Tabona Shoko - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Tabona Shoko

Chiedza (Harare, Zimbabwe), 2009

Africa Theological Journal, 2007

Theological Studies/Teologiese Studies, Nov 25, 2020

shrine has undermined the degree of piety amongst Zimbabwe's Christian populace. As the article p... more shrine has undermined the degree of piety amongst Zimbabwe's Christian populace. As the article probes deeper, parallel practices within the African (particularly Shona) traditional religion and spirituality, Old and New Testaments as well as the tried and tested tradition of the Christian Church shall also be explored and critically examined. Contribution: This article contributes to the ongoing debates on shrines as fetish and sacred spaces of 'worship' and reconnoitre, (re)appropriating pilgrimage as religious discourse, memory and the fulcrum of religious tourism. Pilgrimages to African shrines will also help us understand religious syncretism in Africa and the world over.

This article seeks to explore the Komba traditional rites practised by the VaRemba people of the ... more This article seeks to explore the Komba traditional rites practised by the VaRemba people of the Shona-Karanga ethnic group in Zimbabwe. The "Komba rite" is intended to move a mature girl (mhandra) from the state of girlhood to that of womanhood. It is also meant to initiate vashenji (uncircumcised non-VaRemba) women who marry VaRemba men into their female traditions and customs. While Christianity despised this rite as "paganism" and not acceptable to its faith, the VaRemba Christians practise it in good faith. This article will therefore explore the relationship of the Komba ritual to some Catholic Church sacraments. It will attempt to address the problem of whether the rite can be accommodated into Catholic sacraments such as baptism, confirmation and matrimony, and argues for the possible inculturation of the Komba rite.

Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 2021

Purpose: The use of herbal remedies is gradually increasing worldwide and Zimbabwe is not left be... more Purpose: The use of herbal remedies is gradually increasing worldwide and Zimbabwe is not left behind. This study therefore sought to explore the forces behind the use of herbs during pregnancy by Zimbabwean women. Materials and methods: A qualitative approach was chosen using the case study design to evaluate the forces. The study was carried out at three maternity hospitals in Gweru. Thirty (30) women who used herbs during pregnancy were purposefully samples and interviewed using a structured interview schedule. The date was analyzed thematically. Results: It was noted that culture and belief system, previous experience as well as significant people in the woman's life were the forces behind the use of herbs in pregnancy. Conclusion: The study concluded that these forces promoted the indiscriminate use of herbs which are passed from mother to daughter without considering the safety of the herbs to the mother and baby. Therefore, more research is needed to analyze the safety of these herbs to ensure that the mother and baby are safe.

Health and religion are closely linked. Scholars in Medicine, Social Studies and Missiology have ... more Health and religion are closely linked. Scholars in Medicine, Social Studies and Missiology have paid a great deal of attention to African health systems. AICs in Southern Africa have studied, in particular, the relationship between Christian healing and traditional healing. Pioneer studies of these religious movements by Sundkler (1961:238-239) depict AICs as custodians of traditional culture. Seen as the revitalisation of African culture in the disguise of Christianity, they are also perceived as "bridges back to paganism" (Kealotswe 2005:1). Daneel describes this form of syncretism as transformation of "old and new" in Zionist Churches in Zimbabwe. To date, discussion has been centred on the influence of the traditional worldview to the exclusion of charismatic forms of African Christianity. This essay tries to fill this gap by exploring the relationship between the African traditional religion and Christianity by examining the aetiologies of illness and healing in a particular African independent church; the approach used is an alternative approach, phenomenology. The essay tests the contention that independent churches are not only influenced by traditional worldviews, but also integrate charismatic forms of Christianity.

Tabona Shoko is the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, University of Zimbabwe. This is... more Tabona Shoko is the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, University of Zimbabwe. This is a phenomenological case study of the ethnography and religion of his own people, the Karanga communities located near Mberengwa district of Zimbabwe's Shona ethnic group. The limit of the scope constrains any large conclusion. Shoko examines the pragmatic nature of an indigenous religion in which health and healing are central. How do the Karanga explain the causes of, diagnose, and treat illnesses and social ruptures? Th e concept of health includes how the ancestors, spiritual forces, and, as in other African cosmologies, the host of spirits that abound in the universe protect, empower, and revitalize the physical, social, and spiritual well-being of the community. Rooted in indigenous religion, the Karanaga notion of health includes totems besides ancestral spirits (vadzimu), because the capricious ancestral midzimu provide health and wealth as well as drought, plague, and misfortune. Appendix A and Table IV provide helpful lists of the various explanations for diverse diseases among the Karanga. Shoko uses a case study of an African Instituted Church, St Elijah Chikoro Chomweya, to argue that the indigenous perception of health and healing practices have persisted into contemporary Christian forms. In Karanga, the n'anga is still a key local personality. Christians imitate his use of herbs, divination, and exorcism. With a detailed ethnography attentive to gender and political structure, he traces the changes catalyzed by colonialism and modernity and the resilience of indigenous culture in the modern public space. Since Mberengwa is an area with low, erratic rainfall and frequent droughts, a powerful Mwari cult provides identity, fertility, rainmaking, and oracular functions. Th e key ones that feature in the healing and deliverance rites are mashavi alien spirits, ngozi angry spirits, mhodoro lion spirit, and witchcraft spirits such as zvidhoma and zvitokorochi, and ghosts such as magoritoto, bvuri, and zvipoko. Since disease is believed to be caused by spirits, witchcraft, and sorcery, as well as socio-moral and natural causes, Shoko describes how each force operates and discusses how the ritual antidote is diagnosed through spirit possession, dice, calabash, and dreams. Healing is rightly presented in broad terms, involving rites of passage, communal rites for protecting the land, rain-making, appeasing off ended spirits and human beings, ingesting curative herbs, exorcism, implanting powerful medicinal into human bodies, extracting objects, and other preventive and protective rituals of purity. Th e second part of the book focuses on Christianity as an agent of religious change. Th e cursory story of the mission churches focuses on the Lutherans and Roman Catholics because the other denominations were insignifi cant. Th e two churches opened hospitals and schools and supported the war of liberation but failed to attract loyalty. Th e Karanga preferred the African indigenous churches (AICs), especially Bishop Samuel Mutendi's Zion Christian Church and the African Apostolic Church of Johane Marange. Schism may be rife among them but they accept the validity of the indigenous worldview in their explanation of and response to illness. Shoko argues that Christianity is an extension of the pervasive indigenous religion in symbiotic relationship. Th is part of the book is marred by a long-winded historiography of new religious movements that could have been focused on the key data from Zimbabwe by David Maxwell, Inus Daneel, and H. W. Turner's typology.

The Land Reform program has attracted the attention of many a commentator and has elicited a mult... more The Land Reform program has attracted the attention of many a commentator and has elicited a multiplicity of interpretations, some of which are mutually exclusive of each other. It is however not an overstatement to say that by and large, the exercise has been politicised, that is, those who have either justified or criticised the program have done so on political and economic grounds. The relationship between land and indigenous religion has not been sufficiently developed. This paper seeks to explore this relationship through activities of reburial of fallen heroes spearheaded by war veterans 2 in Zimbabwe. It argues that reburial activities reflect Zimbabwe's appropriation of religion into political discourse. 'Stay with us...and constitute a nation based on national Unity', Online

Journal of traditional medicine & clinical naturopathy, 2018

Jo u r n a l o f Tradi ti o n a l M ed icin e & C li n ic al Na tu ro p a th y

Journal of Homosexuality, Apr 30, 2010

Politicians call them the &amp;amp;amp;quot;festering finger,&amp;amp;amp;quot; e... more Politicians call them the &amp;amp;amp;quot;festering finger,&amp;amp;amp;quot; endangering the body of the nation; churchmen say God wants them dead; the courts send them to jail. Zimbabwe has declared that it will not tolerate homosexuality. Gays and lesbians feel persecuted and their rights are undermined. The controversy that was ignited in 1997 when the Zimbabwean government forced the closure of a fair booth by Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair continues to echo. At issue are fundamental questions of the scope of human rights protection in Zimbabwe and other African countries (BBC News, 1998). Such issues have sparked endless debates on homosexuality in religion, politics, and other forums. This article seeks to explore the attitudes of both traditional Shona culture and Christian sectors in Zimbabwe. The goal is to find out if the practice is rooted in Shona tradition or if it can be seen as a new phenomenon emanating from Western political and Judeo-Christian influences on Zimbabwe. The article argues that the Zimbabwean attitudes toward homosexuality combine Christian and traditional morality. Finally, the article will discuss how Christian churches and traditional Shona culture come to terms with homosexual practice today.

Alternation, Dec 1, 2020

The hyperinflationary whirlwind that has gripped Zimbabwe since 2000 has seen a sharp decline in ... more The hyperinflationary whirlwind that has gripped Zimbabwe since 2000 has seen a sharp decline in bio-medical facilities and the resurgence of traditional and faith healers. As a result, a number of people have fallen prey to fake traditional healers and prophets. Most of these practitioners have made off with people's money. The law has been so compromised through corruption and negligence, such that most of the fraudsters have escaped without prosecution. While we acknowledge that some of these healers and prophets are genuine and do assist people, there are others who are only there to fleece ignorant people. The recourse to gullible means by the traditional healers and their clients has been exacerbated by exorbitant fees charged by some unscrupulous health practitioners in hospitals. This has resulted in the sprouting of traditional herbal practitioners at a number of public places in the streets. The motive by the clients has been to seek alternative health services that they regard as cheaper and affordable. However, the clients have ended up being vulnerable to duping by some fake traditional healers. This paper seeks to explore the phenomenon of traditional herbal practitioners under the banner of traditional medicine in Zimbabwe. Based on empirical data, the paper argues that both the herbal vendors and their clients are gullible in the use of traditional medicine in Harare, Zimbabwe. The traditional healers are but fake practitioners, shrewd and cunning business entrepreneurs who fleece innocent people of their income in a depressed economic environment in Harare.

Studies on Ethno-Medicine, Aug 1, 2010

Sixty at risk of coronary heart disease subjects in the age group of 40-60 years were selected fr... more Sixty at risk of coronary heart disease subjects in the age group of 40-60 years were selected from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The subjects were equally divided into three groups i.e. E 1, E 2 and C respectively. Flaxseed in powdered form was supplemented at the levels of 5 and 10 g to E 1 and E 2 groups respectively for a period of two months, while C group was not supplemented. The effects of flaxseed powder were studied on nutrient and hematological profile of the subjects. After the supplementation, significant (p<0.05) decrease in the energy intake was reported in E 2 group while protein intake significantly (p<0.05) increased in E 2 group and total fat intake reduced significantly (p<0.05) in all three groups. Decrease in energy intake could be due to flaxseed supplementation which is good source of soluble fibre thus gives feeling of fullness and reduced the food intake which ultimately decreased the energy intake. The mean intake of vitamin B 2 , B 3 and vitamin C decreased in all the three groups, though it was nonsignificant. Further, an increase in haemoglobin was reported in experimental groups which could be due to presence of protein, copper, folic acid and vitamin B 6 in flaxseed which helped in hemopoesis and thus improved iron status.