Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-18T22:13:58.470Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Marrapodi: An Independent Religious Community in Transition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Bennetta Jules-Rosette
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Marrapodi Compound, a peri-urban settlement to the north of Zambia's capital, Lusaka, is a unique community containing several indigenous religious groups. These religious associations have enabled members of various ethnic backgrounds to create a form of social organization that provides a link between urban and village life. Through case studies of the community's major religions, it is possible to develop a composite picture of Marrapodi's social organization and to examine the importance of religion in each group's adjustment to an urban milieu. This discussion will begin by concentrating on detailed observations of two of the area's major religious groups, the Maranke and the Masowe Apostles.

It is my underlying assumption that the urban blight and social disorganization frequently attributed to shanty communities have been less important than the migrations and organizational efforts of the independent churches in creating the basic themes and direction of Marrapodi's growth over the past twenty years. This social and religious organization has been subtle, accretionary, and occasionally indirect. Exploring the impact of this tacit social organization on the changing shanty compounds and examining the ways in which religion is at the heart of Marrapodi's life will be my central concerns. A second, more external form of social organization, the planning of the local government, will also be examined from the perspective of both the urban planners and the community members interviewed in 1974. I shall concentrate on a description of the world of everyday events as seen from the perspectives of community members. Systematic observation of the social life, doctrine, and rituals of Marrapodi's major churches will be combined with broader historical and demographic information about the community's growth. These perspectives bridge the gap between the assumptions of outside urban planners and researchers and the uncorroborated personal reactions of individual residents. They make it possible to approach the crucial transitions now facing the community.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , September 1975 , pp. 1 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1975

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Apthorpe, R. (1969) “Sociological and other research for community development.” In Apthorpe, Raymond (ed.) Social Research and Community Development. Lusaka: Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
Aquina, M. (1966) “Christianity in a Rhodesian Tribal Trust Land.” African Social Research 1 (June): 1–40.Google Scholar
Aquina, M. (1967) “The People of the Spirit: an independent church in Rhodesia.” Africa 37 (April): 203–219.Google Scholar
Barrett, D.B. (1968) Schism and Renewal in Africa: An Analysis of Six Thousand Contemporary Religious Movements. Nairobi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Biebuyck, D. (1957) “La société kumu face au Kitawala.” Zaire: Revue Congolaise 11 (January): 7–40.Google Scholar
Byers, P. (1964) “Still photography in the systematic recording and analysis of behavioral data.” Human Organization 23: 78–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicourel, A.V. (1974) Theory and Method in a Study of Argentine Fertility. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Collier, J. (1957) “Photography in anthropology: a report on two experiments.” American Anthropologist 59: 843–859.Google Scholar
Collier, J. (1967) Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Collins, J. (1969) Lusaka: The Myth of the Garden City. Lusaka: University of Zambia, Zambian Urban Studies Series, 2.Google Scholar
Daneel, M.L. (1971) The Background and Rise of Southern Shona Independent Churches, 1. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Jules-Rosette, B. (1974) “Ceremony and leadership: the influence of women in African independent churches.” Paper presented at the UCLA African Studies Center colloquium, “Women and change in Africa, 1870-1970.”Google Scholar
Kay, G. (1967) A Social Geography of Zambia: A Survey of Population Patterns of a Developing Country. London: University of London Press.Google Scholar
Kay, G. (1969) “Population surveys as prerequisites of community development.” In Apthorpe, Raymond (ed.) Social Research and Community Development. Lusaka: Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
Kileff, M. (1973) “The Apostolic Sabbath Church of God: ritual, organization, and belief.” Unpublished manuscript, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.Google Scholar
Lanternari, V. (1968) Religions of the Oppressed: A Study of Modem Messianic Cults. New York: Mentor Books.Google Scholar
Little, K. (1973) African Women in Towns. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Murphree, M.W. (1969) Christianity and the Shona. London: Athlone Press.Google Scholar
Murphree, M.W.. (1971) “Religious interdependency among the Budjga Vapostori.” In Barrett, David B. (ed.) African Initiatives in Religion. Nairobi: East Africa Publishing House.Google Scholar
Perrin, , Jassey, M.-F. (1970) La communauté de base dans les églises africaines. Bandundu: Centre d'études ethnologiques, Série 2, 3.Google Scholar
Ranger, T.O. (1964) “The early history of independency in Rhodesia.” Paper presented at the International African Seminar, Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Rotberg, R.I. (1965) The Rise of Nationalism in Central Africa: The Making of Malawi and Zambia, 1873-1964. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Schutz, A. (1964) Collected Papers, Vol. II. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.Google Scholar
Shepperson, G. (1962) “Nyasaland and the millennium.” In Thrupp, Sylvia (ed.) Millennial Dreams in Action. Comparative Studies in Society and History. Supplement II. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Shepperson, G. and Price, T.. (1958) Independent African. Edinburgh: University Press.Google Scholar
Sundkler, B.G.M. (1961) Bantu Prophets in South Africa. London: International African Institute.Google Scholar
Taylor, J. and Lehmann, D.. (1961) Christians of the Copperbelt. London: SCM Press.Google Scholar
Wilson, B. (1970) Religious Sects. London: World University Library.Google Scholar
Worth, S. and Adair, J.. (1972) Through Navajo Eyes: An Exploration in Film Communication and Anthropology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar