The influence of christianity on kamba marriage customs

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL
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03 February 2018
Dissertation Proposal
The spread of Christianity on African continent and its interaction with local ethnical groups created unusual forms of practice of religious customs on the continent. One of the most multiethnic countries in Africa is Kenya which is a home for hundreds of nations one of which is Kamba people.
The religious distribution of this small nation (almost 3 million inhabitants) is quite equally divides it between Christianity and local religions and worships. The inclusion of Christian elements into the nation customs affected the both parts of the nation (Namoobe, 1999, 51).
As marriage traditions tend to be one of the most important in sociocultural landscape of nations the purpose of the dissertation is to find out the influence of the interaction of Christianity and local cults onto this part of the cultural life of the people. The first aim of the study is to find how Christianity affected local marriage tradition and what elements it brought to the custom. The second aim is to check how traditional Christian marriage tradition was adapted by the Christian community of the nation and what local specifics it has.
The tree points to be discussed in the paper are:
Christian tradition disrupted local marriage custom and assimilated it to the colonial European tradition (Parsitau, 2007, 114; Gathogo, 2014, 1508)
The mix of Christianity and traditional customs created absolutely new cultural phenomena (Cofie et al.

, 2013, 28; Beguy et al., 2011, 335)
Christian elements were fully adapted into local tradition adding form but leaving the same content of the custom (Miya, 2004, 204; Okesson, 2012, 312)
The results of the research shall be provided in the form of comparison of four types of religious events: traditional Christian marriage, Christian marriage in Kamba adaptation, traditional marriage custom after Christian influence and traditional marriage in pre-Cristian period. The final conclusion shall find out the degree of transformation of both Christian and traditional marriage customs.

References
Beguy D., et al., 2011. Timing and sequencing of events marking the transition to adulthood in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Journal of Urban Health 88(2), pp. 318–340
Cofie, N., et al., 2013. RELIGION, RELIGIOSITY AND PREMARITAL SEXUAL ATTITUDES OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS OF NAIROBI, KENYA, Journal of Biosocial Science, 45(1), pp. 13-29
Gathogo J., 2014. Theo-Political Dominance of Afro-Pentecostalism in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Kenyan Socio-Ecclesial Context. US-China L. Rev. 4 (11), 1499-1524
Miya, F., 2004. Educational content in the performing arts : tradition and Christianity in Kenya. Cape Town: University of Cape Town
Namoobe, C., 1999. Witchcraft among the Kamba. African Cultures and Religion, 1(3), pp.50-56
Okesson, G., 2012. Re-Imaging Modernity: A Contextualized Theological Study of Power and Humanity witin Akamba Christianity in Kenya. Eugene: Pickwick Publications
Parsitau, D., 2007. From the periphery to the centre: the Pentecostalisation of mainline Christianity in Kenya. Missionalia : Southern African Journal of Mission Studies, 35(2), pp. 108-130