Introduction
Religion is pivotal in people's lives, at times it is a source of morals and values. So any alteration of one's religion might actually change the whole meaning of life, values, morals and beliefs. Some religions have a concept of a deity, while others don't have, and at times the concept can be imported.
Task
It has been observed that some of the judeo-christian concepts have been smuggled into the shona traditional religion. Therefore the students are urged to study critically the concept of a deity in the shona traditional religion so as to establish weather its alien or not to the shona traditional religion. A compare and contrast chart on the shona traditional religion and judeo-christian tradition can help the process.
Process
Students should take note that the shona traditional religion has no primary written texts, to cover up for the deficit, students are encouraged to make use of the oral tradition as it is contained in proverbs, idioms, riddles, names of rivers, places and mountains. The above mentioned normally carries unwritten wisdom of a people. Students shall be assigned into groups of fives for the task. In their groups students shall look for shona word equivalent to a deity, after getting the word, they will go on to look for its presence in the shona grammar as mentioned earlier on unwritten wisdom of a people. They shall analyze the concept of a deity in the shona traditional religion with the mind to established weather the concept of a deity is alien or not to the shona traditional religion. Students can also refer to the following sources;
https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/the-origins-of-the-name-mwari/
https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/is-mwari-the-same-as-abrahimic-god/amp
https://jeangasho.com/2018/10/05/the-origin-of-the-shona-god-mwari-musi…
https://www.britannica.com/mwari
https://kchikuse.github.io/shona/2014/07/26/mwari/index.html
Evaluation
Each group shall present its findings in class. Others students shall interrogate the findings of the their peers. After interrogation a mark shall be rewarded on merit, using the guide in relation to stated objectives:
| Points | ||||||
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |||
|
Information research |
Topic researched beyond expectations | topic researched to the expected levels | topic to adequate level | topic researched below expected level | ||
| Task | all areas of the task were addressed | one area of the task was not addressed | two areas of the task not addressed | task incomplete | ||
| Process teamwork | evidence of mutual effort | other skills were not used | little collaboration occurred | no evidence of collaboration | ||
| Process creativity and originality | demonstration of high degree of originality | the ideas are original | low degree of originality | no original ideas | ||
| Mechanics | free of grammar and spelling errors | few spelling and grammatical errors | multiple spelling and grammatical errors | multiple and major spelling and grammatical errors |
Conclusion
Now students are encouraged to reflect on this learning journey and draw some lessons and insights. This experience should help the students to connect their findings and discover that learning is also knowledge making process rather than taking already made knowledge. Questioning and studying move hand in glove, knowledge isnt dogmatic, it evolves due to factors such as critical analysis, insights, paradigms and zeitgeist.
Credits
Designed by Tauya Chinama, 2022, pg212142h@cuz.ac.zw with Catholic University of Zimbabwe, 02 May 2022.