Mogomme A. Masoga

University of Zululand | uzulu · Department of History

The indigenous people of sub-Saharan Africa approach their Supreme Being and express their reverence in diverse ways, as depicted in the different local names that describe this supernatural being. The African cultural worldview foregrounds that virtuous rapport with the Supreme Being provides wisdom and facilitates good cohabitation among humans....

South Africa's reluctance to deploy religion in the public sphere can be understood in terms of the country's political and socioeconomic trajectories from the apartheid era. Theology has always featured in the struggle history of the majority of the Black population, but has been neglected by most historians and theologians in the face of crises f...

In this study, it is argued that the trust of previous (and existing) hermeneutical approaches of promoting ancient biblical texts as applicable to the everyday life of contemporary readers is not only imaginable but also too ambitious. The Hebrew Bible emerged from an Israelite cultural context, which neither speaks to nor deliberates on issues co...

A text-immanent and narrative critical approach to the Biblical book of Amos reveals that the prophet Amos had addressed the social injustices of his time. He addressed the issues of his day with the belief that it was the Lord God (Elohim) Almighty who had instructed him to do so. The leaders of the well-known terror groups, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab,...

Culture dictates how people should live, and how they should interact with each other as men and women. A plethora of literature displays that in most African cultures women and men perform different tasks by virtue of their biological make-up. The division of labour between men and women can be traced from the patriarchal system, which is cultural...

Learners with disabilities are faced with unprecedented challenges in their pursuit of integration in the institutionalized higher education system in South Africa. The aim of this paper is to explore the recruitment and integration of students with disabilities (SWDs) at selected rural universities in South Africa in terms of facilities for physic...

In a quest for greater coherence between parochial identities, culture and Christianity, there exists an African consciousness which seeks to indigenise and decolonise Christianity. Africans are profoundly religious people who view their faith as part of their way of life, as strengthening their cultures and providing a moral compass for daily livi...

Despite programmes developed to alleviate tuberculosis (TB) infection worldwide, South Africa is still reporting high rates of infection. Most South Africans believe in and consider using the medicine provided by African indigenous health practitioners (AIHPs) rather than consulting practitioners at modern health facilities. The isolated functionin...

Fire has been used by early humans since more than a million years ago. In essence, Africa is described as a ‘fire continent’. The purpose of this chapter is to provide reflections on some African indigenous perspectives; focusing on fire, burning and flames’ narratives. Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) theories are adopted as the theoretical bas...

Every humanity has some form of indigeneity – whether conscious or unconscious. It behooves all humanity to redefine and reflect on its indigenous roots. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) has been termed in different ways. These include traditional, cultural, local, community knowledge, etc. All these are interlinked and imply that IK is a body of “knowled...

This chapter aims to argue that the understanding and knowledge of nursing ethics and care resonates with the deep rooted African culture and practices based centrally on the philosophical notion of Ubuntu. Noticeably, currently the focus of nursing ethics is on principle ethics and resists the relational aspect that encompasses connectedness and m...

The 2016 Southern African Folklore Society Conference was held from 24–28 October at the Bolivia Lodge in Polokwane. The conference was co-hosted by the School of Human and Social Sciences of the University of Venda, and the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Limpopo. The purpose of the conference was to attract scholars and researchers fro...

The biblical text is replete with narratives of targeted killings (TKs), although it is not stated as such. For example, David is depicted as “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Sm 13:14). However, when David was on his deathbed, he summoned his son Solomon to kill his enemies, namely Joab son of Zeruiah (1 Ki 2:5) and Shimei son of Gera (2:8). From a...

The biblical text is replete with narratives of targeted killings (TKs), although it is not stated as such. For example, David is depicted as "a man after God's own heart" (1 Sm 13:14). However, when David was on his deathbed, he summoned his son Solomon to kill his enemies, namely Joab son of Zeruiah (1 Ki 2:5) and Shimei son of Gera (1 Ki 2:8). F...

Ritual murders have recently been widespread among African societies in general. Reports of such murders have become cause for concern. African countries that are implicated in ritual killing include, but are not limited to: Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Cases have been reported of human body parts alleg...

On-going CBPAR in rural Malawi, Africa, with co-researchers at a community school, community elders, and scholars from University of Zululand, University of Free State, and Binghamton University. Lines of inquiry through what co-researchers in the school and the community prioritized: Indigenous Knowledge Systems; trauma informed care; women's soap...

The interest of this article focuses on Gabriel Molehe Setiloane’s views about the ecclesiological make-up in the context of African theology. This focus is relevant as it has been argued that Setiloane pushed for the importance of African theological discourse (Masoga 2012a). Some of the sensitive but also critical expressions by Setiloane include...

Mbiti once asserted that Africans are notoriously religious. For Mbiti, Africans are incurably religious. It becomes necessary to look intently at the current South African socio-political and economic landscape in the context of religiosity. There are vivid indications that religiosity in South Africa has become a common ‘terrain ‘of use, abuse, a...

The paper presents the results of a research project undertaken in the Magatle community, Capricorn district, Limpopo province during 2003/2004, which explored local farmers’ perceptions and understanding of indigenous farming, and the way in which their knowledge can be protected. The main aim of the study was to identify key aspects of IK and pro...