african traditional religions

The main religious divisions in Africa follow geographic lines and are North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and South Africa. Over time, the concept of ‘home’ may be hazy, but knowledge that this is not the end means that people accept their position in society, accept trials and tribulations such as plagues and floods, and seem to be less inclined to hoarding worldly possessions. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. African religions are very diverse. Elements of the traditional religion that a Christian would need to consider when sharing the Christian faith/gospel with a person from this community. At the end of the examination by the Judge, if the person has no stains, they are joyous just as someone would be if they are destined for heaven. It is not easy to date how far back these religious systems go, but as an example, the Bantu people of Central Africa are believed to have emerged from Cameroon and Nigeria around 1000 BCE and then spread in the region. In that sense, perhaps these ancestors include the very Prophets of Africa that we are seeking. In this song, there are similarities to the Day of Judgement of the Abrahamic faiths. In Benin, the ritual to achieve the devotion of the Vodun ancestors led to what is now the popularised Voodoo traditions of Haiti in the Caribbean [10]. 2. Pour une vision d ensemble des religions en Afrique, voir Religions en Afrique. There are many behaviours that are expected of people. About the Author: Fazal Ahmad is the Editor for the ‘World Religions’ section of The Review of Religions. African Traditional Religion is now widely taught in African universities, but its identity remains essentially negative: African belief that is not Christianity or Islam. The distinct identity of African American culture is rooted in the… …   Wikipedia, Religions africaines — Religions traditionnelles africaines  Cet article concerne les religions africaines traditionnelles. Westerners, and even most misinformed Africans, are wont to use derogatory words such as primitive, idolatry, paganism etc. The World Book Encyclopediahas estimated that in 2002 Christians formed 40% of the continent's population, with Muslims forming 45%. The great faiths of the world have a religious text to refer to, and yet, our observance of religious people is often that their behaviour does not reflect their teachings and faith. The most important thing is that in the new South Africa religion and spirituality are used to create greater understanding and harmony rather than to divide people as was done in the past. There are hundreds of major tribes across Africa with their own languages and distinct cultures, but broadly they are grouped into the following families: The locations of the various tribes are shown in the following map: Across African tribes, there is a recurring theme of an ultimate superior Creator in the heavens, as illustrated through the following proverbs and prayers passed down: ‘Nzame (God) is on high, man is on the earth’, Fang Tradition (Gabon), ‘God, you are in the heavens, you are the only one’, Anuak Prayer (Sudan), ‘The earth is wide, but God is the elder’, Akan Proverb (Ghana). Ancestors are also worshipped for this purpose, and are believed to provide a link to their living relatives. Many of these diverse faith traditions have some characteristics in common. The great faiths of the world have a religious text to refer to, and yet, our observance … African traditional religion— African traditional religions, also referred to as African indigenous religions or African tribal religions, is a term referring to a variety of religions indigenous to the continent of Africa. [1] …   Wikipedia, AFRICAN RELIGIONS —    although some books speak about African religion it is clear that there are many religions in Africa. There is also a Hadith [4] saying of the Holy Prophet (sa)] recording a conversation in which Prophet  Muhammad (sa) when asked how many Prophets had been sent to mankind, answered that there were 124,000! Britannica 2020). Again the reverence for ancestors stems from the same concept of social order that is seen throughout African life. There is also a common theme of the High God having created the world, and then withdrawn to allow humans to work and flourish, but also to suffer illness and misfortune. Les religions traditionnelles africaines sont l ensemble des …   Wikipédia en Français, Religions négro-africaines — Religions traditionnelles africaines  Cet article concerne les religions africaines traditionnelles. This is not just seen with parents who are treated with respect and kindness, but also with teachers who are shown the utmost respect. Trained in the new method of \"fieldwork\"—which entailed observing participants and speaking the language of the community—these anthropologists worked for their governments. Like tribal religions from other parts of the world … African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions. Like tribal religions from other parts of the world …   Wikipedia, Traditional African religion — Main article: Religion in Africa An early 20th century Igbo medicine man in Nigeria, West Africa. Healers, PROPHETS and other RITUAL specialists play an important role in these religions although not all have people easily identified as PRIESTS. The main ones are AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS, CHRISTIANITY and ISLAM. Sometimes this will also be manifested in a move to towns with communal responsibility and shared worship from traditional pastoral herders who would have moved across the region just as the Tuareg do to this day. Vodun gave rise to a number of different diaspora faiths, throughout the world collectively known as “Vo… In contrast to the indigenous religious systems of Africa, which are generated and sustained by the community, Christian prophetic movement s are organized around an individual. 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OK. the RELIGIONS of African peoples have developed within various African CULTURES without being influenced by major world religions such as CHRISTIANITY, HINDUISM or ISLAM. African Traditional Religion is a huge part of its believers’ culture; it’s one of the main parts of culture in Africa. The traditional African religions (or traditional beliefs and practices of African people) are a set of highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions . African Traditional Religion has been evolving; there is in it the element of continuity as well as discontinuity. ‘If your parents take care of you up to the time you cut your teeth, you take care of them when they lose theirs’, Akan proverb (Ghana). Mbiti regards African Traditional Religion(s) (ATR(s)) as monotheism and as a praeparatio evangelica, and maintains that the Christian God is the same as the God worshipped in ATR(s). The first academic studies of African traditional religions were written in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries by Muslim and European scholars. African traditional religion — African traditional religions, also referred to as African indigenous religions or African tribal religions, is a term referring to a variety of religions indigenous to the continent of Africa. The tribes across Africa have various names for the High God such as Maa for the Bambara, Irke for the Songhey or Amma for the Dogun (Velton, p.31). Pour une vision d ensemble des religions en Afrique, voir Religions en Afrique. Some examples of African traditional religions include the Yoruba and Igbo of Nigeria, the Serer of Senegal, the Akan of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, and Vodun, a religion practiced by the Gbe peoples. His justice is true and he will examine your feet, he will know how to find every stain, whether visible or hidden under the skin; if you have fallen on the way, he will know. If the Judge finds no stains on your feet, open your belly to joy, for you have overcome and your belly is clean’. For example, the song mentions that the Judge will see all stains whether visible or hidden; similar to the notion that God can see all of your actions and your intentions. 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 African medicine. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. History of African traditional religion 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. Africa is a massive continent with diverse religious traditions, to the extent that within the same tradition there have been variations. There are numerous indigenous faiths still found throughout Africa. Thus, strictly speaking, religion in its pristine form is no longer in existence. The three main religious traditions—African traditional religion, Christianity, and Islam—constitute the triple religious heritage of the African continent. to tag the traditional religion of Africans and believe […] Sometimes tribes refer to lots of deities especially from an animist perspective, but they almost always recognise a High God or Creator. Yet certain aspects of African faiths differ from those of most world religions. Evaluation of the impact American or European policy has had on Native American or African Tribal Religion beliefs and practices. Introduction. Other great empires such as Great Zimbabwe built by descendants of the Shona people had amazing architecture depicting their power, but also had what are thought to be temple complexes before the advent of Islam and Christianity through trade [6]. 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. The Egyptians of north Africa had a clear concept of a day of judgement and life after death as described in their ‘Book of the Dead’. African traditional religions are the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of African peoples including various traditional religions. They are like indigenous African religions in that they are preoccupied with healing. There are also codes of ethics and morals that are entrenched in these rural communities. That is the case concerning issues about Africa and its religious beliefs. So normally we refer to African Traditional Religions in the plural, and it’s simply summarized or written in notation form as “ATR” – African Traditional Religion. The traditional religions indigenous to Africa have, for most of their existence, been orally rather than scripturally transmitted. Among the tribes, they will often have statues or use mask ceremonies to access secondary divinities or intermediaries between humans and the High God. They were organised in tribes with a hierarchy, and each tribe had a chief or king with a religious legitimacy [6]. (Worship of the vodun is the original source of the Haitian religion of Vodou, which emerged as a syncretism of African, Roman Catholic, and Caribbean religious traditions by African slaves in Haiti.) Often good behaviour is highlighted in proverbs, such as this Kenyan proverb about the virtue of being humble: ‘It is humility that exalts one and favours him against his friends’, Kipsigis Proverb (Kenya). That is, African traditional religion or African traditional religions (Mbiti 1969, 1–2; Idowu 1973, 103; Booth 1977, 3; Ikenga-Metu 1987, 19; Alolo 2007; Ejizu n.d). Then there is the characteristic of the Creator being omnipresent and seeing all of our actions and thoughts: ‘God has nothing hid from him’, Ovambo Proverb (Angola), ‘The sun shines and sends its burning rays down upon us, the moon rises in its glory. 5. When addressing religion in Africa, scholars often speak of a “triple heritage,” that is the triple legacy … African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions. In many ways East and Southern African Traditional Religions, which lack professional Priests, share common elements which make them quite distinct from West and North African religions, where professional Priests play an important role in traditional religious practices. Most of Africa's organized religions were brought to the country from Europeans and other foreign settlers. But it is also noticeable that the major world religions all seem to originate from the Middle East and South East Asia. Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. Similarly, when visiting a village, there is normally a set of customs to first seek permission from the village chief and declaring your mission before being allowed to engage with other members of the village. Understanding the Creator is intrinsic in mankind, and not learned, as the following Ghanaian proverb highlights: ‘God needs no pointing out to a child’, Akan Proverb (Ghana). 2 E. B. Idowu, African Traditional Religion, S.C.M., 1973, p.87. It is often combined with elements of Christianity and Islam. Traditional African religion is very popular and arrived here with our North and West African ancestors. 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. Traditional Religions The religions practiced by the majority of people living in Africa are Christianity and Islam. 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 cultures of the continent. Pour une vision d ensemble des religions en Afrique, voir Religions en Afrique. Although Africa is represented as countries through the political and colonial influences of the last century, in fact there are many more distinct tribes in Africa, many stretching across multiple country boundaries. There are common beliefs in Africa although the continent is a large with many different cultures and Eliade mentioned that around 800 languages are spoken on the continent [5]. For the continent of Africa, were those people devoid of religion until the Abrahamic faiths came to the continent in the last two millennia, or were they also the beneficiaries of revelation which would have impacted their cultures and behaviours? In this way, we might find traces of the prophets and revelations given to the tribes of Africa. There are similar accounts hidden away in African culture, such as this song from Benin: ‘At the gates of the land of the dead you will pass before a searching Judge. And in the 2nd century, a new religion became popular in Egypt, as well as in Ethiopia and Eritrea. An example is among the Dinka tribe in South Sudan (Enc. It is often evident that adults, children and other family members have an established system, as do more senior figures in a village or community. 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