Savage Systems: Colonialism and Comparative Religion in Southern Africa

This book, the Savage system by David Chidester highlighting colonialism and comparative religion in Southern Africa has proven the validity of Edward Said's thesis on Orientalism. In his Foucauldian work Orientalism. Said affirms that orientalism is an attempt to understand society group along with its culture in a way they look themselves. In another word, it is looking at society with your own perspectives. (Said, 1979) Unfortunately, as the orientalists were the references of the colonial power, it was one of the tools to hegemonize the power. The colonialists interpret the colonilized people in a way they want to prolong their colonialization. It was the power of knowledge. Once Said says in PBS TV: They (the Western sources) look the Arab, in a way I never understand it was my culture" David Chidister approaches similarly in his determination of comparative religions in Southern Africa in three periods; frontier, imperial, and Apartheid. The frontier period, is the oldest period of comparative religion on southern Africa. In that, the earliest frontiers described African as people with no religion. no gods no worship, no temple. They similiarized African people with animal uncivilizedThe Imperial period is after the frontier era that is within the earlier days of colonial era. Not so much different from the previous period, the description of African people in this period is negative. African is just above the animal the have only the savage religion. They worship natural stuffs like three, animals, idols, stones, ect. The apartheid comparative religion, although has been in a modern period, describes the African as just its previous period in which African were uncivilized, no religions and hold primitive religions in which Africans are described as worshipping the moon and the sun. The three periods as Chidester highlights is in an accordance with his main thesis that comparative religions (religious study?) were very European centric. What was perceived as religion should fit with the European thought of religions. There should be one God, sanctuary, and prophet. Agreed with Foucault approach Chidester reveals this doles not successfully reveals what actually the reality belonged to African. I think Chidester deserves appraise as he has successfully elaborated the European centric even in the comparative religions. Just as the same phenomena described for the colonized people in Malay and Indonesia or some Middle Eastern countries that Edward Said reveals. No other orientation in that creation except an attempt to marginalize the colonized people and to keep them colonized. It is undeniably true.