To the expanding list of essential books by African women theologians we can add this collection of Teresia Mbari Hinga's writings of more than twenty years. Hinga is a member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians and so writes from the perspective of a Circle member with her sisters throughout Africa as they do theology.
The book is divided into four sections, which discuss African women's theological footprint, Afro-Christianity and Afro-theologies, ethics, and theological education, including Hinga's journey as a theologian. The strength of this book is that it allows the reader to chart the development in Hinga's theological thinking over these years. Its only weakness is that the two chapters on the Circle are somewhat repetitious, and only one of them should have been chosen.
The introduction presents the story of Kimpa Vita, a prophet in eighteenth-century Congo, who won a large following because of her visions of Saint Anthony. Her fame aroused the envy of the Capuchins, who had originally supported her, and she was arrested and burnt to death. Hinga stresses that Vita's story is important because so much of women's history is unknown. In addition, Vita's struggle with the colonial powers of the Congo is an example of a woman confronting colonialism even as she embraced Christianity, brought to her by the colonizers. Her story also challenges the stereotype of African women as powerless in the face of injustice.
These three themes are the background to Hinga's theological reflections. She is a member of the pioneer Circle generation; as an African woman she struggles with the dual identity of African and Christian, and she uses her voice in her writings to speak truth to power, that is, patriarchal power in African culture and the church.
The section on Afro-theologies contains her now classic essay, “Jesus Christ and the Liberation of Women in Africa,” which includes a strong indictment of the colonial missionary enterprise and its detrimental effects on African life. Her critique is even stronger in a companion essay, “Christology and Various African Contexts,” in which she asserts that the missionaries attempted to “eradicate African spirituality and African culture” in order for a “clean slate” to emerge for Christian spirituality (72). This has led to a “gross sense of alienation and rootlessness” (72) among African people.
The section “Gender and Applied Afro-Theo Ethics” is the strongest area of theological engagement. Hinga discusses food security, the food-energy-water nexus, AIDS and women in Africa, violence against women and the stance of the church, and the Gikuyu theology of land. Each of these chapters presents much useful practical information about each problem, which is analyzed from the perspective of African women's experience.
The title is an invitation to enter into the experience of an African Christian feminist doing theology and to learn about her concerns, passions, and hopes. The book is clearly written and would be a valuable resource at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels. It would also be of interest to all who are interested in knowing what an African woman thinks about significant themes in theology and ethics. It also contains a very complete index of themes and persons.
