THE CLAN AS A PORTRAIT OF AFRICAN ECCLESIOLOGY: TOWARDS AN INCULTURATED ECCLESIOLOGY AMONG THE AKAMBA OF KENYA By Wambua Michael. Muoki Introduction There has been an influx of Christian ecclesiological ideologies in Africa. These ideologies have led to deferent forms of ecclesiological formations most of which are foreign to the African mind. The form of ecclesiology that Christ could have envisioned in his pursuit of establishing church is not completely comprehended.1The challenge that lies before African church leaders is to formulate an ecclesiology that would be authentically Christian and uniquely African. This paper will attempt to portray how the clan system can be used to enhance an understanding of African ecclesiology. It will also seek to expose the various elements of the clan system that have already been borrowed by African churches to foster the understanding and development of the church. a special reference will be made to the church within the Akamba community in eastern Kenya. The Clan as a Portrait of the Church in Africa There is a great necessity of transforming Christianity from a mission enterprise to a church institution once it enters a local setting. John Mary Waliggo identifiers four main requirements for a mission to become a true local church. The church should have local personnel to consolidate the faith within the local community where it has found acceptance, the Christian message should be presented in the language and cultural values of local people, the Christian community should be sensitized on the importance of missions so as not only to receive but also to participate in missionary work, and the community should become self supporting in terms of resources and financial establishment.2 The church finds a lot of relevance in the clan and familial lineages in the African societies. To help explain this, I will use the Akamba clan system to expound the institutions’ relevancy to the explanation and establishment of the church in Africa. The Akamba social life is organized along kinships and clan systems. Every Mukamba knows his clan and he identifies D.W. Waruta. “Towards an African Church,” in The Church in African Christianity: Innovative Essays in Ecclesiology. Eds. J.N.K Mugambi and Laurenti Magesa.(Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 1998),29-42. 2 John Mary Walliggo. “The African Clan as the True Model of the African Church” in The Church in African Christianity: Innovative Essays in Ecclesiology. Eds. J.N.K Mugambi and Laurenti Magesa.(Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 1998)111- 128. 1 2 himself with it whenever he meets new people or whenever he has to introduce himself. This tendency has been borrowed much by Christians within the Pentecostal churches and other African Instituted churches who like identifying themselves with the church. When an Akamba person is introducing himself he or she would say “I am so and so and I belong to this specific clan.” In the same manner, Pentecostal Christians within the region and beyond introduces themselves in something like this: “I am so and so and I am born again or I am saved”. By saying “I am born again,” the person is simply saying that he is a member of the church and his identity or belonging is within the Christian community just as the traditional Mukamba would imply that he is a member of the specific clan that he identifies himself with. Just as the Mukamba finds his identity with his clan, the Christian finds his identity within the church. The nuclear part of the clan is the Musyi (home) were the values of the clan are to be practiced. Musyi(the extended family which consists of the grandparents, parents, children and other close relatives) is the most valuable unit of life. It is where life is lived in totality.“ It is also conceived as the means by which the Akamba religious principals are carried out. It is a holy alliance and all the members of Musyi are bound by the rituals to lead a clean life in the totality of Musyi. Those who have been away from Musyi for a prolonged time, must be purified when they go back to avoid carrying back Thavu (contamination) which they might have encountered outside.”3 In ecclesiological setting, the nucleus of the African Christian life is the local church. Here the principals and the teachings of the church are supposed to be adhered and implemented to the fullest. The same can be said of the church within the community whereby if one has been out of the local church for along time is asked to repent if he has been leading a life that is contrary to the teachings and values of the local church. Such repentance and prayers offered by the church leaders is assumed to be a sure ritual to reunite one with the church and to clean him from every contamination that he might have acquired while he was away. Members of the same clan call each other Waasa (brother, or one who belongs to my father, one whom we share the same lord. The word is formed from the prefix wa which means one who belongs to, and the suffix asa which may be translated as father or lord. In the clan setting it has more to do with fatherly meaning more than lordship even though a father in the traditional setting was considered a lord of all his children and their children up to a generation). It is a name that shows belonging and closeness to each other. In this sense on identifies the other 3 K. Ndeti, Elements of Akamba Life (Nairobi: East Africa Publishing House, 1972), 68. 3 as a member of his own family. This name carries with it responsibility and obligations. Everyone is expected to treat his wasa like a brother. Give him assistance if in need and even provide him with a place to sleep if he has no place to spend. In matters of marriage or bereavement, every clan member is to participate in not only providing moral support but also material things. No one is permitted to marry from his clan for that would be like marrying his own sister. Respect and righteousness within the clan members is highly expected. It is amazing how the church in the area has adapted this concept of brother hood. Christians within the Pentecostal and even mainline churches call each other Mwanaasa (brother or a son of my father, or a son my lord) or Mwituaasa (sister, or a daughter of my father, or a daughter of my lord). Just as it is within the traditional understanding in the clan system, this names bears relational responsibilities and obligations. A church member should treat the other as a brother or sister. He is to be active in times of marriages, funerals and other occasions that the other member is having. An achievement of one member is perceived as an achievement of the whole church and is celebrated by all. The same applies to challenges; a challenge of one member is perceived as a challenge of the whole church and encountered by all. The only difference might come in matters of weddings. Contrary to the customary teachings within the clan, the church encourages marriages within the church members. It is important also to note that every clan finds its values and ethos from its ancestor founder, who is its lord. All the members of the clan should be descendants of the founder ancestor. The clan bears his name and he is respected and sometimes venerated. For example there is the Amutei clan named after its founder ancestor Mutei, Mbaa Nduni named after Nduni, and Atwiii named after Mutwii, just to name a few. He is the lord (or the father) of the clan and his values are the values of the clan even though slight changes might be made to suit the conditions and the setting of the people. The clan is regarded as the body of its founder since the members are said to proceed from his womb. In this regard then the clan does not consist of the living only but also the dead members including the founder ancestor. The clan is a communion of both the living and the dead ancestors. The only two ways one can become a member of the clan is only if she, (not he) has been married by a man from the clan or has been born there. When women get married they cease to be members of their father’s clans and join those of their husbands. 4 These concepts have found a lot of relevance in Christianity within the area. Although they are not publicly advocated for, they have practically creped into the formation of the church within the area. They too can be used to foster the growth of the church by replicating their meanings within the church. The church is named after its founder ancestor Jesus Christ. Charles Nyamiti has discussed the ancestrology of Christ within the trinity where he sees the Father as the ancestor of the Son, and the Holy Spirit as their ancestral oblation. To this regard he notes that “in God ancestorship and descendancy are essentially sacred, pneumatic, ritual, eucharistic and doxological categories.”4 The concept of the father being the parent ancestor of the son, and the Holy Spirit being their ancestral oblation brings in the centrality of the trinity in the whole relationship of the church as the clan of Christ. The church and the trinity becomes one entity in the divine koinonia. As a clan of Christ, church members are referred to as Christians because they find their meaning in the nature and the work of Christ. The church is also refered to as the body of Christ, to show that it is part of, and a continuation of the values of Christ as well as to show that is in continuous communion with Christ its ancestor founder.5 The eschatological teachings of the church depict it as being in communion with the dead in Christ, with the Roman catholic church demonstrating the reality of this teaching by venerating and praying through some of the church ancestors (saints). Just as the clan is referred to as the body of the founding ancestor, the Bible refers to the church as the body of Christ. The clan as well as the church can thus be regarded as living organisms with their lives extending from their physical appearance to spiritual existence. The church becomes part of Christ and thus just as the clan is the true revelation of the ancestor founder, it also becomes the true revelation of Christ. The church must present the values of Christ and become his presence in the world. In such a thought, the fullness of the Christology of Jesus is appropriated in African society. Notice also that the manner in which one becomes a member of the clan in the Akamba community is almost the same as the manner in which one Charles Nyamiti, “The Church as Christ’s Ancestral Mediation: An Essay on African Ecclesiology,” in J.N.K. Mugambi and Laurenti Magesa, eds. The church in African Christianity: Innovative Essays in Ecclesiology (Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 1998), 131. 5 Charles Nyamiti talks of Christ as the church ancestor per excellence. He says that he is the ancestor of the tripartite church, the church in heaven, the church in purgatory, and the church on earth. See Charles Nyamiti, “The Church as Christ’s Ancestral Mediation: An Essay on African Ecclesiology,” in J.N.K. Mugambi and Laurenti Magesa, eds. The church in African Christianity: Innovative Essays in Ecclesiology (Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 1998), 131. 4 5 becomes a member of the church. One becomes a member of the clan through birth or being married (for ladies only) in the clan. This explains why John 3 and the concept of being born again gets a lot of emphasis in Ukambani and other african communities. One becomes a member of the church by surrendering his life to Christ, the ancestor lord of the church, and experiencing a new birth in the community of believers. It will be observed that in most African churches one cannot be regarded as a member of the church unless he is ritually led through prayers of repentance and requesting Christ to receive him as anew born baby in his kingdom. On top of this, the eschatological prefigurement of the church as the bride of Christ waiting to be married and enjoined with Christ forever gives the African church the hope of permanently becoming members of his household. This typology also gives a sense of value to African women and affirms the assurance of their belonging in their husband’s tribes. If Christ’s marriage with the church guarantees the church a permanent belonging in his house, their marriage gives them permanent sense of belonging to the new communities they have been married. The concept of the church being the bride of Christ becomes a relevant point of departure when doing theology among African women, and affirming the importance of the marriage institution in Africa. The Akamba valued unity and commonness. In situations where members of different clans lived near each other, or members of different families were in close proximity with each other, an oath commonly known as Ndundu was administered as a means of bonding the two communities together. The conditions of this oath was such that the two families or clans were to live together as members of one family, maintaining peace, common values as well as supporting each other. This is a concept that the church can adapt to foster inter-religious dialogue and toleration. If the concepts of unity and commonness as advocated by the Akamba were to be emulated by the church in its contextualization pursuit, it would be easy for it to establish peace and understanding between different religious groups in the local setting. it would be a good plat form for inter religious dialogue in Africa. Conclusion The clan as a communion of people with one purpose, one mind, one mission and a common belonging cannot be fully exhausted. The important lessons that we need to learn is that 6 we can formulate an ecclesiology that would be formed on the basis of the clan and kinship systems in Africa. This would help strengthen and cement the church in the African mind. The whole purpose of the church would fully be realized and practiced within an African mental composure. However the key elements of ecclesiology must form the point of departure for doing this type of ecclesiology rather than the key elements of the clan system becoming the basis of our theology. 7