Revisiting the Debate on Christian Missionary Imperialism in South Africa: Its Role in Oppressing the IsiXhosa Language and Culture

Mlamli Diko

doi:10.25159/2412-4265/18484

Authors

Mlamli Diko University of South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8516-3586

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/18484

Keywords:

Christian missionary imperialism, cultural imperialism, local knowledge systems, isiXhosa language, post-colonial heritage

Abstract

In this article, I critically probe the role of Christian missionary imperialism in South Africa and its destructive contribution to the oppression of the isiXhosa language and culture, untangling the roots and shadows of a system that sought to distort indigenous identity under the guise of Christian salvation. Qualitative meta-synthesis and cultural imperialism as a theory are applied to anchor the argument. This article uncovers three notable findings. First, the use of language as a strategic and political weapon of imperialism obligated Christian missionaries and the church to abolish isiXhosa linguistic and amaXhosa cultural structures, and replace them with Western philosophies, elevating English and Afrikaans as the dominant mechanism of education and religious discourse. Second, the Christian church’s condemnation and oppression of ancestral amaXhosa practices led to their gradual erosion under the crushing weight of Christian dogma. Third, through its pervasive influence, missionary imperialism imposed Western cultural values that disconnected the threads of intergenerational transmission of amaXhosa knowledge systems, leaving far behind a fractured cultural mosaic that continues to obstruct the recovery of amaXhosa heritage in a post-colonial scenery. In the end, by interweaving historical accounts, ethnographic critiques, and cultural discourses, I unmask the indelible scars of Christian missionary and church interventions and advocate for the revitalisation and advancement of the isiXhosa language and amaXhosa culture.

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