Colonialism, Christianity, and Queerness in African Culture

Looking at the present state of LGBTQIA+ rights in African countries' legislation, it would seem western countries are its trailblazers. The Netherlands legalised gay marriage in 2001 with more powerful countries, such as America, legalising it in 2015. This is a stark contrast to Africa, where half of the world's 69 countries which criminalise gay marriage reside. For the queer citizens of these 34 African countries, living as their authentic selves is impossible in the face of rejection by family, friends and the law.

For these people and modern society at large, it may seem it's been like this forever.

However, when we look to the past, to forgotten history, we can see this is not the case.

Firstly, let's look at pre-colonial attitudes towards aspects of some African societies which didn't conform to European views around sexuality and gender. Social conventions vastly different to European practices exist and still do across Africa's countries and tribes. One of these is the genderqueer jinbandaa of pre-colonial Angola. Jinbandaa describes a societal role which existed in what is modern-day Angola under the Quimbandan religion. The role was taken by people assigned male at birth but who presented as women by wearing things traditionally associated with femininity like makeup and skirts.

The transatlantic slave trade brought Europeans in contact with these sorts of new social conventions, in the process revealing just how different they were from European ones. This period from the 16th to 19th century was one of mass transportation across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. West African slaves were stolen and traded by West African kingdoms and Europeans in order to labour American lands for their lucrative resources such as sugar cane and cotton. Among the various European countries participating was Portugal, one of the first to transport African slaves with the intention of labouring by the 1480s. One of the countries on their receiving end was Angola. The Portuguese described jinbandaa as 'just like devils' and 'great fetishers'. Their own Angolan comrades, however, 'respect them and are not offended by them'. In fact, 'these sodomites happen to live together...meeting often to provide burial services'. Other European nations such as Britain viewed queerness similarly, with the 1533 Buggary act making homosexuality punishable by death and only decriminalised, not legalised, in 1967.

Here we see a repugnance towards divergence from western gender binaries. This is expressed by connecting it to things which, through a Christian lens, are negative. In other words, anything queer was deemed devilish or sinful to show just how abhorrent they believed it was. So when Christianity was introduced on a wide scale to African societies, so were the justifications for queer-phobia present in European Christianity. But how was Christianity introduced successfully on such a wide scale?

Europeans and coastal African kingdoms did establish connections during the transatlantic slave trade. However, the British abolished the slave trade in 1808 and European control of Africa at the end of the period was little, only 10% by 1870. How could such little European authority have impacted African society so deeply as to influence opinions even now, 150 years later? The answer is in the more recent Scramble for Africa circa 1885, when Europeans and Africans traded not only goods but religions.

The Scramble for Africa set in motion a major shift in colonised African countries' culture and religion; two factors which most impact a country's attitude towards queerness. This was through the views making up new European Christianity. They invaded, colonised and divided Africa on a much more invasive scale than in past contact between Europe and Africa. The transatlantic slave trade, in contrast, was concentrated on the western coast. This small amount of control was raised to almost 90% by 1914, with only Ethiopia and Liberia remaining independent at the time. Religion was an essential part of European identity. It was a driver of conflicts and alliances, such as the Catholic Spanish Armada war against Protestant England in the 16th century. So with this increase of European presence and control came the presence of many aspects of European society, their queer-phobic reading of Christianity enforced by societal and constitutional rules duly followed. Christian missions were the main symptom of this. These being 'an organised effort for the propagation of Christian faith'. First arrived in the continent after an invitation from King Nzinga of the Kongo who became interested in the religion after contact with the Portuguese colonial explorers in the area; they were part, intentionally and not, of the growing trade between African kingdoms and Europeans.

The religion benefitted many by providing access to the European market through their mission school's European education, but promoted reliance on European markets, the exploitation of their people and the eventual rejection of indigenous cultures and religions. 

So why does this all matter? In a society built around western conventions and ideas, it's important to understand the various flaws that come along with them. Examining pre-western influence societies can provide a fresh perspective to view structures which are cemented in our minds from the day we are born: the nuclear family structure, binary gender, capitalism, etc. These rigid structures aren't the only ways to live. Looking back to forgotten societies, how and why they were lost to time, can help us understand why our world exists as it does. With this information, we can hope and more importantly try to build a more understanding and inclusive future.

by Nella Falola

26/02/2023