SICKNESS AND HEALING: A CASE STUDY ON THE DIALECTIC OF CULTURE AND PERSONALITY by GEORG ROBERT BADENBERG submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject MISSIOLOGY at the UNNERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: DR N A BOTHA JOINT PROMOTER: PROF DR L KAESER AUGUST 2001 llllllllllll\\\l\\l\llllll\l\\l\\\lllllll\\\\\\I 0001801749 DECLARATION Student number 3282-955-8 I declare that SICKNESS AND HEALING: A CASE STUDY ON THE DIALECTIC OF CULTURE AND PERSONALITY is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been acknowledged by means of complete reference . .~ 'l.d#.fµ<ll4ro1. DATE 1 11l ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the process of writing this thesis-amidst the many duties, demands and engagements while working with churches in the Northern part of Zambia-many people were working 'behind the scene' allowing the writer to stay on the project. I am particularly indebted to Dr. N. A. Botha of the University of South Africa (UNISA) the promoter of this thesis for his open-mindedness, the liberty he granted me to propose ideas and concepts as well as freedom to proceed with presenting material to his desk as my schedule allowed. Similarly, I would like to thank the joint promoter, Prof. Dr. L. Kaser from the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg i. Br., Germany, for his constant advice and encouragement, speedy replies to cultural and anthropological issues that crept up while sifting and sorting research material. At UNISA, I owe special thanks to Mrs. Natalie Thirion (Subject Librarian), who was ever ready to help me out to locate books, articles, and the like. It would have been impossible to have enjoyed the benefits from the many sources she made available to me, had it not been for her willingness to search the library shelves on my behalf and forward material to Zambia. Thank you very much! Dr. F. LeBacq contributed to this work by his valuable advice on medical issues and his willingness to share with me some of the insights of his own work when he filled the post of District Medical Officer in Kasama District from 1994 to 2000. The many informal discussions we had on numerous subjects helped me to gain clarification on material that sprang up while researching. But most of all, I truly thank him for his personal commitment during the four months of Chewe's sickness. Dr. M. Piennisch gave support in providing necessary details and material for the chapter on communication. For this I thank him duly. Rev. R. Frey, a missionary colleague, provided me with stacks of books and articles from his own library. Had it not been for this kind provision, the collecting of the same materials in libraries, archives etc. would have meant additional long trips, arduous work, and much time. Thank you for this gesture of companionship. lV Among other people who contributed in certain ways to this thesis, I would like to acknowledge the help of Mr. H. Simwanza who traced and gathered some data on the chapters on body and illness concepts. Furthermore, I would like to extend a special 'thank you' to Werner Schafer, though he had no direct input in the work, accompanied me as a personal friend all the way from the initial stages of the study to its completion. His friendship, advice and interest boosted the morale of the writer when things got tough at times. I also thank all staff members of Liebenzell Mission International, who at the time of writing, resided in Zambia and prayerfully supported the project. Those missionary colleagues who took extra effort to read and comment on some parts of the thesis are thankfully remembered. A words of thanks goes to Dr. M. S. Wolford. His comments on parts of the thesis and his encouragement when the project had reached an advanced stage, is gladly acknowledged. In a very special way I want to express my gratitude toward the Chewe family for the many hours of hospitality, their openness to 'intrude' upon their lives and making me feel at home in a different place of the globe. I warmly thank the Christian community of Chafwa and Andele among whom I have been allowed to live and move at liberty for many years. I take special note of contributions made by Gary Burlington while himself very busy trying to finish his own Ph.D. As a former colleague and personal friend, he drew my attention to specific parts of the study, namely, Gananath Obeyesekere's theory on personal symbols. A significant part of the thesis would have taken a different twist, had he not introduced me to the value of personal symbols and the dialectic of personality and culture. Finally, I am greatly indebted to my wife Rita. She tirelessly transcribed all tape recordings, read through the various scripts, commented and corrected on the drafts, and was a constant source of inspiration. Above all, she was ever ready to take on additional duties when things were tight and rendered comfort and encouragement to me during the stages of writing the chapters as time went on. I am aware of the fact that without her support and my children's, Ralph and Frank, patience with their father writing in the office, this thesis could have never been completed. In this respect, this work is as much theirs as it is mine. Mwabombeni Mukwai! v My parents My parents-in-law & Old friends of childhood days ET IN HONOREM Grace Chewe Chiti Mwango Mulenga Bwalya ET IN MEMORIAM Chewe Vl SICKNESS AND HEALING: A CASE STUDY ON THE DIALECTIC OF CULTURE AND PERSONALITY by G R BADENBERG DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject of MISSIOLOGY PROMOTER: DR N A BOTHA JOINT PROMOTER: PROF DR L KAESER SUMMARY Sickness and healing experience is universal, but the context in which both are perceived and dealt with is particular. Culture and the individual constitute the universal context. The social structures, values, beliefs, the symbol system of a culture and the tendency of the individual to act upon his existence within cultural parameters, inform the particular context. The relationship that exists between culture and the individual is best described as dialectic. The concept of dialect is the theoretical tool to analytically show how this relationship works out in real life. At the base of this relationship operates conflict. Sickness, or permanent ill health since early childhood as shown in an in-depth case study, triggers conflict on at least two levels: the personal-psychological and the socio­ cultural level. To effectively deal with sickness and the inner conflicts caused by it, is to channel the motivation to resolve them by way of employing a symbolic idiom, a cultural symbol that attains personal meaning. G. Chewe P. of Bemba ethnicity, the main actor of this thesis, demonstrates how his life experience of sickness made various symbols become operational, how he filled them with personal meaning, and that there was no hiatus between the public and private domain. Healing requires more than medical aid. Cultural symbols that become personal symbols are often tied into religious experience of some kind. Individuals who Vll successfully employ personal symbols eventually achieve healing because the symbolic idiom helps them to resolve intrapsychic conflict. Missiology cannot escape from two realities: culture and the individual. If anything, missiology must be interested in culture and the individual. Missiology, in the role of aide-de-camps of the Christian Mission, shows the history of how individuals connect to God, and how God transforms them in their cultural environment. To be able to achieve both goals, the issues of context and conflict must be addressed. This thesis seeks to account for the dialectic between culture and the individual, how context and conflict shaped the person and the Christian G. Chewe P. of Bemba ethnicity, and how he acted upon this context to resolve his travail. Vlll KEY TERMS Human Body; Social Body; 'Spirit Double'; Categories of Illnesses; Ngu/u-Spirit­ Mediumship; The Dialectic of Culture; Personal (religious) symbols; Healing and "Symbolic remove"; Cybernetic Communication Theories; Missiological Communication Concerns; Missio Dei; Adoratio Dei; Imago Dei; Conversion; Counseling lX TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ••••••••••.••••••••.•••••••.•.•..•...••.••.•.•••.••••.•••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• III SUMMARY ····················································································································VI KEY TERMS·················································································································· VIII ABBREVIATIONS ••.••••••.••••••••••••••••.•••••••.••••••.••••..•••.•.••••••.••..••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••.••••••••.• XXI TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... IX TABLE OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xx CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 1. REASON FOR THE STUDY .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 General Injunctions ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 Scope of Problem ............................................................................................. 2 2. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................... 3 2.1 Sickness and Healing: Context Variables .....................................................