All life, power, and existence flow from God, and by right of their primogeniture and proximity to God by death God has granted the ancestors a qualitatively more powerful life force over their descendants. Who constitutes the world of the ancestors? This is the kind of interlocutor who will counter an observation about violent militancy in contemporary Islam in the context, let us say, of a discussion about Boko Haram with But what about the Crusades? 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. Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor, C.S.Sp., is Professor of moral theology, the theology of the world church, and Africana studies at the University of Notre Dame. . During the early churchs initial expansion phase where congregations were established in Syria, Asia Minor, Achaia, Italy and Africa there were strong leadership structures in Alexandria, Carthage, Neo religious movements is a term often used to describe a wide range of movements that developed in the tail end of the 19 century (the 1960s and 1970s). The commitment to theory, 2. However, the reasons for the growth of Christianity in Africa significantly include the way the Africans have attempted to deal with their threatening fears, especially witchcraft. To ensure that a natural balance is maintained between the world of the sacred and that of the profane, the roles of the chief within the state, family elders in relation to the lineage, and the priest within society, are crucial. Additionally, I will not discourage, disparage, or try and convert those who practice their form of African indigenous religions. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Indigenous African practices tend to be strongest in the central states of Africa, but some form of their practices and beliefs can be found almost anywhere in Africa. February 21, 2019. That testifies to the enduring power of indigenous religion and its ability to domesticate Christianity and Islam in modern Africa. 1 Their central thrust is to emphasize the similarities rather than the differences between current movements in the world religions, particularly Christianity and Islam, but degree at Harvard Divinity School. Pentecostalism and Shamanism in Asia and Beyond, A Critical Analysis of Byang Kato's Demonology and Its Theological Relevance for an Evangelical Demonology, INITIATION IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION, Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Kirsteen Kim, Amos Yong: Interdisciplinary and Religio-Cultural Discourses on a Spirit-Filled World, Encounter - Journal of African Life and Religion, 12 (2017), REGNUM STUDIES IN MISSION Pentecostal Mission and Global Christianity An Edinburgh Centenary Reader, Van Rheenen, Gailyn: Missions - biblical foundations. Corrections? Ritual functionaries include priests, elders, rainmakers, diviners, and prophets. This paper uses a qualitative research approach in the form of document analysis to critically explore the religious intersectionalities between Christianity and African Traditional. 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 One is also sometimes givena new name after baptism. Mbiti emphasizes that Africans view the universe religiously. Again, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings. Part two provides a condensed historical survey of the, The Bible and the Third World: Precolonial, Colonial and Postcolonial Encounters, by R. S. Sugirtharajah. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors. The Spirit medium is in many ways a subordinate agency within the layer of retributive order. The voice and action of the spirit medium connect the community with these moral and spiritual entities who help shape human destiny. 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. Dependence here functions like a two-way street, with the dead needing continued respect from and support by the living, and the living needingat least benign neutrality on the part of the dead. Most African communities offered animals and not humans as sacrifices. Christianity forbids human sacrifices in worshipas it is murder. People may complain to God and the ancestors, but they will never accuse them of any moral wrongdoing. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. The recipient of many prestigious academic honors and research fellowships, Olupona also received the 20152016 Reimar Lust Award for International and Cultural Exchange, considered one of Germanys most prestigious academic honors. In lieu of these traditional African ways of defining oneself, Christianity and Islam are gradually creating a social identity in Africa that cuts across these indigenous African religious and social identities. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers. <> A network of mutual relationships and responsibilities links the duals worlds of the mundane and the sacred. A Background to Religion and Magic in Western Thought Our modern usage of the term 'magic' derives from the Greek magike, OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa. Conflict is a universal phenomenon that is inevitable in human interaction. Total loading time: 0 Christianity, African traditional religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. It also taps into a common lay attitude to what might be called a secular common sense, which feels impatience or distaste for all forms of what it considers religious extremism, while at the same time shying away from regarding any one religion as more prone to extremism than others. Christ was tempted in all the ways Marshall, Ruth A Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, by Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. GAZETTE: How have ancestors played a role in traditional societies? 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. All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 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. This order, established by God, guides the functioning of the universe, preventing it from falling into chaos; and it ensures the continuance of life and the universe itself. Its about getting tangible results. Just as within the traditional political and diplomatic contexts, one cannot formally contact the king without the agency of his linguists or sub-chiefs. Exodus 20:3-5 tells us not to make or worship images ofanything in heaven or on earth. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. These included interviews he conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called witches and delivered witches. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. 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. Odozor's Morality Truly Christian, Truly Africanpublished by theUniversity of Notre Dame Press. Keywords: contextualization . 1630-1633), HEBREWS' CHRISTOLOGY AND ITS CONTEMPORARY APPREHENSION IN AFRICA 1, New Mind, New Heart, New Strength (A Paradigm on the New Man), Dissertation ETD Libermann and EA in Dialogue Dec 2013, Pentecostalism and Shamanism in Asia and Beyond: An Inter-disciplinary Analysis. endobj Traditional Africans believed in the power of magic and medicinemen. African spirituality simply acknowledges that beliefs and practices touch on and inform every facet of human life, and therefore African religion cannot be separated from the everyday or mundane. the other in tradition poses a serious dilemma for both Christianity and tradition in Africa. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. Second, Africans believe in a moral order given by God, stipulated by the ancestors in the past. 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. 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. It is worth noting that these animals areat no time offered as burnt offerings to God. Those to whom this power is accessible can use it for good, such as healing, rainmaking, or divination, while others can use it for harm, through magic, witchcraft, and sorcery. All rights reserved. The Yoruba diviners, for example, draw on this extensive indigenous knowledge every day by consulting Ifa, an extensive literary corpus of information covering science, medicine, cosmology, and metaphysics. (Hebrews 1:1,Matthew 5:17,Exodus 34:10-28). Africans had shrines they believedGod dwelt in. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. $70.00/$25.00. %PDF-1.5 They form a chain through the links of which the forces of the elders [now with the community] exercise their vitalizing influence on the living generation. For Magesa, the ancestors are primarily authority figures whose being implies moral activity in that they are the maintainers and enforcers of norms of social action. Although they are entrusted with these roles in their relationship with humans, any capriciousness of the ancestors is not taken kindly by the living, just as it would not be acceptable from any elder in society. The ancestors are beyond reproach. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. I told my father that I was coming home, he recalled. Witchcraft has been a prevailing belief in African cultures and has continually posed problems for the African people groups. Barrenness is, therefore, considered a great misfortune because it prevents ancestors from returning to life. The other very big difference between African Traditional Religion and Christianity is the worship. They do not offer any libation. Highlights of the first writing were, the African Traditional Religion, the life of the ethnic groups in Ghana; their beliefs, customs, ritual and taboos. Neglect, it is believed, might spell doom. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. [D@dIS(P]y`ne]y:fjGZ3yEAVOI QFY- They do this by having Africans increasingly identify themselves as either Muslim or Christian, thus denying their unique African worldview that has always viewed as evidenced in their creation myths everything as unified and connected to the land, the place were ones clan, lineage, and people were cosmically birthed. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. I answered two, The paper discusses the state of traditional African religion in post-apartheid South Africa. and 1 0 obj This condition is under a traditional religion belief called the trokosi system or wives of the ancestral gods. These ancestral gods lived in the spiritual world, which according to ATR, is the world populated by spirits. 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. 3 0 obj Shrine visitation is strongest among the uneducated and in rural communities. One scholar who has written extensively on African Traditional Religion is John Mbiti, a Kenyan whom many consider the dean of living African theologians. These act as a link between God and the human community. ABSTRACT The concept of God in the traditional religion of Akan and Ewe ethnic groups compare to the Bible By Godwin Kwame Ofosuhene I am going to focus this writing, on how the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups of Ghana, understood God in their traditional religious practices and after that compare or discuss these beliefs in the light of the Holy Scriptures. ), Heritage of Faith: a history of Christianity in Nigeria, The carpenter's revolt: youth, violence and the reinvention of culture in Nigeria, Yoruba Elites and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria: Obafemi and corporate agency, The Clash of Fundamentalisms: crusades, jihads and modernity, False Prophets: the clash of civilizations and the global war on terror, Christianity, Modernity and Development in Africa, Social mobilization and collective violence: vigilantes and militias in the lowlands of Plateau State, Central Nigeria, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Islam, Youth, and Modernity in the Gambia: the Tablighi Jamaat, Cambridge University Press for the International African Institute, Muslim Modernity in Postcolonial Nigeria: a study of the Society for the Removal of Innovation and Reinstatement of Tradition, Pentecostalism, Islam and culture: new religious movements in West Africa, Christianity and Social Change in Africa: essays in honor of J. D. Y. Peel, The search for security in Northern Nigeria, Islamic Reform and Political Change in Northern Nigeria, Political Spiritualities: the Pentecostal revolution in Nigeria, Sects and Social Disorder: Muslim identities and conflict in Northern Nigeria, Ethnic vigilantes and the state: the Odua People's Congress in south-western Nigeria, Pentecostal presidency? As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. The traditional theologians also emphasized that as in all religious traditions, the belief and worship of the Supreme Being in ATR does not just mean the strict performance of certain rituals. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. Consequently, traditional Africans have different ideas on what role the ancestors play in the lives of living descendants. Editorial Statement: This essay is a slightly modified excerpt from the section "Evaluating African Traditional Religion: The Descriptive Task" (98-107) in Fr. 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. L_}mB)b7h; uZ4 QI,^ID-*Rj" xx>@9lCQr [GE1Hz:Aj3>^5T-FPD5|. African Traditional Religion and Concepts of Development: A Background Paper 1 . Baptismis by being sprinkled on water or being dipped in water. There are also the lesser gods that take residency in streams, rivers, trees and mountains. I should also state that there are signs of the revival of African indigenous practices in many parts of Africa. Creative people have bypassed gatekeepers for centuries to distribute what they wanted to share so badly. They find common ground in Houghton Library exhibition. Therefore, the universe has dimensions of order and power as follows: first of all, there is order in the laws of nature. Omissions? 24 October 2016. Nevertheless, since 1900, Christians in Africa have grown from approximately 7 million to over 450 million today. These images could be of a lion or another animal carvedfrom a tree to represent a god. Sacrificial meals in the traditional Africanreligion are the equivalent of the Holy. Hostname: page-component-7f44ffd566-79tgq Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. They are thus moral agents. It is the ancestors, however, the custodians of tradition, who determine the way these agents act, and it is tradition that supplies the moral code and indicates what the people must do to live ethically. African traditions carry out their role as ethical guides in many ways, including myths and rituals. African spirituality has always been able to adapt to change and allow itself to absorb the wisdom and views of other religions, much more than, for example, Christianity and Islam. Africans believe in the existence of a mystical, invisible, hidden, spiritual power in the universe. They believe that Obatala helped Olurun in creating theworld and everything in it. Some Africans believe that the ancestors are equal in power to deities, while others believe they are not. &RcIX6Wa). Indigenous African spirituality today is increasingly falling out of favor. When they pray they maykneel down, bow their heads or lift their hands up. l| -O;l0bo?Ge_4=MQ=EO|`X\G~Ah,yyG]%,GmF/-w F%YX`Ip}( na~!e[X/K879 ,y?R'd&h. d?ZKS=h8\%M{h(5M=xUeQG:3Sp}#-%>KpC3`zI *vw() . %PDF-1.5 While the universe has a beginning, many Africans believe that it does not have an endeither spatially or temporally. They have also fostered a greater feeling of individual self-worth by acknowledging important milestones in ones life, including becoming an adult or an elder. It argues that since the coming of democracy this form of religion has occupied a more important position, Although there is some debate, Francis Oborji in this article argues that one should speak of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in the singular. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Janson, Marloes 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. 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. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. This supreme . Learn more about the similarities and differences of the religious systems of Africa, including indigenous religions, Abrahamic, Islamic, and Christian beliefs of people in the region. Youll never experience a black hole, but Avi Loeb can help you imagine one. When one becomes a Christian he/she is baptised. 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. <> Church Life Journal The missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa at a time when tribal religions were ignored or denigrated. "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," said Olupona. } Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. In the part two of my writing, l will expand on the world populated by spirits called Vodou alongside that of the Akan. I utilised this view as hermeneutical point. 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. Feature Flags: { This order, according to Mbiti, is knowable to humans, by nature. (See the glossary for more information on the evil eye.). A classicatory system which attempts to distinguish the principal responses The cup of wine symbolises the blood Jesus shedand the bread symbolises His body which was broken for us. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the . The idea is that the traditional African practitioner who constructed that amulet believes in the efficacy of other faiths and religions; there is no conflict in his mind between his traditional African spirituality and another faith. They claimed or argued strongly that in the light of the more objective or scientific study of religions, ATR can no longer be justifiably characterized as stupid, since the worshippers do not worship the said material objects per se, but the Spirit of the Creator reflected in them. These initiation rituals are already not as common in Africa as they were only 50 years ago, yet age-grade initiations have always helped young Africans feel connected to their community and their past. 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. Commonly, God is believed to dwell in the skies. 4 0 obj Featured Image:Edo people, Queen Mother Pendant mask, circa 16th c.; Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. endobj % I should add that without claiming to be full members of indigenous traditions, there are many professed Christians and Muslims who participate in one form of indigenous religious rituals and practices or another. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. 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