Are prayers a panacea for climate uncertainties?: An African traditional perspective from Swaziland

Abstract

Climate change is a major threat to sustainable development, not only in sub-Saharan Africa countries, but throughout the world. Swaziland as a developing nation has been hit hard by the frequency and intensity of severe weather volatility. While this situation has received scientific and technological interpretations, Swazi indigenous thought rejects these since it ascribes natural catastrophes to cosmic forces. Thus, people observe formalized systems of interaction with the supernatural world to find practical solutions to any disaster or social ill. This contribution maintains that indigenous thought is still vibrant among many Swazis despite their encounter with a new religious orientation. Swazi Christian thought patterns still correlate with the traditional view of Swazi cosmology. Hence, Christians have held corporate prayers at local church, regional, and national levels to harness the impersonal forces of El Niño, La Niña, and the recent Cyclone Dineo. For many Swazis in this predominantly Christian population, God has the power to restore any disturbed equilibrium in the spiritual, social, or natural milieu of human life through prayer.