In the Ewe thought they are called Vodou (Vodu or Vudu in Benin and Togo; also Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, or other phonetically equivalent spellings. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. 4 0 obj In some communities masks were used to representcertain gods or ancestral spirits. This paper uses a qualitative research approach in the form of document analysis to critically explore the religious intersectionalities between Christianity and African Traditional. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. Areas of interest to read in the part one was how Christianity has found an inroad into the lives of so many who were living in deep darkness and slavery to the evil powers. psC68k}(`eMTO} }3sUO?JH`dMQois6I{r[}Doq?L0}ze^WZ\|r?3Z %g~bs_*@F`b, vw`qRk3xnnH6NSKF vFK](S?I.$@\$OC(N#a6oJc!0 sm!$!'TGzmSvw)+Na?1s K{o?!I Instead of God keeping his distance from man, He, throughout history and today reaches down in love to draw humans toward him. In most countries surveyed, at least three-in-ten people believe in reincarnation, which may be related to traditional beliefs in ancestral spirits. The introduced religions of Islam (in northern Africa) and Christianity (in southern Africa) are now the continent's major religions, but traditional religions still play an important role, especially in the interior of sub-Saharan Africa. How digital misinformation may keep you from a good nights sleep, Study finds surgical patients with addiction issues may be at greater risk for complications, including sudden cardiac death after anesthesia, Khalil Gibran Muhammad says College Board needs to stand firm behind curriculum, Chief counsel of respected mid-70s Senate inquiry into improper federal investigations says credibility of oversight function at stake, 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the world and then withdrew, remaining remote from the concerns of human life. Traditional Africans believed in the power of magic and medicinemen. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. Some scholars have rightly observed that the centre of gravity of Christianity is shifting from the West to the two-thirds world, that is Asia, South America and Africa. I am going to use the research reports of Opoky Onyinah , which he carried out among Ghanaian Christians between 1997 and 1999. The religious traditions and beliefs of the African peoples have enough differences to merit a study of each in its own right. In many communities across the world traditional beliefs and practices are passed down generations and are a feature of day-to-day life, despite the influence of outside sources. They do so by going to the hospital. The Supreme Being is usually thought of as remote from daily religious life and is, therefore, not directly worshipped. The understanding of God normally needs some refining when one comes from African Traditional Religion to be a Christian. This should make it clear why some African intellectuals would question the relevance of Christianity on the continent. Traditional Africans didnot have this practice. Traditional theologians explained that one could not worship the Supreme Being formally, without the agency of the divinities or ancestors. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. Akiki Nyabongos novel, Africa answers back, reveals that religious syncretism in Africa is a reality that has persistently painted Christianity as an offshoot of traditional African religions. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? For example, followers can seek spiritual direction and relief from healers, medicine men and women, charms [adornments often worn to incur good luck], amulets [adornments often used to ward off evil], and diviners [spiritual advisers]. This is called a tithe. Adebanwi, Wale Traditional Religion as a source of African theology just as Christian theology is. According to all the major surveys, Christianity and Islam each represent approximately 40 percent of the African population. The success of Christianity and Islam on the African continent in the last 100 years has been extraordinary, but it has been, unfortunately, at the expense of African indigenous religions. 4 0 obj And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. By Greens own admission, and as we shall see later, there are as many divergences on the architectonic hinge of these deep structuresGod, the human person, and the materialworldas there are similarities. GAZETTE: What allows African indigenous religions to be so accommodating? A Background to Religion and Magic in Western Thought Our modern usage of the term 'magic' derives from the Greek magike, The religious functions, especially of chiefs and lineage heads, are clearly demonstrated during such periods as the Odwira of the Akan, Hogbetsotso / Tedudu of the Ewe, the Homowo of the Ga-Adangbe, or the Aboakyir of the Efutu (coastal Guan), when the people are organized in activities that renew and strengthen relations with their ancestors. Both have religious leaders or priests whopresent the peoples requests to God. Religion is closely bound up with the traditional way of African life; therefore, religion has shaped the lives of Africans, at the same time life has shaped religion as well. 24 October 2016. I should also state that there are signs of the revival of African indigenous practices in many parts of Africa. Pratten, David Odozor's Morality Truly Christian, Truly Africanpublished by theUniversity of Notre Dame Press. Highlights of the first writing were, the African Traditional Religion, the life of the ethnic groups in Ghana; their beliefs, customs, ritual and taboos. Today Christians worship Godmainly in churches. This view influences the way humans relate to the universe: on the one hand, they strive to maintain harmony between themselves and the invisible universe by observing the moral and religious order; at the same time, humans see the universe in a utilitarian way, from the point of view of what is beneficial or harmful to them. Christianity and Traditional African Heritage, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Before you discuss on how somebody is doing something, it is also good to look at the reason why the person is doing that thing, so that you can be in a better position to educate the person properly. African communities at the time but was also poised to become a site of religious and cultural conflict both within and between different communities in postcolonial South Africa. Traditional African religion does not show any belief in the Trinity. The spirit medium is required to possess moral probity and integrity. x\s6Q|jyLd*{-Jb"$e~ $@ 6G"F@w? Updates? Christ is the Mediator between Humans and God In African Traditional Religion ancestral spirits, and lesser gods, are usually the spirits that communicate with humans on earth. endobj University of Notre Dame, McGrath Institute for Church Life A belief in ancestors also testifies to the inclusive nature of traditional African spirituality by positing that deceased progenitors still play a role in the lives of their living descendants. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. Their significance lies in the genealogical positions and the rights and duties which derive from them. Ancestors uphold right conduct by punishing moral violations, demanding respect and attention, and getting angry when not given due respect. This is called the Trinity. That testifies to the enduring power of indigenous religion and its ability to domesticate Christianity and Islam in modern Africa. Green opines that although superficially regarded, this may seem to be a minimal moral relationshipmore like a kind of egoism on one side and fearful propitiation on the otherit also shows, however, the profound role that respect for age and for the fulfillment of lineage and familial duties play in this traditional setting. For instance, the Yoruba religion has historically been centered in southwestern Nigeria, the Zulu religion in southern Africa, and the Igbo religion in southeastern Nigeria. They consultedtraditional healers who used various herbs and charms to cure diverse illnesses. They did this as theyoffered libation by pouring water or any other drink to the ground. x + 306. 1 0 obj INTRODUCTION Man considers life worth living because he finds certain things intrinsically valuable; hence value in its simple connotation means a thing of worth. Veneration of departed ancestors is a major characteristic of all traditional religions. hand with the study of the people who practise the religion. Everywhere he went in southwestern Nigeria, he never opposed or spoke out against African culture including initiation rites, festivals, and traditional Yoruba dress as long as it didnt directly conflict with Christianity. Keywords: contextualization . Consequently, traditional Africans have different ideas on what role the ancestors play in the lives of living descendants. He then reflects on five "essential aspects" of. When a missionary asked Africans in Zanzibar to tell him something about their God, they simply said, "God thunders!" The cleric had travelled across the seas in the 19th century to tell "the heathens without religion" or "people with a primitive religion" about God. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Black Americans, Side by side with their high levels of commitment to Christianity and Islam, many people in the countries surveyed retain beliefs and rituals that are characteristic of traditional African religions. Who Should Christians Worship? Journal of Biblical Unitarianism 1:1, 5-33, 2014. Christians give a tenth of all their earnings to God. These shrines were built near waterbodies, next to big trees or near other sacred places. Thus, for example, older persons not only possess a more powerful vital force but a greater responsibility in society and more intense mystical powers. Other spirits with a significant role in maintaining the African traditional moral world include ancestors and lineage spirits who operate in specific social contexts where their will is expressed through misfortunes, and some other spirits who do not act directly but who rely on human agents to effect their will. These spirits underlie the power of spirit mediums who, as mediators between space and the human world and by virtue of the moral authority this confers, are able to arbitrate between living human beings. Some of the ideas from Mbitis works are pertinent to our discussion here: Africans believe in a hierarchy of beings, from the ultimate being, God, to lesser ones, divinities, spirits, the living dead, human beings, animals, plants, and inanimate beings. All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. "useRatesEcommerce": false Furthermore, the issue is whether a strict order of retribution cannot be tolerated if human ambition gets in the way of realizing enduring moral virtue and well-being. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. (I myself have consulted with several diviners for my research on specific academic topics regarding African culture and history; consequently, if we were to lose Africas diviners, we would also lose one of Africas best keepers and sources of African history and culture. Like Mbiti and Green, Magesa notes that the world of African Traditional Religion is a hierarchically ordered place where, On the lowest rung of the ladder are spirits, who are active beings distinct from humans and reside in nature and phenomena such as trees, rivers, rocks, or lakes. It evolved through many centuries, before the westerner come to Africa. There are also the lesser gods that take residency in streams, rivers, trees and mountains. However, in African religious thought God is distanced from the task of moral affairs because the task of moral retribution and maintenance of effective moral norms is usually performed by spiritual agents of much lower standingthat is, by spirits of various sorts, by ghosts and even by human practitioners of spiritual arts. Other characteristics that show the contrast between (Western) Christian thought and African Traditional Religion,according to Green, are the nonexistence of concepts of heaven and hell in African Traditional Religion, the lack of messianic expectations and hope, and the absence of eschatological thought with God stepping in to right all wrongs or to punish wickedness. And although African Traditional Religion affirms the continuation of life after death, where the person is believed to join the spirit world of the ancestors to continue life in some ways similar to the life before death, this belief does not constitute a hope for improved existence or for ultimate reward and punishment since a persons moral depravity or moral rectitude [does] not count in the beyond and whatever penalties or rewards those may bring have no bearing on life after death.. between African traditional religion and the Christian faith. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. This power originates from God but is possessed hierarchically by divinities, spirits, and the living dead, and it is available to some people, in various degrees. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Everything is said to center on them. Traditional African religion advocated for bird and animal sacrifices whenever peoplewent to worship God. Christianity, African traditional religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. The Yoruba, however, do have a concept of a supreme being, called Olorun or Olodumare, and this creator god of the universe is empowered by the various orisa [deities] to create the earth and carry out all its related functions, including receiving the prayers and supplications of the Yoruba people. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In addition, roughly a quarter or more of the population in 11 countries say they believe in the protective power of juju (charms or amulets), shrines and other sacred objects. Shrine visitation is strongest among the uneducated and in rural communities. Just as within the traditional political and diplomatic contexts, one cannot formally contact the king without the agency of his linguists or sub-chiefs. Ancestors and numerous other spirits are also recognized as part of the cosmological order. OLUPONA: We would lose a worldview that has collectively sustained, enriched, and given meaning to a continent and numerous other societies for centuries through its epistemology, metaphysics, history, and practices. These gods are generally perceived as intermediaries between the Supreme Being and society. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. As a universal religion, Christianity has to find an, This article engages with the notion of Ndembu traditional eco-masculinities which was conceptualised in a framework of sacrifice as ground for manliness. Devoid of essential personal characteristics they represent the essence of what might be called structural personality. Fardon, Richard <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Much of Oluponas work is an attempt to provide a fuller understanding of the complexity and richness of African indigenous thought and practice by viewing it not as a foil or as a useful comparative to better understand Western religions, but as a system of thought and belief that should be valued and understood for its own ideas and contribution to global religions. This practice, no matter how limited it is, again shows how untenable the blanket assertion is that African moral traditions are those of abundant life. It is a counter culture in response to the, The move towards contextual Christianity in Africa is an essential venture if Christianity is to communicate with the African cultural heritage. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. To understand African tradition, one needs to understand the position of African Traditional Religion on God, the human person, and creation. When punishment comes, it comes in the present life. Whatever the difference in the deep structures that undergird the moral life in the Christian conception or in Africa Traditional Religion, Green, like Mbiti, concludes that Africans believe in a morally saturated universe: The role of intermediary agents and spirits in maintaining moral order in African Traditional Religion is quite remarkable, as we have already seen from the work of Mbiti. This chapter includes information on: Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects Download chapter 3 in full (3-page PDF, <1MB) Photo credit: Sebastien Desarmaux/GODONG/Godong/Corbis Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. The Church also combines those who have died and those who still live. The missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa at a time when tribal religions were ignored or denigrated. This happened in the past, and these codes were stipulated, considered sacred and binding, by the community leaders: The moral and religious order in the universe is articulated and expressed in a variety of taboos and customs that prohibit specific actions contravening such order. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious . Copyright 2023 Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. According to Mbiti, Africans believe that God has ordained a moral order for humans, through which they came to understand what is good and what is evil, so that they might live in harmony with one another and safeguard the life of the people. These facts, however, does not necessary suggest that the educated Ghanaian has totally abandoned tradition; some educated and mission trained individuals do consult traditional oracles in times of crises. The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). The data also will include a survey he conducted in 1999 of 1201 participants across Ghana concerning the belief in the traditional spirit-world. <> %PDF-1.5 These act as a link between God and the human community. It was believed that Vodun was a representativeof the Supreme God known as Mawu. There is even a community deep in the American Bible Belt in Beaufort County, S.C., called Oyotunji Village that practices a type of African indigenous religion, which is a mixture of Yoruba and Ewe-Fon spiritual practices. Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). Thus, to assert as Mbiti does that there are no secret sins or that something or someone is bad or good only according to outward conduct is too careless a statement to make.
Schoology Password Reset Lausd, Browning Shotguns 2022, Articles S