The Real Indaba

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/07/21/the-real-indaba/#more-4374

[Anglican Mainstream] 21 Jul 2008--Today the Bishops will begin Indaba groups. What is Indaba?

Indaba was described for us at the press conference today as a process that South African villages use as a method of engagement for problems that face a set group of people. The word is from the Zulu, and means “business.” Traditionally, the elder men of the community meet and deal especially with an issue that affects the entire community. The discussion begins on a quite superficial level and then goes deeper and deeper into the gist of the problem, with the sharing ideas and information.

Indaba is not a debate format. There are not opposing sides, a pro- and a con- set of arguments. It is a series of discussions. Originally in the Zulu context, this would include any issue that affects the whole village. In African society, tribal leaders will converse until they come to a type of consensus. They meet regularly and some topics will come up again and again, like theft. Months of discussion can produce creative ways to deal with common problems. In this way, Indaba creates a type of solution that is particular and unique to that village and their situation.

The goal of Indaba is not to problem-solve, but to find ways to hold people together in their differences. I think the easiest way for Americans to understand Indaba is to remember those times when you were in a group of people or perhaps a family meeting, discussing a problem or issue and you came to consensus about the nature of that problem. Consensus? Yes, a like-minded understanding by all the people in the group. Can individuals hold different opinions about the issue? Yes. But they have come to a point of agreement on the substance; the core issue and the potential of a way forward.