Suchergebnisse

The majority opinion of those who have contributed to the literature on conversion in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that Islam has been more 'successful' than Christianity in attracting the faithful. The standard inventory of explanations for this state of affairs include the following: first, it has been commonly noted, Islam has proved to be more compatible than Christianity with indigenous customs, cosmology, and morality. A second point that has been argued with some consistency (though evidencing not a small measure of ethno-centric bias) is that 'it is easier for the African to govern himself by the few rules set forth by Mohammedanism…than…by the all-embracing stringent laws of Christianity'. A third, more encompassing stance, implies that conversion to Islam can be accounted for sociologically, 'while the acceptance of Christianity involves the recognition of divine truth', in which case a similar line of analysis is uncalled for. Thus, according to William Arens, a thorough review of the voluminous literature indicates that there is an 'ideological flavour' in much of what is accepted as objective and authoritative material on this topic, and that a more balanced understanding of the facts could be realised if greater attention was given to the study of the social context of evangelical Christianity in Black Africa.

The pastoral Nilotic-speaking peoples of the Southern Sudan have been observed by missionaries, merchants, and casual travellers for more than a century. Significant advances in social theory have been formulated on the basis of Nilotic ethnography. In the light of the voluminous literature recorded by these and other authorities, it may now be of value to draw into clearer relief the nature of the status and authority of the women in these 'traditional' societies, which are increasingly drawn into and irrevocably changed by exogenous sources.

The SS & authority of Nilotic Fs in the southern Sudan are examined. In early accounts of African travel, they were stereotyped as animal-like & physically & socially inferior. British colonialism reinforced this image of women's chattel status. In Nilotic mythology, however, women figure prominently as the source of human existence. Similar values are apparent in the Nilotic focus on Fs & childbirth in marriages, the respect shown for a wife's given name, & the practice of polygamy as a means of maximizing F interests. It is argued that Nilotic women have considerable power & freedom in growing up, marrying, sexual activity, reproduction, DofL, & property control; they are equal citizens & in their culture age, not sex, determines authority. J. Cannon.