1.10 Definition of Key Terms
1.10.3 Cultural/Religious Practice
According to Thorpe and Le Roux (1986:6), culture is a way of behaving. It constitutes “a complex interface of relationships,” wherein people relate to each other. It is always related to the personal interpretation of the individuals concerned, and according to Mugambi (2002:25) is both an individual and communal phenomena.
Culture constitutes essential aspects of communal life with strong beliefs and institutions. Friedman (1997:380) points out that interference and any attempt to alter this “can seriously injure or damage the group in its very groupness.” Thorpe and Le Roux (1986:6-7) hold the view that culture consists of many areas of life, namely social and individual, spiritual and symbolic, material and economic. Hence, religion must be approached as an aspect of cultural reality in order to understand human relationships.
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Mugambi (1986:25), in explaining how religion fits into culture in African societies, maintains that religion, (forming one spiritual aspect of life) constitutes one component of culture that is very closely related to culture. It is a social phenomenon like culture that always occurs and forms part of the life of individuals and communities. It is both an individual and a group affair. It is impossible to find an individual who practices religion in isolation from culture. Thorpe and Le Roux (1986:7), expanding on this, assert that all religions imply that human beings cannot exist as isolated individuals. “Religion must be approached as an aspect of cultural reality, in order to understand human relationships.”
Each cultural fact should not be considered in isolation, but should be understood in the context of the whole culture to which it belongs. In reality, a community, a culture and a religion can only be understood if one examines the phenomena involved, individually, and as it relates to the whole. Furthermore, the whole, that is, a person, religion, or culture is perceived by examining its parts and the parts are understood as they relate to the whole.
Thorpe and Le Roux (1986:7) state that, “Just as a person is more than the sum of his parts (historical past, physical being, appearance, and so on) so religion or culture are more than just the random coherence of various characteristics, rituals or symbols”.
In a similar vein the practice of female circumcision cannot be understood as a single isolated phenomenon. Rahman and Toubia (2000:6) hold that due to the practice being part of an entire belief system and values that support it, the practice should be viewed in a broad context. Gruenbaum (2000:244) explains that the ritual is multifaceted, and is a consequence of many institutions, like religion, group identification, sexuality, marriage and social status.
Culture is both immanent and transcendent, since it is above and beyond our existing specific cultural context, thus enabling us to relate to one another within differing cultures. It is experienced in both identity and difference. Because humankind
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acquires culture, it is possible to engage in discourse about it. Whilst in the process of speaking about it, one also realizes it. It is in this context that we are what we can be and encounter a world with different attitudes, thoughts and actions. It is in this context that the author places this work, namely, that the practice of female circumcision is being experienced in both identity and difference. Through engaging in a discourse about the practice, the practice is being experienced and realized. As Thorpe and Le Roux (1986:6-7) maintain, “since we exist in the face of cultural pluralism, we need always to recognize, not only our unity and compatibility with people of differing cultures, but also our difference and distance from them.”
Discourse and understanding of various cultures are meaningful in the contemporary multi-cultural global society of the 21st century. Gunning (1997:449), commenting on the various women‟s voices internationally on the practice of female circumcision, points out that although multicultural dialoguing and alliances are not easy, “they are just the necessary pre-requisites to solid sisterhood.”
According to Friedman (1997:379) since the cultural practice of female circumcision is not confined to the areas where it was always practised, it is losing its properties of being personal and local. A local practice is now becoming a global one. Hence, cultures are not usually universal, but due to the movement of people globally, cultures are becoming universal.
Understanding definitions and terminologies is crucial regarding any phenomenon, and in this case, descriptions that are attributed to the practice of female circumcision.
The concise and clear discernment of the meaning of “culture” and “religion” has resulted in confusion on the practice of female circumcision. Consequently, many have found that although religion is offered as a reason for the practice, there is no clarity on the meaning and understanding of religion. Shell-Duncan and Hernlund (2000:23) quotes Boddy as saying that “the question of what is meant by religion remains obscure.” Friedman (1997:386), on the other hand, argues that the term
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“culture” is vague and difficult. Language and religion are often understood as culture. Distinguishing between these two poles of culture is not very easy.
Mugambi (2002:141) addresses this conceptual obscurity by pointing out the conceptual difficulty regarding the term “religion.” He asserts that in Traditional African Religion there is no distinction between the term “cultural” and “religious.”
Therefore, it would be inappropriate to use the term “religion” with reference to traditional African life, in the same sense as it is used when discussing Christianity, Islam and Buddhism as social institutions. The aforementioned religions have been functioning apart from the cultures in which they have become established.
Due to this characteristic, these religions have been able to spread into various cultures. Theoretically and theologically, an individual from any culture can become a Christian, Muslim or Buddhist. Conversely, the cultural identity of Africans includes their religious background, which is an integral part of their culture.
Mugambi (2002:141) states that, “traditional African Religion is inconceivable in abstraction from the totality of Traditional African Culture.” Thorpe and Le Roux (1986:7) mention that according to the Handbook of the University of South Africa, culture and religion in the context of African Traditional Religion are aspects of each other. Religion should be understood as an aspect of cultural reality. Culture and religion are closely linked and integrated to form a whole.
Therefore, it is crucial to remember that the practice of female circumcision in the context of African Traditional Religion is both “cultural” and “religious.” These two aspects do not operate and exist individually but together form an integrated whole.
Hence, in the context of African Traditional Religion, the practice of female circumcision has both a cultural and a religious aspect, which cannot be separated.
Conversely, in the major religions of the world as aforementioned, practices are generally demarcated as cultural and religious, and so is the practice of female
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circumcision. For example in Islam, there exists a distinction between the description of the practice as “cultural or religious.”