At the heart of African rainmaking
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Authors
Rafapa, Lesibana
Issue Date
2008-07
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Rain Queen , Rider Haggard , African rainmaking , Rainmaking , Folkore
Alternative Title
Abstract
This paper reports on findings regarding one African community that has practiced
rainmaking until the early 1960s. Rainmaking among Africans was recorded in 19th century
travel writing by imperialist Europeans such as Rider Haggard in his books Ayesha: the
Return of She (1905) and King Solomon’s Mines (1985). In keeping with the agenda of
imperialism and colonisation, the art of rainmaking among Africans was reduced to writing
in a distorted, Eurocentric manner. Therefore, an Afrocentric investigation of the religiouscultural
practice of African communities to bring about rain is warranted. It is hoped that the
resulting balanced view of African rainmaking rituals will, among others, discourage
Eurocentric tendencies of seeing its exponents such as The Rain Queen Modjadji as
inscrutable exotica. Rain Queen Modjadji has been immortalised with the same attitude
regretted by writers such as Caitlin Davies (2003). Davies (2003) remarks how subaltern
victims such as Sara Baartman and El Negro were removed to museums in places like Spain
and London as curious exotica to be studied by the “naturalists” of the 1830s. Research into
the disappearing phenomenon of rainmaking among Africans should preserve the
indigenous knowledge as well as purge it of Eurocentric distortions. A sample of 10
informants was used, determined by the role categories historically known to have been a
feature of rainmaking among the African community under the spotlight
Description
University of Venda Research and Innovation Office funded my empirical research which gave rise to this article.
Citation
Rafapa, L. 2008', At the Heart of African Rainmaking', Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 52-63.
Publisher
Southern African Folklore Society
License
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
1016-8427