(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. A holistic interpretation of the book between Paul and James. by Richard Chowning [ ATR Topics Page | Africa Missions Research and Strategy Page | Africa Missions Main Page | Help ] [ QuickStart ] Creator God The supreme being in most African Traditional Religions is seen as the creator of humans and all other living things. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Highlights of the first writing were, the African Traditional Religion, the life of the ethnic groups in Ghana; their beliefs, customs, ritual and taboos. Marshall, Ruth 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. For all Ghanaian ethnic groups, the spirit world is considered to be as real as the world of the living. All rights reserved. Witchcraft has been a prevailing belief in African cultures and has continually posed problems for the African people groups. OLUPONA: No, this type of binary thinking is simplistic. An old African adage says: The sky is large enough for birds to fly around without one having to bump into the other.. From this view point, Ill begin to say that African Traditional Religion (ATR) involves the belief and worship of the Supreme Being known and revered all over Africa as Onyame in Akan, Mao in Ewe, Chineke in Igbo and Oludumare in Yoruba etc. The ordering of the universe and its continuance depends on God. Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. Mission Manual Pages Section A Biblical Basis of Mission 1 20, E-journal of Religious and Theological Studies, TITLE A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SALVATION IN ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY: TOWARDS DEVELOPING AN EVANGELISTIC MODEL IN SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TUENSANG DISTRICT CHAPTER ONE, Baptism and Original Sin in the Early Church : contributions of Tertullian, THE UNIQUELY CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW - Ethington Book, CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION IN KUMASI: A COMPARATIVE STUDY Department of General Art Studies, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY @BULLET An Introduction to Bible Doctrine @BULLET, Monotheism in the Qur'an and in the New Testament: Comparative Theological Explorations of the Role of Prophets and the Covenants. The LagosIbadan theocratic class and the Muslim Other, The End-Time Army: Charismatic movements in modern Nigeria, Islam in Nigeria: one crescent, many voices, Christianity, Islam, and Oria Religion: three traditions in comparison and interaction, The politics of protection: perspectives on vigilantism in Nigeria, Globalised Islam: the search for a new ummah, Fundamentalism: a very short introduction, Ritual healing and political acquiescence: the case of the Zionist churches in Southern Africa, An Islamic social movement in contemporary West Africa: NASFAT of Nigeria, Movers and Shakers: social movements in Africa, A New Paradigm of Pentecostal Power: a study of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/16/nick-cohen-islam-film-censorship. Some traditional African societies like the Yoruba believed in the existence of lessergods. L_}mB)b7h; uZ4 QI,^ID-*Rj" xx>@9lCQr [GE1Hz:Aj3>^5T-FPD5|. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. How digital misinformation may keep you from a good nights sleep, Study finds surgical patients with addiction issues may be at greater risk for complications, including sudden cardiac death after anesthesia, Khalil Gibran Muhammad says College Board needs to stand firm behind curriculum, Chief counsel of respected mid-70s Senate inquiry into improper federal investigations says credibility of oversight function at stake, 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers. hand with the study of the people who practise the religion. 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. While the universe has a beginning, many Africans believe that it does not have an endeither spatially or temporally. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Other spirits with a significant role in maintaining the African traditional moral world include ancestors and lineage spirits who operate in specific social contexts where their will is expressed through misfortunes, and some other spirits who do not act directly but who rely on human agents to effect their will. These spirits underlie the power of spirit mediums who, as mediators between space and the human world and by virtue of the moral authority this confers, are able to arbitrate between living human beings. Second, Africans believe in a moral order given by God, stipulated by the ancestors in the past. GAZETTE: Are ancestors considered deities in the traditional African cosmology? 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. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Some scholars have rightly observed that the centre of gravity of Christianity is shifting from the West to the two-thirds world, that is Asia, South America and Africa. All life, power, and existence flow from God, and by right of their primogeniture and proximity to God by death God has granted the ancestors a qualitatively more powerful life force over their descendants. Who constitutes the world of the ancestors? Traditional Africans did not practice baptism. 1 0 obj A sacrifice refers to an animal that is offered to God, e.g. A Background to Religion and Magic in Western Thought Our modern usage of the term 'magic' derives from the Greek magike, % 4 0 obj Below is the article summary. Human beings maintain active and real relationshipswith the spiritual world, especially with the living dead, through offerings, sacrifices, and prayers. February 21, 2019. Philosophers, sociologists, theologians, The conversion of indigenous converts to Christianity is often perceived as a linear process, which marks individuals rebirth and assumption of a new identity as they are assimilated into the, In the early 19th century, missionaries flocked to Central and Southern Africa to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. 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. When Christians are sickthey do not go to magicians or traditional healers. in social anthropology from Oxford University, is studying for a master of theological studies (M.T.S.) The . This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Therefore, these traditional theologians condemned those who said, ATR and similar non-western religions are followed by irrational or foolish people who in their stupidity bow down to stones, trees and rivers instead of the Creator who created such objects and themselves. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. endobj This supreme . The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). Copyright 2023 The conviction that people will be reborn in this world again and again tends to be more common among Christians than Muslims. Because many diseases are believed to have spiritual causes, traditional priests sometimes act as doctors or herbalists. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? 2 0 obj Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. In most countries surveyed, at least three-in-ten people believe in reincarnation, which may be related to traditional beliefs in ancestral spirits. Diviners who go through a long educational and apprenticeship program hold the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of the African people. When one becomes a Christian he/she is baptised. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. Thus, for example, older persons not only possess a more powerful vital force but a greater responsibility in society and more intense mystical powers. Akiki Nyabongos novel, Africa answers back, reveals that religious syncretism in Africa is a reality that has persistently painted Christianity as an offshoot of traditional African religions. In the part two of my writing, l will expand on the world populated by spirits called Vodou alongside that of the Akan. OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. These included interviews he conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called witches and delivered witches. |,utv2QdjrqfM7PC)2-|O7,0[i=_a/Om"X`Y2FpXBjsFxCqDd`%*g,-J1e*jjq,tm{w>qAsAqN$D For this reason, they can come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching of the Word of God because it is home going time. The religious traditions and beliefs of the African peoples have enough differences to merit a study of each in its own right. 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. Human beings are the link between the heavens and the earth, between the visible and the invisible universe. Both religions believe that God revealsHimself to people through dreams, propheciesand other special events. When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. African Traditional Religion appears to be a self-sufficient system, both from atheological point of view, in that it provides answers to questions of ultimate reality and meaning, at least to its adherents; and from the point of view of morality, in that it provides the moral rules, norms, and instruction in virtues by which human beings can live upright moral lives. Taboos and customs cover all aspects of human life: words, foods, dress, relations among people, marriage, burial, work, and so forth: A part of this belief in the moral and religious order is belief in the invisible universe, which consists of divinities, spirits, and the ancestors (the living dead). 4 0 obj For instance, the Yoruba religion has historically been centered in southwestern Nigeria, the Zulu religion in southern Africa, and the Igbo religion in southeastern Nigeria. For starters, the word religion is problematic for many Africans, because it suggests that religion is separate from the other aspects of ones culture, society, or environment. Traditional theologians explained that one could not worship the Supreme Being formally, without the agency of the divinities or ancestors. GAZETTE: How have ancestors played a role in traditional societies? The position I critique in this paper is really a complex of closely overlapping positions, some more theoretically sophisticated or better grounded empirically than others.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 also to a lesser extent in Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. 3 0 obj Palmi, Stephan The religious activities of chiefs and lineage heads are generally limited to the more routine biweekly and annual festivities, but traditional priests given their association with specific shrines are regarded as specialized practitioners through whom the spirits of the gods may grant directions. Everywhere he went in southwestern Nigeria, he never opposed or spoke out against African culture including initiation rites, festivals, and traditional Yoruba dress as long as it didnt directly conflict with Christianity. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Black Americans, Side by side with their high levels of commitment to Christianity and Islam, many people in the countries surveyed retain beliefs and rituals that are characteristic of traditional African religions. Christians practice baptism. ufF'dXeA^l4a*0(1l HLtA@a2O>bOk)x6*. This is called the Trinity. These include the pragmatic nature of the African cultural and religious heritage, and the African traditional methods of healing. Traditional African religion does not show any belief in the Trinity. 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. 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. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). . (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. He later earned both an M.A. 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. For Christians itsa church. 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. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. 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. Such a project, however, is only significant if it is not only executed by religious leaders, By clicking accept or continuing to use the site, you agree to the terms outlined in our. 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. Sacrificial meals in the traditional Africanreligion are the equivalent of the Holy. 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. 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? African spirituality has always been able to adapt to change and allow itself to absorb the wisdom and views of other religions, much more than, for example, Christianity and Islam. For this reason, l am writing on the topic, which says, Comparing the concept of Spirit and Soul in the Traditional Religion of the Akan and Ewe Tribes to that of the Bible. / 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, What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. 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. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in . Feature Flags: { This is because Jesusalready shed His blood on the cross and He was the perfect sacrifice that totally satisfied God. For instance, if we were to lose indigenous African religions in Africa, then diviners would disappear, and if diviners disappeared, we would not only lose an important spiritual specialist for many Africans, but also an institution that for centuries has been the repository of African history, wisdom, and knowledge. With regard to the issue of offering ones wife in generosity, this practice, as Laurenti Magesa has shown, applied to a very limited number of African ethnic groups, such as the Masai, and in very tightly controlled situations among friends within the same age group fraternity and on very limited occasions. 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. Areas of interest to read in the part one was how Christianity has found an inroad into the lives of so many who were living in deep darkness and slavery to the evil powers. Exodus 20:3-5 tells us not to make or worship images ofanything in heaven or on earth. $70.00/$25.00. In this paper, Ill bring the understanding of African traditional adherents into the light of the Holy Scriptures; to explain what the Bible teaches about soul and spirit in relation to God and man. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. Belief in the ancestors presents the idea of reciprocity in the African traditional moral world. Mbiti emphasizes that Africans view the universe religiously. endobj of the people which are all together. Adebanwi, Wale However, they do not seek the services of magicians orwitchdoctors. Different fathers played a role in the development of this religion. 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. All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. I also celebrate and honor the kings festivals and ceremonies in my hometown and other places where I live and do research. 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. Christ was tempted in all the ways Creative people have bypassed gatekeepers for centuries to distribute what they wanted to share so badly. They find common ground in Houghton Library exhibition. I utilised this view as hermeneutical point. 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 An important area Green points to has to do with the role of God in these two systems of thought. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. Green opines that although superficially regarded, this may seem to be a minimal moral relationshipmore like a kind of egoism on one side and fearful propitiation on the otherit also shows, however, the profound role that respect for age and for the fulfillment of lineage and familial duties play in this traditional setting. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. The reasons for this shift are varied and complex. stream The Church is the Christian family, in which all are accompanied to one another through belief and baptism in Jesus Christ. Traditional African religion advocated for bird and animal sacrifices whenever peoplewent to worship God. In the Ewe thought they are called Vodou (Vodu or Vudu in Benin and Togo; also Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, or other phonetically equivalent spellings. GAZETTE: What allows African indigenous religions to be so accommodating? This paper uses a qualitative research approach in the form of document analysis to critically explore the religious intersectionalities between Christianity and African Traditional. <>>> These intermediary agents include the ancestors, members of the community who at death become idealized. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors.