Belief, ritual and the securing of life

Book Description

Through the lens of the Kuria people of East Africa, anthropologist Malcolm Ruel invites readers on a profound exploration of what religion truly means across cultures. This thoughtful collection of essays challenges Western assumptions about spirituality by examining how an African religious tradition operates on fundamentally different principles than those familiar to most readers.

Rather than focusing on supernatural beliefs, Ruel reveals how the Kuria understand religion as intimately connected to life processes themselves. Their approach to ritual, sacrifice, and community organization offers fresh perspectives on how spiritual practice can serve to secure and sustain human existence. The author demonstrates how studying this tradition illuminates the limitations of applying Christian concepts like "belief" to other religious systems.

The book extends beyond ethnographic description to engage with universal questions about personhood, cosmology, and the role of ritual in ordering society. Ruel examines themes of conversion and contrasts African communal values with Western individualism, using examples from art and cultural expression to highlight these differences.

For readers seeking to expand their understanding of spirituality beyond familiar frameworks, this work provides valuable insights into alternative ways of conceiving the sacred. The essays offer tools for questioning one's own religious assumptions while appreciating the coherent wisdom embedded in traditions that prioritize collective well-being and life-affirming practices over abstract theological concepts.