Mbiti: Philosopher who challenged ‘demonic’ view of Africa’s religion

Prof John Mbiti presents former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga with a copy of the Kikamba bible he translated from Greek in 2015. [File, Standard]

“One person cannot embrace the Baobab tree.”

These words have come to be associated with Canon Prof John Samuel Mbiti, a renowned theologian, philosopher, author, teacher and pastor, when he called on the world to embrace African cultural heritage in theological processes, while maintaining the Bible as the guide and indispensable tool of theological reflection and articulation.

In his writings on African consciousness, he argues that many communities in Africa have ascribed divine authority to their leaders, whom they worship as representatives of the Supreme Being on earth.

“African religions have neither founders nor reformers. They have incorporated national heroes, leaders, rulers and other famous men and women into their body of beliefs and mythology. Some of these figures are elevated to high national positions and may even be regarded as deities responsible for natural objects of phenomena,” says Prof Mbiti.

The news of his sudden death has, therefore, robbed the publishing fraternity of a distinguished author. Mbiti was born on November 30, 1931 in Mulango, Kitui. He was an ordained Anglican priest, and as of 2005, a Canon, who began schooling at a local mission elementary school in Mulango where he studied and finished in a record three years, instead of the usual six.

He went on to join the prestigious Alliance High School between 1946 and 1949.

Oral traditions

While at Alliance, the desire to write found expression in a first novel, Mutunga Na Ngewa Yake, later published by the East African Literature Bureau (now Kenya Literature Bureau, KLB) in 1954, earning him the distinction of being the first African author to publish with the publisher. His sequel, the English-Kamba Dictionary in 1958 has remained a gem for language experts and readers.

After finishing high school in 1949, Mbiti went to study at Makerere University College, Uganda, then a constituent college of the University of London, where he graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Geography. There was no course yet offered in religious studies. He returned to Kenya to teach at his home school, during which time he developed an interest in African oral traditions.

Thereafter, he secured a scholarship to study theology at Barrington College in the US and later graduated with a doctorate in 1963 at the University of Cambridge, UK. Afterwards, he spent a decade teaching theology and religion in Makerere University and soon after assumed directorship of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute in Bogis-Bossey, Switzerland. 

Mbiti has made a significant contribution to the advancement of intellectualism in the world. His seminal book, African Religions and Philosophy (1969), which challenged the long held view that traditional African religious ideas were ‘demonic’, has remained a masterpiece in Christian studies. His interest in theology spans the African and Asian continents, remaining consistent in his extrapolation of the attitudes of mind and belief that have evolved in many societies and groups.

Always a collector, Mbiti amassed roughly 300 concepts of God and more than 300 African prayers, as well as 12,000 traditional African proverbs as a portion of the data for the African Religions and Philosophy (1969) book.

He has been a visiting professor at various universities and seminaries in the US, Africa, Australia and Europe. Among others, Mbiti has received many honours and recognitions including a publication, Religious Plurality in Africa: Essays in Honour of John S Mbiti, edited by Jacob K Olupona and Sulayman S Nyan and published in Berlin and New York by Mouton de Gruyter (1993).

As an Emeritus professor at the University of Bern and Parish minister to the town of Burgdorf, Switzerland, Prof Mbiti worked on a translation of the Bible from Original Greek to his native Akamba language. The Kikamba Bible – Utianiyo Mweu Wa Mwiyai Yesu Kilisto (the New Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ) was published and launched in 2014 at KLB headquarters in South C, Nairobi.

During the Kamba Bible processing session, the don paid keen attention to detail, was amiable to people working with him and always enlivened their lives with constant prayer and gems of deep philosophy. He was a down to earth intellectual celebrity.

The Kikamba Bible is the first translation, from the original Greek, of the entire New Testament by an African Scholar into his own language, and will enable many in his community to read and understand the gospel. It is perhaps the last publication he authored and KLB is privileged to have also been his first and last publisher.

In a speech read on his behalf at the launch, Mbiti shared his experience working on the translation, which took him close to 10 years.

“I embarked on this project as a hobby, and as I enjoyed reading the word of God, I found myself translating the Bible word for word from the original Greek to Kikamba,” he said.

Then Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, who was the chief guest at the launch, lauded Mbiti for the effort. “By this translation, several hidden meaning in the gospel have been preserved,” Mutunga said.

- The writer is the publishing manager at Kenya Literature Bureau.