Leonard Nyuydze Zifac Liturgical Inculturation in the Mission of Africa Today Studies in Theology of Mission, Liturgy, Interreligious Encounter CONTENTS INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 2 I. PRE-REQUISITES FOR A THEOLOGY OF INCULTURATION ................................. 3 I.1. WHAT IS LITURGICAL INCULTURATION? ............................................................................. 3 I.2. UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMISM OF INCULTURATION ...................................................... 4 I.2.1. How necessary is Liturgical Inculturation? Understanding the need ..................... 5 I.2.2. Criteria for liturgical inculturation and Implications .............................................. 6 I.4. THE AFRICAN REALITY ....................................................................................................... 7 II. TOWARDS AN INCULTURATION OF AFRICAN LITURGICAL THEOLOGY.... 8 II.1. LITURGICAL TRANSLATIONS AND INCULTURATION ........................................................... 8 II.2. LITURGY, FAITH AND CULTURAL DANCES ....................................................................... 10 II.3. SACRAMENTAL LIFE IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT ...............................................................11 II.4. THE LITURGY, INCULTURATION AND GESTURES ............................................................. 13 III: IMPLICATIONS OF A LITURGICAL INCULTURATION FOR MISSION IN AFRICA ....................................................................................................................................... 14 III.1. LITURGY AND MISSION ................................................................................................... 14 III.2. WOMEN AND AFRICAN LITURGY .................................................................................... 15 III.3. THE DIGNITY OF CHILDREN AND YOUTHS ..................................................................... 17 III.4. AFRICAN LITURGY, CRISES AND THE PLACE OF RECONCILIATION ............................... 18 III.5. THE WATER OF BAPTISM VS THE BLOOD OF TRIBE .......................................................... 19 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 21 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 22 1 INTRODUCTION The advent of modern communications technologies and progress has had a deep influence on man's relations with nature, with himself, and with others. Even globalization, at first restricted to the economic context, has now become a phenomenon that also invades other sectors of human life. In the face of these epochal changes and cultural changes, what appears relevant is the dialogue between Church and cultures which is vital for the development of the human being as an integral whole. One must accept that over the years since the faith first encountered cultures in Africa, a lot has changed and the memories of the first meeting of missionaries and African cultures is a treasure to keep. So much to be proud of and so much to regret. During my early days in seminary formation, I contributed to a debate at the time on campus insisting that African culture is need of Christianity and never the other way round. Years have gone by and that neophyte mentality has changed for the better to a conception of a mutual relationship between the two. An honest objective look at the history of African missiology makes us appreciate where we have come from, where we are now and challenges us to ask not just where we are going to but where should we go-a question of direction against misguided movement. Given that cultural alienation cannot cohabit with the expectation of authentic Christianity; what kind of Christianity will stand out for the African today and for her posterity? How important is Liturgical inculturation in the mission of Africa today? In this paper, we shall look at liturgical inculturation and some new aspects of liturgy as a step in African missiology in order to keep her authentically African/human and authentically Christian. The work has three parts: in part one we look at foundations of a theology of inculturation and Liturgical inculturation in particular; in part two we contextualize liturgical inculturation to Africa; in part three we analyze the implications of liturgical inculturation for Africa today. A conclusion and bibliography bring our work to a close. 2 I. PRE-REQUISITES FOR A THEOLOGY OF INCULTURATION Inculturation dates to the era of the primeval church. With the passage of time, it bore the vicissitudes of accommodation, indigenization, adaptation and acculturation. David Bosch points that “the Christian faith never exists except as ‘translated’ into a culture.”1 The Christian message can hardly be meaningful if it disintegrates the culture it seeks to penetrate and as Lamin Saneh has argued, the Christian faith needs to become “familiar” in the culture it penetrates, since such familiarity breeds faith.2 We therefore need to understand what inculturation is and the reality of the Africa context. I.1. WHAT IS LITURGICAL INCULTURATION? Besides inculturation there are other methods which the church has used to adapt the liturgy such as acculturation and creativity. A. Chupungo states that it was never a question of embracing one method to the exclusion of others.3 If the Church were tribal, then inculturation would be easy since tribal overtones will step into the liturgy. But the church is universal. We have cases of Churches that have broken away from mainstream missionary churches, Laureti Magesa underlines, in Kenya and elsewhere, given, for example that there was not much emphasis on healing and exorcism, and this is where African Pentecostalism today has gained incredible number of subscribers.4 There is the search for miracle, healing and deliverance. The initial process of inculturation took the form of acculturation as “an initial meeting, a kind of “getting-to-know-you” encounter between strangers each of whom has interests to protect.”5 Liturgical acculturation as a step towards inculturation is the interaction between the D. BOSCH, Transforming Mission, Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, 20 th century edition, Orbis Books, New York 2014, 458. 2 Cf. L. SANNEH, Translating the Message, The missionary impact on Culture (revised), Orbis Books, New York 2009,246. 3 Cf. A. CHUPONGO, Liturgies of the Future, The Process and methods of Inculturation, Paulist Press, New York 1989, 26. 4 Cf. L. MAGESA, Anatomy of Inculturatiion, Transforming the Church in Africa, Orbis Books, New York 2004. 80. 5 Ibid. 1 3 Roman Liturgy and the local culture.6 Vatican II7 allows for churches in mission territories to incorporate elements into worship with have an incarnational tone. Thus, Liturgical inculturation is a neologism, but the idea is not new to the liturgy: it may be described as the process whereby the texts and rites used in worship by the local church are so inserted in the framework of culture, that they absorb its thought, language, and ritual patterns. Liturgical inculturation operates according to the dynamics of insertion in a given culture and interior assimilation of cultural elements. From a purely anthropological point of view we may say that inculturation allows the people to experience in liturgical celebrations a “cultural event” whose language and ritual forms they are able to identify as elements of their culture.8 Inculturation is not unilateral nor is it a question merely of observing theological and liturgical principles. It demands reciprocity, dialogue. Chupongo insists that liturgy must not impose on culture a meaning or bearing that is intrinsically alien to its nature, for authentic inculturation respects the process of transculturation.9 It is a two-way movement. I.2. UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMISM OF INCULTURATION “Inculturation is a continuous process; it must go on as culture continues to evolve.”10 The relationship between culture and theology is a highly complex and one route that both African and Western theologians have taken is that of ‘inculturation’. ‘Inculturation’ as coined by the Jesuit Father Pedro Arrupe is: The incarnation of Christian life and of the Christian message in a particular cultural context, in such a way that this experience not only finds expression through elements proper to the culture in question (this alone would be no more than a superficial adaptation) but becomes a principle that animates, directs and unifies the culture, transforming it and remaking it so as to bring about a ‘new creation’.11 Cf. Ibid., 27. VATICAN II, Sacrosanctum Concillium, 65. 8 Cf. A. CHUPONGO, Liturgies of the Future, 29. 9 Cf. Ibid., 31. 10 F. OBORJI, Towards African Missiology, Issues of New Language for African Christianity, vol.1, Xlibris Indiana, 2020, 266. 11 Fr PEDRO ARRUPE SJ “Letter to the Whole Society on Inculturation”, Aixala (Ed.) vol 3 ,1 9 7 8 cited by Ayward Shorter, Towards a Theology of Inculturation, 1988,11. 6 7 4 In light of what we have just said, these pronouncements of John Paul II one of his visits to Africa become meaningful: to the Bishops of Kenya he said: “The inculturation that you rightly promote will truly be a reflection of the incarnation of the Word when a culture, transformed and regenerated by the Gospel, produces from its own tradition original expressions of life, celebration, of Christian thought.”12 Inculturation is not just a theological exercise but more a missiological response to the Gospel of Christ with respect to method and approach. A. Shorter affirms: Jesus Christ is the subject matter of inculturation… It is he who enters in dialogue with human culture. Inculturation is a further and definitive step by which Jesus Christ enters into a living relationship with a cultural tradition... He cannot impose a cultural uniformity, for this is to invite superficiality and syncretism which is the failure to communicate meaning. Evangelization is not a mere lip-service or verbal code learned by rote. It invites a real response of faith and conviction to the Truth in Christ and this demands inculturation.13 He incorporates a theology of the Incarnation with mission placing a critical eye to cultural uniformity to put across his understanding of inculturation. I.2.1. How necessary is Liturgical Inculturation? Understanding the Need In his book Inculturation: its meaning and urgency, John Mary Waliggo describes inculturation as: the honest and serious attempt to make Christ and his message of salvation evermore understood by peoples of every culture, locality and time, that is, the reformulation of Christian life and doctrine into the very thought-patters of each people. It is the continuous endeavour to make Christianity truly ‘feel at home’ in the cultures of each people.14 Inculturation is a twofold process: first, it presupposes an understanding of faith and doctrine; second, it requires a shift from traditional spiritual paradigm of faith to a practice of faith using cultural values lived in the light of the Gospel. The expected result is the transformation of life in JOHN PAUL II, Address to Kenyan Bishops (May 7, 1980), n.6. Cf. A. SHORTER, Towards a Theology of Inculturation, 63. 14 J. M. WALIGGO, Inculturation: its meaning and urgency, St. Paul’s publications, Kampala 1986, 5. 12 13 5 the service of the Gospel and the salvation of people within their respective cultures. In this light therefore, John Paul II in his Post-Synodal Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa explains the two dimensions of inculturation in Africa: first he talks of culture being integrated into Christianity and second, the insertion of Christianity in the various cultures.15 At the crossroad of multiplicity of new cultures the authentic African Christian must ask: how do we move from a church inclined to think that by inculturation we mean only the drums, the songs in local languages, the dances with African rhythms, the replacement of white icons with black ones and so on? The need is visible. I.2.2. Criteria for Liturgical Inculturation and Implications The Congregation for Divine Worship, with the instruction Varietates legitimae, has explained and clarified the modes of action of Sacrosantum Concilium 37-40. It points out three general principles for liturgical inculturation: to respect the objective of inculturation itself, to make it easier for the people to better understand and participate in sacred rites; safeguard the substantial unity of the Roman rite; rely on the only competent authorities. Furthermore, we cannot escape inculturation any more than we can escape mission. As Antoine Essomba posits, “it should be noted that for many centuries Christian liturgy was seen and understood, wrongly, as a set of signs and words harmoniously arranged under the vigilant authority of persons assigned by their ministerial priesthood- Bishops, priests and deacons.”16 To this must be added the elitism of the Latin liturgical language, even when the liturgy was celebrated in the typical African milieu. One must note that this constitutes a significant barrier for the people; given the juridical and linguistic esoterism, a gap was created between the “masters” of the liturgy and the people from whom active participation is required and this led to forms of syncretism, juxtaposition and infidelity to the Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Ecclesia in Africa, Post Synodal Exhortation, (September 14,1995) n.59. A. ESSOMBA, “Pope Benedict XVI’s view on the Liturgical Reform in the face of the Challenge of Inculturation in the Churches of Africa,” in M. AGBAW et K. FORBI (eds.), An African Perspective on the thought of Benedict XVI, St. Augustine’s Press, Indiana 2023, 55. 15 16 6 values celebrated. Liturgical inculturation in Africa needs a liturgical hermeneutics and rigorous methodology. This demands that local churches set up not just liturgical and Inculturation committees which bring together the experts in Liturgy, anthropology, culture, sociology, missiology, music and art, and a host of others. Our experience in two Seminaries made us appreciate this fact as songs were composed and checked by cultural anthropologists and liturgists before their rendition and lauds/vespers were prayed in the local languages and not always in French or English and this made more meaning. I.4. THE AFRICAN REALITY An analysis of the African context must begin with African reality which forms the locus of any hermeneutics aimed at proposing transformative solutions to her already existent malaises. This is salient as “rediscovery of their history deepens the sympathies, fortifies the will and liberates the mind.”17 This is because, for Africans, there is no liberation without their historical presence, since they have been expelled from the field of history by their oppressors. Liberation, if true, must be historical liberation; if not, there is no liberation.18 Today, we are more than 2000years of Christianity in Africa, more than 50 years since the creation of the first African symposium of Bishops, 29 years since the first synod of Africa and 14 years since the last synod. We are also 8 years since the current Pope, Pope Francis first visited Africa and four years since the last Pan African congress on Theology. We are in the period of the renewed theology viz synodality, which invites the breaking of the walls of bureaucracy and advocates a listening, participatory and missiological church. Most recently, we are in few months after the First African Congress on the Liturgy, organized by African liturgists to compare their thoughts on liturgical practice and the fidelity of African communities to the Christian tradition E. MARTEY, African Theology, Inculturation and Liberation, Orbis Books, New York 1996, 36. The “African Report” presented at the Second General Assembly of EATWOT held in Oaxtepec, Mexico, in 1986 in K.C. ABRAHAM, ed., Third World Theologies: Commonalities and Divergences, Orbis Books, New York 1990, 47. 17 18 7 and the authentic values of African cultures.19 Negatively, there is the new form of the scramble for Africa via economic and military tactics, etc. There is also the culture of the secular world which desires to leave no stone unturned. There is a greater part of Africa today that remains uneducated, abjectly poor and the church in Africa is just but one voice. II. TOWARDS AN INCULTURATION OF AFRICAN LITURGICAL THEOLOGY The Church in Africa is dynamic, made up of diverse cultures and the diversity of faith experiences, diversity of liturgical expression, even within the same liturgical rite, is taken for granted as it expresses the basic idea and dynamism of lex orandi-lex credenda, meaning that people pray, celebrate as they believe.20 The rule of faith is the rule of prayer since liturgical acts bring a change in participants as they enter into a profound encounter with God in word and sacrament.21 Liturgical theology has a task of giving theological basis to the elucidation of worship and the entire Church’s liturgical tradition. II.1. LITURGICAL TRANSLATIONS AND INCULTURATION Liturgical translations constitute a typical example of inculturation, because they are directly analogous to the reality of the Incarnation since it does not merely serve the purpose of rendering intelligible a Latin prayer, but it constitutes the very voice of the Church at prayer.22 Also, just as the original texts were expressed using the best possible linguistic devices that constitute the “genius” of Latin, translated texts, correspondingly, ought to employ the properties of the target language. This is consistent with Pope John Paul II’s remarks that “Revelation is proclaimed satisfactorily and becomes fully understandable when Christ speaks the tongues of the It took place in Darkar-Senegal, December 4-8,2023, cf. First African Congress on Liturgy: Cardinal Cautions against “distorting Paschal mystery” (aciafrica.org) checked on Friday December 8, 2023. 20 Cf. M-R NGOZI Anibueze, “Africae Munus and African Cultural Values: Towards and African Liturgical Theology” in Africae Munus Ten years Later, M. A Agbaw-Ebai et ali (ed), St. Augustine’s Press, Indiana 2022, 67. 21 Cf. A. KAVANAGH, On Liturgical Theology, Pueblo Press, New York 1984, 77 22 Cf. PAUL VI, “Address to Participants in the Congress on Translations of Liturgical Texts”, 10 November 1965, in Documents of the Liturgy, Document 113, no. 787. 19 8 various peoples and they can read Scripture and sing the Liturgy in their own language with their own expressions.”23 The above observation brings to light some weaknesses of Liturgiam authenticam which very much affected the New Missal. The first is the stipulation of transliterating a Latin term when no exact vernacular term was available.24 This provision runs contrary to the practice that goes as far as the early Church, whereby, common words were rather adopted, and assigned new Christian meanings, which were in turn consolidated by repeated use and catechesis.25 Another weakness of the new translation principles is the insistence on the maintenance of the elements of Latin syntax (such as extended subordination) in liturgical translations.26 To this, one can only refer to recurrent papal teaching that says: While it is true that some cultures have been closely associated with the preaching of the Gospel and the development of Christian thought, the revealed message is not identified with any of them; its content is transcultural....Hence, it is not essential to impose a specific cultural form, no matter how beautiful or ancient it may be, together with the Gospel. We cannot demand that the peoples of every continent, in expressing their Christian faith, imitate modes of expression which European nations developed at a particular moment of their history, because the faith cannot be constricted to the limits of understanding and expression of any one culture.27 One can appreciate therefore the many liturgical translations of liturgical and scriptural texts in Africa today. There is the translation of the Bible into local languages, of prayers and also of the Mass with other sacraments with the accompanying lectionaries.28 There have recently been translations as well of the Holy Mass rite which make more meaning. Such translations are JOHN PAUL II, “Address to Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments”,in Newsletter NCCB Committee on the Liturgy (May 1996 Vol. XXXII, p. 18. 24 Cf. Liturgiam authenticam, n. 43 25 Cf. A. CHUPUNGCO, What then is Liturgy, Musings and Memoir, pp. 197-201. Here the author, borrowing from Mary Ellebracht’s study, “Remarks on the Vocabulary of the Ancient Orations in the Missale Romanum” (Utrecht, 1966), demonstrates that from the sixth to the eleventh century, the usages of several secular (and even pagan) words acquired specific Christian meanings, and became a part of the corpus of Latin words used in the Liturgy till date. Examples include altare, apostolus, celebrare, credere, familia, sacramentum and mysterium. 26 Cf. Ratio Translationis, n. 55. 27 FRANCIS, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 24 November 2013, no. 117-118. 28 In the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, the first transalations were done by the pioneer Bishop of English Cameroon into Pidgin English, the local language of communication. This translation is used even today. 23 9 hallmarks of liturgical inculturation: we have the example of the translation of the Mass rite to Igbo-Nigeria, to Lamnso-Cameroon and the Zairian rite. Pope Francis recently noted the Zairian rite as a model as well.29 The Pope called the Zairean Rite a “promising model” for the proposed Amazonian Rite and liturgical inculturation more broadly. II.2. LITURGY, FAITH AND CULTURAL DANCES In Africa, liturgical actions are expression of cultures. At the liturgy, shaking and movements of the body are parts of worship. But should liturgy be confined to dancing, shaking and moving body parts? One must already at the outset note that in African culture, dance is part and parcel of life and is featured in almost all celebrations, including weddings, funerals, traditional ceremonies, parties and as a form of play for children.30 There is an old adage that in African traditional cultures, music and dance is as much “a part of everyday life as eating and breathing.” Dance is used not only for entertainment but for different purposes that carry cultural symbolism. It is part and parcel of life and is featured in almost all celebrations, including weddings, traditional ceremonies, parties and as a form of play for children. Dance is said to recount history, convey emotion, celebrate rites of passage, and help to unify communities. It has therefore been said that “Dance is appreciated as a social occasion but is simultaneously enjoyed as an activity, entertaining and giving pleasure as an expression of communal life. Having this in mind, it makes sense that dancing was incorporated in worship when Christian practices, especially for the processions and teachings were adapted to African cultures. This has overtones of a theology of embodiment. Inculturation is said to be the incarnation of the gospel in native cultures and the introduction of these cultures into the life of the Church. Unlike in past centuries, evangelization pays due awareness to the cultural heritage of the people to whom the gospel is addressed. Paul VI recognized that the gospel must encounter and permeate a variety of cultures and cultures themselves need to be "regenerated by an encounter with the gospel… and 29 30 Cf. POPE FRANCIS: The Zaire Rite, a Model for the Amazon - PrayTellBlog, checked on December 7, 2023. Cf. Dance in African Christianity and Culture as Explained by an ASEC Sister, published February 16, 2023. 10 the building of the kingdom cannot avoid borrowing elements of human culture or cultures".31 Liturgical inculturation therefore incarnates the Gospel in the culture. Thus, with dancing being inseparable from the African cultural activities, it has therefore also been integrated in worship. Masses typically feature dancing among parts of worship such as Gloria and Thanksgiving. Dancing, a keystone of African culture, has become a keystone of African Christian culture as well. The Liturgical dances that we see and watch and perhaps enjoy during worship, must be enlightened by faith, and human needs to express faith in an embodied way. A dance during the liturgy should move the hearts to prayer and deeper reflection and not to entertain the praying congregation. Similarly, a cultural value that resist to be transformed and integrated into the Christian life cannot be trusted. liturgical dance without deep faith and knowledge of the Gospel can only turn into a theatrical performance. Inculturation is about living the life of the Gospel, letting the faith to transform the life of an individual and to allow Christianity and culture to dialogue.32 Faith brings out the good in the cultural values and this helps an individual to appreciate culture as a gift from God. II.3. SACRAMENTAL LIFE IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT Generally, a Christian community cannot fully be established without having her roots and center on the celebration of the Eucharist. From it flows the education to the spirit of community. Such a genuine Eucharistic celebration undoubtfully leads to charity and mutual assistance.33 These teachings of Vatican II are true of Africa; Sacramental life is tilted towards community, lived and celebrated in the community. African Theologian, Jean M. Ela holds that the Eucharist is at PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 20. Cf. LOUIS CHIKANYA, “Inculturation that goes beyond dance,” 16 June 2021, https://lilobgwearchdiocese.org/communications/inculturation-that-goes-beyond-dance, checked 11/15/2023. 33 VATICAN II, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 6. 31 32 11 the center of it as anywhere in the universal Church. The Church cannot exist without this sacramental respiration which culminates in the Eucharist.34 African Catholics are finding a balance between the Word and the Sacraments in their communities. The letter to the Hebrews presents Jesus as the ultimate Word of God (Hbr1:1-3). In him is the word of life (1 Jn1:1). This shows us how important is the Word of God in Christian life. The celebration of the Word puts us always in the context of the incarnation. In this sense the preaching of the Church is an act of Christ in her flesh. The act of Jesus Christ is made visible by the act of man (Cf. Lk10:16).35 It is this “sacramentality” of the Word that characterizes Small Christian Communities and which opens everyone to the teaching of the apostles. Sacramental life or celebration is considered very important from its effects in the community and not just limited to the individual because life in Africa is communitarian.36 In reference to the understanding of Eucharist in the African context J Healey notes: It is no accident that the abiding sign of the presence of Christ in the Christian community is a meal. In a meal people come together, renew their strength, and share not just food but also friendship. A meal is a sign of friendship. A meal is a sign of reconciliation and peace, of hope that God’s purpose in creation is being fulfilled.37 Thus sacraments have community effects in Africa and lived in that dimension. In Sacramental Theology, Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist are known as sacraments of initiation. In initiation the candidates are formed and introduced into the ways of the community within a sustained period of time, and they are opened to symbolic language in the community. They learn that community includes both spiritual and physical world, both the visible and the invisible Cf. J.-M. ELA, Repenser la théologie africaine, 269-270. Ibid., 70. 36 Cf. J. HEALEY − D. SYBERTZ, Towards an African Narrative Theology, Paulines Publications Africa, Nairobi 1996, 116. This idea is also expressed by B. HEARNE, Struggling For a New World, AMECEA Publications, Eldoret, Spearhead 129, 1993, 72-73. 37 Cf. J. HEALEY − D. SYBERTZ, Towards an African Narrative Theology, 257. 34 35 12 world.38 The communitarian nature of life and the communal effects of sin or misconduct require reconciliation as a communal act. Public offenses and sins some of which include adultery, murder, aggression, friction and tensions between families, theft and so on demand a public rite of cleansing and reconciliation. Moreover, reconciliation private or public, in the African context, some material things are exchanged or a have a meal as a symbol of reconciliation.39 II.4. THE LITURGY, INCULTURATION AND GESTURES Paul VI had urged Africans: “you can and must have an African Christianity. Indeed, you have human values and characteristic forms of culture…”40 Perhaps the liturgy is one of the areas that needs proper and deeper reflections in the themes of inculturation since it takes into consideration the songs and dance as well as gestures that communicate a meaning. Here, one can immediately think of the contribution brought into the liturgy by the Zairian rite. The liturgy is God-centered not self-centered. So too must inculturation be God-centered and communitycentered, for it is the community that experiences and expresses the relationship with God. Jesus is the measure of worship because he gave his life as an act of love of the Father in expiation of our sins and, at the same time, he opened to us the wellspring of mercy towards forgiveness. So, the liturgy, which is an act of worship in and through Jesus Christ, must be pleasing to God. What does this mean for inculturation? “It means that correct inculturation consists in subjecting our cultural values to the scrutiny of the Gospel, so that they are in tune with the revealed truths, and the Gospel becomes our culture.”41 In this light, “the use of liturgical music and gestures should be seen within the task of transforming-or possibly strengthening-human Cf. L. MAGESA, African Religion: The Moral Traditions of Abondant life, Orbis Books, Maryknoll. N.Y 1997, 94104. 39 Cf. L. MAGESA, Anatomy of Inculturation, 249. 40 PAUL VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, (December 8, 1975), n.63. 41 M. UWINEZE, “Inculturation in Africa: Challenges and Prospects” in Church Life-La civilita Cattolica, En. Ed. Vol. 4, January 7, 2020, 6. 38 13 cultural values so that they may be at the service of the Gospel.”42 Obviously, disciplinary questions must always be distinguished from doctrine, so that the two levels are not confused, which, moreover, must be part of the wider context of faith. Some gestures in the liturgy can easily lapse into religious entertainment or simply banal shows that do not contribute in any way to the understanding and penetration of faith in the lives of the faithful. On the one hand, there is no need to “manipulate” the liturgy by inserting gestures that have no real relevance to the comprehensive meaning of worship. On the other hand, dances, drumming and so on can be transformed into authentic and deeper ways in which our body becomes an expression of worship, as in the episode of David narrated in the Second Book of Samuel (cf. 2 Sam 6). III: IMPLICATIONS OF A LITURGICAL INCULTURATION FOR MISSION IN AFRICA Although we have been talking about liturgical inculturation, it has implications on other aspects of life. We shall look at the place of women, of children and the poison of tribalism with respect to African liturgies. III.1. LITURGY AND MISSION The time is now ripe for African Liturgies to be seen as great moments of encouraging the missionary mandate. Through an inculturated Liturgy, the African will identify, participate and internalize the content and message of the liturgical feast. It will more and more be seen as the duty of the community and not the onus of the celebrant alone. For this to happen, an inculturated liturgy must be “inside out” in that on the one hand, it is in the church assembled that God’s mission is constantly being accomplished in forming this community into a prophetic sign of God’s reign; on the other hand, liturgy needs always to be done with a missionary intent, “recognizing that the word proclaimed, the meal, shared, the vocation being celebrated, the reconciliation being offered 42 Ibid. 14 are moments of evangelization-for the evangelized and the unevangelized in the congregation alike.”43 The Liturgy becomes for all who celebrate a rite rehearsal for ministry. Indeed, says Simon Chan, “Eucharistic worship does not end in cozy fellowship, but in costly mission to the world.”44 The liturgy and the celebration of the sacraments challenge us. Bevans and Schroeder note that baptism is the sacrament par excellence of mission, and every baptismal liturgy is a prayer and a challenge for all Christians present to renew their own baptismal call. The Mission received at baptism is sealed by the Spirit in the sacrament of confirmation. The sacrament of reconciliation is not simply the forgiveness of sins done in the past but grace that is not retrospective but prospective, while those who marry or are ordained are invited to be signs of the love of God in the world; and the Eucharist transforms the church into mission that we can now say the church is mission.45 The liturgy must challenge the African’s search for power: how does the sacrificial love of the King of kings, lead Africans into a servant-leadership model in the search for power?46 This makes even the unchurched perceive the Church as nonpartisan nor sectarian but open to all yet firm in her belief and uncompromising in her values. III.2. WOMEN AND AFRICAN LITURGY The African woman keeps struggling for emancipation, yet hemmed by economic, political, cultural and traditional factors in a male chauvinistic society, in such a way that she finds herself time and again at the base. In a society marked by joblessness, “for marginalized girls and women, their only work tool is their bodies”.47 This is what for them means economic independence.48 Cameroonian Theologian Jean Marc Ela asks: How can Christians live their faith, their relationship S. BEVANS-R. SCHROEDER, Constants in Context,362. S. CHAN, “Mother Church: Toward a Pentecostal Ecclesiology” in S. Bevans-R. Schroeder, Constants in Context,362. 45 Cf. S. BEVANS-R. SCHROEDER, Constants in Context,363-364. 46 In many African countries we find leaders who rule with the love of power not the power of love and these often last long in authority, making the realities of Africa to hardly know positive change. 47 J.-M. ELA, African Cry, 92. 48 Ibid. 43 44 15 with God in isolation of these realities?49 The Liturgy can be a place to advocate values that are pro homine and fight for women and the girl-child. One must acknowledge that there are not very many texts in the lectionaries which particularly stand out, and could be included, which insist on the dignity of the girl child and women, yet the Bible gives us no shortage of examples. The Church’s approach to the situation of women was ambiguous. The Church opened schools and girls’ centres for the education and training of girls in view of their emancipation and local leadership. At the same time, some discriminatory practices could be identified in the Church’s missionary practices (Catholic or protestant) especially with regard to leadership roles.50 However, eventually more missionaries in the 20th century were women who worked with women, in a silent way that was later to be seen expressed in the capacity of women in leadership and a to bring about a generation of educated women who campaigned and worked for the emancipation of all women.51 The situation of women in marriage is still precarious. Matrimonial instability subjects children to the streets. Our faith is being put to the test in the face of these issues, unfortunately we are stricken by fear and even the strong themselves melt silently in one of the nearby series of bars.52 However, we must remember that women have not always taken this oppression in a docile manner. They sometimes seek liberation even in revolts. We could mention two examples here: The Aba women Riots in the Eastern part of Nigeria. This was against the taxation proposals. Then the Bamenda Anlu in the grass field of Cameroon which was a very violent form of women’s protest against colonial administrative changes in agricultural techniques.53 These two dramatic revolts took place where the Church was very much present and Ibid. Cf. B. SUNDKLER − C. STEED, A History of the Church in Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, 680. 51 Ibid. 52 Cf. Ibid. 53 Cf. B. SUNDKLER − C. STEED, A History of the Church in Africa, 280. 49 50 16 felt. In the Liturgy, the place of women can be highlighted through special feasts for women, functions and roles at various levels. Although the Common of virgins and religious has this overtone, much more could be done: would it not be thoughtful to reconcile the international Day of the Girl child, or Women’s day, or Mother’s day and so much more with Liturgical celebrations that bring this out? It will also be pastorally beautiful to set up in parishes Women’s Commission apart from what is already being done and this, like others is a plus. III.3. THE DIGNITY OF CHILDREN AND YOUTHS Young people and more so children make up more than one-third of the total African population. African liturgy cannot overlook this without negative repercussions. Pope Francis remarks that many children and young people today live in war zones and experience violence in countless different forms: kidnapping, extortion, organized crime, human trafficking, slavery and sexual exploitation, wartime rape, and so forth. Other young people, because of their faith, struggle to find their place in society and endure various kinds of persecution, even murder.54 The cases of the sex scandals and abuse of minors has been horrifying as well. This calls African Liturgical inculturation to give the children their space. Benedict XVI highlights: children are a gift of God to humanity, and they must be the object of particular concern on the part of their families, the Church, society and governments, for they are a source of hope and renewed life….how can we fail to deplore and forcefully denounce the intolerable treatment to which so many children in Africa are subjected?... It is our task to let Christ’s light shine in their lives by offering them his love, so that they can hear him say to them: “You are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you” (Is 43:4). God wants every child to be happy and to smile, and his favour rests upon them… Jesus always manifested his preferential love for the little ones (cf. Mk 10:13-16).55 African liturgy is joyful and children play no less an important part. Sharing her experience of the joy of children in the Liturgy and on the whole blend of the Novus Ordo and Traditional African elements, Rachel Zamarron notes: 54 55 Cf. POPE FRANCIS, Christus Vivit (25 March 2019),n. 71-74. BENEDICT XVI, Africae Munus, 65-68 17 They share their joy, the very elements that sustain life here, with their church community. Joy, so much joy — it is a key element in African worship. It draws you to question your own attitude when going to mass. The children form a group with elements of traditional dance done tastefully and appropriately for their culture. They process into the church in front of the priests and altar boys with incense and candles. The choir is vibrant complete with traditional drums and the organ. The congregation sings and sways along to all of the music. The joke about Catholics not knowing how to sing would be met with blank stares here.56 On December 8, 2023, Pope Francis announced “with joy” the World Day of Children to be celebrated for the first time by the Church on May 25-26, 2024. The idea of a Day entirely dedicated to the youngest among us had been proposed to the Pope in July by a child, 9-year-old Alessandro.57 In some parts of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda some parishes organize Holy Masses for youth and children. In the Diocese of Kumbo, in some parishes have started a special group for children called “Little Lambs of Jesus”. We also assisted in granting formation and activities for children between 7 to 12 years at the Diocesan Youth Camps and Rallies of Kumbo Diocese within 2021-2023. The main facilitators of these were the Sisters of St. Michael who have started a community in Kumbo Diocese.58 African inculturated liturgies will have to continue to highlight the children and youth in their own respect. III.4. AFRICAN LITURGY, CRISES AND THE PLACE OF RECONCILIATION Authentic liturgies embody the very expression/experience of communities in specific places within a given period. Liturgical inculturation must therefore take into consideration the war/crises socio-economic and political crises besetting Africa. The Eucharistic experience demands authentic witness on the part of those who celebrate this great mystery of the Chrisitan faith in the liturgy. The socio-communitarian demand of the Eucharist urges all Christians to R. ZAMARRON, in Joy, Tradition, African Culture in Liturgy| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com) (checked on December 6, 2023) 57 Cf. www.vaticannews.va, Pope Francis announces first World Day of Children - Vatican News on December 8, 2023. 58 This information is from us as we served as chaplain of the Federation of Catholic Youth Diocese of Kumbo, (cf. archives). The Archives of the office have them as well as contributions or funding from Rome, from the Pontificium Opus a Sancta Infantia helped to execute this idea. 56 18 transform hatred and violence into love and tolerance, to transform injustice and war into reconciliation, justice and peace. Benedict XVI purports, “The Christian life, nourished by the Eucharist, demands a responsible response of believing, proclaiming, celebrating and living out the Eucharistic exigencies in the world. And living out these Eucharistic exigencies begins with a well celebrated liturgy…”59 To Africans in particular, the Holy Father urges families “to draw inspiration and strength from the sacrament of the Eucharist, so as to live the radical newness brought by the Christ into the heart of everyday life, leading each person to a radiant witness in his or her working environment and the society.”60 The Holy Father emphasizes the need for reconciliation, justice and peace for an Africa troubled by wars and various forms of human denigration. During liturgical celebrations homilies and sermons are used to continue to educate, catechize and enlighten Christians and awaken their conscience about their civic responsibilities as well. Many Christians have not read Ecclesia in Africa nor Africae Munus, but they have surely encountered ministers who have read these and more. The need for homilies on reconciliation is urgent. Benedict XVI recommends the celebration in each African country on a yearly basis, “a day or week of reconciliation, especially during Advent or Lent”61 for this makes the liturgy a real school of spirituality, of communion through reconciliation. This helps the Christians to move harmoniously and not just a fruitless liturgy. Liturgy cannot simply stay away from the context in need of reconciliation in which it is celebrated. III.5. THE WATER OF BAPTISM VS THE BLOOD OF TRIBE It is often said in some African milieu that “blood is thicker than water” and that “the water of baptism is thicker than blood.” The first statement highlights the importance of one’s biological Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, 35 IDEM, Africae Munus, 44 61 Ibid 157. 59 60 19 family, tribe and community of origin and the second statement, however, presents the water of baptism which makes us be brothers and sisters even across the seas and mountains and creed. Looking at the current situation, one wonders if the water of baptism is no longer thicker than the blood of tribe? Has/Is tribalism not a silent killer ravaging a young African church? Does inculturation of the liturgy today not call for a change in this aspect? The topic of tribalism was a challenge identified by the Synod Fathers in 1994. They noted that within the borders left behind by the colonial powers, the co-existence of ethnic groups with different traditions, languages, and even religions often meet obstacles arising from serious mutual hostility. “Tribal oppositions at times endanger if not peace, at least the pursuit of the common good of society. They also create difficulties for the life of the Churches and the acceptance of Pastors from other ethnic groups.”62 From 2014-2016, 18 out of 54 nations in Africa were involved in open armed conflicts and wars (and in 2023 there are 16 countries in Africa, displacing over forty million people from these wars). And These do not involve various tribal wars and conflicts in different countries of Africa.63 In Africa, the sense of belonging and security is still very much felt within the tribe than in the State. As a result, tribalism is the cause of many conflicts within each country in Black Africa. The Bishops of Cameroon writing on tribalism in Cameroon identified it as a great cause of many internal crisis and economic hindrance. The Bishops point out that the roots of tribalism are cultural, economic, politics and religious.64 Tribalism goes ahead to increase corruption, conflict and violence. Conflicts and wars have produced serious effects, one of which is the phenomenon of abandoned children, crowding in cities and refugees camps.65 We must therefore handle this in JOHN PAUL II, Ecclesia in Africa 49. Cf. BRIGHT MOUNTAIN MEDIA, URL: http://warisboring.com/africa, last consulted 27 November 2023. 64 Cf. CENC, L’Enseignement Social des Eveques du Cameroun (1955-2005), 199. 65 Cf. J.-M. ELA, Conférence: Vers des Sociétés plus justes; Les défis de l’Afrique, 3. 62 63 20 our experience of faith in African realities.66 The conflicts are not only of arms, but that of cultures as well. CONCLUSION Ours in this journey has been the overarching endeavor to analyze liturgical inculturation with respect to mission in Africa today. We tried to show the African reality and postulated high areas of liturgical inculturation today. We went ahead to analyze the implications of liturgical inculturation. This work is far from being the end nor a conclusion. One will have to keep on the research as new patterns of thought arise and many questions and needs are left unanswered. Here, suffice us say that from the above, the liturgy can only positively transform the person who celebrates if it reaches him in his daily life- an urgent need for inculturation-for the entire Christian life needs to be inculturated so that it is transformed by the values of the Gospel in the light of the Paschal mystery. Inculturation should establish a continuity between Christianity and the African faith. This is a task, not an easy one but possible. It needs the effort of individuals, communities, local churches and universally. This entails an existential, real and incarnate encounter between Christ and the African culture. Liturgical inculturation is not about the creation of another faith, but a continuation of the effort to appreciate and safeguard the positive elements of African culture: it is very important that this continues, at a time when the intermingling of peoples, while a source of enrichment, often weakens cultures and societies. It is imperative therefore to make a commitment to transmit the values that the Creator has instilled in the hearts of Africans since the dawn of time. These have served as a matrix for fashioning societies marked by a degree of harmony, since they embody traditional formulae for peaceful coexistence. These positive elements therefore need to be emphasized, lit up from within so that Christians may truly receive the message of Christ, and in this way God’s light may shine before the eyes of all. But 66 Cf.EADEM, My Faith as an African, 117. 21 liturgical inculturation must foster reconciliation, justice and peace. This is the way it shall respond the to call by Pope Francis today, for a more synodal Church- called to mission, to communion and participation. BIBLIOGRAPHY ECCLESSIATICAL SOURCES VATICAN II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concillium December 4, 1963. PONTIFICAL BIBLICAL COMMISSION, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, 15 April 1993. JOHN PAUL II, POPE FRANCIS, Ecclesia in Africa, Post Synodal Exhortation, September 14,1995. Evangelii Gaudium, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, November 24, 2013. POPE FRANCIS, Christus Vivit,Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, March 25 2019 Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Apostolic Exhortation, December 8,1975. BENEDICT XVI, Africae Munus, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, November 19, 2011. Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, February 22, 2007. CENC, L’Enseignement Social des Eveques du Cameroun (1955-2005). BOOKS B. SUNDKLER − C. STEED, A History of the Church in Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004. DAVID BOSCH, Transforming Mission, Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, 20th century edition, Orbis Books, New York 2014. LAMINN SANNEH, Translating the Message, The missionary impact on Culture (revised), Orbis Books, New York 2009. ANSGAR CHUPONGO, Liturgies of the Future, The Process, and methods of Inculturation, Paulist Press, New York 1989. LAURETI MAGESA, Anatomy of Inculturation, Transforming the Church in Africa, Orbis Books, New York 2004. 22 FRANCIS OBORJI, AYLWARD Shorter, JOHN M. WALIGGO, M. AGBAW et K. FORBI, EMMANUEL MARTEY, K.C. ABRAHAM, ed., Towards African Missiology, Issues of New Language for African Christianity, vol.1, Xlibris Indiana, 2020. Towards a Theology of Inculturation, Orbis Book, New York 1992. Inculturation: its meaning and urgency, St. Paul’s publications, Kampala 1986. An African Perspective on the thought of Benedict XVI, St. Augustine’s Press, Indiana 2023. African Theology, Inculturation and Liberation, Orbis Books, New York 1996. Third World Theologies: Commonalities and Divergences, Orbis Books, New York 1990. MAURICE EBAI et ali, Africae Munus Ten years Later, St. Augustine’s Press, Indiana 2022. A. KAVANAGH, On Liturgical Theology, Pueblo Press, New York 1984. J. HEALEY − D. SYBERTZ, Towards an African Narrative Theology, Paulines Publications Africa, Nairobi 1996. African Religion: The Moral Traditions of Abundant Life, Orbis Books, Maryknoll. N.Y 1997. LAURETI MAGESA, JEAN MARC. ELA, African Cry, Wipf and Stock Publisher, 2005. _____________, Repenser la théologie Africaine, Karthala editeur, 2003. INTERNET SOURCES First African Congress on Liturgy: Cardinal Cautions against “distorting Paschal mystery” (aciafrica.org) checked on Friday December 8, 2023. Pope Francis: The Zaire Rite, a Model for the Amazon - PrayTellBlog, checked on December 7, 2023. Dance in African Christianity and Culture as Explained by an ASEC Sister, published February 16, 2023. Louis Chikanya, “Inculturation that goes beyond dance,” 16 June 2021, https://lilobgwearchdiocese.org/communications/inculturation-that-goes-beyond-dance, checked 11/15/2023. R. ZAMARRON, in Joy, Tradition, African Culture in Liturgy| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com) checked on December 6, 2023 www.vaticannews.va, Pope Francis announces first World Day of Children - Vatican News on December 8, 23 Bright Mountain Media, URL: http://warisboring.com/africa, last consulted 27 November 2023. 24