Microsoft Word - PhD Thesis Final.pdf - University of Limpopo ...

Lues, leprosy and insanity – terribly spread amongst the
people despite all fighting against it 296 .
The above examples are contrary to Castells’ [2000] theoretical argument
that identities can only become experience if only enforced over time 297 .
Castells notion is proven incorrect by the fact that even if the Lutheran
missionaries toiled for so many years, some individuals and communities
who once defined themselves as Christians (converts), constantly reverted
to their traditional ways of life, to the disappointment of the missionaries.
However, even if some communities and individuals reverted to their old
traditional ways of life, few of them continued to carry the torch of the
Gospel in the Makgabeng area until today, hence there are still sporadic
Lutheran congregations in that area. Again here, the theoretical proposition
that cultural, social and political contexts are decisive when it comes to
identity [Castells 2000] is true in this case. The political traditions, the social
customs and the cultural beliefs of the Makgabeng communities were very
important (decisive) in defining who they were even if they were bombarded
with the Christian teachings of the missionaries.
With the help of oral evidence, most of the activities of the Lutheran
missionaries and their converts are still freshly traceable. Professor Robert
296 M. Jackel, Gananoa, p. 28.
297 M. Castells, Globalisation, Identity …, p. 7.
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