Though missionaries from the Islamic
and Christian faiths have reached out to the Sukuma people in hopes to convert
them, neither Islam nor Christianity has thrived amongst the indigenous group.
When Islam is practiced it is mainly found in urban areas. Christianity forbade
traditional dance and song that turned the Sukuma away. But a church known as
the Bujora Church combined traditional customs with Catholic customs in order
to teach their lessons; this is known as syncretism. This term was used in
reference to many indigenous people and Catholicism. Religion is said to be
accretive versus exclusive in the villages. The Sukuma people believe in a high
god, but there is no specific cult in which the people are involved. The main
focus of the Sukuma religious beliefs is ancestral worship. Also, witchcraft is
practiced throughout the village, although not nearly as much when compared to
ancestral worship.
Chief-ancestors or family members that
have passed on are thought to influence the lives of those living in their
homes, but it is believed that most of the time ancestors only affect their
direct descendants. There are other spirits in which aren’t ancestral that are
believed to affect some of the Sukumas’ lives as well. Additionally, there are spiritual
possession societies in which deal with spiritual attacks and recruit victims
of attacks to become members of their societies.
The Sukuma people have what they call
Diviners. Diviners are the tie between beliefs and actions. They are the main
figure in a religious life and they interpret the system of beliefs for groups
as well as individuals. Traditionally when one is sick the Diviners provide
herbal medicine, but western medicine is often used in combination with the
traditional medicines. The Diviners decide what spiritual forces are active and
how to deal with their actions. These Diviners are involved in everyday village
life just as all the other Sukumas.
A special ritual of the people is the
chicken divination. This is where they take a young chicken and they kill it,
from here they take readings from its wings. Sometimes they take it from other
parts of the chicken’s body, but typically the wings. They also have
sacrificial rituals when there is divinatory séance. Divination and rituals
divide the Sukuma people, especially if witchcraft is involved. The system of
the Sukuma people allows the villagers to express solidarity with each other
without the loss of individual identity. Most of the rituals and traditions
carried out are between the kin and neighbors. There also are some, but very
few, public ceremonies. One public ceremony is a cleanse of pollution in the
village after one member dies.
Funerals are
very important rituals amongst the Sukuma people. Neighbors will dig a grave
and continue to spread the news to relatives whom do not live in the village.
After one dies, they are now considered ancestors whom affect their descendants
and desire appeasement. The idea is that the dead live on eternally in another
realm but affect their descendants and it is known as a shared identity between
the different generations. The dead must not be forgotten. There are many
offerings and special prayers made to the ancestors whom have passed. Cow dung
is a popular offering. The cow dung represents wealth in the Sukuma villages
because cattle are signs of success. If the ancestors are forgotten it is said
that the family may have bad luck and illness will be attributed to their lack
of offerings and remembrance. Therefore, to conclude, the key to religion in
most traditional Sukuma homes is to worship their ancestors and to worship god
as the supreme creator of the universe.
Every Culture
Nyamwezi and Sukuma - Religion and Expressive Culture.
Electronic Document,
Bessire, Mark H. C.
Sukuma Culture and Tanzania. Electronic Document, http://philip.greenspun.com/sukuma/intro.html,
accessed November 4, 2013.
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ReplyDeleteAt first I struggled with finding information on the Sukuma people in general. The information on the Sukuma is often grouped together with other groups due to how large their population is. They have similar ties to other groups of people in Africa, such as the Nyamwezi people. I learned that I had to extract the information I needed that was relevant to my topic, which was Sukuma religion. It was very difficult to find any information on their religion, except for blog posts. I tried to stray from these due to the fact that these would exhibit a bias opinion. I was able to draw up two somewhat non-bias sources in which spoke straightforwardly about different religions that can be found amongst the Sukuma people.
ReplyDeleteOne of my sources was more focused in on the specifics, which allowed me to validate and add onto what my other source had provided for me. I tried to focus on how there was a combination of traditional religious practices along with westernized religious practices. Although many have been unaffected by the globalization, I realized that missionaries were able to reach out to the Sukuma by allowing them to learn through their traditional ways, such as dancing and singing. I also noticed that many cling to their traditional ways in fear that their ancestors will bring them bad luck if not remembered and worshiped correctly. Though religion remains traditional, both of my sources exhibited that in certain areas missionaries have imposed their faith and views.
Both of my sources could have been more reliable, but they were the only two in which provided me with the information I needed. To fully understand the Sukuma and their ways I would need to have many more sources, from different areas and people. I think that ultimately my sources provided me with the information they intended to provide with as little bias as they could possibly entail.
During my research I came across many traditions and cultural norms in which I found different. I had to be sure that I was not being ethnocentric, even though at times I found it difficult to understand the Sukuma way of life. Though I found it very intriguing, I also found it unfamiliar. Throughout this project I learned that it is important to adapt cultural relativism. Cultural relativism allows for you to stay neutral and nonjudgmental when learning about other people and their cultures.
Thanks for good information because I leaned more and am very proudly to my tribe Sukuma💪💪💪👏👏👏👏
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