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HerbertM
oyo
Priestly Office/S
pirit Mediums /P
astoral
Care
1Introduction
The Priestly Office, the concept of Spirit Mediums and the practice of Pastoral Care
have contextual spiritualizedmeaning and relevance among the Ndebele people of
Matabo in Zimbabwe. Matabo is an areainthe MidlandsprovinceofZimbabwebor-
dering Matabeleland South Province(Moyo2019,114 –124). In Matabo, mainlyamong
the Ndebele people the functional understandingofthe PriestlyOffice is synony-
mous with the traditional understandingofthe role of spirit mediums who give an-
swers to challenges beyond human comprehension. Spiritmediums are caregivers to
individuals and communities in response to thatwhich is mainlyspiritual and mys-
terious to normalhuman beings. In the mind-set of one with atraditionalunder-
standing of aperson called by God as apriest, then the priestly office becomes an
avenue for caregiving to people on issues beyond human comprehension. To fully
understand the characteristics of an ideal pastoral caregiver(the priest)inMatabo
one needstounderstand the traditional understanding of aspirit medium and San-
gomas¹among the Ndebele.The term ‘priest’is not popularinmyarea of research,
people use the word Umfundisi. Umfundisi is aNdebele worddirectlytranslatedto
mean ‘the teacher’.InMatabo the English reference to Umfundisi,isPastor.The
Priestlyoffice in this chapter willbeinterchangeablyreferred to as pastoral office
or Umfundisi. It is alsocommon for people to refer to mainline church (Lutherans,
Seventh DayAdventists, Church of Christ,and Brethren in Christ) ministers as priests
or Reverends (commonlyshortened to Rev) while ministers from other ministries²
(Victory Fellowship, OasisofLife, Assemblies of God and Living Waters)are referred
to as pastors.However,both groups are referred to as Umfundisi in isiNdebele. This
chapter seeks to explore and expose the popular understanding of the role of the
pastoral office amongst the Ndebele which explains the appetitefor miracle working
pastors popularlyknown as ‘manofGod’.³Thischapter is aresult of an ongoing re-
search project on how miracle healingattracts people and seemingly people do not
Isangoma is also referred to as Isanuse. Both words refertoone with spiritual powers to see beyond
human comprehension. One whocan operateand communicateatthe spiritual realm.
Ministries refers to new churches beingformed across Southern Africa who arefilled with the Holy
Spirit.They conduct their services mainlyintents. The majority of their membershipare people who
aretransferringfrommainline churches or those whoworship in mainline churches and then visit the
ministries for spiritual based solutions to challenges.
At present we do not have what people popularlycall ‘the woman of God’for female pastors or and
priests.
OpenAccess. ©2022HerbertMoyo, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the
Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110618150-035
question the instructionsb
yp
astors leadingt
od
rinking of petrol, eating snakes,e
at-
ing grass and manyo
therb
ehaviours that people would not do under ‘normal’cir-
cumstances. What is it thatmakes people from all social levels of society accept in-
structionsfrom pastors without questioning?Why do people seemingly shelve their
rationality when dealing with pastors mainlyfrom new church movements popularly
known as ‘Ministries’?This ongoing studystarted in 2017 in Matabo and surrounding
areas.Ihave gathered data so far from 31 churchleaders and 217church members.
Preliminary findingsindicate that, at aconceptual level, amongst the Ndebele,there
is no separation between Christianity and TraditionalAfrican Religions,people of
Matabo prefer a ‘man of God’with power.This means apriest who is overtlyfilled
with the HolySpirit and can act like aspirit medium or a Sangoma of the people
by tellingand foretelling people’sneedsand expectations.The Ndebele will flock
to pastors who expresstheir Christianity using African conceptsofspirits and salva-
tion from present afflictions such as misfortune, poverty,sickness, and spiritual at-
tacks. Thepriest must demonstrate amandla (power). Pastors then demonstrate
power through such acts as spraying people with insecticides, raising the dead, of-
fering portions for luck, speaking in tongues, talking directlytoJesus to getimmedi-
ate answers for the congregants, anointing with oil, deliverance sessions, praise wor-
ship, healing crusades, fasting and prayers, visions and prophecies that respond to
the everydayneeds of Africans.
In Matabo, Ihaveobserved and confirmedthrough interviews and informal dis-
cussions thatinmost cases pastors thatare overtlyfilled with the HolySpirit are rel-
evant to the socio-spiritual needs of the Ndebele than pastors thatare not filled with
the HolySpirit.Pastors from mainline churches or traditional churches such as the
Lutheran Church, Seventh DayAdventists Church, Brethren in Christ,and Church of
Christ are viewed as not filled with the HolySpirit.Mainline church pastors are gen-
eral viewed as divorced from the spiritual existential needsoftheirmembers. Mem-
bers of these churches do come to their churches for anormalSundayorSaturday
service, but when they meet spirit related pastoral needs, they visit the pastors of
the Ministries that are filled with the HolySpirit.Ifact amongst the Ndebele,all
of life’sneedshaveaspiritual dimension hence the argument by Clement Osunwo-
keh (2014, 166)⁴that “[r]eligion indeed makes atremendous impact on the social,po-
litical and economic life of the Africans.”The spiritual dimension is central in decid-
ing which pastors to go to in times of need.Somechurches do not have the spirit.For
example, about 133ofmyparticipants concurred that there is no HolySpirit in the
Lutheran Church. Participants in this research project who know that Iamapastor
openlytold me thatthere is no spiritual healingfrom the Lutheran churchbecause
ClementOsunwokehwrites from aNigerian perspective.Interestingly,though Nigeria and Zim-
babweare miles apart,the understandingofthe position of apriest is related. African Traditional
religious understandingoftraditional priests/priestess contributestohow society perceivesaChris-
tian priest.
458 Herbert Moyo
the pastors of the Lutheran churchd
on
ot have the HolyS
pirit. They said thatL
uther-
an pastors and those of other mainlinec
hurches ‘are dry’.
This chapter willstart by expositing the Ndebele people of Matabo and theircon-
text.This will be followed by an exposition of the characteristics of aspirit medium.
The spirit medium phenomenon willbeused as atheoretical frame of reference for
the Ndebele’sunderstanding of the priestlyoffice.The chapter will go on to explain
the behaviour of performing miracles by the church ministriesincontemporary Mat-
abo and the reasons for the behaviour of both the priests and the recipients of the
services of priests. The chapter also demonstrates the concept of priestlydignity in
the worldview of the Ndebele people of Matabo. The chapter concludes by pointing
to the type of priest thatisideal for the people of Matabo.
2The Ndebele People of Mataboand their Context
The Ndebele people of Zimbabweare in the majority descendants of Zulus who trav-
elled northwardsfrom South Africa in the nineteenth century.Theybelong to the big-
gergroup of the Nguni tribes, which includes groups such as the Zulu, the Xhosa, and
the Swati. In 1823,Chief Mzilikazi Khumalo had aconflict with King Shaka Zulu over
the spoils of warinKwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. As aresult, Mzilikazi travelled
north with his regiment and their families. EventuallyMzilikazi settled in Zimbabwe,
becomingthe king of the Ndebele. The name ‘Ndebele’comes from the Sotho people
who called them ‘Matabele’,which means ‘people of the shields’,inreference to the
shields of war that these Zulus carried. As these Zulus travelled northwards,their vo-
cabulary became richer (or polluted) by picking words from the tribes with which
they interacted. Therefore, the Ndebele of Zimbabwespeak what some people
would call corrupted Zulu. Ndebele has more vocabulary than contemporary Zulu.
Some Ndebele people do belong to the church, and they respect church-based
rituals such as baptisms, funerals and marriages. However,when the Ndebele
meet challenges, they do seek for pastoralcare from Priests. FormanyChristians,
pastoral care is viewed as an important aspect when one meets challenges in life,
but it is not the onlyway.Atnight congregants can go to other faith-based healers
such as pastors from other denominations (especialthe newer charismatic healing
ministries) and traditionalspirit mediums including sangomas (King 2012). In a
way, they will still be seeking for spiritual pastoral care, onlythat it will be away
from their denomination.
Pastoral care is related to the works of ashepherd to aflock (Louw1998, 21). Ac-
cording to Patton (2005,107), “pastoralcare is part of practical theologywhich focus-
es on pastoral practices”on human events as they make sense of their context.Pat-
ton further argues thatinthe ministry of pastoral care, people care for each other
because they are aware that God cares for them all in their givencontext (Patton
2005,107). Pastoral care is the central role of Priests in Matabo in bothChristianity
and African TraditionalReligions.
Priestly Office/Spirit Mediums /Pastoral Care 459
Besides pastoral care from the church,t
he Ndebele people as religious beings
find it difficult to make ad
istinction between their Ndebele culture and African Tra-
ditional Religion(s). The Ndebele are religious beingsi
nt
hatr
eligion permeates one’s
life from the womb until life after death (Moyo2
019,1
15). There is no life outside the
influenceo
fr
eligion. Religion “is the total traditional world view with all the values
and beliefs”(Moyo2019,115). In most cases religion means the presenceand the in-
fluenceofGod, ancestors, and the spirit world. Forthe Ndebele it is difficult to pick
out behavioural patterns in which aNdebele person can then saythis is culture and
this other one is religion. In fact,what we have is ahuman being living their life in a
particularway thatmakes them who they are. It is then up to those interested in cat-
egorising issues to saythis is religion and this other is culture. Thisculturalway of
living cultureand religion does not need to convert or proselytise, one is conceived
and born into the religion (Bozongwana 1983). It does not wait for aperson to grow
up so that they can learn how to read about the religion from some kind of ‘Holy
Book’;its strength is thatitisalivedreligion.
The Ndebele cosmology is composed of both visibleand invisiblespirit beings
which have influenceonliving human beingswhich are appeased using rituals
and living life accordingtoacceptable social norms and values, which can be de-
scribed as aculturalway of life or religious wayoflife of good relationships (Bozong-
wana 1983). The life of the Ndebele resonates with argument of Mbiti,that human life
is composedoflife forces that people constantlyinteract with influencingthe course
of human life for good and for evil (Mbiti 1970). In the Ndebele worldview,the un-
born, the living-living and the living-dead are all part of the constellation of the living
spirits (Moyo2019,116). AKenyan scholar,Ndeti, argues that the community “ex-
tends beyond the living members of the clan and tribe. It incorporatesthose who
have died and those who are yetunborn. […][The individual] is aphysical represen-
tative of the dead, living and unborn. Thus [the individual] is acommunity incorpo-
rating three principles –life, spirit,and immortality”(Ndeti 1972, 114).
Life amongst the Ndebele is highlyrooted in this kind of cosmology and world-
view,making it very difficult to separate culturefrom religion and God. Laleye(1981)
is of the view that the African traditional cosmology is dynamic. It recognises and
integratesthe duality of the mind and body, magic and rationality, order and disor-
der,negative and positive powers,and individual and communal consciousness.
Familyrelationships,communal relationships and relationships with strangers are
part of the religious observances to continual appease the spirit world. When things
do not work out in life one is forced to seek an understanding of their relationship
with the spirit world. This understanding of God and ancestors borders around the-
ologyofretribution. God and ancestors are happy,and they bless those who relate
well to others and the environment.Onthe contrary thosewho do not relate well
will be cursed through misfortune and ill-health. Agood priest needstounderstand
this worldviewand have the power to connect with the spirit world.
460 Herbert Moyo
3T
he Concept of ReligiousH
ybridity in Matabo
The Ndebele people of Matabo who have converted into Christianitystill participate
in African Traditional Religious practices of the community such as contributing
funds to the annual entouragethat visits the rain goddess in Matopos hills –eNje-
lele.⁵The majority of the Ndebele population have intricatelybroughttogetheras-
pects of cultureand Christianity to awhole new wayofdoing Christianity.Itis
now very difficult to separate Ndebele cultural practices from Christian practices.
They have formed ahybrid type of religion. They are practicing aform of Christianity
that is uniquelyMatabo type. The priestlyoffice is then understood from ahybrid
worldview that mixes African Ndebele worldviews with Christianity. Priests from
mainline churches are viewed as directlyopposed to the African cultural practices
as they favour western cultural practices in their mentality and practice of ministry.
On the other hand, African Initiatedchurch pastors favour African culturalpractices
in their pastoralpractices. Nonetheless,broadlyspeaking, bothsides see the priest
as aspirit mediumwho can perform extraordinary acts through the HolySpirit in
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
In Matabo, the priestlyoffice is multifaceted and depends on contextual religious
traditions, cultural practices,and environmental conditions.The priestly office can
align itself with the fundamentals of the religious spiritualties of the context or
maybecontinuouslyseeking to oppose the local cultural and religious traditions.
In both instances,one cannot understand the spirit medium until one understands
the hybrid worldview of Matabo. Apriest in the context of Matabo must understand
the local culturalbehavioural patterns and religious ecumenism (or syncretism) that
links all religions in an individual. The priest must be transcultural and trans-reli-
gious in nature thereby allowing Christians to live their Christianity in the auspices
of their Nguni culturalnuances.The ideal priest should be able to navigate the space
between Christianity and culturalpractices that can be said to be African traditional
religious practices. Christianity in particularand religion in general is experienced as
discursive cultural practices. The priestlyoffice is that of navigating the socio-eco-
nomic and political challenges as well as the joys of people in context and offer spi-
ritual based responses to such. In Matabo the priestly office is aspiritual office where
people receive answers to issues that are beyond human comprehension through the
priest’sspiritual connection with God or the gods. To understand the Ndebele world-
view on priesthood one must understand the concept of spirit mediums.
Njelele is the name of the hill housingthe rain goddess.The ‘e’in eNjelele stands for ‘in’.
PriestlyO
ffice /S
pirit Mediums /P
astoralC
are461
4T
he Spirit MediumP
henomenon
Spiritmediumsare bothwomen and men who are blessed by the possibilityofbeing
possessed by the spirit of an ancestor (at timesreferred to as the Living dead). The
processleadingtoone being possessed by the spirit of an ancestor varies from
one familytoanother or from one villagetoanother.Thisisbecause African Tradi-
tional Religions are not monolithic even within the sametribal groupingsuch as the
Ndebele. In Matabo community there are two common ways of becomingaspirit me-
dium. The most common is thatthe spirit of the ancestor chooseswhomever it wants.
Whoever is chosen by the spirit can become aware of such acalling through becom-
ing sick in strangewaysthat defy diagnosis by western medicalpractitioners. The
person mayalso have strangedreams and visions that normalwillbecome fulfilled
to show that the ancestors (abaphansi,izinyoka or amadlozi as they are referred to in
isiNdebele) are visiting the person. This eventuallyleads to an existing spirit medium
tellingthe familyofthe sick person or the sick person directlythat he/she is being
invited by the amadlozi /abaphansi to become aspirit medium.
The second routetobecomingaspirit medium for amadlozi is through appoint-
ment by the family. The familymay see the mannerisms or physical characteristics of
afamilymember that remindsthem of an ancestor and decide to nominate thatin-
dividual to be aspirit medium for the family. Aritual is then performedtoinvitethe
spirit of the ancestor to use the individual as aspirit medium. In both the above
cases the individual then goes through aform of training (Ukuthwasa)from an expe-
rienced spirit medium. In other words, becomingaspirit medium comes through a
calling to this ministry.The calling can be direct to the person, or it can be through
others as in the case of familymembers identifying an individual as suitable to be a
spirit medium.The training by an experienced spirit mediumwhich mayinvolve
going to specific shrines equips the traineewith the toolsofthe trade.
Aspirit medium can be acommunity seer,healer, or isangoma /isanuse. This
becomes aformofavocation for the medium. The spirit medium is arespectedfigure
because he /she represents the presenceofthe spirit world. When possessed by the
spirit the incumbents do not speak their ownmind but the mind of the ancestor.The
spirit medium is aconnection between the living and the living dead. Disrespecting
the spirit mediumistantamount to disrespecting the living dead. The spirit medium
is consulted for spiritual issues that are seen to permeate all of life. The voice of the
spirit medium is the voice of the gods and therefore cannot be opposed.Spiritme-
diums command respect in all sectors of the community in Matabo. This includes
Christians who still fear the perceivedpower of the spirit mediums. Besides respect
there is also fear of the spirit mediumsasthey mayinvite the wrath of the spirit
world against anyone who does not respect them.So, all the Christians can do is
to avoid the wrath of the spirit mediumsbyrespecting them.
If individuals,families, and communities are confronted by spiritual issues that
are believed to be hiddenfrom normalhuman beings, they consultthe Sangoma. The
462 Herbert Moyo
Sangoma then uses spiritual powers to unravel thatw
hich is hidden from normal
human beings. People do not consultaSangoma before exhaustingt
heir human abil-
ities. In Matabo the Sangoma is consulted when human wisdom has failed. Accord-
ing to the Ndebele, that which defies human wisdom, will accordingt
ot
he Ndebele
be pointing to the spiritual nature or supernatural nature of the phenomenon requir-
ing the services of one with supernatural powers.
5Sources of the Dignity of aPriest in Matabo
Through the tradition of the missionaries, African Christians,especialinthe main-
line churches value the ritual of ordination (Ukugcotshwakukamfundisi)which in
the traditionalsense means the anointment of the priest.AccordingtoClement
Osunwokeh (2014), the priestlyoffice in itself carries some level of dignity for the of-
fice bearer.Dignity is supposedlyconferred on the priest duringordination. Forthe
people of Matabo one who is ordained carries the power of the spirit world. Ordina-
tion sets one apart from the rest of humanitytoalevel next to the gods.
The Priest is not a “normal”human being;he/she is dignified in amannerthat
borders on fear of the connection of the priest to the spirit world. The priest carries
both blessingsand curses hence the fear or veneration of the individuals in this of-
fice. The priest is the one who speaks to God or gods on behalf of society.Clement
Osunwokeh says that society “understands the priest as asacred person, setapart
by ordination and in possessionofspecial sacramental power and is often described
as ‘another Christ (alter Christus)’” (Osunwokeh 2014,169). This resonateswith the
traditionalAfrican understanding of priesthood whereaperson is set aside and
apart by the ancestors or gods to connect the living to the spirit world.The priest usu-
allycarries the character of the gods. Apriest is the epiphanyofthe gods. In this way,
aChristian priest in Matabo is expectedtobethe epiphanyofChrist.Thismeans the
priest must speak and act with spiritual authority.The priest can earn respect and
dignity for performing miracles and extraordinary acts. In this waythe priestwill
be demonstratingpower (amandla). Amandla confirms the priest’sconnectedness
with the gods. Without amandla the priest is not as accepted as the one viewed as
possessinguniqueextraordinary power
The character and acts of the priest,asnoted above, must resemble thoseof
JesusChrist or of the Apostles of Jesus Christ.The life of the priest must be exemplary
of what the priest represents. The priestlyoffice demands integrityindailylife and
pastoral practice.InAfrican politics there is some level of corruption that is cancer-
ous. Pastoral integrity calls the priest to be amodel of sacrificial veracitythrough liv-
ing accordingtothe principles of the Kingdom of God that is governed by values
such as love,honesty,and integrity.This calls for the ethics of morality and holiness
in the life of the priest.The priestly office is dignified if it manifests the divinepres-
ence of the LordJesus Christ.Inthe world of the ‘Ministries’priestlydignity is man-
ifested through the presenceofthe HolySpirit which enables the priest to speak in
Priestly Office/Spirit Mediums /Pastoral Care 463
tongues and perform miracles. Being filled by the HolyS
pirit and performing mira-
cles to respond to the needso
fs
ociety makes the priest worthyi
nt
he community.
Priestlyd
ignity is worthiness in the eyes of society ascribed to ap
riest because of
what they offer to the community.T
he priest must bring salvation to the community
in the here and now.S
urelyA
fricans in general and the Ndebele in particular do un-
derstand the eschatological meaningofsalvation as espoused by the mainline
churches,however apriest makes positive impact if they can save people in their pre-
sent dayneeds in the socio-economic and political needs of society.The Ndebele are
inclined towards present salvation than salvation located in the unknowneschato-
logical future of the church.
Dignity varies from denominationtodenomination. There is atendencyinMat-
abo for people to view their own priest as the real priest compared to priests from
other denominations. Therefore, the dignity of apriest maybelocated onlyinthe
membership of his/her denomination. There is also the possibilityofpeople offering
selective dignitydepending on their needs from different priests belongingtodiffer-
ent denominations. Presently, the most social popularpriests are from Pentecostal
and charismatic churches and ministriesbecause they are regarded spirituallypow-
erful. The power of Umfundisi is based on the ability to demonstrate being filled with
the HolySpirit enablingone to perform extraordinary events such as healing in the
name of Jesus Christ.The spiritual functionalityand connectedness to Christ by the
Umfundisi is equal to dignity.
Umfundisi must remain connected to Christ for authenticity.All mysterious and
strangeperformances by Umfundisi must be done in the name of Jesus Christ or the
HolySpirittoavoid being viewed as amagician. The sourceofthe dignity of the Um-
fundisi is the Christ (Osunwokeh 2014,169). Umfundisi is the dwelling place of the
Christ and is thereforeexpectedtoperform the miracles thatJesusChrist performed
duringhis earthlysojourn. In contemporary Matabo apriest who does not perform
extraordinary acts is viewed as not being filled by the HolySpirit. Therefore, pastors
perform miracles and ask theircongregantstoperform extra ordinary acts as away
of responding to the religious worldviews of the context.Apriest must be Christ like
but at the same time must be likethe spirit mediums who are able to respond to extra
ordinary human needs. Osunwokeh says that Umfundisi shares the dignity of Christ
“…which no earthlyinstrument could alter; mankind, nature, luck or fate. All
through his earthlylife the divine willofthe Father was upheld,and the dignity re-
mainedintact…This is also adignity which is not determined by his human person,
possession, and state but by his essence as apriest ‘alter Christus’” (2014, 170).
In the Ndebele worldview aspirit medium or Sangoma is arepresentativefigure
of the gods or ancestors (Wreford 2005;Jonker 2008). The spirit medium is endowed
with the powers of the gods as long as they are filled by spiritual powers.Similarly,
when the Ndebele see Umfundisi they imagine seeing God the Christ through the Um-
fundisi. The Umfundisi is alsoviewed as arepresentative figure of the presenceofthe
Christ.Asaresultofthe aboveOsunwokeh (2014, 170) argues that “So, it is logical to
conclude that there is no other basis, no other point of referencethat can be adduced
464 Herbert Moyo
for priestly dignity other thant
he highlyd
ignified priesthood of Christ thatapriest
shares.S
o, one mayc
onclude […]t
hatt
here is one priesthood, that is Christ and that
there is one sourceofthe priesthood that is Christ”(2014, 170).
6Conclusion
The hybridity nature of Christianity in Matabo creates aparticulartype of apriest
who should be able to respond to the needs of people whose culturalunderpinnings
have intertwined Christianitywith African TraditionalReligious beliefs and practices
into an inseparable reality.Armed with this understanding we are beginning to have
priests(pastors) who are keen to perform miracles such as raising the dead, giving
people material and monetary prosperity in the name of Jesus. In the African context
of the Ndebele, salvation is in the here and now and thereforepriests are struggling
to make Christianityoffer salvation from the socio-economic and political challenges
in the here and now.Priests are also respondingtothe Ndebele’sinherent belief in
spirits by performing exorcisms and deliverance services.The priest is aspirit medi-
um endowed with the power of the HolySpirit among the Ndebele people of Matabo.
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