Postcolonial African practical theology: Rituals of remembrance, cleansing, healing and re-connection

Abstract

The paper is a discussion of an international ceremony of remembrance, cleansing, healing and reconciliation enacted on the shores of Ghana in 2007 for Diasporan Africans seeking to reverse the horrors of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. It shows how the ritual is an illustration of postcolonial African practical theology occuring on the margins of the institutional African churches. It demonstrates the relevance of ritual in pastoral practices of cleansing, healing and reconciliation.