The impact of Christianity on Unyamwezi 1878-1928

Author(s): Francis Nolan

📚Print Book 2024

Roma: Missionari d'Africa, 2024.

Summary

The consistency of Nyamwezi religious beliefs responded to the needs of isolated small-scale societies. This study argues that within the traditional political and social structures, established religious practices were unsuccessfully challenged by the first missionaries proposing Christianity. Colonialism brought about large-scale economic changes and disempowered traditional political leaders. The introduction of literacy and scientific knowledge through schools enabled a younger Nyamwezi generation to adopt new ideas and values, including Christianity, which were consonant with their inherited culture.

Author

Francis Nolan was born in Burton-on-Trent, England, in 1934. He was ordained in the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) after studies in Britain and the Nethelands in 1958. Father Nolan holds an MA in Modern History from Oxford, an MA in African Studies from Sussex, and a PhD in History from Cambridge where he did his thesis on "Christianity in Unyamwezi." After spending several years teaching in seminaries in the UK and Tanzania, he worked for twenty-four years in rural parishes in Tanzania.

Physical description

319 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Contents

Chapter one: Religious change in Unyamwezi. Chapter two: Nyamwezi chiefs and people. Chapter three: Pre-colonial missions. Chapter four: Ushirombo, a sub-colonial chiefdom. Chapter five: Msalala - the conservative reaction. Chapter six: Ndala - beyond traditional society. Chapter seven: Tabora, the urban factor. Chapter eight: The First World War and after. Sources et bibliography.

Subjects:

History of Christian missions - Catholic missions

Church history - Evangelisation -

Africa - East Africa - Tanzania - Unyamwezi

Nineteenth century - Twentieth century

Genre

History

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-287) and index.

ISBN

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