african indigenous religion pdf

The study of Africa's traditional religion and the environment can be termed the ecology of religion. African traditional religion refers to the indigenous or autochthonous religions of the African people. On the other hand, the scholars that have attempted to dismiss approaching African religions as if it’s impossible have been nevertheless brought back to the fact that there are a number of fundamental similarities in the structure of indigenous religions in general, and of African religion in particular. Ray says, “It is true that that religion is neither an African word nor an indigenous concept.” Because the word is absent from the vernacular languages, scholars use the term to refer to something that Africans in a traditional setting do not recognize or experience. The purpose of this contribution is to examine the indigenous systems of rainmaking in Kenya. indigenous system of beliefs and practices that are integrated into culture and the worldviews of the African peoples. The role of rainmaking and its effects is therefore crucial. African scholars trained by western anthropologists and missionaries in the 1960s and 1970s also exhibited the same mindset. It is commonly referred to as African Traditional Religion.4 Some scholars for the sake of precision call it Indigenous African Religion. They use African traditional indigenous knowledge embedded in African religion to “pray for rain” by predicting, causing, redirecting, and controlling rain within their locality. Indigenous healing practices among rural elderly African Americans. Printed in South Africa by DS Print Media The manual may not be reproduced without written permission from Inter Press Service. African Religion Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2004. African religions are as diverse as the continent is varied. Author: Nobuntu Penxa Matholeni Publisher: African Sun Media ISBN: 192848073X Size: 68.99 MB Format: PDF View: 250 Get Books. Although African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS) have existed for thousands of years, their concept and practice began to emerge in the science spheres only three decades ago. For example, Mbiti explores the oneness or plurality of ATR. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. 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. Western culture now is regarded as frontline civilisation. Today, Christianity and Islam are religions practiced by the majority of people living in Africa. €78 (ISBN 3-447-05002-0). It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. Traditional African religion is very popular and arrived here with our North and West African ancestors. About 10 per cent of the African population is still practicing some form of traditional religion today. 3 CULTURE, RELIGION AND GENDER. Pp. African traditional religion refers to the indigenous or autochthonous religions of the African people. Indigenous African religion is primarily an oral tradition and has never been fully codified; thus, it allows itself to more easily be amended and influenced by other religious ideas, religious wisdom, and by modern development. religion a vehicle through which Christianity could be propagated had for long dominated the thought of the African indigenous Christian theologians who could aptly be described as confessional scholars” ( Onunwa, 1990 ). This article will do this by first looking at pre-colonial land tenure to investigate the root of contemporary indigenous land holdings and the characteristics of such ten-ure. As in most of sub-Saharan Africa, ATR is the indigenous religion … Instead, in the African wisdom of openness expressed in the proverb ‘the river is flooded by tributaries’, we dare say that to get a more complete and realistic understanding of the world we need to value all the available alternate ways of knowing and investigating (i.e. This is because of the wrong interpretations given by Europeans were wrong causing problems in the study of African traditional religion. But before those two religions arrived, there were several traditional religions practiced. PDF | Globalisation does not permit any religion to be an island to itself. Thesis: The phenomenon of religion in Africa has to be considered multiple because: In Karanga indigenous religion in Zimbabwe: health and well-being, Prof. Tabona Shoko analyses the traditional Karanga views of the causes of illness and disease, mechanisms of diagnosis at their disposal and the methods they use to restore health, Shoko discusses the views of a specific African Independent Church of the Apostolic tradition. African Traditional Religion (ATR) The system of beliefs, practices, rituals and symbols through which the Africans relate with the sacred, make meaning of reality as a whole and cope with the ultimate experience of the lives is what is generally referred to as African Traditional Religion. ix+405. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. It is often combined with elements of Christianity and Islam. A morality that is founded on religion is thus a necessary concomitant of a revealed religion. only attacks its opponents who provoke it to anger.” .Anyika (1998) said that it is a religion that is indigenous to African soil, but their origins are lost in antiquity. AFRICAN INDIGENOUS RELIGION AND SUSTAINABLE DEMOCRACY: A BETTER INITIATIVE FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA Ushe Mike Ushe Christian Theology Unit, School of Arts and Social Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria, Lago ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of traditional religion in sustainable democracy and good governance in Nigeria. Others call it African Primal Religion.5 Whichever name we adopt, African traditional religion … CrossRef Google Scholar Hence one may ague for african indigenous religion to be used instead of african tradional religion. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 53 (4), 433–452. AFRICAN RELIGIONS IN WESTERN SCHOLARSHIP European Traditions in the Study of Religion in Africa. - Volume 46 Issue 3 - OGBU U. KALU He argues for the authenticity of ATRs (African Religions and philosophy, 1969). In places and practices that modernization has passed by, Introduction. An Inaugural Lecture by Anwar Osman Centre for Africa Studies 1. More so, it is the indigenous Indigenous Knowledge in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. on account of the persistent marginalisation of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in Sierra Leone by Islam and Christianity, to investigate the place of ATR in inter-religious encounters in the country since the advent of Islam and Christianity. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. Like in other primal religions, one is born into it as a way of life with its cultural manifestations and religious implications. cabulary, whereby indigenous land tenure can be secured in the current ownership paradigm10 without African indigenous land tenure losing its unique character. The dynamics of witchcraft and indigenous shrines among the Akan - Volume 69 Issue 3 - Jane Parish Skip to main content Accessibility help We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. AIKS African Indigenous Knowledge Systems ANC Antenatal Health Care ATR African Traditional Religion CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CODESRIA Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa DIL Daughter(s) in-Law FDGs Focus Group Discussion(s) HIV Human Immuno Virus IK Indigenous Knowledge Edited by FRIEDER LUDWIG and AFE ADOGAME. ATRs are contextually relevant and can be valuable to pastoral care givers. Ajayi, (1981) describes it,” as those beliefs and practices that are indigenous to Africans which according to Mbiti (1969), has permeated every facet of the peoples life”. If African traditional religion is studied just as a … There are common beliefs in Africa although the continent is a large with many different cultures and In conclusion the label African traditional religion is problematic. Religion in Sub-Saharan Africa Most observers agree that Africans are generally much more religious than the Europeans, perhaps even than Americans – both in the sense of believing in “an invisible world” and of actually practicing religion.2 Table 1: World Religions (2003) Denomination Africa (000) % World (000) % Africa/ World 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 … Religion and African Indigenous Knowledge Systems 211 ministers so as to be critical of their voice as they deliberate on religions that their faith criticizes and seeks to destroy. African indigenous approaches to conflict resolution when he posited that: Traditional societies in Africa and elsewhere are reputed to hold secrets of peacemaking locked in their ways, formed from centuries of custom before the disruption of colonization. Nevertheless, long cultural contact, in degrees ranging from trade to conquest, has forged some fundamental commonalities among religions within subregions, allowing for some generalizations to be made about the distinguishing features of religions indigenous to Africa. Mother Earth Mother Africa African Indigenous Religions Mother Earth Mother Africa African Indigenous Religions by Nobuntu Penxa Matholeni, Mother Earth Mother Africa African Indigenous Religions Books available in PDF, EPUB, Mobi Format. Since the indigenous African religion is not a revealed religion, there is no way by which the people would have access to the will of God that contains elaborate moral principles upon which a coherent moral system can be erected. Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. This article is of the view that current research and scholarship in pastoral theology in Africa is influenced by Western knowledge systems (WKS) and culture at the expense of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS) imbedded in African Traditional Religions (ATRs). 1. The traditional African religions or traditional beliefs and practices of African people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that includes various ethnic religions. Traditional African cultural practices paved the way for foreign way of doing things as Africans became fully ‘westernised’. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION Religion is a difficult subject to inquiry including attempts at definition and conception. How do they speak on the positives of other religions but still remain faithful and doctrinal correct in their own With Africa subjugated and dominated, the Western culture and European mode of civilisation began to thrive and outgrow African cultural heritage. The indigenous religion of the African has variously been named. 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. Today, Christianity and Islam international Journal of Disability, Development and Education 53... Way for foreign way of life, it is often combined with elements of Christianity and Islam are religions by. Its unique character Africans became fully ‘ westernised ’ is born into it as a way of,. Religions practiced one may ague for African indigenous land tenure can be valuable to pastoral care givers by anthropologists... 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