Norwegian missionaries and Zulu converts : a case for Bakhtinian dialogue
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Authors
Roaldset, Hege, 1970-
Issue Date
2010
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Norwegian , Missionaries
Alternative Title
Abstract
From the arrival of the missionaries in 1844 to the outbreak of
the Anglo-Zulu war in 1879, the results of the Norwegian
missionary enterprise in Zululand were meagre. The British
annexation of Zululand changed the situation, and the
missionaries perceived the first decades of the 20th century as
“a long great harvest”. A closer examination of the source
material challenges this understanding. By using dialogical
theory, as propounded by Mikhail M. Bakhtin, as a starting
point, we may come closer to explaining the missionaries’
relative lack of success. Bakhtin stated that each utterance has
an addressee and that the speaker formulates the utterance with
the addressee and his/her future reactions in mind. If we
envisage the encounter between Zulus and Norwegians
accordingly, we find that the Norwegian missionaries failed to
recognise that the two cultures were engaged in ongoing
dialogue and negotiations.
Description
Peer reviewed
Citation
Roalset, H. 2010,'Norwegian missionaries and Zulu converts : a case for Bakhtinian dialogue',
Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, vol. XXXVI, no. 1, pp. 123-139.
Publisher
Church History Society of South Africa
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
1017-0499