Explaining the Practice of Elevating an Ancestor for Veneration

"""Shakwelele's book is a real masterpiece of anthropological research. It supplies missiologists, theologians, and church leaders with a readable account of why ancestor veneration needs to be taken seriously in the interpretation of Christianity. In a carefully and deeply researched study, Shakwelele shows the ways in which African traditions offer insights into the unity of creation and the relationship between living ancestors and today's human race. A truly exciting book."" --William R. Burrows, former managing editor, Orbis Books ""Shakwelele has made a significant contribution to scholarship on global Christianity. He has not only enhanced our understanding of the Bisa people of Zambia, but he also has advanced our comprehension of ancestor veneration as practiced throughout the world. However, perhaps more importantly, his study illustrates beautifully the narrow divide between syncretism and ubiquitous hybridity among newer adopters of the Christian faith. I recommend this work to all scholars and practitioners interested in the expansion of contemporary Christianity."" --Rich Starcher, editor in chief, Missiology: An International Review ""This book clearly documents the importance of ancestor-veneration rituals among the rural Bisa people of Zambia. . . . This wide-ranging interreligious study is of special relevance to local clerics and curative practitioners as well as those working in similar cultural settings where the deceased are believed to vitally interact in various ways with the living."" --Ernst R. Wendland, Stellenbosch University"