Can spirits play a role in peace and reconciliation projects? Perspectives on Traditional Reconciliation in Zimbabwe

Jeater, Diana ORCID: 0000-0002-5303-5800 (2019) Can spirits play a role in peace and reconciliation projects? Perspectives on Traditional Reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Journal of Contemporary African Studies. (In Press)

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Abstract

There is a long history of traditional spirit-oriented systems of reconciliation and healing in Zimbabwe. However, under white rule, this work was often misrepresented and persecuted, and it became marginalised and driven underground. In Zimbabwe today, diverse views on reconciliation, reparation, justice and national healing are producing rich but frequently conflicted initiatives around ‘traditional’ and ‘community’ reconciliation. The article considers some of the contradictions and pressures facing the newly-constituted National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and the different approaches to ‘spirit-led’ trauma healing work from three grassroots organisations: Heal Zimbabwe; Tree of Life; and the Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation. The article indicates how religious, cultural and political affiliations influence participants’ openness to traditional and spirit-led forms of reconciliation; and how this, in turn, constrains how perpetrators, victims and reparation are defined by those working in this field. It highlights how an attention to history can help to open up constructive conversations about traditional reconciliation and dispute resolution, including the role of spirits, in peace-building and trauma healing today. Rather than identifying specific practices as ‘authentic’ traditions, the article suggests that a continuity of community/cultural approaches can inform contemporary national healing initiatives in Zimbabwe.

Item Type:	Article
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	05 Mar 2020 09:48
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 23:59
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3077742