A missional approach to the traditional social associations of the NSO’ people of Cameroon

Abstract

This research deals with Christian missions and African cultures. It focuses on the traditional social associations of the Nso’ people of Cameroon. The main problem the research addresses is that missionaries who came to Nso’ mostly imposed their culture on the Nso’ and by extension Africa in the name of Christianity. What this research refers to as traditional social associations is what the missionaries prejudicially termed secret societies. The research argues that these traditional social associations are not secret societies. They are rather custodians and preservers of Nso’ culture. Their activities are largely social, and revolve around eating and drinking. The research compares the case of Nso’ with missionary endeavours in North Africa: Egypt, Axum and Nubia and in Sub-Saharan Africa. In all these areas, the following commonalities are found: insufficient interest in the indigenous languages, syncretism, the tendency of mission to always link with colonialism and to despise the African worldview. In all these areas, the result was conflict between mission and indigenous culture, and conflict within the traditional cultures. In order to appropriately engage contexts in Africa that have traditional social associations like Nso’, the researcher proposes the use of an integrated missional approach. By integrated missional approach the researcher means a perspective that takes theology, anthropology, sociology and culture seriously when carrying out the mission of God (missio Dei). The researcher presents an integrated missional approach that is constructed in the light of contextualisation. This approach is based on Niebuhr’s typology that is described in his book Christ and culture and as analysed by Kraft in his Anthropology for Christian witness. The following sociological theories: functionalism, conflict theory, phenomenology and social identity theory are used to discuss how certain realities operate in human communities. Using content analysis as his predominant methodological approach to the data collected, the researcher concludes that culture has been, is, and will continue to be the main vehicle for mission. Hence, the traditional social associations of the Nso’ people, which form the core culture of Nso’ need to be seen as an opportunity for evangelisation. The research shows that the missionary era in Nso’ in particular and Africa in general has ended and that the era in which the local church is finding its own identity is underway.