Historical anthropological study of the acceptance and transformation of Christianity in the Kenya coast

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03224
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Hamamoto Mitsuru 九州大学, 人間環境学研究院, 特任研究者 (40156419)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 文化人類学 / 宗教人類学 / キリスト教 / 植民地化 / ミッショナリー / アフリカ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The process of acceptance of Christianity in Africa sometimes shows significant regional differences. The object of this study is to examine factors behind such differences, by combining my own ethnographic field research on one of the Mijikenda people of Kenya Coast, with library research on colonial administrative manuscripts and reports as well as missionary reports. Though the Duruma (one of Mijikenda) had its first church in the middle of the 19th century, and was the first people among whom the missionary work has taken place in Kenya, any noticeable Christianization has not progressed until very recently, i.e., only from 1990s on. This study aims to explain factors behind this peculiarity which Christianization of this area shows. I will show both the historical idiosyncrasies that the region's missionary activities followed and the local peoples’ assessment of Christianity as a resource to cope with their spiritual, economic, political problems are relevant factors behind it.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、狭義にはアフリカにおけるキリスト教の普及という歴史的過程にしばしば観察される地域的差異を、ケニア海岸部のドゥルマ社会を事例として用い、民族誌的調査データを植民地時代の諸資料についての詳細な文献研究と組み合わせることで解明しようとする試みである。アフリカにおけるキリスト教の歴史について、実証的なデータを提供するものであると同時に、新しい宗教が選択されるか否かについて、その宗教が人々の霊的、経済的、政治的諸問題の解決におけるどのようなリソースとして評価されるかに注目する点で、新たな理論的展望をも示すものとなろう。