African spirituality as a source of wisdom and strength in rural Ndwedwe

Abstract

There has been a growing emphasis on deepening the understanding of African spirituality and its strong potential to strengthen and support the lives of rural families and communities. Rural communities face the phenomenon of grandmother-headed and child-headed households. These families are reported to encounter adversities such as poverty, unemployment, financial constraints, teenage pregnancy, and other challenges that harm their livelihoods, preventing them from thriving and sustaining themselves. Several scholars have written about African spirituality, exploring the diverse and complex belief systems and practices that have been integral to the cultural heritage of various African societies and looking at how it assists the helping professions to develop safe environments for children and families. Little however has been written about how rural families and communities use African spirituality, thereby promoting the need for this study. Furthermore, African spirituality appears to be overlooked as a means of promoting overall well-being and support, which can be employed to strengthen and guide family and community life in rural communities. This study aimed to contribute to the scholarly work on African spirituality. A qualitative research approach was used in this study and its primary aim was to understand how African spiritual beliefs and practices can be used to strengthen family and community life in rural Ndwedwe. Purposive sampling was used to select the sample, twelve family members and fifteen traditional leaders and community elders made up the final sample due to data saturation. An interview guide and a focus group guide were used to collect data during semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions conducted with these participants. The data reflected the following major themes: (i)understanding African spirituality, (ii) spiritual beliefs and practices that exist within families(iii)healing methodologies, and (iv) spiritual activities that rural families can use. The major findings, namely, Ubuntu, collective existence within the community, communal prayers and Inhlambuluko (healing the lineage through truth and reconciliation) emerged in this study. Consequently, the community and families in Ndwedwe adopted a collaborative approach to their daily lives and spirituality. Families and the community believed in communal living and collective existence. Therefore, healing methodologies and prayers were mostly intended to preserve and maintain the individual and, most importantly, the collective.