The Impact Of Luyia Traditional Religion Upon Christianity: With Particular Reference To The African Israel Church Nineveh In Western Kenya
Abstract
Ritual syncretism
has been an emotive problem
which
crept into Christianity
since
its inception by Jesus
Christ
.
In the context of this study, the spontaneous
mix of Luyia culture and Christianity resulted into the problem of marginal
faith where Chris
tians upheld their traditional beliefs.
This work has examined
the bonding of Luyia religious rituals with Christianity in African Israel
Church Nineveh of Vihiga County. The
following objectives
were examined
:
Socio
-
historical origins of the Luyia and the
ir religious beliefs and practices,
Cardinal doctrines of Christianity which have a
universal dynamism of cultural
and spiritual nature
,
influence of the Luyia indigenous religious rituals on
African Israel Church Nineveh and the future of the Luyia ritual
s in
this
Church.
A
multi
-
dis
ci
plinary theoretical framework
comprising
sociological
theories of: symbolic interaction, conflict and psychological theory
of
motivation were used in the study. Secondary i
nformation was obtained from
librar
ies, archives
and
supplemented with primary data from the field.
Primary
data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedules and participant
observation schedules.
Probability and non
-
probability sampling
techniques
were incorporated in fieldwork
.
The assembled da
ta was coded using numerals
and structured into chapters basing on the family
-
tree and the thematic
approach. Qualitative
and comparative
approach
es
w
ere
used to compare Luyia
indigenous with Biblical values that tended
to be non
-
empirical. The study
foun
d that the Luyia community still value their traditional beliefs and
practices besides subscribing to Christian faith. In particular, African Israel
Church Nineveh which is a spiritual movement in the Luyia community blends
with indigenous rituals as evide
nced by the fact that they have refused to
assimilate into European culture in totality. The findings further revealed that
Christian doctrines are dynamic and have bonded with the Luyia traditional
rituals in African Israel Church Nineveh. The a
reas of bo
nding include
: health
rituals, language, initiation traditions, dispute resolution rites and music. The
study finally found that the interfaith bonding between the Luyia Culture and
Christianity points to a bright future in regard to the spread of Christia
nity
among the Luyia. It was concluded that African Israel Church Nineveh resulted
from the clash between the Luyia culture and Christianity as brought b y
European missionaries. The study recommends that m
ore
investigations
be
carried out on African ritual
s to broaden knowledge on
the interaction of the
African
indigenous religi
ous rituals
with Christianity in
other African instituted
Churches.
Citation
Caxton, N. 2013. The Impact Of Luyia Traditional Religion Upon Christianity: With Particular Reference To The African Israel Church Nineveh In Western Kenya. , Nairobi: University Of NairobiPublisher
University of Nairobi, Department of Linguistics & Languages,