Salvation and Tradition: Configurations of Faith in a Time of Death

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between faith and AIDS in western Kenya by looking at two sets of beliefs and practices: Christian salvation and Luo traditionalism. Many of the debates and conflicts about AIDS and its meanings among Luo people are shaped by people's commitment to these very different faiths. While AIDS is exacerbating tensions between these ways of being and doing, the need to regenerate life and growth after death is also leading to negotiations between saved and traditional pathways. I approach these issues through the controversial subject of widow guardianship or 'inheritance' .

“She mixes her business”: HIV transmission and acquisition risks among female migrants in western Kenya

“…Western Kenya, the homeland of the Luo, has been deeply affected by high mortality due to AIDS. The epidemic has deeply shaped arguments among Luo people about faith and beliefs, engendering a scrutiny of cultural practices (Prince, 2007), especially that of widow guardianship or “inheritance,” in which a widow must sleep with another man in order to “cleanse” the death of her husband and ensure future familial well-being and growth. Among traditionalists, widow inheritance is a sacred practice, ensuring the regeneration of communities (Prince, 2007), and it has also functioned as a means of retaining children within the patrilineage and ensuring the community’s support and protection of widows and surviving children (Potash, 1986).…”

“…The epidemic has deeply shaped arguments among Luo people about faith and beliefs, engendering a scrutiny of cultural practices (Prince, 2007), especially that of widow guardianship or “inheritance,” in which a widow must sleep with another man in order to “cleanse” the death of her husband and ensure future familial well-being and growth. Among traditionalists, widow inheritance is a sacred practice, ensuring the regeneration of communities (Prince, 2007), and it has also functioned as a means of retaining children within the patrilineage and ensuring the community’s support and protection of widows and surviving children (Potash, 1986). For others, in particular “saved” or “born-again” Christians, widow inheritance is viewed as a “backward” or “heathen” practice that is counter to Christian sensibilities (Prince, 2007), and a major cause of the spread of HIV.…”

‘The Testimony Must Begin in the Home’: The Life of Salvation and the Remaking of Homes in the East African Revival in Southern Uganda, c. 1930-1955

“…48 Nor was the deceased man's son planning on sending away his wife, as he could have done according to some Hima customs. After pointing out these differences to those present at the service, the son of the deceased man highlighted the juxtaposition, exclaiming, 'But look at us, we are joining hands and praising God' (Prince 2007). 49 Like others in East Africa, Balokole Hima in Ankole were looking for ways to secure domestic and marital harmony in an era of flux, uncertainty, and disruption.…”

Catholic and Non-Catholic NGOs Fighting HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…The devastation of AIDS 'expresses a confusion of relations, a lack of continuity with the past, and a loss of moral direction.' 69 Hansjörg Dilger reports that Tanzanians regard AIDS as a 'bad disease' in part because of its impact on whole families and the broader society. Tanzanians' responses to this crisis have often been spiritual, turning to traditional or other religious leaders and generating new rituals associated with death and burial.…”