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David Austin Honors Thesis.pdf (850.38 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Women, Witchcraft, and Faith Healing: An Analysis of Syncretic Religious Development and Historical Continuity in 20th Century Zimbabwe

Austin , David L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620691659340769

Abstract Details

2021, BA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science.
This thesis looks into the religious and academic matrix surrounding women, the concept of witchcraft in a colonial Zimbabwean context, and the syncretic development of faith healing, and addresses a gap in the literature concerning Zimbabwe by arguing that the religious blend of Christianity and traditional Shona religion regarding the categories of spirit medium, n'anga, muroyi, and mhondoro changed over time, and developed into new categories. These new categories of Holy Spirit mediums, or syncretic prophetesses enabled women to increase in agency, and connected them to a deeper history of women who inhabited these roles such as Charwe/Nehanda, the seminal figure in the first War of Liberation at the turn of the 20th century. This thesis, by making connections between the figures of Ambuya Juliana and Mai Chaza to Charwe/Nehanda, makes a contribution to the literature in that it shows that these women are operating in historical and spiritual continuity with one another, offering a rich spiritual and historical tradition to women contemporarily who seek to increase their agency through religious means.
Timothy Scarnecchia , Ph.D. (Advisor)
Matthew Crawford , Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Suzy D'Enbeau, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Davison Mupinga, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
73 p.
African History; African Studies; History; Political Science
Mai Chaza; Ambuya Juliana; Charwe; Nehanda; witchcraft; Zimbabwe; faith healing; Shona; WSA;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Austin , D. L. (2021). Women, Witchcraft, and Faith Healing: An Analysis of Syncretic Religious Development and Historical Continuity in 20th Century Zimbabwe [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620691659340769

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Austin , David . Women, Witchcraft, and Faith Healing: An Analysis of Syncretic Religious Development and Historical Continuity in 20th Century Zimbabwe. 2021. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620691659340769.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Austin , David . "Women, Witchcraft, and Faith Healing: An Analysis of Syncretic Religious Development and Historical Continuity in 20th Century Zimbabwe." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620691659340769

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1620691659340769
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© 2021, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Women, Witchcraft, and Faith Healing: An Analysis of Syncretic Religious Development and Historical Continuity in 20th Century Zimbabwe by David L Austin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.