those misconceptions and misrepresentations of the facts presented by Eurocentric scholars. . 2. For one thing, a sizable number of African myths deal with events considered to have actually happened as narrated by the people themselves or as reformulated into symbolic expressions of historical events. See Luc De Heusch, What Shall We Do with the Drunken King?,. In the case of the Yoruba kings and their people, sacred kingship formed a sacred canopy that sheltered the followers of each of the three major traditionsIslam, Christianity, and African traditional religionforging bonds of community identity among followers of the different traditions. I ran into a co-resident, a famous Swiss author. Robert Mugabe . The challenge is to study faith, proverbs, traditions and mythology across Africa to identify the fragments of religion passed down as oral traditions and mythology in the great . African religions are, therefore, a praxis, and this is where the focus of study should mostly be directed. Each transition has a function within the society. However, this was never a generally accepted idea. Hence, the aforementioned rituals are the entry point not only for an understanding of African tradition and religions but also for the visible manifestations and essence of African religious traditions. In the primordial era, various forms of ethnic indigenous religions spread across the African continent, providing cohesive foundations of nations, peoples, and religious worldviews. The majority of Africans are hardworking and honest people. 3. 13. Please confirm you want to block this member. That is why we have freewill, and regardless of whether we choose to acknowledge that a living God exists or not, and regardless of how we choose to worship Him, directly or through deities, we will all be eventually accountable. Many sources define African worship as ancestral worship which is wrong. Africa is the target of western stereotypes. In spite of the heuristic value of V. Y. Mudimbes distinction between myth and history in Africa, and by extension the cohesion of oral and written narratives,10 the notion that myth is nonrational and unscientific while history is critical and rational is false. There are rituals that celebrate the passage of time and mark time as it passes for the people, orienting them to the seasonal changes, such as the new yam festival and celebration of the old season and beginning of a new one. Loosely, it encompasses all African beliefs and practices that are considered religious but neither Christian nor Islamic. Slowly, they projected ATR as barbaric and dehumanizing. The most common African history begins with the colonial era. Bolaji Idowu, John Mbiti, Wande Abimbola, Benjamin Ray, Gabriel Setiloane, Laura Grillo, Aloysius Lugira, Kofi Asare Opoku, Emefie Ikenga-Metuh, Charles Long, and others attempted to imbue African traditions with the vitality, status, and identity that is now finally recognized. Due to the centrality of ancestral tradition to the African lifeworld, death itself is a significant transition from the current life to the afterlife and marks a continuity in life for those living and those to come. 12. It was just the belief of a few groups of people known as Efik people, the predominant tribe in Calabar. While some countries are hot most of the year, other countries experience different types of weather. Based on sacred narratives, these traditions espoused their unique worldviews, defining cosmologies, ritual practices, sociopolitical frameworks, and ethical standards, as well as social and personal identity. Misconception 1: "Entire North Africa natively speaks Arabic.". Their many realities that Africans have not been . In fact, we should not misunderstand the notoriety in some people's religious life, just like The range of African indigenous beliefs and practices has been referred to as African traditional religions in an effort to encompass the breadth and depth of the religious traditions on the continent.2 The diversity of the traditions themselves is tremendous, making it next to impossible for all of them to be captured in a single presentation. 2,269. The myths held by the west about Africa are mostly founded on misinformation. In digging up facts I found that, while many Africans say that homosexuality is un-African, African culture is no stranger to homosexual behaviours and acts. .pagination {display: none !important} Apart from the different languages, every tribe and culture have their way of dressing too. Perhaps, it was a deliberate attempt to make Africans feel inferior about themselves. As with myths the world over, African mythology includes multiple, often contradictory, versions of the same event. By Jacob K. Olupona. Mostly, the temperatures of these zones vary between the extremes (Either very hot or very cold). Slavery and World History. Not the one we saw, very clear and good article easy to understand. This is based on misconceptions that these religions are antithetical to modernity. All Religions has truth hidden in them for those who objectively seek them through the path of the religion. Here are some 10 myths about Africa and Africans that are either an exaggeration of the fact or based on misguided information. African traditional religion (ATRs) and spirituality have always been surrounded by negativity. Compared to most patriarchal traditions, where womens participation and roles are curtailed, African religions attitude toward gender inclusion is unique. A primary goal of parenting is to transmit values, beliefs and ideas around lifestyles based on cultural knowledge of the adult tasks and competencies needed for appropriate functioning in society (Gershoff, 2002; Harrison, Wilson, Pine, Chon & Buriel, 1990). What we know as African history today is mostly based on the interpretations of our colonial masters. Foreign aid has been helpful to many small African countries that are struggling economically. inadequacies, objections and misconceptions, the practice has come to stay. Jacob K. Olupona is Professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard Divinity School and Professor of African and African American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. Even the word religion, used in reference to these traditions, is in itself problematic for many Africans, because it suggests that religion is separate from other aspects of ones culture, society, and environment. During the era of Western religious and cultural encounters in Yorubaland, some children were named Oguntoyibo, signifying Ogun (god of war and iron) is as powerful as the European god. Some children received names such as Ifatoyinbo, Ifa is as powerful as the white mans god. Such names and concepts illustrate the force and creative resistance of indigenous thought and its ability to engage Western modernity in rigorous debate. African Traditional Religions (ATRs) will be discussed within the context of which it belongs to, the African traditional life (ATL). This creates fear and panic resulting in misleading assumptions about Africa. An Ifa song warns those embarking on the pilgrimage to be pure and those who possess witchcraft not to embark on the pilgrimage. Please note: Among its one billion inhabitants, more than 1,000 languages are spoken, and there is a massive variety of ethnic religions. While scholars have often argued that African indigenous accounts of creation were ex nihilo (created out of nothing), as the biblical account of creation is often portrayed,12 African cosmological narratives generally indicate that there is never one pattern governing how creation happens. There are key developmental projects in some African countries that would not be possible without Foreign aids. That is why they have developed institutions for healing, for commerce, and for the general well-being of their own practitioners and adherents of other religions as well. A common stereotype about Africa is that the continent is poverty-stricken, full of corruption, and always at war. Most of these aids go into building infrastructures like schools and hospitals. Despite the plethora of denominations and sects, African religions continue to be viewed as single entities,3 and their (our) religions are perhaps the least understood facet of African life. A frica has 54 countries and more than a billion people. Perhaps its the abundant wildlife, scorching deserts, or the vast uninhabited plainlands. In most African cultures, history and beliefs have been explained and passed on through oral traditions and storytelling. Voodoo, however, is a dynamic religion with no standardized dogma. God is the first Initiator of a people's way of Life, its tradition. Though many Africans have converted to Islam and Christianity, traditional religions still inform the social, economic, and political life in African societies. With exception of those who take history classes, the majority of young Africans will fail to elaborately tell the story of their origin. Every tribe and culture have their beliefs and way of life. This view wasnt held in many other tribes in Nigeria. a. newly birthed babies. Many people have bought into the narrative of African traditional religious beliefs as something untrue and based on delusions, but they have also forgotten that all religions have the same thing in common. Mary Slessor is accredited to ending this savage act in ancient Calabar, Nigeria. Why is this important to our understanding of African indigenous religions? Second, spirit beings occupy the next tier in the cosmology and constitute a pantheon of deities who often assist the supreme God in performing different functions. In whatever way it happens, African cosmological narratives are similarly complex, unsystematized, and multivariate, and they are the bedrock for indigenous value systems. My credentials as a Harvard professor made little impression on him. Apart from a few instances in West Africa, where women actually ruled as kings, the designation queen was not often used in isolation from the position itself (which was defined in male terms). Giving opportunity to stereotypes like Africa are poor and Africa is corrupt. Regardless of where they find themselves, most Africans will always hold onto some form of their tradition, culture, and religion. Also, about 30 % of the earths remaining mineral resources are in Africa. Scholarship has since proved, however, that the tenacity of indigenous religion is evident in all spheres of African life. There are few religions as globally misunderstood as African traditional religions. However, the so-called white wedding is Western culture. The reason for this is quite simply the misunderstanding of the relevance and foundation of the African tradition. That is the ultimate and absolute being who originated and gives meaning to all existence.9 III. Divinities and ancestors have personalized annual festivals during which devotees and adepts offer sacrificial animals, libations, and favored foods to propitiate them. It all depends on the time of the year. One approach is to outline, in a systematic way, the essential features of these traditions without paying much attention to whether or not the traditions fit into the pattern of religions already mapped out by Western theologians and historians, who use Western religious traditions as the standard by which to measure religions in other parts of the world. Another crucial aspect to consider in the comparative study of African religions is the reality of the transfer of these religions across the Atlantic through the Middle Passage and transnational migration and cultural exchange. 8. . What, for example, is the notion of history and the sacred in Akan thought? It goes a long way to show that information is power and the way a story is told matters a lot. 11. This is based on misconceptions that these religions are antithetical to . This misconception has, in some scholars, matured into prejudice and resilient skepticism about the African's ability to grasp the concept of God. 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. To each his own. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. African cosmogonic narratives posit the creation of a universe and the birth of a people and their indigenous religions. They are less concerned with doctrines and much more so with rituals, ceremonies, and lived practices. When Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was released, it generated both curiosity and criticism for its portrayal of Christianity. Such an approach should endeavor to provide not only an awareness of sociocultural contexts but also to narrate the historical dimensions of these traditions. It is the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present Africans, So, why was it the negative stories about killing of twins that were promoted? The reason is partly that they want a time when, Your email address will not be published. Unique Beliefs, and Too Many Misconceptions Traditional native sweat lodge with hot stones inside . Here Are the Top Ten African Volunteer Programs, 9 Traditional African Music Instruments And Their Origin, 8 Traditional African Sports That Should Be In the Olympics, economic forecasts predict the rapid growth in the African Market, 10 Traditional African Hairstyles And Their Origin. Although it is difficult to generalize about African traditional cosmology and worldviews, a common denominator among them is a three-tiered model in which the human world exists sandwiched between the sky and the earth (including the underworld)a schema that is not unique to Africa but is found in many of the worlds religious systems as well. According to theologian Tony Evans, W. E. B. Yet in the scholarship on the history of religions, indigenous African religions were never considered a substantive part of the worlds religious traditions, because they failed to fulfill certain criteria defined by axial age civilization. Privileged European scholars denied the agency of African religions and singled outand thereby controlledAfrican identity. When I told him I am a twin (Ibeji) in Yoruba traditionand in principle a sacred being myselfhe almost fell on the floor to pay homage! Manage Settings However, some African nations have become addicted to these aids and seem unable to function without them. Igbo religion is traditional according to Mbiti (1970), in the sense that it is rooted in their culture.It is received by oral authority by one generation and transmitted by the same process to subsequent generations and, thus, has effect of being widely diffused among its adherents and of deeply coloring their consciousness. Countries like Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso that are close to the Sahara desert have the Sahel climate. African traditional medicine (ATM) has been used by African populations for the treatment of diseases long before the advent of orthodox medicine and continues to carry a part of the burden of health for the majority of the population. Earlier researchers and missionaries portrayed them often as primitive and barbaric and ridiculed them [I give many examples in my book: White Fathers in Colonial Central Africa - a Critical Examination of V.Y. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. To understand the social, cultural context of pregnancy, childbirth and subsequent maternal and child care and to use this information for . Get it as soon as Wednesday, Oct 26. The Mursi religion is classified as Animism. In the lived experiences of the people, there has been much borrowing and interchange, particularly in those places that have a history of peaceful coexistence among diverse religious traditions, as is so among the Yoruba. They are known as upstanding citizens and have been entrusted with sensitive positions in society. African Traditional Religion is the traditional religion of the African people before the coming of Islam and Christianity. As oral narratives, myths are passed from one generation to another and represented and reinterpreted by each generation, who then make the events revealed in the myths relevant and meaningful to their present situation.9. Although many African languages do not have a word for religion as such, it nevertheless accompanies the individual from long before his birth to long after his physical death. Her growing fascination led to an Emerson Foundation-funded research project this summer, titled "Demystifying African Religion." John Mbiti in his book African Religion and Philosophy, argued that African Religion deserves the same respect as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. Will OAthers Follow Suit? Ritual practices are central to the performance of African religion. The much-cited dictum by the doyen of African religious studies, the recently deceased John Mbiti, that "Africans are notoriously religious" still holds true (though I prefer to use the word "deeply"). Without relevant knowledge, stereotypes are unavoidable. There are female priestesses, diviners, and other figures, and many feminist scholars have drawn from these traditions to advocate for womens rights and the place of the feminine in African societies. Religions of the African diaspora are of particular note and importance to the comparative study of African religions because of their resilience and the characteristic formations leading to their performance and expression. African countries are also top the list of the 2021 WHO health care index. Little wonder John Mbiti, a famous African theologian said, Wherever the African is, there is his religion. Space constraints permit me to cite only one example. Advertisement. 2. The traditional religions of Africa are human in the deepest sense, because they focus on people and their everyday problems. This article analyses the legal processes of recognising customary and religious (Muslim) marriages in South Africa's constitutional democracy. Gradually, there was a shift from ATR to Christianity. These can be found all over the Americas and Europe. Religions such as Candombl, Vodun, Santeria, and the Caribbean and Orisa tradition historically came about from African transactions with the new world and the old Euro-Christian worldview. Religious contexts are shaped and determined by the identity of these religions. This corrective scholarship and critical intervention helped to redefine African worldviews and spirituality and, as such, showed how African religion is pivotal to the individual and communal existence of the people. African spirituality more generallyand Nigerian spirituality in particularis shaped by how individuals in their daily existence make sense of their interactions with religious experience. Africa is often seen as a poor Country and one that cant do without the help of the western world. This is the popular assumption amongst many African theologians of which Maluleke (1994) is one example. 9. Africa is a continent that is made up of 54 countries, 1.3 billion inhabitants, more than 3000 ethnic groups, and 2100 unique languages. Through a profound process of orality, Ifa as an interpretive tradition espouses an epistemology, metaphysics, morality, and a set of ethical principles and political ideology. Required fields are marked *, Hello my question is how can I find a list of African countries that offers citizenship. The area of study is Buganda in Uganda. The cosmological structure, however, is much more defined and precise. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Courtesy Of Stevenson, Amsterdam/Cape Town/Johannesburg. 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