RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
5.2 ADOPTING THE AFROCENTRIC METHODOLOGY
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African knowledge and methods of knowing must drive African research if it is to be meaningful to its people. This study has used the Afrocentric methodology (Asante, 1988; 1990; 1995; Mazama, 2003; Mkabela, 2005; Pellerin, 2012). According to Mkabela (2005:179) ―The Afrocentric method is derived from the Afrocentric paradigm which deals with the question of African identity from the perspective of African people, as centred, located, oriented and grounded. Pellerin (2012) argues that an Afrocentric social scientist is charged with the task of creating new research methods that are rooted in the African people‘s histories, cultures and experiences. Eurocentric research criteria of objectivity, validity and reliability are inadequate and incorrect when researching human experiences in African communities (Reviere, 2001).
According to Mazama (2003), Afrocentricity emerges as a methodology that operates within African ways of knowing, and existence and results in the implementation of principles, methods, concepts and ideas that are derived from our own African experiences. Afrocentric researchers believe that social science researchers should take into consideration the historical, social and contemporary experiences of African people. Afrocentrism is an orientation towards data in which the researcher assumes the right and responsibility to articulate research subjects‘ reality from the emic perspectives, drawing from their own ideals and values. It is a reaction to the distortions of Eurocentric perspectives of phenomenon in local African environments (Mulemi, 2011). The Afrocentric approach to data collection and analysis supports goals of practical ethnography into prioritising people‘s felt need for improved well-being rather than theory construction or knowledge production. Afrocentric methodology advocates
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for cultural immersion, indigenisation of tools and methods of investigation and the interpretation of research data from an indigenous African perspective.
Eurocentric approaches do not conform to people-centred research envisaged in the canons of Afrocentrism. In Afrocentric methodology, the researcher and the researched have an interactive role in the production of theoretical and applied knowledge (Mulemi, 2011). Owusu (1978) argues that in Afrocentric research, the researcher must have familiarity with the history, language, philosophy and myths of the people being researched. The researcher should identify with subjects to appreciate how they see things and construct reality. According to Cunningham and Durie (1998), understanding of cultural frameworks requires indigenous African people‘s involvement and control of research. Canons of Afrocentrism underpin Afrocentric methodology. Reveire (2001) identified the following five canons that should guide an Afrocentric research enquiry:
Ukweli (truth), Kujitolea (commitment), Utulivu (calmness and peaceful), Uhaki (justice) and Ujamaa (community). According to Chilisa (2012:191) the canons are derived from seven cardinal African virtues of truth, justice, rightness, propriety, harmony, order and balance and reciprocity. Afrocentric studies are therefore based on indigenous African principles.
Mazama (2003) observes that Afrocentric research should have the following characteristics:
African experience should guide and inform all inquiries,
the spiritual component is important and must be given its due place,
immersion in the subject is necessary,
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wholism is a must,
intuition is a valid source of information,
not everything that matters is measurable,
knowledge generated must be liberating.
Given these characteristics of Afrocentric research methodology, it is the most suitable methodology for examining the role of African traditional religion and spirituality in chronic illness in the rural setting of Chiweshe communal lands. In Afrocentric research, priority is given to African people‘s customs, beliefs, motifs and values. This is the rubric by which the application of an African methodology operates. Afrocentricity as a research methodology which serves as an empirical method rooted in the entire agency of the African people (Pellerin, 2012). According to Pellerin (2012), utilising an Afrocentric methodology equips the researcher with a detailed foundation for employing culturally correct methods, principles and frameworks in analysing African phenomena.
When using the Afrocentric methodology, the issue of cultural location takes precedence over the topic or the data under consideration (Mkabela, 2005). Afrocentric method focuses on the cultural centre for the study of African experiences and interprets research data from an African perspective. According to Mkabela (2005), it is absurd to study indigenous knowledge while staying hooked to external methodologies. An Afrocentric researcher emphasises and identifies with the people being studied in order to understand how they see things. According to Kershaw (1992), the Afrocentric scholar should produce emancipatory knowledge. The knowledge obtained from Afrocentric studies should thus relieve Africans of western knowledge hegemony.
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If research is Afrocentric, indigenous African people must be in control of and participate in the entire research process from the beginning to the end (Mkabela, 2005). In Afrocentric approach, research is approached as a negotiated partnership which allows the indigenous communities to define for themselves the degree to which they wish to make themselves available as subjects. Indigenous communities have control over the research process. The Afrocentric paradigm emphasises active involvement of the researched. However, participation alone is not enough to qualify a research activity as Afrocentric (Mkabela, 2005). Afrocentric research allows the researcher to ―establish rapport, convene, catalyse, facilitate, adapt, ―hand over the stick‖, watch, listen, learn and respect‖ (Mkabela, 2005:184). In Afrocentric research, participants should not be treated as informants but as colleagues and equals. Involvement of local people in all aspects and stages of the research process from the beginning to the end is crucial (Owusu-Ansah & Mji, 2013). The African collective ethic is central to Afrocentric research. According to Mkabela (2005:186), if the ethic is translated into research, it would include:
an appreciation of the importance of all individuals in the research group
an understanding that research is part of a very complex (community) whole
the respect for heritage authority
the inclusion of elders and cultural committees in the research process
an understanding of the connectedness of all things (including the spiritual) and a required long term perspective in dealing with research issues.
researcher must act in an appropriate and respectful manner to maintain the harmony and balance of the community.
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As argued by Mkabela, the researcher took the following into consideration;
the researcher had various population groups as part of the target population as part of appreciation of the invaluable information they could contribute to the study
the researcher tried by all means possible to respect the cultural heritage of the people of Chiweshe community for example data collection was not done of Fridays as it is a resting day
the elderly and traditional leaders were included in the study
the researcher tried by all means to avoid instigating conflict and misunderstanding among the people of Chiweshe during the research process.
One advantage of Afrocentric methodology in the current study is that it fits well as a culturally sensitive research which, according to Tillman (2004), should address (a) specific knowledge, language and world views (b) shared orientation based on cultural, historical and political experiences and (c) specific behaviours that determine cultural distinctiveness.