It also offers a useful and uptodate list of books for more advanced reading, questions for. The study of african spirituality in its own right is a recent phenomenon. European and other foreign settlers brought most of these religions. It is described as the product of thinking and experience of african forefathers and mothers of. But, on the other hand, between judaism and the coarsely polytheistic religion of babylonia, as also between christianity and the old egyptian faith,in spite of. This papers tries to analyse what the africans believe would happen in the afterlife. Guineabissau, liberia, and the ivory coastafrican religion is the majority religion. According to renowned american historian and linguist leo weiner of harvard university, one. Today, around 10 percent of the african population still practice some form of traditional religion. God, divinities and spirits in african traditional.
Sacrifice most ancient african religions offered some sort of sacrifice to their gods or the spirits. African mythology gods and spirits from the african. Apr 09, 2019 herbalism, divination, and spiritualism often combine in traditional african medicine, perhaps the oldest and most varied therapeutic system in the world. Religion in africa is multifaceted and has been a major influence on art, culture and philosophy. Zuesse divination and deity in african religions divination as a spiritual phenomenon has had very little written about it, perhaps due in part to the ready labeling of it as a form of magic and therefore irrational, utilitarian, egoistic, and insuffici ently religious. The traditional african religions or traditional beliefs and practices of african people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions. The west african area is important because this is where the majority of slaves departed for the new world. In sierra leone, botswana, and burkina faso more than 33 percent follow african religion, although it is not the religion of the majority. Pdf the concept of god, divinities and spirits in african traditional religious ontology has been so misunderstood by many scholars to the. Ancient origins articles related to africa in the sections of history, archaeology, human origins, unexplained, artifacts, ancient places and myths and legends. This holistic health care system has many practitioners and followers and despite its decline for a period of time, traditional african medicine has resurged across the continent in recent years. A critical analysis on african traditional religion and the trinity.
List of books and articles about african religions. African traditional religion in a globalizing world. In 3000 bc, people were worshipping gods like isis, horus, osiris, ra, and hapi. Sex refers to a persons biological characteristics. The religious beliefs, practices and the provision of social services of these immigrant religions have impacted on the religious and cultural life of the traditional communities. The core philosophy of african religions is formed by narratives about the creation of the universe cosmogony and the nature and structure of the world cosmology. Sexuality, african religiocultural traditions and modernity. Universality must surely be one key we have to the verity of any doctrine. A very short introduction, oxford university press, olupona has researched topics ranging from the indigenous religions of africa to the religious practices of africans who have settled in america. As confusing as spirituality can be, there are 4 easy ways to develop your spirituality, with or without religion. All over the world we find a firm belief in a spiritual reality behind the confusions of daily existence, though understanding of the exact nature of the relationship between the spheres of spirit and matter varies enormously. Authoring or editing more than half a dozen books on religion and african culture including the recent african religions. God, divinities and spirits in african traditional religious.
Traditional african religions and their influences on the. The main characteristics of african traditional religion. The gospel, therefore, brings clarity to african traditional religion because it places the transcendent deity of the african cosmology in proper context. African religions this entry presents a brief, general picture of africas traditional religious heritage, focusing on the major beliefs because these underlie the general attitudes of individuals and society and shape their worldview. The three main religious tra ditionsafrican traditional religion, christianity, and islamconstitute the triple religious heritage of the african continent. Divination and deity in africa of ancient greece and rome, was understood to be controlled by the celestial high god or by atmospheric spirits. Ask 3 people to define it and you will get three different answers. When we speak of african traditional religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs. Hence large elements of west african, particularly yoruba, religion blended with catholicism can be found in religions such as vodun also known as voodoo haiti, candomble brazil and santeria carribean.
One major difference between conventional, western medicine and traditional african medicine, is the way of viewing illnesses and their treatments. Indigenous african religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the african people before the christian and islamic colonization of africa. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural, include belief in a supreme creator, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead. Indigenous african religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in. The ancient kemetic roots of library and information science. Traditional african religion and culture pm express on. By honoring these spirits, believers hoped that the spirits would help them or would talk to the supreme god on their behalf.
In fact, africa is a vast continent encompassing both. Recorded in the neolithic rock, known as petroglyphs, and the megaliths in the sahara desert in libya give light to the premature huntergatherer culture established in the dry prairies of north africa during the ice age. In it the beliefs and aspirations of egypt and babylonia have found their explanation and fulfilment. It is described as the product of thinking and experience of african forefathers and mothers of former generations. Its study has to go handinhand with the study of the people who practise the religion. Traditional religions have had tremendous influence on africans in their thought processes, belief systems, and worldviews. African traditional religion south african history online. African traditional religion has grown out of the african soil.
In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. I believe this assertion to be correct and so the question, how do african concepts of god relate to the god of the bible. Mbitis african religions and philosophy is a great addition to philosophy. The major faiths practiced in south africa are christianity, islam, hinduism, traditional african religions and judaism. Its unfortunate that some urban christians are leaving the faith for ancient african religions. Oct 07, 2015 one of the things these diaspora african religions testify to is the beauty of african religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. In a field that is predominantly angloid, due primarily to a methodology that still refuses to recognize nonwestern forms of philosophy, mbitis work shines light on the much maligned and fetishized field of its african variant. News and articles relating to our ancient origins, archaeology news, anthropology, ancient artifacts, sacred writings, ancient places and more. This revision of a standard text lj 775 provides an excellent overview of native religion in africa.
Some have seen africans as not having the capacity to reason on the. Because of the african religions dependence on oral stories, doctrine tends to be more flexible, changing in accordance to the immediate needs of religious followers. In five of these countriesbenin, mozambique, guineabissau, liberia, and the ivory coastafrican religion is the majority religion. Since you are writing about african mythology, you would do well to not base the roots of african myths and legends on sociopolitical situations that are relatively recent given the massive scope of african history. The spirituality of africa harvard divinity school. Especially in africa, religion has been at the heart of much of the contemporary conflicts. Various terms are used to refer to the indigenous religious heritage, including african religion, african tradition.
Dec 21, 2016 very ancient african sages contemplation on results of these inferences gave insights into the inner truth lying hidden in the esoterictruths revealing certain mysterious things about godthings belonging to godand things revealed by god to humans. Central around the year bc, the bantu migrants had reached the region of the great lakes in east africa. Pdf god, divinities and spirits in african traditional religious ontology. Today, the continents various populations and individuals are mostly adherents of christianity, islam, and to a lesser extent several traditional african religions. Reincarnation in african traditional religion by andrew rooke. The religious beliefs, practices and thehuman characteristics such as love, power, knowledge are transferred to anspeak of african traditional religion we mean the indigenous. African beliefs in reincarnation differ from those of major asian religions especially hinduism in a number of important ways. Reincarnation refers to the soul of a dead person being reborn in the body of another. This paper is a trawl of literature on african traditional religion1 atr and. The african continent includes so many countries, regions, languages, tribes, cultures and crossovers that the sheer diversity of prevailing gods would seem overwhelming if there werent a few handy shortcuts.
African traditional religion and the religion of the san people come africa, but other religions such as judaism, christianity, islam, hinduism and buddhism, were brought to south africa by people from europe and asia indigenous religions of africa. Ancestor spirits and their role in african traditional. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and open up a window on african history. Atr african traditional religion introduction three religions dominates african continent. This sacrifice varied from small items, like a portion of food or drink. The purpose of this is to help to orient a person who would like to work in the context of africa. Traditional african religion is very popular and arrived here with our north and west african ancestors. Abstract contrary to traditional library history taught in american schools of library and information science, the library, as an institution, and librarianship, as a profession, have their roots in ancient african society. African traditional religion african studies oxford. A follower of african diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. The religions practiced by the majority of people living in africa are christianity and islam.
African religions, religious beliefs and practices of the peoples of africa. African traditional religion and concepts of development. Christianity is the fulfilment, not of the law only, but of all that was truest and best in the religions of the ancient world. Cavallisforza, piazza, menozzi, and mountain 1988 have shown that considerable similarity exists between canns tree of genetic relationships and the tree of language groups, which hypothesizes that all the worlds languages can be traced to africa. But, on the other hand, between judaism and the coarsely polytheistic religion of babylonia, as also between christianity and the old egyptian faith,in spite of its high. The concept of god, divinities and spirits in african traditional religious ontology has been so misunderstood by many scholars to the point of seeing africans as people who did not know the supreme being nor worship him.
When we speak of african traditional religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the africans. Gender refers to the different roles that are assigned to males and females. For this entry, however, gender may be understood to refer to defined capacities and attributes assigned to persons based on their alleged sexual characteristics. It first studies the meaning of religion and africa, as basis for understanding african traditional religion. Axum was the first african kingdom to fully embrace christianity, and it. Some african religions adopted different views through the influence of islam or even hinduism. It is the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present africans, and which is being practised today in various forms and. Pdf african traditional religion in contemporary africa. Since the traditional african religions do not have a sacred text with prescribed doctrines, to study them. Unlike its western counterpart, traditional african medicine is said to take a holistic approach, which is based on the premise of interconnectedness, and often includes indigenous herbalism in its treatment. Their african eve conclusion may be supported by linguistic observations. However, there were many traditional religions practiced prior to the arrival of these two religions. In the middle of that millennium, the bantus also had settled in regions where modern day angola and the democratic republic of congo are today. African divinities took the forms of mountains, rivers, forests, the mother earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and ancestors.
How do african concepts of god relate to the god of the. African religions rituals, world, burial, body, funeral. There is a close relationship between birth and death. Ancient origins reconstructing the story of humanitys past. Religion is a controversial issue in world affairs. During the european dark ages, many ancient manuscripts were preserved in african libraries in places such as ethiopia and timbuctoo. African mythology myth encyclopedia god, story, legend. May 30, 2018 a great oral tradition assignment doc pdf the nok assignment doc pdf the phoenicians and carthage assignment doc pdf trade in ancient west africa assignment doc pdf ghana assignment doc pdf timbuktu assignment doc pdf mansa musa assignment doc pdf aksum assignment doc pdf the zimbabwe ruins assignment doc pdf prince henry the navagator assignment doc pdf maafa, colonialism. Idowu 1973 asserts that religion is mans intuition of the ultimate reality and expression of that awareness in concert life. African traditional religion is part of the religious heritage of. Aug 25, 20 ancient african religion finds roots in america african american followers of yoruba say it offers a spiritual path as well as a sense of cultural belonging. Religion enters into every aspect of the life of the africans and it cannot be studied in isolation. This is a 3hour summary lecture on the basic components of african traditional religions. List of books and articles about african religions online.
The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and. It should be noted that any attempt to generalize about the nature of african religions risks wrongly implying that there is homogeneity among all african cultures. For northcote 1969, religion in africa society permeates every facet of peoples life, including beliefs, values and traditions. Attributes of god refers to words or phrases ascribing traits, properties, qualities or characteristics to the supreme being. Gender and african religious traditions gender has been variously defined in diverse contexts. Western scholars, such as sir james frazier, had had a fascination with african religions, either from the scientific point of view, as a phenomenon to be studied, or from a missionary point of view. African spirituality is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the black conscious community. Traditional african religious beliefs and practices pew. West africa is the region of africa that is south of the sahara desert and extends from the atlantic ocean in the west to the benegal trough in the east.
They form, as it were, the background and preparation for judaism and christianity. African traditional religion, syncretism, market, religious pluralism. Traditional african religious practices, such as owning sacred objects. The plurality of the divinities with their varying powers, influence, hierarchy, territoriality, even within one ethnic group or community, says a lot about the african religions, worship, beliefs and practices. Traditional african religions generally believe in an afterlife, one or more spirit worlds, and ancestor worship is an important basic concept in mostly all african religions. Ancient egyptian religion it had its roots in egypts prehistory, and lasted for more than 3,000 years. Religion is often depicted as a trigger factor in many conflicts. This paper seeks to examine how africans conceive of the supreme being, divinities and spirits. Even in efforts to try to understand african religions, scholars have abstracted. Pdf african traditional religions stephen zvawanda academia. Indigenous african religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in africa. Traditional african religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age.
Welcome to the summary lecture of african traditional religions. The earliest written religious texts as well as the first documented monotheistic religion also developed in africa. Outside egypt, more in west africa, people seemed to worship one single god like the sky god or the rain god. 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. The earliest reference of religion in africa can be made in egypt. These figures represent people who primarily follow african traditional religion. Expanding the lens ifi amadiume in this exploratory essay, ifi amadiume, takes a critical look at the normative prescribed sexual practices as well as counter normative alternatives subversive alternatives to sexuality both in africa. Bilton 1977 describes religion as a system of belief about the individuals which. African traditional religion is a thriving scholarly business, but a serious disconnect exists between contributions that celebrate a generalized african traditional religion and those that describe particular religions and aspects of religion on the basis of ethnographic and archival research. African religion cannot be separated from daily life.