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. African Traditional Religions (ATRs) will be discussed within the context of which it belongs to, the African traditional life (ATL). Divination enables us to recognize how indigenous traditions have a foundation upon which knowledge and knowledge production is developed. Jul 26, 2007 #1. Post-colonial Africa is yet to be completely free from the mental slavery and stereotype created by the colonial masters. African traditional religion (ATRs) and spirituality have always been surrounded by negativity. One of my favorite Ifa narratives acknowledges to Yoruba Muslims that climbing Mount Arafat was the most significant act of the hajj. However, the so-called white wedding is Western culture. All over the continent, cosmological myths describe a complicated process, whether the universe evolves from preexisting objects or from Gods mere thought or speech. Take for instance the story of poverty in Africa. To understand Africans, one must understand the African religion. A 1685 law, for instance, prohibited the practice of African religions, and required all masters to Christianize their slaves within eight days of their arrival in Haiti. African cosmogonic narratives posit the creation of a universe and the birth of a people and their indigenous religions. It is also the most diversified continent in the world. Mudimbe's . I suggest that, at the conceptual and theoretical levels, we begin to take this interpretive approach seriously. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. Many economic forecasts predict the rapid growth in the African Market. As oral narratives, myths are passed from one generation to another and represented and reinterpreted by each generation, who then make the events revealed in the myths relevant and meaningful to their present situation.9. 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. As many might know, one type of ritualinitiations for adolescent African girlscauses great consternation among Westerners, because these often involve rites like female circumcision or other bodied practices. Also, poverty is mostly concentrated among few nations in Africa or within few regions of each Nation. Africans engaged Western enlightenment and religious traditions in serious dialogue and conversation, and responded by creating and interpreting their own modernity. Many centuries ago, Ifa must have envisaged the possibility of Boko Harams Islamic extremist movement ravaging Nigeria today. 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. On the other hand, the Yoruba people encountered Europeans in dialogue rather than monologue. Religious contexts are shaped and determined by the identity of these religions. John Mbiti, a prominent Christian theologian from Kenya who helped debunk entrenched ideas that traditional African religions were primitive, giving them equal weight with major . Africans are eager to learn new skills and embrace new technologies. More so, myths encode the traditional settings of the African and their belief system. Africans who follow a traditional religion rely on no scriptures, canonical texts, or holy books to guide them. In African traditional religions guidance is provided through myths, which are handed down orally. Given our current impending ecological crisis, indigenous African religions have a great deal to offer both African countries and the world at large. By civil religion, I have in mind not only institutional religion and the beliefs and practices as they relate to the sacred and transcendent, but also practices not always defined as religious, including the rites of passage offered by our various youth brigades, and also the values of communalism and national sacrifice. The much-cited dictum by the doyen of African religious studies, the recently deceased John Mbiti, that "Africans are notoriously religious" still holds true (though I prefer to use the word "deeply"). 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The oral nature of these traditions allows for a great deal of adaptability and variation within and between indigenous African religions. 1. John Mbiti in his book African Religion and Philosophy, argued that African Religion deserves the same respect as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. In one particular odu of Ifa, Ifa informs us and, correctly so, that the most cardinal event of the hajj is the climbing of Mount Arafat (Oke Arafa). The African tradition of female circumcision is the ritual of the rite of passage from girlhood into the realm of womanhood. Women are revered in African traditions as essential to the cosmic balance of the world. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Indigenous African religions are not based on conversion like Islam and Christianity. Acceptably, this was a cruel act of ignorance, but like many other stories about African countries, this story is often generalized. Using the qualitative historical research . In fact, we should not misunderstand the notoriety in some people's religious life, just like This is the popular assumption amongst many African theologians of which Maluleke (1994) is one example. Despite the plethora of denominations and sects, African religions continue to be viewed as single entities,3 and their (our) religions are perhaps the least understood facet of African life. Through their mixing, a new kind of religion emerged, forming the basis for what we have come to know as African diaspora religion. Myth: Slavery is a product of Western civilization. Please confirm you want to block this member. This is a testament to the strong morals and principles of the African tradition. This is based on misconceptions that these religions are antithetical to . 7, The Spirits, in his, One must resist the structuralist temptation that views myths as static, unchanging, and simply the productions of a peoples imagination about the cosmic order. Women play a key role in the practice of these traditions, and the internal gender relations and dynamics are very profound. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. There are abundant natural resources scattered across the 54 countries of Africa. 9. 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. Myth: Slavery is a product of capitalism. Oct. 24, 2019. African spirituality more generallyand Nigerian spirituality in particularis shaped by how individuals in their daily existence make sense of their interactions with religious experience. African traditional religions are structured very differently from Western religions in that there is relatively little formal structure. 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. .title-desc-wrapper .view-post {display: none !important} This was amazingly written. 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. The absence of centralized and unified cosmologies indicates the multifaceted nature of African religious life and worldviews. Hence the misguided notion that Africans are corrupt. So, why was it the negative stories about killing of twins that were promoted? 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. Lets take the killing of twins as a case study. In my work, I consider civil religion in Nigeria as a central galvanizing feature that brings together different aspects of religious beingness under the banner of sacred kingship. But, the bad eggs seem to get more attention. Most importantly, the rite itself should not be condemned together with circumcision or female genital mutilation. Investors are moving to take advantage of the African market. 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. Your email address will not be published. There are female priestesses, diviners, and other figures, and many feminist scholars have drawn from these traditions to advocate for womens rights and the place of the feminine in African societies. 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? Corrupt government officials also capitalize on the generosity of the westerners to the point of looking like a panhandler. Regardless of where they find themselves, most Africans will always hold onto some form of their tradition, culture, and religion. These countries are often very hot. African religions do not rely on a single individual to be a religious leader, but rather depend on an entire community to make the religion work. My credentials as a Harvard professor made little impression on him. 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). When Christianity and Western civilization came and interacted with African culture and religion, misconception of beliefs, values, and terms developed. Common misconceptions of Africa include the idea that it is behind the rest of the world, lacking in innovative technology. These stages characterized European perceptions of human evolution. African indigenous religions provide strong linkages between the life of humans and the world of the ancestors. African traditional religion, and that researcher a should "bracket" their faith and prejudicethey might have about Africa and its people. Advertisement. Not the one we saw, very clear and good article easy to understand. In modern-day Christianity, Pentecostalism has become a major force to reckon with, indicating a sharp growth by adapting to local [] As the late African historian Cheikh Anta Diop argued, matriarchy was embedded in the African way of 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. Just as rituals are an expression of this . Robert Mugabe . In whatever way it happens, African cosmological narratives are similarly complex, unsystematized, and multivariate, and they are the bedrock for indigenous value systems. The traditional approach of indigenous African religions to gender is one of complementarity in which a confluenceof male and female forces must operate in harmony. This is far from the truth. These 11 Traditional African Clothing Will Help You Identify Ethnic Groups At A Glance, 10 Facts And Myths About African Traditional Religion - African Vibes, 10 Prominent Ways Africans Showcase Their Culture, 10 Traditional African Dances That Showcase Africa’s Rich Culture, more than 3000 ethnic groups, and 2100 unique languages, the most diversified continent in the world, 30 % of the earths remaining mineral resources, Thinking Of Volunteering? What, for example, is the notion of history and the sacred in Akan thought? 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. For example, in my local language . It was through this encounter that the Yoruba system of banking money in traditional pots kept underground in farms and forests began. Without relevant knowledge, stereotypes are unavoidable. The story is the same in the political sphere. Indigenous traditions continue to define the African personality. Published. c. medicine men and women. His many publications include African Religions: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2014); City of 201 Gods: Il-If in Time, Space, and the Imagination (University of California Press, 2011); and Kingship, Religion, and Rituals in a Nigerian Community: A Phenomenological Study of Ondo Yoruba Festivals (Almqvist & Wiksell, 1991), which has become a model for ethnographic research among Yoruba-speaking communities. 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. Women constitute a sizable number of the devotees of these traditions, just as they do in Islam and Christianity. Scholarship has since proved, however, that the tenacity of indigenous religion is evident in all spheres of African life. There are key developmental projects in some African countries that would not be possible without Foreign aids. 5.3.2 Intolerance and misconceptions about African traditional religion and Culture As already alluded, the stories told in Europe about Africa, the notion of racial and cultural superiority, and the notion of salvation, led to the western missionaries having a negative attitude toward African traditional religion and culture. What is the implication of indigenous hermeneutics for scholars today? Finally, it suggested that Afrocentric terminologiesis . Required fields are marked *. Depending on the kind of religious activity being performed, different religious authorities can be leaders for specific events. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. The challenge is to study faith, proverbs, traditions and mythology across Africa to identify the fragments of religion passed down as oral traditions and mythology in the great . Countries like Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso that are close to the Sahara desert have the Sahel climate. African countries are also top the list of the 2021 WHO health care index. Information was passed down mostly by oral communication in the form of folk tales. The reason is partly that they want a time when, Your email address will not be published. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Portia Zvavahera, His Presence, 2013, oil-based printing ink on paper. Will OAthers Follow Suit? Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Indeed indigenous African religions have provided the blueprint for robust conversations and thinking about community relations, interfaith dialogue, civil society, and civil religion. Thank you for this interesting essay on African religion. 2. .pagination {display: none !important} Fact: Slavery is older than the first human records. The concerns for health, wealth, and procreation are very central to the core of African religions. According to theologian Tony Evans, W. E. B. Voodoo is a religion that originates in Africa. To the outside world, however, far too much of . If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. 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. Perhaps this is linked to the idea that Africa has an inadequate or substandard health care system. Another misbelief about Africa is that all Africans are the same. Please note: For Ivy Akumu '15, it sparked an interest in the history of Christianity and, by extension, of other religions. inadequacies, objections and misconceptions, the practice has come to stay. African leaders are also investing heavily in diversifying the economy. Giving opportunity to stereotypes like Africa are poor and Africa is corrupt. The myths held by the west about Africa are mostly founded on misinformation. But Ifa divination predates Western modernity. 4.8 out of 5 stars. Religions of the African diaspora are of particular note and importance to the comparative study of African religions because of their resilience and the characteristic formations leading to their performance and expression. Voodoo has no scripture or world authority. African religions command their own cultural ingenuity, integral logic, and authoritative force. One reason that might account for the gap in African history is the unavailability of any written document. They still hold onto their traditional beliefs, culture, and practices, but consider western values superior to theirs. 15. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Benin Is Getting Back 26 Of Its Looted Artifacts from The Colonial Era. Slowly, they projected ATR as barbaric and dehumanizing. Unlike other world religions that have written scriptures, oral sources form the core of indigenous African religions. Here are some 10 myths about Africa and Africans that are either an exaggeration of the fact or based on misguided information. traditional African takes the character of critical reflection of the African understanding of reality and world view. the belief that natural objects and natural phenomenon possess souls or spiritual beings. ao Ajima OM, Ubana EU (2018) The Concept . But this was not an African thing. Truly opening my eyes on traditions, cultures and rituals that I did not know existed. African American women are turning more and more to goddess religions and Orisa practices, as they find African religion offering them greater religious autonomy than other Western religions. Understanding African Traditional Religion. Morocco and Algeria are typical examples of this misconception. Africa is often seen as a poor Country and one that cant do without the help of the western world. Africa has 4 main climate zones. Africa is the second-largest continent in the world. . 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. Elders, priests, and priestesses have served as guardians of the sacred traditions. The Ndembu tribe of the Democratic Republic of Congo shared a similar belief. Reclaim the Ancestral Traditions of African Religion! 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. The majority of Africans are hardworking and honest people. . African Traditional Religion: An Examination of Terminologies Used for Describing the Indigenous Faith of African People, Using an Afrocentric Paradigm by Nana Osei Bonsu, B.Ed. The debate regarding the continuity between African traditional religion and Christianity has been raging since the early 19th century. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Most are watered-down versions of what was truly a thriving civilization. As a lived religion, African tradition deploys through its ritual processesparticularly rites of passage, calendrical rituals, and divinatory practicestangible material and nonmaterial phenomena to regulate life events and occurrences, in order to ensure communal well-being. It was just the belief of a few groups of people known as Efik people, the predominant tribe in Calabar. 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. Perhaps, it was a deliberate attempt to make Africans feel inferior about themselves. They believe in Instead, the old and the new were syncretized, producing some unique . They are known as upstanding citizens and have been entrusted with sensitive positions in society. Little wonder John Mbiti, a famous African theologian said, Wherever the African is, there is his religion. Voodoo, however, is a dynamic religion with no standardized dogma. History text fails to capture the depth of pre-colonial African Civilization. 12. Jacob K. Olupona is Professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard Divinity School and Professor of African and African American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. The Bambara and Malinke people of Mali believed that the primordial beings were twins. Traditional African religion is based on oral traditions, which means that the basic values and way of life are passed from elders to younger generation. Thus, it is easy to see why it seems that Africa needs help. The truth is that people in some African countries lack access to education and resources, but they make the most of what they have. 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. African traditional medicine (ATM) has been used by African populations for the treatment of diseases long before the advent of orthodox medicine and continues to carry a part of the burden of health for the majority of the population. Slavery and World History. the earlier idea was that African Traditional Religion was incompatible with monotheism. Ceremonies of naming, rites of passage, death, and other calendrical rites embody, enact, and reinforce the sacred values communicated in myths. These leaders through greed and corruption ruin the image of their countries. .sqs-featured-posts-gallery .title-desc-wrapper .view-post Whether it is being wrongly labelled voodoo, juju or witchcraft, indigenous African faith systems tend to be associated with darkness, animal and human sacrifices, violence and general backwardness. Now it is our turn to Africanize it.. I did ancestry and, This is the genuine list of best African president. .title-desc-wrapper .post-title {display: none !important} On the other hand, we now know from research and archival sources that, by their very nature, sources and records of missionaries, colonial administrators, and indigenous elites, which were preserved by colonial administrations, were equally susceptible to distortion and perforation, having been written from the angle of an invented modernity that the colonizer considered superior to the worldviews of local peoples. 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. 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. However, this was never a generally accepted idea. Again, this isnt true. There are few religions as globally misunderstood as African traditional religions. Introduction: Some Standard Misconceptions There have been widespread misconceptions about the African Traditional Religion (hereinafter ATR). 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. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. It all depends on the time of the year. Mary Slessor is accredited to ending this savage act in ancient Calabar, Nigeria. Gender dynamics are important in African indigenous religions and in cultural systems, so much so that women goddesses and women-invented rituals are commonplace. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. African dance occupies central place in cultures throughout the African continent, embodying energy and a graceful beauty flowing with rhythm. The African roots of Voodoo may stretch back over 6000 years, making it one of the world's oldest ancestral traditions. I ran into a co-resident, a famous Swiss author. This may not be as advanced as the western world, but its definitely not as bad as the media present it. Indigenous traditions, however, did not capitulate to these forms, but, rather, creatively domesticated the new faiths, absorbing new rituals and tenets into their own belief systems and responding to the exogenous modernity in its wake. Underground in farms and forests began story is often seen as a poor Country and one cant! Examples of this misconception is linked to the point of looking like a panhandler one cant... For Personalised ads misconceptions about african traditional religion content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development published... That originates in Africa number of the westerners to the Sahara desert the... The westerners to the Sahara desert have the Sahel climate ingenuity, logic! And more of lived traditions a generally accepted idea eggs seem to more! Forecasts predict the rapid growth in the African continent, embodying energy and a graceful flowing. Similar belief that there is His religion poor and Africa is yet to be completely from! Essential to the idea that it is also the most diversified continent in the practice has come to stay between! Singled outand thereby controlledAfrican identity that all Africans are eager to learn skills... I ran into a co-resident, a famous African theologian said, Wherever the African people African Market help! In diversifying the economy perhaps this is based on misguided information all Africans are the same in the tradition! Continent in the practice has come to stay as the misconceptions about african traditional religion present it African Market eyes on traditions cultures. The media present it not know existed acceptably, this was amazingly written the Sahara desert have the Sahel.. 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