My part of the sba
Okay so were going to talk about the importance of African
religion then after that we talk about the African slaves but first
you also talk about the origin of African religion before Africans
became slaves and then after that you give examples of what
those religious practices were and then compare them then after
that you say that African religion has been preserved indeed
more than one ways and then you state how people preserved it
and finally you say how African religion is being practiced today
and we are done. That is all my dear, you don’t have a lot to
worry about. Good luck you can do this, and I love you dearly<3
Im finally fckn done I took approx. 3 hours to do this. Wasn’t so
bad to be honest.
African religion in the 18th century British slave society
The preservation of African heritage is of
great significance in both our modern
society and back then. Religion is a
prominent aspect of Africa’s culture. It
was a form of cultural resistance to
slavery and a means of maintaining
identity and community. African religion
throughout Africa herself is diverse and
varied, there are many doctrines, beliefs,
and practices. Although each religion had
their own ideologies, they all shared
common grounds. It was anthologized by
the author of the Historical Review, k.
Sambol-Tosco, that a number of these
religious groups in Africa believed in the
afterlife or reincarnation, communalism,
and a supreme being to whom they would
pray and offer sacrifices (K.SambolTosco 2004). The cataclysmic event, that
is the trans-Atlantic slave trade, prompted
the then enslaved to fiercely hold on to
their faith and hope for better days to
come.
During these inhumane hardships on the
plantations, the slaves used their religious
beliefs to stay strong and to resist the
planters’ allegations. On the sugar estates
in the Caribbean, emerged a pluralist
society. The religions practiced include:
Myalism and Obeah, Voodoo, Yoruba,
Santeria, pocomania and forcibly
Christianity. The enslaved Africans were
constantly targeted by the planters for
more reasons than one. Whenever they
tried to accumulate and practice their
religion, whether they danced, sang,
drummed, or even telling stories, the
planters always found a way to suppress
their culture whether by threatening them
or inflicting pain and maiming them. It
was enough that they had taken them
away from their homeland, forcibly for
domestication, now they could not even
practice their way of life on the
plantations. They were coerced to
practice a new religion, that is
Christianity. An unquestionable obstacle
to the acceptance of Christianity among
slaves was their desire to continue to
adhere as much as possible to the
religious beliefs and rituals of their
African ancestors.
Despite the oppressive conditions,
enslaved individuals managed to keep the
elements of their beliefs alive through
stories, healing arts, and songs. African
religion survived and evolved in the
Caribbean over time, with Christianity,
Obeah, Voodoo, Pocomania, Yoruba,
Revivalism, and other practices being
adapted into the lives of the descendants
of Africans.
In modern society, African religion has
been adapted to various aspects of life,
and its significance is undeniable.
Although the singing and dancing aspect
of African religion has been altered over
time, the core principles and beliefs have
remained constant. In Jamaica the
prevalent religion is Christianity, though
there is a diverse range of religions
practiced in Jamaica, Christianity is seen
as the most dominant. In Haiti, the
predominant religion is voodoo, likewise,
there are many more religions practiced,
voodoo is however the most prevalent.
The singing and dancing aspect of the
African religion is still practiced in all
parts of the Caribbean. To further
emphasize how much of Africa’s
religious culture is integrated in society
today, an annual carnival is held in
Trinidad, it signifies the end of slavery
and survival of our culture. It is a
gathering of thousands of people who are
dressed in rather kaleidoscopic clothing
as well as costumes, dancing through the
parade routes to the exhilarating sounds
of Soca, steelpan, and calypso music
which were also a method of worship.
This goes to prove that Africa’s heritage
and religion has been deeply engraved
into modern day society.