Word Made Flesh: Christianity, Modernity, and Cultural Colonialism in the Work of Jean and John Comaroff

Elbourne, Elizabeth

doi:10.1086/ahr/108.2.435

Cited by 5 publications

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“…Nonetheless, none of this mitigates the genuine, deeply-felt aspects of Christianity for these individuals, as will become increasingly apparent throughout this article. Indeed, Africans themselves are some of Christianity's most fervent adherents and proponents (Elbourne 2003). I have personally encountered this fervor myself in Ethiopia and other African countries throughout my travels and among African diasporic Christians in the United States.…”

Section: Christianity On the Ethio-south Sudanese Bordermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For many Gambellans to whom I spoke, Christianity is thoroughly integrated into their daily lives, worldviews, and identities, despite Christianity's complicated legacy in Africa. European and American missionaries were often complicit with colonial endeavors, and critical scholarship has highlighted Christianity's intertwinement with efforts to colonize African consciousness and justify takeovers by European powers (Comaroff & Comaroff 1991;Elbourne 2003). From a musical perspective, western Christianity has historically been opposed to traditional African music practices, partly driven by foreign missionaries and partly by converted African Christians who consider traditional songs pagan (see, for example, James 2007, 230-231).…”

Section: Christianity On the Ethio-south Sudanese Bordermentioning

confidence: 99%

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"He Has Rescued Me from Danger"

Bishop

2024

Voices

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The Ethio-South Sudanese border is characterized by instability and conflict. Most populations in this area have experienced violence and displacement and face ongoing insecurity and political inequality. During my fieldwork in the region, several composers gave accounts of how composing and singing Christian songs provided them with comfort and hope in times of hardship, particularly following episodes of violence. Using ethnographic research and interviews as primary methodologies, this article explores how these individuals use religious music-making as a means of coping and resilience in the wake of trauma. The primary goal of this article is to provide a platform for their stories. The secondary goal is to explore resonances between their accounts and scholarly observations about potential roles of music-making in trauma resilience across disciplines. I focus particularly on themes of embodied music-making, community connection, and spirituality. All point to the same phenomenon: that music can play a role in human resilience and meaning-making. Finally, I make suggestions on how to enhance mental health care in culturally-relevant ways in a religious society such as in Ethiopia, as well as draw out cross-cultural implications for mental health care in the western system.

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Section: Christianity On the Ethio-south Sudanese Bordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Christianity On the Ethio-south Sudanese Bordermentioning

confidence: 99%

"He Has Rescued Me from Danger"

Bishop

2024

Voices

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Gender, Colonialism, and Faith

Elbourne¹

2013

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Indigenous Encounters with Christian Missionaries in China and West Africa, 1800-1920: A Comparative Study

Lindenfeld¹

2005

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This article seeks to develop a vocabulary and conceptual framework for the discussion of cross-cultural religious encounters. The ubiquity of Christian missionaries in diverse parts of the world provides a basis for such an enterprise. For China, four patterns are postulated: selective inculturation, resistance, conversion, and selective acculturation toWestern secular knowledge with the aid of mission schools. ForWest Africa, the patterns are less distinct. There was less resistance and greater openness to Christianity, reflecting a different relationship between the sacred and the secular than in China. The article concludes by finding the theories of Jack Goody (on literacy) and Carl Jung (on introversion and extroversion) to be heuristically valuable.

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Word Made Flesh: Christianity, Modernity, and Cultural Colonialism in the Work of Jean and John Comaroff

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

"He Has Rescued Me from Danger"

"He Has Rescued Me from Danger"

Gender, Colonialism, and Faith

Indigenous Encounters with Christian Missionaries in China and West Africa, 1800-1920: A Comparative Study

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