<>>> The Supreme Being is usually thought of as remote from daily religious life and is, therefore, not directly worshipped. One of Jacob Oluponas earliest memories in Massachusetts is of nearly freezing in his apartment as a graduate student at Boston University during the great snowstorm of 1978. <> They form a chain through the links of which the forces of the elders [now with the community] exercise their vitalizing influence on the living generation. For Magesa, the ancestors are primarily authority figures whose being implies moral activity in that they are the maintainers and enforcers of norms of social action. Although they are entrusted with these roles in their relationship with humans, any capriciousness of the ancestors is not taken kindly by the living, just as it would not be acceptable from any elder in society. The ancestors are beyond reproach. Traditional Religion as a source of African theology just as Christian theology is. The . Both religions believe that God revealsHimself to people through dreams, propheciesand other special events. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. inequality and class divide, dreams and interpretation, names and religious identity. Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors, Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects. for this article. ), Heritage of Faith: a history of Christianity in Nigeria, The carpenter's revolt: youth, violence and the reinvention of culture in Nigeria, Yoruba Elites and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria: Obafemi and corporate agency, The Clash of Fundamentalisms: crusades, jihads and modernity, False Prophets: the clash of civilizations and the global war on terror, Christianity, Modernity and Development in Africa, Social mobilization and collective violence: vigilantes and militias in the lowlands of Plateau State, Central Nigeria, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Islam, Youth, and Modernity in the Gambia: the Tablighi Jamaat, Cambridge University Press for the International African Institute, Muslim Modernity in Postcolonial Nigeria: a study of the Society for the Removal of Innovation and Reinstatement of Tradition, Pentecostalism, Islam and culture: new religious movements in West Africa, Christianity and Social Change in Africa: essays in honor of J. D. Y. Peel, The search for security in Northern Nigeria, Islamic Reform and Political Change in Northern Nigeria, Political Spiritualities: the Pentecostal revolution in Nigeria, Sects and Social Disorder: Muslim identities and conflict in Northern Nigeria, Ethnic vigilantes and the state: the Odua People's Congress in south-western Nigeria, Pentecostal presidency? In the Ewe thought they are called Vodou (Vodu or Vudu in Benin and Togo; also Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, or other phonetically equivalent spellings. 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. Veneration of departed ancestors is a major characteristic of all traditional religions. The vigor with which the African Traditional Religion (ATR) has continued to resist the onslaught of Christianity is a cause of academic preoccupation. A sacrifice refers to an animal that is offered to God, e.g. Belief in the ancestors presents the idea of reciprocity in the African traditional moral world. However, the reasons for the growth of Christianity in Africa significantly include the way the Africans have attempted to deal with their threatening fears, especially witchcraft. 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. 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. 2017. Its about getting tangible results. The Yoruba, however, do have a concept of a supreme being, called Olorun or Olodumare, and this creator god of the universe is empowered by the various orisa [deities] to create the earth and carry out all its related functions, including receiving the prayers and supplications of the Yoruba people. 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. Quantum computing simulation reveals possible wormhole-like dynamics. 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. For instance, in the southern Volta Region of Ghana, and in Togo and Benin, thousands of young girls of the Ewe (say Ay-vay) tribe are held as slaves in unspeakable conditions under a traditional religion belief called the trokosi system or wives of the ancestral gods. Omissions? Africans believe in the existence of a mystical, invisible, hidden, spiritual power in the universe. The African Traditional Religion has no founder. Interrogating identity: Frantz Fanon and the postcolonial prerogative, 3. 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. INTRODUCTION Man considers life worth living because he finds certain things intrinsically valuable; hence value in its simple connotation means a thing of worth. Christians do not believe in the existence of any other godapart from the Supreme Being. 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. Christ was tempted in all the ways Total loading time: 0 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. 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. Commonly, God is believed to dwell in the skies. ), In addition to expressing high levels of belief in the protective power of sacrificial offerings and sacred objects, upwards of one-in-five people in every country say they believe in the evil eye, or the ability of certain people to cast malevolent curses or spells. Prayers and sacrificial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. Green points out that there is a rational basis to African Traditional Religion that shows, in Kantian terms, that there is a deep structure of universal moral and religious reason to it. The three requirements of reason at the heart of this structure are: first, a basic rule or procedure of moral choice; second, a metaphysic grounding the possibility of strict moral retribution; and third, . Authoring or editing more than half a dozen books on religion and African culture (including the recent African Religions: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press), Olupona has researched topics ranging from the indigenous religions of Africa to the religious practices of Africans who have settled in America. He then reflects on five "essential aspects" of. % Christianity forbids human sacrifices in worshipas it is murder. The African Traditional Religion, which is still in place today, can be compared to Christianity through their similarities and differences. Foreign religions simply dont have that same connection to the African continent. Traditional Africans did not practice baptism. The other very big difference between African Traditional Religion and Christianity is the worship. African religions behavior is centered mainly on the human person and his or her life in this world, with the consequence that religion is clearly functional, or a means to serve people to acquire earthly goods (life, health, fecundity, wealth, power and the like) and to maintain social cohesion and order.. 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 . 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. Christ Jesus, God's own son, takes the "groaning" of humans to God. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The contact was in fact,between two. Itis made of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit working together as one. 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. There is even a community deep in the American Bible Belt in Beaufort County, S.C., called Oyotunji Village that practices a type of African indigenous religion, which is a mixture of Yoruba and Ewe-Fon spiritual practices. Differences between Christianity and traditional African beliefs and customs (Exodus 20:3-5,Hebrews 10:8-10) 1. Conflict is a universal phenomenon that is inevitable in human interaction. These included interviews he conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called witches and delivered witches. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. It is a way of life, and it can never be separated from the public sphere. Thus, it is because of the existence of this order that different communities have worked out a code of conduct. Consequently, traditional Africans have different ideas on what role the ancestors play in the lives of living descendants. 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. Many laws, customs, set forms of behavior, regulations, rules, observances and taboos, constituting the moral code and ethics of a given community, are held sacred, and are believed to have been instituted by God.Furthermore, a person acts in ways that are good when he or she conforms to the customs and regulations of the community, or bad when he or she does not. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. These spirit do not carry the desires of humans to the Creator God. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Traditional Africans had to go to specific sacred placesfor them to worship but Christians can worship God anywhere at any time. . 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? But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. (Hebrews 1:1,Matthew 5:17,Exodus 34:10-28). This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. I told my father that I was coming home, he recalled. GAZETTE: Are ancestors considered deities in the traditional African cosmology? The missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa at a time when tribal religions were ignored or denigrated. Some ancestors may even be reincarnated to replenish the lineage. So, basically, to speak of African tradition is to talk about African Traditional Religion. } as a burnt offering. Both have religious leaders or priests whopresent the peoples requests to God. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. Adebanwi, Wale Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. These images could be of a lion or another animal carvedfrom a tree to represent a god. Observing this moral order ensures harmony and peace within the community. degree at Harvard Divinity School. Human beings are the link between the heavens and the earth, between the visible and the invisible universe. Using Ghana as a case history, I shall evaluate this ministry to find out its positive and negative effects. The final aspect of this deep structure of moral reason in African Traditional Religion Green refers to as morally intentional trans-moral safety valves such as are found in the doctrine of grace or atonement in Weston religions (Christianity) or of liberation from the world of moral causation in Eastern religions. It is also present in relationships between persons, based on age and function. University of Notre Dame, McGrath Institute for Church Life 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. 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. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Secondly, there is moral and religious order. a trans-moral suspension of retribution in the face of self-confessed and inescapable human wrongdoing. Green notes a similarity between this deep structure and that which has developed in Christian theology over centuries of effort at grounding human moral striving in the face of the experiential difficulties that assault moral idealism. In this Christian theological system, the idea of God as creator and sovereign expresses the moral requirements of impartial regard for all. Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature, based at the Allen Institute for AI. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. 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Jacob Olupona, professor of indigenous African religions at Harvard Divinity School and professor of African and African-American studies in Harvards Faculty of Arts and Sciences, recently sat down for an interview about his lifelong research on indigenous African religions. TraditionalAfricans gave offerings but they did not give tithes. 24 October 2016. Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. They trust God for their healing. This condition is under a traditional religion belief called the trokosi system or wives of the ancestral gods. These ancestral gods lived in the spiritual world, which according to ATR, is the world populated by spirits. 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. The ordering of the universe and its continuance depends on God. $70.00/$25.00. African Traditional Religion and Concepts of Development: A Background Paper 1 . Published online by Cambridge University Press: GAZETTE: What allows African indigenous religions to be so accommodating? Villepastour, Amanda The reasons for this shift are varied and complex. Christians do not offer animal sacrifices to appease God. This leads him into the whole area of theology of religions, in which the relationship between Christianity and other religions is currently the focus of lively debate. 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 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. endobj Traditional African religion does not show any belief in the Trinity. In lieu of these traditional African ways of defining oneself, Christianity and Islam are gradually creating a social identity in Africa that cuts across these indigenous African religious and social identities. OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa. 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. Furthermore, the issue is whether a strict order of retribution cannot be tolerated if human ambition gets in the way of realizing enduring moral virtue and well-being. They consultedtraditional healers who used various herbs and charms to cure diverse illnesses. 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. 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. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. These initiation rituals are already not as common in Africa as they were only 50 years ago, yet age-grade initiations have always helped young Africans feel connected to their community and their past. Just as within the traditional political and diplomatic contexts, one cannot formally contact the king without the agency of his linguists or sub-chiefs. 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. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. 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. 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. Traditional theologians explained that one could not worship the Supreme Being formally, without the agency of the divinities or ancestors. World, which is still in place today, can be compared to Christianity through their and. Who used various herbs and charms to cure diverse illnesses revise the article the earth, between the and. 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