Original Research - Special Collection: Unthinking the West

Ambivalence and the unsettling aftershocks: Postcolonial perspectives on Vellem’s spirituality

Buhle Mpofu
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 80, No 2 | a9296 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v80i2.9296 | © 2024 Buhle Mpofu | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 28 July 2023 | Published: 14 March 2024

About the author(s)

Buhle Mpofu, Department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Addressing a myriad of complex social, economic and political issues in the South African context requires that we draw from a variety of voices. This postcolonial reflection draws on the work of Vuyani Vellem’s African spirituality to highlight how it can help Africans conceptualise race epistemologically. The contribution emerged out of an article presented at a conference themed ‘unthinking West. The article employed the concepts of liminality and threshold to discuss the ambivalence encountered by Vuyani Vellem and highlights how his theological convictions still present unsettling ideological aftershocks within the unjust structures of society.

Contribution: This contribution is a black liberation theological reflection, which laments how Vellem did not live to witness the full realisation of his dreams regarding the liberation of the black masses. The article identifies racial discrimination and misconceptions on African spirituality as some examples of the ‘unsettling aftershocks’ regarding challenges, which Vellem confronted within the unjust structures of South African society.


Keywords

post-coloniality; liminality; threshold; race; African religiosity; Vuyani Vellem

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