Traditional African Religious
Beliefs
Role of Religion in Africa
African Religions
• “African Traditional Religions” = indigenous
religions
• Islam = introduced to sub-Saharan Africa in
11th c.
• Christianity = introduced to West Africa in 15th
c.
• Folk Christian Groups = indigenous Christian
movements since early 1900’s
Africa Religions
• In Africa the three major religions are
Traditional Beliefs, Christianity, and Islam.
• Traditional beliefs may include worship of:
– ancestors,
– spirits,
– gods,
– animals,
– land,
– inanimate objects,
– and/or natural phenomena.
Traditional Religions of Africa
• Not able to speak with authority about a
single religion, theology, or ritual system.
• Few written records; oral tradition passed
on by griots (singing, story tellers).
• The religious beliefs and customs of one
group are not universally shared by others.
• Great variety of beliefs and practices in
African tradition
Animism
• Before the introduction of Islam and
Christianity, Africa had a very developed
system of religion.
• It was called Animism, which cannot be
minimized to a specific set of beliefs, but most
ethnic groups believed in:
•
•
•
•
•
One supreme god
Several other gods
Belief in spirits of ancestors
Sacrifice (child or animal) to secure protection
Need to undergo a Rite of Passage which is a “coming of
age” ceremony or ritual
Animism
• Traditional African people developed belief
systems that helped them understand and
organize information about their world.
• Developed throughout many parts of the
world throughout the course of history
Characteristics of Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africans are often polytheistic and
worship many gods
Characteristics of Sub-Saharan Africa
They practice Animism: a religion in which spirits
exist in nature and play a role in daily life
Traditional Religion and Culture
Many early Africans shared similar religious beliefs and shared common
features in the arts as well.
Examples of Beliefs
Animism
• Many believed that unseen
spirits of ancestors stayed near
• Many Africans also practiced
form of religion called
animism—belief that bodies of
water, animals, trees, other
natural objects have spirits
• To honor spirits, families
marked certain places as
sacred places, put specially
carved statues there
• Families gathered to share
news, food with ancestors,
hoping spirits would protect
them
• Animism reflected Africans’
close ties to natural world
African Animism
Traditional African Religion
ANIMISM
1. Belief in one remote Supreme Being.
2. A world of spirits (good & bad) in all
things.
3. Ancestor veneration.
4. Belief in magic, charms, and fetishes.
5. Diviner  mediator between the tribe
and God.
Religion
• Animism  the belief that
spirits are present in natural
objects
– Many Africans believed the
spirits of their departed
ancestors were present on
Earth
– Ancestral spirits would be
called upon for help in times
of need/trouble
What animals is portrayed
by the apparel in the photo?
Animism
• To some animists, objects do not actually
possess spirits, but are valued because they
have a potency to serve as a link between
people and the omnipresent god
• Animism can be a very complex belief system
• Sub-Saharan Africa is the greatest surviving
stronghold of animism
– Along the north edge Islam is rapidly winning
converts
– Christian missionaries are very active
throughout the area
Animism
• Retained tribal ethnic religion of people around
the world
• Today, adherents number at least 100 million
• Animists believe certain inanimate objects
possess spirits or souls
– Spirits live in rocks, rivers, mountain peaks,
and heavenly bodies
– Each tribe has its own characteristic form of
animism
• A Shaman — tribal religious figure usually
serves as the intermediary between people and
the spirits
Animists Populations
• The largest population
of Animists today is in
Sub-Sahara Africa.
• Animists still exist in
Native American tribes
in North and South
America.
• Aborigines in Australia
are also considered
Animists.
Beliefs in Supreme Beings,
Spirits, and Divinities
High God and Lesser Spirits
Animistic Gods
• Animistic Gods are often
immortalized by mythology
explaining the creation of
fire, wind, water, man,
animals and other natural
earthly things.
• Each sect of animism
varies, but there are
similarities between gods,
goddesses, and rituals.
• There are holy men or
women, visions, trancing ,
dancing, sacred items,
sacred places for worship
and the connection felt to
the spirits of the ancestors.
The High God
• Belief in a Supreme High God who created
the world and then withdrew from active
participation in it is common in polytheistic
religions around the world
• Belief shared by many African people
• Most African religions are polytheistic in
day-to-day practice
• Beyond all minor gods, goddesses, spirits
and ancestors, exists one High God, who
created and in some sense still governs
the universe.
High God Continued
• Most believe that this God is too distant and has
limited contact with daily operation of human life
• Can be appealed to in times of great crisis
• Yoruba tribe of West Africa – Olorun (High
God) – He assigned creation to his eldest son
Obatala, who failed to complete the task. Olorun
passed it on to Odudua, but he failed too. Olorun
oversaw creation himself by assigning smaller
tasks to various orisha, lesser deities. Olorun
then retired to the heavens and has little contact
with people.
Nuer Tribe of Sudan: Exception
with the High God
• Kwoth Nhial (High God) continues to play
an active role in the lives of humans
• He rewards the just, punishes the wicked,
and blesses those who uphold the moral
values of the Nuer people
• He loves and cares for His creation and is
asked for blessing and assistance
High God
• Most Africans believe the High God is too
powerful to be appealed to for daily
problems.
• He really isn’t interested.
• Lesser deities or orishas control day-today occurrences
• Even Nuer have a host of lesser deities
The Lesser Spirits
abilities of supreme being (creation),
aspects of nature (water), historical
humans (leaders), human activities
(agriculture)
celebrate through myth, song, prayer,
sacrifice, possession, gendered,
character, food, color, altars, images,
priests, rituals, daily relationships
The Lesser Spirits
• Earth, water, and sky contain spiritual life similar
to human kind
• Mountains, forest, rivers and streams, many
plants and animals
• Storms, lightening, thunder
• Spirits can be beneficial or harmful
• They are influenced by prayer, flattery, and
sacrifice.
• They have a direct influence on human life so
Africans seek to understand them and seek their
favor
World of the Spirits
Dogon “Spirit House”
Lesser Spirits Continued
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
They can be male or female.
Earth is regarded as a mother goddess.
Ex. Ashanti prayer for the Earth Mother:
“Earth, while I am yet alive,
It is upon you that I put my trust
Earth who receives my body,
We are addressing you,
And you will understand.”
• In Ghana there is a water spirit called
Mami Water
• The fishermen
consider her
so sacred
they do not
talk about her
openly.
People believed they had to
maintain a favorable (good)
relationship with the spirits
or else suffer their wrath
(anger).
Water: A Sacred Element
• Water sacred to many cultures.
• When life depends on water in the form of
rainfall, rivers, and streams, water takes on a
life of its own.
• Africans use water for rituals such as the
washing of the newborn and the dead.
• It must come from a source of sacred, living
water.
• It must not be heated or boiled, or treated with
chemicals as that would kill the spirit in it.
Ouidah, Benin
Mamy Wata, the goddess of the Sea.
Mountain God
• Sacred Mount Lengai is
in Kenya’s crater
highlands, a region
populated by Maasai
pastoralists.
• Their main god Lengai
is benevolent as the
black god of rain and
evil as the red god of
the sun.
Mountain God
• Ol Doinyo Lengai,
meaning “Mountain of
God,” last erupted with
a plume of ash in 1982
• Maasi pilgrimage here
to pray for rain, cattle,
and children.
Ancestor Worship
Ancestor Worship
• Most commonly recognized spiritual forces in
Africa
• Continue to live on in the spirit world and unlike
the High God take an active interest in the wellbeing of those who live in the world.
• Ancestors are consulted before the birth of a
child, beginning of an agricultural season, prior
to battle, or political conflicts.
• In some tribes, no one may eat the first fruit of
the harvest until it has been offered to the
ancestors.
Ancestor Worship Continued
• While in China and Japan ancestors are loved
and respected, in Africa they are feared.
• They can be capricious (do whatever they want,
fickle) and unpredictable.
• Ancestors can do whatever they want.
• Despite many offerings, they can turn on you or
the community.
• May cause sickness, death, childlessness (a
major curse)
• Ancestors more than the gods are the enforcers
of the moral codes of the tribe.
Ancestor Worship Continued
• Gifts and sacrifices offered to them
• Belief that ancestors own the land and its
products
• Portion of harvest must be offered to them
• When animals are born, some must be
slaughtered and offered to ancestors to
ensure their blessings.
• Modern Africans living in cities, return to
their native villages to offer sacrifices
Religious Leaders under
Animism
Religious Leaders in Traditional
African Religions
• Not a major need for religious leaders; many
activities can be performed by individuals –
offerings of food and drinks to ancestors
• No complex theology or rituals like in Hinduism,
Judaism, or Christianity
• No requirement of a priesthood and temples are
very rare
• Some communities in West Africa do have
temples and altars; people trained in African
mythology, taboos, and rituals to prepare them
Religious Leaders
• Shaman
– Medicine man
or woman
– Conducts
ceremonies
Religious Leaders
• Diviners:
• Served as
interpreters
• Job was to
explain
misfortune
Religious Leaders
• Healers
– Helped families
become aware of
problems, along
with providing
remedies
North
American
Shaman
West African
Griot
Animism
• Medicine Man
Role of Rituals and Diviners
Diviners and Healers
Diviners and Healers
• Rooted in Tradition
• Their purpose was to
explain the cause of
misfortune
• Experts in herbal medicine
• Today, doctors study the
roots and herbs used in
traditional African healing
Diviners: Communication with
Ancestors
• They can speak to you in dreams
• They can send signs to you in nature that
can be interpreted with the help of
diviners, spiritual specialists
• Signs are sometimes interpreted by
looking at the organs of sacrificed animals
• Diviners can also contact ancestors for
help with knowing the future.
Diviners
• Causes: natural & supernatural; humanhuman, human-divine, & human-natural
relationships are messed up
• Divination: ritual process, humans
obtain inaccessible, obscure info. about
a client’s place in religious cosmos
– Priests handle neutral objects
– Priests interpret meaning of results
(i.e. Yoruba Ifa diviners & Orunmila & Odu,
16 palm nuts, x8 times, 256 chapters)
African Diviner (Shaman)
Tallensi Tribe: Example of Pleasing
Ancestors
• Tallensi man named Pu-eng-yii left his family
and settled with a rival group to earn more
money.
• Auto accident, serious leg injury
• Diviner told him that ancestors were angry; told
him that his ancestors had intended to kill him
but failed to follow through on the plan.
• Solution: He had to make restitution (monetary
compensation) for leaving his family, severe ties
with newly adopted family, and return home.
Sacrifices
Sacrifices to Please Spirits and
Ancestors
• Pouring our a bit of their drinks or tossing
away bits of their food (similar to when you
drop a hot dog at a BBQ – an offering to
the backyard gods).
• Simple act that pleases spirits and
ancestors
• Sacrifice of animals for more serious
occasions – dogs, birds, sheep, goats and
cattle
Animal Sacrifice and Other
Sacrifice to Appease Gods
• Blood poured out on ground or altar
• Before a battle or election campaign or
when there’s a serious drought or in times
of illness
• Prior to engaging in a dangerous hunt
• Ogun – Yoruba god of iron. In modern
day, he is a god of machinery.
• People who drive automobiles in
dangerous streets decorate their cars with
his symbols
Partaking in the Sacrifice:
Communion with Spirits
• After animal is sacrificed, a portion is cut
and roasted or boiled and offered to the
deity.
• A portion is consumed by those in the
sacrifice.
• This unites them with the spirits.
• A long tradition with world religions to build
spiritual bond
• Consider Christianity and Holy
Communion
Rituals and Rites of Passage
Places of Worship
• Rituals take
place
outdoors in
nature
Ritual
• Organized group activity
• Relationships among humans, superhumans & nature give meaning to
ritual
• Rites of passage: define social,
religious, physical identity (birth,
puberty, marriage, death)
Rituals and Rites of Passage
• Important parts of life marked with rituals
• Rites of passage regulated by religious
functionaries
• Birth of child – time for great rejoicing;
great blessing from the world of the spirits
• Twins – not a blessing, dangerous and
evil.
• Sometimes, regarded that women had two
men and each were the fathers
• Occasionally, one or both are killed
Rituals and Rites of Passage
continued
• In many African societies, including the
Ashanti, children are not named for the
first week of life.
• Because of high infant mortality, African
tribes believe that it may be a trickster god
who wants to trick people into loving it only
to leave them
• After they make it through a week, then
much love is lavished on the child
Rituals and Rites of Passage
• After naming the child, there is a
ceremony of gently throwing the child in
the air and introducing it to the moon,
which is deity (The Gu of the Benin)
• The Basuto of South Africa say: “There is
your father’s sister.”
• Circumcision is sometimes done after child
birth
• Most of the time, it is reserved for puberty
Circumcision
• Circumcision is a religious requirement for
Jews and Muslims and is significant to
many Christians
• For Africans, circumcision is reserved for
when young men reach puberty
• Severity can vary from a minor cuts that
have no major threat to genital mutilation
which can be life threatening
• Usually no anesthetic
Circumcision
• The man who performs the ceremony may wear
a mask representing the ancestors.
• Represents passage into adulthood
• Initiate is expected not to flinch or cry out in pain
• Female circumcision is practiced in some African
societies although there is growing opposition
around the world
• As with male circumcision, no major medical
reason for doing it but supposed to control their
erotic desire
Rituals and Rites of Passage
• Adulthood – responsibilities and privileges
• Leaving the family home
• Marriage is very important; so is bearing
children; a childless couple will go to great
lengths to discover why they are childless with
the help of a diviner
• Death – rituals to make the deceased
comfortable; fear that their ghosts will return to
haunt the living; widows fear that husbands will
return to cause their wombs to die
Marriage Rituals
• Virginity is highly prized especially among young
women
• Some tribes sew part of the female genitalia
when the girls are small for the future husband
• Frequently, husband may not have sexual
relations with wife while she is pregnant and
nursing, which altogether may be two years.
• Polygamy is practiced by elites of many
traditional African tribes. Several wives and
separate houses
Rituals for the Dead
• Africa’s warm climate ---dead buried quickly
• Sometimes embalming and mummification;
occasionally offered to hyenas
• Burial with objects that will make their time in
spirit world more enjoyable
• In some African societies, illness, misfortune,
death don’t just happen. Often the result of
witchcraft or foul play
• In past, dead were allowed to identify their
killers. If their hands, dropped as they passed
someone in the community or if they fell near
someone as they were being carried, that
person would have to defend his/her innocence.
Death and World of Spirits
• Most tribes do not have a system of
eschatology or concepts of judgment and
retribution after death.
• Dead simply move into the world of the
spirits and continue to be interested in the
world of the living.
• LoDagaa people of Ghana – exception
• Crossing a river with a ferryman (similar to
Greek idea of River Styx and Hades), easy
if you were good, difficult and up to three
years if you were bad, making up for your
evil
Islam and Christianity in Africa
Other Religions in Africa
ISLAM  25%
* Nigeria
 largest sub-Saharan
Muslim countries.
CHRISTIANITY  20%
• Religion
• Indigenous religions tend to be animistic
– The Introduction and Spread of Christianity
• Entered northeast Africa around 300 A.D.
– Coptic Christians - Ethiopia & Eritrea; other
Christians in Sudan
• Dutch brought Calvinism to South Africa in 1600s
– The Introduction and Spread of Islam
• Introduced about 1,000 years ago
• Today, orthodox Islam prevails in most of the Sahel
– Interaction Between Religious Traditions
• Religious conflict most acute in northeastern Africa
• Sudan: conflict between Muslims in north and NonMuslims in the south
72
Globalization & Diversity:
Rowntree, Lewis, Price,
Christianity in Africa
The route of African Christianity
• Egypt and Libya in the
beginning
• Apollos of Alexandria
• Others from Cartage
• Eunuch of Ethiopia,
Meroitic Official, a.k.a.
Kandaka, a Regent to
the throne of Candace,
the Queen of Ethiopia
• Preservation of
Scriptures in Africa, the
Sinaiticus Texts
particularly
• Bishops such as
Clement and Cyril, men
of Alexandria in Egypt.
• The Nubians of Sudan
and the Coptic of
Ethiopians are part of
Africa Christians
heritage.
4
Aksum
churches
Aksum became a kingdom based on Christianity
Christianity in West Africa
• Although Christianity was first introduced to
Africa in Egypt in the 1st century, West
Africa was not really exposed to Christianity
until Europe colonized Africa
• Traditionally, Europeans believed that
Africans did not have a religious belief
system (even though they practiced
Animism) so many European churches sent
missionaries to Africa to spread Christianity
Christianity in West Africa
• Some European countries used
Christianity and the need for sending
missionaries as justification, or another
reason, for taking over land in West Africa
• Today, Christianity is the most practiced
religion in Africa
Church in Nigeria
• 2 billion adherents
make it most practiced
in the world.
•Originated in
Bethlehem (8-4 BC) and
Jerusalem (AD 30) with
Jesus Christ.
• Spread by missionaries
and the Roman Empire
(Constantine A.D. 313).
• It is the most
practiced religion in
Africa today.
Christianity
Syncretism in West Africa
• Similar to the introduction of Islam in West
Africa, people tried to fuse Christianity with
Animism.
• The mixing and fusion of two or more
religions is called syncretism
Islam in Africa
Islam in West Africa Containment
• Islam was introduced to West Africa
through trading systems with Eastern
and Northern Africa
• North African people would trade horses,
camels, fruits and salt for West African
gold and food.
• West African leaders forced Muslim
merchants to stay outside of the cities
so that their religion would not spread.
EAST AFRICA
Arab merchants
brought their
religion with them
to East Africa
Islam was
introduced to
the East African
trade cities
Islamic Mosque in Ghana
WEST AFRICA AND ISLAM
The gold-salt trade
spread to the Northeast
and attracted Muslim
merchants
Cultural diffusion
between West Africans
and the Muslims resulted
Islam in West Africa
• Along with adopting new practices and
ethical values, West Africans kept some of
their old religious practices.
– Muslim leaders allowed them to continue
religious traditions as long as they did not
contradict (conflict with) the Five Pillars Faith.
– W. Africans continued to show respect for the
spirits of dead ancestors. They kept their belief
in spirits who could help those or made sacrifices
to them.
– They used amulets, or charms, that they believed
helped people or protected them from harm.
The Spread of Islam in West Africa
Traders Bring Islam to
Ghana
• Between 639 and 708
C.E., Arab Muslims
conquered North Africa
• They wanted to bring W.
Africa into the Islamic
world.
• Initially the king of Ghana
did not convert, nor did
the majority of the people.
• But the king did allow
Muslims to build
settlements within his
empire
theradiantlight.blogspot.com
Islam in Mali
• The tolerance shown by
Muslims toward traditional
religious practices helped
Islam to spread.
• Early leaders of Mali
accepted Islam, but they
didn’t follow all of its
teachings.
• In 1312, a new leader,
Mansa Musa, took over in
Mali. He became the first
West African ruler to
practice Islam devoutly.
digitalhistory.uh.edu
Islam in Mali
• Under the rule of Mansa
Musa, Mali became a
major crossroad of the
Islamic world.
• Musa made a hajj, or
pilgrimage to Mecca
• His caravan was
described as “a lavish
display of power, wealth,
and unprecedented by its
size and pageantry.”
• Included in his caravan
was:
– 500 slaves, each carrying
a 6 lb. staff of gold
– Caravan of 200 camels
carrying
•
•
30,000 lbs. of gold
Food, clothing, and
supplies
• Because of this
impressive display, Mali
gained acceptance as an
important empire
MANSA MUSA’S INFLUENCE
Mansa Musa was a devout
Muslim and went on a hajj
to Mecca in 1324
Mansa Musa passed out gold nuggets to the people
he met along the way of his long trip
When Mansa Musa returned from Mecca, he was
filled with religious fervor
Djenne Mosque
He built many mosques throughout the Mali
Empire, including one at Timbuktu
Islam in Songhai
•
•
•
•
In the 1460s Sunni Ali became
the new ruler of Songhai.
He built a powerful army that
enabled Songhai to break away
from Mali and eventually conquer
it.
Early Songhai rulers didn’t
seriously practice Islam
Under the leadership of Askia
Mohammed Toure, a devout
Muslim, rigid controls were set to
ensure Islam was being practiced
properly.
http://www.civilizacoesafricanas.blogspot.com
EAST AFRICA
The mix of African and Arab cultures led to the
development of a new language: Swahili
East African towns had
mosques (Muslim places However, many Africans
of worship) and were
chose to keep their
ruled by Muslim sultans traditional Animistic beliefs
Changes in Africa due to
Islam
Change #1: Succession
•
•
•
An important change in
government was in how
people chose their next
leader, or “line of
succession”
Traditionally succession to
the throne had been
matrilineal – the right to rule
was traced through the
woman’s side of the family
After the arrival of Islam,
succession became
patrilineal – the right to rule
went from father to son.
http://www.zacstravaganza.blogspot.com
Change #2: Structure of Gov’t
• Muslims believed in a
highly centralized
government, which was
different than traditional
African society
• After conversion to Islam,
West African kings sought
more control of local
rulers
• Rulers adopted titles used
in Muslim lands, such as
“emir” and “sultan”
http://etudesafricaines.revues.org/docannexe/image/135/img-2small480.png
Change #3: Adoption of
Shari’ah Law
• Customary laws of
Africa usually:
– were enforced by
chiefs or kings
– didn’t give physical
punishments
– Weren’t written down
– Guilty person paid
injured party with gifts
or services
– Family or clan of guilty
person could also be
punished
http://www.onlinelegaltips.com/images/Judiciary-System-In-Africa.jpg
Shari’ah Law:
• Laws were written
• Muslims believed
that shari’ah came
from God
• Administered by
judges called qadis
– Cases were heard in
a court
•
•
http://shariahcouncil.org/
Witnesses called
Ruled on basis of the
law and the evidence
presented
Change # 4: Emphasis on
Education
• Muslims highly value learning &
encouraged people to become educated.
• Timbuktu
– Became famous for its community of Islamic
Scholars
– Contained several universities
– Schools were set up to educate children in the
Qur’an
• Schools run by an imam (scholar)
• Basic subjects included studying the Qur’an,
Islamic studies, law, and literature
Change #5: Arabic: A New
Language
•
In West Africa, Arabic became the language of religion, learning,
commerce (business), and government.
•
Arabic became the language of TRADE and GOVERNMENT
•
West Africans continued to use their native languages in everyday
speech.
•
Scholars used Arabic to begin to write about the history and culture of
West Africa.
•
Arabic allowed rulers to keep records and to write to rulers in other
countries.
What was written about?
• Described how
people used animals,
plants, and minerals
to cure diseases.
• Discussed ethical
behavior for
business and
government.
• Told how to use the
stars to determine
the seasons.
• They recorded
the history of the
Songhai.
• They wrote about
Islamic Law
Change #6: Architecture
Mosques in West Africa
 Traditionally, West Africans built small shrines to the
forces of nature. As they converted to Islam, they
began to build mosques (Muslim house of worship).
 The mosques that were built blended
Islamic architectural styles with their own
traditional religious art.
For example, the minaret (tower) of one
mosque was designed to look like the
symbol of a Songhai ancestor.
• Mosques in West Africa used the materials
that were available in the local area.
Islamic
Invasions
Change# 7: Decorative
Arts
West Africans adopted the
use of calligraphy and
geometric patterns in their
decorative arts.
Arabic calligraphy was
used to decorate costumes,
fans, and even weapons.
goafrica.about.com
West Africans adopted the
dress of Arabic robes…
using decorative textiles and
clothing and everyday
objects like stools, ceramic
containers.
Extent of Islam (Fig. 6.25)
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Globalization & Diversity:
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