living African narrative theology

Memos while in Shinyanga

Here are some scattered notes from my past week in the bush.

More coming soon

13/15/06

Sitting here in Ndololeji, enjoying a beer and coffee as the sun sets around me, it is hard to imagine life getting any better. Reflecting back on the day, I realize how fortunate and happy I am to be out here. I am currently visiting 2 Mary knoll priests in the middle of nowhere Tanzania. It is amazing to see how history shapes our present story. That seems like a trite cliché, but we often ignore this small maxim. Tanzania has been greatly influenced by its first president (who is being currently being considered for canonization by the bishops of TZ). So while my dramatic side claims that Ndololeji is in the middle of nowhere, the people here certainly know where they are. This is a real community. Heck, it’s even a planned community, one of the early Ujamaa villages. These were initiated by Nyere's Governement as part of his African socialism.

I was reconverted to working out after seeing my 80 yr old peers here putting me to shame with their dedication to staying fit. Two days ago I went for a run that took me through the village and into the African shamba (farms). Given that this is the first time I’ve been running in nearly five months, my 30-minute run with some walking was a pretty good start. More than sweat and heavy breathing, I am just thankful for the vast stretches of shamba spotted savanna, which in their complete otherness convince me that I am indeed in Africa.

Today I went for a bicycle ride on over to the next village. Echoing the previous paragraph, this is only the second time I have been on a bike in the past 5 months. What a wonderful invention! Fr. Don told me that when bicycles first came here to TZ people were afraid of them because they didn't know what they were. On the way to our research site this morning to meet with the Wazee, I saw a man riding a bike with one of the typical wattle or Maasai blankets wrapped around him. I wish I could get such an image captured in a batik (wax painting on canvas). Riding the bike through two villages, waving at people as I go (who always wave back both with their hands, but also with a big smile), huffing and puffing as I pushed up hills and stopping in amazement to take a picture at a piece of turd (dung) that two dung-beetle had made into a ball and were unsycretically trying to push across the road, I thought to myself that these are the unplanned fringe benefits that make being a Watson fellow so great! What a tourist of course! How many Tanzanians get off their bikes in the middle of the road to look at dung?!?

PS- I just got freaked out by a giant spider like thing that is about 3-4 inches long. Still have no idea what it really is, but I jumped out of my seat cause I though it was a scorpion. I decided to spare its life, but it has now climbed into the log rafters- Kind of unsettling situation

PPS- I just saw a gecko eat a moth. Nature is pretty cool huh.

PPPS- so the spider beast wins this time. After it fell from the rafters right next to me I decided to quickly down my coffee and get out of there. Who knew I was so intimidated by bugs. It is not so comforting thinking that it is also probably afraid of me, since it scatters and sometimes that is in my direction.

PPPPS- OK! Enough already! I should have killed it when I had the chance. After retreating to my room, nature called me to the pisser. From behind me runs this giant antenna laden spider beast. Why can't you just leave me alone you beast! It seems to be following me. I have retreated back to the room and shoved a towel under the door so he can't get in. Crazy tactics of a scared man, or life saving measures of a former boy scout with good intuition.... the world may never know.

PPPPPS- I washed my face and lifted up the towel to dry it. The bug came through the barricade breach. Not a lucky day for you. I chased it around the room and finally got it with a sandal.

13/14/16

Morning Mass

Met with Fr. Don in the morning to work on song

Met with the research team to test out some of these questions. Giving birth to theology is not easy

13/13/06

Today at 9:30 I went out with Don to the research groups. First we picked up his research team of five people. On the way there the lady began to sing a song which was followed by the rosary. I later came to find out that the song meant "I won't go to the witch doctor."

We met with around 18 wazee. First they sang the song for us. One of the mzee actually danced to the music as well as he led everyone in song.

Following this we spoke about the meaning of the song. The conversation was in Swahili, so I was unable to follow it, but Fr. Don was able to key me in at various different points to what was being discussed.

Don's method is to first have them sing the song. Then to read it out loud without singing. Then to ask them what the song means in itself. He then asks them how it may relate to dini (religion).

In this first portion they described how the impossible state of Samike is like a piece of meat that has to be cut a certain way otherwise it spoils. I think it is like the spoiled meat that was impossible to fix.

They also discussed for a long time this aspect of birth. According to them, when one is healed from a traditional healer, it is like being born again. This rang in my mind parallels to Nicodemus, and Don also had similar thoughts. We read that text aloud to the people. When asking about the religious meaning, asking who the healer is for us as Christians, everyone answered Jesus.

I myself would have liked to parse out what this healing means for Samike (in regards to what sickness is too) and then what this healing means for Christians. Also what is the medicine?

It seems pretty evident to me that the particular truth that Christianity has to offer to the world is this sense of Emmanuel, god is with us, that extends so deep that it touches the whole of our being (incarnation).

In my mind this means that God is both the healer, and the medicine. Indeed, God's very nature is one of self-giving. God heals us through the extension of his presence and grace into our lives. God's incarnation through Jesus means that the whole of our lives becomes sacred. I later read Barron on the priest as healer and he also touches this aspect of Incarnation being medicine.

This is pretty evident in the sacraments of the church. The sacraments are promises of God's presence in our lives. God penetrates through the important moments of our lives with the sacraments: Baptism (birth) Eucharist (meal), Confirmation (rites of passage/coming of age) Anointing of the sick (sickness), Marriage, Holy Orders, and Reconciliation (sin).

Don emphasized to the wazee the need for a savior/redeemer. He explained this using a proverb which translates to mean we can't heal ourselves.

This evening we had another discussion concerning the incarnation and what is the whole Christian project all about. It is about becoming more human, which is about becoming like the perfect expression of humanity, JC.

I said that I am more concerned about the particular truths of Christianity that bring meaning to our lives than the universal truths that seem to stomp on others.

I also mentioned how unfortunately people view doctrine as something imposed by the Vatican, when really they came from the community of believers throughout history.

Read parts of Faith, sex Mystery by Richard Gilman- real interesting memoir of a jewish atheist, who joined the catholic church and gradually faded away from it.

So I just got back from a week in Nodlolegi visiting two maryknoller fathers out there. Here are some sketchy notes/memos that I typed in a hurry as I tried to conserve battery power there.

12/12/06

I had been talking with Fr. Dan yesterday about inculturation. He had mentioned that one of the difficulties here in TZ is that none of the TZ priests want to do it with regards to the liturgy. They see that somehow an inculturated liturgy destroys the unity of the people. It is one of the real difficulties here. Uniformity is viewed as unity. Tanzania does have a particular background of Ujumaa guiding it however. people were forced to resettle into villages under Nyere. They all learned the language of Swahili. TZ is known for having no tribalism and no real problems between Christians and Muslims. One would think there would be greater difficulty between Arabs and Africans because of the slave trade, but for the most part they get along. The Arabs even intermarry (often a 2nd or 3rd wife) with Africans. This has been a move for unity. There is a much greater separation between Africans and Indians. The Indians often don't integrate at all and you won't find intermarriage between Africans and Indians.

We both agreed that the enviroment where inculturation can most successfully be born is in the context of Small Christian communities.

We also discussed the need to address the social situation. He mentioned the dilemma in celebrating the Eucharist when your stomach is full from your own lunch, but people are starving

Before dinner we had gotten in a discussion with Dan about the meaning of the song. I had talked about my desire to discuss the meaning of sickness here. Dan said rather indignantly that they probably experienced illness the same way we do in the US. I myself became rather indignant, saying that in the US it is treated and claimed to just be a physical thing, but that there is really a lot more to it, including stigma, social aspects and fear. Here in TZ there is a lot of fear concerning the question of Why me, because inevitably the answer leads to a discussion of witches. At the end of the day though, we agreed that what really needs to be addressed is fear. I would really like to explore this question of fears relation to illness and to see if that same fear is to be present in healing.

Don brought up the fact that there is nothing in the catechism to deal with Witches.

Dan mentioned that they had helped write the Swahili script for Cecil burgons the life of Christ. In this version of the silent film they had shown Mary Magdalene getting love potions from the witch doctor, but Christ later drives the 7 demons out of her.

12/11/06

Today I arrived in Shinyanga and traveled with Fr. Don Sybertz to Ndololeji. I am ever more convinced that I am in the right place here with these two men. Living here is Fr. Don Sybertz and Fr. Dan Ohhman. Both of these men are retired Mary knoll missionaries nearing their 80's who have been priest here for about 52 yrs. Fr. Don has been here in Africa for about 52 yrs now.

These past few years Fr. Dan has been involved in evangelization with the Watulu people, a nomadic tribe living in the Serengeti. He has also been doing a lot of work to improve the quality of life here by introducing a windmill powered irrigation system that also provides drinking water, a community tractor garage for farmers and is currently working to help some of the poor inhabitants get a large plot of land that they can work on.

Fr. Don since his retirement has become real interested in issues of culture. With a research team he visits Wazee and interviews them concerning proverbs, stories and songs. His team records these songs into writing and even learns the music for them so as to be able to perform them. His interest is in then finding ways that these proverbs and songs, which already have deep meanings and themes to them, could help to better convey the Christian theological method to people.

His current project is a song concerning gratitude from healing. The background to the song is that a dance leader was cursed and thus got sick. He visited many healers, but none could heal him. The dance leader finally finds a healer who is able to heal him and he writes this song in gratitude. As he explained it to me, the song goes

"To be sick is to not be dead. I was sick but you healed me...."

There is much more to it. On our return to Ndololeji, we stopped off with his cultural team, and they sang for me and him this song. It was quite moving and I hope to record it at some point

I will be joining him this week to meet with the wazee concerning this story.

We will also be meeting to share theological insights regarding this song. I am excited to be engaging in this act of on the ground inculturation and I hope to perhaps return to visit the Wataturu with Dan.

Our conversation in the car was touching quite a bit on the topic of incarnation. This was not directed by me, but was just brought up by him. We weren't talking about inculturation directly, but we were still touching on it through this guiding principle. He has been reading "the everlasting man" by Chesterton, which touches on the topic of the mystery of incarnation. The mystery of the incarnation is a powerful idea that touches on every aspect of our life. Our whole human life has the potential to become sacred: all human culture and all human life.

In the evening I later met with both of them for dinner

I got into a wonderful conversation with Dan concerning inculturation. He mentioned one of the difficulties in inculturating the mass itself is that it can be divisive. In an area where there are many different cultures coming together, it is hard to convince people that an inculturated liturgy would be a good thing for the community.

We touched on topics of witchcraft, illness and in the end the social teachings of the church.

He recounted to me how when he first was working with the wataturu one of the mzee invited him to have some of the young people live with him to learn more about their culture and the culture of the church. One man, after living with him for 3 years, working on translating the Sunday readings and the gospel of mark, said that he no longer lived in fear and he wanted to be a Christian. Dan asked him what he meant. The man explained that his whole world is based on fear of witchcraft, fear of God and that the bible showed him that with Christ there is no reason to fear. Dan also recounted how he said it would be difficult for this man, because he was a dance leader and in the dances they are engaged in immoral activities, but he eventually went ahead with it.