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Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi
This dissertation is an ethnographic study of how religious communities make and take place in Kibera, a neighbourhood that is also a homeland in the city of Nairobi. Since its establishment in 1907, the debate about who belongs in Kibera and to whom Kibera belongs has shaped how religious communiti...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Religious Studies
2023
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| _version_ | 1867613261384384512 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Wilks, Tammy Vanessa |
| author2 | Ukah, Franklin-Kennedy |
| author_browse | Ukah, Franklin-Kennedy Wilks, Tammy Vanessa |
| author_facet | Ukah, Franklin-Kennedy Wilks, Tammy Vanessa |
| author_sort | Wilks, Tammy Vanessa |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This dissertation is an ethnographic study of how religious communities make and take place in Kibera, a neighbourhood that is also a homeland in the city of Nairobi. Since its establishment in 1907, the debate about who belongs in Kibera and to whom Kibera belongs has shaped how religious communities in Kibera define themselves and relate to each other. This debate is presently intensified by land struggles between religious communities on the one hand, and a series of unannounced bulldozing's on the other, as the Kenyan government advances its project to develop Nairobi into a world-class city. This study asks, how do religious communities in Kibera make religion work and maintain belonging to each other amidst such change and uncertainty, and where the meaning of Kibera ‒ as a neighbourhood, home, and homeland is contested? If the neighbourhood is routinely made and unmade, to what extent is religion the locus of belonging for the residents of Kibera? Through oral, social, and life histories, as well as archival materials, this ethnographic study examines how Kibera became an urban homeland in Nairobi, how the distinction between ‘home' and ‘homeland' creates a different sense of belonging for the religious communities who live there, and what it means for some religious communities to perform their religion in another's homeland. It argues that religious communities make religion in Kibera work by maintaining a sense of belonging to people and places elsewhere and in so doing, invent ways to respond to life in a changing and contested neighbourhood. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/38549 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:19.547Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Department of Religious Studies |
| publisherStr | Department of Religious Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/38549 Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi Wilks, Tammy Vanessa Ukah, Franklin-Kennedy Religion This dissertation is an ethnographic study of how religious communities make and take place in Kibera, a neighbourhood that is also a homeland in the city of Nairobi. Since its establishment in 1907, the debate about who belongs in Kibera and to whom Kibera belongs has shaped how religious communities in Kibera define themselves and relate to each other. This debate is presently intensified by land struggles between religious communities on the one hand, and a series of unannounced bulldozing's on the other, as the Kenyan government advances its project to develop Nairobi into a world-class city. This study asks, how do religious communities in Kibera make religion work and maintain belonging to each other amidst such change and uncertainty, and where the meaning of Kibera ‒ as a neighbourhood, home, and homeland is contested? If the neighbourhood is routinely made and unmade, to what extent is religion the locus of belonging for the residents of Kibera? Through oral, social, and life histories, as well as archival materials, this ethnographic study examines how Kibera became an urban homeland in Nairobi, how the distinction between ‘home' and ‘homeland' creates a different sense of belonging for the religious communities who live there, and what it means for some religious communities to perform their religion in another's homeland. It argues that religious communities make religion in Kibera work by maintaining a sense of belonging to people and places elsewhere and in so doing, invent ways to respond to life in a changing and contested neighbourhood. 2023-09-12T09:33:48Z 2023-09-12T09:33:48Z 2023 2023-09-12T09:23:25Z Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549 eng application/pdf Department of Religious Studies Faculty of Humanities |
| spellingShingle | Religion Wilks, Tammy Vanessa Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi |
| title_full | Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi |
| title_fullStr | Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi |
| title_short | Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi |
| title_sort | dwelling in diversity religion and belonging in kibera a neighbourhood in nairobi |
| topic | Religion |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wilkstammyvanessa dwellingindiversityreligionandbelonginginkiberaaneighbourhoodinnairobi |