The Manifestation of Religious Pluralism in Christian Izibongo

Abstract

AbstractThe article contributes to scholarly inquiry into religious pluralism in South Africa, in particular to how Christian doctrine interacts with the African worldview. Evidence for the intercultural and interreligious discourse is based on an analysis of a eulogy of Christ, created and performed in the traditional style of izibongo, or Zulu praise poetry. The conclusion is drawn that the eulogy is a manifestation of vigorous interreligious dynamics, showing that Christianity and izibongo are both remarkably protean in their potential for creative interaction. Christianity is embraced, but simultaneously transformed by the indigenous genre; praise poetry can assert its traditional style, but itself becomes transmuted by Christian doctrine.