Y.91sC@o9sJL9@XMw`7\`1%nRjBS %U=a{N>. It will keep me chewing for a long time, and it will most certainly feed my theological development. 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. But for many Africans, religion can never be separated from all these. One African theologian, Gabriel Setiloane, has even argued that the concept of God which the missionaries presented to the Sotho-Tswana peoples was a devaluation of the traditional currency of Modimo (God) among the Sotho-Tswana. 4 0 obj Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. As discussed elsewhere in this report, many Christians and Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa retain beliefs and rituals that are characteristic of traditional African religions. 817-820. The fusion of cultures that was effected by the conquest of Alexander the Great (4th century bce), his successors, and the Roman Empire tended to bring together a variety of religious and philosophical views that resulted in a strong tendency toward religious syncretism. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. Vodou is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. trailer There are also other parallels in social, political and cultural areas, just as there are some significant differences. One of Jacob Oluponas earliest memories in Massachusetts is of nearly freezing in his apartment as a graduate student at Boston University during the great snowstorm of 1978. Vodou represents a syncretism of the West African Vodun religion and Roman Catholicism by the descendants of the Dahomean, Kongo, Yoruba, and other ethnic groups who had been enslaved and transported to colonial Saint-Domingue (as Haiti was known then) and partly Christianized by Roman Catholic missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. A calendar of ritual feasts, syncretized with the Roman Catholic calendar, provides the yearly rhythm of religious practice. I have received much in a short period. That which had been seen as the enemy of the gospel turns out (to me) to be indeed a very welcoming friend. x\u}4`P}E#(9q"%LCl'KLb)Sfgdq N When we identify the God of the Bible as the same God who is known through African religion (whatever its limitations), we must also take it that God has had a historical relationship with African peoples. Nevertheless, since 1900, Christians in Africa have grown from approximately 7 million to over 450 million today. For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. So, "Lord, help Thou my unbelief!" Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. African religion has equipped people to listen to the gospel, to discover meaningful passages in the Bible, and to avoid unhealthy religious conflict. OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa. It publishes a journal Anthropologica and has reclaimed the name of its former journal, Culture for its occasional online bulletin. 75 0 obj I cannot claim that I have witnessed much progress in that quest at the organizational level, but perhaps I had expected too much. 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. As for the belief in God, it appears that the Bira have utilized Christianity to make their traditional God Mbali less remote and more caring, a change which has also made the Christian God more compassionate and forgiving . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Omissions? Consequently, people are discovering that the biblical faith is not harmful to their religious sensibilities. 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. We have already noted that the overseas missionaries did not bring God to Africa. Liberia is the only country where more than one-in-ten (12%) identify primarily with an African traditional religion. OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. According to all the major surveys, Christianity and Islam each represent approximately 40 percent of the African population. A magisterial historical synthesis of the formative period of African Christianity written by one of its foremost scholars. National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Vodou's role in Haitian mental health, Learn Religions - An Introduction to the Basic Beliefs of the Vodou (Voodoo) Religion, Ancient Origins - The Origins of Voodoo, the Misunderstood Religion, LiveScience - Voodoo: Facts About Misunderstood Religion, Vodou - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Vodou - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Then was he not there in other times and in such places as Mount Fuji and Mount Kenya, as well as Mount Sinai? ), 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. Anthropologica, journal of the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) was created from the merger of the Society's former journal, Culture, with Canada's oldest anthropology journal, Anthropologica. (See the glossary for more information on the evil eye.). Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Vodou ritual activity (e.g., prayer, song, dance, and gesture) is aimed at refining and restoring balance and energy in relationships between people and between people and the spirits of the unseen world. At many points I see intriguing parallels between the biblical record and African religiosity. This article appeared in the Christian Century, August 27- September 3, 1980, pp. In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. 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. 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. In February 1974 a group of 120 anthropologists launched the Canadian Ethnology Society/socit canadienne d'ethnologie (CESCE), because they felt there was room for an association of anthropologists separate from the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association (CSAA) which was dominated by sociologists. 0000002505 00000 n Some African diasporans are returning to the continent to reconnect with their ancestral traditions, and they are encouraging and organizing the local African communities to reclaim this heritage. 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. Par contre, les croyances en la sorcellerie ont persist. The beliefs and practices of the traditional religions in Africa can enrich Christian theology and spirituality." It includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Author of. Of course, behind all these factors is the Holy Spirit working through them. religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. 0000000016 00000 n They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. stream Updates? Spiritual activities like prayer, thanksgiving, and the making of sacrifices were well-established facts of life for the existence and continuation of the community. There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. African immigrants and slaves worked to maintain traditional religious and social practices in their new surroundings. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> Christianity is more dominant in the south, while Islam is more dominant in the north. Indigenous religion in Africa is the way Africans understand and worship their god. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, between 10% and 15% of respondents are Muslim. 0000001519 00000 n Didnt our Lord let it be clearly known that "before Abraham was I am" (John 8:58)? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). But it is nevertheless a working Yes and one that demands theological understanding. %PDF-1.7 % In most of the 19 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Centers Forum on Religion & Public Life, 90% or more of the respondents say they belong to one of these faiths. Focuses on the influences of Africans and African ideas on the mission enterprise, conversion, religious innovation, and church life, but it neglects to cover the . It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and . This chapter includes information on: Download chapter 1 in full (6-page PDF, <1MB), 1 The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in the easternmost part of North East Africa, on the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. African spirituality is truly holistic. Thus, Mbali-God is a creative response on the part of the Bira to the syncretic religious encounter. While Islam and Christianity tend to . (I myself have consulted with several diviners for my research on specific academic topics regarding African culture and history; consequently, if we were to lose Africas diviners, we would also lose one of Africas best keepers and sources of African history and culture. For example, followers can seek spiritual direction and relief from healers, medicine men and women, charms [adornments often worn to incur good luck], amulets [adornments often used to ward off evil], and diviners [spiritual advisers]. Unlike in Europe and the United States, very few people in sub-Saharan Africa say they are unaffiliated with a particular faith. One important task, then, is to see the nature, the method and the implications of Gods revelation among African peoples, in the light of the biblical record of the same revelation. GAZETTE: How would you define indigenous African religions? I want to walk with Jesus of Nazareth on the shores of Lake Galilee and the hillsides of Judea, through the gates of Jerusalem. (a) The Structures of African Traditional Religions: Sometimes it is a difficult task among scholars to choose a unanimous name for the religious traditions and beliefs of the African people. Prayers and sacrificial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. The God described in the Bible is none other than the God who is already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. On returning home, the learned professor wrote an article using my brief answer as his title. 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. I want to reflect and write on this topic, but somehow it makes me feel frightened. In Africa the traditional religions are a major source for the study of the African experience of God. In five countries (Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali) majorities express this belief. They were names of one and the same God, the creator of the world, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. At Makerere University I taught New Testament, African religion and other courses. He must have been active among African peoples as he was among the Jewish people. in social anthropology from Oxford University, is studying for a master of theological studies (M.T.S.) Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Gender. There is not space here to argue the case for the role played by African religion in the establishment of the Christian faith in Africa. They constitute an important channel of the churchs prophetic witness today. AR-Ndhdnn}H\{%jC!a,]c8F`1LE(3%"w+tj}](q w[,p8i$dd$GrMRD K4wLG4@h\WfPY No doubt there still remain much research and reflection to be done in order to work out a consistent theological understanding of the issues entailed here. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. Copyright by The Christian Century Foundation; used by permission. This was an extremely liberating word in my theological thinking. As for the belief in God, it appears that the Bira have utilized Christianity to make their traditional God Mbali less remote and more caring, a change which has also made the Christian God more compassionate and forgiving of sins. With it, one began to explore afresh the realm of Gods revelation and other treasures of our faith. My findings were used in teaching, but eventually I put them together in a book, Concepts of God in Africa, published by the British publisher SPCK (1970). In Nigeria, the population in 1900 included 4.2 million Muslims and 180,000 Christians. African scholars While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. In the 17th century a movement led by the German Protestant theologian George Calixtus aimed at reconciling the differences between the Protestants in Germany, but his efforts were disparaged by orthodox Christian leaders as syncretistic. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. 0000001791 00000 n OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. 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. These statements await further exploration by African theologians. During religious rites, believers sometimes enter a trancelike state in which the devotee may eat and drink, perform stylized dances, give supernaturally inspired advice to people, or perform medical cures or special physical feats; these acts exhibit the incarnate presence of the lwa within the entranced devotee. <>stream I am tantalized by the fact that my vision cannot cope with that horizon. 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. "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.