FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

terms, but 'in terms of their own African religions understanding and background'
(Bediako 1995:119). The women's question shows us what Bediako (1995:175) calls
'the living forces ofthe primal imagination [being] perpetuated and carried forward into
Christian usage.' It was not just a matter of wanting to be 'like our Presbyterian
friends,' but what does the new faith say about puberty, about the pre-Christian rituals
and the meanings behind those rituals? It was genuine concern of a people who are
seeking to be both true Africans and true Christians. The women were looking for what
Walls (1996:91) calls a 'key to conduct' from the new faith. Gospel and culture
encounter is a missiological and theological concern. Failure to provide an adequate
interpretation of the event (puberty), namely the rites and their meanings, also contrib­
utes to a spiritual vacuum in people's lives. The missionaries failed to understand the
question from a theological and cross-cultural point of view, hence were unable to
engage adequately the Gospel they were transmitting with the crucial cultural issues.
Oduyoye (1992:9) rightly remarks: 'Most Westerners lack an understanding of the im­
portance ofAfrican religion as an integral part ofAfrican culture and life.'
As the Christian alternative is inadequate to meet the needs ofthe Chewa people, I sug­
gest that the Christian ritual be improved to maintain the traditional ritual framework
but with Christian content and meaning. Similarly, the booklet should be revised and
used only as a training manual for the alangizi. The booklet should not be used at all by
the alangizi during the ceremony. The content should contain biblical teaching that re­
interprets chinamwali. These suggestions are developed in the last chapter. Failure to
adequately respond to the traditional Chewa initiation rite also affects the performance
ofchilangizo as discussed below.
6.7 DOES THE REALITY MATCH THE 'THEORY?'
In order to discover if the reality matches the 'theory,' we need to look at whether the
performance of the three ceremonies fully relates to the ritual and the prescribed book­
let.
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