Prophètes, Missionnaires et Mariages au Kenya

Abstract

Comment être chrétien, demeurer Kikuyu et se reproduire légitimement ? En se penchant sur le cas des Eglises prophétiques akurinu au Kenya, cet article retrace les étapes du mariage akurinu afi n d'en comprendre les enjeux individuels, moraux et sociaux. Le mariage akurinu est analysé comme un nouvel ensemble de règles, organisé et géré par la communauté religieuse. Un des points les plus remarquables est que les frais des cérémonies de mariage n'incombent plus aux familles des époux, ce qui introduit un bouleversement fondamental dans la structure sociale kikuyu, et permet de considérer les Eglises prophétiques comme des groupes qui répondent aux changements sociaux de la société urbaine en cours au Kenya. De plus, l'espoir de trouver un conjoint demeure une des raisons de la conversion à ce type de communauté. AbstractHow can one be Christian whilst remaining Kikuyu and reproduce in a socially legitimate manner? Focusing on akurinu Prophetic Churches in Kenya, this article analyses the diff erent stages of akurinu marriage in order to understand its individual, moral and social meanings. Akurinu marriage is seen as a new set of rules, organised and managed by the religious community. One of its most striking features is that the wedding is not paid for by the families of the husband and wife. Th is is an important change in the social structure of the Kikuyu and it shows that Prophetic Churches can be seen as groups which adapt to social change within Kenyan urban society. Moreover, the hope of fi nding a spouse is one of the reasons for changing to this type of religious community. God has done the work.Martha M., Nairobi, mars 1998 1) Je tiens à remercier les personnes interrogées des diff érentes Eglises akurinu ainsi que l'Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique de Nairobi pour le fi nancement de la recherche.

Religious tribalism, local morality and violence in Christian Kenya

“…This began to change under British colonialism, with the sporadic eruptions of religiously motivated violence led by neotraditional movements. 3 We may consider, for example, the Akorino movements, whose birth at the beginning of the 1930s was accompanied by episodes of millenarian prophecy (Morovich 1997(Morovich , 2008. However, the most significant intertwinement of religion and politics in colonial Kenya emerged during the Mau Mau civil and anticolonial war.…”