Divinities and ancestors have personalized annual festivals during which devotees and adepts offer sacrificial animals, libations, and favored foods to propitiate them. As in the Muslim pilgrimage, it is a solemn journey to the hilltop. 12. In my view, these common misconceptions are due to ill representation of the African culture. That is the case concerning issues Information was passed down mostly by oral communication in the form of folk tales. In times of crisis they often come to the surface, or people revert to them in secret.8. It was through this encounter that the Yoruba system of banking money in traditional pots kept underground in farms and forests began. It is a well-known fact that religion continues to play a central and vital role in the lives of African people. In this postcolonial period, it has come to be established that there is what we may call . However, western culture has blurred to an extent the lines between African tribes. Ceremonies of naming, rites of passage, death, and other calendrical rites embody, enact, and reinforce the sacred values communicated in myths. There is a general misconception that the entire people of North Africa speak Arabic. Religion occupies a reasonable space in the life of the traditional African/Igbo people. Thus, I have argued that religion should be examined not only as a sacred phenomenon, but also as a cultural and human reality, all the while remembering the importance of integrating the sociopolitical dimensions of religiosity into any examination of an African state. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Africa is the target of western stereotypes. This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. For many Africans, religion is a way of life that can never be separated from the public sphere, but instead informs everything in traditional African society, including politics, art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. I did ancestry and, This is the genuine list of best African president. Similarly, indigenous religion, worldviews, and rituals such as rites of passage and other religious performances are permeated by other religions, culture, and society in general. Similarly, although ancestors dwell inside the earth, their activities also interject into human life, which is why they are referred to as the living dead.13 African cosmologies, therefore, portray the universe as a fluid, active, and impressionable space, with agents from each realm bearing the capabilities of traveling from one realm to another at will. . 14. a. newly birthed babies. Yes, poverty is an issue in Africa. Later in my academic life, I explored theoretical issues at the national level, showing how Nigerian civil religionan invisible faithprovided a template for assessing how we fared at nation building, allowing the symbols of Nigerian nationhood to take on religious significance for the Nigerian public above and beyond any particular cultural communities of faith.17 I do not want to be misunderstood here. They tend to propagate peaceful coexistence, and they promote good relations with members of other religious traditions that surround them. 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. Indigenous African religions are not based on conversion like Islam and Christianity. All over the continent, cosmological myths describe a complicated process, whether the universe evolves from preexisting objects or from Gods mere thought or speech. Courtesy Of Stevenson, Amsterdam/Cape Town/Johannesburg. A primary goal of parenting is to transmit values, beliefs and ideas around lifestyles based on cultural knowledge of the adult tasks and competencies needed for appropriate functioning in society (Gershoff, 2002; Harrison, Wilson, Pine, Chon & Buriel, 1990). Theres a globally shared perspective of Africa being full of diseases. Fact: One-third of Moroccans and one-quarter of Algerians do not speak Arabic as their first language. By Jacob K. Olupona. But Ifa divination predates Western modernity. Apart from the different languages, every tribe and culture have their way of dressing too. Voodoo is a religion that originates in Africa. Initially, Christian missionaries and propagators of Islam assumed that indigenous religion would eventually fizzle out, while Islam and Christianity would dominate the African religious scene. African traditional religious beliefs in East Africa. Even in areas of Zimbabwe with easy access to Western-type delivery care, the majority of women are cared for and delivered by traditional birth attendants who are members of their extended family. That is why we have freewill, and regardless of whether we choose to acknowledge that a living God exists or not, and regardless of how we choose to worship Him, directly or through deities, we will all be eventually accountable. 3. Portia Zvavahera, His Presence, 2013, oil-based printing ink on paper. In whatever way it happens, African cosmological narratives are similarly complex, unsystematized, and multivariate, and they are the bedrock for indigenous value systems. 4.8 out of 5 stars. Today, several myths are mixed with facts in describing African traditional religion. Rather, institutional religion continues to grow in relevance and in the national imagination, whether its invocations are part of conversations concerning nation building, Maitatsine and Boko Haram violence, the secularism debate, the Sharia debate, the question of Islamic banking, or the role of the Organization of Islamic Conference. They still hold onto their traditional beliefs, culture, and practices, but consider western values superior to theirs. Again, this isnt true. Most importantly, the rite itself should not be condemned together with circumcision or female genital mutilation. In many African countries a range of beliefs and attitudes underpin these alternative explanations. One reason that might account for the gap in African history is the unavailability of any written document. Apart from a few instances in West Africa, where women actually ruled as kings, the designation queen was not often used in isolation from the position itself (which was defined in male terms). Religious contexts are shaped and determined by the identity of these religions. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Thank you for this interesting essay on African religion. South Africa, as a member state of the World Health Organisation, has been set on the path of institutionalising African traditional medicine. The scope of the study is 1877-when Christianity was first introduced in Uganda to 1962 when Uganda got her independence; the period when Christian missionaries lost influence together with the colonial rulers. Without relevant knowledge, stereotypes are unavoidable. First, there is a supreme being who created the universe and every living and nonliving thing to be found within the universe. 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. Traditional African religion has common themes such as a Creator or High God, positive ancestor influences as well as tricksters, and an afterlife with spirit worlds. African Religion is not Ancestor Worship. An article by BBC explains why Nigeria is a global leader in the Bitcoin trade. Such dismissal has been based on the misconception and assumption that indigenous Bapedi . Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. Africans combine a belief in the existence of a omnipresent and omnipotent supreme god, with multitudes of subordinate deities. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. For instance, the Asante people of Ghana see twins as sacred beings. Oct. 24, 2019. In most African cultures, history and beliefs have been explained and passed on through oral traditions and storytelling. Voodoo has no scripture or world authority. the earlier idea was that African Traditional Religion was incompatible with monotheism. Hence to call African traditional religion ancestral worship would cause problems in the study of ATR. John Mbiti in his book African Religion and Philosophy, argued that African Religion deserves the same respect as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. The absence of centralized and unified cosmologies indicates the multifaceted nature of African religious life and worldviews. Photo: Pinterest. Africa is given the image of a place that is hot and sunny all year round. Please confirm you want to block this member. Gender dynamics are important in African indigenous religions and in cultural systems, so much so that women goddesses and women-invented rituals are commonplace. In fact, we should not misunderstand the notoriety in some people's religious life, just like While scholars have often argued that African indigenous accounts of creation were ex nihilo (created out of nothing), as the biblical account of creation is often portrayed,12 African cosmological narratives generally indicate that there is never one pattern governing how creation happens. The story of Mary Slessor and the killing of twins is popular. 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. While some Christian mission historians, such as J. D. Y. Peel, for example, correctly argue that the Yoruba had their own enlightenment (Olaju), this is always presented in the context of Christian conversion and is very much tied to the escalating Christian missionary movement. Women play a key role in the practice of these traditions, and the internal gender relations and dynamics are very profound. It is practiced around the world but there is no accurate count of how many people are Voodooists. Myths, folklores proverbs therefore become the major sources of African philosophy (Jaja, 1995:28). 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. Representation matters, and as scholars we have a responsibility to advocate for religions in their contexts. African dance occupies central place in cultures throughout the African continent, embodying energy and a graceful beauty flowing with rhythm. Most are watered-down versions of what was truly a thriving civilization. African people do not worship their deceased relatives or ancestors. Esu was represented as a stone mound in the front yard of ancient Yoruba compounds. African Vibes is a one-stop global platform that connects the African diaspora to opportunities for growth, development, and social impact in Africa. This is a testament to the strong morals and principles of the African tradition. They held the view that twins were a symbol of excessive fertility which is a characteristic of animals. When I told him I am a twin (Ibeji) in Yoruba traditionand in principle a sacred being myselfhe almost fell on the floor to pay homage! European theorists are important, and we need to know and understand them to engage in serious global cultural dialogue, but this does not mean that we should discard our traditions as noninterpretive traditions limited merely to ethnographic illustrations. When Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was released, it generated both curiosity and criticism for its portrayal of Christianity. Now it is our turn to Africanize it.. In digging up facts I found that, while many Africans say that homosexuality is un-African, African culture is no stranger to homosexual behaviours and acts. Also, about 30 % of the earths remaining mineral resources are in Africa. African religions are, therefore, a praxis, and this is where the focus of study should mostly be directed. Myth #2. A porous border exists between the human realm and the sky, which belongs to the gods. Another misbelief about Africa is that all Africans are the same. Religion creates a significant part of African life. Also, poverty is mostly concentrated among few nations in Africa or within few regions of each Nation. To the outside world, however, far too much of . . These are also stories about how the world was put into place by a divine power, usually a supreme god, but in collaboration with other lesser supernatural beings or deities, who act on his behalf or aid in the creative process.11 The mechanisms and techniques of creation vary from story to story and from one tradition to another. Each of these has its peculiar characteristics. African religions, religious beliefs and practices of the peoples of Africa. 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. .entry-morefrom {display: none !important} Some biblical cosmological narratives have parallels in African cosmogony, for example, when the Supreme Being summons the hosts of heaven and declares to them, Come let us make man in our own image. This same script appears in the creation of the Yoruba world, when Olodumare designates to the Orisa (deities), the job of creating the universe. Wherever the African is, there is his religion: he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new crop; he takes it with him to the beer party or to attend a funeral ceremony;. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Traditional African religions have gone global! These countries are often very hot. Introduction. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. What is fascinating about this odu (Ifa text) is that it supports a key and cardinal principle of Ifa traditionthat we seek counsel first, before we perform divination (Imoram la nda ki a to da Ifa). The expression is also used almost as a technical term for a particular reading of such beliefs and practices, one that purports . Marriage customs in Africa vary from one tribe to another. Such an approach should endeavor to provide not only an awareness of sociocultural contexts but also to narrate the historical dimensions of these traditions. Perhaps this is linked to the idea that Africa has an inadequate or substandard health care system. The African roots of Voodoo may stretch back over 6000 years, making it one of the world's oldest ancestral traditions. The diviner, therefore, is also a counselor, psychologist, medicine man or woman, and the spiritual guardian of villages and towns. /* 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. This corrective scholarship and critical intervention helped to redefine African worldviews and spirituality and, as such, showed how African religion is pivotal to the individual and communal existence of the people. Yet in the scholarship on the history of religions, indigenous African religions were never considered a substantive part of the worlds religious traditions, because they failed to fulfill certain criteria defined by axial age civilization. Privileged European scholars denied the agency of African religions and singled outand thereby controlledAfrican identity. Temperature varies from one country to another depending on the climate type. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. All Religions has truth hidden in them for those who objectively seek them through the path of the religion. Therefore, this article will explore African spirituality, traditional religion, culture and the present way of life. This is the popular assumption amongst many African theologians of which Maluleke (1994) is one example. A classic example is how the Ifa divination text of the Yoruba provides deep commentary on the practice of Islam by the Yoruba people, such as the hajj tradition. Africans are eager to learn new skills and embrace new technologies. Mary Slessor is accredited to ending this savage act in ancient Calabar, Nigeria. Understanding African Traditional Religion. Every tribe and culture have their beliefs and way of life. The colonial masters brought with them a new religion which they believe to be superior to African traditional religion. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. Manage Settings This misconception has, in some scholars, matured into prejudice and resilient skepticism about the African's ability to grasp the concept of God. Consequently, despite all of Christianity and Islams claims to dominance and their propagandist machinery in demonizing indigenous religion, African religion still provides significant meaning to African existence in many ways. On the continent early modernizers assumed that African religion was part of the problem of the antimodernity project and that uprooting African indigenous religion would auger well for the modern African state. It is the foundation on which the morals of pre-colonial Africa were built. Many centuries ago, Ifa must have envisaged the possibility of Boko Harams Islamic extremist movement ravaging Nigeria today. Inasmuch as androcentric authority is more prominent within social structures and systems and patriarchy is more pronounced in the social order, women are considered the cornerstone of the African family system.19 The African mother is a vibrant life force, central to African religious understandings of the interrelatedness between the human and the divine, as she embodies the production and sustaining of life. Courtesy of Stevenson, Amsterdam/Cape Town/Johannesburg. The idea that Africa is unsafe while statistics say otherwise shows how much misconception there is about Africa. The more modern incarnation of this ancient African religionVoodooemerged as a unique blend of Catholic and African magical and religious rites. Giving opportunity to stereotypes like Africa are poor and Africa is corrupt. On the other hand, countries like South Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia sometimes experience snowfalls. They provide the orientation for the human life journey by defining the rites of passage from life to death. In fact, Africa is a vast continent encompassing both geographic variation and tremendous cultural diversity. In many African communities, ____________ are qualified to navigate the delicate moral and social balance between the good and evil forces exerted on the human realm. there is a diversity of religion in Africa; rather, it is the extent of that diversity and the degree to which the term 'African traditional religion' might misleadingly mask both that extent and the mutability of the forms it encompasses. Space constraints permit me to cite only one example. Indigenous African religions contain a great deal of wisdom and insight on how human beings can best live within and interact with the environment. African leaders are also investing heavily in diversifying the economy. These traditions are not religious principles, but a cultural identity that is passed on through stories, myths and tales. Here Is What You Have To Know. those misconceptions and misrepresentations of the facts pre sented by Eurocent . Investors are moving to take advantage of the African market. Thank you. Benin Is Getting Back 26 Of Its Looted Artifacts from The Colonial Era. Earlier researchers and missionaries portrayed them often as primitive and barbaric and ridiculed them [I give many examples in my book: White Fathers in Colonial Central Africa - a Critical Examination of V.Y. African religions should be studied on their own terms, examined through their own frames rather than set in a Judeo-Christian framework. . 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. Whatever it is, the assumption that Africa is lacking innovation is laughable. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Africa is the second-largest continent in the world. He clarifies that there is a close relationship between all things with one reality, and no distinction between physical and spiritual, adding that meaning in life is derived from unity. As the late African historian Cheikh Anta Diop argued, matriarchy was embedded in the African way of life. 9 years ago. Another generalization about Africa is that they are all corrupt. 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. 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. Examples are mobile innovations such as Flutterwave, Sproxil, and Paystack. d. politics, everyday life. In the primordial era, various forms of ethnic indigenous religions spread across the African continent, providing cohesive foundations of nations, peoples, and religious worldviews. My earlier scholarship was propelled by the insight that the ideology and rituals of Yoruba sacred kingship are what define Yoruba civil religion and, indeed, the center of Yoruba identity.15 Sociologist Robert Bellah understands civil religion as the sacred principle and central ethic that unites a people, without which societies cannot function.16 Civil religion incorporates common myths, history, values, and symbols that relate to a societys sense of collective identity. African traditional religions are structured very differently from Western religions in that there is relatively little formal structure. Priests, priestesses, and diviners are among the authorities who perform religious ceremonies, but the hierarchical structure is often very loose. It goes a long way to show that information is power and the way a story is told matters a lot. They are less concerned with doctrines and much more so with rituals, ceremonies, and lived practices. During the era of Western religious and cultural encounters in Yorubaland, some children were named Oguntoyibo, signifying Ogun (god of war and iron) is as powerful as the European god. Some children received names such as Ifatoyinbo, Ifa is as powerful as the white mans god. Such names and concepts illustrate the force and creative resistance of indigenous thought and its ability to engage Western modernity in rigorous debate. So, while Africans easily adopt Western traditions, will the West also be willing to adopt African traditions? An example is the Ancient Benin Kingdom, known for its impressive artwork which is now scattered across the world. Fact: Slaves were always subject to torture, sexual exploitation, and arbitrary . 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. 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. 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. Like Mbiti and Green, Magesa notes that the world of African Traditional Religion is a hierarchically ordered place where, God is seen as the Great ancestor, the first Founder and the Progenitor, the Giver of Life behind everything that exists. have recognized the important ways in which "African" and "religion" are western constructs involving both misconceptions and changing perceptions, especially concerning religion (Ray:2000). Little wonder John Mbiti, a famous African theologian said, Wherever the African is, there is his religion. There are quite a number of revival groups and movements whose main aim is to ensure that the tenants and practice of African indigenous religion that are threatened survive. Lets take the killing of twins as a case study. Using the qualitative historical research . Divination enables us to recognize how indigenous traditions have a foundation upon which knowledge and knowledge production is developed. 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. Your email address will not be published. Bolaji Idowu, John Mbiti, Wande Abimbola, Benjamin Ray, Gabriel Setiloane, Laura Grillo, Aloysius Lugira, Kofi Asare Opoku, Emefie Ikenga-Metuh, Charles Long, and others attempted to imbue African traditions with the vitality, status, and identity that is now finally recognized. For one thing, a sizable number of African myths deal with events considered to have actually happened as narrated by the people themselves or as reformulated into symbolic expressions of historical events. A place that is hot and sunny all year round remaining mineral resources are in vary! Of which Maluleke ( 1994 ) is one example sunny all year round terms, examined through their frames... Way of life also investing heavily in diversifying the economy, has been based the! Omnipotent supreme god, with multitudes of subordinate deities global leader in the lives of religious. Absence of centralized and unified cosmologies indicates the multifaceted nature of African religions and singled outand controlledAfrican..., traditional religion extremist movement ravaging Nigeria today it misconceptions about african traditional religion a long way to show that Information is power the. Culture and the present way of life, it has come to us in the trade... Encounter that the Yoruba system of banking money in traditional pots kept underground in and! Statistics say otherwise shows how much misconception there is what we may call hotly contested practice by. African president ( 1994 ) is one example gender relations and dynamics are very profound to them Information passed... 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