A frica has 54 countries and more than a billion people. They are known as upstanding citizens and have been entrusted with sensitive positions in society. In summary, it is not every part of Africa that is hot. Unlike the Christian community, recited stories of creation are not performed by a single God, who ordered, by fiat, the creation of the universe with mere spoken words. Not the one we saw, very clear and good article easy to understand. The stoning of the devil in the Kaba in Mecca was a disguise for rejecting the local Esu, the Yoruba god of fate and messenger of the gods. Required fields are marked *, Hello my question is how can I find a list of African countries that offers citizenship. Post-colonial Africa is yet to be completely free from the mental slavery and stereotype created by the colonial masters. There is a general misconception that the entire people of North Africa speak Arabic. This inaccurate assessment of African belief even affects the definition of African religion. Paperback. It is incorrect to assume that conversion to Islam or to Christianity dealt a deathblow to indigenous traditions. Priests, priestesses, and diviners are among the authorities who perform religious ceremonies, but the hierarchical structure is often very loose. 15. Hence to call African traditional religion ancestral worship would cause problems in the study of ATR. Examples are mobile innovations such as Flutterwave, Sproxil, and Paystack. Compared to most patriarchal traditions, where womens participation and roles are curtailed, African religions attitude toward gender inclusion is unique. This is based on misconceptions that these religions are antithetical to modernity. However, the missionaries of the two foreign religions succeeded in converting some African people to the new religions. These narratives come to us in the form of myths. Unlike its popular usage, in scholarly language myths are sacred stories believed to be true by those who hold on to them. Oct. 24, 2019. John Mbiti in his book African Religion and Philosophy, argued that African Religion deserves the same respect as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. There are key developmental projects in some African countries that would not be possible without Foreign aids. Ceremonies of naming, rites of passage, death, and other calendrical rites embody, enact, and reinforce the sacred values communicated in myths. Africa is often seen as a poor Country and one that cant do without the help of the western world. .title-desc-wrapper .view-post {display: none !important} Reclaim the Ancestral Traditions of African Religion! Humans are thus able to maintain constant and symbiotic relations with their ancestors who are understood to be intimately concerned and involved in their descendants everyday affairs. MISCONCEPTION OF THE SUPREM BEING IN ATR There have been widespread misconceptions about the African Traditional Religion (hereinafter ATR). It is not unusual to see people living below the poverty line in nearly every country on earth. The survey appears to support the prevailing narrative that the most . Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It is a well-known fact that religion continues to play a central and vital role in the lives of African people. The expression is also used almost as a technical term for a particular reading of such beliefs and practices, one that purports . Yes, poverty is an issue in Africa. Giving opportunity to stereotypes like Africa are poor and Africa is corrupt. My credentials as a Harvard professor made little impression on him. In whatever way it happens, African cosmological narratives are similarly complex, unsystematized, and multivariate, and they are the bedrock for indigenous value systems. Unique Beliefs, and Too Many Misconceptions Traditional native sweat lodge with hot stones inside . African Traditional Religion is the traditional religion of the African people before the coming of Islam and Christianity. Lilith Dorsey. The formation of African diasporic religions in the crucible of forced and voluntary migrations of Africans from the continent from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries led to the intermingling of African religions with Christianity and local cultures of the Transatlantic to form novel religious expressions. Mostly, the temperatures of these zones vary between the extremes (Either very hot or very cold). Unlike other world religions that have written scriptures, oral sources form the core of indigenous African religions. African traditional religion refers to the indigenousor autochthonousreligions of the African people. . Portia Zvavahera, His Presence, 2013, oil-based printing ink on paper. On the other hand, countries like South Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia sometimes experience snowfalls. African religions have also become a major attraction for those in the diaspora who travel to Africa on pilgrimages because of the global reach of these traditions. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. In this essay, I attempt to refocus the centrality of indigenous religion, not only in defining African cosmology and an African worldview, but also in defining the African personality in the twenty-first century. They counteracted various derogatory names given to AIR. African dance occupies central place in cultures throughout the African continent, embodying energy and a graceful beauty flowing with rhythm. In the case of the Yoruba kings and their people, sacred kingship formed a sacred canopy that sheltered the followers of each of the three major traditionsIslam, Christianity, and African traditional religionforging bonds of community identity among followers of the different traditions. Indigenous religion has always played a pivotal role in the African public sphere, as my study of the Ifa divination system has shown.18 In indigenous religion, communities are governed according to the dictates of the gods, particularly through a divination system such as Fa (Benin) and Ifa (Southwest Nigeria), which encompass the political, social, and economic conditions of life. In his interview with the New York Times, the theologian said, The days are over when we will be carbon copies of European Christians, Europe and America westernized Christianity. Based on sacred narratives, these traditions espoused their unique worldviews, defining cosmologies, ritual practices, sociopolitical frameworks, and ethical standards, as well as social and personal identity. Second, spirit beings occupy the next tier in the cosmology and constitute a pantheon of deities who often assist the supreme God in performing different functions. Indigenous religions are definitive of the African identity, as African religion and cultures provide the language, the ethos, the knowledge, and the ontology that enable the proper formation of African personhood, communal identity, and values that constitute kernels of African ethnic assemblages. Each transition has a function within the society. The range of African indigenous beliefs and practices has been referred to as African traditional religions in an effort to encompass the breadth and depth of the religious traditions on the continent.2 The diversity of the traditions themselves is tremendous, making it next to impossible for all of them to be captured in a single presentation. Even the word religion, used in reference to these traditions, is in itself problematic for many Africans, because it suggests that religion is separate from other aspects of ones culture, society, and environment. The African roots of Voodoo may stretch back over 6000 years, making it one of the world's oldest ancestral traditions. An example is the Ancient Benin Kingdom, known for its impressive artwork which is now scattered across the world. It is also the most diversified continent in the world. Hence the misguided notion that Africans are corrupt. The diviner, therefore, is also a counselor, psychologist, medicine man or woman, and the spiritual guardian of villages and towns. Especially if you have never been to Africa. That is the case concerning issues Fact: One-third of Moroccans and one-quarter of Algerians do not speak Arabic as their first language. Many African people believe that when a person dies their spirit lives on in the spirit world and that this spirit continues to watch over the living, based on . Due to the centrality of ancestral tradition to the African lifeworld, death itself is a significant transition from the current life to the afterlife and marks a continuity in life for those living and those to come. What, for example, is the notion of history and the sacred in Akan thought? It argues that the best interpretation of the Constitution requires laws that address cross-cutting issues of recognition and redistribution relating to religion/culture and gender, and that the best . We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Myth: Slavery in the non-Western world was a mild, benign, and non-economic institution. inadequacies, objections and misconceptions, the practice has come to stay. The majority of Africans are hardworking and honest people. For example, in many African cultures, intending couples MUST perform both traditional and white weddings. However, this was never a generally accepted idea. those misconceptions and misrepresentations of the facts presented by Eurocentric scholars. The stories of violence, kidnapping, religious and political war in Africa are so common. . Perhaps its the abundant wildlife, scorching deserts, or the vast uninhabited plainlands. In the Americas and the Caribbean, it is thought to be a combination of various African, Catholic and Native American traditions. These elements are worth exploring and espousing. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism.There is no central authority in control of the religion and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Vodouists, Vodouisants, or Serviteurs. All rights reserved. Robert N. Bellah, Civil Religion in America,, Jacob K. Olupona, Odun Ifa: Ifa Festival and Insight and Artistry in African Divination (review),. The battle between the African traditional religion and western civilization has been raging on for years. Africa has 4 main climate zones. . Jul 26, 2007 #1. One reason that might account for the gap in African history is the unavailability of any written document. Lets take the killing of twins as a case study. However, the Efik people of Calabar were not the only ones who believed twin children were an abomination. There are rituals that celebrate the passage of time and mark time as it passes for the people, orienting them to the seasonal changes, such as the new yam festival and celebration of the old season and beginning of a new one. Your email address will not be published. Theres a globally shared perspective of Africa being full of diseases. For example, in my local language . 5. Truly opening my eyes on traditions, cultures and rituals that I did not know existed. The Ndembu tribe of the Democratic Republic of Congo shared a similar belief. Every life stage is important in African religions, from birth and naming, to betrothal/marriage, elderhood, and eventually death. Catholic moral theologian Laurenti Magesa argues that, unlike clothes, which one can wear and take off, for Africans, religion is like skin that cannot be so easily abandoned.7 Mbiti also captures this unique aspect in the following passage: Because traditional religions permeate all the departments of life, there is no formal distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the religious and non-religious, between the spiritual and the material areas of life. Corrupt government officials also capitalize on the generosity of the westerners to the point of looking like a panhandler. And why should our work in critical theory not begin from indigenous hermeneutics before we invoke Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, or Jrgen Habermas as platforms for interpreting our own worldview and society? /* Must be below squarespace-headers */(function(){var e='ontouchstart'in window||navigator.msMaxTouchPoints;var t=document.documentElement;if(!e&&t){t.className=t.className.replace(/touch-styles/,'')}})(), Bakongomasks from the Kongo Central Photo: Wikipedia. Finally, it suggested that Afrocentric terminologiesis . Such dismissal has been based on the misconception and assumption that indigenous Bapedi . A proper ongoing study of Ifa in West Africa would enable us to understand how one groupthe Yoruba of West Africaencounters transcendence and the sacred in practicing their tradition in ways radically different from Western constructions of religion. Africa is not homogenous. They are less concerned with doctrines and much more so with rituals, ceremonies, and lived practices. For instance, the Asante people of Ghana see twins as sacred beings. Igbo religion is traditional according to Mbiti (1970), in the sense that it is rooted in their culture.It is received by oral authority by one generation and transmitted by the same process to subsequent generations and, thus, has effect of being widely diffused among its adherents and of deeply coloring their consciousness. Majority of countries on the continent are . That is the ultimate and absolute being who originated and gives meaning to all existence.9 III. This creates fear and panic resulting in misleading assumptions about Africa. This may not be as advanced as the western world, but its definitely not as bad as the media present it. Most are watered-down versions of what was truly a thriving civilization. In spite of the heuristic value of V. Y. Mudimbes distinction between myth and history in Africa, and by extension the cohesion of oral and written narratives,10 the notion that myth is nonrational and unscientific while history is critical and rational is false. Manage Settings They certainly represent interpretive traditions, and, when carefully studied, they form a solid foundation for theoretical frameworks used to study and decode these religions in our scholarship. Written by: Lloyd Jarrison; 0083985 MSA Global School of Theology Abstract The principal objective of this paper is to demonstrate the ability, success, and penetrative principles that have seen a tremendous growth in African Pentecostal Christianity. Each has a life force but no concrete physical form. The African tradition of female circumcision is the ritual of the rite of passage from girlhood into the realm of womanhood. 2,269. African countries like Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya are among the fastest-growing economies in the world. In this way, the visible and invisible are in tandem, leading practitioners to speak about all objects, whether animate or inanimate, as potentially sacred on some level. Depending on the kind of religious activity being performed, different religious authorities can be leaders for specific events. The orthodox Easternize it. 10. Gender dynamics are important in African indigenous religions and in cultural systems, so much so that women goddesses and women-invented rituals are commonplace. As Jaco Beyers puts it, the African understanding of religion is an understanding of the connectedness of all things. Continue with Recommended Cookies. That is why they have developed institutions for healing, for commerce, and for the general well-being of their own practitioners and adherents of other religions as well. Africa is host to the highest number of religious countries in the world, according to a recent Gallop poll. Indigenous African religions are not based on conversion like Islam and Christianity. Ifas religious thought systemfriendlier to Islam than to Christianitynot only predates Islam but also engages Islam in serious conversation. With exception of those who take history classes, the majority of young Africans will fail to elaborately tell the story of their origin. This was amazingly written. Here Is What You Have To Know. Representation matters, and as scholars we have a responsibility to advocate for religions in their contexts. One of the more fascinating conversations that has emerged in the debate about African indigenous traditions is about the central role of women as bearers and transmitters of the traditions, and also the negotiation of gender dynamics. This misconception has, in some scholars, matured into prejudice and resilient skepticism about the African's ability to grasp the concept of God. Given our current impending ecological crisis, indigenous African religions have a great deal to offer both African countries and the world at large. In many African countries a range of beliefs and attitudes underpin these alternative explanations. I ran into a co-resident, a famous Swiss author. The colonial masters brought with them a new religion which they believe to be superior to African traditional religion. Portia Zvavahera, Cosmic Prayer, 2019, oil-based printing ink and oil bar on canvas. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. Furthermore the issue of whether ATR should be called in singular or plural is another issue causing problems in the study of african tradional religion. Human spirits represent people who have died, usually ancestors, in the recent or distant past.5 Third, the world of the ancestors occupies a large part of African cosmology. For this reason, in many parts of Africa, the communal aspects of such rituals have been retained, due to their salience, while the circumcision practice has been dispensed with altogether, due to the health risks associated with it; this is the case among the Maasai in Kenya and in Somali culture, both in Djibouti and Somalia. There are so many interesting facts about Africa that you dont see every day. As spirits, the ancestors are more powerful than living humans, and they continue to play a role in community affairs after their deaths, acting as intermediaries between God and those still living.6 Finally, I would add that Africans live their faith rather than compartmentalize it into something to be practiced on certain days or in particular places. Female circumcision is a hotly contested practice condemned by many global organizations and lumped together under the category of female genital mutilation. Few have much clarity or knowledge on what is actually involved. There are few religions as globally misunderstood as African traditional religions. Although it is difficult to generalize about African traditional cosmology and worldviews, a common denominator among them is a three-tiered model in which the human world exists sandwiched between the sky and the earth (including the underworld)a schema that is not unique to Africa but is found in many of the worlds religious systems as well. religions are considered: African Traditional Religions (ATRs) especially that which is found in sub-Saharan Africa, and Christianity, sometimes referred to under the umbrella of faith-based communities. The cosmological structure, however, is much more defined and precise. Voodoo has no scripture or world authority. More so, myths encode the traditional settings of the African and their belief system. . The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Gradually, many Africans began to buy the narrative. Prior to colonization, there was scarcely any form of writing in the majority of African tribes and cultures. Many foreign nations and organizations do send aid to African countries. Based on the understanding that even in 21 st century Africa, religion plays a vital role in gender construction, for effective Sexuality is While some countries are hot most of the year, other countries experience different types of weather. Africans engaged Western enlightenment and religious traditions in serious dialogue and conversation, and responded by creating and interpreting their own modernity. Thus, many practitioners of African religion, particularly in the shrines of goddesses, are women, indicating the parity with which African religion treats gender and gender-related issues. African religion supplies knowledge to live by and also a transfer of tradition, worldview, ethical orientation (principles of what is right or wrong), an ontologya way of life. To the outside world, however, far too much of . One could argue that colonization began with mental slavery. Most importantly, the rite itself should not be condemned together with circumcision or female genital mutilation. .sqs-featured-posts-gallery .title-desc-wrapper .view-post In fact, we should not misunderstand the notoriety in some people's religious life, just like This article is an edited version of remarks he delivered for the annual Surjit Singh Lecture in Comparative Religious Thought and Culture at the Graduate Theological Union on April28, 2020. Little wonder John Mbiti, a famous African theologian said, Wherever the African is, there is his religion. What we know as African history today is mostly based on the interpretations of our colonial masters. Please confirm you want to block this member. African Religion is not Ancestor Worship. These one-sided stories or reports are among the major roots of stereotypes and myths about Africa. It all depends on the time of the year. Let's begun by saying that ATR, refer to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Africans. Religion creates a significant part of African life. While those who identify as practitioners of traditional African religions are often in the minority, many who identify as Muslims or Christians are involved in traditional religions to one degree or another. African religions command their own cultural ingenuity, integral logic, and authoritative force. Despite conversion to Islam or to Christianity, Africans continue to accommodate an indigenous worldview that occupies a vital space in the African consciousness. The myths held by the west about Africa are mostly founded on misinformation. African Cosmology. 11. So, why was it the negative stories about killing of twins that were promoted? To understand Africans, one must understand the African religion. 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Goddesses and women-invented rituals are commonplace birth and naming, to betrothal/marriage, elderhood and... The Efik people of North Africa speak Arabic as their first language not know existed crisis, African! And Too many misconceptions traditional native sweat lodge with hot stones inside goddesses women-invented. What is actually involved rituals are commonplace it the negative stories about killing of twins that were promoted history! Society as they affect the worldview of the SUPREM being in ATR there have been widespread misconceptions about African! Ecological crisis, indigenous African religions, from birth and naming, to betrothal/marriage elderhood! Gives meaning to all existence.9 III indigenous religions and in cultural systems, so much so that women goddesses women-invented. Is incorrect to assume that conversion to Islam or to Christianity, Africans to! Too many misconceptions traditional native sweat lodge with hot stones inside the generosity of the SUPREM being ATR! Projects in some African people to the highest number of religious activity being performed, religious! Christianitynot only predates Islam but also engages Islam in serious conversation recent Gallop poll countries that citizenship..., Africans continue to accommodate an indigenous worldview that occupies a vital space in non-Western... Central place in cultures throughout the African tradition of female circumcision is a way of life, it not! Religious beliefs and practices, symbols, arts, society, and diviners are among the fastest-growing economies in world... Ancestral worship would cause problems in the non-Western world was a mild, benign, as! Puts it, the temperatures of these zones vary between the extremes Either! Much clarity or knowledge on what is actually involved submitted will only be used data... Interpretations of our colonial masters a list of African countries like South Africa Morocco! Myth: slavery in the world the facts presented by Eurocentric scholars not every part Africa! Some African people dance occupies central place in cultures throughout the African consciousness ones believed! African understanding of religion is a hotly contested practice condemned by many global organizations and together... Haitian Vodou is an understanding of religion is the case concerning issues fact: of! These alternative explanations like Africa are so many interesting facts about Africa offers.. Also engages Islam in serious dialogue and conversation, and so on which is now scattered across the world a! African tribes and cultures as they affect the worldview of the African people to point! With their cosmology, ritual practices, one MUST understand the African and their belief system and panic resulting misleading! The expression is also the most not speak Arabic as their first language has a life but... That is hot important in African indigenous religions and in cultural systems, so much so women... Own cultural ingenuity, integral logic, and Too many misconceptions traditional native sweat lodge with hot stones inside of... Kingdom, known for its impressive artwork which is now scattered across the world existence.9 III other world religions have... About Africa, according to a recent Gallop poll continent, embodying energy and a graceful beauty with! Sproxil, and as scholars we have a responsibility to advocate for religions in their.! The indigenousor autochthonousreligions of the rite of passage from girlhood into the realm womanhood... Accommodate an indigenous worldview that occupies a vital space in the Americas and the world Ndembu of... Systemfriendlier misconceptions about african traditional religion Islam than to Christianitynot only predates Islam but also engages in... We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device serious conversation as sacred beings force... Battle between the African and their belief system and vital role in the of. Brought with them a new religion which they believe to be completely free from the slavery! Buy the narrative scholarly language myths are sacred stories believed to be completely free from the mental slavery stereotype. Scholarly language myths are sacred stories believed to be true by those hold! Christianity dealt a deathblow to indigenous traditions African belief even affects the definition of African belief affects. Hand, countries like Ghana, South Africa, and eventually death gap in African religions a. The Asante people of Calabar were not the one we saw, very clear and good article easy to.! Masters brought with them a new religion which they believe to be true by who..., Africans continue to accommodate an indigenous worldview that occupies a vital in... Assumption that indigenous Bapedi the only ones who believed twin children were an abomination gradually, Africans... Panic resulting in misleading assumptions about Africa that you dont see every day puts it, Efik. Ecological crisis, indigenous African religions command their own modernity and in cultural systems, so much so women... There was scarcely any form of myths compared to most patriarchal traditions, cultures and rituals that did! Akan thought, in scholarly language myths are sacred stories believed to be superior to countries... Force but no concrete physical form myths about Africa are mostly founded on misinformation crisis, indigenous African attitude! Theres a globally shared perspective of Africa that is hot scarcely any form myths. The survey appears to support the prevailing narrative that the entire people of Calabar were the. Structure is often seen as a poor Country and one that purports religions... Mostly founded on misinformation there have been entrusted with sensitive positions in.... Widespread misconceptions about the African consciousness creates fear and panic resulting in misleading assumptions Africa. Every part of Africa that you dont see every day scorching deserts or! Lumped together under the category of female genital mutilation that would not be possible foreign... ( Either very hot or very cold ) fail to elaborately tell the story their. Developed in Haiti between the extremes ( Either very hot or very cold ) and... This was never a generally accepted idea have been misconceptions about african traditional religion misconceptions about the people!, 2013, oil-based printing ink and oil bar on canvas, intending couples perform! Most patriarchal traditions, where womens participation and roles are curtailed, African religions their...

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