Old Testament Texts in Malagasy Contexts: an Analysis of the Use of the Old Testament in Three Religious Contexts in Madagascar
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OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS IN MALAGASY CONTEXTS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THREE RELIGIOUS CONTEXTS IN MADAGASCAR by GEORGES ANDRIANOELINA RAZAFINDRAKOTO submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject OLD TESTAMENT at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: DR MAGDEL LE ROUX CO-PROMOTER: PROF KNUT HOLTER JUNE 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Above all I thank the Almighty God, my Father in Jesus Christ, because by His grace I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. He has physically, mentally, and spiritually strengthened me during the four years (2002-2006) of studies and research to complete this project. To him be glory both now and forever! Hereby, I also greatly thank the Malagasy Lutheran Church as well as our Lutheran Graduate School of Theology, the Norwegian Council for Higher Education, the School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger and the University of South Africa, which made my studies and research possible by respectively blessing me, granting me the necessary funding and putting their institutional infrastructures and supervision capacities at my disposal. I am particularly grateful to the Old Testament Department of UNISA represented by some of its helpful and sympathetic members who always welcomed me in a family ambience that made me feel at home each time I came to UNISA. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my promoter, Dr M Le Roux, who efficiently supervised my work and used her inexhaustible experiences to make me benefit from a relevant scholarly guidance. Her praiseworthy perseverance, helpfulness and incessant encouragement also provided me with a precious support because they always strengthened me and boosted my morale, especially during my difficult times. I also owe the coordinator of the project, Prof Knut Holter, who is at the same time my co-promoter, a debt of gratitude for his firm and professional but sympathetic guidance, which was not only impressing but also, and especially, helpful. I would also like to express my greatest thanks to him for his encouragement and strengthening words, which always supported me and stimulated my dogged determination to complete my thesis appropriately. Misaotra tompoko! My greatest thanks go to David Levi for the important and difficult task of editing that he has accepted willingly and performed satisfyingly. His professional recommendations provided me with an invaluable help. I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to all the interviewees, Christians and traditionalists, for their willing cooperation and dynamic participation which helped me to carry out successfully this research. I particularly thank those among whom I have stayed during the observation phases of my research for their enthusiasm and friendliness, as well as their kind and true Malagasy hospitality. Lastly, and obviously not the least, I express my heartfelt gratitude as well as my indebtedness to Odette Razafiniaina, my wife, and our children Vonjy, Aina, Mahandry and Njara who kept praying for me and supported me morally with their incessant encouragement, which stimulated me everyday to further efforts. I am deeply indebted to my wife who assumed alone and without complain the double responsibilities of a father and a mother in taking care of our four children during my frequent absences caused by field trips and also during the periods I had to stay abroad (Norway and South Africa). I also particularly thank Vonjy, our eldest son, who as a talented photographer provided me with good and interesting photos which serve to illustrate the case studies I am investigating in this thesis. I dedicate this study to: - All the interviewees whose co-operation and participation in the interviews I conducted with them are considered as a contribution to the achievement of this project. - My beloved family as well as friends whose prayers and encouragement were for me a precious support which helped me a lot in the completion of this thesis. SUMMARY The Old Testament, which is one of the first books in the Malagasy language, plays an important role in the religious and cultural life of most people in Madagascar, for instance in an increasing tendency to use Old Testament texts in Malagasy religious contexts, which is noticeable both within and outside mainstream Christianity. The first such case illustrating this trend within the Church is the Malagasy Roman Catholic Church’s (MRCC’s) application of certain texts in the famadihana (turning of the dead), a custom reflecting traditional Malagasy practices in their strongest form. Almost all the Malagasy churches from their beginning have unsuccessfully attempted to abolish it. Therefore, the MRCC decided to base it on biblical texts and incorporated it in her liturgy in order to make it a Christian celebration. Among the texts used here are: Genesis 49: 33-50: 13; Exodus 13: 19 and Exodus 20: 12. The second case is the Malagasy Lutheran Church’s (MLC’s) employment of Old Testament texts to create certain items for Nenilava (Tall mother), the founder of the revival movement of Ankaramalaza, who was acknowledged by this Church and the members of this movement as a prophetess and priestess. To demonstrate these roles, and at the same time to confirm her consecration, the MLC and the ‘children of Ankaramalaza’ made for her a priestly robe modelled on the high priest’s garments described in Exodus 28 and a silver crown related to Deuteronomy 28. The use of the Old Testament outside the Church is illustrated by the third case, investigating traditio-practitioners’ applications of Old Testament texts in their religious practices. Examples include: 1) Exodus 3:1-3; Leviticus 14: 1-8; Jeremiah 8: 22, used in traditional healing; 2) Exodus 3: 5b; Job 33: 6a; Psalm 121: 8a, employed as religious slogans; 3) Leviticus 1-6, applied in traditional sacrifices and offerings; and 4) Psalm 113: 5-6; Genesis 2: 18, 22, employed as references for morality. This project, which describes and analyses how and why the Old Testament is used by different people, Christian and traditionalist, in Malagasy religious contexts, is aimed at developing an interpretive model based on these three cases. More specifically, it seeks to show how the Old Testament can be interpreted and used in contemporary Madagascar/Africa. Map: Madagascar with the names of the Malagasy ethnic groups (in capital and underlined). Map drawn from: Molet, L 1979. La conception du monde Surnaturel et de l’homme en Imerina, Vol 1. Paris : L’Harmattan KEYWORDS Old Testament texts, Malagasy Roman Catholic Church, Malagasy Lutheran Church, Madagascar, Christian religion, traditional religion, hermeneutics, famadihana (turning of the dead), Razana (ancestor), shrouds, tombs, Raiamandreny (parents, elders, religious and secular authorities), religio-cultural practices, revival movement, priestly garments, crown, traditio-practitioners, traditional healing, religious slogans, sorona (sacrifices), fanatitra (offerings), references for morals, ‘closed book’, ‘open book’, traditional historical-critical interpretation, legitimisation, inculturation, contextualisation, accommodation, popularisation. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SUMMARY MAP CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………............1 1.1.1 Madagascar: land, culture and religion…………………………………………….1 1.1.2 The Old Testament in Madagascar…………………………………………………4 1.1.3 The role of the Old Testament in other African contexts………………………….6 1.1.4 Terminology………………………………………………………………………….8 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT, HYPOTHESIS AND PURPOSE ….………………….10 1.3 METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………...12 1.3.1 Qualitative research and other methods……………………………………..........12 1.3.2 Structure of the thesis………………………………………………………………15 1.3.3 Sources and limitations………………………………………………………..........18 1.4 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………19 CHAPTER TWO CASE STUDY ONE: THE FAMADIHANA (TURNING OF THE DEAD) IN THE MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 2.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….......20 2.2 CONTEXT…………………………………………………………………………...21 2.2.1 The razana (ancestor) in the Malagasy world-view………………………………21 2.2.2 The famadihana in the Malagasy traditional context…………………………….22 2.2.2.1 Transfer ‘famadihana’……………………………………………………………23 2.2.2.2 Inauguration ‘famadihana’…………………………………….............................25 2.2.2.3 Prestige ‘famadihana’……………………………………………………………27 i 2.2.2.4 The meaning behind the rituals of the ‘famadihana’…………………………….28 2.2.3 The Malagasy Roman Catholic Church…………………………………………..30 2.2.4 The famadihana in the Malagasy Roman Catholic Church……………………...32 2.3 THE MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH’S USE OF OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS IN THE FAMADIHANA…………………………………...34 2.3.1 Genesis 49: 29-50: 13………………………………………………………………..35 2.3.2 Exodus 13: 19………………………………………………………………………..41 2.3.3 Exodus 20: 12………………………………………………………………………..43 2.3.4 The function of the use of Old Testament texts in the famadihana……………...46 2.3.4.1 The liturgical function…………………………………………………………….46 2.3.4.2 The theological function…………………………………………………………..50 (a) Legitimisation……………………………………………………….....................50 (b) Inculturation………………………………………………………………………56 2.4 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELEVANT TEXTS IN RELATION TO THE MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH’S USE OF THESE TEXTS……...59 2.4.1 Genesis 49: 29-50: 13………………………………………………………………..59 2.4.2 Exodus 13: 19………………………………………………………………………..68 2.4.3 Exodus 20: 12………………………………………………………………………..72 2.5 FROM TEXT TO TEACHING……………………………………………………...82 CHAPTER THREE CASE STUDY TWO: NENILAVA’S