Rural South Africa

My week-long visit to rural south Africa gave me a picture of true Zulu culture. I saw the tools of ancestor worship, was fed the traditional Zulu diet, learned the spirit of “Ubuntu”, was offered land should I wish to move there, had many offers for marriage and had opportunity to preach to the people of Pastor Moses’ church. I also visited the clinic and found the percentage of HIV infected is as bad as anywhere in KwaZulu-Natal (70% is what is claimed), there is a strong need for homecare workers (care for those in the late stages of AIDS) as well as care for children whose burden their guardians are unable to bear… It was a powerful 7 days. The prevailing religion among the Zulu people is ancestor worship. The “ancestors” keep the majority of them bound by fear and strict obedience. The ancestors come to them in dreams and visions, mostly at night, and tell them what to do. For instance if a man should prosper so much as to buy a car he would be required to offer a goat or cow in thanks. For newborns each family has a particular ritual they must uphold-- after making the proper animal sacrifice, the family would then cut off the pinky of the newborn, or possibly make the required slices on the child’s face, as well as tossing the ambilical cord into the river when it has separated from the child to appease the ancestors. If you see a preying mantis- don’t kill it! Not because its helpful to your garden but because the ancestors return to life in the form of these insects. It is the ancestors who speak to sangoma’s (medicine women) with methods of healing for the deadly sexually transmitted plague or other diseases. Two such methods are: 1. That the infected man must have sex with a virgin. 2. That the family must assemble for a ceremony where the infected is cut near the throat with a razor, then the knife is used to make a cut on the accompanying family members. Its true that many in South Africans claim to be christian, the statistics are high for such claims, but ultimately it is the ancestors they fear.
This sounds pretty archaic and far removed from our own cultural practices… but don’t be too quick to judge fellow American! I learned some of the difficulties the Zulu christian leaders meet in addressing these practices with the people of their culture. The ancestor worshippers ask “how can my religion be wrong when the white people who tell us to be christians worship ancestors themselves?” The “worship” referred to is that of carrying flowers to a grave, or talking to a family member’s stone who has long been deceased. I was sitting in the kitchen of my hosts when they confronted me with this issue… I must say I was momentarily perplexed. What about Catholics? Isn’t it true they pray to saints and the mother of Jesus? In fact, they even perform certain rituals to aid their ancestors who have travelled into the “waiting room” called Purgatory.

Almost as strong as religious beliefs is their adherence to their traditional diet. Consisting primarily of cornmeal cooked in a couple different ways, they believe it is this food which makes the Zulu people strong and able to work all day without a second meal until suppertime. They call it “the strong food”. In the many homes my pastor friend and I visited, all were proud and surprised to know that a white man had eaten their traditional meal called “isiChinga”. Although I enjoyed the diet, I can also see plainly why there are no South African restaurants in America (as far as I know). Though I would love to have you taste “Amaguina” ( a light yeast bread fried in a pan of oil) most of the diet was simply a stewed vegetable and meat soup poured over corn meal cooked to a crumbly doughy consistency. As much as I enjoyed the diversity of foods I experienced in Germany and Ireland enroute to SA… I think I could live off of “uPutu” and “isichinga”. Tea is consumed with every meal. I should say sugar is a staple as well. I watched one man put about a half cup on his morning porridge; that’s not to mention the amount that went into his tea… I imagine most Americans anticipate losing their teeth when they are old (the book of Ecclesiastes encourages us to expect it) but over here its not the just the old who lose their teeth-- it wouldn’t surprise me if 90% of the people suffer from cavities and, while most can scarcely afford to have them pulled, fewer can afford a filling. I hope one day for a dentist to visit the area and make it his goal to pull 200 teeth before leaving! A lot of pain would be relieved on that day.

Hospitality is a major part of their culture. I told Moses, when he foreshadowed my visit, that I would feel bad if I had the comfortable bed while he and his wife slept on the floor with the children… but that is how he said it must be. We did a lot of walking and greeting of his family and friends in their homes. Greeting many people was a must in regards to my visit, in fact, greeting one another and hospitality summarizes well the spirit of “ubuntu”-- that is, the spirit of the “good-hearted person”; one who cares about others. My visit conveyed a lot of that. In our walks and greetings I was overwhelmed by the reception I received. Nearly every person we met gave thanks to me for visiting their village. It is very significant for a white person to visit blacks in their own area. I learned from my host, who being 39 years old remembers apartheid, that from those years the black people were treated like, and learned to deeply feel like, animals. For a white man to simply visit gives them a feeling of acceptance and value. Later, an older woman greeted me as “inkosana”. I asked pastor Moses what this meant and basically it means “common king”. This is the title whites demanded from blacks during the ugly years. Having learned what I did about apartheid, it nearly turned my gut to receive that title.

My visit was for the purpose of continuing a friendship I made with pastor Moses Zwane. “Baba Zwane” as we call him, is a man who truly has the heart of a pastor. I have seen the fruits of his heart and ministry God has given him. I’ve met a young man, recently married, planting a church in a nearby town. This young man was brought up spiritually by Baba Zwane from a youth. Another such youth has recently moved into the Agathos cottages to work as a cook until her recent engagement becomes her wedding day. Baba Zwane and I spent a lot of time talking about his ministry and how I might help him to take the next critical step as he strives to fulfill the vision God has given him. That of taking the 'life' Jesus gives as far as he might. He shared with me in detail how his vision transpired, that he saw a fountain flowing, and it created streams, the streams forged rivers, the rivers flowed powerfully into the ocean. This was a magnificient sight as in the distance the ocean surpassed the ability of his sight and merged with the blue sky and white clouds. At this he asked “what is the fountain”? Was told, “it is the abundant life found in Jesus”. He knew then he would take the gospel out of his own village, that he would cross denominational boundaries and racial barriers. He has already planted churches in two other towns and looking to do a third soon. He believes my partnership is the beginning of multi-cultural barriers being broken.

It is true that the African people have a lot of ways that keep themselves down, and as a result we see a rapid spread of AIDS, poverty, crime and government corruption. Its true that the bible calls a christian to a high standard of life and obedience; Dietrich Bonhoeffer teaches in his book “the Cost of Discipleship”-- grace is costly. However, it is also true that the gospel begins with acceptance: God has accepted us “while we were yet sinners” (Rom. 5:8). That is what I believe the African people need first: acceptance. I hope my continued work, and the visits of other whites, will deeply root acceptance in the Zulu people. Then, when we speak the words of the Gospel, they will have already known an example.