Continuity and Change in the Luba Christian Movement, Katanga, Belgian Congo, c.1915–50

Abstract

This article studies the Christian movement that occurred amongst the Luba of Katanga, Belgian Congo, from about 1915 to 1950, paying particular attention to how it was received by different social categories and mediated by local religious enthusiasts. The notion of conversion is examined across two generations with reference to ageing, revival and reprise via a case study of the Congo Evangelistic Mission (CEM), a Pentecostal faith body. The paper shows how the CEM's literary and pneumatic practices were understood both in terms of ruptures with what had gone before and through establishing continuities with pre-existing culture, particularly the search for social harmony.