Prophetic Performances: Apostolic Prophecy as Social Drama

Abstract

Prophecy is used among Apostles of John Maranke, an indigenous African church, to structure religious and everyday interactions. The prophetic account has a dialogical format and consists of prophet's assertion and candidate's response. Prophecies are performed at beginning of every formal Apostolic ceremony. Each prophecy contains a short narrative about subject's moral and spiritual state. Apostolic prophecy is a form of social drama in Victor Turner's sense of term and a system of expression that shapes universe of church members' spiritual discourse (see Turner 1957:91-94 and I974:37-45). Moreover, prophecy is an ecstatic expression that serves as an important means of social control among Apostles. Here, I will analyze dramaturgical and dialogical structure of Apostolic prophecy as a ceremonial performance and an alternative system of linguistic and religious expression. The relationship between narrative structure of prophecy and prophetic reading as an act of social control will be examined. This analysis necessitates an emphasis on prophecies as verbal exchanges within performative context of Apostolic ceremonies. In 1971, after having studied Apostolic Church ofJohn Maranke for two years, I joined group. Although many personal and circumstantial factors motivated my decision to join, it is undeniable that process of conversion was dramatic for me and that now, over a decade and a half later, I still find that my life and my perception of the religious have been unalterably transformed as a result of my membership. I came to see Apostolic prophecy not only as a performance within a liturgically structured narrative but also as a moral act that had serious consequences for my own decisions and behavior. The moral impact of prophecy is reinforced by its performance as a type of ethnotheatre, intended to reinforce for candidate social and religious codes of Apostolic membership and to coax candidate into conformity with aspects of religious and doctrine. Prophecy, however, is not a morality play that leaves candidate with an abstract lesson. It is a thoroughly lived experience in which idealized lessons are intended for immediate daily application in every aspect of candidate's life. Apostolic prophecy reanimates relationship between religious law and spiri