Introduction
Mbumba and Nkhoswe
Twin words, mbumba and nkhoswe, describe the functional relationship between a sister and her children in relationship to her brother (uncle) respectively among the matrilineal societies of the Chewa and Nyanja in Central Malawi, Eastern Zambia, and West of Mozambique, as well as in some parts of Zimbabwe. This study seeks to explore the functional role and relationship between these terms as used in Malawi, the West of Mozambique, Eastern Zambia and Hwange in the region of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and consider how these terms can be a framework within which an Anglican ecclesiology can be conceptualized, and possibly have bearings on missiological imperatives in Central Africa.
African Concepts and Missional Ecclesiology
This study falls within a broader framework of African theology of which John Mbiti has been one of the pioneers. However, since this study entails the use of African tools to interpret Western Christian concepts, it falls within what Justin S. Ukpong and others call African Inculturation Theology.Footnote 2 African Inculturation Theology seeks the use of African value systems to explain doctrine or systems within Western Christianity.Footnote 3
The justification for use of African concepts as a tool to interpret Western Christian ones, such as for an Anglican ecclesiology, lies in the fact that down the centuries Christianity has engaged in dialogue with other cultures, notably Judaism, Greco-Roman culture, and subsequently with Western cultures.Footnote 4 As a hermeneutical tool, use of African theological/cultural frameworks has dominated African scholarship since the 1960s. Even though it does not fit neatly into his conceptual framework, this study follows what Justin Ukpong calls a sociological-anthropological approach.
Rather than concentrating on the religious aspects of culture only, Ukpong argues that the sociological-anthropological approach to inculturation is holistic, in that it takes into consideration socio-economic and political factors as well; it seeks thus to consider the religious aspect of African cultural values.Footnote 5 Here culture has not only religious dimensions, but secular ones as well. According to Ukpong, the process is driven by three hermeneutical tools: context, text and an interpretive framework. In this case our context is Central and Southern Africa, particularly Malawi, Eastern Zambia and West of Mozambique. The text or value is mbumba/imbumba and nkhoswe vis-à-vis an Anglican ecclesiology. The interpretive framework consists of the underlying assumptions embedded in an African conception of reality, that is, communitarian as opposed to Western individualism, interconnectedness as opposed to independence, unitary in contrast to Western dualism, and wholeness as opposed to compartmentalization.
I will argue that the meaning and hermeneutical values of the concepts of mbumba and nkhoswe can only be located within these African communal systems and values of the Chewa and Nyanja in Central Africa. In undertaking this study, I seek to illustrate that African concepts can make a contribution to ecclesiology, and enhance missional praxis in Central and Southern Africa.
Mbumba and Nkhoswe – The Background
Etymology
Etymologically the term mbumba is a combination of the prefix mbu and suffix mba. The term derives from the Chichewa and Chinyanja verb ku-wu-mba, or IsiZulu and IsiXhosa uku-bu-mba, as in moulding clay, creating, shaping, bringing together, or binding. More significantly, the word uku-bu-mba is the same one used in IsiXhosa Bible in Genesis to denote the ‘creation’ of humankind.
The word nkhoswe is said to derive from the word khoswe, a rat.Footnote 6 Its usage can be related to the Chichewa and Chinyanja saying about ‘a rat (khoswe) when seated on an earthen pot’ which deters one from killing (shooting) it, since in trying to do so one runs the risk of destroying the pot as well. Footnote 7 The rationale is that by sitting on the earthen pot, the rat (khoswe) is protected but it also protects the pot from being destroyed.Footnote 8
In this sense, the role that the nkhoswe play seems to derive from the root verb nkh’ – ‘khala, (sit) meaning the rat ‘sitting in between’ the earthen pot and the third party.Footnote 9 What is implied is the notion that the khoswe (nkhoswe) is the one who sits in between earthen pot (the mbumba) and a third party, or perceived danger or threat. The logic behind the analogy is that a symbiotic relationship prevails between the khoswe (rat) and the earthen pot. Behind this notion lies a much deeper one: the power dynamics of a reciprocal functionality existing between the nkhoswe and mbumba. The term nkhoswe is said also to refer to the four poles that support a maize barn on its stand.Footnote 10 In this respect, its significance lies in its critical role in supporting a maize barn, the storage of the staple food in Central and Southern Africa.
The Evolution of Nkhoswe
Christine Saidi has given critical insight into the development of the role of the nkhoswe in relation to the mbumba in the Chewa and Nyanja society in Central Africa. According to Saidi, the period when ‘the role of nkhoswe was introduced is unknown...’.Footnote 11 However, she reckons that ‘this development would have been the latter centuries of the first half of the second millennium, in the era of the establishment of more centralised institutions among the Nyanja/Chewa by the Phiri and the growth of greater male political power at the centre’.Footnote 12 The growth of male power came about precisely because of the critical role that the woman came to play in ensuring the survival of the matrilineal society.
Saidi further notes that originally in that context the term nkhoswe applied ‘to one who advocates a position in a public or court debate or to one’s advocate in marriage negotiations’.Footnote 13 Saidi’s rendering of the term comes close to that of the Reverend David Clement Scott, a Scottish missionary in Southern Malawi. Scott’s carries civil and legal connotations; he defined the term nkhoswe as ‘an advocate in mlandu (civil lawsuits) or marriage or business’.Footnote 14 It is this aspect of the role of the nkhoswe that tends to dominate marriage contracts in Malawi, that is, the nkhoswe’s role in arrangements and as an arbiter in disputations in marriage. More recently Louis Chimango has stressed the legal dimensions of the role of the nkhoswe in legitimizing marital contractual obligations entered into by a man and a woman as husband and wife.Footnote 15 Chimango noted that any marriage without the nkhoswe is considered null and void. While this is an important aspect, nonetheless it is the second dimension that is more critical to this study, to which I now turn.
Nkhoswe as Ward or Guardian of the Mbumba
Saidi has argued that even though the development of the role of the nkhoswe was meant to protect the mbumba, in fact it buttressed male power. In her words:
the application of the term nkhoswe to a kin context rationalizes the position as a supportive one; in effect it would have given male members of the matrikin their own collective role, parallel to that of the mbumba. The role of the protector is normally that of greater power than that of the protected.Footnote 16
Saidi concluded that a mid-twentieth-century description of nkhoswe as men ‘responsible for the well-being and the good conduct [emphasis added] of their mbumba makes it clear that the creation of the role of the nkhoswe did in the end shift the balance of authority towards males’.Footnote 17 Saidi’s critical insights regarding power relations between the nkhoswe and the mbumba have to be acknowledged, as no social system or structure is impervious to abuse. However, her observations and arguments have to be considered in light of how the mbumba and the nkhoswe are constituted, and how power is disbursed among the two parties.
Building on J.C. Mitchell’s definition of mbumba as ‘sorority group’, Matthew Schoffeleers has asserted that mbumba ‘consists of a group of sisters and their children under the leadership of their brothers, who are known as their nkhoswe (guardians)’. ‘One of these is regarded as the leader of the mbumba (mwini mbumba)…’. ‘When such a man refers to his mbumba,’ he asserts, ‘he includes not only his sisters and their descendants but also his younger brothers’. Schoffeleers then suggests that: ‘Thus, in that case the term is used in a broader sense. A woman normally belongs to more than one mbumba, namely, that of her brother, that of her mother’s brother (malume), and possibly also that of her maternal grandmother’s brother.’Footnote 18 He argues that:
The directly effective one, however, is that of her mother’s brother, who will be assisted by her elder brother if the latter is an adult. The head of the mbumba is responsible for the behaviour of those under his charge. He has to see to their general well-being, conduct their marriage negotiations, appear for them in court, and pay fines on their behalf.Footnote 19
The Honourable Dr Justin C. Malewezi, former Vice President of Malawi, argued that there are ‘checks and balances’ built in this Chewa social structure and system.Footnote 20 According to Malewezi, the role of nkhoswe and mbumba reflects the institution of the Chewa monarchy and the relationship that prevails between the king (Kalonga Gawa Undi) and the queen (high priestess), Makewana (Mother of children). For instance, the king cannot carry out major activities like wage war without the consent of Makewana. On her side, Makewana cannot bear arms but must be protected by the Kalonga. The king appoints a chief or chiefs to protect Makewana.Footnote 21
Malewezi notes that it is the mbumba that appoints the nkhoswe, and hence it is a hereditary position – ‘always a blood relation on the matrilineal line … usually the first born amongst the brothers. If he is unsuitable they go down the line.’ So it follows that ‘the nkhoswe is accountable and answerable to the mbumba’.Footnote 22 Schoffeleers also states that ‘theoretically, the eldest brother is elected as headman, but in practice there is considerable freedom of choice, and other factors such as the candidate’s popularity with kinsmen are also taken into account’.Footnote 23 In other words, it is the mbumba who ‘constitute’ the power of the nkhoswe. Similarly the mbumba have a leadership structure among the members. ‘The first born sister (if she has leadership qualities) is the head among the women (Mbumba Yaikulu).’Footnote 24 In his relationship to the mbumba the nkhoswe plays a number of important roles including offering sacrifice (kuthira nsembe), considering issues relating to land, and funerals.
However, the mbumba system does have its own weaknesses. Schoffeleers noted that ‘the potential sources of conflict in the mbumba system are the relationships between a man and his brothers and between a man and his mother’s brother … The cause of conflict is usually competition for effective control over the mbumba and positions of authority which follow from it.’Footnote 25 Malewezi noted that when the nkhoswe abuses his power he ‘… is called to a private meeting in a house (Kuka)’ where ‘The mbumba led by the senior mbumba, called “AKuKa” point out [the nkhoswe’s] weakness and ask him to change his ways. Several such meetings can take place’ and then ‘…the mbumba [may] select another leader...’.Footnote 26
The significance of this is that ‘these actions are done in private. The rest of the people are told that he has asked his brother to assume the role. The mbumba still respect the outgoing nkhoswe and do not disgrace him.’Footnote 27 Both Saidi and Malewezi highlighted important dimensions for this study. While Saidi’s contribution lay particularly in highlighting the legal and civil dimensions of the roles of the mbumba and nkhoswe, similarly Malewezi’s conceptions pertaining to the constitutional, legal and priestly aspects are critical.
The Complementarity of the Mbumba and Nkhoswe
In Chewa and Nyanja matrilineal societies in Malawi, Eastern Zambia and Central Mozambique, and some parts of Zimbabwe, the term mbumba carries important socio-cultural dimensions. Roman Catholic scholar Jan Vermeullen asserted that the term mbumba denotes the ‘kindred, those sustained by one, one’s female relations’.Footnote 28 Steven Paas noted that the term mbumba ‘refers to a woman (and her children) under the guardianship of a brother, nkhoswe’.Footnote 29 The brother carries special obligations and responsibilities of caring for the sister (and her children).Footnote 30 In fact according to one Chichewa dictionary, the nkhoswe is a mediator, intermediary, go-between; advocate, advisor, guardian of the marriage bond/counsellor and most significantly a representative.Footnote 31 On the other hand, Vermeullen applied the term nkhoswe to denote the role of advocacy and intercession such as of St Patrick in heaven. This comes close to the Chichewa Dictionary rendering of the Holy Spirit as nkhoswe (depicted as female), whose role is understood as the intercessor.
Among the Yawo tribe at least in Malawi a woman also becomes the nkhoswe.Footnote 32 This case is unique as it sharply distinguishes the woman’s role in the Yawo communities from other tribes. The implications for a female nkhoswe with regard to leadership in the church will be discussed further below. Nonetheless, Paas’s definition comes closer to that of Bridget Kasauka’s as traditional obligations of the nkhoswe towards the mbumba are concerned, but more importantly in this respect the stress lies on the role of women in the Chewa and Nyanja society. Kasauka noted that:
Women have a special place in Chewa society and belief. They are recognised as reproducers of the lineage (Mbele) which is an extended family of people related to the same ancestor. As a matrilineal society, property and land rights are inherited through the mother. Mbele means ‘descended from the same breast’. Children of the same mother or female make up a family of dependence or mbumba. Elder brothers of the mothers, who are called nkhoswe, are the guardians of the lineage, and are mentors to their sisters’ sons.Footnote 33
According to Kasauka, two roles are critical. The first one is the woman’s role in Chewa society to ensure the survival of lineage. Unlike among the Angoni or other tribes in Malawi, where the child of the existing chief succeeds to chieftaincy, among the Chewa it is a son (in some cases a daughter) of the mbumba who succeeds. Second, the significance of the mbumba lies in the fact it is her children that inherit property of the mbumba’s brother, commonly called malume (nkhoswe), by virtue of their biological relationship with the mother. From this perspective mbumba can also be understood to be the ‘owner’ of lineage, that is, ‘mwini mbumba’, ‘owner (custodian) of mbumba’. But in fact it is the brother of the woman, malume (uncle), who undertakes the role of mwini mbumba, custodian, who is officially called the nkhoswe. This is how Moya Aliya Malamusi described this concept:
If a male person’s sister marries and produces children, all her children constitute the mbumba of her brother whom they will address as malume (maternal uncle). And he will be the mwini mbumba (=the owner of the mbumba), all those children will be his mbumba. The matrilineal social structure of the Achewa brings about this kind of bifurcation. It cannot be that the man in question would call children of his elder or younger brothers (mbumba yanga (my mbumba), he would call them ana anga (my children). In this society, parental power projects from the malume to the mbumba. A man is the ‘owner’ of his sister(s) children.Footnote 34
What is critical here is the relationship between the mbumba and the malume (nkhoswe). As Moya Malamusi asserts, the mbumba refers ‘to a person’s allegiance through kinship ... the “ownership” of a person’.Footnote 35 He is the ‘owner’ in the sense of being a ‘custodian’ rather than ‘owning’ as ‘property’.
It is significant also that Scott’s definition of the term mbumba denoted three shades of meanings, as the ‘kindred; those sustained by one; thus one’s female relations, the sustainer or advocate being called nkhoswe; then the people of a chief, thus ruled and sustained by him, his kingdom’.Footnote 36 Scott’s reference to ‘the people of a chief, ruled and sustained by him, his kingdom’ as mbumba introduces an important dimension. It is quite striking that in the New Testament the church is portrayed as prefiguring the kingdom of God, while Scott associates mbumba as ‘the people of the chief’. The fact that the term mbumba (and nkhoswe) carries these meanings is suggestive.
The foregoing discussion has important implications. First, the nkhoswe has legal and social obligations towards the mbumba. Secondly, the nkhoswe has a representative role. He represents the mbumba and the ancestral lineage. Thirdly and more significantly, the nkhoswe is the protector (mtetezi) of the mbumba and guards her on behalf of the ancestors. He is the custodian of the mbumba. The mbumba feels safe under the guardianship of the nkhoswe.Footnote 37 In other words, the uncle acts as the ward of his mbumba. The apparent special role that the mbumba plays, and the privilege the mbumba enjoys derives from the position which she traditionally holds as a mother whose children have the right to ascend to the chieftaincy. In this sense she occupies the role of a custodian of the royalty. The mbumba then embodies ‘womanhood’ and ‘motherhood’, ‘family-kinship’.
In Northern Malawi, the term mbumba also carries another meaning. In general it denotes the existence of family or clan members as ‘one people’ bonded to each other in a patrilineal lineage in a village.Footnote 38 The stress here is the union and fellowship engendered through close family ties or kinship. The mbumba exist in terms of blood relationship. This conception comes much closer to the South African IsiXhosa/IsiZulu term, imbumba, understood in the patrilineal rather than in the matrilineal sense among the Chewa and Nyanja. Imbumba derives from the root verb uku-bu-mbana, hence ubumbano (noun), which carries a very similar connotation as the word umanyano, unity as in a gathering,Footnote 39 literally translating union or fellowship.Footnote 40 According to V.V. Mkhize, the word denotes a holistic and collective dimension of the people’s life, the people’s ‘communities together’ in the sense of their ‘union in values, needs and mission’.Footnote 41 This rendering of the word seems to stress union and fellowship engendered through values that enhance ‘moulding’ or ‘creating’, that is ukubumba, hence ubumbano.
I suggest that mbumba has to be construed within this broader perspective. Through his counsel and guardianship, the nkhoswe is the one who ‘moulds’ or ‘creates’ or ‘raises’ the mbumba. The values that the nkhoswe stands for and the role that the nkhoswe plays enhance the ‘moulding’ or the ‘raising’ of the mbumba. The mbumba is thus raised through the values of care, protection and counsel. The mbumba is under the custodianship of the nkhoswe.
Mkhize’s association of the idea of the imbumba with ‘coming together’ of the people, engendered by common values, needs and mission is significant. Fellowship derives from a sense of common purpose and values. It engenders more than fellowship. In fact in meaning, the word approximates to the Greek word, koinonia.
Ideology, Mbumba and Nkhoswe in the Recent History of Malawi
Perhaps precisely because of their powerful metaphorical symbolic meaning and social connotations in the recent history of Malawi, the terms nkhoswe and mbumba have been used to advance some political causes. In the years 1892–95 the Anglican missionary on Likoma Island, Archdeacon Chauncy Maples, assumed for himself the role of the guardian, nkhoswe, for the people on the Island, and not only for the members of the new Christian community,Footnote 42 his own mbumba.Footnote 43 While the role that Maples exercised as the nkhoswe undermined the traditional authority of the traditional chiefs, it also tended to enhance his civil and political power among the Islanders, and so the chiefs opposed his efforts.Footnote 44
Likewise throughout his presidency, the former State President of Malawi, Dr Kamuzu Banda (1964–95) arrogated to himself the role of ‘nkhoswe’ of the mbumba, that is, a guardian for all women in Malawi. Thus, Kishindo noted that he ‘considered himself the head of a modern Republican state as well as a paramount traditional ruler. In this role he distributed land to a chosen few [and] built them houses.’Footnote 45 He styled himself as the ‘ward’, the nkhoswe and ‘protector’ of all Malawian women, and by implication he expected them to be even more loyal to him even than men. In this way, through women he sought to control their husbands and other men.
Notwithstanding this misuse, the terms mbumba and nkhoswe embody some positive sociological values that can help shed light on an Anglican ecclesiology from the African perspective.
Church, Mbumba and Nkhoswe
The Problem: Anglican Missionary Ecclesiology in Central and Southern Africa
The Anglican Church came to Central Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Southern Tanganyika and Zambia) and Southern Africa from England through the work of the Universities’ Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) missionaries in the late nineteenth century.Footnote 46 Both organizations were inspired by the Oxford Movement, whose teachings stressed the sacramental view of the church. With regard to the Anglican Church in South Africa, Frank England noted that an Anglican understanding of the church ‘has been greatly influenced by Anglo-Catholicism’.Footnote 47 ‘The SPG monks and nuns … through their devotion … emphasized the holy office of the priest, the sacraments and ritual.’Footnote 48
The episcopate, and by extension the priesthood, was of the esse of the church. Unlike the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in East and West Africa, in Central Africa the UMCA and in Southern Africa the SPG brought a conception of the church wherein the episcopate seemed almost synonymous with it.
To varying degrees in these regions, the episcopate has played a very significant role in the ecclesiology of the Anglican Church. Referring to what he called the ‘Anglo-Saxon captivity’ of the episcopate in the post-missionary modern Africa era, John Pobee noted that:
the bishop … has become a carbon copy of the English bishop whose office and style have been accommodated to the English culture, particularly the upper-class culture. A classic example is the African bishop being addressed as the Lord Bishop of Cape Coast or Tamale or Freetown.Footnote 49
He went on to say that:
The title reflects an English culture and social structure which are irrelevant to the African situation. Thus a major task before the younger dioceses of the Anglican Communion is to work their way out of the captivity, so that the Anglican apprehensions of Christ may become authentically ‘enfleshed’ in Africa.Footnote 50
In Central Africa bishops still use the title ‘Lord Bishop’. While very few bishops in South Africa would be comfortable to be addressed as such, there as in Central Africa episcopal trappings of the office often associated with the Victorian era have endured.
Pobee’s critical observation might well then apply to the Anglican Church in Central and South Africa. In Central Africa, the too-close identification of the episcopate with the church, at least in Malawi, seems to have influenced Anglicans to view the ‘church primarily as an institution and secondarily as a community’.Footnote 51 This is precisely because traditionally the Anglican Church in Central and Southern Africa has been too closely identified with the sacramental role of the episcopate, and by extension the priesthood.
More significantly, England asserted that perhaps ‘there has been an over-emphasis on the sacraments and liturgy where sanctification is mystical rather than truly incarnational...’. He concludes that ‘perhaps the Church has tended to perceive herself as the guardian of truth, speaking out and condemning injustice and exploitation, but without creatively moulding the lives of her members for practical tasks of ensuring that the “captives are released, the blind see and the oppressed are liberated” (Lk. 4:18)’.Footnote 52 In other words there exists a missiological challenge that is not unrelated to ecclesiology. To conceptualize the church (an Anglican diocese, in particular) as mbumba or as imbumba, and leadership as ankhoswe (bishops), has the potential to bring a positive dimension to an African ecclesiology with a bearing on missional imperatives.
The Essence of the Church as an African Family
In Chewa and Nyanja society, the mbumba’s rights can only be appropriately fulfilled and her privileges enjoyed within an ‘African family social structure’ – hence by extension the church, and in this case a diocese can also be perceived as the African family. It is as the ‘African family’ that the church can enjoy its rights and privileges in the true sense of the Chewa/Nyanja term mbumba. African Roman Catholic scholars have fruitfully contributed to an African understanding of the church as an African family and as an African clan.Footnote 53 Using the African model of an African family, Donatus O. Chukwu has illustrated the significance of the sacramental and fellowship dimensions of the church in Africa.Footnote 54 In his view, the African family is a model of sacramentality and the communion of the church that transcends mere family and ethnic ties.Footnote 55
Josiah Kibira introduced the idea of the African clan as a true model of an African Church.Footnote 56 Going beyond the African family model, Deusdedit Nkurunziza embraces ethnicity as the gravitational centre of evangelization to stress the importance of unity in diversity.Footnote 57 Similarly Alozoie Onwubiko urged a Catholic ecclesiology based on the African family value of ujamaa, brotherhood or sisterhood in East Africa.Footnote 58 He argued for the importance of understanding of the Roman Catholic Church from the perspective of family-hood. The significance of his argument lies in the fact that the Church in Africa ought to be understood as a closely knit fellowship, koinonia.
While the family is the cornerstone, it is the community that defines the identity of the primary family. It stresses the idea of collectiveness, the ‘corporate’ dimension of the church which becomes critical. The diocese becomes a ‘family’ and the global communion an ‘extended’ family, where all are connected to each other by virtue of the space they occupy in the family.
Liturgically, the term mbumba appears in the second Eucharistic prayer of an Anglican Prayer Book in Malawi, where it refers to the ‘Church spread out in the world’,Footnote 59 denoting the ‘Universal Church’. It is a prayer that has been adapted from the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (Roman Catholic Church). However, nowhere in the liturgy is the term related to its kin word, nkhoswe. As Pascal J. Kishindo noted, ‘the words mbumba and nkhoswe are defined in terms of each other’.Footnote 60 In Chichewa and Chinyanja, however, as we have seen, the two words, mbumba and nkhoswe are almost inseparable as the roles and functions of the persons who assume them in the communities are closely intertwined.
A Diocese as Mbumba and Leaders (Bishops) as AnkhosweFootnote 61
Missiological Implications for the Ecclesiology of Mbumba and Leadership as UnkhosweFootnote 62
In light of the above exposition, the concept and role of nkhoswe can rightly be attributed to Jesus Christ, mwini mbumba, to whom the Church belongs. Since in Chewa society, among others, the nkhoswe fulfils a sarcedotal role, offering sacrifice to the ancestors on behalf of the mbumba, Jesus Christ can also be regarded as the Nkhoswe par excellence in terms of his New Testament role as mediator, intercessor and high priest.Footnote 63 Others have portrayed him in the related role as the Ancestor.Footnote 64 Jesus Christ is the ultimate Nkhoswe precisely because in his divine and human person he embodies the church, his mbumba, which he also represents.
As a diocese constitutes a unit of the Church in Anglican ecclesiology, so it can appropriately be described as the mbumba. A diocese is the mbumba precisely because its members, whether on parochial, archdeaconry (regional) or other levels, are organically interrelated, as members closely belonging to the same Christian family, the mbumba. So it follows that a Province is a ‘family of mbumba’ as it is constituted by dioceses, and so too a conglomeration of mbumba is a ‘Communion’.
By virtue of their calling by Christ, bishops are the ankhoswe of the church in succession to the apostles. Bishops and by extension the clergy become the ankhoswe after the pattern of Christ. However, they are not mwini mbumba, who is Christ alone. They are merely stewards and guardians to serve the diocese, the mbumba, and in return the latter ‘rewards’ the mbumba with gifts. It is from the mbumba and not vice versa that the nkhoswe’s role is defined. In fact, it is the mbumba (people of God, the diocese) that constitutes the nkhoswe (bishop) and not vice versa. Through consecration (ordination) and appointment to a pastoral charge, the nkhoswe (bishop) and the mbumba (diocese/parish) enters into a contractual relationship. The obligations of this relationship are similar to those in marriage. Behind the roles of guardian, warden, protector, advocate, that a nkhoswe fulfils in relation to the mbumba lie critical social values of ‘collective identity’, ‘solidarity’, ‘mutuality’ and ‘reciprocity’, the very core values that constitute African view of communality. So it follows that as nkhoswe, a bishop, and his mbumba the diocese, ought to aspire to cultivate, enhance and engender the spirit of mutuality, reciprocity and above all accountability.
In terms of his position as nkhoswe, a bishop then has the obligation to raise (ku-wu-mba) or (uku-bu-mba) the mbumba by means of admonishment, giving guidance and counsel in matters of pastoral nature – the advice that builds up and equips the body of Christ. This duty is critical precisely because like an earthen pot, the mbumba is precious but also fragile. If not handled with care, it can break. Hence the nkhoswe is called appropriately to fulfil the role of a pastor and shepherd. A shepherd tends and cares for the sheepfold, his mbumba, by nurturing it with godly counsel. It is by virtue of being a ‘trustee’, ‘guardian’ and ‘warden’ that the nkhoswe pastors and shepherds. The nkhoswe assumes the role of a ‘mediator’ and ‘advocate’ between Christ and his mbumba, and between the members of his mbumba.
Outlining the role of nkhoswe, Malewezi indicates: ‘I agree with all the various shades of meanings of mbumba and nkhoswe. This only illustrates the complexity of the concept.’ He went on to argue that ‘The fact that the role of the nkhoswe is more visible in marriages should not overshadow the many other even more important roles the nkhoswe performs for the mbumba such as offering sacrifices (nsembe), health issues, land issues, funerals etc.’Footnote 65
Vermeullen defines the nkhoswe as a ‘tutor, advocate, the go-between responsible for marriage agreements, patron/advocate in heaven (like St. Patrick)’.Footnote 66 It is significant that here the ‘advocacy’ role of the nkhoswe is associated with ‘intercession in heaven of St. Patrick’. This conception enhances the view that the church ought to function more as an ‘African family’ than primarily as an institution, consequently, where a bishop fulfils the role of ‘pater familias’ or ‘mater familias’ rather than as a potentate. In this ‘nkhoswe-mbumba framework’, all members of the diocese (mbumba) have the privilege to contribute to ministry, since their gifts are equally acknowledged, different gifts and yet all equal. Ministry derives from ‘service’ (diakonia) to serve the mbumba rather than status, seen as a privilege rather than a status symbol. This conception sets the members of mbumba free to see themselves as partners rather than as rivals in mission, as collaborators rather than competitors.
Vermeullen’s rendering is also significant in the sense that the Chichewa and Chinyanja Bible denote the Holy Spirit as the nkhoswe, the Counsellor and Advocate. Hence, it is logical to understand that the nkhoswe functions as the ‘advocate’ and ‘counsellor’ to the mbumba. So it follows that when occasions of conflict or misunderstandings arise the nkhoswe functions as a go-between for the mbumba and the other party; the nkhoswe is like the intercessor of the mbumba its advocate. As the supreme Nkhoswe of the church, Christ intercedes on its behalf. If as noted earlier, among the Yawo people in Malawi the nkhoswe can be female and in some cases even among the Chewa, and as the Holy Spirit (nkhoswe) in the Chinyanja/Chichewa Scriptures is depicted as female, does this not strengthen the case for women to be considered for ordination to the priesthood in the Anglican Church in Central Africa?
So in his role vis-à-vis the mbumba, the nkhoswe assumes the role of a guardian. The nkhoswe derives and exercises ‘his’ authority not from the position of ‘patriarchal power’, or ‘patronage’, not in relation to the members of the ‘household’ as ‘minors’ but rather as an ‘elder’ standing in line with the ancestors. Seeing his/her role as that of the custodian of the mbumba, the wisdom of the ancestors, he/she then promotes the spirit of love and care for the common well-being of all the members of the household.
The Church can be understood as the imbumba/mbumba of Christ, ‘owned’ by Christ, the nkhoswe number one, protected by Christ, where the contribution of every family (mbumba) is recognized and indeed affirmed. The fact that the nkhoswe may be summoned to the Kuka by the mbumba when he is out of line illustrates the principle of accountability, and highlights the fact that leadership is not only by kinship but earned. In his article on ‘African leadership’, Maake Masango made a similar point that African leadership is earned, and therefore there is a sense of accountability about it. Caring and accountability are marks of traditional African leadership. Leadership has qualities or values that ‘prove a genuine sense of care for people, and an awareness of ultimate accountability’.Footnote 67
Just as the nkhoswe serves the mbumba in the spirit of a servant on behalf of the living-dead, the ancestors, so the bishops and clergy carry a special obligation to serve the church on behalf of Christ and the saints. The nkhoswe is an advocate of the mbumba, the counsellor of the mbumba and in fact the custodian of the mbumba. The nkhoswe plays a mediatory role between the mbumba and the other party.
Finally, it ought to be noted that the term mbumba particularly as understood among the Chewa and Nyanja is inseparably associated with ‘femininity’ or ‘womanhood’, and even more significantly ‘motherhood’. There are parallels here between the ‘feminine’, ‘motherhood’ image of the Church in the New Testament (Rev. 19.7; 21.9-10; 2 Cor. 11.2) and the feminine image of the mbumba. This is so precisely because in the Chewa and Nyanja society the mbumba plays a critical role not only in the survival of lineage through child-bearing but also and consequently succession in the chieftaincy.
The bishops (and clergy) as the nkhoswe have the role to watch over (mtetezi) the mbumba on behalf of Christ, who is in fact the Nkhoswe number one. They derive this role from and on behalf of Christ, who is its principal nkhoswe. Just as the nkhoswe is ‘constituted’ by the mbumba as Malewezi argued, so the leadership of the Church (ankhoswe) (bishops) is constituted by the Church (mbumba), and therefore the nkhoswe is ultimately accountable to the mbumba, who has the power to ask the nkhoswe to step down if the latter does not discharge his duties accordingly. In other words the nkhoswe is not irreplaceable. Depending on his performance the nkhoswe can be deposed.
No church leader has the right to operate above the Church. The Church (laity) has an inalienable right to request its leader to step down if she deems it appropriate. Hence ministering in the Church must be seen as a privilege rather than a right, a service rather than a fulfilment of obligations of ‘employment’. In other words, when ministry is too much associated with status (and sometimes power) it becomes an obstacle to the Church fulfilling its mission. The Church in Africa, quite independent of its clerical leadership, must strive to develop powerful institutional structures like aKuka which it must use with confidence and creativity to counteract leadership tendencies that undermine koinonia.
Some of the current structures, such as the Synod, Church tribunals, and aspects of Constitution and Canons in their present forms, developed in the circumstances of medieval Europe, far removed from ours, seem to fail as effective instruments to address critical issues facing the Anglican Church in Africa. The Anglican Church, particularly the laity, must take a bold step to set themselves free from Anglican structures that have failed to serve the Church well down the ages. This will require courage and visionary leadership on the part of some lay Anglicans. In doing this the Church in (Central) Africa will not cease to be ‘Anglican’ at all, no less loyal to global Anglicanism at all. In fact it can transform into a ‘better’ Anglican Church. The Anglican Church in Central Africa ought to express itself in forms that are authentically African and that respond to the needs of the African Anglicans. In using African forms, the church in Africa will justify its missionary role to the other Anglican Churches beyond its frontiers. As long as Anglicanism in Central and Southern Africa is captive to archaic structures, relics of medieval antiquity, it will never grow.
Sacraments as the Celebration of Koinonia of the Mbumba-nkhoswe
The celebration of the sacraments constitutes one of the essential marks of Anglicanism. Though no Chinyanja or Chichewa word exists for sacrament of the Eucharist, the notion behind the Eucharist is implied in the descriptive term especially used for intimate fellowship in Malawi and Zambia, chiyanjano choyera, which denotes ‘profound’ holy fellowship literally implying ‘sharing in one another’s meal (life)’ or the ‘reconciled’, whereby the idea of belongingness is implied. The relationship between the mbumba and nkhoswe is expressed organically in chiyanjano, or more appropriately by the term chidyerano, implying ‘sharing in one another’s meal’, literally ‘entering’ into ‘one another’s life’, that is, ‘your life becomes mine and mine becomes yours since we belong together’. There is a ‘covenantal’ dimension to this – ‘participating in one another’s life’. This view of the Eucharist is organic, where all are living members, belonging to one family. The ‘entering into one another’s life’ reflects the idea of the mbumba and the nkhoswe in koinonia, where each party has mutual obligations.
So when bishops and the clergy preside over the Eucharist, they stand in a similar role to that of nkhoswe when he offers the sacrifice (nsembe) to the ancestors. The Eucharist then takes on the meaning of chidyerano, deep koinonia. Regular celebration and partaking of the Eucharist engenders the spirit of ‘we all belong’ to one fellowship as brothers and sisters. The sacrament then takes on a deep meaning of a fellowship expressing the virtue of solidarity between the nkhoswe and his mbumba. It ceases existing merely as a Christian ‘spiritual badge’ of identity. In a real way it encapsulates the saying ‘I am because of what you are’. This is an ecclesiology of ‘corporate-ness’, ‘belongingness’, which must engender a spirit of common obligation. The celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist therefore ought to be seen as the sealing of the relationship between the nkhoswe and the mbumba.
Conclusion
The preceding discussion has shown that the roles of the mbumba and the nkhoswe are intricately interconnected. The mbumba defines what the nkhoswe ought to be, must be. In short the mbumba is of esse to the nkhoswe, while the latter is of bene esse to the mbumba. What this implies is that it is the Church that constitutes and defines the episcopate, not vice versa; hence the latter can only find its legitimacy and fulfilment in terms of the former. The Anglican episcopate, and by extension the priesthood in Central Africa, ought to see its role as that of a servant of the diocese, the mbumba. Bishops ought to understand that they derive their role and authority from Jesus Christ, mwini mbumba. The nkhoswe is the guardian, the ward of the mbumba, over whom the nkhoswe is called to be a shepherd exercising pastoral care. On the other hand, the mbumba, the diocese, must understand that chiefly its role entails enabling and equipping the nkhoswe in fulfilling his/her role. It is a privilege bequeathed to both the mbumba and nkhoswe by mwini mbumba, Nkhoswe number one.
