The Impact Of Christianity And Technology On Tonga People In Zambia

The impact of modern technology on a common man and the country at large cannot be over emphasized. Technology is a vehicle of modern development methods which has made us live longer, healthier, cleaner, and more comfortable lives than did our ancestors. Yet we are all aware of some of technology's disadvantages, ranging from the minor frustrations we have with technological gadgets to the many thousands of lives that are lost each year in transportation accidents.

Zambia as it were is in Africa, which you probably knew already. But, did you know that it is home to a great number of different ethnic groups? This is actually pretty common for African nations. Due to the extremely long time that people have inhabited Africa, and incredibly harsh climates that have isolated some people from each other, this continent is home to more ethnic and linguistic diversity than almost anywhere else on the planet. For example, Zambia is home to over 70 different ethnic tribes. That's a lot. That means that Zambia technically has over 70 different spoken languages, although some researchers technically categorize many as dialects of each other. The point is, Zambia is diverse. Thus, this essay seeks to show how Christianity and technology has affected the Tonga speaking people of southern Zambia. But before that an introduction has been raised then major concepts will be defined then the effects of technology and Christianity on the Tonga people and subsequently a conclusion will be drawn. Technology is the collection of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation.

Technology can be the knowledge of techniques, processes, and the like, or it can be embedded in machines to allow for operation without detailed knowledge of their workings. According Woodgate(2004), “Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religious group based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, also known by Christians as the Christ”. Within a framework that allows for common identification and understanding, Africa societies have a diverse of beliefs in their course of existence. Zambian ethnic groups cannot be taken out of this equation as this is generally so in all Africa societies. Christianity was considered as a white man’s religion hence it has taken a lot of time for African to accepts the influence of Christianity in their way of living. Most of the African ethnic groups or tribe have maintained their way of life though other are doing away with some of the custom in trying to accommodate Christianity. Through teachings and to make them understand the dangers of certain practices some ethnic groups or tribes are doing away with certain tradition practices. Many of the disadvantages of technology are quite obvious, but a few critics of modern technology have probed deeper. Some scholars hold the fact that technology has developed a dynamic of its own and passed out of human control. Neil Postman (2006) observes that technology has displaced traditional culture, to our great harm. Most warnings like these go unheeded by the average person, and seem to have little dampening effect on the technological process. Technological objects create many opportunities to realize good things, and therefore make possible many worthwhile activities to which to attend. Technology also is the source of derivative goods (among them, efficiency, productivity, and speed) whose pursuit occupies our time and attention.

Tonga people live in southern Zambia along the Zambezi River. The name Tonga is apparently from a word in the Shona language that means "independent. " Many other ethnic groups in southern Africa traditionally had centralized forms of government, but the Tonga recognized no chiefs. There were, however, certain people within Tonga society who had authority. The ‘Sikatongo’ was a priest who made sure that the spirits would take care of the people and make the crops grow. In every neighborhood (a grouping of several villages), there was also a man called the, ‘Ulanyika’, the owner of the land. The ‘Ulanyika’ was usually the first settler in the neighborhood. He had some influence in his neighborhood, and hunters gave him part of every animal they killed there. But this may not have so much influence in today’s society because people are now changing in their beliefs due to the coming in of Christianity.

The Tonga people generally depend on agriculture for their economic well-being but the area has poor soils and irregular rainfall, which makes farming difficult. The improvement in technology has made farming easy due to the coming of early maturing variety of crops, irrigations as well as the use of fertilizers. Previous the people could go to their shrines to pray to their gods for a good harvest and provision of enough rains for their crops, the has reduced because many are converting to Christianity now. Tonga people also keep cattle as a source of wealth. Cattle are also important in paying bride-wealth for marriage. In traditional Tonga society, there is a well-developed cult of the "shades, " or muzimu. It is believed that at death each person leaves a shade or spirit, a muzimu. The muzimu commutes between the spirit world and the world of humans. Witchcraft and sorcery are also part of traditional beliefs. Many Tonga have been converted to Christianity because of missionary work by Europeans. Missionaries demanded that the Tonga and other people give up traditional beliefs and practices such as polygamy (having more than one spouse), ancestor worship, and witchcraft. At first, there were only a few converts. In modern times, many Tonga practice both Christianity and traditional religious beliefs.

In the past, most Zambian peoples had special initiation ceremonies and education for children as they reached adolescence. The Tonga did also, but their initiation ceremony was simpler than most. A girl trained for her future role as a man's wife. Usually, there was a period of living away from the village, and a short ceremony marked the girl's maturity. She was given a new name to signify her adult status. A prospective husband had to pay bride-wealth to the family of his bride-to-be, usually in the form of cattle. After marriage, a couple lived in the husband's village. Polygamy (having more than one spouse) was traditionally encouraged, but this practice is slowly dying out due to the coming in of the HIV/AIDS pandemics and Christian teachings which discourages polygamy.

Bearing as many children as possible is important in a Tonga marriage. Children are valued for their labor and as "social security" for parents in old age. There is a feeling nowadays that modern city life has made families less stable and that the divorce rate is much higher than it used to be. Music, dance, and literature are part of Tonga daily life. Musical groups have emerged in helping keeping the Tonga culture through and now with improved and modern musical instruments unlike the use of local musical drums. Grandparents tell stories around the evening fire passing on knowledge and principles to the children. Each story can have several different lessons for both the young and the old. It is sufficed to say that technology is good and it is bad, but our judgment of it cannot stop there. The effects of technology on everyday life of the Tonga people is evident. It has improved their well-being by improving their farming methods from the ordinary ox driven to the use of other farming methods thereby improving their yields hence improving food security.