Abstract
A practical theologian constructs his autoethnographic and interactive narrative with Venda people and others. His own journey is integrated with those of church and community members. These joint lived experiences were shared in the households and families of the relevant co-participants. The concept of Vhuthu in the muta is explored in relation to its potential and problematics by means of auto ethnographic stories, relevant literature, art,poems and linguistics. The article appreciatively and critically reflects upon Vhuthu and its possible value for practical theology.
Highlights
My family and I arrived in the defunct homeland of Venda on 30 November 1982
The longer I became involved in ministerial work, the deeper the relationships and interaction between the congregants, the community and myself grew. It was through these adults, young people, children, artists, poets and writers of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, Congregation of Tshilidzini, and the surrounding communities that I could learn the rural Venda way of feeling, thinking, speaking and doing
I ventured into the autoethnographic journey of a practical theologian, constructing the potential and problematics of Vhuthu in the muta
Summary
My family and I arrived in the defunct homeland of Venda on 30 November 1982. After we had spent a few days settling in, Mr Butinana Ramovha, a church elder and Vhamusanda [traditional headman] visited us and handed me an old book on the Venda language (Ziervogel, Wentzel & Makuya 1961). This process of acculturation did not merely occur within and between the two life and world views present in me and the Venda people, but the very same dynamics of ever-changing thought patterns, symbols and values, creative tension, reciprocal interaction, disintegration, re-integration and enrichment takes place in the whole of one’s own self.
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