Article Experiencing the Sacred Takesure Mahohoma https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8334-4516 University of South Africa [email protected] Abstract The primary concern of this research is to investigate sacred places utilised for moments of silence by Shona people when they seek mystical experience with their ancestors. Emphasis will be placed on the traditional wisdom of mysticism. It is no exaggeration that knowing and appreciating the beauty of nature (aesthetics) can draw one closer to God. Essentially, the aspect of silence is the involvement of God in people’s daily lives. In this presentation, we seek to analyse mystical experiences among the Shona. The fundamental cultural changes in Shona society are forcing us to consider the position of sacred places and moments of communion with ancestors. These are the privileges of studying cultural dynamics. Keywords: sacredness; Shona time; sacred places; spirituality; religion Introduction Many societies and cultures recognise sacred places and moments. Such places and moments form part of formative encounters that influence their world-views and general orientation of life. It is our view that mystical experience is an important part of the cultural heritage of a people. In the paper, we posit that mystical experience with the ancestors, as is the case with the Shona people of Zimbabwe, is a process that can only be understood in a religio-cultural context and bears direct bearing on the means to reach God. Hence, this paper provides insight into the places and moments of mystical experience with ancestors and God (Mwari) among the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Sacred places and moments in the Shona context are cultural signposts that help to understand and read the ethnic, territorial and social lay of the land (Dawson 2009, vii). These places and moments are manifestations of the spirituality of a group of people. Hence, they represent the identity of a people and their spirituality. In addition, sacred places and moments represent a connection with the ancestors. It is imperative that when Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/3363 https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/SHE/index ISSN 2412-4265 (Online) | ISSN 1017-0499 (Print) Volume 46 | Number 1 | 2020 | #3363 | 17 pages © The Author(s) 2020 Published by the Church History Society of Southern Africa and Unisa Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Mahohoma one is in a sacred place, he/she should receive blessings or request to be blessed. Rudolf Otto claimed that sacred places have an eerie quality, i.e. numen (Devereux 2010, 12). In a spiritual sense, a sacred place is the origin of humanity’s association of selected places with holiness. A sacred place is literally an awesome space. This is demonstrated when Shona people offer prayers to ancestors and to God at holy places. Method of Approach It is our purpose in this paper to set out the results of our research in terms of phenomenology and history of religious perspectives. The paradigm used in this research is qualitative. As Markham and Ruparell (2001, xi) argue, the phenomenological approach aims at objectively using putatively neutral criteria which transcend the personal and cultural. African theologians have been encouraged to apply phenomenological tools when investigating African indigenous spiritualities. John S. Pobee has argued that the phenomenological approach is helpful for collecting the basic data of African indigenous religions and that it constitutes an analytical description (Pobee 1979, 21). Emefie Ikenga-Metuh also maintains that applying insights from phenomenology will minimise the problem of portraying African traditional religions negatively. Ikenga-Metuh is persuaded that the academic study of religion in Africa would attain a sharper cutting edge by adopting the phenomenological method (Ikenga- Metuh 1984, 15). In Zimbabwe, many research students have embraced the phenomenological approach in the quest to do justice to African traditional religions (Chitando 1998, 100). Although a number of Western theorists have criticised the phenomenological method for not going beyond descriptive accuracy (Flood 1999; Wiebe 1999), it remains a useful approach in an African context. The Rationale of Research The aim of the research is to provide a theological ground for African cultural values that are essential to inculturate for Christian contemplation. The Shona people of Zimbabwe are the majority ethnic group in Zimbabwe. The Shona are concentrated in the north, south and eastern regions of the country. Before Christian evangelisation, the Shona had their traditional places, objects, songs and times. The experience in North Africa has shown that when faith is not home-grown, it can be easily discarded in the face of challenges. The Christians in North Africa easily abandoned their faith for Islam. As Islam is a fast-growing religion, we seek to show how Christians can inculturate their traditional sense of silence for Christian life. This sort of perception leads Christians to experience Christian faith with a sincere heart. Inculturation is a major theme for theologians in Africa, where Islam poses a major threat to Christianity. Thus, inculturation represents a form of evangelisation and catechesis in Africa in contemporary times. In conclusion, we develop a way of integrative Christian mysticism based on traditional Shona mystical apprehension of sacredness. This is done with critical openness to any 2 Mahohoma relevant information which is within reasonable reach. In spirituality, the findings are formation-oriented because they integrate principles, practices and insights that become relevant to practical events and problems with which people are faced in their everyday life. In this case, reflection is not divorced from lived reality in the present. The scientific information helps to form and reform one’s life. It transforms the subject. It also helps in transformation and a fruitful relationship with ancestors and God. A Brief Background of Shona People Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in the southern part of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. Beach (1980, 1) writes: “South of the Zambezi river in Southern Africa, the land rises to a great plateau, over three thousand feet high in most parts.” It borders South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports (August 15, 2011), by July 2011, Zimbabwe had a population of 12 084 304. Approximately 60 per cent of the population lives in rural areas (Taringa 2006, 3). The Shona and Ndebele are the two major ethnic groups. There is no unanimous agreement among scholars on the actual percentage of Shona in the country. Taringa (2006, 3) argues that the Shona tribe is 65 per cent of the population. On the other hand, Ngara and Porath (2004, 189–209) state that the Shona are 80 per cent. In the Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia (2010, 1–4) it is argued that “some 82 per cent of the population belong to the Shona ethnic group.” However, the International Debates (2008, 5– 15) states that Shona speakers constitute 75 per cent of the population. Despite the numerical discrepancies, it is clear that Shona form the majority of the population of Zimbabwe. 3 Mahohoma Shona Traditional Spirituality This section presents a synopsis of Shona spirituality.1 Spirituality is part and parcel of Shona culture. Ancestor veneration forms the foundation of Shona traditional spirituality. It dominates their thinking pattern to such an extent that it shapes their culture, social life, politics and economic life. Since Shona spiritual life is closely bound with the traditional way of life, it is important to study their mystical experience. From a traditional point of view, Shona people knew and believed in ancestors who carry their petitions; ancestors that lie in the deep and unknown recesses of the past (vatisingazivi). As for the god Mwari, Gelfand (1972, 123) contends: “For the Shona always speak of an indifferent God—too big, too almighty—far removed from the family and community affairs of the Shona.” The Shona people turn to their ancestors for their daily wants and problems. Private petitions can only be made to the ancestors who either transmit them to the unknown or can act upon them directly. A person can approach ancestors through the sanction of the family and tribal spirits who make their own supplications in the invisible realm, while the messengers such as manyusa or/and mahosana (i.e. spirit mediums responsible for rain-making) transmit the tribute and petitions of the people to Mabweadziva/Matonjeni in the Matobo hills (Fortune 1973, 12). Thus, Shona spirituality sheds light on the people’s understanding of ancestors through economy, culture and politics. These elements are intertwined in ways that are difficult to differentiate one from the other. Because of this, ancestors constitute the nerve- centre of any Shona society. In the same line of thought, Gundani (2011, 307) argues: “Fundamental among its set of beliefs was the cult of royal ancestors (mhondoro) and ritual consultation of territorial spirits.” Although this spirituality has no written scripture, it survives through oral tradition and cultural practices. In 1 We have opted for the term spirituality because the Shona did not initially have a religion. The term “religion” itself is contested. Initially, no scholar acknowledged the existence of religion in Africa. As Chidester (1996, 11) writes: “The initial comparative maneuver under intercultural conditions was not most often denial, the assertion that people had been found who lacked any religion.” Early European settlers claimed that they had found people who had no religion. “The same absence was reportedly observed in southern Africa by travellers and traders, by missionaries and government officials, throughout the nineteenth century” (Chidester 1996, 13).