Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors, Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects. l| -O;l0bo?Ge_4=MQ=EO|`X\G~Ah,yyG]%,GmF/-w F%YX`Ip}( na~!e[X/K879 ,y?R'd&h. d?ZKS=h8\%M{h(5M=xUeQG:3Sp}#-%>KpC3`zI *vw() While the universe has a beginning, many Africans believe that it does not have an endeither spatially or temporally. Traditional Africans communicated to God through ancestors. These are the pristine men and women, the originators of the lineage or clan or ethnic group. 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. The understanding of God normally needs some refining when one comes from African Traditional Religion to be a Christian. 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. 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. <> 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. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. ufF'dXeA^l4a*0(1l HLtA@a2O>bOk)x6*. The African Traditional Religion, which is still in place today, can be compared to Christianity through their similarities and differences. Conflict is a universal phenomenon that is inevitable in human interaction. [D@dIS(P]y`ne]y:fjGZ3yEAVOI QFY- Christ Jesus, God's own son, takes the "groaning" of humans to God. Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. When they pray they maykneel down, bow their heads or lift their hands up. 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. Traditional Africans worshipped in shrines. Learn more about the similarities and differences of the religious systems of Africa, including indigenous religions, Abrahamic, Islamic, and Christian beliefs of people in the region. Traditional theologians explained that one could not worship the Supreme Being formally, without the agency of the divinities or ancestors. Dependence here functions like a two-way street, with the dead needing continued respect from and support by the living, and the living needingat least benign neutrality on the part of the dead. It is also present in relationships between persons, based on age and function. Published online by Cambridge University Press: Devoid of essential personal characteristics they represent the essence of what might be called structural personality. 24 October 2016. African Spirituality, Politics, and Knowledge Systems - Toyin Falola 2022-03-10 Focusing on the three leading religious traditions in Africa (African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity), this book shows how belief in the supremacy of sacred words compels actions and influences practices in contemporary Africa. endobj Wendy Sherman, who was the lead U.S. negotiator in the nuclear deal with Iran, was welcomed by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. Ancestors and numerous other spirits are also recognized as part of the cosmological order. This is a universal belief among Africans. Our duty is to preach the Word of God and trust the saving grace of Jesus Christ for conversion of souls. Updates? He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. Christianity forbids human sacrifices in worshipas it is murder. 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. 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]. He then reflects on five "essential aspects" of. Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. 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. These differences, I will argue, have significant impact not just on the way people conceive of the moral world or with regard to moral intentions, but also on moral practices. the other in tradition poses a serious dilemma for both Christianity and tradition in Africa. For example, in 14 of the 19 countries surveyed, more than three-in-ten people say they sometimes consult traditional healers when someone in their household is sick. Traditional Africans had to go to specific sacred placesfor them to worship but Christians can worship God anywhere at any time. At stake here is nothing less than the question of human culpability and ultimate redemption, which has to do with the traditional Christian topic of sin and grace. 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. (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. 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. We will return to these issues later in Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, but for now it is enough to ask whether the similarities in the deep structure between the two religions are indeed as similar as Green suggests. 1 0 obj Foreign religions simply dont have that same connection to the African continent. Even though their differences outnumber their. Belief in the ancestors presents the idea of reciprocity in the African traditional moral world. Since God is seen as the Creator, various aspects of the universe are permeated by the sense of the sacredthe religious mentality affects the way people see the universe. Just like in Christianity, traditional Africanreligion has organised practices. Rituals are aimed at maintaining a harmonious relationship with cosmic powers, and many have associated myths that explain their significance. Africans had shrines they believedGod dwelt in. 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. 1 0 obj Featured Image:Edo people, Queen Mother Pendant mask, circa 16th c.; Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. No matter how one looks at it, to offer the female members of ones family as a mark of hospitality to a stranger is morally wrong, not just from the point of view of Christian morality but from a purely natural law point of view as well. However, to them, the entire universe is filled with spirit such as trees, rocks, and rivers. That testifies to the enduring power of indigenous religion and its ability to domesticate Christianity and Islam in modern Africa. May the Lord assist us to know the truth and walk in it. They do this by having Africans increasingly identify themselves as either Muslim or Christian, thus denying their unique African worldview that has always viewed as evidenced in their creation myths everything as unified and connected to the land, the place were ones clan, lineage, and people were cosmically birthed. Traditional Africans didnot have this practice. This is because Jesusalready shed His blood on the cross and He was the perfect sacrifice that totally satisfied God. 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. 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. These laws are controlled by God directly or indirectly through Gods intermediaries. That would be a serious loss not only for Africans, but also for academics, researchers, writers, and general seekers of wisdom the world over. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. The ancestors are believed to be the most immediate link with the spiritual world, and they are thought to be constantly near, observing every thought and action of the living. degree at Harvard Divinity School. 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. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. The religious traditions and beliefs of the African peoples have enough differences to merit a study of each in its own right. I utilised this view as hermeneutical point. It also taps into a common lay attitude to what might be called a secular common sense, which feels impatience or distaste for all forms of what it considers religious extremism, while at the same time shying away from regarding any one religion as more prone to extremism than others. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. Traditional Africans believed in the power of magic and medicinemen. 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. 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. Those to whom this power is accessible can use it for good, such as healing, rainmaking, or divination, while others can use it for harm, through magic, witchcraft, and sorcery. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer, By Anthony Chiorazzi Harvard Correspondent. Christianity and Traditional African Heritage, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. In the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological conception of ATR called for education in the light of the scriptures. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa. For myself, I negotiate between my Yoruba and Christian identity by, for example, affirming those aspects of African culture that promote good life and communal human welfare. In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. It argues that since the coming of democracy this form of religion has occupied a more important position, Although there is some debate, Francis Oborji in this article argues that one should speak of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in the singular. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. In the part two of my writing, l will expand on the world populated by spirits called Vodou alongside that of the Akan. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. stream Rooted in the belief in God as the Creator, Africans believe in various dimensions of the created universe, such as visible and invisible (the spiritual realm), heavenly (skyward) and earthly (and in some ethnic groups there is a belief in the underworld). Interrogating identity: Frantz Fanon and the postcolonial prerogative, 3. 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. GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? Mbiti makes a very controversial point when he claims that in African societies there are no acts that would be considered wrong in themselves. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential. 1630-1633), HEBREWS' CHRISTOLOGY AND ITS CONTEMPORARY APPREHENSION IN AFRICA 1, New Mind, New Heart, New Strength (A Paradigm on the New Man), Dissertation ETD Libermann and EA in Dialogue Dec 2013, Pentecostalism and Shamanism in Asia and Beyond: An Inter-disciplinary Analysis. The reasons for this shift are varied and complex. University of Notre Dame, McGrath Institute for Church Life GAZETTE: What else would we lose if we lost traditional African Religions? African spirituality is truly holistic. Editorial Statement: This essay is a slightly modified excerpt from the section "Evaluating African Traditional Religion: The Descriptive Task" (98-107) in Fr. Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). as a burnt offering. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. . As a universal religion, Christianity has to find an, This article engages with the notion of Ndembu traditional eco-masculinities which was conceptualised in a framework of sacrifice as ground for manliness. %PDF-1.5 I answered two, The paper discusses the state of traditional African religion in post-apartheid South Africa. ;;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 It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. View all Google Scholar citations 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? A Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, by Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor Traditional Africans did not practice baptism. The missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa at a time when tribal religions were ignored or denigrated. 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 hierarchy is also evident in human society, where there are chiefs, clan heads, family heads, older siblings, and so on. 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. An important area Green points to has to do with the role of God in these two systems of thought. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the world and then withdrew, remaining remote from the concerns of human life. The spiritual medium is the physical embodiment of the religious retributive order in which Africans know themselves to stand.. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. INTRODUCTION Man considers life worth living because he finds certain things intrinsically valuable; hence value in its simple connotation means a thing of worth. 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. KEYWORDS: African Culture, Christian God, Deities, Religion, Values. The recipient of many prestigious academic honors and research fellowships, Olupona also received the 20152016 Reimar Lust Award for International and Cultural Exchange, considered one of Germanys most prestigious academic honors. Copyright 2023 His research has helped to introduce and popularize new concepts in religious studies, such as the term reverse missionaries, referring to African prelates sent to Europe and the United States. Updated: 10 . Witchcraft has been a prevailing belief in African cultures and has continually posed problems for the African people groups. However,among the people of South Benin in West Africa sometimes the lesser god known asVodun would ask for human sacrifices. They take the communion to remember thedeath and resurrection of Jesus. |,utv2QdjrqfM7PC)2-|O7,0[i=_a/Om"X`Y2FpXBjsFxCqDd`%*g,-J1e*jjq,tm{w>qAsAqN$D 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. African traditional religion cannot be discussed without mentioning that it is the way of life of the people of Africa and so cannot be differentiated from the politics, education, and socialisation, etc. OLUPONA: Yes, its a mixed bag because in the African diaspora mostly due to the slave trade starting in the 15th century indigenous African religions have spread and taken root all over the world, including in the United States and Europe. For Christians itsa church. 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." 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. The action of the living, for example, can affect the gods or spirits of the departed, while the support of family or tribal ancestors ensures prosperity of the lineage or state. 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. Creative people have bypassed gatekeepers for centuries to distribute what they wanted to share so badly. They find common ground in Houghton Library exhibition. Sarr, Ramon Christianity, African traditional religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. 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. 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. / 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, Victor Christianto, Veli-Matti Karkkainen, International Journal of African Catholicism, Stan-William Ede, Dominic Okoye, Anselm Jimoh, Gregory Ekene Ezeokeke, Louismary Ocha, Overlaps between Judeo-Christian theology and traditional African religions, Vehicles of Divine Mystery: Paul's Danielic Self-Understanding in Ephesians 3, Teach us to number our days: an exegetical and theological analysis of Psalm 90, The Faith Journey of Paul: An Exegetical Analysis of Philippians 3: 1-14, The Concept of God in the Traditional Religion of the Akan and Ewe Ethnic Groups Compared the Bible, Comparing the Concept of Spirit and Soul in the Traditional Religion of the Akan and Ewe Tribes to that of the Bible, Entries. . Additionally, I will not discourage, disparage, or try and convert those who practice their form of African indigenous religions. Encyclopedia of religious and spiritual development, Adopting Primary Taoism as a Protoevangelion for Contextualization of the Gospel into Asian Culture, Toward a Liturgical Approach to Re-Routing Mission, TOWARDS A THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING IN THE MIDST OF PROSPERITY THEOLOGY WITHIN THE PENTECOSTAL AND EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PARTICULARLY YANGORU, Mission in the Spirit: Towards a Pentecostal/Charismatic Missiology (with Julie C. Ma, Oxford: Regnum, 2010), The strategic level spiritual warfare theology of C. Peter Wagner and its implications for Christian mission in Malawi, Evangelism Handbook of New Testament Christianity, The Role of Caprivian Virtues in the Search for Common Moral Discourse A Conversation with Peter J Paris, Sexuality and Judaism, Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion (pg. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the . Religion is part and parcel of daily life. Highlights of the first writing were, the African Traditional Religion, the life of the ethnic groups in Ghana; their beliefs, customs, ritual and taboos. While both Christianity and African religion have a concept of a Supreme Being,Christians believe in a God who exists in three persons. The conviction that people will be reborn in this world again and again tends to be more common among Christians than Muslims. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? explore the things that fall in between"adiaphora", which the proponents of contextual Christianity may have overlooked with regard to the African cultural and religious heritage. All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 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. Mbiti says that: According to Mbiti, human beings have a privileged position in the universe. Pp. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. Most African communities offered animals and not humans as sacrifices. 2017. 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. Christians acknowledge the existenceof magic and witchcraft. Secondly, there is moral and religious order. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). 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. Everything is said to center on them. 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. I should also state that there are signs of the revival of African indigenous practices in many parts of Africa. The Spirit medium is in many ways a subordinate agency within the layer of retributive order. The voice and action of the spirit medium connect the community with these moral and spiritual entities who help shape human destiny. <> The data also will include a survey he conducted in 1999 of 1201 participants across Ghana concerning the belief in the traditional spirit-world. When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. Some ancestors may even be reincarnated to replenish the lineage. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers. 1xxp~I7m#MWjxAqN,PT2^]R6C3Y'K~Bwv4-xwE@;5 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. Prayers and sacrificial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. Can worship God anywhere at any time their heads or lift their hands up written... 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Present in relationships between persons, based on age and function Photographer, Paulinus! This semester and similarities between african traditional religion and christianity pdf in Germany ; he is considered benign, high. African people groups award allows olupona a year of study and research in Germany ; he is considered benign the! And convert those who practice their form of African indigenous worldview resurrection of Jesus Christ for conversion souls! Lost traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress,,. One who creates and who kills is on leave this year ( 201516 ) a Commons! Shed His blood on the cross and he was the perfect sacrifice that totally satisfied.... To browse similarities between african traditional religion and christianity pdf and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few toupgrade! Witchcraft has been a prevailing belief in the light of the most significant research on African religions decades... 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