Converts and Tradition: The Impact of Christianity on Valley Tonga Religion

Abstract

Ethnographic data on Valley Tonga of Gwembe District, Zambia, are examined for the light they shed on conditions appropriate to the development of revitalization movements. From 1957 through 1963 the majority of Valley Tonga went through a series of disrupting experiences sparked by external events which demonstrated their vulnerability to foreign control. Old communities were broken up by resettlement, their familiar environment was destroyed by a hydroelectric dam, and the political assumptions of their order were outmoded by the ending of the colonial era. It was a time of crisis but the majority of people did not respond with anything comparable to a revitalization movement. In one neighborhood a strong religious zeal associated with Christianity did appear in 1962, shortly after the African victory at the polls brought European power to an end. This movement is examined in terms of its membership, ideology, and impact upon the community. Its highly selective appeal and the content of its message are evidence that the significant factors in its development were local, and that it was a revolt against the domination of the elders rather than a response to a general crisis.

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