| dc.description.abstract | The prevalence of traditional oathing in Mwala Parish prompted the researcher to
undertake the study. There are conflicts between the traditional oathing and
Christianity. Some of the Akarnba see traditional oath as an outdated practice while
others see it as an inevitable tool for solving socio-cultural problems. Review of
literature shows that some studies relating to this problem have been conducted but
not from the religious point of view. In addition, these studies are too general. They
do not address specific Parishes like Mwala. The purpose of this study was to
investigate the nature, causes and participation in traditional oathing ritual, the case of
the Akamba in Mwala Parish Machakos Diocese Kenya.
Four research questions guided the study:
I. What are the types of oaths Akamba people participate in?
2. Why do the Akamba people still continue to participate in traditional
oathing ritual?
3. What are the attitudes of Akamba people towards traditional oathing ritual?
4. Is there any relationship in the mean attitude towards Akamba participation in
traditional oathing ritual when categorised by: age, gender, marital status, level of
education, socio-economic status, and religious denomination?
The researcher employed survey and naturalistic design. Stratified random sampling
technique was used to draw a sample of 200 students, 96 ordinary old Akamba, 96
Single Akamba, 200 ordinary adult Akamba, 96 religious leaders and 200 non
Christians, all aged between 13 and 90 years old. The Parish was selected because the
majority of the inhabitants still strongly valued traditional oathing.
tV
Primary data were collected by questionnaires, with a sub-likert scale, an interview
schedule and focused group discussion schedule. Secondary data were collected from
journals, textbooks and dictionaries. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the
data. Null hypotheses were tested by ANOV A at 0.05 level of significance.
The following were the main findings of the study: Belief in the efficacy of traditional
oathing ritual is very strong among the Akamba. Six null hypotheses posited in the
study were tested. The results show that: The attitude of Akamba towards traditional
oathing ritual is positive; Akamba saw the exercise as being helpful. Oathing
improved administration of justice, solved socio-religious, psychological, cultural,
economical, and legal problems.
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The following are some of the recommendations of the study: Ordinary Akamba
adults should be honest when participating in traditional oathing ritual. There is need
for the unmarried Akamba to be positive to the exercise rather than just dismissing it
as share waste of time. For the exercise to be free and open, all religious leaders
should be involved. For Ordinary Old Akamba oathing is a common exercise in
government, church institutions, in secular traditional societies but rather different,
there is need to exchange notes and see how it could be done. According to students,
schools are centres for learning and research; hence, there should be a continuous
study towards how best traditional oathing can be improved. Akamba traditional oath
seems to stay for at least to some unforeseeable future. The oath has philosophical,
legal, psychological, religious, political and cultural aspects. | en_US |
