Tales of Faith Religion as Political Performance in Central Africa V.Y. MUDIMBE BD ‘THE ATHLONE PRESS London & Adantic Highlands, NI1 ak Ove Landon WEI 786 at Hire 196 trate sn nd Gat Bin by ro te memory of Michel de Ceteav and Engelbert Meng. 8 inch in Got? Mir wr 0 he Teh chan n diesen einen Zigen Die wirkende Nana vor meiner Sete legen Ter erst evkerm ch was der Wels prc ‘ie Geiser it ict verscase Dein Sion tm, dein Hers ist ‘Auf, ade, chile unverdrassen Die indice Brat im Morgenro” ‘Govt, Fast, 439-46 Am 1 God? Light grows his page Inthe pure ines my oye can se Cente naar spread info of me. But pow eras the meaning oF the sage: “Te elm of spits ot far ay: Your inde closed, your hearts dead. Rise, aden, athe withou dismay Ineavens dwn our mortal Read,The Manne “The nly way wo Blaze ail 1 respon in one's adberenes by ig ones. The eternal hein hi temporal, mortal modality inthis or tat concrete word, pronounced st vanishes it hii, this or that concrete unprecedented initatve, taken and sone ll in the same moment. Wort ac intive Ras fat inthe presence of| ‘moment, an dsappese n this momentary bitplce of the tut, the evereise ofthe uhflaess We have jst accomplished wl tke up abode, To restr ll things wo this ative soi of credit hs bon the method Ihave followed, in its simplest set and essen fom. Do not ask ne, then, where Tp fm, wo Tam, what aaence wish to belp or harm. amv human feng Hike yu, | shall de and Twas ot tor a fnctionary ofthe Trath nora profession the service of ‘Chisianty.T write in onde to da my muss befoe they Bot oat ny fae Not being this, or nt elicving that. is wnimportant, The only imporant sing isthe manae of beng on tliving, The shrine ha itt lead beneath allegiances, dosti legen, nd grammes. It founds an jstits them, A Kieshegsrdp it Agee cua in importance to the th nk, een re pera momen bapa nn ot ah , Fabion ous lags Contents 1G netions On the Plies of Ierpretation Erasing The Difference OF Genesis {iL The Practie OF Misunsorstnding I Asculrtion = An Espace Métisé Epiogte isicgraphy #Preface hese lectures we preseied af sors of th and adventures in ‘Meat roblemaice crested by the expansion of Chrstialy van, Ocesionlly, Bese sties engage flan, i progzssive “Gaston soeands Cental Aca, an its heriable adaption to new tutcaltial contexts rom the wate, t would ike 16 make it cea Hat Tam concemed with Row rpesenatios of religious spstems bind fee ov oppo each oer inate sours which, aa ferent level nigh wansmte ino tadscouris such sos epreseted by hintresof Chitty ad sla, Tor caf the prot ard cbjectives of the fects, peshaps 1 ould tezin by Stating larly what they are aot when refering tothe most dominant grids and mods in Afian stules | do ot imend 2 diciphnary monograph dt ould actaize filly some proscription: eterno validly or otherwise by a scholastic coterie, Tar alsa sceptical about sabmiting 2 poe a perception t0 the perinene of sthodolopel abodes, eve the supposedly most fevpetable ones. Lt ee pont brie Yo some, designating them nt only as risks but, in tality, as challenges which I shall Face ba fot accept conditionally asthe only mcane for endemtanding my object of study, We can point towards the fieldwork model wich since Mabiowski, is projected authority and efficiency over the naive exercncs of since century evohtionnt stds, This model allows an analysis tat moves from the experince of 2 puicular ‘tral unconscious which the participant observer immerses himself herself t the arcultion of conscious representation construc by the uberver afterwards, The meth radially reverses the mimesis ccniques favoured by evalutnits wh, sing an saloncal mesel borowed from natural scenes, thoupht tht they cou repadce 8 perfect repeenttion these whieh ie oUt thre of, ore xacty, one represented pers. Other models atthe Marxist andsorutrait, which were wel exemplified in France in the 19805 and 196 and ineaated methedclogial discon thi in tems of «pstemology, lured flely wanspareatoppesitions such asinine’ sesus ‘elie, Yet a majr difference betwee te Wo modes cou Parinene of mode of prviction concep on the cer hand, the srt emphuss on sehen, sratre nd bir, Thess te approaches made thiekable (hy this expression, I Jo aot mply 3 enelogice ition noe a causality at any eae) the possibilty of Plarliring the work's eepresettons through rigor techniques ha, dus, distlyeosbuing tothe progresive dajaieion of the nineteen century epistemology, with is grand division bevween sciences of omit and abnormality, Prom th 1950s, it became wo practise human and soil sciences onthe Bass of ew constitaen Premises: anything. anyone, any toulity can ten be deseebed and undestood as being its own ssstem. presided by is own intemal ‘minor phenomenon noe a mara happening teat a upur with ak con order and issue the cpisemnlogical cries an paradigms ‘fan intelectual configuration Fr example, Slly Fak Moore in hee reseatAuhropolgy and Aiea (1994), show’ well the Wansormations ‘fer decile and how, since he 10h, new jets and perspectives aise in Arca sthrpoloe. Similar eric renewal cn be observed in coher discipline se Bets and Ali, 1993) Tovefer only toa few, Jet us note history fe. Vansin, 1961), sociology (eg. Balan, 198i! wee eg Cenan a Hs 19. rey (eg. Granay. 1955), theology and missolgy. (2g. Hastings 1979). Te is precisely im this portsrutrast prod. that woud Tike ‘shjsctive hic ermine explicit. How and why should Ty to aprekend a particular qaiy of ligions prtomances init pesetness which represents aswell aya peepions, manifest elf nthe poi tn tension of sabc-object satonship, while asertng cl Pregnant wit a ponible ramcendence? Traces of Hebegge. Jaspers sed Sate cond br ween grin in sch an bj, Ye I ty appa woud put (1992)soled representations. bo in spirit and method i far removed ffom metanaratves ermeired, 58. with the sary of histo of philosophy (ep Lien Braun), he atihstey of histories Flere (4. Decimercton ind Cie) even = should te? the possibly ‘fs mulivolume on aathropologicl thurs and Aifica’- a Sally Fah Moore menace in the foveword 4 het simulating Anhropetogy and ‘ica (1980, Originally, each lecure focused on a spec thsme, mel, (1) Ae textual ator of a Fath ooking for adequate expression of i inligence a Fides QuaerensIneilectum, ous Stist Anselm's words (2) teense inketermination of rigs eis an activity a the prose of everday le: (3) the grind dichotomy ~ "prieie” vers “ivilized”— a6 what is, or Is no longer. a the heat of raratves Protoing cultura nd spcta conversion: the dincusive peices ‘of conversion and their pdicmens (3) finaly, che phenomenon ef ccuturaton asa igure of métzzage~ that call “hybridaton Wwitoessing to comemporary djnanacs of daloguss Between peoples and istoses. These ete hive bee syothesin and reduced four ‘hopes in which T coment onthe dog ise and is opposite that ae analogous to the pradotiesl and always changing ident of any Individuality understood as tanscendene ofa For nef and Forts. (Cee forthe Louis H. Jordan Lactareship in Comparative Religion 1 the School of Oriental an Arcah States ofthe Unive of London the lectures weee deliver in English dui five separate session, in May 1999. They were adapted slighty in French for series of taths 1 give during te same perio, as Astcnte Director of Studies, ithe seminars of Jean-Loup Amie, Mare Aupé, Jean arin, likin MBokolo and Eaanel Tey, at IBeole des Hates Eudes en Sciences Soils in Pars. Although Ihave made changes and somstimesinrodeced imporsat developmen, the version published ev fundamentally rerarsries the essentials of ty eign oe lectures inclaing thei spaten se hyn, hesitation. an ~ als "epetitions. Matications ae genealy pest concrete examples of caltral méssage, which expctte or ariculte in ther wands what in he origina lectures seemed ton syns, a bi ebscre, we aman ve ten st rp snd nd ew abn Jen ad As ites ltr, in actualy, translation by Victor Provenzano aga Ta Menem pubsed in the French ool Recherche, A ce w woogie pay he tof bah my ee i Ta ie meson Bo Grezene (186 1981: 195-211), Published by Pergamon Pes onthe a aoe rite hates tn Sytem Tow SASS ono wich wot ple Cnt Urey ar Seno ogo ny 198 pagers tL rare ea ang my trp ithe seco a cae ey toa chains pened ete ose Sec! peantg oo ay ae tenn os went eer ttc nh ie sep. ty py se teaiy ord tarmac fa crane Tet bere ce imp pt [itp easly of matoag oh gwen se tlie ely sed amy ence oa Tula tea cy meh os we cmb the rani of ez ener Be ca 2 bon (tate tad of we Cones of Be eveen Lo fea tctoved mete 38 erat hd pre De lms Re Gyr el Huecgarbeaene ‘er ind tens, am abo ep ttl Chop Ds tou mer ni cr an ay Lat My ee ese Tater of Faw a une ted pen sap et te hei and sey accor Peta an ho a ‘eh Cun Kae Cg De anew, Kerns Kesnd Pata Reefe who, a Stanford University, patie in diferent ‘apaciis in the completion ofthis bok, Finally, my since thks to ‘i publisher for a supriaive jo, Tam dei distin this book 1 the mernocy of two cups ofthe road: Michel de Ceeau and Engelben Mveng,« Peachnan sad 2 (Cameroonian, ndesigabl explores of ales of ft, Pao Alto, 1 August 1995 God’s Inflections On the Politics of Interpretation nat may he contac’ of expressed, beyond aig. in the ricer forms of representation of Got the Atle the Beginning, only ant eh werd an oy Being hs simple hn, that Stherwie has no meaning, this emptiness. she fore mow completely the begining of Philosophy ese! ‘here ae some risks i acing the complex domain of region andthe eis pict fren agit and especially when the objestve ite reson isnot the apprehension of thee being but rater thei (tise to, and expesions in te Hed af, polities. By plies, one tony say ander that which nthe pols iw our eas the African ‘Comex els with community fai an th noms ox oth even day fife andthe explicit sod impli forms of efil goverment. Brie refering to the dsnction made by G, Van Der Lecaw (1938: 23), the pupose her isnot o analyse gon and the egos rom thei ‘own vtwpoint, acorn 0 which “the religions ran perceives hat rit which relgon dea april. a oripiive or casa’ but from the ckpund ot a eectivethoupht 0 situate religion and the reigns as dimensions the decrypted and understood in x political ‘eet Such ametodologal poston tht he eal tobe described, Is che o that expounded by End Husserl and noted by Mace Merea- Pony in he Reginning of his Picnomenologr of Perception cf science ic bh po he wold sly expese Toro he od ws ne perce fre sane teas1 aan replant hat worl Yam wring eae wr evn Saou predicts of the tua or hire paces Iam he bt Tource my exneace dost at se fm my acd, om my yi ‘cxocne i men ofthe wal’ te seap both nave td he sane Tine dost becuse thy tke fr grated. wiht expt meting the eer oof ie, ramet of cons tough whi fe he oust werd er hf ond mean begin ex for to ot te things hemlet return fo teat weld wc precedes Km | ‘ich koowinge ate spel, and telah whch eve ee “feta ao nine arn ay The Concept of Region Let chs accept an igo, is vials and thecal as percep phonemena. More specifically, two posible forms could be dei fished from the etymology af the word religion ise. As Cicer suggests in De Natwer Deprun 22472), the fst, and the mex ancien. advances the hypothesis thatthe word would ave come fran tne vb velegre, ging, pring together’, The second a wsed by Lica (428) and Sui Augustine (Retractaiones 113) ines the ve religare as posable origin. In Ltn veigare mans “to be linked to one or several people" in the exact meaning coming out of sch expressions at sheave the wes’ The fis hyplests would rece the erymolopcal meaning of the concept reigon t9 whatover Bits» group of individ Te secon, the favours of contripray ‘exymologists, insists that there i i the etyeron the root ~ fi — tht reprodces the Latin (ex, "he Ia” which shouldbe considered asa Simple vation (Bervenive, 1973" S16 2) Te follows that eigion GS INFECTIONS 3 se weenie pty the Latin eligi. emai come ss, the sole and constant word, for which no 2 ha ee 49 ein Sl” (Benveniste tet) secon i wee nal ace, meer clas remain Sis srs al fos ey apne re ge «nna tno feign wou le rear un capict wilointepat oe pant eoxmic mae un ob dio rneend anal th clay Seay sept oie tac and he roar: pancreas fre 0 4 fall ac unmant sconcrete and living examples of pot” perfection eg Trowuay, 1958) Wihin this perspective, a adiional unesanding of Ahccancept might sem called into question. On the one hand, sich "minimal suggestion spear apy the rule ofa practice witout capil signing he binding theme of submission tothe presence Ufa deity, Cher and Lacan big vgeter both the practice of| ‘esos the bond of dependence tht ink the practioner to Go, (nthe ter hand, his minal definition may sse0 10 respond 100 saul 0 te eigen of politic as alimate piel epulaing the ‘naman commoeity, Ts, sing Sit Tues Frazer's avi: “There tly sj nthe wo abot wich pions eso sh the neo ean, and ame een of wich woah sy SS) eety ett he eam by tipo, and serach 19 employ te word ‘Srey ihre pout hs wk BY lg te 1 undead ' popition tonto of pons sero Yo ma which a lived ‘cows of the ela 4 rial ml 3 tel, armel Pele even Mee anand wate rps fee hem Fe ef we cam ae ee am Pana 92S 3-8 yehIn Sir James Frazer's desiion~ whic I would ike to aecept— the notions of proitition snd conclistion of powers seem valve laden, 1 face, hey voice something that isnot observable, and give aay 2 signification that might come from the mediation ofthe observer, tunes it esablses ise as @ competion of dialogue between the practioner (of wat supposedly is 2 propttion or conclision ef Powers) nd the aralys's perception of hese stems. Ts, accepting Sir lames Frazer's definition of eligi, insead of undetining the Propiiatory and cnetiaory dimensions would understand religion 1 perfomance, namely 3 a seta, sn sbtract oF concrete patie of repeseming something tht seams 19 be beyert human conta Tedeed noted hy Si James Frazer, the performance consis of to ‘sil elements a heli theory anda rite, The two examples ‘of Stine Ansclm and Cero BokarSaalf Taal (18-190) iste this they are perfonnesin his specie sense. Sint Anselm’ Fides (Quaerens Intel, "Fath Looking for Inclgence, weten Between 1033 and 1109 ia which he expounds what il ecome known the ontologicagiment and that Sant Bonaventure, Duns Sct, Descartes a Leibniz wl ater rethink) ~ is fundamentally als fides fren Imelecrum, 4 Tath fearing itligenc’, as Koyts (1963) need. osher words, it is 2 discourse on heli loki fr ilaminstion and in this very process hearing witness wo and thus to a velo, a uncovering sd its fondacon: God as us Ligh) and Veritas Prat In his book, The Religiou Heritage ond Spiritual Seurch of Cerne Bokar Saal Taal (1988), which superbly analyses the eran gus of LeSage de Bariogar, Louis Brenner describes the earch an spiral joureyot aman who was convinced that “people hou) activate thee religoas principles in thei everyday lives” and that ordinary le an vide ads to one's euch (Bremner, 1984 3) [ook cones for Something foundaiowl, an uit aio, and, evenully. oasep and submit is disclosure revelation). The thi ad last isto i Stefano Kaoze, who became the fist Rom Catholic pis in Conta Alea in 1917. At the Regianing of the cena, wile sill a Cathoic Seminain, he published a brie text (1907-11) on Bante psychology in which he opposed Afacan agaist Faro Christin practices, considering the later a fament of he former, an ths xpi inating bh the ty tps What common i these thre examples is, fist cone Pres referring to an extemal something" an increible rain pers abv ay Wenddiscourses of sciences? Here,» theoretical made ~ ay. in eetmomicad costal, sory or pies claim thi itcan account fr what ‘tere and offers the means of mastering ito, tea oF explaining bo ‘eworhs. The objctivi iscoure doesnot refs he ely it pete tomas. To wen Althssran concept, te neal hat meine itself overtime (Althusser, 1965) an, ths fom a siete pari {0 another, it tempts new techniques and methods for mastering renering what is out bere. In ths sense. Collingwees hone re-enactment principle (1946) cold be mia mands ‘0 srophysicis sucessve movels of mapping the ecoazaphy an ofeeestial bes. In Le Con des interpaions (1969), Pal Rico eviments on another evel that of ermeneutes — which demonstra 4 rial capably for inerpating the futon ane perspective of objetvst discourses. To laity the singularly of this practic hermeneutics shoul be understood th tality of tccnigucy an ‘nowiedye Inthe history ofa seit font and the fe of ula ‘hallows one fo iret meanings as opposed tn semilogy, whic {s Anowlege allowing one to cls soca sign. On whch I should one ste a discursive practi on religion? I we mise the levels as points on cele, specialise of relipins and thesogian Would probably prefer the uncomfortable postion stated tangential beeween the object paces of scknces and theory of thr nd practices. Thus staring with language of fait sd ont lockwne. one woul face, sucessvely, the phenomcnslogial, tiv and. rly, a theory of seine prvties Pre Bourdieu has been advocuing this conc of theory practi Sha mht give oto kpowledge “a sol Davis by fei i om ‘stortions arising fram the epistemological nd social enon of Production. It has nothing in conan with the aim of rehattiatog ich as misled most courses en rate: it ams simpy to 8 light the theory of practice wich teoeticalinowepe implicit ‘plies and soto make posse aly sien knowlege of prac and ofthe practical mode of knowledge" Bourde. 1990 2 so, i becomes urgent to stat the pace frat whet T sal ooking at religious practices as polit! performances in aod Cones Ati, Fete nat he sn win vc eng ee serpent moti ah oe yes Mein ml ny teal of ly. ai inset eens et fo be lor eer hea nd, bel sere ig spss and winting i iy ny penne which PET Siatin he fn place. Bat is es not Bape. The rea ea lee nn Se et eine he mes “its Retna sel isn seers tem: Te weds an oe sah Tne ty poses te of aking; the mail wing of, nd Se fo Py tote a all my epi ection, Ths ot "nb ely {ley oe werd deste kn hel When Ie mel fat ns my ease, tat she rea context in which peresive religion as & performance. How, the, ean T make stse of eligin iofar a tis sical only fom this background af my perception tat in name the seen and ook for its sgiation ih, to refer again to Maurice Merea-Pony. makes set vise a the intrsstion of my experiences ‘od thow of ether pple, though he meting of bok? ‘Tes eine ~ but name, as Main Heidegger tug us, ist bing ia an peer, hick inplies to allow “something or someone 1 salt by a tanguage, One might decide to dan ehoopranhy "sy religous pestormance hy otectiviing Ham, in 30 dong.conforming practice and its language of firity 10 soppon “abistive ality shat col more ores comespond to Sella ‘ents expctations, Here, isa of claiming to reord performance land their meanings in an Afican sil err, 1 woud like fo focus an aeady given object vision of African igs practises ay appears. rapped, between a social pyscs (tht preted o render. ‘objective realy) and social phenomenology (tht clams to dese ‘etal, Sie EE, Evans Prichard Theories of Print Relig (1965) goo example. ‘Tis hooket consi of srics of 1962 Iectces, which ding three main domsins ia the Feld of ‘primitive religion”. The. i domain, tha of psychological theories cabot i the igh An ineeemth centurics, analyses conuiasons by President Bro land Augase Comte of Face on African feshitn; Max Muller ‘Germary, on he schoo iluseaedby his ose theme theory a being th ‘ign of human inition about avin in England, Herber Spence alcading thes othe primi concep in atop. nd Tyler, who comelited magic ad siperiton and onthe eer an eivlization and evoneshesm. arguing hat there has hse an eo fiom th fomer tthe Ite: nd, fl, in the United States, Re 1, Lowe specialist of Indian Crows, aconting to whe a eligi behaviour would notenst among Indians but ly 2 eligi sertinen ‘These psychological theres, well stated by Evans Prichard, wer sustained by two epistemological presippitons. The fa cond tional question: IF were hase, bow would I behave areng hes? The secon spposes a evolutonary paradigm: "Pama peop ar "ist people” ~ as they ae called today inthe tel UN} language ~ and tsi eigions would mifet te genesis of hur . development an soy The secend domains that of scolgil heres, Ths, n France i La Cuéantigu, Fst! de Coulanges rl demonstrate thatthe Gree pals was organiza aconting 10 the params of lineage etened family. United in memory of is departed ones ich «family would list have established cult of acevo, then proceeded to divinzs ‘hem, and finaly invent the divine. Emile Durkin, who sil lint the esses of oor sociological paradigms, conse ‘cow's NFLECTIONS ° Pre passages refer to Vilfredo Parcto's Trattato seo an met yet Fo ate eneale. A pose explntion the elon hat fecha fds been lea and noogial acoes (and Bese er son, snd y ac, ies om pss ‘ahaa incniation As Even Prac es “hte ek ay sce “ees” — for cmenince we ye then imi heen ie eis rane fom fpesenpeamer (esi ogi sete, Log hog depend eae he act ert nolo hh ced vans Prichard eaing of Lévy-Brl is eign. One therefore ondes why tas not eeated x major debate ince, nis obec, i nmecs Lévy irl’ Care in which he French plosoper cats his own theory) and sows the methodsogial soundness of iin on etcen 2 gen soit and saeco a sya la. This would exphin the purpose of metapostion. The fssson such thesis bas not provoked reaction might be tat hose who know how io ead carefully also know how te keep seat and, and human stcaces, thos who shout agaist ‘thoes ‘nd obs lieu seuses ar probly not alwys patient ears 'mponars sacs tht challenge facile, pote! agenda missing such10 ‘TALES oF Fam vans Pritchard organs his argument by clesly distinguishing to] ‘questions in Léy-Bruhl the st, methodological ant the second Ptical According to Evane-Prishay she French scholar would here, in terms of metho have chose an oil path oppose the anivopolegial tration of bis tne which supposedly was heen rometing simiats between Westerners and non Westeres ead of analsing ferences. Ths, Léxy-Bruhl would have been ae ofthe Sirst to stay and uerstand cla aitference i its own ems. Lt ne gue Evans Prchaad hms His fnt no oaks about piv peop stl into Els mdr the tikes of How Names Think and Prin. Maw se fo he geher theory af mite ect for which he heame so wc oe He a wns wet at ampieston 9 fy dgh he sens in them ae he Siwy oid is orga sew ia the ptf morn el eer ‘has os and homble an Ich ends He hema ne eve "spin. a aye cmc dg of oe ayy fs Feoks which coiaed ts inte esti! io osteo ke Datei. e cnt the Ealih Scho or tyingo epi scia ‘ac by poset invita tap ~ trou whch ete pet of dere sna tom tase mich aves he isthe Sek ‘derstand They sou how hey nl ve ree ei ad pacts pte peopl. and ten use hat thse Pope st ne Tec them by thw sep In any ee leno yo mere pmo minds in tems fal pelo. The metal of he nda ened tom the ecave repeaters a sce, which ae tgsny ‘ci pon a on te Cal ‘cera peo soils In te nde scl srs ry. wl he reesei, ad consqeyte iad hiking Evy pe scety tas href dnctee meno ea has ste esos ind isttatons. wich re family 2 ean pet Eelestive resents: hye, sf pea, he sears conse “ree ay hn is one to ps et f toe coespucing hem, so we may sje of Panne mena or hey ae fren a ely n dpe, bin uae. 1 mn cea eon me riers aoa Pini pepe he ded pe nm anton there er Tecan fen ‘est ne ei re we ain ys Ws funcn and none hag thm! more cle dhe em ‘Rites sinilarsies in show He bnew tha be was making distortion SSIS pol ew callan ial ett bu be neve pce oe ny avenae en hs prado emehoogeyje ‘Evita, 980 36-0eps ine} Ly Bhs dion of he Law of nti ariiation spas the tll well ein ily rl pute He ws one tearing bene apart of ptr es and Reha ech ar lop senna el af tw bs en fren pep Misamis mt tej sor have es cree he oes ‘ay iespan pine maga clin bya hay purring som why i ae ame aa, wht he cn ea He ke tem (van Piha, 198.85 my emp would be ponless to go ck 4 the orginal and foes on what René Gira in summing up ton, sce as aconsin of eateries in 9 primiive iteration of pheaamens (Girard 1987: 62). For me ‘hats important is the objetivtion of Lévy-Brah's arguments by Evens Patchad, To involve LévysBrls tex Wud demand that ws face the text in themscives as well asthe procedes leady ‘scilvng formation coming from missionaries an vellers who ‘hiedo translate conrte everyday eperencesef ives languages Fairy. ant Lévy-Brah's parila istry at pllosopher as‘remarkable sade! of German pilosophy. specially of Jacobi egal Ths had an impo bow Ley: rl read stilts traveler” epons on frimiives To sum up ay pont: Evans fend an objectifying intrretation in Lévy: Brhl ~ an interpreta ccaifed by both the Hegelian perspective of his preceding stud fa his corespondents” naraives~ which constricted a vision fi cer objctiving interpretations projected by real native informant Subordination an deviation - vile when ne yon othe scale Arian ‘something’ ote avant discourse of Liy- Bra ~ anes ative performance and though mutations scones a hype theoretic!” model on cara diferences, The second question i vas-Prihar’s aanative is more pola. In order to expat the reason and pertinence of Levy-Bruhl's tle cones. sack 1 preogicat representations, collective mentality and participation tic. ~ all of which were import in his plowphy of eatres EvanPrtchar, a close fiend ofthe French philosopher, ha et amazing confidence, Fst oe notes an inlet accord betwee colleagues, had eever seen pimiive ran, fe tao oot thik ‘mycin te no ectopic who pe Cites sa ona tv pedro ‘The kmilogy mak, a ary fr Bt ae, ha ought Sac ‘ator when nf wah ep chap he moe Bg fcc mages pn oh pp ike tvs att vd weapon, He mea {He dns nt mets hel pres apa of king cohen) but met hat ft re nc wih ea a ‘Sot ow of he mere. hey se ear est snare. ie ug to pines sige, ate gh ae (var Pian, 198081 erp) (000s INALECTIONS, 13 dso explain how Léa was “oat bean Ptchard prove Ten Fea ay ah, or a of he speaking ey ne seasons More explicitly. Lévy “is categories "olor or prichologial diference beeen speaking, 0 Tyee). DO 2 socal one" (16S: 82), But primis ec sci fete insofar as Atican communis fo owes Ean Pict trng oe snc Oa a cor tay oe neage organizations? Brief can we ay that in vee "Vet sm he ride hat allows, sucha poston des i wocabulry 3 wll i oe ica enya owe ofthe npetenth century? Clara nae ponte in EvanPrchrts reaing of Léy-Bruhl a a teeing hat which ebewher. in popular wring for example (ea deed istry. The ga men’ or he rca and collective represettins” of te soalled primitive cn ns Pritchard notes thee ci ool, wold poi this sense, ‘engl pina of ese mite poten nha Ly Bra eas ie of eps pripatn.The elective Temeenin of panne ein war rc wich te reese ‘kn ones patie min Re des ab angus Between ebectie ‘arte wold cal he supe oo 15) Bs erm me Fest etc hngsthr t wt ewoal eal he jv eons Fete tem To ete eval Ihave wa fr, ene ive ple “neh shon- Oar rte peop sspears an hey will See wea enw um eRe wal ae va rts, 1960: 88) Bosh Lévy Bra and Evan Pica are psychologizing and der ring the diteence beeen pritive and na-pemitiv in terms of aFundamental psychological structure mystical versus tow. Note esenbuncos can Sand any Further apr from esenialist nes, whi Were given atthe foundston of presuppositions. Theses had lem ‘tala tt evlanary model which marked Lévy-Brat’s hy ‘tess and insrtes themselves in Evane-Prtchar's reading, Inf Evans-Prtchard was introduced co them stant and by choosing ‘aoplogy as is own work tse, be accpted the separation fn ancestral memory, historical one, fom its confontins wit "yctronic elas exten int the present oth the representation ofthe bepionings and thew ppzreatiaconaiy. In vans Phares reading. one may sense the presence of mute values andthe ig a easy of cultural wales. Hence, i fc! to nom from whisk hidden toror and from whom ~ Lévy-Brul or Evans-Pichard — intifieation ie the following i coming Levy Bra 6 ao, 1 thik, animus aged among satel rade priv people far more sper oe a omen wot Feo ha hy real ar ane mae teen me ling Bete ‘any. Fr hi Christy and ual were so perish pec! al maa! mentay, and on i defo mecearty se tad the mol i urn cnr irs he ele limel a» Berpun empty erred col scung pve can rotszsing ay cvent cman, cep chance He heey lcd hn, owen hs doesnt mean ha nos ses fhe word priv ought stone iy he Fecha Men wi og cence of imine people Rave ft confess eat pies oe, Especially nitric, ast ee osu sense face te se Todo Ba, even 1th thr Lit Brad cul hve posed Oe [ekn te bre advo Is net so math geaion of tive wrt ‘ised mel ar the rltion of ope hh 0 ec her Ie ‘ny sock, her print o cle «problem ofl of wg tne ps7 8 Sorc teen evr Piha, 198091. amp te By ye soe how Lévy-Brufl reflect himself io some of AE eof Levi Strauss, The Savage Mind (1962, 1966). Le ws which ty ae ale Le Ss ‘Primitive religions ~ the psychological, the sociological or that of16 ‘Ass oF rar ‘hat aes pase in he resonvenon of mhodoloiel pri ccouning for cultura eiferenes from psyclopica to socolgialthores Léxy Bra’ hypothesis. On the other hin, thee ian epstenologc _senelogy rom he tine of Presiden Bross otha of August Co Max Moller, Herbert Spence, Edwaad Tylor and Robert Lowie, th paradigms of discourses seem to obey «bilgi model (reli fod prctis ar seen psf 4 ving eran) a th Confose biology and cultures, In ioral descriptions, eligon and itspracioes ar sce spars of an cvoving totality and se apprehended ‘organs that havea Benning. an evolution and possible trans ‘ations sein betermens anime, pte, mates. the sociological doin rom Fave de Coulanges to Viltedo Patt 1 socioeconomic medel imposes ise Religion belongs 10 social Sucre, more exactly to cule siperstractre, This isthe area in which dncourses are products of valet! tension between ‘an ideological sigalicaion and tation of speculative practices ‘tension relying on a organization of production and power vidi discursive practices. The reconversion = which sacl «rote from a prychological toa scilopcal model ad then to Lévy-Bruh'| sthrolopcal paradigm, exerts an ifence apn the way we rad the realy of Affican religions tay. The tional readings are ro renin as part of ctrl orders generis bt nded, a signs and roofs of something ele, namely, epistemological caezoris unfolding from a inellectalconiguration completely alien o he cultura paces ‘they lai to reflect. As paradoxical sit may seem, EvansPitchar's Ley Bra ight be one of the bet signs ofa eset general and funmentl mation of istry an its rere of non Western igo and clues The troder sequence of prams is well known: the evolution of| ies illustrated by Frazer ané Tylor: Ley. Brat esearch on pie renal the Vien school sith sts presuppositions on nos Wester prsctioes,usingdifsion as Ky to, and alguneataton fr, the most Foritve religious fextues a aly, functions that explicitly tamer the cope of Attic eligon int the domain of pis. For Radelife-Brow, for example, religion ws jos an ance clemcnt to sci suture and most fanctnalist Woks om the ‘00's NFLECHIONS 0 soe 1980 fds on sch paaipms a ancestor won’ 1c impact Ho teams of autorty (Fores, Colson) sb and i ce Prichard, Wade! Marwick) as ar mode of solving i On Fancobons counties, the power of Lt-Brul i ere pce Tepes Belgian Pancscan and a Cahalie ple when he arved inthe Relgian Congo in The ‘Primitive’: Fora Semones of Absence rimiive 6 an aopogca concept fr what i ‘pening #9 & evens of bal people having cull or physical siniaies rik cr eas ancestors” "no longer in echnical as, sas the Vpntrteed second eiton of The Resdom House Dictionary of the Tela Language (1987), This sees mere Hike a good wish han & fic The untwopologial Faison might somehow ave marginalized the won, hut is semaate web sill demiats the configuration of the dscpline an abet, Trough complex chins of concept fapivalencs, ft engates have been rxtinized and now tong 1 the general intelectual vocabulary of any well-edoced! Westen Fellow In fact, pritive anicens the semantic values of sch ‘onmon aijectives as aboriginal, ri, evap, simple, uncivilized, “sophisti, unefinede But more cleuy Han these primive sss eineys the Baie noon of genesis and iis immediate impcatons, ately well ated ia the Latin pinto, x synonym of prmigenas“viginal st bor’, tha comes ist’, Howevet, in tus esoiton of peo, there ae two suble, cmplementy Yet opposed ~ sie: ane of "sence nstgated by the naion of Pomogsniu, which spy implies tat the prmary comes air ot "im sething: te sacend, one ofa ese’ established in that the pristine ctaies a quately spe pos gees evento form tha jc sety relive toa something™ shi in this ase would be a ling Grmencig scsesn of evens Tis parade! poysemy Speech in numberof technical usages. fn loi, for instanceome ques as prime »propsion whi, in # deductive system, | fot interes fom another proposition. Ir ings ad pln Printve designates ary ial form tom which another element ‘eres trovah morphological o historical tasfnatin,Fially. #2 biology as well si thet, one faces the same ambguons ale fa genesis ining simultaneously both presence and an absence inte dsipmtes 2 variety considered sprit and very shh ‘eveloped, eran algebraic or geometrical paradigm fentioning 88 referential ass or dred forms In antropoogy and sociology. primiivenes was inily sed in the seme of he elheent-centy German Natur, which mas 4eference oft atte a an abso ones ad ths 0 min ‘utstuive elements, simplicity ad archste, The Lalande symesiaes well this problematic (1952 424-7) One of the eka deinens of mie given by Emile Durkin in the beginning of Les Farmes ementaes dea vie relgiewse: News does dn ime wpe te fe pl ini os we Wianeitc rene andy ts don fovoren eee ‘fern onan ne cpt ne ein a rycen rm ie (Dare. 9 cngbas) [We say tat seis syste the me emi tw cin abere ni obs he flommg wo Sm: nt ae fol ‘eps o epi Me yen to ero to element fom a ise, and we shel pve a meres Sie James Frazer's monumental work (88 ©. 1963) is prodiated ma sitar understanding that defies pimivenes onthe bans of aviguity and svt implicy, Léry-Beal asthe Ket o pose itand, i Les Fonction mentals dans les soc inferieures, xpicly aryl aguas Frazer's peniple of simplicity — io the eveltion of co0'ssEcTIONS » thoght aswell a mater the snplest always comes fist chronologi cally. Lésy-Brl nots that languages spoken in “primitive societies Init be more primitive” than Fagin, yt wines to areal eompleiy cd, sabsoqucely. the concept of singly should not he confused with that of undiferenstness A sinlar understanding canbe found in (Cart Gusta Sang wok Pinkney, ie wis, fr re he cio hey ina he “ewes mind fares eeloped nope ninety Fanos chat ining, ling eaten et eee hy are press, at promive dows thik con, bt tha ght pyar The rie nea set thre i te at "nen ns oe ‘0580185 Imerestingly enough nthe specialized vocabulary af anwopology mii an printveness are dosed inadegut from the Bein fin. Dart consider primitive an almost amaveable tem Jacking in rcision. Lévy Bruhl~ apropos who is penne? ~ sates that “by this inpraper ye aloe indispensable term (of primitive, ‘ve aan fo designate the members ofthe simplest societies Hal wwe know’. The sie ambivalence can sll be found even ia the ‘mos iiican waings of comenpeary andpology fr example ‘Evan-Pitchard end Li trans. In Evin Pris neds 19 heoreofPrintve Religion 1980, a opposition iazervanes between the Vicor prosperity and progress’ and “peopl singin small-scale societies and, more importantly, there is distnction between the logical and chronological meaning ofthe word primitive: ‘rmsd ever mas fo Be thins of age, Bo Senne lige tse the designatlon of my hors ho wrt he ‘Shut aglage of tne when ome othe pel thy wee sh cu ‘Succ te give, te gi tne f Vicon pope and pots, ad. Se ay nearer amp of yee But the hor eed yim im wht Weber tt vale fee tne od tyr egmaogicly ep vgn ea sos th ipl mel eaten kingto encase conto aol tgs a eu wil Tetertcan uve stops snd chonloiel vm sto sess = Soins thse he dine even ote min god ola {Hoi 18 19) From slighty diferent perspective, Cade Lévi-Strauss boris his scussion of “The Conept of Archason sn Antizopelogy’ by fis Siuting the primitive again the object of the histeran, and then sas the Wester nda an cultural exparsion: ‘os tha pomec nthe sneer rms ei hen Bot {Secomonpary maton nd wale vos. We bars ‘rime cities Bu what do we een By hs? Take yal 38 ‘expen car cop, Fs we tne” deo 0 va Soy mec pie ee ea ach Hee the cpio of inna cvieto an vase est 0 ruc and wort ie, the Cmaps fein td plc ploy ‘eure unto urowm soy apa Be wr sal “This van excellent question, nde where do we dr consinsing separation terwocn wha pintive and what is noe? Lévi Strauss {eters exp to Pharsonic yp se ancient Cina. One might also wing in for example, the Aztex, ca and Mya cvizatons ane thas inion the completly selaive perinence ofthe two enierit wed tone of tieracy and economis. LEv-Strans marbals Some tong fac that woul probably have Babergasted some nineteenth-cetary tnuhvoplogss: A primkive people i at a backs! or& retarded people indeed it may possess noe ea OF another.» ges for Invention oration (ep scilaelplsnning of waionsl Ausrain Communities, tht leaves the achievements of cvlzo# people for fetind” “nor do primitive people ack histor, although its devel tment often eludes us” (19632 102), Finally, tbe loge of his own fument leds LéviSrase to the curious dsinction posed by Marcel Mauss between “conventionally sesanated primitives" and ‘oo'stsruscrions a true primitives’ and, timely, to very simple conclusion: “The lanpertan hing is to help anthropology to disengage self from te losphial residue stoning the term pritive. A tae primitive “ociery shouldbe amon, sity, soo speak, a one with scl? (1968117), ate primitive soe)" amnot be hutan inverted mss nd pare perfection As Lévi-Strauss nlf quad tin Tres Topigues mop) ed someting esha he revlon of opin sate taut the dconey ofthe ptt wc he dept of oe est (hele wt 10 4rd met of ama cit Ih dr ot Coetpond toy sera rain bl with hed of hich we my Saceed ie singing betece nh i rior and ha aia to tnt cus which hs pea never exe ad ich wil pba “Tau ene aft op emer on pst ite (G9T7 6, empbsis) Here then, the prado. In the Dri histry of antroplogs the terms “rive” an “primtvenes” have always been ariulating to antnomic vals, Spesenee” and “absence presence’. in the trey of small-scale societies having simple soca and econo organizations: and ‘absene’n whi the preceding uaicton imps 1 Tak incladingiiteracy aa he clara an sca difereites. sco abso begining. One thos wonders hw it Evan Patchard ould lim to manipulate sich conceps in a values sense. Cause Levy Stus ws ight eden these eonceps 10 "a thereial rade” that we cOOld thematize a6 being a set of matings in ‘he Santean semen ic, the peeve oe oxpinal mar would be functioning ike «Being-rlse in which a Reig Forel would be simltancousy colin and refecing tal asa susciuted presence, + consciousness, This image is important, Ie allows ws © radial conection of our itrodisive defiion fom the Random House Divionary anda ne rigiros concepmalizaton ofthe pMHVe 8 | repowenttion which, i ay piven elle, sigiies ts own genesis -withis paradoxical quate of absence’ and presence ‘Let at goa it farther by lsking at ve ate concepts ~ mightand zero ~ an bow well they exemplify the ambivlet values of primitives of any genes "Why doce the aay begin at ihight? The response i as: I & omen lgacy euros one ~ tht makes the West the ony cae ih enc the aeration of days and nights, yesterdays and romoows 2 fans ona biprion ofthe aight. For ancient Egypsan, Gresks wear kewse, mat non Wesem people te day epi dawo oF a ‘Mn and sucha cvision ems pes nara ofarasit obeys the tie couse of the solar dix Georges Duméait explains the Roman Rome tert had lope the mile of be nig and fom eis const ao ie sc es there Romans, aoa chet Tor Sttie,We ain Marois Saumal, 1368 ‘Ast he cot ofthe Roman peuple, pote by Varo of coin he ds tmnt ota eae Int me 6 et muse ae ens an peso fo wich hy ‘Taro uno day. Sx hg he omens he dog an esti erm the te lan buns at pried 10 te ars fa Rene an cme oy So, whe th leave ae mp mos ids aber 7 uth Reman Question, Patch woos why te Reman sete ny mage rns ncening, wh et st Comte ne ae ade i vans cig te mi Te sven eaceine,ag o eprom. But NS Specie 2 Tee fat crits wel ptt or ve nerd 9 oO i Sym Yo fs af atch he sand ga He aa tg ema rae igs ean ous dict fm the se ene the Maal ies 8 wut he (Deer 1980" 108 “The Maia, a ual and fesival Monering Arora or Mater Mati the pede dam, was cele on 1 Je in pepsin fr te Maver slic al the exsissymbclied by the Tongest day of dhe ‘900s NFLFCTHIONS 2 ear, This tual was hus anita the Dvalia which, unde the Frvonage of diferent goddess, Diva Angerona, marked the Winer fotsice on 21 December, and prepared for anus des, the shores hp In fac the wo fev exposed the same expectation and pave fr repula, equal and siccesve days and nights. We should Tt tht 1 He tese rapport Between Avrora and Angeron, tweed the pouvelyexesive represented by the summer solstice ihe Honest oy ofthe ea) andthe nepavely excessive represented bythe winer Solstice he est ay) theres anetber syrunctrcal oppor aad (tus a pod! dukes, a negative vers 2 postive pat ofthe gh Jeter veneer midi In oter words the day mast sieeed the hah and in mythic representations, hs signif that Auro—the goa val benevolent godess sould fllowcareflly and brig ofnton the Som, the lerin roles, the product of someone else's body ~ that ih bing concelved tefore her presence. Ths exer confusing point tn Roman theology is expressed eau by Dum thee rites) a hte 8 bat 8 pod Danes, one he home dys expt fom ey y Aaron, he ae pest ith sre mtg to Acs te fares in ing or: a 2) ta nthe mae fhe Sty i Ms ope te Abs he TESRME Tjian ater tp fer be as een repre an Tee te mer tye healer poles» by the Dares aa ai of acomparying hi th if he has as ie ‘See aan be cept eho he sw = oe whom the Vee as tingly tthe tao aber nip forthe compen of rears por turn be ale tole charge of he Sn. he BK prom hr af pret anparrient ema Fu Nhs sanritbe ra roe rb realy oe fe place. Te ROOHs nen dy es wo moe tm Fant his alge: he sec pr SFr drm erring wt it ure bor nepal ‘om ey at flo nf thes pf he dy “Dare Ay 18, my enptass) ‘The Roman deory ofthe biarttion of the nigh inherited by the West and now expanded almost all wer tbe work, is remarkable sn how it pots miright as the paratigm of an absence wishey TALES OF Fa siko & presence tat i, an exempliicaion ofa primivenes, The osu mythical sepresenaton spells owt very sea The tension econ solsices duplicates ist in the opposition and length of days and rigs which, in tom, reproduces Hei i the two pts ofthe night midnight being someting like arable reference. 1 functions simultaneously asa negative and posite pat of dsjuncton its fore sa mina, dyer bythe absence ofthe sim a alo By such nogaive manifestations ss ominous ighnings and the demons shiek a Christianity would wan, then haunt the Wor, flr 3 plus an incarates a postive climate a newbom light ascens sly ur steadily the solar ds becomes sgn oie and al prises, Brey. an! much more importa, ming, symbolically 2eo in ou ‘common representation is, 0 this day. an absolue earl 3¢ well a Juicoelipiousparsigm:the day begin a midnight. The 2e0 by is Ick of eferemahy and absence of + monosemic sive signified might, saris mutans, ilasuates the complemen tay values of “peesence™ and “ahence™ inn more short sy In Signing Nothing (9), Brian Rotman noes the confi percep we may hive of 2r0, ihe a sign symbolizing the absence of eto sins, ea spn given fora primitive and ambiguous ost in the ede of numbers. “ne etmnlogy of eo, vin ‘ype tom the Hae suns (= vid ceely ‘eal I tie organi comes at the of 8 7 ‘meanings Gace do tent eto hig In sy eve ‘sence of erin other mathematical ign, ad mt the Nn psec {ny al ties tae suppenly epee ft pre te wih repel thm. Aty ple ihn «Hinds mural be fone oe Sic pei tener he sence the sen 3, ss 8a tha poe ao Is ths a so ene. a metas. one ing the empty pli. ty cong he exe ere. the pson whch foes « metas forlned ntrmef,Bscare fm and ero, ‘te peeamters Bot ean ecu inh main of aber es ahetin coc wh erdiarymanbers In nach eins as 0-0. 3e0e E01, 32-2) Dando zo peas expla ner mang ants, bavi he est peti ne ae pan. ‘nerchangse wih the er ube. “To conlade provisionally his prciminry 0 «possible smiexes of abuene, I would like to empbisize tha ou tre concepss~ the Driniv. midnight and zero ~ sare numberof characteristics that fe eoulé refer to, ode o iat om ht "pei" st of al ‘hey are al signs atalizing in thir Deng “nothing, which can ‘mywerioly taste self ino“ something’ secondly. this sign — ‘oe me exact, his spier~ a untenable paradox in the pose of the word signi ike omer and, a the sme tine, a metas thanks to which llth oters get their nature: people ids the riniive, Bours visdvis midnight, umber vissbvis zero. Thirdly, these sigs or sigs ncaa conmadicry vines and are quid by bw ated adjectives. In fact they ae bile negations of a void and yt relive insti a they iscibe themselves as genesis omens in x chronological logical order of succession for eles fours and numbers, The tre features could Re uted and reduce 0 ‘he scandal stulined by zero a sig that Cheisinty opposed or ‘qte a tong time since sgeying nothing, whieh ino an absolute ‘nim wate fee! of gn fomaton Sigieaton coer dieree, ec he ed fo ethan one sig, Hom to pode wih he imino al 1 and et ae enter cal 10 seing te ane fie sgn 1 OF couse mcs poets poder he fees ape ‘Surly 0 Sore: a thee osc a mance lees thr way ae oan ett rch ee, Sh aay tha salons sg foe epee ferme ft al Sete gi yO” . as ofthe system, othe rosea cede othe Hi vie ‘Soph ines byte pnceive snely peste ince inkomen tte ces mage ere OF Testament coun eon ith, steey he nese eine fumes eed by Gob time oro pe) Ain ae ‘Sats Pvaued Bola bute a eerge he inary forms TES See of py a The primitive seems «mystery, a etaproble as Gabriel Marcel would ave said. We could suggest tht it was one ofthe basic ‘Shon in Wesem rpresettion — mest explicily so since the end ifthe eiphzenh centr, we accept Michel Fooca’s hypothess fn he reapreprain and formalin of weneaoay and chrooology in such diciptines ax biology, eEenomics and Inguitics, 0 whi tte cou, witout hesition, sho ad antopolog. Infact, tis ne ‘iene rethinks the West by focusing om the primiive, hat West Sich a Jeas-Lue Nany wrote tthe very theshold of Phe Bh Presence (1983), is peiely what designs lf a int a demarcation, en we Cea putes hack the rts of ts Imperium BY ea singular, the Wes appa ae wat hs 1 lia. gala Chivera! vovton Ltt to svend sown deimtaon. He pets te (So to theclowre that ie Ts cess med ina wayy pppoe seat, desinmon. et) im pari, (cd eps: Rersesons what devranes el yt omn onl te neibe reeset or een (1988 1 my emphasis ‘Aesthetic of tvocatin versus Aste of Viewty [As noted caer, Pacide Terpels avived in Central Aftica us & Gig of Lévy-Brl prepared 1 work on the cla and religous Inetamorponis of the priv. Sore years Inter, wit is slimes. Bann Phiosopy (194). Temgels became the defender of ingenious syste of hgh for the implementation of en lightened cole fale tht would respect and promote the most postive elements of ‘Aca traditions. Te Franciscan missionary is nt, sity speaking, tn acide He is a oie tht ca be localize fom EsansPricirt's 1968 reading of Léxy-BrAl, Tempel” conditions of possibility are in he nella cate tht, in the 1920s, makes difasioism and fonctions pertinent in athropology abd progressively marks the social sinees (Copan, 1974 and 1978). This gradual tansfortion imately ted to Clande Lévi Strauss generalized reais (1958, 1962, 1966) nthe lt 140s and throughout the 19505, Tce recent publistion wil lp usw localize the change of sen saa ts itn Sally Falk Moore's survey of he history of Afriean ‘Anthropoiogy (1998), Dismas Musolo's Afocenc suppstions ina Tinoria presentation ofthe price of pioscphy in Afrin (1998), tna Ere de Roanys prescriptions (981, 1982) fra new pastorate of tn Anivoplogy and Africa (199), Sally Falk More auaies 8 history ofthe practice of anthropology apropos Ain. An expsasion St her “Changing Perspectives n a Changing Aca: The Work of ‘Antrpology.a chayerpablsie in Africa and e Disciplines ted hy Rote: Bus (1993. the book brings ozther the principal ead of tem century Aficanantopelogy, which is exactly her objective foe publishing is In the wing of his ay Fee need 0 cone & dese wee Uns commatfs ont gts conten a ert pepsin Sfimany the bok mesons. Mh mere col so ve ben se bo ‘iu wh ett hes fl sed wel ava he ale ve hihi ops ty. By messy Lave ont ‘Stn amtopeley vf aa wl ot sew en stout eins wana Ear wba to et nen fo ing ir wok ply Boe ha (or, 1986 vt) eis fie to say har och an eters is maked by the promise in ‘which it inserbes Half a history ada discourse claim to transcend2 TALESOF FA svoraphicaldivances and reflcct on questions and dramas of & Spl pracie. Some smporant momen re emphasized: the teplnring, before 1920; the middle colonia pid. 1920-190; the Incr eolnial pert 1960; and after, the Afican independence Fro ‘our endlessly relived debate onthe peninence of eur anlatons fn incomes of human experiences, Moore dwells en the Stangsness of “sintfc™annalaions of stance and how, in their Timi they Ive made powible new supplemental horizons, bey Jes foreign renderings of African human context, ives and histori “These moments can be reduced to a mumbor of Sts of aes an antoplesical end af the edo the sietenth century, Tylor and Morgan: then in Americ, the peri of Hous, Krober and Herskovits in Britain, the era of Malinowski flowed! by ha of Radel Brown, Evans Piha and Fores and flyin Pane, by tha of Delfose, Grau, Baldor and he sacral. "Moe's Anrep and Africa presets tre main features: Fst ofall itis clear and dependsle peseation of anitropology’s ‘changing perspectives on a banging sene” with he explicit ambition cof “ienifying, undentaning and comparing wlat were conceived of as eal "tadion, and adressng the changing cure Afric experience” (1994 131, Secondly, using tbe metipbor of the sake ‘tng its own the suitor question he perience of what she alls ‘met-antopology” (os, for exile, actualized in he United States ‘by Clon! and Marcu) Indeed the atonshp between knowledge tix power seems a major Sue in te colonial exereie as well 8 inthe developet of amvopoloy. Laer on, aprops he “Colonia {rary fal comeback otis particular pnt ~ with reference © ny Invention of Arica (198) ~ and mediate on how good analytical Inventions might Ika to distros reat. Infact the contusion of 2 beathyautcrel stance inthe history ofa dsiptne an tical predicament, ae well sated for instance by Leila Abu-Lughod (41986), Gérard Lecee (197) or Peter Righy (1985), cant be eed to. shoe acident, The dependene of antropoogy on te expansion fof Farope overseas and vie versa tts to both a poltial and an Irelotal spa, despite the fact and this is ifferet aor sue — that cul ter Foucault. ote at —— there erin posto fhe Wess a tha consid ins ery Ih povierefnatn or he lation sn ve hal ate sie, ew wth he sce n which see appeared. Obvious. hs does fermen that the ong stuaton inden to wi nh thc, ome psoas Roto 5 he Tae a be eee ny ite a vile of prea elstonsip and te wanes AT podcee, So enolgy can astm proper simerson nt wt the Instone svoigny leas ra. tae reve ropa ‘howe andthe eatin hat con bing fae fae witha he cares (Bou, 1970 377, my emptais) In shor apropos he power-knowledge reliensip inte practie African anthrpoloy, Koes a mater if parca study represents 2 Colona representation ano Whit ssipieat is that a given work ‘tsenuncaton, might perfomratively ave the uth of clonlism and ‘tsobscureambiputes nang cise should ily ad hat Sally Fak Moore's book iat excellent guide tht rings antopolony and Arica comprehensively together. LA. Masao’ Areas Philosophy in Search of deity (1994) shares, noch with Sally Falk Moore's over is it concer the fate of discipline ~ tie tie plosophy — its conrovere nllestual Foundation in colori tine and its postcolenal destiny’ second Both Moore's ana Masol's books intend 19 Be iarodutions to aexlemic lnowedges and their perforce thie, both emphasie easn and its genclogy a vay of sporehending hat sou here in is proper and tropic mately. For Moore, st the object of anthropology: for Masol, the practice of plesophy in a new space ~ tha 8, inthe reaprehesion of an intlectal genealogy. Here, we could finger a iference Between the two projets. Moore aborts on the iscipine in ial and fom it store ockgreund evaluates concrete tdscusve practices, Masol, om the oer Rand, chooses oiteropate te very reason that makes is discourse posible, qualifying his oon reading aa reconsctvis term which symbolies many aspects of| the stugeeof the people of African origin conta thei owe dey In th specie sense, Mao distances hinself fom Moore and plays Aangeovaly on an feocemticy” perspective0 TALES OF AMT Atrocemicty conceives its goal from a poston that clims 10 render @ enuioe eli of an African history and its cules. Io this sens, the pital pan-Afcania of Kame Nkrumah or the clr prescriptions of Senghor's Négrnle are Afrocentric, Thee best expressions would be, the Kenyan Ali Mazn’s proposition of tes legacies accounting forthe present-day African dems the “Alcan past or walibons: the pots of Ila at Christin: od the upsurge of « modemity which, since colonization, would have radially transformed Afcan spaces and cultures. Thre is in the Unied Sites wodsy a itforet understanding of Afrocentsy. proponents perceive themselves as dicipes of tbe late Sheik Anta Diop, a Senegalese nuclear plyscst and Eeypologst who Spe his lite demonstrating cate connections between Black Afric and the “Modicrrancan basa. The mos wel-known ofthese theorist Mole Asote of Temple University. On the whole, tei perspective sem to esate African cultures, reducing the complexity of histories to some metaphors se their vristons. In tis rnspsiton tit an Uberagung ina Feeian operation, the real self isos ina magnificent region. The contradictory. nepdined, snd perpetually recommenced ‘nuncation about oneself ~ and whose tah is always and aleady in the appotenson of oneself ev abeng or ther ceases fo indicate the imiency of a existence (of any eusene) of cule (fay clare) as ppc. The contin for being ones as slf-conciousos sto apyebend onset 45 a self that does not and cat coincide to self. [As Sarre would have put it" fede which wills lf feed Js i fics being-whichienctubiticis and whichiewhat tenet and.which choot at the ideal of being, being-whatitie-not and sotbeing-whatitis" (1956. 798). Yet, inthe Areican coment, wih litseseatalist presuppositions coneming ethnic elise fom 2 debious hype! notion of a abcace Of mything, abs Dank (ee Hacker, 1994; Fo, 199), any sane person mx cod ond if for African-American, the Afroceaticty supposition snot Polly» raiaal cic, Bu that i diferent ue Finally sould 8e not vthink the obvious, By which T mean the Aiversiy of knowledge in cltrlYagacons inthe interpretation of human experiences? Recent argument y Eric de Rosy in Les Yous de ma Chere (981) and L Afgue des Gudrson (1992) hoi comertely that Lisy-Bel's so-called preogial mentality, im actuality, 2 reasonable tion to he oi that, sing fatigbed expression, the ana sin ts on ht ‘ational Independemly from Lévy-Bral' ecaaton in Les Carnet, oes this conadtion ot spy siaity that any nse of tif could be perceived ax constuting a system with #8 own rons and rules? The Freach lest missonary, Ene de Rosy, ave in Cameroon in 1987 and served for spay years atthe deco of a ite of economic and social development in Abin, Ivory Con. Inthe 1970s, ho tepan mesg and isenng to nganga’ an Alcan triton healer, nd writing down bis impressions nen years, fom 1970 to 1980, Thave inhabited this book a ft were 2 Rouse, giving fo its dimensions more and more with. hve wsten down on paper my observations, with the cent that 1 have to commie chem. Inte andinoduced iat what ne might all -aferEvan-Pitchand natural philosophy’. Esc de Rest spy ates: “Fw arpnents pushed me wo converting my pst essays inure bok, Moreover, ould see & gang operating en met the pin ha my epee wee opened” by one of them snd indo. 1 winied them to be krown by the Ingest pubic possiie, Simultaneously, Twa feed by my immediate mic, paniculy by a Douala friend, to speak ob: and ourelf he tod me oe day, what do you think of al ha?” (Se Rosny, 1981: 9-10, “This isa major symbol To the class iT were a hare” principle (whi a pon ara posterior can sti the usefulness «Held work) ic de Rosny opposes the how I became shor” rise by a "master ‘ofthe aight he French esi proclaims the ode of his nly discov cred system "What is beyond normal sion and knowlege of exinay ‘morals: that the ther sie of things, the work! of secret items and hidden projets (e Rosny, 19:64). Here the swarenew ofthe witness simultaneously assents (see aso de Rosny, 1992) 9 cola ‘eats adhe confidence nf lever in ‘those who have ween the gift of perceiving invisible realities sod who have an impressive power da allows them 10 act on health iknes ro he advantage or te dbadvamage of normal human Beings” (de Rosey, 196: 6) fs2 TALESOF FAN such a poston ao somehow duplicating Evarw-Pritcad's comments SE Levy Brat" The individ ears hepato thought in ich eds ohh nyse eomnecions are establishes” 1980: BO of oe sJpicay in accord with de Ross interpretative activity (192) ‘Wethwte conectins: Thee no epuabeantopotosst who sy Tepe Levy Bruhs) they of 0 dint types of mental: Tove Drab i also wrong in supposing tat thee #8 necessary & cantaicon beowen an objective cabsl explanation and & myst sre not so, The two Kinds of explanation canbe indeed they Sr he tosetier, the one supplementing se tir; and they ae Do therfore exelsne (Evans Piha, 1980: 88-9) Thee fore: and yous, Ne tid ee one dy. what do you thnk fall he?” The French Jesuit coud at but hve peeved what his hetason froma Tend was powbly ecg and reliious vals Trueed te ii evidence in caling upon connection Beween is Ivtaton and ess" question to hi dscpes abou se -and you te sald hen, what do you think about me?” 1s the coineence of Prins of view he that consitatesannerestng sync challenge TRtton fom outside, a rox clamans in deseo, voice coming fom the widemen ofthe unkown and, on he oer sd, an expectation, ans faith facing ad uncovering the unbelievable etait of a0 ldknown sytem, of revelon. As Jean-Lae Nancy Wstes apropos sacha mysterious cl ‘he ober is cle ot 0 whee sere beter sje oe sition Deceit pswure or of os ot ssn en EH 6 an SES a come en erage ‘ars dot you hve 1 cneee and ou seamed to av Sone 9 a ove ott ven is ee ma? “fart an hs he ho rage Hu wt ces etre at Bin oa Sesto nse Tose ae sr an es wih how ing of toga comet. (acy. 193: 246) ‘Now 1 have aparently confused everthing in he pay of opFosion an lnegraion 0 fides ad ratio, revelation and sytem, mstical cal esplanan, 1 at not commending the celebration of & ‘Stnccpal sndoras-a methodoloical ed bot swegesing tat the f 00'S LECTIONS 3 canfiotation tween these concepts basally atsizs the paradoxes Grape which wescens th olenoe and ension in pene. The ‘asa the preset te nermaiv and te ext, and the civilized ad Fae carage cn be gminated a comparative ccees ine uakedness veg noe (a maintenant chasing all boundaries. Let me lust is by sonenarizing Robert Plant Amstions’s work on The Powers Ur Presence (981). four de fore tha combines a deep knowles ectcucs in genera, Afscan ams and very rae pilsoptice Gocner, Tham ofthe ty is double: to understand and examine flow "the work ofa isa presence and hat abides power. and ho PRA ad sow be condone ofthe werk’ subjectivity andthe vrs of ts pomers’- On he way these pools the read seated a exerci exngierpetation of the nate of art The cnt lero th Book can he sumed up in the Following gwocaton: ‘re poms the wot flletng psec tthe powers af en ab Freee el atanbee Beco ns wt sto ening someting MESS poverto coc elf sa sabe eine oF Ren = The six chapters ean be grouped into soe pats the ist compesing un anata othe powers of invocation and wht Armstrong calls the one f the ana I desls with he conrass ftween work of semnoaion. which ends xis ian ambien ine mpeformancs nck oan vray, whic x deveined by spac lone, hus ‘Mu hve the sac of imation Yes he aesthetic of vibosy Te te Best works “are conceived tobe physic! si of extra moral veoes eg an important mask ~ which may be so sng tat Thaptean and fin do vita or destoy the piss which hosts es Tok 12) the contrary. accaing to the aor, "the aesthetic of ranity odginats inthe tecng of te work of feting presente Tom dependence up te ners of gods and fhe extral sources {ruts 13) Too ma themes appear ro this opposition OOS the eanonsipe between “fering viewosties’ and “dering ais trovement' he other is about humans ws sbjets of» complex andM ‘TALES OF Farm ‘expanding reper of behavioural options. Im his analysis of the powers of the analogie, Armstrong, emphasizes the significance of ‘humans’ anaogic estates ander extemalizton, He tae that human istry ha been the history of human explain ofthe potetalites of sata st temporal analogies (1981-2), and ths e ean adress the Stas of works and the powers of he aaloie Part we comprises three chapters’ eon the “Powers of she Mythologie” and two onthe Powers ofthe Mytoform. An essen {ial paradigm inspired by Jung's philosophy introduces the analysis The mythic it the unsere of our consciousness” enactnet of certain genera highly aba, universal and generative dynamics of| being human” (1B: 48). This perspective allows the author a else imine tetwcen mshologeme (ihsmatic and dame ales of forsciousnss which exis recuringly and powerfully among. man’s behavioural option’) and mthoforms (a ealtually specie dynamic of ‘ime-paceproess’), According, he press careful specication of types of poms. Concrete, the myogenic dimension explains the relationship tht Tiers eerveror any can xls between Gate, x Raphast Madonna and Child, ad an Anyi maternity, On the other hand, focus an Yorba sculptural works eves othe bverver revise sense f the Yoruba mofo with its speci yma, Pan African fests, an some characteris th are common oat ‘on-indusrial elures. From the etc between mythalogens snd rmytotorms, Amst adeses major quetons om the “universality ofthe systemic nature of conciousness andthe pervason ef the human conseiousnes by the asthe" he notion of the eensevation of consciousness, andthe archetypaliy of he sree. The ial prt ofthe took dcises te ower of clean on he basis fa separation between primary works (tose which present the mythoformal and the mythologenic frig". e Tar Baby) and secondary works (thee in which he mythic eds 0 hide rather than to sind forévietly in its purty). shor. on the ove side there isa Kind of gear, universal and mythic slumintion of & pice, ‘on the other, one would contemplate the localized apd paige biowphy of wok of at. he whol, this inal hap a ey tothe auto's theory onthe mor of atectng presence chs posit the | Jmersecion of sx powers of unten: taps psec, fomal (culturally deine sical peepeies), mythologemic, mythformal snd analog Ta fact Armstrong's book can be viewed as 3 retaton of waitin inerpeationsof pie at and meray. Wiha this well-organized theoretical framework, new ores of kage and diferettion ean te studied termeen Yoruba or Kongo sculptures and Lipscia’s Prometheus and Va Gogh's Wheot Fed, oe example: and one casily agrees fat Armstrong has inaugurated new and very original vente i scathtcs, The oly oatnton Ihave i with Amst’ ‘sumption about Arcaa woes ofan He distinguishes ‘lassie fom “non-classical pieces and choses rely on ‘ow-cannical” pies. donot dispute the artic crsctr an vale of Dogon mast, Yoruba seulptues, or Lega figures, yet {wish he could ave addessed the “question why these pieces ave works of art. Wasi called rican at inches a wide range of objets intodced nt a Wester hstoriing and clasifcatry fame. When and how di these objets, hich were paps no art all bec art and ake on sh an aostetic character td potentiality for reeodacing ait forms? Rover, Tompeon considers Armsong’s book a she culmination of var wl go down in history as eof he mot distinguished tops Inthe history of aeshte”. He right This super book bial com les The Afeting Presence: An Exey in Humanistic Anthropology {UOT and Wellspring: On the Myth and Source of Calare (1975.1 i stimulating, cogety argued, and inteligeay organized volume, hich rings enormous enon snd exting perspectives wo tear on ‘can works of art. demensating beyond doubt how ar ste ld ofboth sence and myth and proceeds and unellsisel smlneously 1 sem, poetry and revelation. Gea infetons nate te pltics of resins that elim to ul them as knee, mediation or vison. These performances refs Inemorcs ofthe pasta conceived rm the preset: hings and evens fake place, lodging themselves in rational grids and tir proper leteminations, But can we rsllyiteogae them from the angle te prev Hem, an expect a god image fr ter cmprebsasion?1 Erasing the Difference of Genes is ‘Le popaniame peut éve valalement interpre ‘comme une négation te. de a part de nig, fe ta “write” dominant en tat que Is dite été en est gaane par plusieurs, eb ue les echigues disciplines visant 4 Vingoser ne imposene pin. en dfninve ‘Acie Mberbe, yrgues indoles. 211 ‘One might imagine 2 theoretical map of AFGEan religious atvies a the epinning ofthis ceniry, more assurtely Between 19D) ad 1020 ~ me most systematic ped of Esropean evangelization nd compare itt is transformation between 1950 and 1960 when this expansion and its foundation are eine questions. On the st nap, one clearly distinguishes of origins of paganiem (ich uhamacely wil get he ow ame, of wadtonlelpins) an, om the ‘ter hand he sie ofthe ture signed in th conquering piileges of ‘Cuistian misions.Anthropoogisandhioras fell us hat We could ‘understand the tension between tose poles aoe general rh, in whieh our sets of concepts would te oppor: oval versus wring ‘pay versus temporal, ality vera dems, unconsciousness ‘ert consciouner. These concepts characterize two types of oy fon the one snd, radon or primitive” an om the oe, hsorial (Commenting ov the historian’ wrting and ehnoogial erly and refewing 1 Ampire's vse of enaogy, Michel de Ceteau (1988 208-10} speed the modes by quying oy the it ters of the ‘ets: ori communication witha a pimiv, savage oe taieral soci", spaialty (the symone pctte of sytem thi is 90 Iso alert te eierence which cult besk pus forwa), and unconsciousness sus of coletve phenomena, refeTANE {0 & Sieiicance foreign to them and ven only 0 Roo de organ tsewhere’) Iv these qalications, which reproduce Lévi-Strauss rand dichotomy Between co and or sos, 6 thesis we face ina each ofthe four puatsnees an alls for he oe toe. ol Society Hot Soies Only ‘Writing Spal Temprality Altiy (Othemess) Teeny Unconsciousness Consciousness “Ths, in primitive society tices land ast were is display hefore the ebserers eye +--+ ie tken for grated tht specch cities ttt its uses knowing what unspoken rls it obeys. 1s thus he task of enology oat hve rales in wing ava organize his Space ofthe oer into pitt af rain” (e Crean 209) tus ote a numb of probs, Fist of al. whether propery founded conceptually. or acid frm Be a pins o antonalism and stuctralm. thes mls could be read from the sai ofthe hives evolutionary grid athe end ofthe nineteenth si Colonization, Christianization apd sntivopology. According to these nodes the primitive difference must be tase inthe Inguag® tf the same nd its clue. Tas illosrated by the following diag from my book The favenion of Afvica (1988): Premises Mediators Aims Status Primtiveness Carversion ——_Chilization Symbols Pagan esl) Christianity forsigns Naked (eid) Education Canal (bess) Evolution rian (postive) Cisiind (aa) “Evol chuman being) Method Anthropological Missiloe. appli! Clonal scenes Presupponitone anthropology. Podagoay “The base aides dat arbitwilyrolite ese esesally unread quaites— pagar, akednes,camitlism ~ are tho hat san* aussorramt all alr difereces to the single category of savagery sane tit ts it dotinginbes a savage fora European becomes an inet to he tsence ofthe ter tats which are pat ofthe syndrome of savagery (ifsmmond an Sabo. 197: 36-7). ‘The characterises inthis model function wih the same efceney 1s the concep rats of de Cenen'swaiional society: each ope isarantess the necesity ofthe other tice and an Be Hen asa ine tothe, Moreover. inthe play of oppositions, which makes pone to dtine and understand them as Tike in latins gecesi, the set of sco seit, in is othemess and wisi, given eric ‘ower hanks to which the second et that of aot oct comes he invsle pardigm fr stuctring knowledge and history, “The controversy that Michel de Cea’ exposition of ethaological, ality can give Hse to could be reevaluated (but roe neceaily "suppressed i we bring back int the discussion 1 main afimations of Lev-Sraes in The Sone Mind (1966) tthe opposition between src science hat of engineering) and the bricolase, which seems ‘wo dominate mythical thought and, second, tha it would be sounder to consider mythical thought as wel a Hs concrete sence a pir rater han pie (1966: 16) Pagano i theoetally mapped in continuity with 9 theory of reprsenation, which explicitly posits, on He one sie, an epi body of knowledge and eles of genesis and, onthe other, an analytic of Bitude gonceraed with the historicity and onders of iferences, Shick come from the particular historical experience of the theory. Thus, fem one side 0 the oer, the movemeNt Was perived, hoor, ant acully cared out atthe bepiaing of the tenth enury in very ight chain policies. Caboic Bishops in Affe, for cxample, write expt israction othe res and rious ides ‘on how conve the ference of paganism an conver ‘Te polarity sptilized by the empty of the conversion map seems fo imply the existence of pysical Youd Been pagan, ‘mythical thought al oaity and, on te the in, Crista. anes nce ofthe abstract and historic. Even if We Were Bypaheize ach 2 radical tension, 24 Michel de Cerea did common See ebervation| ‘woul ed ane to wonder abou the petincce ofthis devistion ily. ERASING THE DIFERINE. OF NESS ry as generally accepted toy, thee is no human sci without sory Sin histor. Te aiguousefceney of ote wel: poreyed a ‘manipulations othe pst that each generation lives. sito peove ie Seti nate an hat story i always istry for someone ~ that is, contemporzy sage fm which one's pati invented, recreated fan renegotiated. Secondly, as tothe sepustion between eahty and writing, mythical thought nd the siene ofthe abst, andthe implied superiority of te ae tht fen goes unquestioned ne may remember Lévi-Steass statement It asin Nei ties that man's mastery of| the great ans of evilzaton~ of pxery, weaving, aprile and the ‘domestication of animals ~ Becime firmly established. No one ry ‘would any lager think of atbuting these enermous advances t the Fornitous accumulaion of a seces of chance dacoveries or belive them to have been revesed by the pastve perception of certain url phenomena’ (LéviStaus, 1966: 13-16) The argument is thee and leas othe oly posible conclusion: The dichotomy feoncree. mothial venus absact, scientfie) is problematic when it reduces the fat et to «primitive genesis incapable of conceiving fenton modes of ebservaton, cision and stration. Finally en the tasis of our minimal definiion of religion, one wookd agree wih Aimar Shorter when he sates inhi Aicon Christian Theology — ‘Adapation or Incarnation (1977 tat “alk of “Black Theology” or “African Theslogy” excel, butt must mean a conerbution other theologies. If i meant 0 he excasve. then ceases wo be theology [No singe culture har & monopoly of God jst ano single culture has x monopoly of human experience" (1977: 132, This quotation cexcmplies an evoton of ideas cari out ia she iaelockng of “topological celgioos and pial gis and models ccouming for the Affi difernce Hastings, 1979) "Te fundamental concepts fr indexing ference (eat. spatliy. citemess, and unconsconsnea have reed progressively with the ener disgulifation of the reigning paadipms, which wsed to asi all forms of ‘difereace in the frst port 10 this cetary ‘As sagas by Michel Foss °A vast shit has Ted the uma ssienes from a form more dense ia living models (eg, biology and ‘cimomis) 0 4 moe saturated with models Rorosd fom langue0 TALES oF FAITH But adds Foucault this shit spate by another: das which ‘rund the fst er in eat of the costuen pairs aston, coi Signneation) to recede, andthe Secend term (om. ele, sytem) fo emerge with 2 comespnling greter intensity and importance Golden, Mauss. Dumezil may be taken 10 represent, as near 3 i faker no diference the moment at which the reverse Wok ple Tithin cach ofthe models” (1970; 360) ~ that is, conretels. Golden Jr is reimerpeation ofthe factional model leading t the pomsey Ut localized norms; Mats, with that of cont which He opps the mmanence of iivdial sd specie eles: and ally, Dame shih his rethinking of the sgnifation of modes and his emphasis of the serra ofthe system. Ths, Ht becoes possible to speak of lyse and understand every clu individ language fom the ‘atunality of thelr own porns feral rales, and within she logic of theiown systems Asean sie, the shift meant a rac passe ‘fom mapping the dlleence ofa avened” genesis tothe mapping of tual indies, ost a antropoiogy, Lc de Heusch comes ‘fer Evan: Prtchard and Léxy-Bral andi missonary stad, Fabien Eoust-Boulga follows Alexis Kagame and Vincent Mulago and ‘hen fen time, after G,Parnde, LV. Tayor and Paid Tempel T have meditated elsewhere (1998) on the misionary activity, coro, td pola abigues, Let me use some sigs. On 22 [Api 1878, «const of White Fates, the dines ofthe French (Cidade Lpsigen let the pot of Marcil. Thee destination Was Cental Afca. They reached Uji on 22 January 1879 and, on 25, November ofthe same yer, orzaniod the fist Catoie mission in Burund Other earavans followed. Scho ia 1888, Sisters of Chay in 1892, Jesus in 189, Tappa ia 1893, ‘White? Sisters 1898 Franciscan in 1896, Fathers ofthe Sacred Heart in 1897, Norberines in 1898, Redempoorss in 1999, te Ins movement one immesiaey reals a mission, that of converting pagan cals and posts CCvisanity. There i ths 2 any i te ideal it works 10 cone tne “pagan ine fesse, ost ay expresses sel the promotion ‘ta nw I that would negate the ference the movement of, more ‘ui the missionary sty, as ts unity inure pure, his Scere tte so only because of an exterior and ore genera parse RASING THE DIFERENCE OF GINESIS “ the necessity of covering backward calles and infraducing them tno the Hepelin perspective of istry. Thus «polar suture ~ ie primive vera the civilized ~ which indicates ist ofall Basi Ststemeat (he conversion of Afian space and tis, an is iseton Jo human history) paradoxically ako seems to meat the palit of angering Calc. I eer ia Christian unk tha ranscends the aifrense Deween Jesuit a «Franciscan for example, oes it thei tat heir missionary work not submited optic doetrina Toles and spits that might organize difeenty the mastery of ‘Atncon cual alesis? Lar suggesting tha parity of spl cations pritioned the religions experiences of converting Cental JNhtcan spaces sng charismatic lies, atte very moment that ‘name ofthe misin.t waned to case de Afian ference by edu tothe uniformity ofa paratipmatie Catoticism. ‘Chany for insane, crumbles ito a plural discourse when one takes ito account the competion hetween Catholics and Prtestans Te 1885 Bevin Ace acknowledges feedom of religion. Leopold iri king ofthe newly soslared “Free State of Cong", refers fo have hi own fellow Begian Catolic peoples missonizing in Tis newfound Kingdom. Along with the Gospel, they tech ther raver how 4 despise Presents: “Protests do nt know Bow apy, they clone their ees and sleep instead of pring” Cali Chiron sod to sing ia Kass Proestant yous woul rect with het song iicling te Catholic missionaries who wear Women’s ‘tics ae ati, in general ‘paps wo celebrate idl. The plural discourse. inded, comments onthe theretial orignal of Canncn and Presta. Incl a the ler concerned he aro ecogial strctre of Methods Anglicans and Baptists a0 anlay waver of dicourse, doce ng stations, On the ober fut he yale! monolhiem seen in but Afiean Protestantism vee Canon has its best symnbobe sign in their ox projets of ‘Rtnows conversion a most bly, 8 salle in th next tion ‘msn, in thei pote! peoedures fr reducing both tet estes and thee isin, Tete i ke Block tsar or Buck world of Islam aconting © psa, Vinca! Mone (1968), He disinguisbes tom fur eter2 raLss oF Fai Islamic areas: Arabic, Turkish, Iadotranian ane Mayo Indovesin. Ins 1982 stay on African Muslin, sncter specialist, RenLuc Moreau, indates tha ofthe 438,230.000 inhabitants of te continent, 19092 are Masins and thus rpresen 4 por cont. Thee clare night sem uname fret fom those o sanic Noth Aca fr the Midle Fast yet despite linguistic and pital bain, the fatful define themselves thoughout Affi as members of Gos’ na, sole an angie common, Thee ctl impacts immense in dee ingistic areas: that of Kissel, spoken on the Eastem sie ofthe cominen by some $0 milion peope: the Hausa, spoken in ‘West Aion (Nigeria and Niger) by 35 millon people: and the Pui and its duets we! throughout the West Coast. Indeed, Arabic smo only an appropriate means of comsruniain, but even where it nor ww ie considered sated medi, the est hey 10 ahaa the La, aad Go language. One should also note the Intemational Islamic Conference, a politcal structure that cokers all the Islamic ‘oun existing inthe wo ody, Among them, 21 ar from Arie: ‘Ageia, Burkina-Taso, Cameron, Comores, Dut, Gambia, Gabe, Guinea, Goiner Bisa, Egypt, Libyt, Mal, Mauritania, Meroe, Niger. Senegal Somalia Ugan, Sadan, Tehad and Tunisia Berard Salvaing resently published (1994) an interetive historical ‘account of Chri mistonares on the West Coast, focusing on thet conics withthe Eves Elon, Fons Tos, ws and Yoras fiom 140 to 1891. Imaginative, multidimensional, and extremely ‘nll documented, the Book anally explores tree main aspects of Cristian misioniing ts doctrinal and tsorcal bass, tbe evereay Iie of missionaries, and tee vison and perception ofthe Aca mile edit ibis. “nce mai gous scities paca inthe issionizing: The ‘Church Msionary Society (CMS) pane in Yoruba ice 1882 “The Wesleyan Metaat Missionary Society (WMS) on the cos Almost atthe sie peri, abd th French La Société dex Missions ERASING THE DIFFERENCE OF GENESIS 2 Africans de Lyon (SMA), which began is activites in Dahomey in I861 Sleing describes process ad seasons, insisting on 38 Inparan point of med. He avoids including his personal positions in the exposé and, mre importantly his mete bas Beet site “tne apd facts in the context ofthe pvid. she Aftican as well rie Ewopean and reste everything concen the missionaries to wider pespective tht would thus justify occasional references to other catepnes of Europeans. Such a open which, in actualy Te a prudent yet str. etlsm of tational Historical pratcs, Conaiutes thesis in ell. Ax iene Bourden pts i apropos suck ‘method: “Even the ios sry onsaive sletic desertion is liways open tothe possibly of functioning in a prescrpaive way. ‘Bpable of contbuing to i own verication by exercising a theory “et through which eps to Bring about that whch is deeaes Sufvaing chooses to follow his ition, offering = maximum of Anzcs at views apd binging, togetber the est sympeic Visions fn conversion with highly negative opinions of sme colonization theoreticians and missionaries, On the fer had et #8 noe thet Salvaing's work interates the most upo-dte wetniques of historical races with a sjstematc a of suspicion, a8 He shal ee ater on Ths ey tothe research uofolis he doctrinal ad plies! premises ofthe missonizng activites Henry Veao's (CMS) equ of Western Gla svogane ani his emphasis Christianity based on profound espe! fo he atv’ is drs patpaton in the evangelization pro- esand promotion of el elit, as aleay remarkably demonstrated by hea FA. Aji’s work on Chesian missions Nigra, 20 flong ell wih his suppor. of commerce, civilization and doe tte primacy of te Batsh empire In the same vein, the base Drnciples of Mets missions (WMS) ncade two complementary Uneatve: the condemnation of soleization maivatons before the 1150s and the humanist possation of Cristy as a aecessary and Catiiat means for Afiandevelpmeat. The specific cas oF AURUSN Plangoe SAND, a Catblic prs, cou serve a8 good index 10 Compl ite! climate, His pereepon of Afca evolves fom Nery reative presumptions ton elighened poston which, with & ‘nme Prone dstust of te English, opposes he excessive dependenee“ TALESOF FAM “of British missionaries on oe! auaris, yet stony encourages the Atasttion ofan indigenous clergy. In aber word, Plangue, by Ns Sun if, writes well fe pose of the sisi in us compleity and trations. In particu, e Mot onl carats the enjonetion of Mer Tavouheys or Livingston's determination and generosity, but 80 the colonial ittrventoninm as express simultaneously in thelany tn imperial programmes, Two concn prac mest ere ae tenist with exch eter: negative one equals Afric fo 3 absolute alfa fifa. neyo rua as RBar pu an “postive ne which signs ef he ambiguous ole of ranting he ‘egaivity symbolized by the ei nto the ineffable delight of God's cten. "The everyday life of missonaris i lcd with an impressive tit of tanks that diety or indirectly concem ther mission: seh materia te rgaizational acsvis as health cae, constuction of bugs ‘Suction and etching, apd the formation ofa native clergy, el Satvaing ghly nsis ea some highly dificuk sues: domestic slavery polygamy, andthe competition song Churccs. The fis tho an internal to loa cules They are pezeivd an descbed by mistonaries as completely inconpaible with the Crisian pnt iss consequence, he missionaries develop thei pastoral ina doube Seaogy” an impeccable and Vigorous action against pagan eastoms Conceited an expriton of homer and lack of humanity and, 08 the other had, a systematic arulation ofthe major seps toward teoversion as apres of gradu! itoduction into Gos Kingdon. Incarging edemption init elgions nd secular meaning the mission no had to tansae i convincing aeguments the paradox of 8 own ivison (Cathls vers Protests, CMS versus WMS, et) and nore sgnicantly, seme foe 3 vie superiority vids Islam ‘One might dob th profound motivations of misinuris. Th spit St saciice i nevertiles unquestionable, and admimble. Saving “imments on he high sth rte poseared by ssi an erphaszss thes posible explanations: (9) average, death seems di to typical these, the male misionary psig avay inthe two years following bi aval in Acs (bt mort rae of females i she tan that of thie male counerpare ~ for te Presta churches, tat RASINO THE DIFFERENCE OF GENES 4s ‘of theie Husbands — and this discrepancy could be aseounted for by peanancee andor depression and tor () fat fom few heeptina, welkeducaed missionaries at Jest unt the ead of the rinezenth century, dd nat ive very fog in missions and one wonders Ineo hs sated to thet fail Fackgrund tet formation, oF Aheirmore sophisticated mind and sensi. The thin) and longest art of Salvang’s rescrch dls with the rissonane’ vision of Aficn and Blacks. Divided ino opal ehapes, Ir vcenvey presents the Aican mie’, “Blacks” personality od “Tiki, the later intaing 4 discussion of esis and i ace, the human sire psomenon, an Aercy customs, On the Ire, Salvaing consms here at aleady wellknown represenition wnested by. punctnl as well a guneral tales of the comets fetwoen Europe and fica since the end of the Benth century We face posulation already given and understood as an 2 pon tence justifying the European mission: white versus black, oder Seis disorder, and heaven versus bell, Rempectively Savaine's hugs permis an obvious tration of ancient knowledge, which the Afcan side renders the negative atraty of human destiny This deviny i tated by the research of Jean Prot, wbere be apse Belgian msioares journals published Beween 1889 and Toad and national stereotypes and aca preconceptions during hose entunes, What salting alin’ conibton resides in what Se could cal the Meologialepportionment of misonais” groups AF SMiahened humanism and eptimiem of certain Meth and, tthe other hand, she exe pessimism and inransigence of some Cathoics dt, t mst be acknowledged tat te shadow of « method and iu tdiion always masks such a werk of his interpretation, ‘The prewpyanitons of the Ecole des Annales ight acount for the innovative and elaborate perspective of Slvsing’s research. It ‘leary frets tis book fei yesterday's even soni oEOsT tub as Hear Brunschwig's LAvnement de FAiqne noire (1983) Thvtsch Afican story ty coins with he ecoqperor's venoe wpa african cian between BAU and TBBD is encapulated in hnments on palm oi "Feneh factor the eonstitaton a the Go46 TAS OF FAT (Coast fom 1843 to 1973, “the genesis of Nig, and ‘slave snd exchange in the Indian Ocean’, Sling’ books, i sown fight, a challenge to conflicting ineteetivcentiry represents and 2 well-informed tastscipiary oulek. It uaasends parclar amtropologcal and historical monographs, organizes finding, and forges comprisons en he basso highly vared and ible sures, English and French European and Afican. The represetation of Afica and missionary ative that i brings to light is & ctstng one made of subd shades, contradictory, continuous, and somtimes contiguous layers of explanation. Even on hua serie, instead Of folowing a tration that reduces i 10 a sheer monstrosity and without celebrating the practi, Salaing cain Hits a sees of {wstfcations ~ fom the mast antropoogial te theme of expiation| by deat othe most helopcal the pesece of Sst, Finally, one sould note the remarable eric! vigilance of Slain, ‘Thyoughout the muratve, Savane refers t and wes ets a wines to he inerogated and cuefuly checked and questioned. Hi project is not to assimilate in one vision the oppositions manifesed in (CMS documents vers the WMS or the SMA. but to old then ina higher tension igi by his iseumse. And i i his fe nation of a going. eyond the relive chim a knowledge that sures it lndependence from serainied texts co missoirng. in ninetenti-ceaury Aiea. Ths, on the ambiguous and rite Aecensons of savagery and an-women prices, Sasting does ot esate, for comparison purposes ting ito discussion the negative preconceptions conceming America® Indians, Suit Jean Marte Vianney's Semon, and thir castigation of French women's Aepravations, Jean Delurcae’s physiology of West theological fiscouse and its aberations as depicted in Lo Pewr en Ocelens LU97%), The ers to the geeral Conclusion — which ince the thought of missionaries and ite gift the vies of French people, the legacy of discover, slave Wate nd Earopean rica - spe well and coniacngly tan orginal research, and som wp romarkbly the whole hook asa ston demonsvatin f the follwing statement made by P. Duvils apropos the religious conversion of Ian nolo Per: dogma of aur epoch, he de jure axsom according to which eich colle has 2 ight to i own existence, has tansformed our mentality {0 the point tic what informer times was considered a he ng fee implementing the Fath smug Basti might scom to today's ntropologt 1 be ust a call soci. The Retreat Policy In 1898, Vitor Roelens, who was appointed a Apostle Adminsrstr ofthe Vicariate of Higher Congo by Rome some years erie, invited Father Hays uid ad canceive a ming seminary hat wou prepare ative caidtes for the Catholic priesthood. Stefano Kaaze, the fist to be ordained, became priest oa 21 ly 1917. The projet and its ‘rode are exemplary of «conversion pat, They all refer hack t9 2 rationality of practice and «paradigm of ation sn which coesst 3 Wil to know and the neces of extending sia The name of oth Cuistianity and progress. Commmeting oa Christian formalities of Philosophical paves inthe eightenth cenry, Michel de Cents recy sai that ie sos hat “chines practic is xan ng the nes of oes ‘ch wero eous nate freeing en yp as poses al ‘Wa i pods all bey he pics of wt wepaces Te ato eth ef he tes pet ager of cs wich ene desta be the peieged rece pli, cme, pops. Thee mame fee fo bsnl expences of Christy andar he mit of igo Terms whe ey aly thy etal: wheter a ls ‘Spinal oe ptm ors met of 4 prope ee by God fo de Cone, 188) ln the African coment, the elgious stctucs which rast ieeologial sours that fe wth poten! peormances ae the earest Religious enterpies, ie thelr ngaiztion aswell a8 in their ams ender colonial activity in ll is pola formas to the point thatthe poiies of conversions re-enact at once the thre ages of eis police of developmen, whe sectuaizing the Psulies of evolu, aegste and raneced cata speciesin he name of history conscience, reduced tothe Cristian paraigm that brings topeter the light of revelation and the univers missin fof the enlghone: and, finally, progress aleady predicted inthe ‘once of polite the Cristian vito discovers in is en being Sn rue a form of congust, as Miche de Certeas pu binding reason 10 the ability to eransorm man though the eifsion of the Enlightenment (198). "From the beznnig, oe ofthe major keys the policy ef conversion isthe consitton a native clergy, evangelization confons clues torasfomn, hen he conston fos clery means and indicates ite ost important condiion of secs, arely, he aiuation ofthe clighenment pt in conerete human Beings (se 6g. AB, 1968 Sabvang, 1998). In Cental Africa, the canfiaes 10 this corps are chosen when very young fran among the most jromising ehiren in he local commaniy. peer from an already Chistian fami In the seminary, completly ct off frm the Fst of the or a tie Files, they go though thee main sages. The st ad mine seminary ls berween seven and eight years, depending onthe region During the test evo years, dey complete a revise subjects taught in primary schools, sich as arithmetic, caliraphy, craving. geography ‘ndhistory, es Br the main emphasis icles catechism al Crstan| reigon, Duing th following six years ofthe minor seminary each week includes at east fve hore of religion, six of Latin language, Terre and Roman intatios (andi ar seminaries, Sve hours of scent Creek). Apart fm very genera surveys in anatomy. totny td rolog. systematic cours in Eoin periph a in im paicular,ariulatd the horizons ofa exemplary civilization and ‘concrete ilsrton follows: My asige of Freeh a8 3 means of communiation and eration i sri in sich a process had bee tlphabetized in an Attcanlnguage, Swab anit was ony cond to thint grade hat {feared my fst Pench wad, Twas sven or {lait yes ol then when, by necesiy, st hecame my fist language chooses mt fail langues: Sonye though my Taher tod La he language of my meso. Indeed nthe seria we were ‘sppos oncton a ie spkes of French Forme than ven ears ied hough, and dreamed witout itrution in French. teas inded the language of ur eriniy communication ar schovling “More importa, twas also the language of spriuly shoull ld tha, for me personally, was also the mediacion by which Twas ist irvoduced o other Afican languages han iy owe ~ Bemba. Sang, Kinyarwanda, Kikongo abd Lingala thoughout my esetion 10 Eyropean languages sich a English Flemish, Geman, Hin, Spanish and Porguese "The pe-eminent satus and ole of French (a education, adminis ti, chorees and publi ie, a8 he oficial language was exagcr ted. Noone coud igor pend hat the adjective “ancophon ean ha is esyroogy pel ot speskingFrene nfact amee 410 per cont of the 20 milion snabitans of te county could ual fs francophone inthe 1960 Thus, the mies seminary, hat wos onveyed with asystomatic wachng of French ~ te language of the Imaser ~ was a sli! aritocratie programe of cultural conversion. Te had is enemies, Some coneeratve colons, for example, feared ‘hat with Black people speaking French it woold became ipossite to eagress themselves fly Inthe Easter Congo, at Has in the Verte of Bishop Rosine, the White Clergy. believing that Pench ‘woul tum the semiaans ino corp a imesest citizens, decided to ose Swabian Afcon language ae 8 medion in teaching all the sje arithmetic goxgraphy and istry te Oly ne in thet ‘elcation~ Oring the lst years of secondary school ~ were stents Taught an instumental French. Tus, for years in Cena fics one uk ect Affian priests wh were more acc in Latin than French, 'As forthe major seminaries, they were aways lrated far from the sino seminary. "The edveation averaged six years: two completely devoted othe stay of This an sho philosophy particulary fntlogy, enteral, lpi, theo. cosmology, psychology and this), ad fou to the mtn domains of Christan etogy. Each week fd more scrupulously thin atthe mioor Seminary, regular Ise induce the candies comet thle anes. was" of walking Speaking ad interacting wit (low) Blacks and wits White colonies su micsionries. When staying piowophy the cana, now east in pimple well-iarodced to 4 Westem ileal configuration. iscocorage uni te spinon oa msn wh, fn and So onan empl ft of scars shrine” Bobby Thos for etal, Sian Kaze, the [910 chne Ba pschoey nine an cet ie confied Levys te Ler om ‘ioe Kague lok athe istry of van and vee Faber “Tempest ny Artliner he ke the minay, Towers Kies nr Aan msl ange ed im 16 sheen of hi Mises Katangs' in whch he mative Kage th inctres ar abit fad sobmergd By the pi coro oft Gregan chars The hiya all he ‘pour mater w crane the cada’ ph of Westemizaton {nl Crisaniaton and How be can oman rgial posts fr Serving he pagan cure of his own rie, Jt ore he Lt Sooo tology aftr hearin tenor seman. he Taide io sen wp ve mining He erly ves the cnl Bick ina Earpea comma, ron ese wb seed ‘ean ven greed yh lw We cone in coats ‘rth i flow Bac people te see and eb Yo 8 Si sine. Hes onespord prety 1 he pos Tene tds of clei al wt prep of tee may ag town pole poli of comersn, Cttin cess, snd man pores. fe esa in hit ete il tr 9 these forts year eles: Thin lowe ys try ‘cea whch according heen vues Benen oe wesk eden orton asa ate hich hs hp es, sed hy tn min, toy sd pr) os Corin ples somone So preren nine eri, doce by aang the ne Entghenmen pce ‘Davie Rodis ‘This expresion rom Michel Fovemt’s Disrpne and Punish (1979 esigates well thee Afcan cleric produced daring the colonization cra, As Foe tes ‘La Metres L'Manme-machite 1s ath tacit reduction ofthe soa spd gcnera theory of dressage, a the cence of which ceigns the notin of “dociliy’, which jis the lyeable body to the manipulable bods. A bady & dna chat may te siete, used, ansorted ana improved(Fouca 197%: 130) Chosen unt, submited t spec nors that should maak he triumph of Christian cepesentation over the pagan, these youn Inve bois signified the mstarnorphost of complex desi the ruta perfection of conversion speaking about ise in teen languages, tat of the conqueror and the submited. They ommunictd andy indeed, reveled complex laws of aeultuon ‘nite ene hand he African lets bad thing ast fom the ele fu the Language in which be was bor and that he didnot ave the time o nerogte and undesan, wena magitcnt an enlightened fate vine im was @ ae wil o Anode and power. On the ‘ter Mand nea horizo, ad an abv rth ~ ncaa by the tionary — fected te oly way w aul cascence and progress Trove new plies of human promotion, From the Gist day in = Ininor seminary. the young Aican knew Re was a chosen one. Yet {fovughoat hi Tong years of ‘dation’ the religious system reminded fio pul practically every dy, Hat ms yt ae sue vice many ar ale ht only few are let Divine and pola ‘Stecton seem in this colonial perspecive, an exceptional vl. Hom then could one be eeced waout tying 10 be a most perfec decile body”? “Thee factors spacetime, ate contin of new individ conta ety the elminaton of his can doi boy. iat ofl isthe factor of space have noted sready tht he youn semua has to leave is tay, The plyscal and caus distance ier pity, along withthe ft that during. the colonia time he Seminary is far away fom Wis arcaeoigial Tees, In fat rom [Bishop Recent fhe end ofthe rie entry to Berna Mes, ine 16s, is separation i contin ine qua nom, Seminars tve to be peteted from bt fe aocuous uence of tee pagan Fale sad the mates cate tat colonia ivan nodose The th i however, Ht seh a lation Whe est Way OF aBs raussoF Fart emancipation from paganism and the essctlzing of sultan tings and is coneived aecording othe Roman model ss adapted by the Enlightenment. [in Earope the model as Foucault describes it (197% 146) as # double oe (a wepablican aspect promoting her) fd a miliary one (atulizing the ideal chem of discipline). a the edveation of the ican cleric ii he lar that i enphasize. The taining isa permanent registration: te candida gos from one coninement to another: and they ate spatially all erganized scoring to he same ei that of « monisery. that 6, a perfect anspurensy (oF panpicsm. Ie reverses the pnp of the dungeon: of aber Of fs thee functions ~ to enclose, 10 deprive of light and to hie weserses only the stand eliminated the ober reo" (Four 1979" 200), Generalizing ad abtrating the el seminaries created in Cental Afi fom te endo he st entry the i198, we can ‘once econ a spatial mode On the Non sie she residence of the father professor” (with is ov cape. ding rors nd bay onthe South seminars vefectons and recreation rooms segepted Accorting to scholastic vse (young, jn a senior groups: 08 he East the domitoiss an ll ter facies (ashing rooms, et) and onthe Wes, the classroom bung and stadt Urary. Inthe cee otis squae, the church stan upright. symolic andthe spel suivant of Bentham’ cower in Panoptic. It repeseats Cd's eye Iealsorefcts the sovereignty of the everson ha the Space signs. Eneloed gto ise this square onan African space overimpoxes it ‘uma on pagans, ths afrning an isl objective, which isalso an obvions one since ineamate the achievement of indigenous revelations and ia authority manifests the faliment of Chan Poles, cmscene and human progres Alinouh enclosed ont sel te seminuy i nevertcles space of vai. Asi the Panopicn, ts organization aos atl tends "nde inthe imate 8 sate of conscious and permanent visibility sat wssures the automate function of power, Soto aang things ha te surveillance fs pemanent, even if i discontiouaus i i action thatthe perfection of power should tend to render is aca exerci tsnecoary tha this ecitestralapparatos shoul! bea machine foe ‘eating and suming « power relation independent of the person ERASING TE DIFFERENCE OF OBNESIS 8 ho exerises itn short, thatthe mses shouldbe aught op i 2 power station of which they are themselves the bearers’ (Foveaul, 879.210) At anytime the White fathers and “professors” may be sywhere inthe sore observing, praying. o¢ simply walking. of ot fe thee at all the rao was thea one priest 10 fen or nly temvinaians~ the cna of te church a its symbol inthe mille tf thesqune delvering bth cultural eine and the significance of ‘he seminary space. “re secon ctor, te, would confi sucha perspective. In effet vse mst now move fom the objtvity of a colonized spice 1 a reqday scheduling of docile bodes, and ee how this expeence flongs to th same network of conversion, This a schematic (srg of an everyday sched i seminary: S20 um. wake tie; 6:0, mediation i he Chrch ed bya pst, 6:30, mas; 715 tress; 800, clases bein; 12:00 noon, Angelus 12:15 pm hs Tt alo spr, 2.00, classes 40, naval work or sors 500, stay and spiral nection; 7-00, des fllowed by re ime: ‘400, Complines 845, study E00, bedime. Ths autre taining tebich i ts formalrepresentaion explicitly wishes to epee he 1 monaco of ime ~ cht by thee ~ eight hous of seep Sab of payee and eight of work and dsraction ~ aps ise 10 featEnighennent picture: Wednesday and Saturday afternoons ae frev and compete devo to spars Indeed, Sunday. the dy ofthe Lend ha special sche: wake-up te sat 630 am, instead of ':30, and meditation at 7:0, followed by breakfast. Thor 8 grand imass at 10-0, then lunch at 1200 noon, the afternoon consecrated to sports, and a 5:00 pn, the weekly regiment racommences: sy Sapper, bedtime. Through wht might seem like spiral, a ie that ther ot Tose its aces always describes & temporal project in thi ‘Spresenain its a inetable cleric who is being create, sajeted 0 ‘eilinny paradigm whose major principles the uf onl ‘emplfed by the monastic acedule, Importantly, one may ate the ‘tplictions oF such 4 pom, notably the coneation of tine, by tu anata ipositon a well ste aticalaion of time ané specie Shligaions. The whole procedire cotespods well 1 what military | “pes nthe European eightcnh entry usd to call menor“Thu, slfer Miche! Foucal, his “scipiary power appears 1 have the function wot so mich of deduction 3 of synnesis, not eo mich ‘of expoation ofthe prot sof coercive link with he appara of roucton (Focal 1979: 15 "Te hi, an est factor ~ the conitution of new individiis ‘sould abi another, and perhaps the most basic, fenton of Christian conversion. The young minor seminarian lars i ren the Fast day and, i principle, th esipline wil follow him dyoughout his if i he becomes a priest. Each of his days is manewvered Fist ‘here the permanent el analyse represented by the Conftor exer smoming std evening: confess Go the Origen, nd to your) trots and sisters that I ave sined in ny thinking (oxime), i my speaking (eb) in my ats oper) a in what Ubave ot done thot and foreseen (omissions) Send, tre major moments wil sea every day he examination of conscience inthe moming, los the mediation: the Second examin jus ater the Angelus at no0n and the lst before Compline. This, each week, thee isthe tual of (Confession: he candidat nase serapuloly his ean, thinking at, even his dre of he eth, ad nfs Nissin a apes from Christian noms. Final, at cast every fori, the sominaan hasan hour's conversation witha spsiul dicctor. The conversation scaeally dwells on the perfection of priesthood, The White advisor linens and since he has known hs advises for years, vals bi and recommends readings and tcknigis for maering weakness. ‘When necesary, his opinion wil be instrumental in knowing whether the canine is Bt for the priesthood. Fialy at est poe every year, the seminarians go into a weeklong reat clases ae suspenéed, a0 feueral preacher is trough i, and each day i onpaized around ‘prayer, mecitaons, nd elgious lectures. ‘These thee factors — the domestication of space, the gd inscription of the indivi! erly repute schedule, an the constiuion fnew indvdinities — indente and achieve in ‘heir formative power the deal pot of coaverson. OF cour, the Seminary i usta model,peshap the most significant and rigors of the “Enighenment pact’. Osher nsttutons operate according tothe same bse premises and educate African as, etch and lay Christians. ERASING THE DIFFERENCE OF GENES ss Yet itis the seminary thst convincingly states = meticulous programme of a abvolte convenion and spiritual normalization, Inch systematically wishes fo erate the dsntion betwen us" and head predce ne individuals iseibed in bth the eetion of Christianity and ‘ivizaton. Sil more characteris th mare ofthis Affican Chiian pac. IF the “Wo i signed by what is ext there (a negative paradigm or sgn un eer to Frantz Fanon's Peau roe, masgues blancs, acai ithe unconscions ofthe “homo ‘ecient the Black, or beter the colour blik 28 symbol of el sin misery, deaths amine, its opposed by the procedures oF his ew pact. Yel the confession of fit es ot seem mobilized in an individual adherence bate sappowed 1 come mest natural, thanks fo insional instances and programmes rpreseted by wha the pat represents in the colonial ibrary of salvation ‘Cheikh Hari Kane's The Ambiguous Advenure (1972) gives outer picture of the constitution of a ‘doce’ body through 3 Complex Islamic insti proces. The sharing expos emerges from «conical celal ackground: European civilization vers dan Alcan Islamic culture, An Syearold, Sama Dial, discovers the rigours of Kernie efication: for de yeas we ean follow his imegraton ato sprtash soem. His maser guide exemplifies the fawn its harshest discipline: to edacate isto assign te cand to an iretuctibe eonomay in it absolute pry. Yt. against thi sdacaion io triton “manhood” tht goes along wih a all towards “simbood', there Imo, ficient, the new Scho! of, in ther words, the ne objective efceney presiding over the Land and the destiny of people, A hire of power demands thus a second rupture: Samba Dalo will have 9 ivest himself inthe koowledge that would account for the colonial power. A hird rape opens itself vit is sojoum in France: ei studying philosophy, discovering new Fels and objects of knowl, action and desire and how itis always posible ote right even when ane wea. Whe he goes back his five country, oe asthe npession ht his dation as ination is te him oan sbigcas ekewhere no anger rely ane of hs peopl, the Duos, he cannot eter be one of those exploring the promises incarated by the new power, Only his own deh can sus spond6 Tas oF Far that of Thieme, the exemplary aster who, a his childhood, magni ‘sues aturalvoeton: How 1 wih ht you gh sl et ogee eles an sme what Your baring faggot on my boy = member and ener. "Your Fen the One noha cle you Wi Ser ot fle mst He why my pole, hr ml caw, have fog and ae ee, yay "Yes pthops at briom tts In ing amid he pet cost os kaes wiped th mae of your een te hersees nl se phen wan 1 Sah, that they ay Be Sled sh Hime Prop, ar Sia Diao fe hat somone ws hing hi, Heranes a hed seine eg So 1 La pm we ive a py siya Ys a tf He hed esas! Sue Dso wc occk ef Bi Bosbon, amd wis The Pomer of Conversion For people falar wit Afican Christianity, the conversion mode in both i inteton and elzation would describe the can cig generally violent and often, als, excessive, aot ony its evaltion of conversion policies but aloof the missionary. To ent jel 0 the Francophone apace I refer to Fendnand Oyono's and Mongo Beis novels which inssenydcule the misionary, mock his or her activity, an even doubt the sincerity of the whole projet of nversion: Une Vie de hoy (1986), Le View Négre et la medal ASING TH DIFERENCE OF GENESIS 7 (1956), Chemin eEurope (190), Le Pawire Christ de Bomba (1956, Le Rot miracie (1958), Vile cule (1984), ee. These novels dpe te oer of mining and conversion in such a leak way thatthe {Cataianscholr Laven Lavoie, in an appendix 1 his doctoral thesis prsenied at the Univenity of Paris (Les missionaires et Je Chustinisme dans Ia irate Camerounsse") opened brief alton of missionary aeivity by a scandalous question: chrétin tw cri? (see also Laven, 1987). Father Druron, character in Mongo Bet's Le Paw Christ de Bomba, saight be covered 2 symbolic of the ambiguity ofthe conversion policy: he is an iminisratr dicty sistaining the way of colonial power by his ripe emerprises (hasines, building initiatives, and involvement fn social native affas). He isa simtaneousy submited to the Fgous, soc as his Vocation wa priest wit a rigid Schedule, rel ‘uals quotidian mass and recitation a he Brevi, Fr instance), and { stndfst commitment is mission of generosity fr al conversion ‘of a pagan space Av Mongo Bet, Drumont te colonists ao the ole of fess “andy fhe tls the the cen tha esas i the Reverend Father Superior (Dramoat they ae one, Since then. he ‘hlden ell the Reverend Father Spero "Jesbs Chr (Bet 1). ‘Most students of Aca ats Pave considered the an-Chrsan ‘erature ofthe 194 asa discoure ofafecsvity, a simple reversal, and negativity ofthe missionary sitive. T would suggest that we reread it fiom a radially diferent viewpoint Generally writen by Sng former seminarians inthe 1980s sd 1960s, this iterate also Tessa something els’ he erated part ofthe Enlightened oncepion fn scualization of the Resa el in misonay practices hats, the republican aspect and ll ts pleas of reso and demands for cislogue and compromive between eqs, In fat t0 the military hscipine ofthe gio, so well exemple ia the seminary mn enced by African wrt was necessary fo conceive a modernized cones forthe Roman Senate and also oppoe the open casin ofthe fora to the normative ataagement ofthe seminary ws a riary camp for ‘ats agate “da ‘One ofthe hes eapessions of hs sgh 0 examination ofthe Enlightenment pcs probably Fabien Esous-Boulaga’s Chrisanty8 TALESOF Far Wihoat Fetishes (981). A Cameroonian. Ebous-Boulaga is 3 plilosopher and the author of many philosophical and theological books, The objective of this postcolonial enitgue of Cran yor the fact thar Chistanty snow pt ofthe Aftiean Hao, to sketch a project of auhemiccy that would constitute itself as a challenge anda response ore hypotheses, Fs tht ‘ina framework ff generalize domination, he iteration of the Tait wl have the frm of power and self determination, rediscovered and rete” (Ebouss Woulags, 1981 218 second tht in reforming themselves, the AG hhes wil ech, rm within te alienaed socket of which hey are teal pans (222 an ily, inorder to wanscend the rapaveepicy of the colonial vale between Christin churches, ‘communication among ‘he churches i necessary. Ths wil supose, in each, the courage t be iol andthe sity receive andar “aera como” (224). These proposition for new formality of Chistian conversca and practice are deduced from arti of foundations of the missionary owe of eradication, As we have aleady cen, in its sublime projet the seminary is toh a sign of cultural emancpuion th confirms the cane in his acculturation anda paradigm accusing 2 mission, the destction of paganism. The mation African risous practice Is pagan, updestod as unfaith, a the samp ofthe nies, and thas ei in con being. The misionay move was asoely mecca, lng nd pst. “The logic intact, The clieraion or tence ofthe ot estan Ingo Ga as es either ental he uae he man ego fete crue Haman eng wh afer the as i pepo of ole a wel region af the God ho cn he a6 ee ‘ho, expo mel, denes he erate fC al ey Fin Te alles that puis i etal ne, ak to he me ops ssn of pk of elon spe Gos at of fDi sl Staines an sls sty, tain. dans re he cay ‘mince pes er, eo ting er with SRASING THE DIERENCE OF GENESIS 9 wing fal ehh veo a nat” Heat i gist nate, fs naman lcbly accom by sive nie ‘ESenaom, pay, a al mame of eer aeration ingen. ‘Ts oie ihe ene, Chive wl ae bumanize, 1 lie th {gruel man ting. wil mein he taming of man is od he rope anny anna se y edacton, by lage i of iar (Such in yay atin oe aes) wn win eon. “beens Belg 1984 19-20) Hence the authority of conversion procedures an their meaning is ash natural and eipious. The natal elins is aw necessity i he imerplay of fengs aod stony a the name of progres: he religions refers back tte Fimacy of ue elation. Consequently, conersion {sam imperative sine qua mun coniton for iseibing ese ito a Instr. The newly let the chosen ees, moving fom the darkness ‘of ior and primitivenes tthe igh of Crna and civilization fre, fr ths obvious son ined expected ob ‘docile’ and rate” ries they have boen saved fiom the feos of genesis, They Were livng in a “negative” time, he shsene> of istry. The theologta ‘merpreation ofthe hsiey of slvaion doubles here the evolationry postions for civilzingpiives SSE Shere Se ain lope a eaeren wo Crit. ie Faiech nine waa Sed SE. eran ett Act maori o “ito ae eminence eres estes ena hanes intense cena Posterior« satgsor eam ‘Te polities of evangelization prom a ‘mid-las Cheisinity hic the equivalent ofthe Bourges norm of Westization. Spe ‘ice sustain the. Personaliing ths, 38 Bhaus-Boalag pts it. Christian rth mate persoalizad in ede to become believable “The seminary program, for insane, uses an instaton auth that, in the practice ofthe evenday ie ofthe seminsia, fores him to personalize and internalize Chistian tut: i i hs and he should tecome responsible for ik Then there fe te simple fact of soit ht brings teers the colonizing athe Crit Cran, we oun irc ot esas is oer canbe nine 2 ‘Sin pla nam sete chology at bcs wm pt nd rc fhe colton of eae re ron, «espe quem Brn of the Rule thee, aestetis, or more exactly redemptive aesthetics facing the elementny fit th the human soot be saved sas umn ody tha is “bm, ingests food, copulate and dis! AS a mater of fact. an ‘aesthetic Afican Christian’ would fall te Enightenment paradigm of openly expressing the freed of repblcsnsm and the discipline ofthe legion, and in such a search would have 1 fae the lest rl, the question of univerirtion and the universality of Christin Neier fa or by i coukl Crsinity be sil w te anneal a Snot o he Medsorocin bin ef ean pe oly it ingen popes Oi forms of expr ves replied hb Wy naira y gh? Un taal of vie exes, mse ot RASINGTHE DIFERENCE OF GENESIS 6 st ety tin of Chin? No Hee ee is toma op wh agua em eine aS ‘mace Cee cc nar Tee cere te Soe ys nn fw pee ee Te ae dnance Byesane tiene ah Cee etic ha macs Saye ee Naa ote dean ne of od. Tht ht aves ae 8 Scene ee) ‘These mos Wing os back 10 the Falighenment pac It is « bert project of thought and a poiical lie of pcfommane, well ceploted by Ebous-Rouliga who, 36 we shall see, exemplifies & trend hat wea rom 4 theology of avai an Afican elon oF ication Etucaton Covssion and edcaton, inthe name of polis, conscience, and Jose, coin inthe sae ovement that ams atthe rearclaton {r minant narasives: Cristy, Enlightenment, and coli se ce wines volnce which posits elf ta condition for moder Iris ths obvious Tat we could conceive ths Violence as paradigmatic of any modemizing process, and etet this analysis in the scandal Seprseted by the olf paradox of Epimenos, the a. iter you Tetive Tam not lying dnd my aBemation i at leimae, 80 300 anne tlieve me when Tsay cat any conversion as well as an) ‘scan is violence, Or, you believe Fa ying and my afeation fstetimate, 0 you sil cxnot belive wa advance when I yoo tha conversion an dation are wolenc. om he ster se of ths conversion paces, ha i, fom ae "ALES OF FAITH ‘oliem sip, or aur reseat-day vantage pat, we might cbseve ‘the constants and privileges ofthis violence, Let me suggest me ‘hese hy invoking the concept of development and wil knowledge “The fist woul, from disciplinary grids such a those expounded by history, sociology and demography, evaluate politics of spatial and human ransfomations in the sense llsrated by a ecen research ofthe French Iie of Populton: Potiigues de dévloppent troinsance démographignenipide en Mique, cited by Jean-Claude Chastland. Jacques Veton, and Magali Barbier. This research over- ‘ew (1993) includes analyses of such issues as (a) the problematic of ‘ovelgren in Altea spetically polices of econome organizains sau perspectives: dynamics of eoducion, growth and eit impact 08 secial lations of production: and (b) sectoral statis ofthe eorlation erween development and demographic transformation, a well as rodicalions, arangements and perormances in edvcational spaces Insofar as education is concered, two ssn paradoxes a now iehly visible. First, trom te viewpoint of is global population and ‘computed to, sy, Asan countries, Afica is underschoarzes ome rd of African countries have primary sehosiation rate inferior to 50 per cent of its population. 4 percent have a secondary depee sn hint inferior to 15 por cet. Women ae remark absent rom the eduction space. For example, in Sahelian cous, if both sexes are include. ten one adult out of fur iia and since 1980 ‘the gener espnomy of» formal education in Sub Saharan Asics teen ia lave dsimegration. Seco, fom the Wewpoin final invesunen and eaplyment sacs, Afi sees hip sehlarird To put simply, when one compres Afric o Wester Europe from an ‘dential ate ofscolarzation, the Asean financial efor is ten tmes superior wo that of European counties (Chastelnd et a 1983) “These paradoxes cary ou in themsls a judgement on the paces of conversion aed development. If ilerropitd, they cin designate causes fr the patil fail af the conversion, taney esos sch poll stay, interethnic confit, po ret nthe nga {ation and innovation of pradction procedures, feeble Toc rete of invested expt, demographic resres, an! fait of economic siructures versus macro-economic itematonal disequibms, ex RASING THE DIFFERENCE OF GENES ® “Tne dort fundamentally eso tbe majo sion ts the wil tor univerl knowledge tht up 0 0 sil ste and estblses the “Saverio a development process. Thus, contemporary cies of the Afican criss tendo demonstrate tat they coment on mais tt converson and develoenent and nt cn conversion i its profound (esning as a wil to kpowledge ad wil to uth tat could trascend si irene Indeed, the evidence of socioeconomic factors can silence bat conenita and education mean: etmolgially "2 ting aro, Sree’ (comerso, on convert and “binging up (edie Das) rom edac are) and eco (ace), Co ring vp, 2 ot Toraive wp perso, tear a chil” ‘Antony Appi ny Fate's Howse (1992) ners meditation in lsophy of clue, iv an excellent station of an Afican wil © tr acing the mos sipntcat hemes of conversion namely hose of progres sd absohte knowede “Iny Pusher’ house, tee are many sons, sy the Serres, [Why dos the tile of Appah’s book seem to silence te impiaions ‘rte complete biblical statement? In fact she focus 0 the father. ‘Toe power flows vigil epenings, new Keys bu te bic story and he history of a memory comple capacity For esting Se'Lthow mopar. Here 1 « mowing betwenn cltrlidiviualies nd, use Levinas, te cold add ot “im any Sense ia one FE Sine particpan, noe in a ata sty embracing to, at in he treat sense between ther in te dimension access to them alone (Loving. 1994, 23), From after possible angles, as inthe ese of {Cot In My Mother's House ths pilsophy of evexsience coud sho themaize elf inthe human pend tha a mother's mansion, ihaer's som ora bothers quartets wold manifest. Miche! Foust sentes, sew in bis istry of mainess daring he Clasical Ape ‘tour menor s the most opelus lation four preset tS a5 tre helove sell which mens the ali reatio ofthe -Thow wise arto Be with, as being and presence, haw should we tan thik ob tas memory? Metmory of whom? Memory of what? Which "Aner rating Appia's book we could suggest a st th gb ngte elatasis of am /-Thow relation no a9 empiccal Soma (8) How ‘woul Trechink, cough Appah’s remarkable eas, the poradonical saement of Jean-Paul Sar! freedom hemize as what is nee? ‘We could relate this quesion to the understanding of being as avays bing for someone or for something. Leib ha, one i eters | 1687 fo Amul, an image that we could keepin mind a a metapoe of his apparently iationaldeiton ofan slid oes might scom tohave coherent and well united pars orlements simpy because ofthe esse ofevionig bovis. fb) How cold we name and gui this ‘mode of being and becoming in a pilsopty of eure, introzte is experience ani knoslege a crcl questioning of concepts sch "ce, ad simile? The prvleges manifested inthe fllnes ofa hnowledge ough about by acenversion ate. aded, ays econdsy tony human incon and ‘oaoogial mystery. o use Oariet Mares expressions (1956) In oter words, belore everyting ele thee is simply the word of experince and its problems and, beside i the ontloscl plane and its mets problems coming from the very exptince of bing there fac. a Levinas pus it "the incase I isn is conscousoess of sel forts ony...” ts being towards i imine, ans ‘expoied 1 others unin this ease, its isellobscurty” (1998: 25. Appiah theorizes comely by eliciting this nthe corres case ofan ‘African hike, Welé Soyinka 1 mend eee hl ison i ie) Ba Lavan ae on hr Sat roa he yes ge nie, cbt ve ee Afan- Yr hg ‘tery Fr gama Spann png tt me Aa ee ok eee daw on Aft, sl in ives, Yoruba, npn ee Sony homage th pcs ey ae le eo ‘spec fret de Ia of ees ae th einer were shew lan be he hos ae ‘ertdvew nd ssl tae ft ows (An) pape’ ae ey Spy with he my Syn soe tat la ee During gamed ty patna (Pes Sti rims al wt ie ERASING THE NFFERENCE OF GENES “ pide on wht rms 0 then «ey pf ve Cand i sof {cane leone pita yin the Dat Comet How an we wk, fron nt we mt Atma dost oan ok ge Ah Sow pura ipso Oth we Be pe ‘erm alr” otra ues anda = ing Aen or ro pref te cas pom fhe Arn imc a hing his caer grind’ ay pi hy. clea are ny Smit au some Seto Sth hea isthe seven prof pro wa Sona des st ae Ace Jeepers ste often in Ain a tp of cna iso tn he Eon tag sn, and sp Sites owe ar @ amp fos of Aloe hate ee {ape heaping Eats’ Ais he ne eo ht Soya mcs a Ans ca ny ee al vais fr ated ton mint ‘np, 1992:78) “Too many sheratons ae oft advanced and aserted by 2 simple regain ot, more general, « misandertapding ofthe panes of tring exposed Righly, Clade Lévi-Strauss sees tis simplication ss based in Wesem dus, a sign and symbol of objectiication Fpaizing the connection boewcen reflect and objection of the Other Lév-Sirass notes ht "the abla sap which was accepted tsa mater of lac by the severe ceaury (French) phiksopicl Gili” (1979: 24) fined a radial sepction of humanity x Sovmaity. ature and cur, self an ote, while granting to one llth i nied o he oe, and ths ereating a emarlable "vsios circle. A sup it, contanly pusbed tak, “separates man fom ‘ater sien a allows mento claim ~ fo the prot of every smaller Iniores ~ the pvilege of «hams, coryped at boty taking ‘elbinterest as pnp ah its notion’ (Lévi-Strauss, 1976: 41) For LeveSiausy, Westem culture witbes wo maser the entopy of evenhy ie by sengtening the difleental, and thus promoting tjesivivation. On the ier hand, 9 number of “prime” nan fives would, general inteprate the absnce- of the thothelogical projet i ground in 2 "aiete* tation tht is exteral tothe fttican “pce This is 9 “pace” of practice tht as organized Trolels and disciplines (eg. Ont, Afficaism), which “ss ot he reedication of a zone of cult ifeence trig the idenigially motiveted representation of eibemess (Herre, 1987: 1), These spaces of icouses, ath and Knowledges, comment upen%” TALES oF FAH the fame work of practices, thei theois a well as th esonomy of hie asngrapties They might claim to offer more or less good ptres of stud places, ut not perfect, comprehensive nd deintive renderings. ‘Paul Veyoe this evauntion f the pectic of history, writs that the story of scene wl be that ofthe relations Betwen the biography of 2 sient. the techniques of his time, andthe eager sad pbs luting his Held of vision at that tine” (Veyae, 1984: 98. Moreove the exgaization of omni discourses and their srctntion ae ever dvoreed fom the tension anes in th el “plas, which ‘ake them posible as iellecl ee caurl signs, parla from the infueace of ebjective muteal conditions, the ieraction between human feedom and chance, andthe plurality of temporal lines and “That Kagame oe Mulago may of may not be sound and credible students of finesonlsm of structural (a amhropology) and of missiology Cin theology) seems 2 false problem. This fact wes used in ome missions setroplogial rls nthe 1960 to credit 1 project whic, as we have seen comes fom, td i inaely linked tothe very experince ofboth rethinking ofthe Ealghenment ane the promotion ofan Afcannaionalsm. Asa voice and thers of an aleity project, Kagame or Muago should tus be evaluated on the basis oftheir discourse tha lms to sini negation between sin sks: the fst, on ow to ape etcaly the rls ofthe game in theology sn etogaphy othe naive’ Sip ad intrest ‘without allng nthe emp alley about perfect coincidence of te dora andthe episeme; te second, cn what the best sep ae for technically reconciling such competing theses 2 outsier” rode insides’ paradigms ad expectations. Interestingly eng, we ean compare tis Afican Cathalc tsk of daption and inulin to anaher, the Islamic deconseetion of 2 rain mission of sonqosring the worl. Te nineteenth centay ‘xperincedimolear politic of cerns eared on ty isons, potician and prophets AL-Hy) Ura (1794-1864) Frceflly aplied his understanding of the Jikid in West Africa, from Fata Dsllon to ita Tor, to establish a ew “great sation is deity the panty of amie doce. Ia East Afi, i 1881, Muhammad Atma bn Te PRACTICE OF MISUNOFRSTANDING on “Ate All) made himself Mahal or God's repesemnive, people’ ue, an in I88Sorpanaed theoeratc power in Khacour with the explicit sim of puntying the coustry acordag tothe Islamic law. They sefected wel ther Chistian counterparts. a Lavigee or 4 Roclens, and thei ambition to destoy parm i the atic rater of em kingdoms. To hive inspite sin, Islamist Telormic in West fica opposed sine the 1930s, he possibility of 2 diferent voction. Agains! the classical tle and its combatively inoleran policy, the fbi gota from ALAzh i Cao, Ben ‘Batis in Tosa, Qavyyin i Fe, and rem vain the community, asactarvoyance coming ot ofthe Koran, proposed cal to moderity how can we reorganize Islamic Schools in todays conten? How and ‘why should Ila Fe an Aftican challenge and response to modern Cals, ad us realy present in the ety, and ot be peesved only 5 faraway religious referee, sceped or ioeated for civil fessons and reserved to 4 matgital gioup of practioner? Sine the 1920s and the 1930 reonist nsttutons have been working in this seme. In 1937, Amadou Nampate Ba, a young reformis thinker, was invited to speak im the Dakar Frente Muswimane on the contemporary sigifcance of te Faith (Ba, 1980). Since the 1960, Mamadou Dia, 2 poltiian and theologian, tas been crplerng the baie eritage ins transmisson though generations talincng the tension fetween modes and conservatism in ems of ingrpretive exegeves (197), and invoking a scioaibopology of sim that would expt and cool fil br the Propet’ pare and ‘he lis f Africa utes (1879, 1980), This relarmit movement in dam seems to face a predicament similar ar which confaes Cristian thelogtans ike Kagime or Mulage: how do we msinain a sacred evclation in is decisiveness wile smulaneoslycontonting the modernity expressed by contemporary human and soci sciences, an ncarating thi complex mixture concrete Aca eles? “The tsk not en ists a commitment w a projet but ets sis the ambition ofan inlet and sil endeavour searching forthe rath (Mulgo, 1999) and expounding a allegorical metaphor shout society that i, im Ml’s expression, a sate of min in Shick everything takes om more mening tat honesty cught 10o ‘TALESOF Far have (see Veyne, 19K: 119). This very oninary ambition, What 'Sinrestag i Mulago’s inlet project, for example, esis inthe ou or ple dimension African, Africanist and Cathal theologian) that secounts forthe ambigity of his discourse and ie ponsible ‘comtadictions. I waces its rps back o fea paces of interpretation {and ths to este cadres of knowledge in precast societies), 42 is arguments and rationality onpaninethemscives as renewed conor) within the space ried by misionary and anhropologa knowledges. It chims to unveil the uncoataniated fundamentals and propraies of replona ales, yet itn ia thst cm spies, or ia the experience of their adnan the inontional a of past explicit actors, ut rater fom thei posible grap, endersnding and sublimation by Christin. I iy paradoxical i, the projet ea 0 What we can perceive a relativistic approach. Infact, comments om the fale of"uaditional iellcts’, and transcends ancien canons sng the authority of new fom of consehowsneses, a then nei its ova move by seting ot nd sptinlizing the shortcomings ofthis negation. As noted by Zygmund Bauman, “thera aide 1 kindof "newaion of negation’: fis one tes 1 entizebistrical fom of consciousness inthe light of an shsirseal snd of th, and thea one concludes righty or wrongly, tht the endeavor sft snd, consquenty, the "nner hae" approach, te aproach ftom “indigenous categories isthe only way in whi various fers of ‘owed could be judge” (Bauman. 1978: 103), Zygmd Bauman ‘commented 08K. Manin work Now each iy has. grup of pope who specie in anering, forte soc alos gests rela te ateretaion a th aye fH Sik he oc enpged = to prove an nein othe wel at saci Manheim as hop th “ies sale sos ie meget tae, wh wel eine at lege sat ae seve he melita ene The new nigeria however 1 tbe and at un cane ke a ur mer ces gun we Ia cha “ecsve fact of mv tines hatin plas of hn a Do guint Stan afte eligi eT 10) To cat the ine, et ws comets the tell scent sepresened ere by sitting win its own history Stade of Afan theology inst on thee main tends: (2) salvation theology. (b ‘aapiation theology. and (e)iacartion or inculuraton thetogy (tshangu, 1987, KA Mana, 1992). The fst, safarion theology teadional and classical sa nextrcable part of the very Tabi of bistorcl Cristian and assures itso en a major dogmatic agument: sina Eeclesiom Nulla Salus (thers no salvation whatsoever outsile ff i historical experience). Ascoringly. paganism had to be the tegtive side of Cty and spaces wansfomed by Cristian revsation at acualizad by the religions and cultural experience of Chrstendem. ‘The fosion of Christianity and Wester sizaton insrites ise in a theory of story and hus zefcts on both thoi goneris and destiny as provident. AS such, they indicat the sole way 1 normal human eolion and religious fet. Depending on ctcumstnces, pagan experiences are reduced 10 2 tabula rasa orto tables of devilish aberations. I flows tat, as fn activity, missonzing parlls colonization ia the programme of Civizng and proding bon-Westem cultures. The German MUnser School of misiology, wel-known for foundational aumens, Inples two interwoven operations wo Chnstanize: a negative ene capturing dferences and deswoying them at tbe advantage of ni eral sinilitdes; and-a poritve one, geneting « sew culture 2 pare image, of the Corian West by implanting the Church faithfly i all demands i tenns of doctrine, stature, tals and dons Following Benedict XV's Mavimam ad (1919), one observes sow tend in African Catholics. The papal encyclical posits self fs an inp, the begining of new plosepby of comvering I in an rthovox manner, it sill emphasizes the ioconyplity of Christy in is menage and subeequely the absolute necessity for ite meticulous tismisson 1 pagans, st Ow pays atetion 10 what ould be known as teping stones of Chnstiaity. I had tecome clr that i as owe Wo pian describe and integrate ingens values inthe new Chrein cute snd mre importa. to ssc tives Fly to the implementation of the Care, conta {0 salvrion theology which ov of Earope sarang. good. TRS ‘adipuation theology ~ 38, for istnes,Demutized by Pere Chatso ‘TALES OF FAT (2939) in he 1920s and 19305 ~ fund some of is best expessons in Barts Philnophy by Pacise Tempels and, onthe Protestant sd, on Bantu Prophets In Sow Africa (1948) by Bengt Sunder, 03 The Primal Vision: Christian Presence and Afican Religion (1963) by LV. Taylor. With this new angle, Cesity ttc one of Hs ‘msc pags by extending inne values alleles expsting 4 Christian redemption. A new inelecwal arangement lends self ‘o such comprchenron and accommodates olf Pattie maxims, 8, for example, Terulianus’ anima ntualiter criians (ay sai tury Chistian), Cyprianu's samen on prayer, pce est raise communis oat (our prayer i ealecive an general). In the sane movement, the new perspective rvisestadonal polis for coavesion. renovating ancien stipules by Sunt Gregory ia his leter to Augustin: In onder t0 convert the Anglo Stxors, Gregory ‘vised wsing real customs, ceemonics, and places of pagan sacrifices and only rogesively tansfonning them ino Christian Tac forthe echion of the te God. Anoter msjor reference ie the 1659 ‘cial “Instetion’ ofthe Sao Congregato de Propaganda Fide, which demands respect fo indigenous acitons Final. sures clement gradually unfolded in this new configuration: the hype of uve primitive revelation diseredy soeked at by the Vienna School of Antropology under the ieson of PW. Semi (1933-9) rae posse some varying thes om adcencies and equivalencies of religious systems, the fundamentally iene meaning «primal repos light andthe universality inte and space ofthe ia of Go td that of slate, Before such a theological acceleration, which in Ccholicim ui imely le 10 the 1970s propositions for thcologes of incarnation, ‘one noted two complementary cccurrences an inversion of ants that ased 16 decline the log sstedependence of colonization and (Cvstinization: and. svotelyprovoeativ, the enerpenc of new ‘heolgieal space In the mame ofthe sme eleal ths ta josie political and eat aiension ae 4 rine qua nom condition of omersion to Christianity, this space aow suggested the concept of diference in the mulipicty ofits conetee vations alee of God's revelation. Im 1951, when Pits XI Evangel: Praccones "ME PRACTICE OF MISUNDERSTANDING 9s {4951p stabibaad & poieyaeady expesed by Pas XE in Rerum Freese (926), the adaption approach theologians quss) nan rus looked for ways of reconciling local stepping stones wit the Trio Christiana, Iason, with these very exigial motivations, they were tow competing with antropologss, exploring Ain ‘raional insituions, cists ad myths and their own practice, conceiving seed ariel vestments and ital msc 38 wel a the ariteture atl of churches. This Was the pri ding which Kgame's and Mulagos esearch blossomed. They accommodated the intoviity of Christianity with the freness of pagan networks: now reorganized in a now raionality, qualifying iself 36 praeparatio ‘ngetica preparing is own filmes inthe Caistian gospe) In the pod tations ofthe exerts one cul already Sethe poset for anther eta! step: why posit te local religious experience in a subservient elon 10 the Westem experience of Christian Tocuiteraton theology, inthe 1970, inerrgated the native Toca as 4tsign and symbol of the Castsn revelation itself against Muago's esis of adaption, ‘Understo fom hs istrcal background, she intligensia rep resented by Kagame ard Mulago could only face thr mission 35 frevenal of colonial practice. With 4 spit of consequence, i Chose to rewnite istry an to reoacepuaize cultural and religions teeing Tn both moment of negation, as ilustated by Kagame nd Mug, 4s well as by most ethothologcal disciples of Pacide Tempel, Fediction sms to be the mai ecniqu that establishes bah he ew ight o speech (and the power of spstiazig indigenous loa) tn the intelectual efficiency of scrpeaion) Redon ~ fore atin ret (ow the back sd, behind in ime back) and dere Co speak) — dente the ies of speaking (nd tus ssmhesizing fom fa illisory invented moment back in ine the proves. the presen invests valves inthe past ith is questions and ype. and redicovers inthe invented, eoganind spaces, a, parodigms, o¢ the th of is supponions. Indeed, the new cretion is often in ‘ontaition with the eon adapted Enishenmcat parades and uslibrary