Introduction

It is a common practice by Christian church denominations to have new converts pass through a
catechism rite for the purpose of introducing them into the family of Christ. For example Sunday
school boys and girls move to catechumen class and those above the age of twelve and above
who choose to follow Christ are the one who qualify to enter the catechumen class. Similarly,
African traditional religions have rites that are performed to prepare young individuals who have
attained the age of 13-15 years for their entry into new life of adulthood before they could be
accepted as adults in the community and this is referred to as puberty. Therefore in this paper, I
will discuss the statement “Christian rite of catechism is not a stranger to African understanding
of puberty” with reference to Mbiti’s assertion on puberty in African thought.

The Christian rite of catechism

The catechumen term refers to an individual or group of people who are under Christian
teachings before admission into full communicant membership of the Christian family.
Therefore, oxford advanced dictionary, describes catechism as a set of questions and answers
that are used for teaching people about the beliefs of the Christian religion. It is an exposition of
doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the sacraments traditionally used in Christian
religious teaching of children and adult converts. Comby 1985: 39) observes that, over centuries
Christians have had suffered persecutions and killings due to this. Therefore, in order to preserve
and strengthen their faith in Christ, Christians used to worship and perform their rituals in
underground cemetery called catacombs where teachings of the nature of catechism were done.
Before the protestant reformation, Christian catechesis took the form of instruction in and
memorization of the apostle’s creed, Lord’s Prayer and basic knowledge of the sacraments.
However, Bokenkotter (1979: 256) observes that, catechism was started by the Germany Roman
Catholic Church. Acknowledging this fact however; one can also attribute it to the early
Christian church during the first century as seen from what used to happen in those underground
tombs as highlighted by Comby. Nevertheless, Germany Roman Catholics formulated a liturgy
for catechism which most of the churches have adopted and improved on and it now used in all
Christian denominations.

1|Page
Catechism rite therefore, has become an important rite which every Christian convert has to
undergo because, it introduces somebody into a new family called the Christian community.
During the time of catechism lessons the catechumen are made to realize and put into
consideration the voice of God being spoken to each one of them through the scriptures
reminding them of what changes have and ought to occur in their lives and see how they need to
respond to God’s inspiration which is not different from today’s church for example the United
Church of Zambia. They are taught on what baptism is the church. Upon completing the course
(catechism), the participants are being recommended, approved for baptism and membership of
the church. The minister or bishop welcomes them and lays hands on their heads and invokes the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit as a sign of confirming their joining into a new family of Christ.

This is similar to the rite of puberty in the African understanding of life, because Africans
strongly believe that, the acts of puberty are an indication that one is a mature member of the
community to which that particular person belongs and can take part in any event. These rites of
passage in both Christians and Africans are a symbol of growth and they help people from being
passive members of the community into active ones who are now considered to be mature and
can take part in the religious affairs of their community.

Puberty as understood by Africans and my comments on Mbiti’s assertion on the rites of

For Mbiti, puberty is a period into which a person is transformed from childhood into adulthood.
Puberty ushers an individual into a community as one ready to take up responsibilities of an adult
person. Thus it is not just about someone experiencing physical body changes or growth, but also
about psychological and emotional maturity. It is of common knowledge that in many African
cultures and Zambia in particular, boys and girls who have reached puberty stage are taken away
from their parents homes into the either the bush or hidden place for example “kumukanda” for a
period of time (weeks or months) (Mbiti, 1970:121). In Zambia for example Luvale and Lunda
do practice circumcision for boys while other tribes usually give instructions to boys who have
come of age. As for the girls side, “icisungu” is mostly practiced when a girl first begins to
attend her very first time menstrual cycle, however, clitoridectomy is not practiced in Zambia
though commonly practiced among the Masai of east Africa.

2|Page
Just like the Christian rite of catechism is not uniform in all Christian churches, the rite of
puberty is also celebrated differently by African traditional religions but they all aim at achieving
one common goal that is to prepare the young for adulthood life so that they do not bring shame
to the community. Like African traditional religions, Christianity also does not allow one to just
become a member and accepted in the church without first undergoing prescribed training on the
Christian faith. As for African tradition religion puberty rite, after the completion of the set
format of question and answer lessons, the young boys and girls though not at the same time, are
brought back to the community and introduced to the general public as male and or female adults
who are ready to take up responsibilities of adulthood in the communities and communal
celebrations are conducted.

The rite of puberty is the most significant part of the life to a typical African child who is
graduating from the stage of childhood to adulthood. During this period of time Megasa
(1997:95) states that, “this is the time when the individual's vital force and the power of life
generally are formally confirmed, and imprinted indelibly in the individual’s rational
consciousness. Moreover, Mbiti (1970:121) affirms that initiation rites have many symbolic
meanings, in addition to the physical drama and impact. Therefore, the youth are critically
introduced to the art of communal living. This happens when they withdraw from other people,
to live alone in the forest or in specifically prepared huts away from the village. During this
period they receive secret instructions before they are allowed to rejoin their relatives at home.
This puberty rite of passage forms the intermediate period which is usually accompanied by
instruction, prohibitions and it is characterised by special language unknown to the initiate. This
is quite understandable since the initiates moving from one world to another, from profane to the
sacred world where they are given instructions and prohibitions concerning dietary or sexual, the
new language and other features that helps to differentiate the initiate from what has been normal
to her or him.

The puberty rite of passage affects the individual concerned but it also affects the whole
community. Megasa had this to highlight at the beginning of the process of initiation, the
initiates are usually physically removed from the mainstream of society and sent to a seduced
place where they have practically no contact with people from their community. This is a time of
great physical and psychological stress as the initiates do not know their status in society. The

3|Page
community however, is telling them in a very radical way that without membership in a
community, a person is nothing. Moreover, the individual, along literally does not exist, their
seduction signals their state of limbo. Not having received formal instructions they do not
properly understand the significance of the community’s socio-religious customs. They certainly
do not know what awaits them in the future (Magesa 1998:101). Moreover, the puberty rite is
expected to modify the personality of the individual in a manner visible to all the members of the
community to which an individual belongs. This is because the understanding is that the new
status condition or position is higher, superior or more perfect in comparison to the earlier one
makes it easier for the individual to undertake the ordeals of initiation. And this conviction
creates a state of aspiration in those who are yet members for they too would like to grow up and
become members of their community.

Further, Mbiti (1975:99) argues that initiation is a central bridge in life. It brings together one’s
youth and adulthood, the period of ignorance and that of knowledge, separating a person from
one stage of life to another. The earlier state of seemingly passive life is dramatically brought to
an end. Therefore, the person is officially admitted into the next state which is socially more
productive and he or she is authorised to play a full and active part in it, as an integral member of
the community. His or her youth gives way or grows into adulthood. Moreover, it is initiation
which also bridges the male with the female, fatherhood with motherhood, since it signals the
official permission for one to get married and bear children. It also joins the living with the
departed, the visible with the invisible, because after initiation a person may perform religious
rituals.

Furthermore, there is a passage from an inferior earlier life to a superior one which is valuable to
the individual in particular and to society in general. Also new relationships are forged between
the individual and members of the society. A new relationship is struck with the ancestors, the
deities and ultimately with God. These new relationships colour the individual’s perception of
reality. He or she begins to perceive the sacred where he used to perceive only the profane
(Mbiti, 1970:131). However, the rite of puberty in all African societies and the world at large
feature very dominantly in all societies. Megasa (1997:19) believes that, in African religion
initiation also refer to the process of induction into certain groups and societies, blood
friendships, oaths of secrecy, or commitment to a certain cause, and so on. He further quotes Van

4|Page
Gennep who distinguishes between “physiological puberty” and “social puberty” the former
having to do with physical maturity and the latter with social maturity. Nevertheless, in a sense
the two coincide since every type of initiation has physical, psychological and sociological
element, but most African society’s distinctively social initiation rites usually follow the puberty
rites of physical maturity. Yet their moral implications are morels identical. It is important to
note that the rite has a structure of purpose in society; it is communitarian, expressive and
instrumental in both the social and religious transformation and regulations of an individual
involved in it. Therefore, after looking at the rite of puberty in the African set up or
understanding, its value and significance to the Africans, it is therefore, imperative to relate the
Christian rite of catechism to the African understanding of puberty.

The traditional literature of Africa is very important to the priest, catechist and religious educator
for an understanding of the mind of those to whom it is transmitting the Christian message
(Shorter 1973:83). This entails that people can learn a lot from African literature which is rich of
knowledge about its culture. However, from the rite of puberty we can therefore deduce and
compare the Christian rite of catechism. Moreover Shorter points out, that African oral literature
is a very important source for discovering African categories of thought, African values and
African concepts of man society, the world and God. Story-telling is the chief way that social
and moral values are inculcated into children by parents and grandparents in the African home
and adults take a pride in the art of storytelling and recitation.

Initiation rites have a great education purpose. The occasion often marks the beginning of
acquiring knowledge which is otherwise not accessible to those who have not been initiated. It is
a period of awakening to many things, a period of dawn for the young. They learn to endure to
obey, they learn the secrets and mysteries of the man – woman relationship, and in some areas,
especially in West Africa, and they join secret societies each of which has its own secrets,
activities and language (Mbiti, 1970:159). In other words, during puberty youths are schooled on
how they ought to carry themselves, be strong people in their lives, communal secrets and
mysteries that they could not understand as children are now being taught and well explained to
them including sexual life, procreation and family responsibilities so that their significance is
known and embraced by them as Mbiti puts it.

5|Page
Mbiti (1975:99) therefore, points out that, initiation gives opportunity to the young people to be
prepared for marriage. In fact, one of the features of initiation is the period spent in seclusion,
during which they are taught many things concerning the life of their people, its history, its
traditions, its beliefs, and above all how to raise a family. The mysteries and secrets of married
life are normally revealed to the young people at this point to prepare them for what is soon to
come. Nobody is allowed to get married before going through initiation. Nevertheless, initiation
is the gateway to marriage and many people get married soon after it, under normal conditions.
However, this is connected to the Christian rite of catechism, in Christian rite of catechism which
is well-known as catechumen in the United Church of Zambia context we discover that it is very
similar with puberty this is because the period of catechumen is a time that the church secludes
although not to the hidden places and teaches that class on to endure persecution in their
Christian walk, to be obedient to God their creator, live in love and at peace with all people
among many things. Moreover, just like the African society avails its mysteries to the youths at
puberty because they are now of age, the Christian rite of catechism does the same the
catechumen receive lessons about the mysteries of God, the creeds, the doctrines and so on and
so forth.

During the seclusion part of the initiation rites, the young people undergo a period of education
or traditional schooling. This concerns tribal life and matters which equip them to live now as
full members of their society (Mbiti 1975:102). This is similar to the Christian rite of catechism
in the UCZ context. When the catechumens are attending the class, they receive at least thirty-six
(36) topics which have been divided into three groups and during this time the catechumens are
secluded and receive the best Christian education on how they should go about the new life of a
Christian walk. Moreover, when they complete all the thirty-six (36) topics they will be matured
people in the Christian faith, such that they can face any challenges of their Christian faith.

Mbiti (1970) argues that, puberty initiations signifies that the young ones are new, they have new
families, personally and have lost their childhood and in same society they even receive names.
In other words Mbiti believes that puberty means a new symbolic experience of the process of
dying, living in the spiritual world and being reborn. However, in the Christian rite of catechism
after initiation which I can call baptism the catechumen they are considered new born believers
who have now become members of the Christian family whose character has been modified with

6|Page
that of God. By imitating them through baptism it symbolise that they have died with Christ in
their old ways and have resurrected with him in the newness of life.

During this rite of passage just like Africans do rejoice and welcome the new members of the
community, the Christian community does the same, they greatly rejoice in welcoming the newly
born members of the church. The catechumens are made to feel that they are welcome to become
part of the community of full communicant members and they are fully aware that they have to
partake in the Holy Communion. Therefore, the local church receives them, pray for them and
continue encouraging them for them to continue growing in their faith.

Puberty rite is thus an important stage through which young people in many parts of Africa have
to. It shuts the door to childhood and opens another one to adulthood. The spirit of the
community is renewed through this periodic initiation with all the feasting that goes with it. The
entire people are brought together (Mbiti, 1975:102). Affirming Mbiti’s claim, when youths
attain the puberty stage in the African society, they are now allowed to share in the
responsibilities and duties of the community which they did not do in their childhood. Therefore,
puberty comes with its own responsibilities and duties that young ones are now adults are
expected to abide by. This African notion is also true of the Christian rite of catechism because it
is preparation of entering into the family of God which is the body of Christ, where people are
taught their responsibilities and obligations as they become of the family through baptism. It
must be noted that as long as a girl has reached puberty, the age of such a one was not an issue
and could not be a hindrance to marriage.

When Mbiti says the Christian rite of catechism is not a stranger to an African traditional religion
rite of puberty, he really meant well because to me these two are just the same though they are
existing in two different religions. Despite two rites existing in two different religions, they both
serve a similar purpose, which is to prepare people to acceptance in communities or religions.
This is to ensure that the traditional beliefs of such religions are preserved the way they have
been handed down from generation to generation. Indeed the rite of catechism is not a stranger to
an African understanding of puberty.

7|Page
Conclusion

To this end therefore, in both Christian and African understanding of life, catechism and puberty
respectively are very important rites of passages that every individual must undergo to be
considered, recognised as part of the community or the church. As Megasa, put it that, learning
the values of cooperation and sharing and the central importance of belonging to a family, a clan
and a community as an integral and responsible member constitutes this initial phase of the
invitation process. Therefore, Mbiti’s statement that “the Christian rite of catechism is not
stranger in the African understanding of puberty is a true one because it reflects how Christians
value catechism which is the entrance into the Christian community just like the Africans do
value puberty as a very important act of being considered as a member of the African
community.

8|Page
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Comby, J. 1985. How to read church history Volume 1, from the beginnings to the fifteenth
century. London: SCM Press.

Gennep, A. 1977. The rites of passage. London: Routldge and Kegan.

Magesa, L. 1997. African Religion: the moral traditions of abundant Life. New York: Orbis
Book, Maryknoll.

Mbiti, J.S. 1970. African Religions and philosophy. New York: Anchor Books.

Mbiti, J.S. 1975. Introduction to African Religion. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers.

Shorter, A. 1973 African Culture and the Christian Church. London: Geoffrey Chapman.

9|Page