Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in . In five countries (Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali) majorities express this belief. 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. 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. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. 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. 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 a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. :t\.1biti's approach assumes that "Christianity comes to enhance African traditional religions." This implies that there is no tension between the major elements of African Traditional Religions and the major claims of Christianity." 19 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? Today Christians worship Godmainly in churches. stream He contends that although African Traditional Religion generally refers to God as creator and sustainer of the universe, morally good, omniscient, and caring toward humans, yet even where this is held to be true, the high god in Africa is very often regarded as distanced from human affairs. And even when he is considered benign, the high God is morally otiose, having little direct retributive relationship with humankind. In some situations, the high God is cast in unfavorable terms as one who creates and who kills. L_}mB)b7h; uZ4 QI,^ID-*Rj" xx>@9lCQr [GE1Hz:Aj3>^5T-FPD5|. In the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological conception of ATR called for education in the light of the scriptures. The Church also combines those who have died and those who still live. African religions behavior is centered mainly on the human person and his or her life in this world, with the consequence that religion is clearly functional, or a means to serve people to acquire earthly goods (life, health, fecundity, wealth, power and the like) and to maintain social cohesion and order.. He then reflects on five "essential aspects" of. A Background to Religion and Magic in Western Thought Our modern usage of the term 'magic' derives from the Greek magike, 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. 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. "useRatesEcommerce": false <> (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax In short, the question is whether the notion of mercy exists in the moral order of African Traditional Religion and whether the sacrifices of African religion amount to an expiatory understanding in African religious thought. . Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. Hostname: page-component-7f44ffd566-79tgq Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. explore the things that fall in between"adiaphora", which the proponents of contextual Christianity may have overlooked with regard to the African cultural and religious heritage. Postcolonial, Abstract Interfaith dialogue is commonly used in building peace and understanding among religious groups. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). In most cases, the earth is conceived as a living thing, a goddess, Mother Earth. According to Mbiti, the earth is symbolically viewed as the mother of the universe, while the heavens/sky are seen as its male counterpart. x][oH~GroA $9,f K3d~VU_% fYU]q{Z?Fo?>w&j/n>>]?b5M._GYTQ|_W/_c\yA,bQQ)xn0ZtK*Q/Xb)zetab~x2e*w1Ym2n}{%2Kt[nQ,^'D^}WI_:'ym;eup|5>)$c4"y"E_C/ His research has helped to introduce and popularize new concepts in religious studies, such as the term reverse missionaries, referring to African prelates sent to Europe and the United States. 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. %PDF-1.5 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. OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. OLUPONA: I was raised in Africa during the 1960s, when the Yoruba community never asked you to chose between your personal faith and your collective African identity. Like Mbiti and Green, Magesa notes that the world of African Traditional Religion is a hierarchically ordered place where, On the lowest rung of the ladder are spirits, who are active beings distinct from humans and reside in nature and phenomena such as trees, rivers, rocks, or lakes. The commitment to theory, 2. It is a counter culture in response to the, The move towards contextual Christianity in Africa is an essential venture if Christianity is to communicate with the African cultural heritage. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. 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. An old African adage says: The sky is large enough for birds to fly around without one having to bump into the other.. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. Secondly, there is moral and religious order. Janson, Marloes The ancestors are believed to be the most immediate link with the spiritual world, and they are thought to be constantly near, observing every thought and action of the living. Exodus 20:3-5 tells us not to make or worship images ofanything in heaven or on earth. 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. Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. Nevertheless, they also display enough family resemblances for us to be able to delineate their main features and to a very reasonable extent fall on them to represent the whole. 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. Published online by Cambridge University Press: Content may require purchase if you do not have access. Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. That would be a serious loss not only for Africans, but also for academics, researchers, writers, and general seekers of wisdom the world over. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices, Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, Next: Chapter 4: Interreligious Harmony and Tensions, Chapter 2: Commitment to Christianity and Islam, Chapter 4: Interreligious Harmony and Tensions, In the U.S. and Western Europe, people say they accept Muslims, but opinions are divided on Islam, In Western Europe, familiarity with Muslims is linked to positive views of Muslims and Islam, Q&A: Measuring attitudes toward Muslims and Jews in Western Europe, Europes Muslim population will continue to grow but how much depends on migration, The Growth of Germanys Muslim Population, Size & Demographic Characteristics of Religious Groups, Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 60% of Americans Would Be Uncomfortable With Provider Relying on AI in Their Own Health Care, The changing face of Congress in 8 charts, As Russian invasion nears one-year mark, partisans grow further apart on U.S. support for Ukraine. Traditional Africans made images of the Supreme God or other supernatural beingswhich they worshipped. Acknowledgements, Introduction: Locations of culture, 1. Ifa is an indispensable treasure trove of knowledge that cant be duplicated elsewhere; much of its knowledge has been handed down from babalawo [Ifa priest/diviner] to babalawo for centuries. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. 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 ), 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. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. The Yoruba believe in the existence of the Supreme God called Olurun andthe lesser god, Obatala. Traditional African religion advocated for bird and animal sacrifices whenever peoplewent to worship God. [D@dIS(P]y`ne]y:fjGZ3yEAVOI QFY- Both have religious leaders or priests whopresent the peoples requests to God. This power is not accessible to everyone, and in most cases it is inborn, but the person has to learn how to use it. Commonly, God is believed to dwell in the skies. A sacrifice refers to an animal that is offered to God, e.g. Mbiti emphasizes that Africans view the universe religiously. . 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.. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. Africans had shrines they believedGod dwelt in. endobj Christians observe the Lords supper. Since God is seen as the Creator, various aspects of the universe are permeated by the sense of the sacredthe religious mentality affects the way people see the universe. Christian teaching forbids making of any kinds ofimages to represent God. For example, in 14 of the 19 countries surveyed, more than three-in-ten people say they sometimes consult traditional healers when someone in their household is sick. 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. &RcIX6Wa). The action of the living, for example, can affect the gods or spirits of the departed, while the support of family or tribal ancestors ensures prosperity of the lineage or state. For instance, in a few years time, I pray that I will be participating in an age-grade festival for men around 70 years of age called Ero in my native Nigerian community in Ute, in Ondo state. These spirit do not carry the desires of humans to the Creator God. x\s6Q|jyLd*{-Jb"$e~ $@ 6G"F@w? Christ Jesus, God's own son, takes the "groaning" of humans to God. When a missionary asked Africans in Zanzibar to tell him something about their God, they simply said, "God thunders!" The cleric had travelled across the seas in the 19th century to tell "the heathens without religion" or "people with a primitive religion" about God. inequality and class divide, dreams and interpretation, names and religious identity. The cup of wine symbolises the blood Jesus shedand the bread symbolises His body which was broken for us. In the end, I believe that Africans can make room for a plurality of religious points of view without one religious point of view excluding or compromising the other. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. endobj psC68k}(`eMTO} }3sUO?JH`dMQois6I{r[}Doq?L0}ze^WZ\|r?3Z %g~bs_*@F`b, vw`qRk3xnnH6NSKF vFK](S?I.$@\$OC(N#a6oJc!0 sm!$!'TGzmSvw)+Na?1s K{o?!I 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. Mbitis assertions must be read as a limited reference to some African societies and in some limited settings. Human beings are the link between the heavens and the earth, between the visible and the invisible universe. However, Christians can offer animals to the church where they canbe sold or reared to give the church income. 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. (See the glossary for more information on the evil eye.). It doesnt have a fixed creed, like in some forms of Christianity or Islam. 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. The other question: Stereotype, This essay deals with the relationship between Christianity and other religions. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. between African traditional religion and the Christian faith. Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. This chapter includes information on: Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects Download chapter 3 in full (3-page PDF, <1MB) Photo credit: Sebastien Desarmaux/GODONG/Godong/Corbis He later earned both an M.A. There are also the lesser gods that take residency in streams, rivers, trees and mountains. For all Ghanaian ethnic groups, the spirit world is considered to be as real as the world of the living. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. 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