Propuesta para el fortalecimiento del proceso de gestión silvicultural

The fact that I was interrogating documents, some of which were published by the church, and the official documents of the Church such as the constitution of the Church and of the organisations, means that the study has validity and it leaves no room for manipulation and swaying of meaning. I used mostly historical data which is not easy to manipulate, and sources were quoted accordingly. The room for bias is very limited although in applying the postcolonial approach to Archival research, in trying to decolonize and pluralize the Archive, there is possibility of my views overturning history in my direction. However, the tools that I am using will help guard against such pitfalls. To ensure that the research is rigorous enough, Critical Discourse Analysis was utilized to ensure that the themes and codes identified adequately represent the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe’s policy documents. I made it a point that the conclusion drawn was a product of data collected from the policy documents and the other Church related documents, including journals, articles, and magazines.

I sought permission to use the Archive and the permission was granted in writing. Further, the authorities knew about my research topic and they only asked for a copy of my findings and recommendations soon after the completion of the research. I will therefore, jointly with my supervisor, draft a short report of no more than 10 pages summarising the research effort, method and findings without breaking anonymity and confidentiality. These shall be delivered to the Methodist Church no more than a month after the final examination of the thesis. The data collected, the data analysis phases of this research and all documentation were solely handled by myself (and my supervisor where necessary) to ensure confidentiality. The research data shall be

71

stored with my supervisor in his office at the University of Kwazulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus.

3.4.8 Limitations of the study

My position as a practicing member and minister of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, and the fact that I was brought up in this Church which does not approve of indigenous religious beliefs and customs, threatened the neutrality of the study. This is because my socialization and involvement in the church continued to exert pressure on me. However, the research instruments I engaged directed the research such that my convictions could not interfere with the findings. I remained vigilant about my position as a member and minister in the Church and did not influence the direction of the study.

The Methodist Church Archive had numerous gaps that threatened the quality of the research. However, the gaps were bridged by the National Archive of Zimbabwe. The Church archive has no trained staff, which means there was no one to give help in times of need. The only person present was a caretaker to unlock the door, not a trained Archivist. This means that the Archive does not have a catalogue or index so that locating documents is made easy and fast. The shelving of material is haphazard and quite disorderly. There are no marked locations for manuscripts except very few boxes and a filing cabinet with minutes of synod and reports. Most materials in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe archive are very old and dusty, and there seems to be no effort to preserve these documents. Several manuscripts could not be located in the archive especially some minutes and reports. These may have been taken out and not returned since no one checks the going out and returning of material. There is a book which one fills by him\herself after taking out a book and after returning it. There are no rules governing the use of the Archive that are in place.

There is no proper backup of manuscripts and documents such that those that go missing or are destroyed will be hard to find in the future. Most of the manuscripts in the Church Archive, especially those of the late 1890s and early 1900s, were hand written in pen, and most of the hand writing is not easy to read, and this makes it difficult to construct meaning. The documents sent by the Methodist missionaries to the National Archive were typed and quite legible. The impediment of visiting the National Archive was the cost involved. I had to drive to the place since it is on the outskirts of Harare and had to pay $1 every day to gain access and to be able to do my

72

research. Although the National Archive is well looked after, catalogued, and manned by well trained staff who assist researchers satisfactorily, the rules do not allow taking pictures of documents or anything. Photocopying is permissible, but researchers are only allowed to photocopy a maximum of 5 pages per day and the costs of photocopying are very high as a way of discouraging people from photocopying material. The limit of 4 items at a time limited my ability to compare materials and affected continuity because I had to return articles to get different ones. The visit to the two Archives revealed that the history of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe is biased, it uplifts the missionaries and looks down upon the African Methodist Christians and their worldview.

3.4.9 Chapter summary

The chapter focused on the two theoretical frameworks that guide this study, postcolonial theory and the Foucauldian concept of governmentality. Firstly, a distinction is made between postcolonialism as a chronological marker, and as a reading practice and way of theorisation. There is evidence of a swing from the chronological implications of postcolonialism toward a focus on the tensions and struggles against the effects of colonialism on colonised societies and their cultures. The major focus is on the impact of colonialism on the African culture and identity. The aims of postcolonial theory are outlined, which include making people understand that no culture should be universalised or be dominant, to ensure understanding and not antagonism between the inheritors of the postcolonial aftermath, and to decolonise western theory. The impact of postcolonial theory is that it addresses issues that were never touched especially on the links of imperialism and national cultures in the once colonized states, and it also draws links between the imperial past and the present. The weakness of postcolonial theory is also highlighted which includes failure in most cases to acknowledge the positive contribution of the colonial history and the fact that both the colonizer and the colonized are part of that history. There is also a tendency to marginalize and there is fear of opening the old colonial wounds caused by the history of exploitation and subjugation.

The chapter also discussed the methodology guiding this research, the various component that constitute the methodology were outlined and discussed. The research design touched on the whole plan that was put in place to answer the research questions, from the collection, measurement, and analysis of data. The research methods included visiting the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe

73

Archive together with the National Archive of Zimbabwe to access documents that were relevant to my research. These documents were very important sources of information or research tools, because I took notes from them that I used to support my arguments for this thesis. Having identified and extracted the data through note taking, Critical Discourse Analysis was engaged as a process of data analysis. The approach was used to develop theories and hypotheses from the data that I collected from the various sources in the library and the archives.

The chapter also examines ethical considerations that I made during the process of study. Firstly, I sought permission and it was granted to me in writing, to use the Archives. During the study, I ensured my position in the Church, my religious convictions and worldview did not influence my findings. I managed to deal with the sway of these with the help of the tools that I employed in my research. The tools included my research design and research methods that I have already mentioned. The conclusions that I arrived at during the research were not influenced by my feelings, thoughts or ideology but came from the analysis of the data that I gathered.

The limitations of this study were also discussed in this chapter, and these include the problems and impediments I encountered during the research process. Primarily, I had to wrestle with my personal convictions and my upbringing so that they did not influence and prevent the research from being meticulous., However, my research tools came to my aid. There were gaps in the Methodist Church Archive because of some missing documents, but these were bridged by the National Archive of Zimbabwe which had document which I could not find in the Church archive. Most of the manuscripts that were old, torn, and illegible are not backed up in the Methodist Church Archive. Lastly, that the Church Archive does not have proficient personnel, made things a bit difficult since there was no one to assist me, and the disorder took me a lot of time since I had to go through piles of manuscripts in search of those that were relevant to my study. The cost of travelling especially to the National Archive of Zimbabwe which is located far from my place of residence affected me since I could not visit the place from time to time owing to the scarcity of resources.

74

CHAPTER FOUR: THE METHODIST CHURCH IN ZIMBABWE AND

AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION AND CULTURE.

4.1 Introduction

This chapter seeks to examine the contemporary Methodist Church in Zimbabwe’s appreciation of African traditional religion and culture. The attitude of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe towards African traditional religion and culture is discussed in two parts in this chapter. The first part will briefly discusses the Methodist missionary attitude from the inception of Methodism in Zimbabwe to the period when the Church attained autonomy from the British conference in 1977.6The second part discusses the attitude of the postcolonial MCZ toward African traditional religion and ritual from 1977 to 2016. The attitude of the Methodist Church during this period will be constructed from an examination the rules and regulations governing the church at the time – with specific reference to Christian villages, the education system, and the health systems. These three social institutions were used by missionaries to deal with the African religion, culture and customs, which they considered to be effective vehicles of evangelisation (Madhiba 2000: 28, Zvobgo 1991a: 77, Peaden 1970:19). The rules and regulations governing the Methodist Church were crafted as a way of undermining and suppressing the African traditional religion, customs, and culture (Madhiba 2000).

Christian villages on mission farms were created also as a way of dealing with the African belief system. These were considered as exemplary communities to the rest of the society, which were considered to still be in the darkness of heathenism (Zvobgo 1991b:66; Peaden 1970: 19; Loubiere 1921:370). The converts that settled on the Christian villages had to abide by the rules that governed settlement in these villages. The rules were mitigating against African beliefs and practices such as polygamy, brewing or drinking traditional beer, visiting traditional healers, and ancestral worship (Madhiba 2000:28; Samudzimu 1991:79). The missionaries did not just impose punitive rules but there were incentives for those who were in Christian villages, such as western education and western medical systems.

6_{Methodism came to Zimbabwe in 1891 and operated as part of the Transvaal district of South Africa which was} directly under the British Conference, later it became a district under the direct control of the British Conference. The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe became an autonomous Conference in October 1977 which meant it had freedom to develop and reform its theology and ecclesiology according to its needs without seeking approval from the British Conference.

75

The initial aim of education, for the missionaries, was evangelisation. It, however, evolved to address humanitarian needs. Before the progression, missionary education was meant to wean Africans from their worldview and belief system. The target of education was young Africans, and this led to the introduction of the boarding school where boys and girls lived at the school isolated from the influence of the society, as with Christian villages. Colonial education was viewed as helping to develop the minds of young people, making them disavow their African background and embrace Christianity, which also came with modernity and development. Schools were used as platforms for both indoctrination of the young and to give them a better life (Chitando 2005:84; Weller and Linden, 1984:89). The goal of missionary education was therefore to wane African religion, culture, and customs. For instance, educating the girl child meant that the girls were given liberation of the mind, so they would refuse to marry elderly polygamists (Peaden 1970).

Besides education, the missionaries also introduced the medical missions as a way of dealing with the African worldview, especially African ways of healing, African medicine and the practitioners. When the missionaries introduced medical work, they did not only look at giving help to the people, but they also anticipated that western medical systems would have an impact on African Culture (Aguwa 2007:6, Manyoba 1991:68). The chief adversaries were the African traditional healers (N’angas) and their wares. The attack on the African traditional practitioners followed their overwhelming esteem as experts in the medical field by the African society.

The second part discusses the attitude of the post-autonomous Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, from 1977 to date. The attitude of the Methodist Church during this period will be explicated from constitution of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, the Deed of Church Order and Standing Orders, the class book regulations, organisational policy documents, rules, and regulations, and the farms policy documents, rules and regulations7. On attaining autonomy, the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe retained most of the things they inherited from the colonial Methodist Church, which were carried over into the new dispensation (Makoti 2012). The class is the foundation and the smallest unit in the administrative structure of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. Each member

7_{The Deed of Church Order and Standing Orders (DCO&SO) is the constitution of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe} with authority on all doctrinal matters, discipline, power, and governance. Organizational policy documents (Ruwadzano\Manyano, MCU, and Farms committee) regulate the everyday behavior of the Church members and further interpret the Constitution. Minutes of conference are Church records giving detailed accounts of events, debates, amendments and resolutions arrived at when the conference sits to affirm policy, consider new manifestations, and agreements.

76

of the Methodist Church is expected to belong to a weekly class which is under a local society. Members of each class meet for Bible study, prayer, and self-examination. The feature of the class in the Methodist Church is a universal phenomenon, as it is found in all Methodist traditions. The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe uses the class book which has some rules that are supposed to be mastered and followed by members. The rules regulate the behaviour of members and dictate how they are to live and relate to the outside world, especially the African worldview and belief systems.

Apart from belonging to classes, members also belong to organisations within the church. For instance, men belong to the Men’s Christian Union (MCU), and women belong to the

Ruwadzano\Manyano, boys belong to the Boys Christian Union (BCU), and girls belong to the

Girls Christian Union (GCU). This study is interested in the adult organisations so the policy documents, rules and laws of MCU and Ruwadzano\Manyano have been interrogated. Conference resolutions are later put into the Church canon and organisational policies as binding and authoritative. The Conferences of the Methodist Church have deliberated on issues regarding customary marriage, polygamy, and participation in ancestral worship and ruled against such. Ayandele (1966) who studied the impact of mission on the Nigerian society admits that polygamy is one of the African institutions on which Christian missions have up to date refused to compromise (1966:334). This is true of the situation in Zimbabwe, particularly in the MCZ, where the Church is convinced that the Christian society must be built on the family life and that the idea of the Christian family life can be realised in monogamy.

Among the institutional practices that the postcolonial Methodist Church has retained from its colonial past are the mission farms and the Christian villages. The rules and regulations governing the tenants on the Methodist farms have been maintained as they were handed down from the missionary past. The chapter looks at the contemporary policy document used to regulate tenants on all Methodist Farms. The regulations on polygamy, advocacy for teetotalism, banning of ancestral worship, traditional dances, visiting or inviting traditional healers (N’angas), all these are still in force in the new farms policy document of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The new farms policy document of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe is a replica of the missionary rules and regulations that governed these Christian villages during the colonial era. The attitude of

77

the Methodist Church towards African traditional religion and culture can be said to be influenced by the Church’s colonial past.