Christian Couples Coping with Childlessness: Narratives from Machame, Kilimanjaro

by Auli Vahakangas

Overview

Children are the focus of marriage in African cultures. Marriage is considered full and functional only if the couple has children--in many cultures preferably a boy. Becoming a parent also contributes to one's full adulthood in the sense that childlessness blocks ascent towards full personal dignity as an adult person in the community. As a result, childlessness is often a major disaster for both of the spouses. It has social, economical, and personal consequences, quite often including divorce. This book explores in depth how childlessness is perceived, dealt with, and coped with in two Christian communities in Machame on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Childlessness is approached through narratives of the spouses concerned and the members of their communities. Their stories reveal pain and courage, brokenness and strength, faithfulness and betrayal. Christianity presents itself in an ambiguous light, on one hand, pressuring spouses to keep up facades supporting oppressive structures. On the other hand, Christian faith provides childless couples with personal hope in the afterlife that the African traditional culture offers only to those with children. This study proves that childlessness is not only a personal but also a communal problem. Childlessness and the fear of having no children contribute to family structures and sexual behavior. In this way, they have a considerable impact on the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. However, this study reveals that the attitudes and practices towards marriage and children need not be petrified, but rather that traditions can, and do, change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498275200
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	06/01/2009
Series:	American Society of Missiology Monograph Series , #4
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Auli Vähäkangas is Lecturer in Pastoral Theology at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She was previously teaching theology at Makumira University College, Tanzania.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

List of Illustrations viii

Introduction 1

1 Research Procedure 23

2 Narrative of a Committed Union 56

3 Narrative of Desertion 71

4 Two Narratives of Polygyny 94

5 Life of Childless Couples in Machame 111

6 Sense of Coherence as Wholeness 149

Conclusion 158

Appendices

A Sample Interview Questions 163

B Direct Quotations in Swahili 164

Glossary 173

Bibliography 175

Index 185