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. Instead of God keeping his distance from man, He, throughout history and today reaches down in love to draw humans toward him. The understanding of God normally needs some refining when one comes from African Traditional Religion to be a Christian. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. People may complain to God and the ancestors, but they will never accuse them of any moral wrongdoing. They do not offer any libation. endobj The cup of wine symbolises the blood Jesus shedand the bread symbolises His body which was broken for us. It is worth noting that these animals areat no time offered as burnt offerings to God. Below is the article summary. Both have religious leaders or priests whopresent the peoples requests to God. Religion is closely bound up with the traditional way of African life; therefore, religion has shaped the lives of Africans, at the same time life has shaped religion as well. 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. Therefore, these traditional theologians condemned those who said, ATR and similar non-western religions are followed by irrational or foolish people who in their stupidity bow down to stones, trees and rivers instead of the Creator who created such objects and themselves. "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. Religion is part and parcel of daily life. When they pray they maykneel down, bow their heads or lift their hands up. Traditional Religion as a source of African theology just as Christian theology is. This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, and this has become a source of great worry to the writers. the other in tradition poses a serious dilemma for both Christianity and tradition in Africa. Taboos and customs cover all aspects of human life: words, foods, dress, relations among people, marriage, burial, work, and so forth: A part of this belief in the moral and religious order is belief in the invisible universe, which consists of divinities, spirits, and the ancestors (the living dead). These act as Gods associates, assistants, and mediators, and they are directly involved in human affairs. Observing this moral order ensures harmony and peace within the community. He has useful insights to add to our discussion and in many ways corroborates the statements other scholars like Mbiti have made about African religion. Some scholars have rightly observed that the centre of gravity of Christianity is shifting from the West to the two-thirds world, that is Asia, South America and Africa. When punishment comes, it comes in the present life. Whatever the difference in the deep structures that undergird the moral life in the Christian conception or in Africa Traditional Religion, Green, like Mbiti, concludes that Africans believe in a morally saturated universe: The role of intermediary agents and spirits in maintaining moral order in African Traditional Religion is quite remarkable, as we have already seen from the work of Mbiti. 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. Christ Jesus, God's own son, takes the "groaning" of humans to God. They take the communion to remember thedeath and resurrection of Jesus. $70.00/$25.00. For this reason, they can come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching of the Word of God because it is home going time. 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 various shades and intensities by a very large number . With regard to the issue of offering ones wife in generosity, this practice, as Laurenti Magesa has shown, applied to a very limited number of African ethnic groups, such as the Masai, and in very tightly controlled situations among friends within the same age group fraternity and on very limited occasions. This happened in the past, and these codes were stipulated, considered sacred and binding, by the community leaders: The moral and religious order in the universe is articulated and expressed in a variety of taboos and customs that prohibit specific actions contravening such order. To achieve its goal, the paper adopts the method of . It is a way of life, and it can never be separated from the public sphere. In other words, he shows that the sense of the divine was not something introduced to Africa by missionaries or by anyone else; that the knowledge of God in African religion was not much different from the idea of God that Christian missionaries preached in Africa; and, more specifically to our purpose here, that belief in God engendered a moral response that for centuries before Christian arrival in Africa directed moral life and interaction on the continent and among its peoples. In the end, I believe that Africans can make room for a plurality of religious points of view without one religious point of view excluding or compromising the other. ), In addition to expressing high levels of belief in the protective power of sacrificial offerings and sacred objects, upwards of one-in-five people in every country say they believe in the evil eye, or the ability of certain people to cast malevolent curses or spells. Its about getting tangible results. Mbiti emphasizes that Africans view the universe religiously. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. 1 0 obj Today Christians worship Godmainly in churches. Inculturation, as we will argue later in Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, sheds the light of the gospel on cultural practices like this one to reveal what is sinful in them and to show that human beings, especially women, in this case, deserve better treatment than this. The Church is the Christian family, in which all are accompanied to one another through belief and baptism in Jesus Christ. Thus, for example, older persons not only possess a more powerful vital force but a greater responsibility in society and more intense mystical powers. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in . The vibrancy of African Traditional Religion in these two aspectstheological and moralcreates a unique opportunity for Christianity in Africa, one that, as Bediako points out has been lost to Christian theology in the West, for a serious and creative theological encounter between the Christian and primal traditions. It is therefore very important for African theology to ascertain the meaning of African Traditional Religion, both because of the service this tradition renders to Christian theology as a dialogue partner, and because the very self-awareness of the African theologian and of African theology itself to a large extent hinges on a proper articulation and appreciation of Africas pre-Christian past. Much of Oluponas work is an attempt to provide a fuller understanding of the complexity and richness of African indigenous thought and practice by viewing it not as a foil or as a useful comparative to better understand Western religions, but as a system of thought and belief that should be valued and understood for its own ideas and contribution to global religions. 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() <> It doesnt have a fixed creed, like in some forms of Christianity or Islam. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. The spirit medium is required to possess moral probity and integrity. It was believed that the animals blood appeased God. endobj 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. Christianity and Traditional African Heritage, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Hence, it cannot be avoided in the interaction between Christianity and African Traditional Religion. This order, according to Mbiti, is knowable to humans, by nature. OLUPONA: No, this type of binary thinking is simplistic. It is also an opportunity to help the Christian churches in the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups from which l come from, to see it as their duty to find means and ways to evangelise our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and children who are still under the African Traditional practices. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. for this article. They do so by going to the hospital. He is not only the covenant giver He gives the power to keep the covenant. M!eJ/"0Nq"3_ad!+;\4C2-0"+5qu|Rw!9KkC~V3M$ 2d yFT!Jf"ez:~ U S dE{hbaERVTGeqBzk2^oP)R}7Qv#.dQF4^%y+X-o"wr+l+B?{lb="akK;qurpDB ~O` Hn5~:D]xDS-V3tVgP`Axx8Mi2.O4g5=t DTW?ne![Cc?"C+E|o&Ks0`7_BiXHyJ8;B>7AfvuPTZV(3JW|/+Ywy"EtBEVYlNFc[5%X8@o|^DHD\*=z.)P??6`! Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. Despite the presence of Christianity, traditional religions in Ghana have retained their influence because of their intimate relation to family loyalties and local mores. This is called a tithe. Second, Africans believe in a moral order given by God, stipulated by the ancestors in the past. in social anthropology from Oxford University, is studying for a master of theological studies (M.T.S.) But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. Ancestors can offer advice and bestow good fortune and honor to their living dependents, but they can also make demands, such as insisting that their shrines be properly maintained and propitiated. Featured Image:Edo people, Queen Mother Pendant mask, circa 16th c.; Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Witchcraft was also feared and witchdoctors were respected as they had power tocurse, make people get sick or end their life. Neglect, it is believed, might spell doom. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. The Igbo traditional religious worldview maintains a polytheistic religious view, unlike the monotheistic outlook of the Christian religion. Different fathers played a role in the development of this religion. Traditional Africans made images of the Supreme God or other supernatural beingswhich they worshipped. Their significance lies in the genealogical positions and the rights and duties which derive from them. Ancestors uphold right conduct by punishing moral violations, demanding respect and attention, and getting angry when not given due respect. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers. Some of these myths explain the origin of the universe, the nature of the relationship between creation (including humanity) and God, and the source and cause of the human predicament and of evil in general; they also provide a synopsis of the forces comprising the African moral conception of the universe. Religious rituals provide ameans by which the community seeks redress and repairs wrongs that have been committed and that call down calamities and afflictions from spiritual beingsall this to restore the status quo ante or even to maintain the existing good status quo that society or an individual may be enjoying., In the hierarchically ordered world of African Traditional Religion, God is the ancestor, par excellence. Furthermore, Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that totally pleased God and there is no need for any other. Like Ronald Green, Magesa argues that African Traditional Religion is in the background of all African religiosity, both in Christianity and Islam, and supplies the basic attitude or worldview of most African Christians. Just like in Christianity, traditional Africanreligion has organised practices. The commitment to theory, 2. Traditional Africans communicated to God through ancestors. 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. However, they do not seek the services of magicians orwitchdoctors. SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE, CONTEXT AND TRADITION, IN https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972016000565, Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? University of Notre Dame, McGrath Institute for Church Life Thus, everythingis not completely unpredictable and chaotic because of this order. The religious functions, especially of chiefs and lineage heads, are clearly demonstrated during such periods as the Odwira of the Akan, Hogbetsotso / Tedudu of the Ewe, the Homowo of the Ga-Adangbe, or the Aboakyir of the Efutu (coastal Guan), when the people are organized in activities that renew and strengthen relations with their ancestors. Odozor's Morality Truly Christian, Truly Africanpublished by theUniversity of Notre Dame Press. These act as a link between God and the human community. 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? Belief in the ancestors presents the idea of reciprocity in the African traditional moral world. Areas of interest to read in the part one was how Christianity has found an inroad into the lives of so many who were living in deep darkness and slavery to the evil powers. Christians observe the Lords supper. Christians do not offer animal sacrifices to appease God. Both believe that God is the creator ofhumankind. GAZETTE: What else would we lose if we lost traditional African Religions? Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. That would be a serious loss not only for Africans, but also for academics, researchers, writers, and general seekers of wisdom the world over. So, basically, to speak of African tradition is to talk about African Traditional Religion. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. endobj Green points out that there is a rational basis to African Traditional Religion that shows, in Kantian terms, that there is a deep structure of universal moral and religious reason to it. The three requirements of reason at the heart of this structure are: first, a basic rule or procedure of moral choice; second, a metaphysic grounding the possibility of strict moral retribution; and third, . Pp. 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. Shrine visitation is strongest among the uneducated and in rural communities. &RcIX6Wa). OLUPONA: Yes, its a mixed bag because in the African diaspora mostly due to the slave trade starting in the 15th century indigenous African religions have spread and taken root all over the world, including in the United States and Europe. Additionally, I will not discourage, disparage, or try and convert those who practice their form of African indigenous religions. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. This work investigates the conflicts existing between the two . These included interviews he conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called witches and delivered witches. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Black Americans, Side by side with their high levels of commitment to Christianity and Islam, many people in the countries surveyed retain beliefs and rituals that are characteristic of traditional African religions. In most countries surveyed, at least three-in-ten people believe in reincarnation, which may be related to traditional beliefs in ancestral spirits. Indigenous African religion is primarily an oral tradition and has never been fully codified; thus, it allows itself to more easily be amended and influenced by other religious ideas, religious wisdom, and by modern development. Quantum computing simulation reveals possible wormhole-like dynamics. 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. Total loading time: 0 Postcolonial, Abstract Interfaith dialogue is commonly used in building peace and understanding among religious groups. These shrines were built near waterbodies, next to big trees or near other sacred places. While Islam and Christianity tend to be overtly resistant to adopting traditional African religious ideas or practices, indigenous African religions have always accommodated other beliefs. The traditional cosmology expresses belief in a supreme being (referred to by the Akan as Nyame, or by the Ewe Mawu). Published online by Cambridge University Press: hand with the study of the people who practise the religion. The writing of this paper is another opportunity given to me so that l would use my talents given by the Holy Spirit to help our relatives still under the worldview of Satan to see and come into the Light of Life. L_}mB)b7h; uZ4 QI,^ID-*Rj" xx>@9lCQr [GE1Hz:Aj3>^5T-FPD5|. Also, how the Christian organizations help free women and girls from the grip of slavery. Christians do not have regard for their powers because they believethat they overcome all evil through the name of Jesus. Traditional Africans believed in the power of magic and medicinemen. 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. Magesa discusses the African tradition in its various manifestations: its understanding of the human person and of life in general; aesthetics, politics, ethics, and of course religion, which he shows to be the architectonic basis of these other expressions or manifestations of African tradition. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. The bottom line then is that Africans who still wholly practice African indigenous religions are only about 10 percent of the African population, a fraction of what it used to be only a century ago, when indigenous religions dominated most of the continent. 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. While both Christianity and African religion have a concept of a Supreme Being,Christians believe in a God who exists in three persons. endobj Veneration of departed ancestors is a major characteristic of all traditional religions. I answered two, The paper discusses the state of traditional African religion in post-apartheid South Africa. . Part one looks briefly at the matter of religion itself. The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). A network of mutual relationships and responsibilities links the duals worlds of the mundane and the sacred. I should also state that there are signs of the revival of African indigenous practices in many parts of Africa. Some Africans believe that the ancestors are equal in power to deities, while others believe they are not. Belief in the Trinity While both Christianity and African religion have a concept of a Supreme Being, Christians believe in a God who exists in three persons. (Hebrews 1:1,Matthew 5:17,Exodus 34:10-28). Christ is the Mediator between Humans and God In African Traditional Religion ancestral spirits, and lesser gods, are usually the spirits that communicate with humans on earth. The worship can be direct , but is done (mostly) indirectly through divine agents like the gods or divinities (abosom in Akan , legbaa in Ewe ) and the ancestors. Traditional theologians explained that one could not worship the Supreme Being formally, without the agency of the divinities or ancestors. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. Feature Flags: { Janson, Marloes All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. ABSTRACT PART II: Comparing the concept of Spirit and Soul in the Traditional Religion of the Akan and Ewe Tribes to that of the Bible By Godwin Kwame Ofosuhene In the part one of my writing, with the titled The concept of God in the traditional religion of Akan and Ewe ethnic groups compare to the Bible - dated 31st May 2006, l explained how the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups of Ghana understood God in their traditional religious practices. Green opines that although superficially regarded, this may seem to be a minimal moral relationshipmore like a kind of egoism on one side and fearful propitiation on the otherit also shows, however, the profound role that respect for age and for the fulfillment of lineage and familial duties play in this traditional setting. The defining line between deities and ancestors is often contested, but overall, ancestors are believed to occupy a higher level of existence than living human beings and are believed to be able to bestow either blessings or illness upon their living descendants. However, to them, the entire universe is filled with spirit such as trees, rocks, and rivers. They believe that Obatala helped Olurun in creating theworld and everything in it. OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. A Background to Religion and Magic in Western Thought Our modern usage of the term 'magic' derives from the Greek magike, About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Barrenness is, therefore, considered a great misfortune because it prevents ancestors from returning to life. Everywhere he went in southwestern Nigeria, he never opposed or spoke out against African culture including initiation rites, festivals, and traditional Yoruba dress as long as it didnt directly conflict with Christianity. No matter how one looks at it, to offer the female members of ones family as a mark of hospitality to a stranger is morally wrong, not just from the point of view of Christian morality but from a purely natural law point of view as well. Just as within the traditional political and diplomatic contexts, one cannot formally contact the king without the agency of his linguists or sub-chiefs. 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). Pratten, David The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious . This is called the Trinity. 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 By Greens own admission, and as we shall see later, there are as many divergences on the architectonic hinge of these deep structuresGod, the human person, and the materialworldas there are similarities. The contact was in fact,between two. The ordering of the universe and its continuance depends on God. I am going to use the research reports of Opoky Onyinah , which he carried out among Ghanaian Christians between 1997 and 1999. 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. OLUPONA: One of the basic reasons is that indigenous African spiritual beliefs are not bound by a written text, like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These spirit do not carry the desires of humans to the Creator God. Has data issue: true In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. View all Google Scholar citations An important area Green points to has to do with the role of God in these two systems of thought. Acts are wrong if they hurt or damage relationships or if they are discovered to constitute a breach of custom or regulation. To buttress his point Mbiti states that in certain African societies to sleep with someone elses wife is not considered evil if these two are not found out by the society which forbids it, and in other societies is in fact an expression of friendship and hospitality to let a guest spend the night with ones wife or daughter or sister. 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