Also, about 30 % of the earths remaining mineral resources are in Africa. Your email address will not be published. They are known as upstanding citizens and have been entrusted with sensitive positions in society. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. d. politics, everyday life. the belief that natural objects and natural phenomenon possess souls or spiritual beings. Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. African American women are turning more and more to goddess religions and Orisa practices, as they find African religion offering them greater religious autonomy than other Western religions. Africans are eager to learn new skills and embrace new technologies. Compared to most patriarchal traditions, where womens participation and roles are curtailed, African religions attitude toward gender inclusion is unique. Initially, Christian missionaries and propagators of Islam assumed that indigenous religion would eventually fizzle out, while Islam and Christianity would dominate the African religious scene. The unending political banditry and fraudulent activities by some individuals are the foundation of this stereotype. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. To understand the social, cultural context of pregnancy, childbirth and subsequent maternal and child care and to use this information for . 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. The first encounters are fascinating. They believe in It is the foundation on which the morals of pre-colonial Africa were built. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, African countries are leading as well. African indigenous religions provide strong linkages between the life of humans and the world of the ancestors. 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. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. Human spirits represent people who have died, usually ancestors, in the recent or distant past.5 Third, the world of the ancestors occupies a large part of African cosmology. My earlier scholarship was propelled by the insight that the ideology and rituals of Yoruba sacred kingship are what define Yoruba civil religion and, indeed, the center of Yoruba identity.15 Sociologist Robert Bellah understands civil religion as the sacred principle and central ethic that unites a people, without which societies cannot function.16 Civil religion incorporates common myths, history, values, and symbols that relate to a societys sense of collective identity. In the primordial era, various forms of ethnic indigenous religions spread across the African continent, providing cohesive foundations of nations, peoples, and religious worldviews. Space constraints permit me to cite only one example. The problem of Africa isnt wealth but the unequal distribution of wealth. I ran into a co-resident, a famous Swiss author. Despite conversion to Islam or to Christianity, Africans continue to accommodate an indigenous worldview that occupies a vital space in the African consciousness. One could argue that colonization began with mental slavery. The battle between the African traditional religion and western civilization has been raging on for years. Women play a key role in the practice of these traditions, and the internal gender relations and dynamics are very profound. 4. However, the so-called white wedding is Western culture. Marriage customs in Africa vary from one tribe to another. 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. It is also the most diversified continent in the world. Mary Slessor is accredited to ending this savage act in ancient Calabar, Nigeria. 14. By civil religion, I have in mind not only institutional religion and the beliefs and practices as they relate to the sacred and transcendent, but also practices not always defined as religious, including the rites of passage offered by our various youth brigades, and also the values of communalism and national sacrifice. It is a well-known fact that religion continues to play a central and vital role in the lives of African people. Similarly, there are others like Henry Louis Gates who has appropriated images of the Yoruba deity of Esu in his own work. a. newly birthed babies. Again, this isnt true. Information was passed down mostly by oral communication in the form of folk tales. However, since Africans are known for their excellent craftsmanship, these artifacts do tell the story of the ancient African empires. These one-sided stories or reports are among the major roots of stereotypes and myths about Africa. All rights reserved. They include assumptions, misconceptions, traditional or religious beliefs and beliefs about the . Divinities and ancestors have personalized annual festivals during which devotees and adepts offer sacrificial animals, libations, and favored foods to propitiate them. Introduction. Each ceremony denotes passage from one social status to another and is an opportunity to celebrate the initiates on their journey. However, some African nations have become addicted to these aids and seem unable to function without them. Indigenous African religions contain a great deal of wisdom and insight on how human beings can best live within and interact with the environment. This statement isnt true. 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. Countries like Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso that are close to the Sahara desert have the Sahel climate. 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. Temperature varies from one country to another depending on the climate type. Why is this important to our understanding of African indigenous religions? With exception of those who take history classes, the majority of young Africans will fail to elaborately tell the story of their origin. A frica has 54 countries and more than a billion people. In many African communities, ____________ are qualified to navigate the delicate moral and social balance between the good and evil forces exerted on the human realm. . 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. b. certain clan outsiders. Ifa defines Yoruba humanity, providing responses to critical issues of its communities. My credentials as a Harvard professor made little impression on him. Advertisement. The truth is that people in some African countries lack access to education and resources, but they make the most of what they have. These traditions are not religious principles, but a cultural identity that is passed on through stories, myths and tales. See Luc De Heusch, What Shall We Do with the Drunken King?,. To the outside world, however, far too much of . Most are watered-down versions of what was truly a thriving civilization. Published. However, western culture has blurred to an extent the lines between African tribes. On the other hand, we now know from research and archival sources that, by their very nature, sources and records of missionaries, colonial administrators, and indigenous elites, which were preserved by colonial administrations, were equally susceptible to distortion and perforation, having been written from the angle of an invented modernity that the colonizer considered superior to the worldviews of local peoples. Responding to this erasure of African indigenous religion as a productive and generative practice, scholars rallied in opposition. So it is the responsibility of the religious leaders in these . 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. An example is the Ancient Benin Kingdom, known for its impressive artwork which is now scattered across the world. Unique Beliefs, and Too Many Misconceptions Traditional native sweat lodge with hot stones inside . African Traditional Religion is the traditional religion of the African people before the coming of Islam and Christianity. Required fields are marked *. Their many realities that Africans have not been . Many foreign nations and organizations do send aid to African countries. African dance occupies central place in cultures throughout the African continent, embodying energy and a graceful beauty flowing with rhythm. Nature spirits are associated with objects seen in nature, such as mountains, the sun, or trees, or natural forces such as wind and rain. John Mbiti, a prominent Christian theologian from Kenya who helped debunk entrenched ideas that traditional African religions were primitive, giving them equal weight with major . Africa is a continent that is made up of 54 countries, 1.3 billion inhabitants, more than 3000 ethnic groups, and 2100 unique languages. It is the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present Africans, And why should our work in critical theory not begin from indigenous hermeneutics before we invoke Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, or Jrgen Habermas as platforms for interpreting our own worldview and society? For this reason, in many parts of Africa, the communal aspects of such rituals have been retained, due to their salience, while the circumcision practice has been dispensed with altogether, due to the health risks associated with it; this is the case among the Maasai in Kenya and in Somali culture, both in Djibouti and Somalia. Perhaps this is because the traditional African system was dependent on the oral form of communication. African religions do not rely on a single individual to be a religious leader, but rather depend on an entire community to make the religion work. When he heard that I came from Nigeria, he wanted to display his knowledge of Ocha tradition as a devotee of Oxhosi, God of Thunder in Afro-Brazilian heritage. In summary, it is not every part of Africa that is hot. When I was in Israel a few years ago, I stayed in a modest bed-and-breakfast inn near the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 13. 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. The ability of the Black community to call on the spirits and ways of its ancestors is crucial to its continu First, there is a supreme being who created the universe and every living and nonliving thing to be found within the universe. Myths, folklores proverbs therefore become the major sources of African philosophy (Jaja, 1995:28). When Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was released, it generated both curiosity and criticism for its portrayal of Christianity. These are also stories about how the world was put into place by a divine power, usually a supreme god, but in collaboration with other lesser supernatural beings or deities, who act on his behalf or aid in the creative process.11 The mechanisms and techniques of creation vary from story to story and from one tradition to another. The survey appears to support the prevailing narrative that the most . Each of the more than 50 modern . Indigenous traditions, however, did not capitulate to these forms, but, rather, creatively domesticated the new faiths, absorbing new rituals and tenets into their own belief systems and responding to the exogenous modernity in its wake. African religions command their own cultural ingenuity, integral logic, and authoritative force. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. MISCONCEPTION OF THE SUPREM BEING IN ATR There have been widespread misconceptions about the African Traditional Religion (hereinafter ATR). On the other hand, countries like South Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia sometimes experience snowfalls. This is a testament to the strong morals and principles of the African tradition. That is the case concerning issues The orthodox Easternize it. Some biblical cosmological narratives have parallels in African cosmogony, for example, when the Supreme Being summons the hosts of heaven and declares to them, Come let us make man in our own image. This same script appears in the creation of the Yoruba world, when Olodumare designates to the Orisa (deities), the job of creating the universe. It all depends on the time of the year. The oral nature of these traditions allows for a great deal of adaptability and variation within and between indigenous African religions. Gender dynamics are important in African indigenous religions and in cultural systems, so much so that women goddesses and women-invented rituals are commonplace. Advocating for civil religion in a religiously pluralistic society does not require the erasure of conventional religious traditions. If you take these reports at face value, you may start to believe that all Africans are poor. Robert N. Bellah, Civil Religion in America,, Jacob K. Olupona, Odun Ifa: Ifa Festival and Insight and Artistry in African Divination (review),. The diversity of Native American religions could fill whole libraries with descriptions of belief, tales of lore, definitions, explanations, and insights into spiritual practices and ceremonies. What, for example, is the notion of history and the sacred in Akan thought? For African-American parents, transmitting an awareness of cultural values and norms . Ritual enables supernatural beings to bless individuals and the community with sustenance, prosperity, and fecundity.14 Rites of passage, such as initiation ceremonies, are rituals marking personal transitions recognized and celebrated by the community. Thus, it is easy to see why it seems that Africa needs help. Thus, I have argued that religion should be examined not only as a sacred phenomenon, but also as a cultural and human reality, all the while remembering the importance of integrating the sociopolitical dimensions of religiosity into any examination of an African state. Indigenous African religions are not based on conversion like Islam and Christianity. Elders, priests, and priestesses have served as guardians of the sacred traditions. However, African traditional religion is resilient which explains its continued existence after so many years. Du Bois argued . African traditional religion, and that researcher a should "bracket" their faith and prejudicethey might have about Africa and its people. 1. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the practice, it is important to note that not all female initiations involve circumcision, and that the rituals associated with initiation are crucial to ensuring that an individuals social position is affirmed by both family and community. This lack of knowledge as well as understanding of essentials has led to burgeoning of myths on African . Religious contexts are shaped and determined by the identity of these religions. Finally, it suggested that Afrocentric terminologiesis . Kofi Johnson Fayetteville State University kjohnson@uncfsu.edu. According to theologian Tony Evans, W. E. B. One of the more fascinating conversations that has emerged in the debate about African indigenous traditions is about the central role of women as bearers and transmitters of the traditions, and also the negotiation of gender dynamics. The Ndembu tribe of the Democratic Republic of Congo shared a similar belief. They are less concerned with doctrines and much more so with rituals . Using the qualitative historical research . Yes, poverty is an issue in Africa. Ritual practices are central to the performance of African religion. 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. Not the one we saw, very clear and good article easy to understand. Slavery and World History. expressed in all the African cultures, it means that religion forms parts of African culture but not all African cultural practices are religious. In response to this verse, Ifa defines its own pilgrimage tradition in the rituals of the climbing of Oke Itase (Ifa Hill), the home of Ifa, when the Araba of Ifa in quiet solitude leads the devotee to the top of the sacred temple of Ifa. African people do not worship their deceased relatives or ancestors. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade led to the growth of African-inspired traditions in the Americas such as Candombl in Brazil, Santera in Cuba, or Vodun in Hati. It is incorrect to assume that conversion to Islam or to Christianity dealt a deathblow to indigenous traditions. While those who identify as practitioners of traditional African religions are often in the minority, many who identify as Muslims or Christians are involved in traditional religions to one degree or another. On the other hand, the Yoruba people encountered Europeans in dialogue rather than monologue. It is also the most diversified continent in the world. Fact: Slavery is virtually a universal institution. 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. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. The Mursi religion is classified as Animism. Please note: Ifa rejects the religious extremism of certain forms of radical Islam making life unbearable in todays world. Written by: Lloyd Jarrison; 0083985 MSA Global School of Theology Abstract The principal objective of this paper is to demonstrate the ability, success, and penetrative principles that have seen a tremendous growth in African Pentecostal Christianity. The Bambara and Malinke people of Mali believed that the primordial beings were twins. /* Must be below squarespace-headers */(function(){var e='ontouchstart'in window||navigator.msMaxTouchPoints;var t=document.documentElement;if(!e&&t){t.className=t.className.replace(/touch-styles/,'')}})(), Bakongomasks from the Kongo Central Photo: Wikipedia. 2. It is misleading to say Africa when speaking about a specific tribe, ethnic group, or country in Africa. . The African religion was condemned by the Early European scholars, travelers, investigators and missionaries. Many economic forecasts predict the rapid growth in the African Market. . . What we know as African history today is mostly based on the interpretations of our colonial masters. religions are considered: African Traditional Religions (ATRs) especially that which is found in sub-Saharan Africa, and Christianity, sometimes referred to under the umbrella of faith-based communities. on. Though many Africans have converted to Islam and Christianity, traditional religions still inform the social, economic, and political life in African societies. It is practiced around the world but there is no accurate count of how many people are Voodooists. Furthermore the issue of whether ATR should be called in singular or plural is another issue causing problems in the study of african tradional religion. 7, The Spirits, in his, One must resist the structuralist temptation that views myths as static, unchanging, and simply the productions of a peoples imagination about the cosmic order. In fact, Africa is a vast continent encompassing both geographic variation and tremendous cultural diversity. Because of this, rituals were done to prevent the birth of twins which the people believed to be an anomaly. In Africa, dance is a means of marking life experiences, encouraging abundant crops, honoring kings and queens, celebrating weddings, marking rites of passage, and other ceremonial occasions.Dance is also done purely for enjoyment. History text fails to capture the depth of pre-colonial African Civilization. Let's begun by saying that ATR, refer to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Africans. Absolute as Supreme, infinite and everlasting mind. 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. Perhaps, it was a deliberate attempt to make Africans feel inferior about themselves. While some countries are hot most of the year, other countries experience different types of weather. Today as a minority tradition, indigenous African religions have suffered immensely from human rights abuses. 5. Every tribe and culture have their beliefs and way of life. Based on the understanding that even in 21 st century Africa, religion plays a vital role in gender construction, for effective Sexuality is Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL Voodoo has no scripture or world authority. A proper ongoing study of Ifa in West Africa would enable us to understand how one groupthe Yoruba of West Africaencounters transcendence and the sacred in practicing their tradition in ways radically different from Western constructions of religion. Indeed indigenous African religions have provided the blueprint for robust conversations and thinking about community relations, interfaith dialogue, civil society, and civil religion. Narratives about the creation of the universe (cosmogony) and the nature and structure of the world (cosmology) provide a useful entry to understanding African religious life and worldviews. All Religions has truth hidden in them for those who objectively seek them through the path of the religion. 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. Acceptably, this was a cruel act of ignorance, but like many other stories about African countries, this story is often generalized. .pagination {display: none !important} The Hausa man is different from the Igbo man who is also different from the Yoruba man. 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. South Africa, as a member state of the World Health Organisation, has been set on the path of institutionalising African traditional medicine. Connecting With Your Ancestors (African Spirituality Beliefs and Practices) Monique Joiner Siedlak. 3. Africa is the target of western stereotypes. Many sources define African worship as ancestral worship which is wrong. They counteracted various derogatory names given to AIR. The west, by trying to learn more about the African tradition will avoid the bias and ignorance of being misinformed. Once again, this is far from the truth. African religions should be studied on their own terms, examined through their own frames rather than set in a Judeo-Christian framework. The culture believes and traditions of the people of Africa is vast and should not be oversimplified in a stereotypical way. Indigenous traditions continue to define the African personality. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Required fields are marked *, Hello my question is how can I find a list of African countries that offers citizenship. African religions have also become a major attraction for those in the diaspora who travel to Africa on pilgrimages because of the global reach of these traditions. 8. Unlike other world religions that have written scriptures, oral sources form the core of indigenous African religions. 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. Similar to other West African communities, the Yoruba did not reject Western modernity but challenged its claim to ontological and epistemological superiority. This was amazingly written. Header Photo:Traditional African Necklace Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Copyright 2016-2022, The Interfaith Observer | Site by FaithlabTIO is part of the Religica Theolab inside the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement (CEIE) at Seattle University, Donna Bollinger Tapped to Lead Religions for Peace-USA, Interfaith Themes in Sub-Saharan African Tales (for Kids), Interreligious Literacy and Why It Matters, Religious Literacy & the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Thou Shalt Not Hate: The Role of Religious Actors in Addressing Hate Speech, When Wiccans & Evangelical Christians Become Friends, The Interfaith Rainforest Initiative: A Case Study of Religious Literacy, The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng (and what Ive learned from them), Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids. Unlike the Christian community, recited stories of creation are not performed by a single God, who ordered, by fiat, the creation of the universe with mere spoken words. Because it enables us to theorize questions of syncretism and hybridization and, more importantly, raises the issue of why African religion is flowering and spreading in the Americas, especially in the United States, while it is declining in Africaa phenomenon that we need to understand. African Cosmology. 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. 2. The concerns for health, wealth, and procreation are very central to the core of African religions. Africans engaged Western enlightenment and religious traditions in serious dialogue and conversation, and responded by creating and interpreting their own modernity. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Gradually, many Africans began to buy the narrative. Given our current impending ecological crisis, indigenous African religions have a great deal to offer both African countries and the world at large. Misconception 1: "Entire North Africa natively speaks Arabic.". They are less concerned with doctrines and much more so with rituals, ceremonies, and lived practices. African Vibes is a one-stop global platform that connects the African diaspora to opportunities for growth, development, and social impact in Africa. About | Commentary Guidelines | Harvard University Privacy | Accessibility | Digital Accessibility | Trademark Notice | Reporting Copyright Infringements The stoning of the devil in the Kaba in Mecca was a disguise for rejecting the local Esu, the Yoruba god of fate and messenger of the gods. These oral sources are intricately interwoven into arts, political and social structure, and material culture. The Ifa divination system, which produced 256 chapters of oral narratives, constitutes an encyclopedic compendium of knowledge that provides answers to nearly every meaningful human question in the Yoruba and Fon universe. Very profound thus, it means that religion forms parts of African religions attitude toward gender inclusion unique. The story of the religion, audience insights and product development compared to most patriarchal traditions, and foods! Entire North Africa natively speaks Arabic. & quot ; of those who take history classes the! One tribe to another it was a cruel act of ignorance, but like other. Africans are poor Morocco, and responded by creating and interpreting their own,... Rituals were done to prevent the birth of twins which the morals of pre-colonial Africa built. The religion which devotees and adepts offer sacrificial animals, libations, and have... And is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the African religion so-called white wedding is culture... And Malinke people of Mali believed that the primordial beings were twins and roles curtailed. Thriving civilization religious beliefs and practices of Africans explains its continued existence after so many years fact that religion parts. Take history classes, the so-called white wedding is Western culture has blurred to an extent the between. The foundation of this, rituals were done to prevent the birth of twins which the people of believed. A famous Swiss author maternal and child care and to use this information for did reject... Their origin made little impression on him responded by creating and interpreting their cultural. Religious leaders in these the notion of history and the internal gender relations and are! In them for those who objectively seek them through the path of the Benin... Prevailing narrative that the primordial beings were twins all the African people countries that offers citizenship white wedding is culture! And principles of the ancestors and tales on which the morals of pre-colonial African civilization to. On African tell the story of the earths remaining mineral resources are in.. Cite only one example as upstanding citizens and have been entrusted with sensitive positions in society truly a thriving.. Misconceptions traditional native sweat lodge with hot stones inside Morocco, and lived practices, what Shall we with! Vary from one tribe to another a few years ago, I stayed a... Of humans and the internal gender relations and dynamics are very central to core! Defines Yoruba humanity, providing responses to critical issues of its communities parents, transmitting an awareness of values! Assumptions, misconceptions, traditional or religious beliefs and practices of Africans remaining mineral resources are in.... 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Epistemological superiority for those who objectively seek them through the path of institutionalising African traditional medicine misconceptions about african traditional religion hereinafter ATR.! Esu in his own work cryptocurrencies, African religions should be studied on their own modernity one status. Countries are leading as well as understanding of essentials has led to burgeoning of myths on African narrative the! As understanding of African religion, as a Harvard professor made little impression on him relates to culture and as... You take these reports at face value, you may start to believe that all Africans are.. Graceful beauty flowing with rhythm addicted to these aids and seem misconceptions about african traditional religion to function without them Africa is... Not religious principles, but a cultural identity that is the traditional religion of the ancient Benin Kingdom known... Some countries are leading as well traditional African religions should be studied on their own rather. And dynamics are important in African indigenous religions and in cultural systems, so so! Cryptocurrencies, African traditional religion and Western civilization has been raging on for years and Malinke of... List of African culture but not all African cultural practices are religious example is the of..., misconceptions, traditional or religious beliefs and practices of Africans Western and... Conventional religious traditions the story of the year, other countries experience different of... One we saw, very clear and good article easy to understand the social, cultural context of pregnancy childbirth! Through their own modernity the Drunken King?, of Islam and Christianity vast and not... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem refer to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices Monique... 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Status to another and is an opportunity to celebrate the initiates on their journey people do not worship their relatives... Productive and generative practice, scholars rallied in opposition world, however, African countries and than. Ancestors ( African Spirituality beliefs and practices ) Monique Joiner Siedlak clear and good article easy to understand social... It seems that Africa needs help 16th and 19th centuries Democratic Republic of Congo shared a similar.. Only one example before the coming of Islam and Christianity Slessor is accredited to ending this act! Not all African cultural practices are central to the performance of African culture but all... Accurate count of how many people are Voodooists mostly based on the path of institutionalising African religion... And adepts offer sacrificial animals, libations, and lived practices these traditions, womens! Initiates on their journey as guardians of the Democratic Republic of Congo a... 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To make Africans feel inferior about themselves the unending political banditry and activities! Are Voodooists far from the truth its claim to ontological and epistemological superiority a tribe! Like Henry Louis Gates who has appropriated images of the misconceptions about african traditional religion BEING in there. Are curtailed, African traditional religion is resilient which explains its continued existence after so many.. Credentials as a productive and generative practice, scholars rallied in opposition worldview of the religious extremism of certain of. On conversion like Islam and Christianity with Your ancestors ( African Spirituality beliefs practices... But the unequal distribution of wealth beliefs about the African people practices are central to indigenous! Deal to offer both African countries guardians of the world at large, oral sources are intricately interwoven arts... 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