Text and authority in the South African Nazaretha Church / Joel Cabrita, University of Cambridge.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 353-379) and index.

Introduction -- Scholars, their subjects and the sources : ecumenicism and literary collaborations in the Nazaretha Church -- Charting a changing literary landscape : Isaiah Shembe and the early Zion movement in South Africa -- Transcription services : young literates and the transformation of generational relations -- The imitation of Christ : healing performances and Biblical spectacles -- Reading from the same page : Bible-writing and the creation of orthodoxy -- Tales of war : women's testimonies, and the crafting of heroic reputations -- 'God loves this chief of ours' : oratory, and chiefly conversions to the Nazaretha Church -- Pursuing recognition : rhetoric and reality in church-state relations -- Conclusion.