TY  - BOOK
AU  - Nji, Fokwa John 
TI  - Continuity Or Discontinuity Of Blessing Rituals In African Traditional Religion: Towards A Contextual Theology Of Christian Faith Among The Meta’people In North West Cameroon
PY  - 2018///
CY  - Johannesburg South Africa
PB  - South African Theological Seminary
N2  - The mbàn(theMetaʼfamily meeting house) is an institution that is unique to the Meta’and Moghamospeaking populations of the North West Region of Cameroon.   Many   rites   ofblessing  are  performed   in   this   house.   For instance,the blessing of a girl to be handed over in marriage, the blessing of  a  barren  woman/wifein  the  family,  the  blessing  of  a  sick  or  an unfortunate  child,  the  blessing  of  disputing  parties  after  they  have  been reconciled,  and  the  blessing  of  an  entire  family  after  the  annual  family gathering. The Meta’speaking community called the mbàn: “the most important house in the compound,” “the original church” before the advent of Christianity, “the house of peace, love, unity, harmony and reconciliation". Unfortunately,  Pentecostals among  the Meta’community  have  labelled  the mbànan evil place and a place where Meta’people worship gods or idols. They vehemently state that thembànand the elements used for blessings should be thrown away or discarded. Data about the mbànwas gathered,through interviews and questionnaires, from differentpeople among the Meta’clan. In this study, therefore, I have attempted    through    interviews    and    questionnaires    administered    to participants  consisting  of  thirty  (30)  Christians  made  up  of  (10)  clergy  and twenty (20) church members), ten (10) family heads, five (5) chiefs and two (2)  regents,  five  (5)  teachers, five  (5)  university  lecturers.    This  data  was then  used  to  propose  a  strategy  for  a  contextualized  use  of  the mbàn, its blessing  rites  and  tangible  elements,  for  local    churches  among MetaʼChristians and others
ER  -