The Persistence of the Belief in and Practice of divination among the Swahili Muslim of Mombasa District, Kenya

Abstract

Studies have revealed that people in the contemporary world believe in mystical powers regardless of their social, cultural, political and religious backgrounds. For instance, in spite of the fact that Orthodox Islam has been at the East African coast for more than a millennium and has been opposed to the practice of divination, there are many cases of Swahili Muslims who consult diviners. The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons responsible for the persistence of the belief in and practice of divination among the Swahili Muslims. It investigated the various types of divination utilized by Swahili Muslim diviners and the Islamic teachings on the belief and practice of divination. This study was based on three research questions: what are Swahili Muslim beliefs in and practice of divination?; what is the impact of Islam on the belief in and practice of divination? And what accounts for the persistence of these beliefs in and practice of divination among the Swahili? The study was guided by the functional and conflict theories. Functional theory seeks to explain social elements or cultural patterns in terms of their functions and consequences in a society. Functionalism sees the contribution of religion to human societies and cultures as based upon its central characteristic, namely, its transcendence of everyday experience in the natural environment. Humans live in conditions of uncertainty, and their ability to control and affect the conditions of their lives is limited. Due to limited resources, religion assists individuals to adjust to these three core human problems, namely, contingency, powerlessness and scarcity. In this case, the Swahili Muslims have to solely depend on Islamic teachings to adjust to the three core human problems. Islam encourages strict reliance on Allah at all times and seeking help from none other than Him amounts to disbelief. The conflict theory operates on the premise that the society is a stage populated with living, struggling and competing actors. Competition over scarce resources such as money, leisure, sexual partners and opportunities for a job with a good pay is at the heart of all social relationships. This explains why divination is a persistent practice among the Swahili Muslims. A crosssectional study was carried out in Mombasa district. The descriptive approach was used to describe the belief in divination and its practice among the Swahili people. This approach was applied in describing the responses of informants. The analytical approach was adapted in analyzing the data collected from the field. Random sampling was employed to pick a cross-section of the Swahili people to assess the practice of divination among the Swahili people. The purposive sampling was done mainly to get diviners and other mystical practitioners who had information on Swahili modes of divination. It was also used in selecting Muslim clerics in different divisions as key informants. Interviews and observation were the methods employed to collect data from the field. Finally, conclusions were made in the light of objectives and hypotheses. The research findings revealed that the Qur' an and the practical interpretation of Qur' an in Hadith determine Islamic teachings on the beliefs and practices of divination. The fate of any Muslim, whether good or bad, is determined by Allah as to Him belongs the knowledge of the unseen. A Muslim is supposed to solely rely on Allah at all times and should not seek help from none other than Him. A Muslim who opts to seek help from none other than Allah has committed disbelief (kufr) and associated partners with Allah (shirk). v MASENO UNIVERSITY S.G. S. LIBRARY Therefore, Islam is opposed to the belief and practice of divination. The study also disclosed that the belief and practice of divination is practiced by many societies, both the meek and famous. The Swahili Muslims are struggling and competing over scarce resources such as money, leisure, sexual partners and opportunities for a job with a good pay. This explains why divination is a persistent practice among the Swahili Muslims. In addition, the world views of Islam and Swahili teaches the existence of spiritual beings who can harm, cause illness and discord among people. Islam has procedures for dealing with these problems and some diviners use the Qur'an in doing their work. On this belief of spiritual beings, the practice of divination is central to reveal and offer help in terms of misfortunes. It becomes almost impossible for Islam to completely eradicate the practice, as some Muslim clerics are also diviners. Lastly, to some Swahili divination has worked for them and hence a practical reality. It is not easy to convince them otherwise.