Wailing Women: Kenyan Prayer Warriors and the Animating Grounds of Emotions

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dc.contributor.authorKihuha, Mary Wanjiku
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-13T11:00:10Z
dc.date.available2025-03-13T11:00:10Z
dc.date.issued2024-09-24
dc.description.abstractIn Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, women are generally positioned or perceived as prayer warriors. This image is in sharp contrast to their perceived agency as “weaker vessels”, which relegates them to the margins in terms of leadership and preaching. A prayer warrior is a metaphor for strength, evoking a spiritual battle with the enemy, the devil, whose essence is to wage war against Christians. Using a grounded methodology approach, I will dissect the social-cultural elements that view women as weak vessels, yet present them as prayer warriors who engage with spiritual forces. Daughters of Zion, an urban Pentecostal women’s movement, features as a case study due to its reputation for summoning women to pray. The group uses the term “wailing women” to describe the participants in their prayer assemblies. The women engage in intense prayers while sitting, running, and even lying prostrate, addressing domestic and personal issues. The research delves into the concept of women as “prayer warriors”, employing “wailing” as their battle weapon, a form of emotional expression that serves as a unique source of spiritual strength. The study contributes to the growing field of gender studies and how religious contexts understand and value women’s emotional sensitivities.
dc.identifier.citationMary Wanjiku Kihuha (24 Sep 2024): Wailing Women: Kenyan Prayer Warriors and the Animating Grounds of Emotions, Journal of African Cultural Studies, DOI: 10.1080/13696815.2024.2391753
dc.identifier.otherDOI: 10.1080/13696815.2024.2391753
dc.identifier.urihttps://repo.pacuniversity.ac.ke/handle/123456789/5249
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherJournal of African Cultural Studies (Routledge- Taylor & Francis Group)
dc.titleWailing Women: Kenyan Prayer Warriors and the Animating Grounds of Emotions
dc.typeArticle
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