• Login
    View Item 
    •   MUT Research Archive
    • Journal Articles
    • School of Humanities and Social Sciences (JA)
    • Journal Articles (HSS)
    • View Item
    •   MUT Research Archive
    • Journal Articles
    • School of Humanities and Social Sciences (JA)
    • Journal Articles (HSS)
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Circumcision Contestation Among African Christians in the Advent of a Rejuvenation of African Cultural Practices

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Circumcision Contestation Among African Christians in the Advent of a Rejuvenation of African Cultural Practices.pdf (270.1Kb)
    Date
    2024
    Author
    Kamau, Patrick Maina
    Katola, Michael T.
    Waweru, Humphrey M
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Circumcision among many African communities is a vital and common rite of passage. Traditionally the rite was performed on both male and female teenagers but with the coming of the Europeans and the conversion of African communities to Christianity, female circumcision was discarded and eventually outlawed. Male circumcision survived despite European pressure. Many Europeans viewed circumcision as a psychologically hazardous exercise that was detrimental to the initiates’ physical health and a waste of valuable time that could be better utilised economically. Missionaries associated circumcision rituals with paganism laced with many outdated practices, thus there was need to Christenize the rites. The missionary fashioned the circumcision rite of passage into what they felt was in line with Christian values. Most of the circumcision rituals were discarded. The circumcision rite changed from a communal affair to an individual family affair. In the beginning of the third millennium, the church took started organizing circumcision camps for boys in churches in a bid to align the traditional practice to Christian values. This became the norm as the Kikuyu community’s cultural practices had overtime been inclined to the Euro Christian culture. At the same time a rejuvenation of Kikuyu culture was taking shape. The rejuvenation was given the impetus it required by the promulgation of the 2010 Kenyan constitution. From then on Kikuyu elders started organising their own circumcision camps targeting teenage Christians that were also targeted by the church. This has caused discontent among Kikuyu Christians necessitating a search for possible remedies to the contestation in a bid to have a spiritually fulfilled Kikuyu Christian.
    URI
    http://repository.mut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/6603
    Collections
    • Journal Articles (HSS) [54]

    MUT Library copyright © 2017-2024  MUT Library Website
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
     

     

    Browse

    All of Research ArchiveCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    MUT Library copyright © 2017-2024  MUT Library Website
    Contact Us | Send Feedback