One of the longest standing challenges Evangelization has had to deal with is to define the relationship between local culture and the gospel imperatives. The challenge is that the two seem to be working around the same premise (Human being’s way of life) and so the conflict of interest. The question is which one of the two should give way to the other in time of conflict? To help us understand the relationship and the conflict let us examine culture and its influences.
CULTURE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIALIZATION
Ambiguous though its definition may be in simple terms culture can be said to be a shared style of life, values and a set of attitudes. When we say it is a shared style of life we include knowledge (what man knows and how he comes to know it), belief (what man believes in and how he comes to uphold those beliefs), morals (what man is supposed to do and not do), law (rules drawn by society to help keep order), customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.
Elders of a particular society will transmit this life style to the young generation based on their past experiences using symbols that embody meaning. For example as a Tonga young man, I am taught by my elders that when I see a cow it is a symbol of wealth and so I am expected look at cows as wealth. With this mentality a Tonga young man grows with a certain attitude to specific aspects of life. It means if I own a lot of cattle then I am a rich man and when I am rich I can show off my richness to the world in different ways.
Our culture also defines space according to gender. For example the kitchen is a space for the woman and so she has the control in that area (what is to be cooked). It is unacceptable for a man to be found in the kitchen. In the same way a bar (tavern) is a space for man, a woman regularly found in a bar will be labelled chakolwa (drunkard) but for a man it may not be the case even if he is found there daily since he belongs there. In the urban set up a sitting room is a space for man and so a woman and the children are there at the mercy of a man, once a man receives a visitor, the wife and the children are expected to give way while if a woman was to receive her visitors she has to meet them elsewhere.
Gender roles are defined based on cultural practices and belief systems. It is the duty of a man to fend for the family and it is the role of a woman to keep the house in order and care for everyone in the house. On the other hand, it is the role of the boy child to go and shepherd animals in the bush. It becomes abnormal to find a girl child shepherding animals in the bush because she is expected to be at home helping with the daily chores around the house.
The problem comes in when each of these classes frequently overlap their boundaries drawn by the space and roles. For example if a man is always found among women he will be seen as not being normal and will be called in Tonga as Haabasimbi (fond of women) equally a woman found among men will be labelled (Haabasankwa in Tonga) a prostitute.
A man is always considered a leader of society. As a result of this whenever women gather with men, a man is expected to preside over the gathering.
GOSPEL INTO THE CULTURE
On the other hand the gospel also comes in to propose a style of life among people who already have another style of life as defined by culture. This brings the two into conflict. Jesus came into conflict with the fundis (teachers) of Jewish culture (Lk.6:1-11) and they turned against him because he appeared as an enemy to their cherished and well-organized culture. Peter and Paul also came into conflict with the Roman culture (Acts 12:1-5, Acts 16:16-24).
The structures of the Church if not well defined may bring a lot of misunderstanding and discomfort to people’s culture. For example let us look at the structure of the small Christian Community here in Zambia. Going by the Church it is a very good structure because a Small Christian Community is a Church organized at the grass root and the best organization of any structure is the grass root because then it builds a strong foundation for that organization. Small Christian Communities are a foundation and a pillar of the local Church.
The problem however comes in on the issue of culture visa a vis the space. The question is to whom the space of Small Christian Community belongs? Because earlier on we said that our culture defines this space according to gender, sometimes the two genders are not to be in the same space at the same time.
On the other hand, the gospel teaches that, the Small Christian Communities space belongs to the whole family of God, hence conflicts begin because it hinges on mentality and behaviour already taught through culture. This is the challenge that has hindered the effectiveness of Small Christian Communities.
The Church has failed to take into account the importance of division of space. In many parishes, the problem has always been apathy towards attending Small Christian Communities meetings mainly on the side of men folk and when men do attend women will not contribute to the Bible sharing because a man should always address them as a sign of respect according to their culture. You find that the ratio of men to women in a Small Christian Community meeting is maybe 1 to 10. The surprising thing is that even if the ratio is so poor, men will find themselves occupying top leadership and only give the remaining positions to women because of the social cultural construction.
Even if the case is like that it does not in any way suggest that women are incapable of holding top positions. Let us take another example, those lay groups for women only, see how progressive they become, look at St. Anna, Nazareth, the Catholic women’s league, these are the lay groups that sustain the local Church in terms of self reliance. We can even move to the secular world, talk of the kitchen party. One of the most well organized functions over the years is the kitchen party and if you want to see the happiest, joyous and free woman in action go to the kitchen party. The reason is simple that is a place for women.
CONCLUSION
The first thing to be mentioned is that culture is a social construction (man made) and so it can change. When the Church talks of inculturation she talks of finding ways and means of marrying local culture with faith. Inculturation is not singing gospel in our own tradition (e.g. buomba drums) alone it means more. Remember the first inculturation we can talk of is the incarnation, God becoming man, marrying the humanity with the divinity; God entering the human culture.
The gospel should apply its double sword effect to culture by pruning the part of culture that is evil and promote the part that is good then the two will be married and become one. When that is done people will find true value in their faith and will embrace it as part of their life and that is authentic Christianity.
It is therefore our responsibility to work together and ensure that culture and evangelization influence each other in order to give new meaning to our faith and life as a whole.
Collins Moonga
Mpima Seminary
Kabwe.
