what are the beliefs of african traditional religion?

In some traditional African religions, morality is associated with obedience or disobedience to God regarding the way a person or a community lives. [30], West and Central African religious practices generally manifest themselves in communal ceremonies or divinatory rites in which members of the community, overcome by force (or ashe, nyama, etc. African religious leaders include the sacred kings and chiefs who often serve as both spiritual and community leaders. They have been nurtured with the local practices and culture, but still carry some similarities, like pantheism, in their structures. The beliefs and practices of ATR are based upon the faith of the ancient indigenous people (ancestors). Christianity and Islam, which are considered as foreign since their doctrines and practices came from outside of Africa. That is the case concerning issues about Africa and its religious beliefs. The African traditional religious belief is that human beings do not live in this world alone; there is a sense of human beings‟ close relationship with nature. As an all-embracing worldview, African religion has a number of beliefs held in common by the community. [15], Followers of traditional African religions are also found around the world. This heritage, though contemporarily more dynamically evidenced, has a long history and influence. This builds skills at separating the feelings elicited by this mindset from their situational manifestations in daily life. He summarizes that traditional African religions are not only religions, but a worldview, a way of life. [40] With a long farming tradition, the Serer high priests and priestesses (Saltigue) deliver yearly sermons at the Xooy Ceremony (divination ceremony) in Fatick before Yoonir's phase in order to predict winter months and enable farmers to start planting.[41]. Ancestors can offer advice and bestow good fortune and honor to their living dependents, but they can also make demands, such as insisting that their shrines be properly maintained and propitiated. Here is a question requiring a whole article of its own, and I’ll tell you why. Thunder is interpreted to be the movement of God, and lightning is God’s weapon by means of which he clears the way when moving from one sacred place to another. African traditional religion has also been the source of inspiration ofre which Africa is known, and included in theses are art, music, social institutions, politically systems and the ancient civilization. The beliefs and the concepts of beliefs are found in the idea of God, the creators of all things; the concept that has enriched Christianity. [26][20][21][27], Traditional African medicine is also directly linked to traditional African religions. African religions, religious beliefs and practices of the peoples of Africa.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.In fact, Africa is a vast continent encompassing both geographic variation and tremendous cultural diversity. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs and festivals, include belief in an amount of higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme creator or force, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of magic and traditional African medicine. Generally speaking, African religions hold that there is one creator God, the maker of a dynamic universe. The beliefs and practices of ATR are based upon the faith of the ancient indigenous people (ancestors). Inter-religious relations, especially, among African Traditional Religion (ATR) worshippers, Muslims and Christians are becoming sources of social tension and violence. Individuals cannot reject a particular belief, since beliefs are part and parcel of the wider community. This is because African Traditional Religion is a natural religion while Islam and Christianity are salvation religions. Christianity and Islam, which are considered as foreign since their doctrines and practices came from outside of Africa. This page was last edited on 31 December 2020, at 15:48. According to Lugira, “it is the only religion that can claim to have originated in Africa. The religion of the Yoruba is finding roots in the Islands of the Caribbean and portions of Central and South America. One religious ceremony practiced in Gabon and Cameroon is the Okuyi, practiced by several Bantu ethnic groups. Ghana Table of Contents. At the theoretical level, assuming a romantic view of Shona attitudes to nature, it is possible to conclude that Shona traditional religion is necessarily environmentally friendly. They have replaced indigenous African religions, but are often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems. Most of Africa's organized religions were brought to the country from Europeans and other foreign settlers. 4. Traditional African religion is still popular throughout Africa and stems from the beliefs of Central and West African ancestors. In recent times, traditional religions, such as the Yoruba religion, are on the rise. [33] This includes also nature, elementary and animal spirits. Followers of traditional African religions pray to various spirits as well as to their ancestors. "Traditional Religion", in his. [18], Traditional African religions can be broken down into linguistic cultural groups, with common themes. • Maria McCabe-Arreola • 11\13\2020 • INT-244 • Professor Calvin Habig Shoshone • The Shoshone name comes from a Native American tribe that is located in southeastern California, across central and western Nevada, as well as in Northwester Utah, southern Idaho and western Wyoming. Ancestor veneration has always played a "significant" part in the traditional African cultures and may be considered as central to the African worldview. Common Beliefs Among Afro-Asiatic-speakers is henotheism, the belief in one's own gods but accepting the existence of other gods; evil here is caused by malevolent spirits. In Christian or Islamic communities, religious beliefs are also sometimes characterized with syncretism with the beliefs and practices of traditional religions. Graphic: Matthew White. While some religions adopted a pantheistic worldview, most follow a polytheistic system with various gods, spirits and other supernatural beings. For the Kikuyu, according to their primary supreme creator, Ngai, acting through the lesser deities, is believed to speak to and be capable of guiding the virtuous person as one’s conscience. The deities and spirits are honored through libation or sacrifice (of animals, vegetables, cooked food, flowers, semi-precious stones and precious metals). Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, A Prayer for Clearing Debts and Driving Poverty Away, Hawaiian Shamanism, The Ancient Wisdom And Esoteric Christianity. . Traditional healers are common in most areas, and their practices include a religious element to varying degrees. 6. For example, in the Serer religion, one of the most sacred stars in the cosmos is called Yoonir (the Star of Sirius). The traditional African religions or traditional beliefs and practices of African people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that includes various ethnic religions. Some castings are done using sacred divination plates made of wood or performed on the ground (often within a circle). […] This literature was highly treasured by many Jewish enthusiasts, in... […] Judea and the Therapeutae in Egypt, were said to have a “secret”... […] (طهارة‎, ṭaharah) is an essential aspect of Islam. [31], When this trance-like state is witnessed and understood, adherents are privy to a way of contemplating the pure or symbolic embodiment of a particular mindset or frame of reference. These secondary spirits serve as intermediaries between humans and the primary God, also referred to as the Supreme Deity. Other people believed that Ngai’s abode was on Mount Kenya, or else ‘beyond’ its peaks. Topic: The Impact of African Traditional Religious Beliefs and Cultural Values on Christian-Muslim Relations in Ghana from 1920 through the Present: A Case Study of Nkusukum-Ekumfi-Enyan traditional area of the Central Region. Today, around 10 percent of the African population still practice some form of traditional religion. 4–5). African Traditional Religions are sets of diverse beliefs that are followed by people in separate places. For many Africans and Ghanaians, in particular, it is religion more than anything else that shapes their worldview and participation in social life6. to tag the traditional religion of Africans and believe […] Traditional Niger-Congo religion also included polytheistic and animistic elements. Main article: List of African mythological figures. The majority of Africans are adherents of Christianity or Islam. Westerners, and even most misinformed Africans, are wont to use derogatory words such as primitive, idolatry, paganism etc. The traditional African religions or traditional beliefs and practices of African people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that includes various ethnic religions. These include: There is the Shona and Ndebele religions in which God is seen as the creator of the universe and is believed to … 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. There are more similarities than differences in all traditional African religions. 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. 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