with the individual psycho-social crisis.

The individual using the .symbolism of kindoki in presenting his problem expresses a positive concern to engage himself in the process of .individuation. He uses kindoki .

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access as a process of identity formation, a means of affirming oneself in the context of the social system of thought and relationships. He uses the socio-cultural symbolism of kzndoki because in it his identity and the identity of his group are bound together in a network of psychological dynamics. His identity is thus a process located in the core of the individual and yet also in the core of his communal culture, a process which establishes, in fact, the identity of those two identities (154).

But above all bewitchment be-liefs perform the function of a symbolic acting out of inner guilt feelings. "Beliefs in kindoki are deeply rooted in the religio-psychological understanding of guilt and responsibility. Observation of any traditional society reveals an apparent lack of guilt feelings. This situation is profoundly influenced by the belief in the capacity of evil spirits or 'ancestor-presence' to possess or influence the behaviour of the individual" (152). To Masam- ba this belief suggests at the same time the form of therapy to be undertaken. He illustrates this with a case which is worthwhile to quote because it underlines much of what has been said in the paragraph on 'Church-community and village-community' (Ch. III).

Let us take the case of Mafwana whom I saw in 1969 in Kins- hasa. This patient, married, with one child and in her late twenties, came for therapy. After she was divorced, she experienced acute anxiety neurosis. She had a repeti- tive dream in which her dead grandfather told her to go to the village and kill a goat for her uncles who never ap- proved of her marriage which was not done in the traditional form. She thought that her grandfather was asking her to have a special church service for him. After a few sessions, she agreed to go to the village to do what her grandfather suggested in the dream. In the village she experienced a total,catharsis and returned to Kinshasa a new person (152) .

In a more detailed account of this case Masamba reports that :

Before her return to Kinshasa, a delegation from the village came to contact me in order to discuss the situation with the family of Mafwana's ex-husband. Two sessions of negotation and counselling ended in an agreement giving Mafwana physical custody of the daughter and financial

Tor an account of this case in French, see "Therapeutique et evangile: deux experiences pastorales africaines", in : TeZema 1978/2, 38-41.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access support from her exhusband. At my request and with Maf- wana's agreement, the village catechist organized a worship service in the little chapel, which followed immediately the granting of the divorce, as well as the ritual meal. Both Christian and traditional blessings served as a conclusion and as a new start for Mafwana and her six year old daughter who had gone to the village for the first time (Masamba ma Mpolo, Symbols and stories in pastoral care and counselling, in : Bulletin . de Theologie Africaine, No. 11, 1984, 42).

In "A response to ma Mpolo's article" Bedi Ishika admits that it is no use avoiding the issue and dismissing it as 'pagan', because it is rea- listic as life itself. Nor can he call it 'Christian', since it is simply an African fact of life. He instead refers to what St. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 7,17-24, concluding the discussion on circumcision: "... Let everyone stay as he was at the time of his call... you have all been bought and paid for; do not be slaves of other men. Each of you, my brothers, should stay as he was before God at the time of his call" (Beda Ishika, in : Africa TheoZogicaZ JrnZ, 1984/3, 170). Masamba ma Mpolo himself is less reticent when he states that although "we must certainly not encourage superstitious attitudes-tift it is impossible to avoid a certain syncretism in actions, for only in this way can we reach men and women in their culture in order to announce the word of Christ which reaches into their inmost being" (Masamba ma Mpolo, Jesus Christ - Word of Life, in : An African caZZ for Zife, 1983, 30). To a certain extent this is true. Yet Beda Ishika urges that "where possible this type of therapy could be modified, 'Christianized', and used in such Christian practices as penitential services where an individual is to be made conscious of the social dimensions of his sins. Perhaps then our ministry will achieve its proper end in an African soil" (Beda Ishika, 170).

Masamba ma Mpolo also explicitly mentions the cultural aspects of counselling : the impact of cultural beliefs on personality development and mental health, drid curl::'�4U�rlLl'y Liieir impur Icuilc fur the development of din African pastoral psychology on academic level. In his article "Symbols and Stories in Pastoral care and counselling" he suggests two guiding methodological principles.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access In the first place, pastoral psychology and pastoral care should be studied and developed within the emerging African theology, which is an attempt to interpret the biblical message using the categories, symbols, and psycho-social, cultural and political structures of the African peoples. This may make counsellers aware of "contradictions in African identity resulting from cultural ambiguities, the Christian and colonial history of oppression, the repression of African cultures and their systems of health and healing, situations still found in many alien forms of pastoral care practiced by some African Churches. Their thought patterns, values and theologies are dominated by those of Western churches" (Bulletin de Theologie Africaine, no. 11, 1984, 51). w Secondly, African counsellors should become aware of and, whenever appropriate, incorporate into the therapeutic process, myths and symbols found in the assumptive and cultural world of the individual or group of individuals seeking counselling. One of the functions of real symbols, rituals and symbolic languages is that they are capable of enabling the individuals to express their inner feelings.

Such a symbolic and ritual language establishes a transition from acted to verbal .expression and induces the release of the psychological process that the individual patient could easily discover (53).

After this extensive -- though far from complete -- overview of Masamba ma Mpolo's writings I briefly refer to two authors who have been dealing with counselling in a general way, i.e. not mentioning bewitchment as such. Firstly M.M. Makhaye from South Africa, who explains that sickness is a psychological condition, in which pain causes isolation and social distance that induces anxiety and insecurity, leading to regressive de- pendence, provoking resentful rebellion and guilt. Therefore the pastor must be patient-oriented and understanding. He must encourage the patient, bringing him the saving strength of God, and help the patient grow spiritually. But the pastor will also begin with parent education and group therapy.

. He will create a Christian fellowship in which persons of any age find a psychological home and feel the sa- . tisfaction of belonging together with other persons in

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access . a face-to-face relationship of appreciation and understanding (M.M. Makhaye, Sickness and healing in Afri- can Christian Perspective (with application to counselling), in : ReZevant Theology for Africa, 1973, 162).

The second author, David J. Hesselgrave, teaching at the School of World Missions, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the USA, pleads for a culture-sensitive Christian counselling, because man's cultures are very diverse and the divergencies between cultures make siginificant differences between men. Much to his regret he notices that many Christ- ian workers do not think through a culture-sensitive approach to counselling prior to embarking upon cross-cultural ministry. Suddenly put in a position of having to face one difficult problem after another, they have to fall back upon solutions suggested to Christian experience in their own culture. Hesselgrave therefore has developed some guidelines . to help students analyze problems in the light of an understanding of the culture and a biblical theology; to determine one's role as an agent of change : and, to develop a culture-sensitive, Christian counselling approach (D.J. Hesselgrave, Christian cross-cultural counselling, in : MissioZogy, 1985/2, 214).

4.2. Sacrament of the sick and prayers

The churches have a long tradition of caring for the sick by means of spontaneous prayers and, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of the Extreme Unction. In the apostolic constitution Sacram Unctionem Infirmorum of November 30, 1972, Pope Paul VI even established a new sacramental form of anointing.

This rite restores the emphasis on bringing the whole person to health again. Trust in God is encouraged and strength is given to resist the temptations of the Evil One. A return to physical health may even follow the reception of this sacrament if this is beneficial to the sick person's salvation. The stress on forqiveness of sins and preparation for death now takes a secondary place. The new rite is presented in the context of a Christian attitude towards sickness and suffering, in which the science of medicine, the medical staff of doctors and nur- ses, and the family and friends of the sick person all have a complementary role. All share in the ministry of Christ, which is a ministry of comfort and compassion (J. Hetsen � R. Wanjohi, Anointing and healing in Africa, in : Spearhead No. 71, 1982, 15).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Which, then, are the issues at stake in the light of a truly African pastoral approach of the sick, especially of the bewitched ? With regard to the Sacrament of the sick, Singleton mentions for instance the shortage of priests. Michael Singleton worked as a White Father missionary/anthropologist in Tanzania; later on he joined the Pro Mundi Vita Staff in Brussels as a researcher. During_a socio-religious survey con- ducted in Western Nigeria in 1973, he found that a priest administers the Sacrament of the sick on average not more than 10 times per year whereas 400 or more of his parishioners would have welcomed some form of ritual assistance in dealing with witchcraft (Who's who in African witchcraft ? PMW Africa Dossier 12, 1980, 4-5). This need seems to be confirmed by his discovery that in a sample of 750 interviewees 83,7% were of the opinion that catholics would like the priest to bless those who have trouble with witches (33). At the same time, however, he found that the clergy, local more than expatriate, seem unwilling to become involved in the ritual repression of witchcraft. At his question Someone teZZs you that his wife has suddenly faZZen iZZ and that he suspects she has been bewitched. What would your reaction be ? 58.2% of the expatriate priests, 21.4% of the Nigerian priests, and 1.2% of the seminarians stated that they would come and pray over her so that she be delivered from the witches. Should this aloofness on the side of the clergy be valued positively or negatively ? Or, in other words, should a truly Africanized liturgy echo in part the traditional orientation of ritual, which, as Singleton reminds us, was often directed not to God but to the containing of witches ? Not unlike Beda Ishika, but far more outspoken, Singleton warns that neither the manner nor the meaning of meeting the people's demand for ritual remedies to witchcraft can be taken for granted.

In matters liturgical the customer is not always right. Christianizing rituals or creating new ones is something which must be negotiated with the people and accompanied by critical catechesis. Offering them ceremonies could produce a demand which might otherwise have dissolved (34).

Let us return to the Sacrament of the sick and listen to Father Nxumalo (South Africa), who first explains that life, health and wholeness is

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access of great concern among the Zulu as among other African peoples. Charac- teristic is their expression : It is the witch that does not want the increase (of health), he is an enemy to life. Father Nxumalo urges pastors to understand that patients receive the administration of the Sa- crament of the sick according to their own worldview, which sometimes could evoke an idea in the pastor's mind that their faith is bordering on superstition. But we should keep in mind that Africans saw God and Christ through the symbols of their former religion. Therefore,

it is for the minister to realize that they are not superstitious people but Christians who are approached by Christ, as they believe in him, through their idea of the world. It is very difficult to measure the belief of any Christian as regards magic and true faith in religious practices in Europeans, Africans, or for that matter any cultural group (J.A. Nxumalo, Pastoral ministry and African world-view, in : JrnZ of Theology for Southern Africa, no. 28, 1979, 31-32).

Like Masamba ma Mpolo he underlines the importance of symbols and signs in African therapy. In rites, e.g. the anointing of the sick, God com- municates grace through matter, through objects which become a concrete expression of God's will and intention, and a language adequate for the grasp by man in the density of his inexplicable experience, need of help, and salvation (32). .

Also Father C. van den Berg, in his study on health care and pastoral care among the Bamileke in Cameroon, explains that to them oil is an active symbol that heals. In the same way the laying on of hands and the blessing of the patient are symbolic gestures linked up with both biblical customs and traditional customs of the Bamileke. But he too does not fail to remark that these symbols and symbolic gestures obviously need a Christian interpretation (C.v.d. Berg, Genezing als bevrijding. Gezondheidszorg en pastoraal onder de BAMILGIfE, Kameroen. 1985, 185-186).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access 4.3. Exorcism .

The two most well-known pastors actively engaged in exorcising evil spirits are Emmanuel Milingo, former Archbishop of Lusaka (Zambia) and Meinrad P. Hebga, a Jesuit priest in Cameroon. Before elaborating their views I shall present the contributions of a number of other - mainly white - authors.

- In January 1975 Paul M. Miller, Professor of Practical Theology at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, USA, and accre- dited supervisor of Clinical Pastoral Education, presented a paper at a "Demonology Symposium" at the University of Notre Dame in the U.S.A. Since this paper was published in the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa it seems only right to include it in this survey. On the basis of careful biblical studies Paul Miller shows himself reticent of exorcism, because it is beset by so many dangers. For instance "naming as a 'demon' in someone else whatever it is that one hates" (P.M. Miller, Pastoral Care of 'Demonized' Persons, in : Journal of TheoZogy for Southern African, no. 12, 1975, 55). Instead of exorcism

there must be more wholesome ways, more tender ways, more biblical ways, more nurturing ways for the group to up-date its ethics, to sensitize the conscience against wrong, to rally the support of the group, and to stand together against the devil than the exorcism rituals now being used by so many 'deliverance ministers'. The congregational life pictured in Ephesians 6:11-20 shows an emphasis upon the teaching of the truth; a concern for discerning God's right way (right- eousness); an active ministry of spreading peace; a total response to Christ as Saviour and Lord (faith); experiencing God's saving action from time to time in the group (salvation); and hearing God's word (scripture) preached and taught so that it divides asunder the thoughts and interests of hearts; all the while carrying one another in intense mutual inter- cessory prayer.... (59)

Valuable as this study may be, it does not really seem to bridge the gap between an American and an African context, which of course is quite understandable since professor Miller was addressing an American audience. So, the question whether professor Miller would allow for a contextualization of the pastoral approach to spirit possession, remains unanswered. ,

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access - Fr. Aylward Shorter, W.F., well-known author and lecturer on African Pastoral Anthropology, in 1980 attached to Kipalapala Senior Se- minary, Tanzania, and to Bristol University in England, is equally reticent on exorcism. He describes how the attitude of the Roman Catho- lic Church, or rather of a growing number of priests, has gradually changed with regard to the phenomenon of possession. Referring to a cult of water spirits, flourishing in south western Tanzania in the 1950'ss and 1960's, he notices that no priest took the trouble to investigate the movement seriously, but that it was immediately condemned as a form of devil-worship, and its manifestations as diabolical possession.

This naturally put those Christians who had joined it into bad faith, and they were faced with the difficult, and often impossible, task of choosing between loyalty to a church which could not offer them the kind of con- solations they were seeking and a movement which they believed could do so (A. Shorter, Mediumship, exorcism, and Christian healing, in : Afer 1980/1, 31)

Since then ideas of charismatic prayer for, and healing of, the sick have become more wide-spread in the main-line Christi�an churches. In the whole context of prayer for healing, however, exorcism is some- - thing of a special case. It is not directed to God or his saints, but a command delivered in the name and power of God demanding an evil spirit to depart. What Shorter fears is that exorcism may be used in Africa in the same way as it was used indiscriminately in the centuries of the European witch-craze "when the equation was made between witch-heretic-devil and practically every misfortune was attributed directly to the devil one and his human accomplices" (31).

In Tanzania today (and in other African countries apparently) there is a growing number of priests who are extending the notion of exorcism in much the same way that it was extended in Europe during the 13th to 17th centuries. Practically any evil or misfortune can be identified by such priests as a devil and exorcised. In �any esses the patient becomes me�ta11y dissociated and diseases "speak" through his or her mouth. Some priest-exorcists, Catholics, Anglicans, and members of other Churches, are willing to exorcise Jinns, the kind of ambivalent, Islamic devil which resembles the water .. -spirit already referred to, and which is not necessari- ly linked in the popular mind with concepts of morality. It is a "Jinn-theory of disease", comparable to the "germ-theory of disease" (32).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access According to Shorter three notions should be kept in mind. First, although Christ exorcised epileptics and others whose complaints were thought to be caused by evil spirits by the Jews of his day, he was far from attributing each and every illness or misfortune to direct diabolical possession. Second, "without wishing to deny that Christ effected cures which might have been inexplicable in terms of modern medical science, it is nevertheless true that he did not have to con- front modern medical science as a theory and that neither he nor his disciples were attempting to introduce hospitals and dispensaries. Third, instead of winning Christians over to his view of diabolical possession -- a truly fearful prospect in view of the history of European demonology -- the priest-exorcist may rather be serving his clients in much the same way as did the medium of the water-spirits community. If that is the case, then it would be more honest to call a spade a spade and simply talk to the Jinns and the water-spirits on their own terms. Yet Shorter feels, that the Church of Christ could offer suffering humanity something more worthwhile and more enduring :

.. the Church should offer its own characteristic forms of healing and that these should not in any way preju- dice thework that goes on in our hospitals, dispensar- _ ies and c-linics. Not only that, we should discourage interest in the spectacle of exorcism and dissociated personality in the normal contexts of healing and prayer over the sick. For the Christian African the world must be "alive" in a new sense, not with the self-orientated, personalizing theories of Africa tradition, but with the knowledge that "the world is charged with the grandeur of God" and that all natural human realities are communications of divine love and salvation in Jesus Christ (33).

. - Michael Singleton, whom we met already in paragraph 4.2., reports on two cases of possession in which he allowed himself to become involved. With the first case he had quite accidentally the occasion to record the conversation between the spirit of a female exorcist and the spirits possessing a young woman, named Anne. Although this case is lengthy, I find it worthwhile to present it, since it underlines what Masamba ma Mpolo wrote about African symbolism. In fact,

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access this case is an example of counselling rather than of exorcism.

The case: Anne, teenage girl, sound in mind and limb, comes alone to visit her grandfather; after a few days, she is possessed by spirits; at the exorcist's, the spirits declare they have been sent by her father and her elderly fiance; the former was furious; his daughter's last minute refusal of the match he had arranged meant that the marriage beer had been brewed in vain and the down-payments on the bride-price returned; a spirit had been sent to avenge this affront to paternal authority; the fiance, having been made to look ridiculous, had also despatched a spirit to teach Anne a lesson (M. Singleton, Obsession with possession ? PMW Africa Dossier 4, 1977, 16).

Counter-attacked by the exorcist's own spirit, Anne's spirit climbed down and

one by one, acknowledged the points their superior was making and agreed to reconsider their mission. They declared they would merely trouble her for a while but, as she was obviously not entirely to blame, would stop short of finishing her off. They would eventually return from whence they had come but meanwhile would like deferential treatment in the form of certain kinds of food and ceremonial observances. They then respectfully took their leave for that evening, and Anne came to her . senses and was restored to her relatives, subdued but - not shattered (M. Singleton, Spirits and Spiritual Di- rection, in : Missiology 1977/2, 188).

From a psycho-sociological point of view Anne's case is like that of many young girls in modern Tanzania confusedly caught between two moral codes. On the one hand, the whole weight of tradition is behind the father, whose authority one does not lightly oppose in Africa. Moreover, she had also seriously jeopardized her chances on the marriage market, since men want respectful and submissive wives. On the other hand, first the Church then the State have preached the equali- ty of men and especially women. Through schooling, religious instruction and the media they have been made aware of an alternative form of marriage. "This information, however, has not yet crystaiiised into a "collective representation"; the ideal is still not incarnate in social structures. A-certain degree of maturity and sophistication together with a fair dose of courage and conviction are needed to - stand out against prevailing patterns of behaviour" (189). Therefore, after much soul-searching (e.g. As an apostle what would the Church

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access allow me to do ?), Singleton decided to help Anne. Not by way of rational counsels, as a European priest would do, since these would havelittle lasting impact on her. But by introducing the very spirits into the context of spiritual counselling, i.e. by enabling Anne to hear the record- ings of their voices. "The spirits would be able to persuade the possessed as to the nature of his or her problem and the steps needed to reme- dy it -- more than I myself could ever hope to" (193). Although this approach reminds Singleton of the classic client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers, I myself would like to refer to what Masamba ma Mpolo and other Africans underlined as very important, namely the use of African symbols in pastoral approach.

The second case deals with a young woman who had moved from a backward and remote village to a township, fast mushrooming into a commercial and cultural centre of no mean importance. As the first one of her family she wanted to become a Catholic, but "after joining the catechumen- ate and receiving her first medal, she was taken with fits of swooning every time she sought to enter the outstation chapel for instruction. The people were persuaded she had been possessed by mashetani -- demons, bent on preventing her from being baptized" (M. Singleton, The public confession of an extempore exorcist, in : Afer 1975/5, 305). What was needed, to Singleton's mind, was some way of reassuring her that she would recuperate fourfold in the church the natural support and security she was about to renounce. "This message I hoped, would be rammed home ritually by the Sunday ceremony" (206).

I cannot recall with any precision the form or content of the ceremony, except that a great deal of holy water was used and clouds of incense sent up together with a solemn reading of the Rituale's conjurations, spiced with a couple of resounding imprecations of my own. Meanwhile the people crushed with noisy curiosity around the girl in the sun-drenched church, singing, praying, and comment- ing on the proceedings. The young woman, supported on the ' arms of the catechist and his wife, seemed somewhat anxious but after a while stood literally and I hope metaphor- ically too, on her own two feet. After the ordeal was over, the congregation milled colourfully happy out of church, carrying the woman in their midst, to congratulate with her outside (306-307).

What specifically was said and done mattered little, according to

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access M. Singleton. What really mattered -- from his point of view -- was, that it had been done and said with sympathetic seriousness, and that she had been made to feel massively at home among Christians. "She had been given an experimental foretaste of the Catholic communion at its most cohesive and convincing best" (307).

- Rev. Stanley Benson, Lutheran pastor in the Arusha Region, Tanzania, reports on possession among the Maasai in that country. Demon possession among the Maasai is.of recent history. Like the water spirits cult described by Aylward Shorter, it originated in the Swahilized culture at the coast, and was adapted to local beliefs.

In Islamic faith this phenomenon was called Jinnee. The common Swahilii term used for a possessed person is that he has a jini. In the mystical magical nativistic religions of this area, a curse could be translated to thy attended victim in some mystical way so that he would become possessed by a demon, a sickness or death. The identification of demon possession with the curse was thus established" (S. Benson, The conquering sacrament: baptism and demon possession among the Maasai of Tan- zania, in Africa Theological Jrnl 1980/2, 52).

It was in the later part of the 1960's that the Evangelical Lutheran Church, through its normal evangelistic work in the congregations, became involved with possessed persons. They were mainly persons enrolled in . instruction for baptism. As they were members of the group, the group was anxious for their sake. The evangelist and elders of these small Christian groups, acting on their biblical faith, gathered the group for prayers and hymn singing over the possessed persons.

As they prayed for God's help, they noticed a profound change take place in the "possessed" person. After a period of time, a peace settled over the possessed person and a normality returned to the person. They never claimed that they had "cured" the person but merely stated that God seemed to answer their prayers anH rnnrarn fnr thp nprqnn. After similar cases showed similar results, this became the "normal" pro- cedure within the small Christian community (57).

With deep appreciation Rev. Benson then mentions Rev. Gideon Sombe, who was serving the Naberera congregation at that specific time, and in his wisdom and faith saw God working through these small Christi�an w

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access groups scattered in his parish. Rev. Sombe encouraged them to continue to come to the aid of those in need. But he did not give in to people's requests for "emergency baptisms", because of their "magical" ideas connected with the act of baptism. He refused baptism until the person had completed the prescribed baptismal instruction. Only once Rev. Sombe made an exception for three non-Christian women, who became possessed during a large baptism service. But only on the condition that these three women would be instructed thoroughly in the quickest possible time after baptism.

Consent of the families of these three women was given. A seminary,intern on holiday was assigned to give daily instruction to these women. The bomas (corrals of the Maasai) of these three women accepted the responsibility to care and house the intern during the period of instruction. On these conditions, pastor Sombe baptized them..... and the amazing thing was that there was an immediate peace that settled over all three women at the pouring of water and the administration of the baptism formula (58).

As a result of the experience of working with possessed persons, Rev. Benson has seen a new power of the working of Christ in his ministry , to people, which has altered his theological and biblical stance.

When I was confronted with these cases of demon posses- . sion, I was forced to look anew at Scripture and the church's theological stance. I was helped not from most modern educated westerners who looked on demon as an outworn superstition; nor by many of the biblical cri- tics who identify demon possession as a psychological malady of a schizophrenic nature. My insights were gained more from an experiential nature in comparison with the literal text of Scripture. I was able to see close parallels both in a contextual way with what Scripture says and the experience of demon possession within our area (58-59).

- From Tanzania we move on to the Sister Buck Memorial Hospital in Zimbabwe, where in 1978 Rev. Mundeta was involved in spiritual healing. Dr. James C. McGilvray, Director of the Christian Medical Com- mission of the World Council of Churches, wrote an account on Rev. Mundeta's activities, which was subsequently included in an article of (Masamba ma Mpolo on Therapy and Gospel. The report starts with the interesting remark that, thanks to Rev. Mundeta's activities,

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access people are no longer afraid of the hospital, a place which they former- ly considered "not unknown to evil spirits", because of the presence of so many seriously ill people. Rev. Mundeta cares for the sick through prayers and counselling, including reconciliation with relatives back home. He also occupies himself with exorcizing evil spirits, assisted by his wife if the possessed is a woman. I will not present another case of exorcism, but merely draw attention to the exhaustive nature of the process for the pastor, an aspect also underlined by other authors. It requires an intensive concentration before and during the process of exorcism, powerful and prolonged praying, and often physical strength if the patient is in a phase characterized by violent physical action and loud guttural sounds.

Tout exorcisme semble peser lourdement sur le practicien consciencieux, quelle que soit la qualite benefique du resultat. Des seances dirig6es contre les esprits diffi- ciles et puissants peuvent laisser Mundeta presque epui- se (Mas.4mba ma Mpolo, Therapeutique et evangile : deux experiences pastorales africaines, in : Telema 1978/2, 47).

- In an article "The Church and Sorcery in Madagascar" Marjorie Hardy- man describes the phenomenon of ambalavelona sorcery as a cause of not only physical illness but also of mental disturbances. AmbalaveZona sorcery is regarded as a form of mosavy (sorcery), which is accepted as part of the set-up of life, but it is a distinct form. It is thought to have spread from the west around 1957, 'occupied' Antsihanaka -- the area which includes Lake Alaotra, north-east of Tananarive, the capital -- and then continued east into the forest. The District Synod of the Church of Christ in Madagascar (which developed out of the work of the London Missionary So- ciety) officially discussed the whole subject in 1960, but as ambaZaveZona is still prominent, a report prepared by Imerimandroso Theological Col- lege was further discussed in 1967 (M. Hardyman, �: U.0. Dc1fTt:LL, eu., African Trc-��rur:�JeS �t. Religion, 1971, 211¡1;2 n)

According to the author "most cases are of girls, with some grown women and a few grown men. Pre-adolescent children may also be involved" (W). She relates the phenomenon of mental and emotional strain .�

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access to changes in society. There are new opportunities for personal clashes, assertion of more youthful independence against the authority of seniors, and such like... More specifically, adolescents at school may be affected more than most. It is very important to pass examinations, which may lead to a good sala- ried position, or for girls, to a 'good marriage' to someone in such a position. Parents may tend to force children beyond their intellectual capacity. It is not surprising if the mental strain . involved in intensive study, coupled with the emotional strain caused by the attitude of the family, sometimes leads to a breakdown. This is now frequently said to be due to ambalavélona (210). In restoring the ill person to health the minister plays an important role. But the way he is acting out his ministry of healing may vary. In non-revivalist churches "where there is a patient, the minister should visit. Those linked with the revival movement treat the cases as straightforward cases of 'demon-possession' and use a form of service to which they are accustomed for the 'casting out of demons'(219).

- In the beginning of this paragraph I already mentioned the Jesuit Father Meinhard P. Hebga of Cameroon as an outstanding advocate of an African pastoral approach to possessed people. Apart from his ecclesiastical formation he studied philosophy, psychology, pathology and social sciences, which enables him to analyze more systematically the phenomenon of possession. On the basis of experiences in his healing ministry, carefully written down and analyzed afterwards, he came to distinguish four types of possession-domination (Sorcellerie et Priere de deZivrance, 1982, 99-121) : 1) Dominator, a living sorcerer. Hebga mentions e.g. the case of Jonas who was bewitched by his father's second wife out of jealousy, because her daughter - unlike Jonas - did not succeed in school. 2) Dominators, malign or benign shades. Malign shades want the person they dominate to follow them as soon as possible to where the dead are gathered. If the dead could be catalogued, these shades could be said to come from the-damned..Benign shades, on the other hand, are the souls from the Purgatory. One should not treat them as demons. They distinguish themselves from malevolent shades

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access by their reactions to holy water, prayers and hymns, the laying on of hands, and by the serene atmosphere surrounding them. It is true, they possess a person, haunt their ancient dwelling, they may become angry. All this is troublesome, but we still have much to learn about life up-there. 3) Possessors, geniuses, benign or not. In African anthropology they occupy two distinct places on the ladder of beings; part of them directly under the people living on the earth, part of them over the latter, between men and the spirits. They are no demons, although it is not always easy to distinguish simple souls from spirits considered as demons. Even if they call themselves benefactors they ooison the existence with an infinity of taboos (In the cases described by Father Hebga this could mean that a certain marriage was not allowed, that a girl was pressed to leave school; also the de- fense to wear-black clothes, or the obligation to paint oneself with kaolin). "The small benefits which they allow us are dearly paid : often at the cost of a third person (one sells a girl in order to become rich oneself), and always through an idolatrous cult : the famous adoration of the geniuses" (115, transl.).. 4) Possessors, demons. A possessor may (gradually) be recognized as a demon when the minister feels, that behind the psychoneurotic or psychotic symptoms, a cold and hostile malignity is hiding. During the crises, and especially during the exorcism, it manifests itself through an oppressive atmosphere, a diffuse uneasiness difficult to define.

It is impossible for me to describe the various cases and their treatment, as presented by Father Hebga. Important elements are : ongoing and powerful praying of the minister and his co-workers (prayers of the .Roman ritual prove themselves especially effective reading of certain passages from tne Bible, invoking tne archangel inichaei or other saints, administering of holy water, touching the body of the possessed with a crucifix, discussions with and rebuking of the spirit(s), and in general a sympathetic and caring attitude towards the possessed.

- The final author in this paragraph on exorcism is Father Emmanuel Milingo from Zambia, already mentioned in Ch. I.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access Of very humble origins, he only began his schooling at the age of 12 but, proving himself an outstanding student, he went on to be educated for the priesthood. In 1969, at the age of 39, he was appointed Archbishop of Lusaka. In 1973 -- responding to the desperate spiritual needs of Zambia's 'first-century Christians', still deeply embedded in traditional spirituality -- he discovered in himself special gifts for healing and . driving out spirits. These gifts, he has always main- tained, were rooted only in the complete dedication of his life to Christ. His healing sessions drew vast crowds and achieved astounding results -- but soon he was accused of unorthodoxy, of neglecting his archi- episcopal duties, and even of immorality and dis- honesty. After being summoned to Rome and subjected to intensive investigations, he resigned his see in 1982. Today he is a Special Delegate to the Pontificial Commission on Migration, Refugees and Tourism (E. . Milingo, The World in Between, 1984, backcover; see also G. Verstraelen-Gilhuis in : Wereld en Zending 1981/1, 99-103). This does not prevent him from gathering hundreds of faithful every afternoon at places in Rome outside the Vatican, and to celebrate a 'healing mass' every last Thursday of the month, attended by about 2000 people (C. van den Berg, 1985, 167). -

In his book The World in Between Father Milingo devotes Ch. 2 to "The evil spirits and how to fight them". He emphatically underlines that his pastoral experiences have taught him the reality and power of the devil and his agents, and that they should be counter-acted. There is no sign of reticence; Father Milingo rather thinks that some religious ministers have become spiritual diplomats, resulting from the fact that in today's world the fear of the enemy is in itself a superstition. "They have accepted somehow a co-existence with the enemy, the devil... who made the life of Jesus so difficult while He lived among us" (52).

Father Milingo gives a number of examples of the devil at work. I will try to present some of them. He first mentions the Church of the Spirits, that in fact caters for people frantically seeking help from any source in a rapidly changing society. The Church of the Spirits is a group of people who have been given spiritual power by the devil... Their members are usually the patients whom they have apparently healed; the patients believe they are healed and are kept in their church by the fear that if they go back

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access to their Christian churches they will be sick again. Among these will emerge another group of disciples who will also heal later on, who are selected from among the clients. These take a course which demands a higher fee than that which they ask for healing... When the patients who are subject to the control of the spirits come together for healing, they also go in trance, and act according to the orders they are given: if they are told to dance, they dance as long as they can till they are tired. This is where a . human being is humiliated, becomes cheap, eats raw meat or soil, performs all sorts of strange bodily gestures, and is not aware if he/she is naked. Es- pecially in towns where many are ignorant of what is happening, this is taken as drama in the streets, and anyone can come and watch without paying a fee (32).

A second example are pacts with the devils. These are often made as the result of despair and disappointment with human life and society. People who want to settle their debts and be rich overnight may find the devil the only one to come quickly to their rescue. But the devil makes his own conditions. Hence he has often asked his clients to sign the pact with their own blood. Milingo then tells about a school boy who wanted to obtain 80% in class. He prayed as follows : "0 Lord Dragon, you know that I want to work for you, and you know that I am yours. I want to obtain in the exam 80%, I pray you." To experience his pact with the devil... he was told to write a letter to Lucifer... and say : "I hereby present to you all my friends and benefactors and my wishes, that I may have a good answer from Lucifer, the minister of the devils... The letter was to be left somewhere in the room and the boy was to wait for the answer at midnight... The boy did get an answer : at midnight the devil came and took hold of him and enrolled him in his military group. This was the beginning of his misery (38). After a long time of suffering in many ways the young man came to Father Milingo, encouraged by a friend who had been delivered from the same club of the spirit-agents. "He came with his family, was delivered from the evil one, and today he looks at life from a different viewpoint. He cannot believe that he is free. He is well and prosperous, and, what is more important, God is with him" (39). --

Father Milingo also mentions the evil spirits. who have the gi fts of revelation, and who may speak in tongues. They are agents of the devil,

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access i.e. trusted 'managers' who, while acting on his ultimate directions, can be left relatively free to carry out his work in the physical world. "The devils often say things which are true, but one should not base one's notions on such casual or occasional prophecies, which give the devil himself the opportunity to become one's regular coun- seller and source of information. He always prophecies for his own interest" (44). One must be calm as one listens to these prophecies. Some of them turn out to be complete lies, but some- . times when he boasts of doing harm, he can do it. It is not good to allow him to do what he wants to do the possessed. They bang themselves on the floor, pull out their hair from their head, squeeze their stoachs or crawl on the floor like snakes. The devils showed me one day how they could deflect an act of exorcism that way by suddenly afflicting the possessed with a fit of epilepsy... However, I managed to bring the victim back to normal (45). Space and time do not allow for a further presentation of Father Mi- !inclo's writings. To get the real flavour one better reads the book itself.

Let me finish with the conditions Father Milingo sums up as necessary for responsible exorcism. On the side of the patients there must be a belief in the power of the Blood of Jesus, and at moments... during the ministry of deliverance, they must co-operate by confessing Jesus (56). As for the ministers, they must be patient in their ministry of deliverance, humble when Jesus calls them and search for what he demands from us (59� alerted to the presence of the gift of deliverance and co- . operate with its demands in order that it may be used to the full (62), setting time aside for prayer, so that all human activity should have a divine balance (65). The team should also be in good health and have knowledge of the game. "We are assured of the victory, but we need to know how to go about it" (68).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 11:54:50PM via free access V. SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS

In the preceding chapters the phenomena of witchcraft, sorcery and spirit possession have been introduced as concerns of the pastoral care of African churches. I deliberately opted for a rather pragmatic approach, which means that I concentrated as much as possible on examples of and suggestions for a new or renewed African pastoral approach. Theologians will possible regret that many of the theological reflections have been left out, but may find the bibliography a useful tool for tracing more information in this respect.

It struck me that much of the literature used for this issue of Exchange has been written by Roman Catholics. This is not the result of a personal option on my side, but rather due to the available material in Leiden. But it is indeed possible that Protestants write little on our theme from a pastoral point of view. The catholic and protestant approaches to popular religiosity are different from each other, and it may be assumed that beliefs in witchcraft etc. resort to that category. There is a Protestant stream which is more actively involved in combatting sorcery and in healing; the small pietistic groups and movements belonging to this stream, however, do not produce much scholarly material. The mainline Protestant churches and theologians on the whole have a more critical and rational attitude. There are indications however that -- apart from the churches mentioned so far -- also in other mainline Protestant churches attempts are being made to open the discussion on this topic. One came from Rev. C.M. Overdulve, working as a missionary with the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda (Eglise Presbyt6rienne au Rwanda), who in 1981 introduced Masamba ma Mpolo to the readers of Wereld en Zen- ding (C.M. Overdulve, Pastoraat in afrikaanse context, in: Wereld en Zending 1981/1. 97). In a letter last year he mentioned that durinq a theological seminar in February 1984, organized by the church's Depart- ment of Theology, sorcery had been on the agenda. The issue was pursued during a pastoral seminar in July of the same year. "It is only the beginning, but a very important one."

Needless to say that any further information on African pastoral responses to witchcraft, sorcery and spirit possession are most welcome at: IIMO-Dept. of Missiology, Rapenburg 61, 2311 GJ Leiden, the Netherlands.

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