0000004364 00000 n African tribal societies are rich in the awareness of a Supreme Being to the extent that no native-born African is unaware of God’s existence (O’Donovan 1996:41). The complexity of the relationship between environment and religion in indigenous and contemporary African cultures and societies requires a more multidisciplinary approach that draws from a variety of sources, approaches, and epistemological positions: phenomenology, ecology, geography … African Traditional Religion and the Religious M arket The theory of the market simply says that for an organisation to remain competitive, it must regularly and sustainably identify the It is best distinguished as ATR. 0 According to Choon and Van der Merwe (2008:1299), this phenomenon and practice is an ‘attempt to preserve good relations with the departed kin.’ The practice It was under western religious and secular influences that tensions and conflicts, particularly between Christians and Muslims began to emerge (Chipenda, 1993). African (Traditional) and modern religions may offer African solutions to many problems of conflict in the region of Africa. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society and so on .because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. pdf. Inter-religious relations, especially, among African Traditional Religion (ATR) worshippers, Muslims and Christians are becoming sources of social tension and violence. 3 Leo Frobenius, The Voice of Africa, Vol. 191 0 obj<>stream The traditional African religions or traditional beliefs and practices of African people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that includes various ethnic religions. These traditions are not religious principles, but a cultural identity that is passed on through stories, myths and tales. African traditional religion refers to the indigenous or autochthonous religions of the African people. Ama Ata Aidoo,2 an authoress of African literature states, “I should go on to insist that every man and every woman should be a feminist – especially if they believe that Africans should take charge of African land, African wealth, African S�Ӑ�J�B|�#p�Z��q~+`]z�-7��2),o�����y��:� P��g�Y��޷�!xn�P\J��`K��P. When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. This study seeks to explore the concept of African Traditional Religion is not essentially idolatrous, but it has a tendency to become so if the cult and the symbols of the divinities are so emphasized as to exclude the Supreme Being. African Traditional Religions are specific to each ethnic group on the continent. One of the burning moral issues in Africa is that of conflicts. trailer AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION Religion is a difficult subject to inquiry including attempts at definition and conception. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural, include belief in a supreme creator, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of magic, and traditional medicine. ~ R. Goredema ~ ... African culture and tradition did not oppress women. 0000003409 00000 n African Traditional Religion is part of the category designated as primal religion (Momen 2009:356). This paper seeks to examine how Africans conceive of the Supreme Being, divinities and spirits. %PDF-1.4 %���� The values of Venn. 0000011456 00000 n 0000002604 00000 n African religion is traditional for the following reasons: (i) It is a religion that evolved from the personal experiences of the peoples of Africa. Traditional African religions. They counteracted various derogatory names given to AIR. African Traditional Religion cannot easily be studied by non-Africans. V�����s�N�ޖ4ߞ�?q�9���� Be�?�#>:ځ�fb� f����\� 2Y�Cf�M�>�ާ�R�b��H��!����˭��k�ծO�>�����j���Q�OQ�7Tx�m@A��o�0�=&$|ml����)�%��} B. take more objective view, seeing some value in social functions of African religions • 3. in the traditional religions of Africa, in so far as this hope is not just something our peoples once had in the past, but is a concep-tion of life which influences the attitude of the modern African•••? PDF. African Traditional Religion has grown out of the African soil. The Main Characteristics of African Traditional Religion. It will be argued that the primogeniture rule8 is not an original African cultural principle but a colonial and imperial construct. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs and festivals, include belief in an amount of higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme creator or force, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of magic and traditional African medic Traditional African Religion • 1. 30. For many Africans and Ghanaians, in particular, it is religion more than anything else that shapes their worldview and participation in social life6. 1. Many, if not most, African Traditional Religions employ Henotheism. This accounts for the varying figures that are sometimes seen in . The best interpreter of African Religion is the African with a disciplined mind and the requisite technical tools. Native African historians and scholars, from mid-20th c. (Uburu: Truth And Life Publication Ltd, Ohaozara, Ebonyi State Nigeria, 2007), 73. It is the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present Africans, and which is being practised today in various forms and various shades and intensities by a very large number of Africans, including individuals who claim to be Muslims or Christians. Religion in Igbo traditional society partakes fully of all the features of world traditional religion, including its beliefs, sacred myths, oral qualities, strong appeal to the hearts of adherents, high degree of ritualization, and possession of numerous participatory personages such as officiating elders, kings, priests, and diviners. accessed December 2009. xref INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION. This Ghanaian Adinkra symbol means \"except for God\" and symbolizes the supremacy of God. portrayed in African religions. PDF. 0000000653 00000 n A short summary of this paper. The fundamental tenet of any religion is it’s concept of theism. The Soul of the religion, its Traditions, is passed down orally through dance, poetry, music and stories from generation to generation. African Traditional Religion is a thriving scholarly business, but a serious disconnect exists between contributions that celebrate a generalized African Traditional Religion and those that describe particular religions and aspects of religion on the basis of ethnographic and archival research. %%EOF African Traditional Religion for the African; let's go back to our roots — Nana Owonae Advise Ghanaians. 0000003672 00000 n It is not brought from outside. The Mwali hilltop cult and shrines is discussed in the 2008 book Mambo Hills: Historical and Religious Significance by Marieke Clarke ().Mambo Hills is northeast of Bulawayo.Njelele Shrine, Free PDF. Maulana Karenga states that in African art, the object was not as important as the soul force behind the creation of the object. African tribal societies are rich in the awareness of a Supreme Being to the extent that no native-born African is unaware of God’s existence (O’Donovan 1996:41). Strengths-based practice, which recognises African traditional belief systems as a source of resilience, should be recognised. These European investigators could not understand African traditions, these investigations needed Africans to carry them out. Source: www.purdue.edu. The African traditional Despite the popularity of world-famous churches, the traditional religions of Africa are still in demand and used, as they were centuries ago. These traditions have been passed from one generation to the next. 0000001450 00000 n appropriated within 19th century West African consciousness, have also been recognised as an essential strand in the emergence at the beginning of the 20th century of the political and cultural movement called Pan-Africanism. Indeed, the African continent never experienced a religiously inspired war prior to the advent of colonialism. African religions, religious beliefs and practices of the peoples of Africa.It should be noted that any attempt to generalize about the nature of “African religions” risks wrongly implying that there is homogeneity among all African cultures.In fact, Africa is a vast continent encompassing both geographic variation and tremendous cultural diversity. 0000003332 00000 n Traditional African religion is based on oral traditions, which means that the basic values and way of life are passed from elders to younger generation. African traditional religion The faith in ancestors continued to be practised by many African Christians. This is why (Romose 2003;1) protests that there have been too many spokes person for Africa. I argue that the ecological attitude of traditional African religion is more based on fear or respect of ancestral spirits than on respect for nature itself. African traditional religion refers to the indigenous or autochthonous religion of the African people. However, the origin of 0000003027 00000 n Traditional/Indigenous African religions are the traditional beliefs and practices of African people including the various traditional religions and customs. startxref African Traditional Religion: A Definition (1973), Omosade Awolalu in Yoruba Belief and Sacrificial Rites and John Mbiti in The Concept of God in Africa (1970) are a few examples of postcolonial scholars of religion who have resisted and denounced colonial idea that Africans do not know God. This article builds a case for the use of some African religious values in modern conflict prevention, mitigation and response in Africa (CPMR). Mugambi, 1995). 0000001824 00000 n The various divinities that are represented are in fact technically representatives or servants of the Supreme Being. This background is essential to any application of Christian spirituality in Africa. Everyone is in fact a religious carrier. Download Free PDF. African traditional religion is a debatable subject among scholars of religions in Africa. �M靔���邃;����Pu��)U�u�,.Q��):�b%JQ�� �~)��Tg_�R��X�+��a��Ni7��]i�'B�ލq��v�����-6T���kP�X_��g�!�fNE��I�I` ,��[qU���'�'d�+`A��_� ���Wu�`ߊ����]�A����� ����i3PMYK@�d>y�y��S�j�̚��V�T���T?�$�����9v�=FC� ���IL���iX�a4ժ/���Y�l�U� �|���˖�3�h��Cj���^�dG�[���@;t*cf�y�a��.K����SW$��b��l�b�_x�^G�Q� 2 not only in passionate subjective commitment, but also by thought about his creative works (general revelation) knowledge of God involves both objective, conceptual validity and subjective, person fellowship. By D.C. Kwame Kwakye. There are many adherents of traditional religions, who came from long ago and are associated with a long autonomous historical development. Yet there is a common thread that runs in indigenous values and experiences that show a kind of uniformity. 0000001667 00000 n the African continent. hand with the study of the people who practise the religion. The concept of God, divinities and spirits in African traditional religious ontology has been so misunderstood by many scholars to the point of seeing Africans as people who did not know the Supreme Being nor worship Him. When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. 3 And similar to this was the dialogue that took place between Edwin Smith, who had gone out as a missionary to Africa, and Emil Ludwig, an eminent biographer. When Ludwig got to Some religions do not allow women to occupy decision-making positions, with the result that History of African traditional religion. 3 CULTURE, RELIGION AND GENDER. Examples of African traditional religion or philosophy in Zimbabwe include: Mwali Religion. In addition there is a sizable number of adherents in African-influenced religions in Christianity came to Africa from the outside, it happened, as the legend says, in 42, then the Orthodox Coptic Church was formed by the Apostle Mark. endstream endobj 176 0 obj<. African religions, religious beliefs and practices of the peoples of Africa.It should be noted that any attempt to generalize about the nature of “African religions” risks wrongly implying that there is homogeneity among all African cultures.In fact, Africa is a vast continent encompassing both geographic variation and tremendous cultural diversity. Black women did have positions of leadership and influence. This is a 3-hour summary lecture on the basic components of African Traditional Religions. In traditional African society, there is implied and widespread belief in a Supreme Being, God. The African Traditional Religion of one ethnic group does not motivate its believers to teach and convert people from another ethnic group. And we agree with Professor Idowu that the purpose of the study should be: Africa has a rich tradition of arts and crafts.African arts and crafts find expression in a variety of woodcarvings, brass and leather art works. 0000001534 00000 n <<4FCBAA2C341F11419556D391C5A069EC>]>> African Traditional Religion: A Definition (1973), Omosade Awolalu in Yoruba Belief and Sacrificial Rites and John Mbiti in The Concept of God in Africa (1970) are a few examples of postcolonial scholars of religion who have resisted and denounced colonial idea that Africans do not know God. Missiologists have worked more broadly on a correlation of Christianity with African culture as a whole, speaking in terms of an ethnotheology. This paper. Ernst Wendland. 0000008786 00000 n Premium PDF Package. Africa's influential university departments of religion have usually approached the theme in terms of establishing correlations between Christianity and Africa's traditional religions. Traditional African religion and culture is passed on from parents to children through stories. hand with the study of the people who practise the religion. The purpose of this is to help to orient a person who would like to work in the context of Africa. “philosophical tradition” that can be traced back very far historically in most of the continent. So the issues in “understanding”—cultures and philosophies— are complex. They counteracted various derogatory names given to AIR. 175 0 obj <> endobj This is one of the reason why African traditional religion was not classified as a world religion because of the wrong descriptions these European researchers produced. 2 E. B. Idowu, African Traditional Religion, S.C.M., 1973, p.87. Loosely, it encompasses all African beliefs and practices that are considered … 1 AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION 14 1.1 Nature, Fundamentals and Principles 14 1.1.1 The Origin of African Traditional Religion 16 1.1.2 Features of African Traditional Religion 18 1.1.3 Various Elements 19 1.1.4 The Place of Cult 20 1.1.5 Private worship 21 1.1.6 Public Worship 21 1.2 Documentation of African Traditional Religion 22 Religion has an extremely powerful influence over people™s lives. It is also important for social workers to recognise African taboos, traditional social safety nets, communitarianism, Africa's traditional religious "ontolo&>y" for Christian faith, with publication of his classic La Philosophie Bantoue in 1945. The evangelistic mandate of Christianity and the very nature of Jehovah God encompasses all ethnic groups on the planet. of traditional African religion alongside their professed beliefs. The expression “African religion” is taken in some quarters to denote the multifaceted religions that now permeate the religious space in Africa. Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature, based at the Allen Institute for AI. No longer was reference made to African culture, it became barbarism. The study of Africa's traditional religion and the environment can be termed the ecology of religion. Introduction “African Traditional Religion” (ATR) is the term used for the indigenous religious traditions of Africa. For an ordinary person such contact can actually only take place through approved mediators or councillors. We need to explain the word…, African Traditional Religion: A Religious Drama, Imperialism and its effects on the African Traditional Religion: Towards the liberty of African Spirituality, A Review of the Concept of Origin and Founder of the Indigenous African Religion, Religion: A New Struggle for African Identity, African Traditional Religion and National Development in Nigeria, African Traditional Religion: An Examination of Terminologies Used for Describing the Indigenous Faith of African People, Using an Afrocentric Paradigm, Regaining Our African Aesthetics and Essence through Our African Traditional Religion, CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES IN A SOCIAL TRANSITION: THE SOUTH AFRICAN SEARCH FOR RECONCILIATIO, Tolerance in African Traditional Religion, The Role of the African Traditional Religion in the Promotion of Justice, Reconciliation and Peace in Africa in the Twenty-first Century: A Kenyan Experience, 26 For further details see John Mbiti, Concepts of God in, By meaning and connotation, this name signifies that the Supreme Being is unique, that His majesty is superlative, that He is unchanging and ever reliable, The Edo call Him Osanobuwa, and this means God who is the " Source and Sustainer of the World " . 13 numbers of adherents of African religion. Download Full PDF Package. Introduction Three religions dominates African continent: ATR, Islam and Christianity. 0000001314 00000 n Religion in Sub-Saharan Africa 10 Traditional Religion 11 What is “Traditional Religion”? The term “African Traditional Religion” is used in two complementary senses. For example, the existence of events and actions done by Black South African women prior to colonisation can be interpreted as feminist action. For instance, Levy Bruhl rejected the rationality of the primitive people and claimed that they were largely pre-logical and that what their practices point to is a kind of symbolism. PDF. It is that uniformity that we are going to explore in this survey. 175 17 Introduction . PDF. The African religions scholar Placide Tempels describes every misfortune that Africans encounter as "a diminution of vital force." 0000000016 00000 n I. Africa Traditional Religious System as Basis of Understanding Christian Spiritual Warfare. Examples of African traditional religion or philosophy in Zimbabwe include: Mwali Religion. 0000061368 00000 n Traditional African religion is based on oral traditions, which means that the basic values and way of life are passed from elders to younger generation. Similarly God may be known 1 Ajah, Paul O, African Traditional Religion. Some features of the site may not work correctly. In particular, it impacts on gender relations and consequently on how women are treated in society and the home. Roman The fact that there are no written scriptures by the votaries of African traditional religion, does not in any way mean that the concept of the Supreme Being does not exist in their ontology. According to African tradition certain procedures have to be observed in order to gain access to a person of authority. Due to the pluralistic nature of African-traditional religions, African spirituality has always been able to adapt to change and allow itself to absorb the wisdom and views of other religions. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Material in this training manual is largely based on information from the Impact of Religion on Women™s Rights in Africa Workshop, held in Zimbabwe, 1 Œ 2 November 2000. an answer to what the African traditional world views were through their theories on religions of the primitive people. The primary objective of this paper is to define the African traditional religious system as the basis of understanding Christian spiritual warfare within an African context. Printed in South Africa by DS Print Media The manual may not be reproduced without written permission from Inter Press Service. African traditional religion. Download PDF. and Eleda (the Creator) by the same people, By clicking accept or continuing to use the site, you agree to the terms outlined in our. John S. Mbiti explains that though the knowledge of God as the Supreme Being is not Religion is often used to deny women their fundamental human rights. Download PDF Package. LISTEN JAN 7, 2021 The Central Regional Chairperson of the Psychic and Traditional Healers Association Limited, Nana Kojo Owonae who is also the Chief Priest of the Santrofi Shrine at Asebu has said the African Traditional Religion is the best. In traditional African society, there is implied and widespread belief in a Supreme Being, God. When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. Yet, many features of pre-colonial African religions appear to be similar in their fundamental tenets, rituals or traditions. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. It is the most popular for decoration and can often be seen printed on cloth or stamped on pottery.The rapid spread of Pentecostal Christianity and fundamentalist Islam has greatly affected the role of indigenous religion in African society. African culture, tradition and custom, and what is a colonial or imperial construct which is now regarded as African culture, tradition and custom. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION. Welcome to the summary lecture of African Traditional Religions. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. African Traditional Religion (ATR) or African Religion in this paper gave meaning and a sense of purpose to all aspects of thought and action (cf. African arts and crafts also include sculpture, paintings, pottery, ceremonial and religious headgear and dress. As a result we need to re-examine Shona attitudes to nature if Shona traditional religion is to re-emerge as a stronger environmental force in the global village. The following people presented … African Traditional Religions were by nature tolerant in the extreme. Illness and death result from some outside agent, a person, thing, or circumstance that weakens people because the agent contains a greater life force. The Ibo call Him Chükwu, that is the Great Chi or the Great Source of life and of being, He is also called Olorun (the owner of Heaven). (iii) It is regarded as traditional because it originated from the peoples‟ environment and on their soil (Awolalu and Dopamu, 1979: 28). 1, Hutchison, 1913, p.xll. You are currently offline. Foreign anthropologists from late 19thc. 0000003063 00000 n African Traditional Religion can be termed or called “Traditional” because the religion, most at times as is the case, is infused with the culture of the community. As indicated above Africa is a vast continent; as a result one runs the risk of generalization. Egwu (2001) observes religion not only because of the problem of objectivity one encounters in defining but is emotion laden, even more so because of the difficulty of penetrating the "inner essence" of religion. European Christian missionaries from 16th century onwards see African religions as demonic, primitive, evil & stupid • 2. While ATR has been often seen in negative terms, especially by early missionaries, later studies have demonstrated that ATR is not really what these outside observers earlier on assumed. African religions are separate and distinct. This is what made scholars such as Mbiti (1969,p.1), Parrinder (1954,p.9) and Mugambi (1995) conclude that Africans are notoriously, incurably and reputably religious respectively. He noted that it … African traditional religion towards other religious beliefs and practices wi ll alwa ys serve as an example for Christians and Muslims as they struggle for mutual co-ex istence. (ii) It is a religion that links the people who now live it and practice it with their forebears. The symbol can be found throughout Ghana. Download PDF. Religion in Igbo traditional society partakes fully of all the features of world traditional religion, including its beliefs, sacred myths, oral qualities, strong appeal to the hearts of adherents, high degree of ritualization, and possession of numerous participatory personages such as officiating elders, kings, priests, and diviners. The effect of colonisation on Africa's traditional religion is seen in the views of colonialists that African traditional religious practices are fetish, barbaric, ritualistic and demonic. 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