Psalm 31 at the Service of Women Dragged into Sex Work in Cameroon

Abstract

This paper exegetes the biblical lament Psalm 31 and subsequently adapts it as a lament ritual for Cameroonian women dragged into sex work, who seek liberation. It explores the form, content, function and theology of the psalm, reading it through Jesus Christ and ritualising it to initiate the path to resurgence of women’s dignity and agency-the power to pursue their total vocation and fulfil it.1 On the whole it suggests that a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ through an Africanised lament ritual is liberating and transforming.