Until he releases me from his ancestors : an African spirituality pastoral response to wife abuse

Abstract

Marriage, for the Ndebele of Matetsi in Zimbabwe, is a spiritual practice, and they believe it is ordained by God and the ancestors. The process of marriage among the people of Matetsi is conducted according to patriarchal spiritual systems, which require a woman to be introduced to her husband’s ancestors through certain rituals. This paper explores the traditional marriage rituals of the Ndebele of Matetsi that connect the bride to her husband’s ancestors, and the role this practice plays in the way a wife makes decisions in the context of abuse. Written from the perspective of African feminist cultural hermeneutics, this paper seeks to explain how marriage rituals that connect a bride to her husband’s ancestors imprison her in the context of abuse, and obliges her to remain married to her husband through ‘thick and thin’. In addition, the paper offers a pastoral response that addresses the African spiritual nature of marriage in the context of abuse of women, with particular reference to the Ndebele of Matetsi, and suggests pastoral interventions in an attempt to liberate wives who are imprisoned by these rituals. This was an empirical study that followed a qualitative participant observation approach, which allowed the researcher to observe the customs and practices of the traditional marriage process in Matetsi, which she participated in her marriage process as a young woman.