Prayers and sacrificial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. 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. 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. In the face of persistent human iniquity, God is believed to furnish means of atonement and forgiveness, thereby tempering justice with mercy., However, although Christianity and African Traditional Religion share some striking similarities, closer examination of African traditional beliefs reveals that the contrasts are far more striking than the similarities. 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. Mbiti makes this point too when he stresses that the majority of African peoples believe that God punishes in this life. Although God is concerned with humanitys moral life and upholds the moral law, there is no belief that a person is punished in the hereafter for his or her wrongdoing in this life. 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, . The other very big difference between African Traditional Religion and Christianity is the worship. Villepastour, Amanda Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. 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. Traditional African religion does not show any belief in the Trinity. 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. Christians give a tenth of all their earnings to God. 2017. / DI41@ tD}r;Y w,XVzwiA1JtvrlfFaD7E@s 00=L"q{Vf\}ioKy=lXS.P6ChX m% ~nUV)=vp%FBvy}+6,0+V8sG&>K_iBOntQvyCN[I'uvR;}hA/D|+I9Q$cL, When they pray they maykneel down, bow their heads or lift their hands up. However, to them, the entire universe is filled with spirit such as trees, rocks, and rivers. Below is the article summary. As judge, God is understood to uphold this standard by ultimately punishing its violations and by rewarding the righteous (usually in some eschatological domain). These intermediary agents include the ancestors, members of the community who at death become idealized. Level of cannabis use could determine post-op outcomes, Historian says Fla. dispute shows why AP class in African American studies is needed, Why Church Committee alums urged new House panel to avoid partisanship, One small step toward understanding gravity, Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. A Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, by Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor Human beings maintain active and real relationshipswith the spiritual world, especially with the living dead, through offerings, sacrifices, and prayers. The commitment to theory, 2. Some traditional African societies like the Yoruba believed in the existence of lessergods. They believe that Obatala helped Olurun in creating theworld and everything in it. Even though their differences outnumber their. They do so by going to the hospital. Mbiti emphasizes that Africans view the universe religiously. 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. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. ;;m]mB"DTSUD[j*3l D{k7@tB0cg]Er+e)skf6cRUiu,WdmlA#OLs81/#qs v(a6lA`O/HvX*3SME_qv&oMm?{{n 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 Traditional Religion as a source of African theology just as Christian theology is. For example, sickness in the indigenous African worldview is not only an imbalance of the body, but also an imbalance in ones social life, which can be linked to a breakdown in ones kinship and family relations or even to ones relationship with ones ancestors. It evolved through many centuries, before the westerner come to Africa. The Yoruba believe in the existence of the Supreme God called Olurun andthe lesser god, Obatala. While the universe has a beginning, many Africans believe that it does not have an endeither spatially or temporally. All rights reserved. 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. Therefore we speak of African Traditional Religion thinking of those common things. the other in tradition poses a serious dilemma for both Christianity and tradition in Africa. 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 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. Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. Postcolonial, Abstract Interfaith dialogue is commonly used in building peace and understanding among religious groups. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Specifically, by reflecting on the wonder and magnitude of the universe, they came to the conclusion that God must exist: they posited the existence of God to explain the existence and sustenance of the universe. In this paper, I interrogated the Gabola church in terms of its origins, purpose and its distinctiveness as a postcolonial manifestation of freedom of religion in South Africa. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Their purpose is to summarize recent material produced by the relevant religious organizations and by some of the main academic interpreters to provide I answered two, The paper discusses the state of traditional African religion in post-apartheid South Africa. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. A Background to Religion and Magic in Western Thought Our modern usage of the term 'magic' derives from the Greek magike, Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. Veneration of departed ancestors is a major characteristic of all traditional religions. 2 0 obj Jacob Olupona, professor of indigenous African religions at Harvard Divinity School and professor of African and African-American studies in Harvards Faculty of Arts and Sciences, recently sat down for an interview about his lifelong research on indigenous African religions. Secondly, there is moral and religious order. A classicatory system which attempts to distinguish the principal responses OLUPONA: No, this type of binary thinking is simplistic. Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. Barrenness is, therefore, considered a great misfortune because it prevents ancestors from returning to life. Ancestors and numerous other spirits are also recognized as part of the cosmological order. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in . 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. 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. $70.00/$25.00. (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. GAZETTE: Are ancestors considered deities in the traditional African cosmology? OLUPONA: We would lose a worldview that has collectively sustained, enriched, and given meaning to a continent and numerous other societies for centuries through its epistemology, metaphysics, history, and practices. It is worth noting that these animals areat no time offered as burnt offerings to God. The Igbo traditional religious worldview maintains a polytheistic religious view, unlike the monotheistic outlook of the Christian religion. 1xxp~I7m#MWjxAqN,PT2^]R6C3Y'K~Bwv4-xwE@;5 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. This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, and this has become a source of great worry to the writers. Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA. 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. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. A third scholar of interest to us here is Laurenti Magesa, the central thesis of whose book on African religion is captured quite succinctly in the subtitle: African religion constitutes a tradition of abundant life. %PDF-1.5 Sarr, Ramon Using Ghana as a case history, I shall evaluate this ministry to find out its positive and negative effects. This is a universal belief among Africans. An old African adage says: The sky is large enough for birds to fly around without one having to bump into the other.. Moral culpability is always on the shoulders of humanity. The same hierarchy evident in the relationship between God, the ancestors, and humanity is also present in the relationship between the animate and the inanimate world, the former being superior to the latter. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. for this article. 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. 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. I wont pray to an orisa, but I will affirm the importance of my connection with members of my age group. Traditional Africans did not practice baptism. However, they do not seek the services of magicians orwitchdoctors. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the . Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. Copyright 2023 |,utv2QdjrqfM7PC)2-|O7,0[i=_a/Om"X`Y2FpXBjsFxCqDd`%*g,-J1e*jjq,tm{w>qAsAqN$D This order, according to Mbiti, is knowable to humans, by nature. 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. 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. GAZETTE: What allows African indigenous religions to be so accommodating? This power originates from God but is possessed hierarchically by divinities, spirits, and the living dead, and it is available to some people, in various degrees. The amount of devotees to indigenous practices has dwindled as Islam and Christianity have both spread and gained influence throughout the continent. These laws are controlled by God directly or indirectly through Gods intermediaries. In African Traditional Religion, they do believe in a genderless god with the three names: Umvelingqangi, uNkulunkulu, and uThixo (Badoian, 2014). 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. 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. When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. 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. The reasons for this shift are varied and complex. The Church also combines those who have died and those who still live. Foreign religions simply dont have that same connection to the African continent. Such activities include the making of sacrifices and the pouring of libations. Traditional Africans made images of the Supreme God or other supernatural beingswhich they worshipped. These could be caves, forests,mountains and so on. The spiritual medium is the physical embodiment of the religious retributive order in which Africans know themselves to stand.. African communities at the time but was also poised to become a site of religious and cultural conflict both within and between different communities in postcolonial South Africa. 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. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. The spirit medium is required to possess moral probity and integrity. African Traditional Religion and Concepts of Development: A Background Paper 1 . In addition, roughly a quarter or more of the population in 11 countries say they believe in the protective power of juju (charms or amulets), shrines and other sacred objects. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. It doesnt have a fixed creed, like in some forms of Christianity or Islam. Traditional theologians explained that one could not worship the Supreme Being formally, without the agency of the divinities or ancestors. Hence, it cannot be avoided in the interaction between Christianity and African Traditional Religion. The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). African spirituality is truly holistic. These included interviews he conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called witches and delivered witches. Some ancestors may even be reincarnated to replenish the lineage. This is because Jesusalready shed His blood on the cross and He was the perfect sacrifice that totally satisfied God. Authoring or editing more than half a dozen books on religion and African culture (including the recent African Religions: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press), Olupona has researched topics ranging from the indigenous religions of Africa to the religious practices of Africans who have settled in America. Furthermore, Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that totally pleased God and there is no need for any other. In the Ewe thought they are called Vodou (Vodu or Vudu in Benin and Togo; also Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, or other phonetically equivalent spellings. Ritual functionaries include priests, elders, rainmakers, diviners, and prophets. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious . Itis made of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit working together as one. They do not offer any libation. Odozor's Morality Truly Christian, Truly Africanpublished by theUniversity of Notre Dame Press. Both have religious leaders or priests whopresent the peoples requests to God. 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. There is also a mystical order of the universe. } Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. Traditional Africans worshipped in shrines. 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. GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? Order of the divinities or ancestors pleased God and there is also a mystical order the... 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