JOCAP

African Psychotherapy and Family’s Wellbeing: A Case Study of the Shona, Zimbabwe

2025-04-03T10:14:41+00:00

The role of African psychotherapy in promoting family well-being in Africa cannot be underestimated. This article analyses the role of traditional Shona healing practices and their influence on family well-being. Rooted in the rich cultural beliefs of the Shona people, these practices include herbal remedies, roots, rituals, and community support, highlighting the interconnectedness of social and spiritual dimensions. The Shona understanding of wellness includes familial relationships, where relatives, such as aunties and uncles, play essential roles during crises, while friends act as informal counsellors providing vital emotional support. The article also discusses African psychotherapy as a culturally relevant approach to holistic health, recognizing that psychological issues are often experienced within the family context. Healing is viewed as a communal effort, with traditional methods like divination, herbal treatments, and rituals central to the Shona approach to well-being. By exploring these practices, the article emphasizes the importance of cultural identity and community in addressing psychological and physical challenges. It advocates for integrating indigenous healing methods into contemporary psychological care, suggesting that such practices can enhance holistic family healing. Thus, the study emphasizes that understanding and utilizing traditional Shona healing practices can provide valuable insights into psychotherapy, especially in contexts where cultural beliefs significantly influence health issues. This approach not only honours the cultural heritage of the Shona people but also promotes a more inclusive and effective healthcare system.

The frenzy about White weddings: Christianity’s contribution to cultural colonization through informal education in African communities

2025-01-30T12:52:27+00:00

Decolonization is widely discussed, yet colonial practices continue to thrive in South Africa, silencing African traditions in significant life events like weddings and funerals. Many South Africans prefer White weddings, viewing them as prestigious and desirable, largely unaware of the subtle colonial undertones. The allure of White weddings is a clear manifestation of colonial influence, where the grandeur and opulence of Western-style ceremonies are perceived as superior to traditional African customs. Critics argue that these beliefs are deeply ingrained in long-standing traditions while they perpetuate colonial agendas and hinder decolonization efforts. The widespread adoption of colonial customs, masquerading as normal, is a significant setback for decolonization and Africanization. This paper explores the underlying reasons why society perceives White weddings as superior to traditional ones. Critical Social Theory is employed to explore this phenomenon. Through the desktop qualitative approach, this this study examines the cultural clashes between colonial and African traditions.

Africanity of Thaddeus Metz’s Relational Moral Theory

2025-04-03T10:21:30+00:00

African metaphysics and religion significantly influence African ethics or moral theory. African moral life is deeply connected with beliefs in the afterlife, healing, causality, sickness, death, hierarchical existence (hierarchical conception of being), and supernatural powers. Yet, Thaddeus Metz, a contemporary African moralist, excluded the concepts of metaphysics and religion in his Relational Moral Theory (RMT). This exclusion has prompted debates on the Africanity or the authenticity of RMT as an African theory. While scholars agree on RMT’s African roots, some argue that it is more African even without these elements, while others believe it is less African due to its exclusion. This article seeks to examine the discourse on the Africanity of Metz’s Relational Moral Theory, ultimately concluding that Metz’s exclusion of African metaphysics and religion does not render them irrelevant to African moral thought but was rather a deliberate move to develop a defensible moral theory both within and beyond Africa.

Ubuntu and Rawlsian Justice: A Framework for Addressing Environmental Constraints to Talent Development in Africa

2025-04-03T10:23:50+00:00

The underdevelopment of Africa continues to be a significant issue, with some scholars, such as Walter Rodney, attributing it to a mix of historical, political, and economic causes. The factors encompass the history of colonialism, persistent wars, and insufficient infrastructure, all of which impede growth and development throughout the continent. However, this paper attributes Africa’s under-development to the environmental circumstances in which numerous African children are raised. This environment often characterised by antiquated cultural practices, tribal and ethnic conflicts, and poverty among others has impeded the capacity to cultivate and express their talent. These limits have a ripple effect, resulting in adverse results such as economic stagnation, diminished global standing, and brain drain, eventually sustaining the cycle of underdevelopment throughout the continent. This paper further claims that the root cause of these factors, especially wars and poverty, which leads to Africa’s under-development is bad governance. This paper therefore suggests drawing on the principles of Ubuntu and Rawls’ Theory of Justice, that a just and collective society where fairness and equity thrive can provide the foundation for creating a healthy environment that will support the development of children’s talents for the development of Africa.