AFRICAN STUDIES

African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed
to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (Pre-
colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography (ethnic groups), culture, politics, economy,
languages, and religion (Islam, Christianity, traditional religions). A specialist in African studies
is often referred to as an "africanist". A key focus of the discipline is to interrogate
epistemological approaches, theories and methods in traditional disciplines using a critical lens
that inserts African-centred ways of knowing and references.
Africanists argue that there is a need to "de-exoticize" Africa and banalize it, rather than
understand Africa as exceptionalized and exoticized. African scholars, in recent times, have
focused on decolonizing African studies, and reconfiguring it to reflect the African experience
through African lens.

Political Map of Africa

1
Africa, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, is the second largest continent, after Asia,
covering about one-fifth of the total land surface of the Earth. The continent is bounded on the
west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the Red Sea
and the Indian Ocean, and on the south by the mingling waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Africa's total land area is approximately 11,724,000 square miles (30,365,000 square km), and
the continent measures about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from north to south and about 4,600 miles
(7,400 km) from east to west. Its northern extremity is Al-Ghīrān Point, near Al-Abyaḍ Point
(Cape Blanc), Tunisia; its southern extremity is Cape Agulhas, South Africa; its farthest point
east is Xaafuun (Hafun) Point, near Cape Gwardafuy (Guardafui), Somalia; and its western
extremity is Almadi Point (Pointe des Almadies), on Cape Verde (Cap Vert), Senegal. In the
northeast, Africa was joined to Asia by the Sinai Peninsula until the construction of the Suez
Canal. Paradoxically, the coastline of Africa—18,950 miles (30,500 km) in length—is shorter
than that of Europe, because there are few inlets and few large bays or gulfs.

Off the coasts of Africa a number of islands are associated with the continent. Of these
Madagascar, one of the largest islands in the world, is the most significant. Other smaller islands
include the Seychelles, Socotra, and other islands to the east; the Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion,
and other islands to the southeast; Ascension, St. Helena, and Tristan da Cunha to the southwest;
Cape Verde, the Bijagós Islands, Bioko, and São Tomé and Príncipe to the west; and the Azores
and the Madeira and Canary islands to the northwest.

The continent is cut almost equally in two by the Equator, so that most of Africa lies within the
tropical region, bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of
Capricorn. Because of the bulge formed by western Africa, the greater part of Africa's territory
lies north of the Equator. Africa is crossed from north to south by the prime meridian (0°
longitude), which passes a short distance to the east of Accra, Ghana.

In antiquity the Greeks are said to have called the continent Libya and the Romans to have called
it Africa, perhaps from the Latin aprica (“sunny”) or the Greek aphrike (“without cold”). The
name Africa, however, was chiefly applied to the northern coast of the continent, which was, in
effect, regarded as a southern extension of Europe. The Romans, who for a time ruled the North
African coast, are also said to have called the area south of their settlements Afriga, or the Land
of the Afrigs—the name of a Berber community south of Carthage.

The whole of Africa can be considered as a vast plateau rising steeply from narrow coastal strips
and consisting of ancient crystalline rocks. The plateau's surface is higher in the southeast and
tilts downward toward the northeast. In general the plateau may be divided into a southeastern
portion and a northwestern portion. The northwestern part, which includes the Sahara (desert) and
that part of North Africa known as the Maghrib, has two mountainous regions—the Atlas
Mountains in northwestern Africa, which are believed to be part of a system that extends into
southern Europe, and the Ahaggar (Hoggar) Mountains in the Sahara. The southeastern part of
the plateau includes the Ethiopian Plateau, the East African Plateau, and—in eastern South
Africa, where the plateau edge falls downward in a scarp—the Drakensberg range. One of the
most remarkable features in the geologic structure of Africa is the East African Rift System,
which lies between 30° and 40° E. The rift itself begins northeast of the continent's limits and
extends southward from the Ethiopian Red Sea coast to the Zambezi River basin.

2
Africa contains an enormous wealth of mineral resources, including some of the world's largest
reserves of fossil fuels, metallic ores, and gems and precious metals. This richness is matched by
a great diversity of biological resources that includes the intensely lush equatorial rainforests of
Central Africa and the world-famous populations of wildlife of the eastern and southern portions
of the continent. Although agriculture (primarily subsistence) still dominates the economies of
most African countries, the exploitation of these resources has become the most significant
economic activity in Africa in the 20th century.

Climatic and other factors have exerted considerable influence on the patterns of human
settlement in Africa. While some areas appear to have been inhabited more or less continuously
since the dawn of humanity, enormous regions—notably the desert areas of northern and
southwestern Africa—have been largely unoccupied for prolonged periods of time. Thus,
although Africa is the second largest continent, it contains only about 10 percent of the world's
population and can be said to be underpopulated. The greater part of the continent has long been
inhabited by black peoples, but in historic times there also have occurred major immigrations
from both Asia and Europe.

North Africa has had outside influence since antiquity, from Europe and Asia. It also had contact
with Christianity and Islam. It shares the Mediterranean culture. It was cut off from the rest of
Africa by the Saharan Desert. East Africa had contact with Christianity in the 4th and 5th centuries,
and contact with Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries. Carthage, which fought the Roman Empire in
the famous Punic Wars, was a city in modern Tunisia. Eastern And Southern Africa had contact
with Asian cultures, chiefly, the Indian culture before the western influence.

Of all foreign settlements in Africa, that of the Arabs has made the greatest impact. The Islamic
religion, which the Arabs carried with them, spread from North Africa into many areas south of
the Sahara, so that many western African peoples are now largely Islamized.

THE AFRICAN WORLD VIEW

IS THERE AN AFRICAN 'PHILOSOPHY'?
The Hindu Vedic scriptures existed in oral form for hundreds of years before they were written
down either just before or just after the beginning of the Christian era. These scriptures contain
Hindu philosophy which existed in oral form, passed on by word of mouth from Brahmin priest
to Brahmin priest by great feats of memory for many years. Philosophy does not have to be
written down before it can be called 'Philosophy'. It can exist in oral form.
African philosophy is contained in proverbs, songs, prayers, names, myths, stories and religious
ceremonies. Their words and teachings are easily remembered and passed on by word of mouth
from generation to generation.
The French philosopher Descartes (1596-1650) used the Latin phrase 'cogito ergo sum' (I think
therefore I exist) as the starting point for his philosophy. To think does not in fact prove that we
exist but it is an ability shared by all human beings. To think is human and so because Africans
are human like everyone else, there must be African 'thoughts' and an African 'philosophy'.
Placide Tempels has written in his book 'Bantu Philosophy' "Anyone who claims that primitive
peoples possess no system of thought, excludes them thereby from the category of men."
3
THE ORIGIN OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
a. THE 'APOLOGETIC' THEORY
This view holds that African Philosophy has grown up quite independently of outside influence.
Mbiti also takes this view. He notes the great similarities in thought all over Africa and with
peoples of other continents who have similar social and environmental backgrounds. He does not
dismiss the possibility that some influence of ideas and culture have come to Africa from outside.
He says, "But such influence is minimal and must have operated in both directions... I maintain
that African soil is rich enough to have germinated its own original religious perception." By this
Mbiti means that any similarities in thinking between Africa and the rest of the world are due to
the working of human minds in a similar way in different parts of the world. There is no need to
suppose that there has been a borrowing of ideas through contact between them. Therefore Mbiti
feels free to say that ATR teaches the same ideas about God, e.g. God knows everything, God is
all powerful etc. as the other monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For Mbiti
these are genuine African ideas and he' is not ashamed of making his 'apology' for ATR in this
way. However, the fact that Mbiti admits the possibility of some influence from outside Africa
does raise the question of how much traditional African thought has been "sharpened" by contact
with monotheism.
b. THE 'BORROWING' THEORY
This theory tries to take a middle position on the origin of African ideas, although it is closer to
the 'apologetic' theory than to the 'diffusionist' theory. It says that there has been contact between
the peoples of Africa and that some ideas have been 'borrowed' from neighbouring ethnic groups.
Bitek in "African Religions in Western Scholarship" says that the Kenya Luo have borrowed the
words 'Nyasaye' and 'Were' for God from the neighbouring Baluyia. Newing says that the Ameru
have borrowed their word for God ('Ngai') from the Maasai. Anthropologists have also noted
other culture borrowing from group to group through conquest or inter-marriage. In the Bible in 2
Kings chapter 5 we see how the Jewish maid of the Syrian General Naaman encouraged him to
consult the Jewish prophet Elisha in order to cure his leprosy. The maid had been captured in
battle by the Syrians. Idowu also notes the borrowing of ideas within Africa and comments on the
fact that ideas 'jump' over ethnic groups and re-appear in other groups that are not neighbours of
the group sharing the same idea. Linguists have noted the same kind of language 'jumps'.
c. THE 'DIFFUSIONIST' THEORY
In its more acceptable form it says that common African ideas have been 'diffused' (spread) in
Africa from a common source. In the case of the Bantu peoples, they have descended from
common ancestors and as they spread out over Africa they took with them their common ideas. In
this way a common philosophy among Bantu people was 'diffused' over Africa. In its more
controversial form the 'Diffusionist' theory also says that some ideas have come into Africa from
outside. One theory suggests that the ideas of Divine Kingship have been diffused in Africa from
a common source in ancient Egypt and the Near East. Idowu is very doubtful about this theory
but he also says that there is no doubt that concrete Semitic traits are to be found throughout
Africa.

4
It should also be remembered that Africa has never lived in total isolation from the rest of the
world. Christianity has remained in Egypt and Ethiopia right from the beginning of the Church.
Christianity was in North Africa (Tunisia) until the 12th century. In Black Africa Christianity was
in Nubia (Sudan) until the fall of the Christian kingdom of 'Alwa' to the Muslims in AD 1504.
Roman Catholic Christians were in the Congo basin for about 200 years from AD 1490. The first
Christian presence in southern Africa began at Mossel Bay in AD 1501. Islam penetrated West
Africa down the coast from Morocco and across the Sahara from the 11th century AD. The
Ancient Empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai were in West Africa. These empires had contact
with the Arab world, and later with Islam before the arrival of Christianity in the 15th century in
West Africa. The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade was practiced before the arrival of Explorers on the
West coast of Africa in the 15th century. It would be surprising if these outside influences left no
mark on African thought, but because of the lack of written records, it is impossible to judge the
degree of influence which outside ideas have had upon African thinking before the modern era.
It would be fair to summarise this discussion by saying that African philosophy can rightly be
described as "made in Africa." It is the product of genuine African thinking. However it would be
surprising if there has been no contact and sharing of ideas by the peoples of Africa over the
centuries. As Ayisi says, there is no culture which can be said to be 'pure'. But how far African
thinking has been influenced by ideas from outside of Africa is hard to determine.
WHAT IS AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY?
Nearly all the scholars agree in making two main statements about the African world view.
Firstly, they say that African thought is chiefly concerned with' ontology', that is, the study of
being and existence. Secondly they say that this study is 'anthropocentric', that is, it is studied
with man himself as the starting paint. Life and existence are seen from the point of view of man
- man in relationship to life.
KAGAME'S TYPES OF 'BEING'
Kagame uses the Bantu root word 'NTU' as the model for his philosophy of being. He notes four
main types or classes of 'being' based upon the four chief noun prefixes used with the word.
These are:
Umu-ntu: this is the human category but it also includes God and the departed. The human
category is the most important since it has power and intelligence.
Iki-ntu: this would include other living creatures and non-living beings which are under the
command of man such as plants, animals, stones etc.
Aha-ntu: is the category of space, place and time.
Uku-ntu or Ubu-ntu is modality or abstract ideas like beauty, laughter, actions etc. It is
interesting that in Kirundi the word used to describe God's' grace' is 'ubuntu' which can also be
translated 'that which is typically human' . Here again we see the 'man-centred' view of life and
even of God.

5
THE COMMON THEMES OF THE AFRICAN WORLD VIEW
Besides the themes, namely, belief in a supreme Being, Spirits, Divinities, the ancestors or 'living
dead', the practice of magic or 'medicine', the interest in man as the centre of the universe and the
interest in ritual and the welfare of the community, there is also another aspect which both Mbiti
and Newing mention. This is the idea that there is a force or power or energy which runs through
the whole universe. God is the source and final controller of this force but the spirits can use
some of it and a few human beings have the power to manipulate it, such as medicine-men, rain-
makers and the like. They can use this power either for good or for evil. This force is called
'mana' by the anthropologists.
AFRICAN MAN IN HIS TRIANGLE
The African world view has been summed up by Edwin Smith in 'African Ideas of God' (1950) as
a triangle in which man, typically, is at the centre surrounded by various powers and beings
which influence his life. At the top is God who is the creator and the cause of 'NTU' the cosmic
force or 'mana' in the world. On one side of the triangle are the ancestors, the living dead. on the
other side are the nature gods or the 'divinities'. Beneath his ancestors feet, as it were, at the base
of the triangle, are the spirits or the lower magical powers which may trouble him.
THE AFRICAN AND WESTERN WORLD VIEW
What is the meaning of the phrase, 'The western world view'? Do we mean westerners who
believe in God and worship Him (a very small minority today) or do we mean westerners (e.g.
humanists, materialists) who do not believe in God? Probably, because it is the majority view
today, we should take the words to refer to the western secular world view which leaves God out
of the picture. The other problem in this question is the danger of oversimplification
THE TRADITIONAL AFRICAN VIEW OF THE WORLD
Man is at the centre of the world (as he is in materialistic Western philosophy). But in traditional
Africa man and the world have profound meaning. God has created the world and although He
seems to be very far away, man is nevertheless never far from the 'living dead' ancestors and the
power of the spirits. Therefore, all events that take place have a spiritual cause - especially
suffering and death. Man lives not only in contact with the dead members of his family and clan
to whom he makes offerings of food, but he is part of a great living community of family, clan
and tribe. He therefore sees life as one whole. God is experienced daily through the community
and in the natural environment which he both respects and fears. So 'medicine', magic and ritual
are used to prevent the triangle of forces around man from doing him harm.

THE WESTERN MATERIALISTIC VIEW OF THE WORLD

There is no God and no creation by God. There are no 'living dead' and no spirits. The universe
came into existence by itself. Man is a machine controlled by impersonal forces such as illness,
economics and politics over which often he has little control. Education is the attempt to learn
how to control these forces in the world which is seen as hostile especially in the cities where
most people live. Life is largely an individual affair with no 'extended' family idea. The
individual chooses whether to believe in God or not and what moral standards to adopt.
6
 THE FAMILY AND KINSHIP
The family is a universal group throughout Africa, with many different forms and functions.
Everywhere the basic family unit is the elementary or nuclear family, a small domestic group
made up of a husband, his wife, and their children; frequently, attached kin are included as well.
This group is formed by a marriage and ends either with the death of one of the spouses or with
divorce. Where polygyny is permitted, a husband and his wives form a compound family.
Elementary and compound families in most parts of the continent traditionally have also been
units of wider and longer-lasting families, known as joint or extended families. In these families,
there are typically two or more generations, either a group of brothers and sons and their wives
and children (a patrilineal joint family) or, in some places, a group of sisters and their husbands
and children (a matrilineal joint family). This kind of family is long-lasting, and indeed self-
perpetuating; a death makes no difference to its overall structure, and thus it can last over several
generations, with a membership of up to a hundred people and more. As a general rule, joint and
extended families are found in rural rather than in urban settlements, the latter more usually being
occupied by many elementary families, each in isolation from the others. But there are many
exceptions (e.g., the Yoruba of the traditional southern Nigerian cities, who maintain extended
families even today).
The basis of kinship, in Africa as elsewhere, is descent from an ancestor. The most widespread
descent group is known as the clan, which can be either patrilineal or matrilineal. The members
of the former type of clan comprise all those who are born from a single founding ancestor
through the male line only; those of the latter comprise all those born from a single founding
ancestor or ancestress through the female line only. Patriliny is far more common in Africa than
matriliny, which is limited mainly to parts of Zambia and Malawi, in central Africa, and to Ghana
and Ivory Coast, in western Africa. Regardless of the means of descent, authority in the family
and elsewhere is always formally held by men; therefore, men have domestic authority in both
patrilineal and matrilineal families (formal matriarchy is unknown in Africa). Clans, which are
rarely corporate units in Africa, are clusters of kin who claim a single common ancestry but can
rarely, if ever, trace the actual links of descent. Usually clans are exogamous units and may
recognize various ritual prohibitions, such as taboos on certain foods, that give them a sense of
unity and of distinctiveness from others.
Clans are typically segmented into constituent groups, with each group recognizing a founding
ancestor more recent than the clan founder; these are known in the literature as lineages, one of
the criteria for a lineage being that its members—patrilineal or matrilineal—can trace actual
kinship links between themselves. Lineages may themselves be segmented into smaller units, the
smallest typically being the group around which a domestic family is established. Such a family
(if patrilineal) includes the husband and his children, all members of the small lineage, and his
wife, who by the rule of exogamy must come from another clan.
Other forms of descent are recognized, the most common of which is cognatic descent, whereby
local kin groups are composed of members who recognize their common descent through both
men and women. A few societies recognize both patrilineal and matrilineal descent
simultaneously. Some societies in Africa do not formally recognize these forms of descent at all,
but they are not typical and usually consist of long-settled urban dwellers.
Almost every African society has some form of descent group, however transitory, as the basis of
its social organization. The recognition of these variations of ancestral descent is an effective way

7
of constructing local groups that can last for several—often for many—generations and in which
the close-knit ties of kinship provide powerful links through the notion of common "blood." By
claiming exclusive ancestry, such a group can claim exclusive rights to clan and lineage property.
Marriages between their members, by the rule of exogamy, cement them into larger communities
and societies, each possessing its own sense of common ethnic and cultural "belonging."
Although these traditional forms of family and kinship are lessening in importance, with the
continuing need for urban and industrialized labor and the consequent increase in labor
migration, the strength of kin groups remains great. They are well suited to traditional forms of
production and exchange where these are found (which is still the case among the majority of
African peoples), and they provide a sense of personal identity and security that is of high
emotive value.
A family can be defined as a group of persons who are related to each other through
a. Marriage (husband and wife)
b. Blood (father and mother, son and daughter, brother and sister etc.
c. By adoption ( a couple and adopted child or children)
The relationship between husband. and wife is known as marriage and the relationship which is
established through blood is basically that which exists between parents and children. The family
is the basic unit of society. It exerts a great influence on the society.
Types of the family
The Nuclear family
The Extended family
The Single Parent
The Stem family
The Nuclear Family
(Natural family, restricted family, primary family, the immediate family) The nuclear family
consists of the father (head), mother (bond by marital rites) and the children or siblings i.e.
brothers and sisters. When there is no issue between a husband and a wife it is still nuclear. The
children grow up to enter into marriages to establish new nuclear families.
The Nuclear family is known as the family of orientation. The person of age (adult) leaves the
family of orientation to establish new nuclear families.
The Extended Family
The extended family is larger than the nuclear family. It includes other relatives or kinsmen apart
from those in the nuclear family. It is often made as one big family. These include grandparents,
uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and grandchildren. The extended family embraces more than
one nuclear family unit and more than one generation. They are related by blood.
The Single Parent or One Spouse

8
It comprises only one of the parents either the father or mother who takes care of the children,
performing the expected roles of both parents. This situation arises as a result of divorce,
separation or death of one of the parents. It also happens that when the man refuses to accept
responsibility for a pregnancy, the woman is left to care for the baby single-handedly.
Stem Family
A family system in which a couple's firstborn child lives with them in the family home, and
whose spouse moves into the home of said in-laws, so that the younger couple's children are
raised in the home of their grandparents. Usually, the younger offspring move out upon marriage.
The inheritance, depending on the culture, may or may not be the most favorable to the firstborn.
Residential Units
According to Margaret Peil, the 'census' definition of a household is a group of people who share
a dwelling place and their main meals'. From this definition, it becomes clear that the people
involved may share the same dwelling place and eat from the same source. They may or may not
be kinsmen (family members). It is possible to have several households within one structure i.e.
building. In this case the routine of each family will be different but they may share the same
facilities like kitchen, bath and toilet. They usually follow a roster for cleaning the compound and
maintain the facilities. They are expected to show concern for one another. There are notions of a
household which are different from what the census definition implies. Whiles this definition
works effectively when parents and children live, eat and sleep together in a compound or room,
the distinction is not very clear when some members do not share in the meals or do not sleep in
the compound. It therefore becomes difficult to assign a household to some categories of people.
An example is that of a man who has wives staying in different houses or even villages, and who
eats from their respective pots. Also, occupants of a 'single dwelling' or room may choose to have
their meals separately, or occupants of more than one dwelling may eat from the same pot.
Uxorilocal Residence: Residence may be described as uxorilocal when the couple stay with the
wife's kinsmen. In this case, the daughters, together with their husbands move to stay in their
mother's household.
Virilocal: Residence may be described as virilocal when the couple stay with the husband’s
kinsmen. In this, the sons stay with their wives in their father's household. It is preferred to the
uxorilocal type since the level of co-operation among a group of brothers is higher than that of a
group of men who are not bound by any relations, working under the authority of their wives'
father. The significance of both has decreased in recent years owing to the practice of migration.
Neolocal: When a new residence is established by a couple themselves it is referred to as a
neolocal residence.
It is usual to have an extended family ln either virilocal or uxorilocal residence depending on the
custom of the people involved. It may consist of more than the three generations under the
authority of a Head (Ebusuapanyin - Akan).
The Adoptive Family: An adoptive family consists of a couple with one or more adopted
children. It must be suitable for the care and nurturing of the adopted child or children. It is
usually started by a couple who do not have any child of their own i.e. cannot produce a child

9
through the natural (biological) process. This must be proved through a medical examination. The
couple are expected to apply to the Department of Social Welfare for a child to adopt. If their
application is approved by the Child Placement Committee which has to examine it, they are put
on a waiting list which tends to be long pending availability of a suitable child to be placed with
them. If they are fortunate, they may be given an abandoned child (whose parents cannot be
traced) for a three-month trial period. If the parents or any relatives are not found after the period
of investigation, the Adoption Law, Act 104 of 1962 empowers the Department of Social Welfare
to place the child for adoption permanently. The adoptive parents and the juvenile concerned are
taken to the High Court where the legal adoption is granted.
Co-operation: "Co-operation" is derived from the Latin words - co meaning "with" and opus,
meaning “work”. Co-operation means therefore working together with others. It involves a
conscious effort to achieve a goal. All members of the family have to co-operate with each other
in order to sustain the family. It is important to learn to express genuine concern and love for
other people, appreciate their strengths and weaknesses, and· tolerate views and ways of life
which are different from your own. Good neighbourliness helps strengthen relationships, and this
eventually contributes to harmonious community living. A community co-operation is required
during communal labour and the other activities of the community. Activities like drumming,
singing, sports and games, which involve group work, enhance co-operation. It is vital to note
that none of these activities would be successful without co-operation among members of one's
group. The Roles and Functions of the various components of the society depend to a large extent
on the co-operation of her members.
Traditional Ghanaian Society
(a) The Head of the Clan: The clan is a social unit in the Ghanaian traditional set up. The
Head of the Clan is usually a man and elderly. In Akan he is known as
EBUSUAPANYIN, in Dagomba YIDAANDO, in Ewe, HLOTATO or FOME-
METSITSL He is supposed to possess the following qualities so as to command the
respect of his people:
1. His life ought to be exemplary (he should be of good behaviour).
2. He must be honest
3. He must be experienced
4. He must exhibit good leadership.
It is noteworthy that his election is subject to approval of other members of the clan.
His Role
1. The head of the clan is responsible for the welfare of each member.
2. He is the custodian of the clan's property, e.g. stool, lands, jewellery;
3. He is the mediator between the clan and it gods and ancestors.
4. He seeks to maintain peace and unity in the clan. Whenever a dispute arises among
members of the clan, he ensures settlement.
5. He is the representative of the clan at the traditional council of Elders.
He is therefore responsible for the clan’s traditions and ensures that the rites for the well-
being of the clan members are performed. In conclusion, he has more duties to perform

10
 than he has rights. He has to seek the opinion of the other members of the clan before he
takes any action.
(b) The Father: He is the head of the nuclear family. He used to be the one and only bread-
winner of the family. He was responsible for providing the material needs of his family,
e.g. food shelter, clothing. As regards social needs, he was responsible for the children's
education. He taught and imparted his trade to his sons, e.g. weaving, carpentry, fishing or
farming. In the patrilineal society, he took care of his children throughout their lives. on
the other hand, i.e. in matrilineal society, his responsibility came to an end at a certain
time. His parental duties became less when the children attained maturity. He could not
take certain decisions without consulting the children's uncle. An example is marriage.
The father was obliged to consult the children's uncle if he wanted a husband or wife for
his children. He was responsible for maintaining a stable home.
(c) The Mother: In the traditional set up, the mother was esteemed as the caretaker of the
home. She cared for husband and children. She was in charge of the household chores
such as sweeping, washing and cooking. The home was her sole concern. In the
matrilineal society, she had to ensure that her brothers catered well for her children.
Informally, the mother taught her daughters child-care and home management.
(d) The Uncle: The uncle wielded a lot of power in the past, in the matrilineal society. He
exercised control over the members of the family. He was obliged to give money for the
upkeep of his nephews and nieces. As a sponsor of their education, he had a say in the
occupations they had to engage in. He did all these with the support of the other members
of the family.
(e) The Children: Children are God's blessing. They are supposed to be obedient and give due
respect to their parents and elderly people. Roles of children were not strictly specified.
Some factors determined the role each child had to play and at what time. These were
proximity, the health, age, sex and individual ability. Traditional roles of children are still
performed in modern Ghana.
Generally, parents expect their children to help in the household chores:
1. They help with the cooking and washing of dishes.
2. Wash their own dirty clothes (not the case with very young ones)
3. Help take care of younger siblings.
4. Tidy up rooms and make their own beds.
5. They usually run errands for their parents.
6. They set the table
7. In farming areas, they carry firewood and farm produce to the house. Moreover, they help
their parents during vacations in their work in order to increase family income, e.g.
farming, trading, baking of bread, processing of gari, etc.
The Family in the Pre-Colonial Era
Members of the family were united and lived together as one people. An individual's concern
or responsibility was shared by the whole family. They were expected to be selfless - they
worked together and for one another. An example of work they did was building of huts for
family use. The family's interest superseded the individual's self-interest.
Functions of the Family
11
The family is one of the institutions of the society. As a social institution it has to perform
functions for the development and stability of the society. The family has two main functions:
a primary and a secondary function. ' . The primary function of the family is the "procreation"
of new members into the society so that it (society) continues. The nature of this basic
function is fourfold:
1. Procreation (reproduction): The family as an institution caters for the sexual needs or
expression of members of the society. It concerns itself with giving birth to new ones to
take the place of those who die.
2. Maintenance: The family is responsible for providing the material needs of its members
e.g. food, health, clothing, shelter, etc. These needs can be met by parents and other
members of the family as they engage in gainful employment. The salary they earn, their
educational attainment and other resources both human and non-human, contribute to the
fulfilment of the family’s needs.
3. Since the human infant depends on his mother for a much longer period of time than
animals, maintenance does not only involve material needs but also the psychological.
Parents have to meet the psychological needs of their children by showing love, respect
and sympathy for .them and ensuring their security.
4. Placement/Status: The family provides a sense of history and social location to its
members. The new-born baby is given a name by the family during the naming ceremony,
which gives the child identity. On hearing your name, people easily associate it with your
family and clan. The family - also helps its members assume a responsible status in the
society.
5. Religious: The family gave religious education to its members. It taught them the beliefs
and religious practices of the society.
6. Recreational: Members of the family engaged themselves in diverse forms of indoor and
outdoor entertainment, e.g. story-telling, drumming and dancing.
7. Interpersonal relationships. The family ensured that cordial relations were maintained
within the family and the society. Disputes were settled amicably to bring about peace and
harmony within the entire society. The head of family helped resolve disputes in
marriages and meted out punishment to those who flouted the regulations of the society.
In effect, the family helped to enhance the social life of its members and the entire
society.
Socialisation
Socialisation is the process by which the culture of a people is transmitted to new members
of a society. A society has a lot of sub-systems which help the individual to learn how to live
within it. During the process he is made aware of certain realities in life and helped to
conform to the modes of behaviour and forms of thinking which form part of the wider social
environment. Through this process, the individual learns the norms of the society and thereby
acquires his values and attitudes and aims at his goals in life. He thus becomes socially
adapted to his environment and an acceptable member of the society who plays the roles
expected of him and helps in the development of the society. Members of the family are
socialised through interaction and communication with one another. In Ghana, the family is
responsible for transmitting the social norms from one generation to another. Not only are the
norms and values learnt but skills are acquired as interaction takes place. This calls for
12
 avenues for recreation. Through story-telling, children get acquainted with heroes of the past
and become fluent in the language of the community (transfer of culture). Children can
engage in both outdoor ( e.g. football, "ampe") and indoor games (e.g. "Oware). Other
activities may include drama, music and dance. These will help the child's mental
development and help him keep in the company of others, i.e. to subject himself to the rules
of performance, as well as learn to be independent. Through observation and participation in
activities like singing, dancing, weaving etc. he learns the culture of his people. For the
secondary function, McElmer describes the family as a unit which does all that is expected of
the "larger society" in an "intensified" form (it is a miniature society, i.e. · the head of a
family has the right to punish a member to maintain law and order) (a responsibility of the
political institution of the social structure). The family as an economic institution provides the
physical needs of her members, e.g. food, clothing, shelter and other things

MAN AND THE UNSEEN WORLD: DEATH

RITES OF PASSAGE FOR THE DEAD
Death, like all the other 'rites of passage', is part of the process of the journey through life. Death
is the last part of this process. It is often looked upon as a long journey. The Chagga of Tanzania
say that it lasts nine days. Some groups bury personal possessions with the dead person because
he or she will need them on the journey. Others bury the dead without them. Others bury the dead
with their possessions, not because they need them on the journey, but because they are part of
the dead person's personality and existence and so they are buried together to express the idea
that the dead person has fully departed. The Ndebele of Zimbabwe slaughter 'the beast of the
ancestors' at the funeral so that the dead person has food for the journey and livestock in the next
world. The Luyia in Kenya say that the slaughtered animal is the dead person's last offering to the
ancestors so that they may receive him peacefully when he arrives among them. The dead person
then joins the ranks of the 'Sasa' living-dead who enjoy personal immortality whilst they are
remembered by their living relatives. Later he joins the 'Zamani' living-dead who are only
'collectively" immortal, unknown to the living on earth.
THE PLACE OF BURIAL
Nearly all burials are in the ground which is the place where the dead are thought to live,
although many believe that there is a river to cross before the dead person reaches the place of the
dead. A few groups did not bury the dead but exposed them for the wild animals to eat although
usually this was done mainly for lepers, people struck by lightning or by other outbreaks of
serious illnesses. Some are buried within their own house or on the compound or farm. Some
graves are made with a cave-like shelf to prevent the earth falling on the body.

THE TIME OF BURIAL

13
In most cases burial would be within one day of the death although if the dead person was
important two days would pass to allow everyone to come. It was important for all the members
of the family to attend, as it is today. The traditional reason was that if one failed to attend the
burial one might be accused of causing the death. Absence would show that one was pleased that
the death had taken place. Among the Luyia children were buried very quickly after death near
sunset because he would be more willing to leave the clan at that time of day. The body of a
woman with only two children would be returned to her parents and the bride-wealth returned to
the father because more than two children were required to establish a real marriage and thus
perpetuate the family's existence. In some societies a second funeral ceremony would take place
some months after the burial when a feast would be held and contact with the dead person is
renewed through the offerings that are made. In some places especially in West Africa, these
ceremonies would involve part of the body of the dead person, the head or some other part, which
would have been cut off at burial and kept for the second ceremony. The fact that this second
ceremony was omitted for unmarried dead people among the Ndebele emphasises yet again that
an unmarried person was considered an inferior being.
THE ORIGIN OF DEATH
Christian teaching about the origin of death is based upon the story of Adam and Eve. Many
would call this story a 'myth'. A myth is an interesting story told to answer questions about the
meaning behind the events of a people's history. The story contains some fact and true insight
into the past but the details are made 'larger than life' to give the story more interest. In the
Christian story about the origin of death, we are told that the first man's disobedience to God's
command caused him to be cast out of God's presence and later to die. Later generations also died
because all men are sinners.
African tradition tells the story of the origin of death in the form of myths. It also says that death
came as a result of failure and disobedience. Many myths tell the story of the chameleon and
another animal. The chameleon was to say to man that man would not die. The other animal is
told by God to say that man would die. The chameleon stopped to eat fruit on the way, so the
Zulu story goes, and the lizard arrived first with the message of death. Men accepted the message
and the chameleon's message of life was too late. The Luyia variation of this story only mentions
the chameleon who asked the son of the first Luyia ancestor for food but he refused to give it to
him. So the chameleon cursed him with death and went and promised life to the snake who
became immortal by changing its skin. In this story the chameleon is not so much to blame as the
son who refused to give food to the chameleon. In Rwanda and Burundi the story says that God
had forbidden man to hide death. One day the dogs of God were chasing death. He met a woman
and promised to help her family if she hid him. The woman agreed and opened her mouth and
death jumped inside. When God arrived she lied and said that she had not seen death but God
who sees everything knew that she was lying and decided that men would keep death and it
would destroy them all. Although the stories are different, the message is the same. Disobedience
brought death.

THE CAUSES OF DEATH

14
In addition to these myths about the moral cause behind the origin of death African tradition also
gave other 'spiritual' reasons for each individual case of death. These were:
a. Magic, sorcery, witchcraft or poison used by an enemy.
b. A curse pronounced by one of the family's 'living dead' relatives because of failure to show
them respect or to carry out their wishes.
c. A curse pronounced by a community upon someone who fails to keep the customs of the
people or to obey its leaders. Often this will happen if someone does not observe a traditional
taboo.
d. Warfare or quarrelling. Even death in war was thought to have happened because the soldier
might have broken the traditional sexual taboos before battle.
e. Dis-honouring God.
f. Breaking a binding oath, especially in a court-case.
g. God's own will, either through old age or through some unexplained circumstance like
lightning or an accident.
The implication behind reasons a. to f. is that if these things had not happened, the person would
not have died. Explanation g. recognises that sometimes death cannot be explained as avoidable,
and in the case of old age it is inevitable.
THE 'LIVING-DEAD'
The living dead comes from Mbiti who distinguishes between 'personal immortality' still in the
'Sasa' time scale and 'collective immortality' when the dead are no longer remembered on earth,
thus causing them
to move into the distant 'Zamani' time scale. Let us note now in more detail the characteristics of
these two categories of the dead.
PERSONAL IMMORTALITY IN THE 'SASA' PERIOD
In this state. the 'living-dead' share in family life through the offerings made to them. They act as
guardians in family affairs. They bless the family and warn it of danger.
They rebuke, threaten or curse the family or individual members of it if they refuse to follow
traditional customs or show them respect.
Their work and influence are usually confined to one place and one clan but they can be partially
're-incarnated' in the life of a younger living member or members of the family who mayor may
not bear their name.
They act as mediators between man and God and between men and the spirits. They do this
because they are 'bi-lingual'. They know the language of men because they themselves were men.
Now that they are dead they also know the language of God and the spirits. Often therefore they
are approached in prayer by the family because they can intercede with God. This raises the
question of whether they are worshipped as 'gods.'

15
COLLECTIVE IMMORTALITY IN THE 'ZAMANI' PERIOD
Real or 'final' death, according to Mbiti, takes place when the 'living-dead' ceases to be a person
and moves into the Zamani period of being a forgotten spirit. Idowu says that a 'living-dead' does
not need to be remembered in order to remain close to his family. This is probably because Idowu
does not make Mbiti's distinction between Zamani and Sasa time and existence. The 'living-dead'
can be raised to the position of becoming 'divinities' or minor gods.
ANCESTOR WORSHIP?
Mugambi and Kirima and Kenyatta agree that offerings and even prayers are means of continuing
social contact with the dead people as if they were still alive and able to talk and eat a meal with
their living relatives. Idowu sees that this contact with the dead has an element of veneration in it
and the boundary between veneration and actual worship is very close. So if you are one of those
who deny that offerings to the dead constitute worship, you may like to consider the following
points.
If we accept Tylor's minimum definition of religion, that religion is the belief in 'spiritual beings',
then we would have to admit that prayer to the ancestors is religious because the 'living-dead' are
thought of as spiritual beings. This also means that the practice of some Christians in praying to
the Saints is also 'religious' and 'worship' because the dead Saints are also looked upon as
spiritual beings. Certainly, the European Reformers of the 16th century believed that prayer to the
saints was worship which was in danger of breaking the first and second commandments (Ex.
20.3-6). So they ordered it to be stopped in Protestant Churches.
Idowu says that worship and veneration are psychologically closer than next door to each other
and so it is difficult to argue that prayer to ancestors is not worship. Idowu quotes with approval
the statement of Herskovit that the ancestors must be included in the Dahomean religious system
because they comprise the third category of gods. This supports the view that prayer to such
'divine' ancestors is worship because worship is directed towards a god or gods. Idowu, however,
stops short of saying this.
Some scholars consider the living-dead to be mediators between God and man. This is an
interesting idea but it does raise several questions:
If the 'living-dead' are considered as 'mediators' why is God sometimes addressed directly in
prayer without the use of a mediator? Does this suggest that traditionally the 'living-dead' were
considered to be more than mediators who could be prayed to like God?
If the 'living-dead' were only mediators, why were people so frightened of them? What power did
they have? Does a mediator do evil to the person he is supposed to be helping? Does this mean
that the 'living-dead were again considered to be more than mediators, whose power was fearful?
Does one give gifts to mediators? What is the difference between a gift and a sacrifice? Did the
offeror of the gift have faith in the power of the gift to take away the anger of the 'living-dead'? If
the answer to this is yes, does this mean that the 'living-dead' were again considered to be like
gods?
One other question concerns the idea that gifts and prayers to the 'living-dead' just maintained the
normal, social family relationship with the dead ancestor. Do Christians pray to God as their
16
Father just to maintain a human family relationship with Him or because He is also considered to
be more than a human father with powers greater than those of human beings?
RE-INCARNATION
We have already noted the power which the living-dead are thought to have over the living
members of the family which causes them to be shown great respect. They also have the power to
be re-incarnated' in younger members of the family. In some areas this is done in a formal way
through the custom of naming children either after their grandfather or grandmother. In other
areas the idea is informal and the re-incarnation is thought to have taken place when certain
resemblances between a dead member of the family and a younger living member are noticed.
This causes great rejoicing. Some dead people can be ere-incarnated' in more than one person at
once without regard to their sex as well. So a dead man can be re-incarnated in a living woman.
Some societies believe that a person cannot be re-incarnated unless he has been married and had
children - another reason for getting married. The Nupe of Nigeria think that a person has two
souls. After death one becomes a 'living-dead' and the other is able to be re-incarnated. Some
peoples also believe that a dead person can be re-incarnated in the form of snakes, rats, lizards
etc. which may not be killed.
THE CONDITION OF THE DEAD
Mbiti argues that the only worth-while period after death is the 'Sasa' period because the dead
person is still able to keep his personality. The move of the 'living-dead' person into the 'Zamani'
period of collective immortality is a disaster because he has now entered 'the ever-vanishing
period where humanness is completely obliterated'. This is why the Christian hope of resurrection
has been received with such joy in Africa. Mbiti also says that for a very few, like the great
heroes and chiefs of the past, there was just a possibility that they might be raised to the status of
a divinity, a lesser god higher than the spirits. However this was the privilege of only a very few.
The other small crumb of comfort about life after death is that in most traditional beliefs there
was no idea of judgment and no idea of reward. The Lodagaa of Ghana and Burkina Faso believe
that bad people will experience suffering after crossing the river of death and that this punishment
is administered to them by the older spirits. The Yoruba of Nigeria also believe in judgment for
all people. The good are able to go to a place where they meet with relatives and live almost the
same kind of life as on earth. However evil people suffer endlessly after death. Two other groups
believe that wearing masks or ethnic marks will help them to be recognised and taken to a good
place after death. Mbiti says that apart from these examples, the idea of judgment is absent.

MAN AND THE UNSEEN WORLD: SPIRITS

THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE
Man is thought to be spirit. It is also thought that man is surrounded by different spiritual powers
and that even material things have a spiritual power within them. Materialists, past and present,
have laughed at this idea. Modern atomic physics, however, has begun to find that there is a kind
of life or force within every kind of material so that it is no longer possible to speak of absolutely
'dead' matter. Traditional life was very aware of this non-material power which anthropologists
have called 'mana'.
17
Man is surrounded by spiritual 'mana'. The nearest spiritual power to man is:
1. The Living Dead, then
2. The Spirits, then
3. The Divinities, and, finally, above all the others is the power of
4. God Himself.
DIVINITIES
The subject of divinities is a difficult one, especially in East Africa where they are not so well
known. Mbiti says that the divinities are personifications of God who do things that God does
and who are given names. They have the power of the sun, or wind or rain and of illnesses like
smallpox. They often have names and act on behalf of God. A few were originally great human
beings who have been elevated to the rank of a god but most were not originally human. In East
Africa their number seems to be few but in West Africa they are many. We may say the
following about the divinities:
They are part of the universe and the order of things. Idowu is certain that they
have not been created by God. He says this because he wants to preserve his idea of modified
monotheism. In his view they are part of God's own activity and person rather than separate gods.
Mbiti however says that the divinities are thought to have been created by God as part of the
spirit world.
Both Mbiti and Idowu believe that they come in some way from God. Idowu seems to believe
that they are eternal like God, although, if the divinities are eternal, it is difficult to see how they
are less than God. This would suggest that P' Bitek and Parrinder are right in saying that parts of
traditional Africa believed in many gods, which is polytheism, not monotheism. If Mbiti is right
in saying that God created the divinities, then the divinities are not eternal, they are not equal to
God and therefore the African view of the divinities is not poly-theistic. Here again we see how
difficult it is to generalise about ATR.
Each divinity has its own name and identity.
The divinities serve God and carry out certain functions from God in given geographical areas.
They may control the sun, the rain, water, agriculture etc.
They often act as intermediaries between God and man.
Often there is a group or 'Pantheon' of these divinities in one geographical area.
Some were originally human - great heroes of the past - who have been .deified', i.e. promoted to
the status of gods.

MONOTHEISM OR POLYTHEISM?

18
In case you are confused, we should define the two words 'monotheism' and 'polytheism.'
Monotheism means the belief in one supreme God who is the only great power for good in the
universe. All other spiritual powers in the world are subject to this one God and under his
authority. Polytheism means the belief in many gods each of whom has his own independent
power and authority.
Some believe that Traditional African worship is polytheistic in some parts of Africa because one
High God as well as other lesser gods are worshipped together. Others believe that Traditional
African worship is monotheistic. Parrinder who knows West Africa well says that ATR in West
Africa is polytheistic and Bitek’s description of the Lou in Uganda supports him.
Evans-Pritchard who studied the Nuer in the Sudan remarks on the fact that the Nuer believe at
one and the same time in 'the One and the Many.' They believe in One God and also in many
other' gods' or 'divinities' - spiritual powers called' kwoth' and 'kuth' .
This 'One and the Many' situation is recognised by Idowu but he denies that it is polytheism
because he says that the divinities were not created by God. They are 'derived' from him. He
quotes the case of the Bahia in West Africa who believed that God had a son who was one of the'
divinities'. When Christianity came this divinity was equated with Christ. The Akan divinities are
also called sons of the major God Onyame. Idowu therefore prefers to use the description of
'diffused monotheism' or 'modified monotheism' to describe this 'one and the many' religious
situation.
Mbiti is slightly less dogmatic and prefers the term 'implicit monotheism' . By this he means that
there is a belief in many gods but behind this belief it is assumed that there is really only one real
god. Idowu does also admit that some African traditions believe in the existence of lesser gods
without also believing in the existence of one supreme God. This is P'Bitek's interpretation of the
beliefs of the central Luo, and that is polytheism.
SPIRITS
Beneath God and the divinities are the spirits and the living dead. They are above man but below
God. Consequently they have considerable power but man can make bargains with them and to
some extent control them with magic. We may note:
No-one is very certain where the spirits came from. Some traditions say that they were created as
separate beings and that they are able to reproduce themselves like humans can. Others think that
the spirits are what is left after a human being dies. Therefore ultimately man can expect to
become a spirit. Other groups believe that some spirits have come from dead animals as well as
from dead human beings.
Where it is believed that spirits have come from dead human beings, it is thought that the spirits
are in the state of 'collective immortality' of the Zamani period. The 'living dead' can still be
remembered by their relatives, but once there is no-one left alive to remember them, they move
from 'Sasa' to 'Zamani' and from personal to collective immortality. They are no longer 'living
dead' but forgotten and dangerous 'spirits'. They have no names.
The spirits are thought to be everywhere. There is no area of the earth, no object, no creature
which does not have a spirit of its own or which cannot be inhabited by a spirit.

19
Some spirits have special places in which to live. These places may be underground, in the air, in
the sun, in the moon, trees, bush, forest rivers and even in horns of animals. This means that
spirits are to be found wherever man is found.
Spirits are normally invisible but they can make themselves visible to man in all sorts of sizes and
shapes, as lights and as ghosts. In some folk-stories spirits are described as having human shape,
but one is never quite sure where they are. They often act in harmful ways, so the best thing to do
is to keep well away from them.
Spirits often have a close association with witches who are thought to be able to send spirits out
of one person into another person in order to harm them. Sometimes these spirits come from the
witches themselves to harm others in the way we know that people with very strong personalities
are able to exert very strong control over other people with weaker characters.
Some spirits are good and act as guardians to human beings. Sometimes these guardian spirits are
thought to be the counterpart or 'double' of the human being they are protecting, like a guardian
angel. See Matthew 18.10 where Jesus says that children have angels guarding them.
Spirits are therefore thought to have more power than men because they are closer to God than
man is. They do not need an intermediary if they wish to communicate with God, as the evil
spirits in Legion did with Jesus in the Gerasenes (Luke 8.26-33). Often in Africa the spirits are
thought to be the servants or messengers of God who bridge the gap between God and man.
Therefore they are shown great respect similar to the respect shown by younger people to elders.
The right human specialist can manipulate the spirits to do his will. Magic can be used, or rituals
or sacrifices. Shrines are sometimes built among families dedicated to the spirits belonging to that
particular family or clan.
SPIRIT POSSESSION
There is one more important point to make about spirits and that is that they can 'possess' or take
over control of a man or a woman. This can be in two forms, good and bad.
BAD SPIRIT POSSESSION
Bad spirit may cause uncontrollable madness or epilepsy in man. The demons were also called
unclean spirits. Evil spirits can also cause miscarriages to pregnant mothers in African tradition.
GOOD SPIRIT POSSESSION
Mbiti says that women are more prone to spirit possession than men. On occasions it is
deliberately induced by drumming or dancing so that a spirit may speak through the possessed
person who may collapse with exhaustion during the time when he or more usually she is acting
as the 'medium' for the spirit to speak through.
EXORCISM
Where spirit possession is bad and causes torment so that the person leaves home to go and live
in the forest, or jump in the fire or sleep badly, a traditional doctor may be called in to drive out
the spirit. Sometimes a whole community is troubled by spirits which require formal rituals of
exorcism to drive them away.
20
ANIMISM AND THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION
Having studied the beliefs about the living dead, the spirits and the divinities it should be easier
for you to understand where the word 'animism' came from, although modern scholars of
traditional religions do not use the term. 'Animism' comes from the Latin word 'anima' meaning
breath and therefore spirit. Sir Edward Tylor in the 19th century popularised the term 'animism'.
Idowu is prepared to accept the term as describing African religion provided that it is 'properly
defined as recognition of the existence of Spirits or spirits as separate from the material ' . But
belief in spiritual life and existence is not confined to Africa because all religions accept the idea
of spiritual existence. Yet often African religion is dismissed in a critical way as 'mere animism'
when ATR has more to it than a belief in spirits.
CONCLUSIONS
For African peoples we may say with Mbiti that the spirits are a reality however confused that
reality may sometimes seem to be. This is a reality that must be reckoned with. Spirits cannot be
ignored because as Idowu says, 'of spirits in Africa there is no end' . They are too many to be
ignored. They are not ignored by the Gospels nor by the One whose power is greater than that of
Beelzebub the prince of demons (Luke 11.14-26), and Who commanded unclean spirits to come
out of men (Luke 4:31-36).

AFRICAN CONCEPTIONS OF GOD: GOD'S CHARACTER

THE PERSONALITY OF GOD
Some African societies believe that God cannot be known properly because He is too far away. In
this they are like Muslims. But the great majority believe that the character of God can be known.
Idowu insists that God is real to Africans and that He is well-known to them. His character and
personality can be understood from the names that are given to God. These names are of two
types:
THE GENERIC NAME FOR GOD
'Generic' means 'of a kind' or 'of the nature of.' So a generic name is a word used to describe
something that is in a general class of its own. Thus in English the word' God' is the 'generic'
name for God. In East Africa this is the type of name for God which is found most frequently
because there are few other gods to rival the one God. He is the only God. His name does not
need any qualification. He is simply called by His own name. Among the Ameru, Akamba and
the Agikuyu He is called 'Ngai'. Among the Barundi and the Banyarwanda He is called 'Imana'.
The Maasai call Him Ngai or En-kai meaning 'rain' or 'sky', but the word clearly refers to the one
Supreme Being. Many African words for God associate Him with the sun or sky or with creating.
THE QUALIFIED NAMES FOR GOD
These names are used chiefly in West Africa where there are many lesser divinities. So it is
necessary to use a word - usually a suffix at the end of a word - to show that it is the supreme
God who is being referred to. Among the Ewe people God is called Mawu. In order to distinguish
Him from other lesser gods He is also called Mawu-nyo 'the God of justice' or 'the God who is
21
kind'. Sometimes the qualifying word is a prefix put at the front of a word. The Igbo people call
God 'Chukwu'. Often He is also called 'Eberechukwu' meaning God of mercy . Chukwu is itself a
qualified name consisting of two parts, 'chi' meaning 'spirit' and the suffix 'ukwu' meaning 'great'.
So Chukwu makes it clear that the 'Great Spirit' , the 'Great Source of Life' is being referred to
and not the lesser gods.

AFRICAN CONCEPTIONS OF GOD: CREATION

AFRICAN IDEAS OF CREATION
All African peoples consider that God is the creator although Bitek disputes this. All over Africa
God is known as creator. He is given the names of Moulder, Maker, Excavator, Hewer, Carver,
Originator, Inventor, Architect etc. There are ideas that God first created out of nothing ('ex
nihilo' in Latin) and that He also used created
materials as well. This is similar to the Bible. For example, the people of Rwanda say, 'There was
nothing before God created the world.' This means that God created everything from nothing.
They also say that God is the moulder of the clay from which He creates. In order to create and to
give birth He needs to use water. So Banyarwanda women of child bearing age would leave a pot
of water ready at night for God to use to create children for them. This was known as 'God's
water'. They also believe that God created the first man who was called 'Kazikumuntu' who had
three sons called Gatutsi, Gahutu and Gatwa. These three represented the three social groups in
the country, the Tutsi, the Hutu and the Twa who are pygmies. Similarly the people of Burundi
call God 'Ruremabibondo', the Creator of children.
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
There is a Bambuti story which tells how, in the beginning, the earth was above and heaven was
below. Heaven was used as God's throne. Dust and dirt kept falling down from the earth above
onto God's food in heaven below until He become tired of having His food spoiled all the time.
So He ordered the lightning to find a place for Him above the earth. The lightning then travelled
upwards and found a place for God and for the Moon which is the person closest to God. God
and the Moon then went upwards to this new place where dirt would not fall down on God's food
anymore. There the Moon lives with God and with the Moon's two wives, the morning star and
the evening star (Venus).
CREATION OF WATER, HUMAN BEINGS AND TREES
Traditionally for the Bambuti the chameleon is the most sacred animal as it is in many other
African stories. The Bambuti considered it to be sacred because it can climb to the tops of trees
where it is the creature nearest to God. The Bambuti say that one day the chameleon heard some
noise in the branches of a tree that sounded like water although water had not yet been created at
this stage. So the chameleon took an axe and cut round the tree. Then he dug into the ground and
made the first well. A river sprang up out of the hole and watered the whole earth. Then two
human beings 'appeared' or God made them. The first was a woman called 'Uti' and then a man
called 'Nupe' . Then the chameleon planted the seeds of the first tree called 'Tii' and in that way

22
all other trees came into existence. The first humans, Uti and Nupe, were lighter skinned in
colour than the other pygmies.
ANOTHER STORY ABOUT THE CREATION OF MAN
In another myth the Bambuti say that God created the body of the first man by 'kneading' or
'moulding' which suggests that a clay-like substance was used. After making man's flesh, God
covered it with a skin and poured blood into his lifeless body. Then the first man breathed and
lived. God then whispered softly into his ear, 'You will have children who will live in the forest' .
This first man was called 'Baatsi' and he is the Father and ancestor of the pygmies.
CREATION OF THE OTHER ANIMALS
The Bambuti also say in another story that God created animals after creating the first humans.
God sent down to earth a goat from heaven which mothered all the other animals. This is why the
Bambuti call all animals which they hunt 'the goats of God' . Finally the goat gave birth to a kid
before returning to God in heaven. The myth goes on to say how that God gave to the early
human beings tools and weapons with which to hunt. He also taught them how to use the
blacksmith's forge and other skills necessary for life on earth.

AFRICAN CONCEPTIONS OF GOD: DEATH AND ETHICS

MYTHS ABOUT GOD'S NEARNESS AND FARNESS
A number of different traditional stories are told to explain why God is transcendent and far
away.
ASHANTI MYTH
This story from Ghana tells how God originally Lived in the sky which was very near to man.
Unfortunately the mother of men prepared their food by pounding it with a very long pestle in a
mortar. The pestle was so long that it kept hitting God in the face in the sky. God therefore
moved higher up away from man to avoid being hit. The woman then instructed her sons to place
the mortars one on top of the other in order to get near to God again! They needed just one more
mortar to reach God. So their mother told them to remove the bottom one and place it on top of
the pile. Naturally the pile of mortars collapsed when they did this killing several of her sons. So
men gave up the attempt to reach God again.

MENDE MYTH
In Sierra Leone the Mende say that God originally lived with men and provided everything for
them. Unfortunately they went so often to ask God for things that He grew tired of them. So He
decided to move away to a far-off place in the night while men were sleeping.

23
BAMBUTI MYTH ABOUT DEATH
According to this myth God created the first man Baatsi. God told him and his children not to eat
the fruit of the 'tahu' tree. After Baatsi returned to be with God a pregnant woman had a very
great desire to eat the fruit of the 'tahu' tree. She eventually persuaded her husband to pick it for
her. This he did and he hid the peel of the fruit in the leaves of the tree, but the Moon was
watching him. The Moon saw everything that he had done and told God. God was so angry
because of their disobedience that He sent death to them as a punishment. On another occasion
God killed nearly all mankind because of their disobedience. He only spared the lives of a few
people and gave them the banana tree for their food.
THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
In the African tradition there is not much information. It is recognised that good and evil exist in
the world and that God is good. The Baluyia believe that the east symbolises all that is good and
the west all that is evil. Their neighbours, the Bukusu in eastern Uganda, say that evil is produced
by an evil 'divinity' who is independent of God. Others say that evil comes from the spirits. The
Ashanti take a position that is very close to that of the Bible, namely that God created the
possibility of evil in the world. He created evil but He did not create people in order to be evil.
Therefore man is responsible for the evil which he commits.
AFRICAN IDEAS OF JUSTICE AND MORALITY
Mbiti agrees with E. A. Adeolu Adegbola's comment in the Book 'Biblical Revelation and
African Beliefs' on page 118 that the moral aspects of traditional African teaching have not been
studied sufficiently.
Mbiti comments on Idowu's twenty-year old study of Yoruba morality and notes that their very
high moral standard is based upon the word 'twa' which means good character. This involves
chastity before marriage, hospitality, unselfishness, kindness, truthfulness, keeping one's promise
and showing respect for old age. It is also man's duty to protect women. God will also severely
judge stealing, telling lies and hypocrisy.
Mbiti also points out that some African societies do not share these ideas of an objective standard
of good and evil. In Rwanda it is said that God only punishes those who directly disobey Him. He
is not offended when someone is robbed. However the Barundi do say that God is angry when
someone commits adultery. But in many traditions God is remote from morality. Morality is
'anthropocentric'. It is the tradition of human society which determines what is evil rather than
God. Evil is judged by its effect upon society. The greatest evil lies in the consequences of an act
rather than in the quality or nature of the act itself. So if the act causes shame to the family or
clan it is more serious than if no shame results. So the idea of evil is often relative to its effect on
society or to the shame that it causes.
In some places traditional society could be very permissive. The wrongfulness of an act could be
decided by whether it was committed by a senior person or a junior person. Mbiti writes:
"Never or rarely does a person 'Or being of a higher status do what constitutes an offence against
a person of lower status."

24
It is in this situation that we see the relativity of moral standards most clearly. Mbiti says that
under these conditions evil is not considered to be objectively evil. There is no idea of an
objective moral standard which applies to all classes of people, as in the case of the ten
commandments. He says it is evil "by virtue of who does it to whom and from what level of
status."
He also makes the point that, "Something is evil because it is punished: it is not punished
because it is evil."
AFRICAN IDEAS OF PUNISHMENT
A very few African societies believe that God can send punishment to someone after death. The
Lodagaa of Ghana and Burkina Faso believe that the crossing of the River of Death is an ordeal.
Only good people get across quickly. The wicked are forced to swim, perhaps for as long as three
years, before they reach the place of the dead. The Lodagaa are almost alone in believing in
punishment after death. The majority of those who believe that God does punish sin believe that
their punishment takes place in this life only.
Some African societies do not accept the idea that God only punishes men in very serious cases.
There was Gikuyu judicial procedure which dealt with property disputes as well as murder.
Adultery and other sexual offences are considered to be serious because they threaten the social
structure and upset the natural rhythm of society. God therefore is considered to punish these acts
and also the pride of the person who counts his cattle or his children. Thunder is often associated
with God's anger. It is God's axe of judgment.
However, the Barundi have a proverb which says, 'God exercises vengeance in silence.' This
seems to mean that God does not tell us the reason why He is punishing someone. Punishment is
God's arbitrary act which cannot always be explained. This may mean that God's ways are
beyond the understanding of man. It may also mean that in traditional thinking there is no
objective code of right and wrong. God's morality is a mystery. The idea that God judges all
people according to His own revealed law and that He will judge even the church by that law is a
new idea to some.

WORSHIP AND SACRIFICE

THE NEED FOR WORSHIP
Man lost the ability to remain young and the gift of food from God. This all happened when God
removed Himself away from man. Death and suffering came to man instead. Therefore man has a
need to find some way in which he can restore his lost relationship with God and also with his
fellow men. As in most religions acts of worship and sacrifice were the means which people in
Africa adopted in order to try and restore that lost relationship. However again it should be noted
that in many African languages the word 'worship' or 'to worship' does not exist. The reason for
this may be because every part of African life has a religious meaning and so worship as a
separate idea did not exist. All of life was worship and therefore religious. Even so the practice of
making special acts of worship through prayers, offerings or sacrifices was and is wide-spread in
Africa.

25
TYPES OF WORSHIP
The practice of worship varies from place to place. The Banyankole of Uganda do not offer their
sacrifices to God. Instead they offer them to the spirits and to the living dead. The Akamba in
Kenya and the Herero in Namibia (S. W. Africa), like the Banyankole, believe that God does not
need sacrifices, but on important occasions and in times of crisis they did make sacrifices to God.
Others offer them directly to God or to the divinities as well as to the spirits and to the 'living
dead'. In general we may note the following main types of worship.

Formal worship
Formal occasions were events like initiation or marriage or death but they could also include
planting or harvest ceremonies for purifying the ground, the seed and the crops or praying for rain
in times of drought or for sunshine in times of flood. Kenyatta describes the Gikuyu prayers for
some of these formal occasions. Often formal worship was led by a religious specialist.
Informal worship
This would take place in the home. It would be led by the head of the household and might
include prayers to the 'living-dead'. It could even be a private prayer of an individual alone. So
informal worship refers to worship that is not highly organised or prepared iii advance. It could
take place at any time or in any place in response to a need to worship or to pray. Like education,
much traditional African worship was informal.
Regular worship
In Kenya every adult Nandi is supposed to recite. a special prayer twice a day. In the morning
they pray: "God guard for me the children and the cattle. God guard for us the cattle; God give us
health!" This regular morning and evening prayer , however, is fairly unusual in Africa.
Irregular worship
This is much more common. Instead of praying at regular set times, the traditional way was to
pray in times of need and crisis. Regular set times for worship were not so necessary. This might
explain the habit of late arrival for Christian worship services, because traditionally worship was
often both informal and irregular.
Communal worship
Nearly all worship is communal. It takes place in the family group at home or with the clan or
together with many others at the initiation ceremonies.
Individual worship
This is much less common because African society is communal, but the Nandi twice daily
prayer which is an individual act. The Luyia, Barotse, Galla and Yoruba also pray daily or more.

26
Ritual worship
This would be involved with sacrifices or initiation rites which have a set pattern. Ritual worship
involves the repeating of set forms and patterns of worship remembered by heart because they
were not written down.
'Extempore' or 'free' worship
This also was very common since on both formal and informal occasions the leader of the
worship would say whatever thoughts came into his mind. He was free to do this because he had
no written service book to follow. His inspiration and words would come from the time ('ex
tempore') or moment when he was praying. This is why Mbiti can say that African worship was
'uttered' rather than meditational. He means that worship was spoken in words and expressed in
body movements like dancing and included songs which also 'uttered' externally the thoughts and
teachings of the worship. Worship was seldom if ever silent. Silence is an individual thing. Most
traditional worship was communal and singing strengthened the sense of communal solidarity.

THE PLACE, TIME AND LEADERSHIP OF WORSHIP

The place of worship
The Nuer of the Sudan offer sacrifices anywhere. The sky is the roof of their cathedral. Others
have special trees or groves. A few have mud temples. Altars are found in houses and
compounds. Some use caves. Some face east or west or towards a mountain that is holy. Some
kneel, stand, sit, fall down, cross their arms, clap their hands, raise hands or eyes to heaven when
praying. Some spit, the spittle being a symbol of blessing.
The times for worship
Some African peoples perform daily or twice daily acts of worship and prayer. Some of the
occasions when the Nuer people think that worship and sacrifice are necessary. Here we will
summarise the times and occasions for worship under three main headings:
In time of national need: this would include times of war or a raid from a neighbouring tribe,
drought, disease or serious accident. They might also include times of eclipse of the sun or moon
and the coronation of kings or chiefs. In the latter case the need would be for unity.
In times of communal need: this would include times of hunting or food gathering.
Some, like the Luo, make offerings when they build new houses. For the Ashanti Thursday was a
holy day when they did no work.
In time of personal need: this would include meal times, waking in the morning, illness,
barrenness, the birth of twins, and looking for lost possessions or animals. Meeting people or
saying goodbye to people would also be a time when God's name would be used in greeting as a
prayer for blessing. The naming of children among some people, e.g. the Barundi, would include
the use of God's name to show how He had answered prayer or had not failed to help the mother
at child-birth.

27
Leaders of worship
The Nuer have no religious specialists. Anyone may pray and sacrifice. Others have religious
'specialists'. The 'living dead' are often considered as mediators in worship who can translate the
prayers of man into the language of God and so mediate in the worship offered by man to God.
THE GENERAL PURPOSES OF TRADITIONAL SACRIFICES
In general we may summarise the purposes of traditional sacrifices in five ways. Again, not all
five purposes would be present in every sacrifice. Different sacrifices might emphasise one or
more of the following ideas.
Sacrifice as Substitution: this is a very common element in many sacrifices. In Nuer sacrifices the
sacrificer becomes personally identified with the animal victim when it is smeared with dung ash.
The Nuer place a very high value upon cattle, so they are considered to be worthy substitutes for
man. The ox or cow dies in man's place.
Sacrifice as a gift: this emphasises the goodwill of the sacrificer towards God.
It may also have the idea of a bargain or exchange or the ransom idea of buying something back
from God with a gift.
Sacrifice as propitiation and expiation: this is specially concerned with sin. Man's sin makes God
angry and so men are in danger of famine or drought etc. So a sacrifice is made which pleases
God and takes away His anger. This is propitiation. The sacrifice also covers (expiates) the sin.
Sacrifice as communion: here the idea is to restore fellowship and friendship which has been
broken - either with God or with neighbours. The sacrifice in this purpose is a shared meal. In
nearly all human societies this is a sign of friendship.
Sacrifice as thank offering: this is the sacrifice made at a time not of danger, but of joy. God has
given a great blessing and so a sacrifice is made as an act of homage and respect to show sincere
thanks for the blessing received. It is an act of self-denial.

AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF TIME

APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF TIME
Scholars do not agree on African concept of time. Also the African view of time is very different
from the Western view of time but this does not make it inferior. Another problem is the danger
of confusing what Africans do and think today with the traditional thoughts and actions of
Africans before Western ideas and education were brought to Africa. Similarly in our study of
time we must not confuse the modern 'Five Year' planning of African governments with the
traditional ideas of time of our grandfathers or great-grandfathers.

ACTUAL (EVENT) TIME AND POTENTIAL (NOT YET) TIME

28
According to Mbiti in ATR time is composed of events which have happened now or in the past.
The events of time have to be experienced in order for time to have any real meaning. Time
therefore is composed of events not ideas. Events which are just about to happen are also
included in time. So if the day has dawned one can expect dusk and night to come. So dusk and
night can be included with the time-events of the day. Time referring to much later events is 'not
yet' time. It is only potential time. Later events are only ideas. They have not yet happened, so
they are not part of time because time is composed of events not ideas.
Mbiti gives several examples of what he means. He says that old people do not remember the
year of their birth by a number. Numbers are only abstract ideas. Instead, old people remember
the date of their birth by an event that happened in the year of their birth, a drought or a war or a
famine or an earthquake. A child may even be helped to remember the time of its birth by being
given a name which reminds it of an important event that took place when it was born.
The western practice of counting the hours from the middle of the night is very foreign because
the middle of the night is not an event. Mbiti also bases his argument for actual 'event' time upon
an analysis of Bantu verbs. He says that the majority of verbs in his own Kikamba language and
also in Gikuyu are concerned with the present or with the past. Only a very few cover the future
tense. This aspect of Mbiti's arguments is open to question because some Bantu languages have
highly complex conditional and future tenses. But his main point seems reasonable, namely that
'time has to be experienced in order to make sense or to become real.' He then goes on to say that
the African concept of time has 'virtually no future' because the future is only an idea. It has not
yet taken place. So it has little or no meaning. This is very different from the Western view of
time which is very much concerned with the future. Westerners want to turn their ideas or their
hopes for the future into actual events. They look forward to the future. In most cases they want it
to happen. This may explain why Westerners are impatient. They often get angry quickly. They
are not so patient, usually, as Africans.
THE RHYTHMIC RECKONING OF TIME
There are, however, other aspects of the African view of time to consider. This is the rhythmic
reckoning of time. The African in his traditional setting did not use a calendar of numbers. As we
have already seen numbers are ideas not events. Instead the traditional African counted time daily
and yearly by a series of rhythmic events. So the day was divided into milking time, grazing time,
resting time, drinking time, home returning time and evening milking time for the cattle or goats.
The months were marked by the events in the phases of the moon. The year was determined by
the cycle of seasonal events. Near the equator these are the four seasons of rain followed by
dryness, then rain again followed by another dry period. This calendar is not mathematical but
rhythmic. It is only complete when the rhythm has finished. If the long dry season goes on longer
than usual, the year will be painfully longer. The new year can only start when the rain comes
when the planting can begin again.
There is also a rhythm in the natural sequence of human life. Mbiti calls this an ontological
rhythm. The stages in human life are accompanied by 'rites of passage' . A man is not considered
to be a full human being until he has gone through the whole process of his own physical birth,
naming ceremonies, other initiation rites at puberty and finally marriage followed by the birth of
a new child. Then he is fully 'born', a real human being who has contributed to the continuation of

29
the life of the family. He is now a complete person because he has participated fully. in this
ontological rhythm of life.
This is quite different from the Western view of time. In the Western view time runs in a straight
line. It is always moving from the past into the present and on towards a final end. In the case of
the materialist the end comes with death. For the Christian physical death does not mark the end.
It is the end of one's time on earth but there is a future life to look forward to with God in the
'new heaven and new earth' (Rev. 21: 1). This new life is outside of finite, human time. But
whether one is a materialistic humanist or a Christian time still runs in a straight line from the
past through the present on towards the future. This is quite different from African time which is
rhythmic. It runs in a series of never-ending cycles or repetitive surges. These rhythms do not
change. We can draw the difference like this:
WESTERN TIME
Past, Present, Future

AFRICAN TIME (human life or agricultural seasons): Growth, Harvest, marriage, new life,
Planting. Past history is fixed, but history is the story of change. So past decisions affect the
present and present decisions can alter the future and change it.
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
We can say that the Western view of time is three dimensional, the past, the present and the
future. However Mbiti believes that the African view of time is two dimensional rather than three
dimensional. He says that in ATR the future has very little meaning because it has no relationship
with actual 'event' time. So in A TR time only has two real dimensions, 'Sasa' now time and
'Zamani' past time.

'SASA', NOW TIME

This refers to the events that have just taken place or are taking place now at the moment or are
just about to take place in the near future. For example I have just typed the first three pages of
this unit, I am now typing the fourth page and before I go to bed tonight I hope to type the next
three pages. That is all 'Sasa' time. 'Sasa' time can extend into the future for about six months or
at the most for a year. The cycle of the yearly seasons once begun and experienced as an event
can be assumed to come to an end at the end of the year. However, after that rhythm has been
completed one cannot think seriously about a future event. A year ahead is the limit of 'Sasa'
time.
'ZAMANI', PAST TIME
This is the second dimension of time. To some extent it overlaps 'Sasa' in the present but it also
goes back very far into past time. It absorbs, holds and stores all the events that have ever
occurred. It is bigger than 'Sasa' time because it stretches endlessly back into the past. It includes
the time of myth when all the stories of creation took place and when the great and famous heroes
of the past performed their exploits.
30
THE WESTERN VIEW OF HISTORY
Many Westerners today doubt if history has any meaning. They say it is meaningless. However,
the Dialectical Materialist thinks that history is moving forward to the Golden Age of the
classless society. The Humanist may think that history shows man moving towards an improved
social future both in terms of economics and in quality of life. The Christian believes that history
is moving towards the perfect Kingdom of God
THE AFRICAN VIEW OF HISTORY
Before the Modern Era, African history was not written. It was oral history. It existed in the
stories, myths and songs of the people. The history of the ancestors of the clan or founders of the
nation was well known. History was an established fact of life but Mbiti says there was a
difference. He thinks that history for the traditional African did not move forwards to the future
but backwards into the 'Zamani' period of time. (Again we have to be careful in our reactions
here. Our idea of 'backward' suggests something to be despised, so we may react negatively to
Mbiti's idea of the 'backward' direction of history). Mbiti says that the events of the present are
always moving backwards into the storehouse of the past where the great Golden Age of myth
and legend existed. This idea of history stretching backwards into the past rather than forwards
into the future is, for Mbiti, the great difference between the Western and African views. In ATR
there is no idea of a future consummation of history, the goal towards which history is moving,
there is no final destruction, no Messianic hope when God intervenes in history to restore the
world to its original perfection, there is no belief in 'progress'. It is true that in traditional thinking
history is not standing still, but it is not looking forward to future change but backward to
continuity with the past.
We can use the train analogy to illustrate Mbiti's views. Trains have drivers and guards. The
guard looks out of the back of the train at the rails running behind him. The driver looks out of
the engine at the rails running in front of him. For Mbiti the guard would represent the traditional
African way of looking at history whilst the driver would represent the Western view. Mbiti
supports his point of view by examining the African idea of death.
DEATH AND IMMORTALITY
The 'Sasa' period of time can be extended beyond the moment of physical death. A dead person
can remain in 'Sasa' time if he is remembered by name by relatives and friends. As long as they
remember him, he remains in the 'Sasa' period with the rest of the living members of his family.
Often he can reveal himself especially to the older members of the family. Mbiti calls this state of
being remembered now in 'Sasa' time 'personal immortality'. Through procreation the dead
person's name is passed on to a grandchild. Therefore marriage is very important because through
procreation and especially through the birth of a boy the head of the family is assured a long
personal immortality. He can live on in 'Sasa' through the grandson who bears his name. The
oldest living person of the family leads the family in communion, fellowship and remembrance of
the person whom Mbiti calls the 'living dead'. Food and drink are offered to the dead relative.

31
After many years when the dead person ceases to be remembered by his family, he moves from
'Sasa' time to 'Zamani' time and from personal immortality to collective immortality. This is the
stage when the living dead join the community of spirits that function as intermediaries between
God and man or as guardian spirits. Many of them are feared, so rituals are performed either to
get their help or to seek protection from thein if they are angry. This state of collective
immortality with the spirits forms the final ontological destiny of man.
Idowu discusses how in West Africa certain famous dead leaders can become transformed into
divinities, that is, ancestors with divine powers. He points out that to pass through this stage the
dead person has to have done something good. Also Idowu says that it is not necessary for the
person to be remembered in order to qualify as a divine ancestor. He does not seem to be denying
Mbiti's thesis because in order to qualify as a mighty ancestor one has to be someone who lived
long ago in what Mbiti would call the 'Zamani' period. No-one living today would be able to
remember that ancient heroic period of time. By nature the 'ancestors' belong to the Zamani
period.
SPACE AND TIME
Mbiti also notes that space and time are one and the same in African Bantu languages. Therefore
land is very important. Land is the link with time and especially with the 'Zamani' period because
land gives meaning, a purpose in life and a relationship with dead ancestors, for the African
walks on the graves of his forefathers who are buried on his land. So even if someone chooses to
live in a city far away from the family home, this can sometimes bring severe psychological
problems. The rhythms of the city are different. The traditional sense of security and contact with
the past are removed. Life in the city is based on competition. In the rural areas it is based on co-
operation with the rhythms of life on the land. So living in the city can cause severe dislocation.
THE FUTURE IN AFRICAN THOUGHT
It is possible that you may have objected to question a. above. You may have already disagreed
with Mbiti's interpretation of the traditional African view of time. In traditional thinking the
future was considered 'not yet' time. It was only potential time. It was not 'event' time. Therefore
since the future had not yet happened, one could not be sure about it. This is Mbiti's chief reason.
The Bible says that we are to take no anxious thought for tomorrow. Today's troubles are enough
without worrying about the troubles of even tomorrow or the far future. See Matthew 6.25-34,
especially verse 34:
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the
day's own trouble be sufficient for the day."
Secondly, the future is in God's hands. It is presumptuous of man to plan far into the future as we
do not know when we will die. We might die tomorrow. So we cannot plan arrogantly without
reference to the will of God because we do not know what God might decide to do about
tomorrow. See James 4.13-16.

CAUSES OF CHANGE IN THE AFRICAN VIEW OF TIME

32
There are several reasons for changing views of time in Africa today. The teaching of the
Christian Gospel about repentance, resurrection, the day of judgment and the return of Christ and
the Kingdom of God all refer to a process of change. For example repentance requires us to
change. Similarly when Paul writes about the resurrection and the return of Christ he says: "We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed …" (1 Cor. 15:51-52). The Christian Gospel is an
agent of change.
Similarly Western education is based upon the concept of change. We educate in order to help
people to think, to evaluate and where necessary, to change one's ideas. On a secular level
Western education has taught that time is money, so money can be charged for time spent, e.g. on
phones.
Modern technology has created change. New roads have been built etc. Improved
communications mean that man can travel quickly from place to place allowing him to change
districts or countries easily. At the same time people have become slaves to the timetable and
clock!

EFFECTS IN AFRICA OF THE CHANGING VIEW OF TIME

Africa has been affected by the Western view that time is moving forwards to a changing future.
SECULAR PLANNING
Today we believe that we can shape the future by proper planning. It is no longer thought to be
uncertain or unknown. So governments produce five-year plans for education, economics, health
and so on. Even churches have five-year plans.
POLITICAL CHANGE
Mbiti says that the changed view of time may be another reason for political instability in Africa.
He does not explain himself but probably he means that rulers today are not so firmly linked with
the past. Traditional methods of choosing leaders are not now followed. People have begun to
believe that man can shape his future, so they think they can shape it by removing leaders who
seem to be standing in the way of progress and change. So a coup takes place. In the past only a
few communities had a mechanism in their social structure which enabled them to remove
leaders. Today this has changed.
RELIGIOUS HOPES
In certain areas traditional African thinking and Christian doctrine have come very close together.
The Christian Gospel teaches that through the Holy Spirit the Christian believer can experience
the blessings of heaven and eternal life now. See John 5.24. The technical word which
theologians use for this idea is 'Realised Eschatology'. In traditional thinking the 'Sasa' period of
time was the most important. So when the Christian Gospel also came with the doctrine of the
personal return of Christ and of the 'Millenium' (the supposed rule of Christ for 1000 years on
earth - see Rev. 20.1-7), many people wanted this future event, which is still today only in the
'potential' time of 'not yet', to come now. They want the 'bado' (not yet) to become the 'Sasa'
(now). So Millenial teaching plus the great interest in 'Sasa'may well have led to the formation of
33
the many small independent churches grouped round leaders who promise the immediate return
of the Messiah or are thought to be 'Messiahs' themselves. This is an example of the African view
of time affecting religious hopes. The popularity of the charismatic movement may be for similar
reasons.

RITES OF PASSAGE
Human life had its rhythms and these human rhythms were measured by rituals and initiation
ceremonies. As each individual passed through a different stage or rhythm in his or her life, it
would be marked by a different ceremony. This is why these ceremonies are called 'rites of
passage' . They ritualise the changes through which each person passes from the time before he is
born until after he dies. Shorter notes that these rites have three structural elements within them.
.
Symbolic structure, by this he means that actions within the ritual symbolise the changes that
are taking place in the rhythm of the candidate's life.
Value structure. The rites also convey the values which society wants to transmit about the new
rhythm which the candidate is entering. In this sense the rites perform the function of education
in cultural values.
Role structure. The rites also introduce the candidate to the new role which he or she will
perform in society.
Mainly the African rites concern,
a. Pregnancy, birth and naming
b. Initiation into adult life (puberty)
c. Marriage and procreation
d. Death and life after death.
BIRTH AND INFANCY
PREGNANCY
Mbiti says that birth is a 'process' beginning long before birth and closely connected to the
complex web of African life. The mother conceives and gives birth, but society also 'creates the
child' socially. The child belongs not to the, mother but to the community, to the total kinship
group including those not yet born and the living dead. Therefore the pregnant mother is a special
person for she is turning her husband into a father, their mother into a grandmother, their father
into a grandfather, their brothers and sisters into uncles and aunts and so the new child is received
with joy by the whole family. At the same time, in the case of a first-born child, the pregnancy
heralds the fulfilment of a true marriage between the wife and the husband. A childless wife is
therefore a serious social problem because the marriage is not fully complete. During pregnancy
certain taboos are observed by different peoples including refraining from sexual intercourse,
from certain food, work, use of iron tools or fire etc. Some would pray prayers for protection and
a safe delivery and make thanksgiving offerings. Pregnancy outside of marriage was punished
34
severely. Instruction on sexual matters was usually given to a girl by her mother or by her
teachers during the preparations for the rites of puberty. During pregnancy close relatives needed
to be on their best behaviour towards God, the spirits, ancestors, other relatives and neighbours
lest their bad behaviour harmed [he unborn child.
BIRTH
The place of birth is usually at home. In some societies a 'birth hut' is used. The midwife is
usually an older woman who is helped by other women. In some traditions the mother-in-law acts
as mid-wife. The mother was expected to endure the pain patiently because crying during
childbirth could kill the baby, disgrace the husband, shame her mother-in-law and bring
dishonour to her own sex. If the mother died at childbirth, the husband would be blamed and he
would have to pay compensation to her parents. A victory cry would be raised by the attendant
women once the baby was born safely and it gave its first cry. The significance of the placenta
and the cutting of the umbilical cord vary from place to place. Generally speaking the cutting of
the cord means that the child is separated from its mother and it is beginning the steps of gradual
integration into the community. Some people bury the cord around the house. Often the cord is a
symbol of fertility and some people make them into charms for the child to wear. In some
societies the mother is secluded for some weeks whilst she goes through the necessary
purification rituals. Sometimes the birth of a male child is marked by great festivity and the
killing of a goat. In most African societies the birth of Twins was considered to be unusual and
therefore a disaster. One, or more often, both of them would be killed. In some places, however,
twins or triplets would be treated with respect and awe.
NAMING
The naming ceremony, practised by most people in Africa, often includes prayers and sacrifices.
The giving of a name is important in order to give the child an identity. Before it is named it is
only a thing. In some societies the name is linked to an important event which took place when
the child was born. Sometimes the name is determined by the day of the week when it was born
or its place in the family. Other groups follow fixed rules which name children after their
grandparents and other relatives. In some cases we have combination of the day of birth, the
place in birth and the family name. The naming ceremonies are usually marked by gifts.
CONCLUSIONS
We can sum up our opening study of society and the 'rites of passage' associated with the human
rhythms of life by noting as Shorter does, that these rites contain three elements. Firstly there are
rites of separation. The pregnant mother becomes taboo and is separated to some extent from
society and from her husband. Secondly there is the element of liminalitv. Liminality means
being on the border, on the threshold of something new. In the case of a pregnant mother, this
means being on the threshold of bringing a new member of society into the world. Then thirdly
rites of passage contain the element of incorporation. At the purification ceremonies after birth
the mother is incorporated, brought back into the life of the family once again after her period of
separation. At the naming ceremony the child is incorporated into the life of the community.

35
 EDUCATION, ADULT INITIATION AND SYMBOLISM
The legends, fables, proverbs, the songs of African peoples clearly show the excellence of the
minds of Africans in times gone by. They had thought about life and their thoughts would be
worthy of the award of doctoral degrees today!
Traditional African societies had developed functional knowledge and skills to equip them to
cope with their environment. They knew how to treat certain diseases with roots, leaves and
stems of plants which they used as medicine.
Some people have developed high skills in the husbandry of cattle and were able to perform
complicated surgical operations when necessary upon their cattle.
There was considerable agricultural knowledge and skill and most communities know which
plants, fruit, leaves etc. were safe for human consumption and which were poisonous.
Two hundred years ago certain families were capable of manufacturing beautiful bark-cloth
material for clothes.
There were numerous families in different parts of Africa who knew enough geology to find iron
ore and enough chemistry to be able to produce metal and iron instruments.
THE CHARACTER OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL EDUCATION
INFORMAL EDUCATION
'Formal education' means education organised in schools and institutions. In traditional African
life this did not happen although preparation for initiation was sometimes done in special places
with special teachers. Most often, traditional education was informal. It was not highly organised.
As Kenyatta says: "the homestead is the school". The mothers of girls and younger boys taught
their children at home around the fire informally using songs and stories to interest the children
often without them realising that they were being 'taught'. Informal education as a method is
being taken more seriously by modern educationalists, especially in adult education.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Vocational education means education for a purpose in preparation for a special job or task.
African traditional education was vocational. It prepared mothers for childbirth, young people for
adult life when they were initiated, husbands and wives for the duties and responsibilities of
marriage and family life etc. Much of this instruction was given at the time of the different 'rites
of passage', when the candidates were at a 'liminal' stage in their life rhythm.
PRACTICAL EDUCATION
The indigenous education was essentially a preparation for the occupations and roles of real life.
Traditional education never lost sight of the fact that instruction was being given in how to cope
with life, - real life. It was 'skill' orientated education. It was not education for education's sake,
therefore it was very practical. It was 'in-service' and 'on the job' training. Children learnt how to
farm or to milk cows or to take them to pasture or to hunt either from their parents or elder
brothers and sisters. They watched them, copied them and did it for themselves. It was the
36
'apprentice' method of learning by doing coupled with the demonstration method. The teacher
would demonstrate how to hunt and the student would copy the method by attempting to do the
same thing.
CONTINUOUS EDUCATION
Kenyatta says: "education begins at the time of birth and ends with death". Education never stops
in the traditional situation. As a person passes through the different stages, so he or she would be
given different instruction to help him or her to cope with the new duties of the new stage in life.
SOCIAL EDUCATION
In traditional education the emphasis was upon the group and community rather than upon the
individual, on good manners rather than on passing exams, on personal relationships within the
family and clan rather than upon the acquisition of knowledge. It was more important to know
one's family tree rather than whether water boils at 100 degrees centigrade!
CONTEXTUAL EDUCATION
Unlike modern boarding school education, traditional education took place in the student's own
context. He or she was familiar with the area where education took place. He was not removed
from his home fireplace and educated in a strange place. He could see more easily the value of
learning because learning was related to his local practical needs. Modern educationists are now
saying that education today must be similarly contextualised.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INITIATION RITES
Initiation is the most important of the 'rites of passage'. The initiation of the young is one of the
key moments in the rhythm of individual life, which is also the rhythm of the corporate group of
which the individual is part. We may note seven characteristics. They are just general
descriptions. The details vary from place to place.
Many rites involve the trimming of the sexual organs. Circumcision is practised in many different
parts of Africa but it is difficult to know where the idea came from, especially for girls. The
reason seems to be the same in all places where it is practised, namely the separation of the
candidate from his or her childhood. For some groups initiation is a very simple puberty rite, e.g.
the ritual washing of the body, which does not involve any body cutting. .
Some groups inflict very great bodily and mental pain upon the candidates, especially boys, in
addition to the circumcision rites. This is done by whipping them, choking them in smoke or even
by using biting ants. This is meant to test the bravery of the candidates and prepare them for
adulthood. In the case of girls it prepares them for the pain of childbirth. Some groups practise
the cutting of the skin to give permanent tribal marks on the back, chest, shoulders or face. Some
pull out teeth as a tribal sign.
Usually there is great feasting and dancing included in the rites which involves the whole family
and community. The candidates usually withdraw from the community to the forest or to a
special hut in the compound at the time for initiation. There special teaching is given in
preparation for adult life.

37
Presents are often given to the candidates, especially the boys, which become the basis of their
own material possessions and of their future bride-wealth payments at the time of marriage.
THE MEANING OF INITIATION FOR SOCIETY
We may note the following implications for society at large and for the individual in particular:
RHYTHMIC
The young people who are being initiated are participating in the great rhythm of life. They began
to join this cycle of life at birth. Now it is continuing one stage further. Their initiation is very
necessary, for they must continue to be part of this rhythm of life and part of the community at
large. This rhythm cannot be broken. No-one can 'opt out' of it. Individualism is not possible.
RELIGIOUS
The individual candidate drops all that is part of his former childhood and takes on a new status
of adulthood with all its privileges and responsibilities some of which are religious in character.
We may note,
a. Often initiation is looked upon as a Death and Resurrection. The candidates die to their old
childhood life and rise to new adult life.
b. The shedding of his or her blood into the ground at circumcision is a libation to, and a link
with, the living-dead.
c. The candidate is now an adult and able to marry and so perform the sacred duty of transmitting
life to a later generation.
d. He is allowed to own property which will enable him to perform this sacred duty of marriage
and care for his children and wife.
EDUCATIONAL
Education is linked with initiation when the candidate is given instruction on matters of sex,
marriage, procreation, family and community responsibilities. The 'child' is no longer an observer
of life. He now begins to participate in life and in knowledge.
SOCIOLOGICAL
Initiation is the time when 'culture' is transmitted to the new generation by giving knowledge,
skills, teaching on social values etc. Often initiation is the time when the candidate joins his or
her own 'age-set'. For some people the 'age-set' is the third important social group to which a
person belongs in addition to his clan and his immediate family. The age-set bond is very strong.
All young men who are initiated together form this bond and kinship group. They are expected to
help one another even if they come from very different parts of the country. This is what Shorter
means when he says that rites of passage have a value structure. They teach social, cultural and
religious values.
PSYCHOLOGICAL

38
Initiation prepares the candidate to face with courage the pains and the problems of adult life. He
is integrated into the community. He is told that he is not a real person unless he has passed
through the rite. So initiation gives the candidate self-confidence and a sense of belonging.

SYMBOLICAL
Here we come to the first of the structural functions of rites of passage which we mentioned. All
these rituals perform a symbolic function for the candidate. By symbol we mean more than a
sign. A symbol has a more obvious connection with the idea of which it is a sign. So a kiss is a
symbol of affection and love in many societies. In one sense the symbol participates in what it
symbolises. A kiss is a loving act as well as being a symbol of love. So when one betrayed
another with a kiss he was sinning on two levels. Firstly he was denying his loyalty to Christ as a
person and secondly he was denying the normally accepted symbolic meaning of a kiss. His kiss
became a symbol of betrayal instead of a symbol of commitment. So blood is usually a symbol of
life and death, tears are symbols of emotions and so on. Symbols share in what they symbolise,
they are 'triggers', signs, pictures of commitment and communication. In the African context that
traditional symbols contain three elements.
i. Something perceived by the senses - it can be seen or touched and so on. Thus charms which
are symbolic can be worn round the neck or on the arm.
ii. A connection with invisible power or with something sacred. Again a charm is thought to
bring the wearer in contact with the sacred life force in the universe.
iii. A sense of unity between the symbol and the thing that is being symbolised. The charm
symbolises the power of 'mana' and is united to it.
It is difficult to see the exact difference between the second and third elements in these
descriptions but the idea of contact and unity between the symbol and the thing symbolised is
clear. So sharing food together in a meal is a highly symbolic act of fellowship. There is an
obvious contact between communal eating and communal fellowship. There is also symbolism in
the bringing of beer to future parents-in-law. The cutting of the sexual parts of the body in adult
initiation ceremonies is also symbolic of leaving childhood and entering into adulthood and into
the power to transmit life. Shorter prefers not to try and analyse symbols which he thinks are, by
definition, largely indefinable. For him symbols are experienced not explained. He also mentions
the symbolism of rituals, riddles, stories, myths and songs, especially of those stories and songs
which are taught to candidates for adult initiation. Nearly every taboo, custom or ritual in
traditional life was highly symbolic.

MARRIAGE
THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE
Marriage is a complex affair with economic, social and religious aspects which often overlap so
firmly that they cannot be separated from one another. We may note the following general
statements about marriage.
39
It is religious because marriage forms a link with the living dead. The names which children bear
link them with their grandparents in some societies and libations are poured out to them by the
head of a family. Marriage is religious because the bearing of children is the attempt to re-capture
man's lost immortality. The individual knows that he will die but through marriage and the
procreation of children, he knows that he will go on living.
It is social because marriage and the procreation of children go together. The marriage is only
complete when the first child is born. In this way they have performed their social duty which is
expected of them by both their families. The unmarried person is thought to have rejected society
and his religious duty. He is shunned by society or thought to be unnatural. A barren wife is a
disaster and a reason either for divorce or for taking another wife or for making tests so that a
substitute partner is found for the one who is impotent. The ideal wife has at least four children,
is strong, a good cook, able to teach her children, able to hunt well and to herd the cattle, protect
the home and be loyal to the clan.
It is economic because of the distribution and payment of the bride-wealth. In traditional society
the age for marriage was 15-20 for women. Among the Y oruba of West Africa it was much later
- about 20 for women and 35 for men. Modern education in boarding secondary schools is
causing marriage to be later.
CHOOSING A MARRIAGE PARTNER
In some societies young people are free to choose their partners. In others arrangements of
marriage were made even before birth by parents! Physical attraction between the couple did not
always play a part in the choosing of a partner although a girl could usually but not always refuse
a partner 'arranged' for her.
Often the negotiations for the marriage were conducted either by the parents of the boy or by a
friend or relative. Among the Yoruba, where marriages are arranged at an early age, the parents
of the girl take a lot of trouble in testing the character of their future son-in-law before agreeing
to accept him. The boy is expected to pay the bride-wealth in three instalments, the first to seal
the marriage agreement, the second at the time of the girl's puberty and the third just before the
wedding. Many ethnic groups in Africa have elaborate 'engagement' or 'betrothal' ceremonies
associated with the drinking of beer and part-payment of the bride-wealth. Most marriages are
'exogamous' i.e. marriage outside one's own immediate family and clan.
BRIDE-WEALTH
In traditional society and even today the custom of paying bride-wealth payments to the parents
of the bride was justified on the following grounds:-
It was a surety payment for good behaviour on both sides. In the event of a divorce the parents of
the bride would have to repay the bride-wealth if she behaved badly. If the husband behaved
badly he could not reclaim the bride-wealth.
It was a compensation to the wife's family for the loss of her labour and payment for the cost of
bringing her up since her childhood.
It established the husband's legal title to his wife's children.

40
It sealed the marriage contract between the two families and made the marriage legal.
It was a reminder to the girl's parents that although she had left their home, she was not dead. The
cattle or goats would be living symbols of the daughter's continuing existence.
Where there was the custom of the bride's parents giving back some of the bride-wealth when the
first child was born, the bride-wealth acted as a means of setting up the new home and household.
Some traditional societies had a fixed bride-wealth price which protected the husband from
exploitation. In some societies, however, there was no fixed price and it was a matter of
agreement. Unscrupulous fathers could raise their price and cause much hardship.
THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
It is difficult to describe in general the ceremonies of traditional African marriage because there
are as many customs of the wedding procedure as there are African peoples! One aspect to note is
that in many African societies virginity is highly prized although it has to be said that in others is
was expected that the wife would not be a virgin at marriage. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria,
where in the early 1950's only 35070 of marriages were monogamous (ie. 1 man 1 wife), the
traditional marriage ceremony was very simple. After dark the senior wife from the bridegroom's
compound together with another wife call for the bride. She is ceremonially blessed by her
parents and then she travels to her new home protected by the blessing and the power of the
accompanying wives. On arrival the senior wife bathes her legs - symbolising the washing away
of her old life and joining her to the new home. When her husband appears she is led to his room.
For three months she pays her parents ritual visits and always returns to her new home after dark.
This symbolises her 'liminal' state. She is not yet a full member of her new home. She is still in
the 'frontier' position of slowly breaking contact with her parents. At the end of the three months
the liminal state ends and she is a full member of her husband's household. This is symbolised by
the fact that she can only enter her husband's compound in daylight after this three month period.
Until her first child is born she lives with the senior wife, learning from her and following her
example.
POLYGAMY
We can examine the traditional views about polygamy from the point of view of society in
general, from the husband's point of view and from the wife's point of view. '
Society in general
African society is communal. Polygamy best expresses this communality because when one
member of the family is ill or one wife is giving birth, there are plenty of other members of the
family or other wives nearby who can come and help.
Polygamy 'saves' society from having a large number of unmarried women who would have no
social status if they remained unmarried.
Polygamy protects the morals of society from prostitution. When a husband with many wives
needs to go away to work in the city he can take one of his wives with him.
The many children of a polygamous marriage provide 'social security' for the parents in their old
age and a labour force to cultivate the land owned by the parents.
41
Polygamy and the husband
A man with many wives was obviously wealthy and he achieved greater status in society the
more wives he had. Economically he needed the extra wives as 'farm managers' if he had more
than one farm.
Socially, if the first wife was unable to bear children, the husband could overcome the social
problem of barrenness by taking other wives who could bear children on behalf of the barren
wife. This was why Sarah urged Abram to take Hagar and have children through her.
Religiously, the more children a man had, the longer he would remain in the 'SASA' period of the
living dead after he died because he would have more people to remember him after his death.
Another social factor to note is that in the traditional period cattle raiding and wars between
neighbouring groups were common, so men lost their lives and were fewer in number than
women. The traditional role of women in society was to bear children. Where women
outnumbered men, this would only become possible through polygamy.
Polygamy and the wife
The first wife would achieve a higher status as 'chief wife' if her husband took a second or third
wife. Extra wives would mean help with the work of the home or the farm if all the wives lived
close to each other. The wives would also have greater freedom to travel and visit relatives if
there was another wife at home to care for the children. If one wife died, she knew that there were
other wives to care for the surviving children.
On the other hand there was always the possibility of jealousy between wives. This would be
especially true if the husband favoured one wife above another.
In traditional society women could not inherit or own property. Therefore a woman had no means
of economic support nor any status in society unless she was married. Polygamy was often the
only way to achieve this.
Modern pressures on polygamy
There are many pressures today working against the practice of polygamy and you may be more
aware of the criticisms of polygamy than perhaps the traditional arguments in favour of it.
Social pressures on polygamy
Many people today are questioning the need for polygamy as a kind of social security for the
future. They argue that the extended family is always there to care for other members of the
family in times of crisis, so polygamy is not really needed for this.
Many people today are questioning the motive behind polygamy. If a man wants a wife as a farm
manager, he is not likely to take her with him to the city, so polygamy does not necessarily
reduce prostitution.
Many people also question the attitude towards the marriage relationship where the wife is
viewed as either a farm manager or as a means of production. Many people are very strongly
against the view of looking upon a wife like a garden as a place in which to plant seed. They say

42
that this devalues the personality of the woman because it treats her as less than human, just as a
means of production!
Economic pressures on polygamy
The economic pressures on polygamy are very great because of the great growth in population in
recent years. This means that there is less and less land available for people to live on. Most
people who have only one small farm cannot afford to have more than one wife. Only the rich
with many farms are able to afford more wives and pay the school fees of their many children.
This is probably the strongest single pressure against polygamy today.
The cost of educating children has also become a burden.
Religious pressure against polygamy
Most of the religious pressure has come from Christianity. Some people have tried to argue that
the Bible, especially the OT, does not teach the need for monogamy, This is not true. You should
read Genesis 2.24; Mark 10.1-12; Eph. 5.21-32 and 1 Tim. 3.2,12. God in Genesis and Jesus in
Mark say that when a man marries his wife he becomes 'one flesh' with her and it is difficult to
see how a man can be 'one flesh' with more than one wife. The two shall become one, not the
three shall become one. Ephesians 5 and again Rev. 19.7,21.9, where the 'new Jerusalem'
symbolises the Church, speak of the church as the Body or the Wife of Christ. The NT only ever
speaks about the ONE Church of Christ which is His Body (Eph. 4.4). Because Christ is the
perfect example for every Christian to follow it is expected that Christians, especially 'presbyters'
(bishops) and deacons, should be the husband of one wife. Christian teaching is therefore
different from the tradition of Africa on this subject and it is here that the problems have arisen.
LEVIRATE MARRIAGE
This title refers to the practice in which the brother of a man who dies without children marries
the widow and their children are counted as belonging to the dead man so that he and his name
are remembered after his death. Sometimes too the brother will take the widow as his wife even if
she does have children because this is a way of protecting the widow and giving her security
within society.
DIVORCE AND SEPARATION
Marriage in traditional African society was considered to be a process which took a considerable
time and involved many more people than just the bride and groom. This process was not
complete until the bride-wealth was paid and the first child born. Because it was often a
complicated business to pay back bride-wealth, divorce did not often take place.
Reasons for divorce were:-
a. Failure to pay the bride-wealth in full.
b. Failure to have children. Often if the husband was impotent another relative would act as father
so that the wife could have children. This was not considered to be adultery.
c. The bride was not a virgin at her wedding. Not all ethnic groups took this view.
d. Adultery and unfaithfulness by one of the parties in the marriage.
43
e. Desertion by one of the partners.
f. Continued cruelty by the husband against the wife.
g. Practice of witchcraft by the wife.
h. The breaking of traditional marriage taboos by one partner.
i. Continual drunken-ness by one party in the marriage.
Temporary separation was more common. Sometimes fines would have to be paid before the
partner would return. Usually in divorce or separation it is the wife who suffers most. Her status
in society is more vulnerable.
FORNICATION AND ADULTERY
Fornication refers to sexual intercourse between unmarried people and adultery refers to it where
one or both partners are already married to someone else. In some societies fornication was not
considered to be very serious. Similarly some acts were not considered to be adulterous, e.g. the
giving of night hospitality to members of one's husband's age-set or raising up children on behalf
of an impotent husband. In many societies these practices were socially acceptable because they
express the idea of sharing and of carrying out the religious duty of continuing human life. Where
adultery was discovered outside of these accepted social or religious customs, it was usually
punished very severely. In some societies the death penalty was demanded. He could be whipped
or his body mutilated. Compensation payments would be demanded and any child born would be
the property of the wife's husband. There is a proverb of the Akan people, "A thief has no child."
Adultery ceremonies of cleansing might be needed. Similar punishments and rituals might be
imposed for other sexual offences like fornication.
In Africa, in the words of Mbiti: "Marriage is a sacred drama in which everybody is a religious
participant, and no normal person may keep away from this dynamic scene of action."

THE ROLE OF WOMEN

IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION*

In addressing the topic of the role of women in African society John Mbiti focuses on three areas:
mythology, proverbs and prayers. In the area of mythology we are confronted with the picture of
women in the early state of human existence. This is not history. The myth is broader than history
in explaining some aspects of society. It is a language of expressing truths or realities for which
history does not supply a full explanation. Proverbs are expressions of wisdom acquired through
reflection, experience, observation and general knowledge. They are intimately related to the
culture of a given society. To appreciate, understand and properly apply the proverbs, it is
necessary to be part of the culture concerned, or to study it carefully. Prayers take us into the
spirituality of those who pray them. They show us among other things, the inner person, the
needs of the heart (both joy and sorrow, gratitude and disappointment, expectation and anxiety),
as the praying person stands 'naked' before spiritual realities.

Women in African mythology

44
A large number of myths is to be found in Africa. Every African people (tribe) has its own body
of myths, stories, legends and oral history.

Some myths speak about an original Mother of mankind, from whom all people originated. For
example, the Akposso (of Togo) tell that when Uwolowu (God) made men, He first made a
woman on the earth and bore with her the first child, the first human being. The Ibibio (of
Nigeria) say that human beings came from the divinity Obumo, which was the son of the mother-
divinity Eka-Abassi. It is told in eastern Africa about a virgin woman Ekao, who fell on earth
from the sky and bore a son; the son got married to another woman and founded human society.
The main idea here, is to link human life directly with God through the woman. She is created by
God, and in turn becomes the instrument of human life. She rightly becomes the one who passes
on life. This is beautifully illustrated in a myth of the Tutsi (of Rwanda). They tell that the
original pair of human beings was in paradise. But both the man and woman were sterile, they
could not bear children. So they begged God to help them. God mixed clay with saliva and
formed a small human figure. He instructed the woman to put the figure into a pot and keep it
there for nine months. Every day the woman had to pour milk into the pot, mornings and
evenings. She was to take out the figure only when it had grown limbs. So she followed these
instructions and after nine months she pulled out what had now become a human being. God
made other human beings according to this method, and these later increased on the earth. The
pot is here a symbol of the womb of a mother, in which a baby takes shape and after nine months
it is born. The woman shares directly with God in a personal way, the secrets and mysteries of
life and birth. This role of the woman in sharing in the mysteries of life started already in the
mythological time.

In a few myths, it is told that the woman was made by God out of the man's body, or after the
man had been made. Perhaps behind these myths is the wish and practice on the part of males
(men) to dominate women. For example, the Kwotto (of Nigeria) say that God made the first
human beings out of the earth (soil). God made (created) first the husband, and when He had
become tired, he then made the wife (woman) who turned out to be weaker than her husband.

Fire is an important element in human life. In some myths it is the women who either invented or
discovered fire. Women are also credited with inventing or discovering foodstuffs and their
preparations. Thus the cooking skills of the woman are attributed to her from mythological times.
She is thus not only the bearer of human beings, but also their cook who provides them with
nourishment.

There are, however, considerable myths which put the blame on the women. Thus, for example, it
was a woman who in Ashanti myths (of Ghana), while pounding fufu (national food) went on
knocking against God Who lived in the sky. So God decided to go higher up. The good woman
instructed her children to construct a tower by piling up the mortars one on top or another. The
tower almost reached God, leaving a gap which could be filled with only one mortar; Since the
children had used up all the mortars, their mother advised them to take the bottom-most mortar
and fill the gap. As they removed this mortar, the whole tower tumbled down and killed many
people. In one of the Pygmy (Bambuti) myths, it is told that God gave the first people one rule:
they could eat the fruits of all the trees, except from one tree. The people observed this rule, until
a pregnant woman was overcome by desire and persistently urged her husband to get the
forbidden fruit for her. Finally he crept secretly into the forest, plucked the fruit and brought it to
her. However, the moon was watching all this and went and reported it to God. God became so
angry that he sent death to the people as punishment.
45
While the woman is in these and some other myths blamed for the misfortune that befell the first
human beings, she is clearly not the main nor the only culprit. Indeed the myths that put the
blame on her are proportionally few. They indicate that she shares in the cause and effect of
suffering, misfortune and death in the world. She is a human being like men and children. She is
also linked to the mysteries of life at the other end -- just as she shares in the mysteries of life's
beginning, so she shares in life's end.

Through the myths of origin, we get a picture of the woman as someone placed by God in a
special position. She shares with Him the creative process of life. In some ways her position and
her role in these myths eclipses the position of the husband (male). She is in a real sense the
mother of human beings, the dispenser of life, howbeit as an agent of God. At the same time the
woman shares in the misfortunes, suffering and death which in various ways came into the world.

Women in African proverbs

Proverbs are infinitely more numerous than myths. We find them by the hundreds and thousands
in every African people (tribe). They address themselves to many themes and areas of life and
knowledge. They are very concentrated in the sense that they put a lot of thoughts, ideas,
reflections, experiences, observations, knowledge and even world views, into a few words.

a) Women are extremely valuable in the sight of society. Not only do they bear life, but they
nurse, they cherish, they give warmth, they care for life since all human life passes through their
own bodies. The following proverbs bring these points out clearly.

"Wives and oxen have no friends". This indicates that a wife is so valuable that she cannot be
given over to even the best friends of her husband. For that reason, another proverb reminds us
that: "A woman must not be killed". She is the mother of life, and to kill the woman is to kill
children, to kill humanity itself. The woman should be handled with respect and not be treated as
if she were a slave. So another proverb asks the husband: "Did you buy me with elephant tusks?",
if the husband is ill-treating her. She reminds him that he really cannot buy her, she is not a
commodity for sale like elephant tusks or slaves.

Even an aged woman is a blessing to men. So another proverb says: "It is better to be married to
an old lady than to remain unmarried". There are areas of human life which only the woman can
fulfil. The unmarried man is lacking something, as one proverb explains: "It is at five that man
succeeds". The Maasai who use this proverb explain that a successful life needs "a wife, a cow, a
sheep, a goat, and a donkey". This would mean, that even if one is rich, one is not successful as
long as one lacks a wife.

The value of the woman begins already when she is born and not when she gets married. So it is
stated: "A baby girl means beautiful cows". Already at birth the woman is destined to be married.
In traditional African society this entails a bride-exchange in form of cattle, services, foodstuffs,
family ties, or other expressions of the marriage contract. Furthermore, the woman will bear
children and thus enrich her husband and the wider circle of relatives from both sides. So the
Tsonga and Shangana people of South Africa (Azania) say: "To beget a woman is to beget a
man". This saying carries with it the hope and expectation, that after marriage, the wife will bear
both girls and boys.

46
b) The woman who is not married has practically no role in society, in African traditional world-
view. It is expected that all women get married. So a proverb states: "an ugly girl does not
become old at home", which means that the looks of a girl should not stop her from getting
married. Otherwise this would deny her the role of womanhood.

This thought is bound up with the value of bearing children. The childless woman goes through
deep sorrows in African society. So it is said, for example: "The woman who has children does
not desert her home". This means that bearing children gives the woman the security and joy of a
family, of being taken care of in her old age, of being respected by the husband and the wider
society. So "the woman whose sons have died is richer than a barren woman", is intended to say
that people will excuse a woman for losing her children through death, but the one who does not
bear is hardly 'excused'. Consequently people say: "A barren wife never gives thanks" - nothing
else is as valuable as children. If a woman has everything else, except children, she would have
no cause or joy to give thanks. The sentiment is expressed in African societies, that the more
children one has the better. So the Ghanaians say: "A serviceable wife is often blessed with the
birth of a tenth child". Parental blessings often run along the lines of: "May you bear children like
bees! May you bear children like calabash seeds!" Today's economic and educational pressure
will force a change in these sentiments, where parents reel the need to reduce the number of
children they can support and educate adequately.

c) The mother or wife is probably the most important member of the family, the centre of
familyhood. So it is said by the Akamba of Kenya for example: "he who has not travelled thinks
that his mother is the best cook in the world." This proverb, while attacking a narrow horizon in
life, shows how central the person of the mother is. This sentiment is aired in another proverb
from the Gikuyu of Kenya: "The baby that refuses its mother's breast, will never be full". Other
people may feed the baby or the person, but their food would never satisfy as well as that
provided by the mother.

All these and many other proverbs are indications that the mother's role cannot be one hundred
percent duplicated: she provides (or should provide) the best love and tenderness, warmth, care,
bodily and emotional nourishment, and much more. All this begins already, when the person is
inside the mother's womb and lasts (or should last) until the mother has died or indeed, it
continues when she dies and becomes a spirit, a living dead. It also means that the love, the care
and tenderness should be reciprocated by everyone towards his or her own mother, since
everyone has a mother. So we hear proverbs like: "A child does not laugh at the ugliness of his
mother", from the Lugbara of Uganda; or "The mother of the big he-goat has no horns", from the
Akamba of Kenya. This last proverb indicates that all the "big" men (like artists, generals,
presidents, bishops, doctors, professors, inventors, singers, scientists and so one) are each born of
a woman, of a mother who may not herself be regarded as a "big" person in society. She may not
"have horns", but she gives birth to a "big" person in society.

d) Women are human beings and as such they also have their weaknesses. African society knows
those weaknesses and speaks about them. One of them is jealously, especially when several
wives live in a polygamous family. Three proverbs from the Lugbara of Uganda illustrate this
weakness: "The tongue of co-wives is bitter", "The tongue of co-wives is pointed" (which means
that the co-wives can sting each other with their talking), and "A co-wife is the owner of
jealousy". Such domestic problems can affect the husband who has the task of pleasing each
wife. So a Ghanajan proverb says: "Polygamy makes a husband a double-tongued man". The
husband's role is not easy if the co-wives do not get on well with each other. He may be seen to
47
favour one more than the others. In this case he could be rebuked with a proverb like: "This
polygamist ploughs one field only". This could indicate that in fact the husband provokes the co-
wives to show jealousy, when they realise that he favours one more than the others.

The fact that jealousy may arise in polygamous families is not basis enough to condemn
polygamy as such. There are many happy polygamous families just as there are unhappy
monogamous families. Indeed, there are proverbs that show and urge respect for polygamous
families. In any case she has more respect by being a co-wife than she would have if she were the
only wife (in a monogamous family). It is said in Kenya: "Axes carried in the same bag cannot
avoid rattling", to mean among other things, that it is not so terrible if co-wives "rattle" with each
other. Indeed, a proverb from the Tsonga of southern Africa can be applied to support the "value"
or "necessity" of co-wives: "A pole is strengthened by another pole". If women in African society
would have found polygamy to be unbearable, the custom would have died long ago. One
proverb reminds us that in such families there are mutual support and love and care: "The way to
overcome cold is to warm each other".

e) There are also prejudices shown to women in African societies. It is amazing, that similar
prejudices are found in other societies of the world. Among the Tsonga-Shangana people of
southern Africa, some women earn the remark: "This woman is fire", or "This woman is a
deceitful and ferocious crocodile". Even the beauty of women may earn them remarks like: "Do
not desire a woman with beautiful breast, if you have no money!", to mean that beautiful women
are expensive to win and maintain. The Gikuyu in Kenya say: "Women, like the weather, are
unpredictable", and "Women have no secure gourds, but only leaking upside down ones". The
second of these means that "women are given to letting out secrets. You can't trust women with
secrets". In a beautiful expression the same point is made using the proverb: "Woman, remember
that the mouth is sometimes covered with a branch", to mean that she cannot keep a secret.

f) In spite of these and other prejudices, there are many beautiful things said about women. Some
of these we have already encountered. Men will fight over women - to show how much they
value the women concerned. So in Ghana we hear that: "Two bosom friends that vie one and the
same lady have chosen to be each other's enemy". Compared to a man, the woman is more
precious: "The woman is a banana tree (which multiplies itself); the man however, is a cornstalk
(which stands alone)". It is also from Ghana where we have the beautiful comparison and mutual
complement between the wife and the husband: "Woman is a flower in a garden; her husband, the
fence around it". So the women need all the protection that men can give them. For this reason
the Lugbara say: "The man dies in the wind, the woman in the house". The woman and the man
belong together, can and do love each other, they need each other. In Lugbara proverb we are
told: "The woman is the rib of man", a statement which is parallel to the Biblical creation story in
Genesis 2, 21-22. The Akamba warn against the danger of remaining unmarried: "He who eats
alone, dies alone" -- he leaves neither wife nor posterity to remember him in the world of the
living.

Women and prayers

In traditional African life women play a significant role in the religious activities of society. One
of the areas where this role is prominent, is in offering prayers for their families in particular and
their communities in general. In many areas there were (and still are) women priests (priestesses);
almost everywhere in Africa the mediums (who are so important in traditional medical practice)
are nearly always women; those who experience spirit possession are in most cases also women.
48
Traditional healing is a profession of both men and women and it is more often the women
practitioners who handle children's and other women 5 medical needs. In this paper we have
space for only a few prayers which illustrate how actively involved are the women in the
spirituality of African Religion. The examples are cited out of my own book, so that there is no
need to indicate the source each time.

A women's morning prayer runs: "Morning has risen; God, take away from us every pain, every
ill, every mishap; God, let us come safely home". [n this prayer the woman brings before God her
family and hands it over to God, believing that He will keep away all evil. It is a Pygmy prayer.

A litany for a sick child is offered by women, addressing it specially to the departed members of
the family who are thought to exercise healing power especially by conveying the request to God.
It comes from the Aro of Sierra Leone. Mother prays: "O spirits of the past, this little one I hold
is my child; she is your child also, therefore, be gracious unto her". The other women chant: "She
has come into a world of trouble: sickness is in the world, and cold and pain; the pain you knew,
the sickness with which you were familiar". The mother prays on: "Let her sleep in peace, for
there is healing in sleep. Let none among you be angry with me or with my child". The women
take up their chanting: "Let her grow, let her become strong. Let her become full-grown. Then
will she offer such a sacrifice to you that will delight your heart". In this prayer we see how close
the women feel to the spirit-world. They enter into it, they solicit help from it. The physical and
spiritual world mingle here in a harmony of 'going' and 'coming'. The women depict here a deep
sensitivity towards the invisible and spiritual realities.

A woman whose husband is away fighting in war, prays for his protection and safe return. She
prays not just for him alone, but for others who are with him. Like all similar prayers, it is a on-
sided prayer, favouring one side. It comes from the Banyarwanda. "Let him be saved with those
who went with him! Let him stand firm with them. Let him return from the battle with them...".
In this way the women participate in fighting on the side of their husbands. The husbands would
certainly feel encouraged to get this form of spiritual support from their wives.

Recognising that menstruation is intimately linked to the passing on of life, many African peoples
perform a ceremony in Ghana, the Ashanti mother of the concerned girl prays that she may grow
to full maturity and bear children. This is the wish of every mother for her children.
"Nyankonpon Tweaduapon Nyame (God) upon whom men lean and do not fall, receive this wine
and drink. Earth Goddess, whose day of worship is a Thursday, receive this wine and drink. Spirit
of our ancestors, receive this wine and drink. This girl child whom God has given to me, today
the Bara state has come upon her... Do not come and take her away, and do not have her
permitted to menstruate only to die".

Death also brings with it its own sorrows and problems, and many prayers are offered in such
times. The following prayer pours out desperation with the same forcefulness as the previous
prayer: "My husband, you have abandoned me. My master is gone and will never return. I am
lost. I have no hope. For you used to fetch water and collect firewood for me. You used, to clothe
and feed me with good things... Where shall I go?"

It is clear, that women both participate in the religious activities of society and make their own
contributions for the spiritual welfare of their lives, their families and of society at large. The
prayers are small window that opens into their spirituality which indeed is the spirituality of all
human beings. As they share with God in the great mysteries of passing on life, so they share also
49
in giving human life a spiritual orientation. They are truly flowers in the garden. They give life
beauty, scent and seed.

SOCIAL CHANGE IN MODERN AFRICAN SOCIETY

AREAS OF POSSIBLE CHANGE
Group change
Change can take place among individuals. It can also happen among whole groups of people. The
'fabric of society,' both of individuals and groups are affected. If one looks at society at the group
level, it is necessary to distinguish between two areas of possible change, structural change and
organisational change.
Structural change refers to the basic units of society - the nuclear family of father, mother and
children, the extended family, the gate and clan and so on. The basic structural units of society
still exist in African society today even if some of the details, like the role of the wife and mother,
or the budgetary arrangements within a family, have changed.
Organisational change is the other area of group change and one may admit that politically,
economically and religiously Africa has changed. Organisation of modern African society is
different from the traditional.
Individual change
At the individual level it can be said some parts of an individual's life are more difficult to change
than others.
The ultimate cultural coding of each individual is very difficult, if not impossible, to change.
Every individual belongs to a distinct social or national group. Each individual has been
influenced and shaped in his thinking and in his emotions by the history, environment and human
traditions that have surrounded his life from his earliest days. He has been shaped by them. He
accepts the code of behaviour and outlook that his culture has implanted within him. This code is
very resistant to change. Similarly one's scale of values is also very hard to change. This scale
refers to the values one gives to the raising of children, owning land, getting educated etc. Values
can be changed - but not easily.
Home technology is the third element in an individual's life. This refers to our eating, cooking,
sleeping and leisure habits and methods. Habits are not always easy to change but it is clear that
in this area change has taken place in Africa. For example, electricity has changed home
technology.
Daily Life style is the easiest personal element to change. This is because it does not affect man
or his cultural values so personally. This refers to items of daily life like fashions in clothes,
means of transport and organisation of one's personal life.
One structural change is movement away from polygamy.

50
MODERN EDUCATION AND AFRICAN VALUES
Education has largely ignored traditional African values and has sought to introduce Western
values instead. Independent African governments are seeking to reverse this trend. Boarding
school education, especially at secondary level, is separating children from their parents for nine
months of the year. This has weakened the respect of the child for its parent. Less educated
parents push more and more of their responsibilities onto the teacher who has taken the place of
the parent. Sometimes the teacher does not have the necessary moral qualities to command the
respect of the child.
Modern education has created a new feudalism. In traditional life everyone knew his station in
society whether as king, chief, clan leader, elder or as family head. Nowadays traditional rulers
have been deposed. People no longer prostrate themselves before a chief. Instead, a new social
structure has been erected based upon education. The primary school leaver considers himself
superior to uneducated parents and on top of the educational pyramid is the university graduate.
We call this system 'meritocracy' - leadership or government on the basis of merit and ability.
The intelligent and well educated are the leaders in society.
Modern education is not preparing the pupils for life as traditional education did. Modern
education only prepares the pupil to read books and to pass examinations. Learning is not related
to life. Therefore some modern educationists are questioning the value of education as a valid
gateway into positions of leadership in society.
Traditional values are further challenged by the practice of going overseas for university
education in many different countries. African values are challenged not by one rival method of
education but by many when these graduates return. African traditional values are being
challenged by a whole host of different philosophies and ideas.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Usually industrial and technical change is the easiest type of change to achieve because it
improves life. New water supplies are welcomed. The introduction of motor cars and the building
of roads and bridges have been welcomed. The use of electricity and the introduction of radio and
phones and the computer technology have speeded up communication. At the same time
traditional African values have been challenged by these technological changes.
We have seen how modern medicine is practised without prayer and the traditional association
with religion. It is thought that medicine will heal by itself without any mystical power. Similarly
planting of crops using modern seeds takes place without the traditional religious ceremonies for
planting. This was unknown in traditional life.
In many places medicine and healing have been taken out of the hands of local religious
specialists and removed to hospitals. Healing is no longer local and personal. A patient can go to
hospital so far away that he cannot be visited easily.
Modern medicine and technology have caused a great increase in the population size. In some
parts of Africa the population is doubling every 20 years. This is already causing great strain
upon the fabric of society. A technological society requires an increasing number of trained
51
technicians and administrators to care for this new society but the right training institutions are
not expanding fast enough to keep pace with this population growth, so there is a scarcity of
technicians. In traditional life this was not so.
Traditional life was rhythmic, cyclic and oral. Modern machinery is rhythmic and cyclic if it is
mechanical. This may explain why Africa may still be going through the 'fascinated honeymoon'
stage in its relationship with machines and machinery. But already many are understanding the
de-personalising threat posed by modern technology. You cannot talk to a machine and African
society is oral! Men can easily become the slaves of machines and boredom sets in. Work in
traditional life was communal. In some cases work with a machine is lonely and individual. My
sitting alone in a study using a machine is not normal in African life!
Modern communication technology has increased the speed of life but traditional life was not
geared to speed and change. Many students have disputed this. They argue correctly that Africans
do think about the future. But Mbiti' s point is that the future dimension of time-change has been
brought to Africa by modern technology. The traditional idea of the future did include the future
but it was not expected to change. The future was assumed to be like the past, rhythmic and
continuous with the past. Modem ideas say that the future will not be like the past because we
plan now to change the future. This is what Mbiti means when he says that African peoples are
creating 'New myths of the future'. Traditional Africa had no myths of the future because culture
has no eschatology. Traditionally it was assumed that culture would not change. It would last
forever. Today people realise that culture does not stand still. The idea of 'time-change' is
affecting ultimate cultural coding. Today people expect things to be different. Therefore, modern
technology is changing traditional African ideas.
MONEY ECONOMY
There has been a change-over from subsistence farming where each farmer only grew enough
food for himself and his family' to cash-crop farming. Subsistence food is still grown but the
additional cash-crop enables the farmer to buy manufactured goods. He has now joined the
'consumer society' that requires manufactured goods. This means that the farmer wants to
increase his cash-crop. If he has no extra land, he is tempted to reduce his food production.
Time is considered as a commodity that can be bought and sold. On long distance phone calls,
one pays for the time one has used. This is a new idea.
Labour on farms is now hired as well as machinery for ploughing and harvesting etc. Previously,
labour came from the family. Many children were therefore essential as a labour force.
Traditional labour was not paid labour. This has meant the movement of population as people
have moved from place to place looking for employment and wages. Small businesses for buying
and selling manufactured goods have sprung up. Previously the manufacturer sold his goods
direct to the customer.
Land has taken on a new significance. Traditionally land was prized for its mystical value and
relationship with the ancestors as well as for a means of food production. Now land is wanted for
its commercial money value as a means of increasing production. The landless person is stranded
in a money economy without means of either growing food or making money. The population is

52
expanding. The watered areas of land are nearly all taken. Land hunger is growing. He is caught
in a trap from which, without land, there is no escape.
The rich man also wants more land and is in a stronger position to buy it. Traditionally land was
not bought and sold, only inherited. But the effect of the introduction of a money economy has
been to encourage the buying of more land. Both among nations and individuals the rich get
richer and the poor get poorer. Traditionally riches were a sign of God's blessing. Today people
are less convinced by this belief.
URBANISATION AND POPULATION MOVEMENT
Urbanisation is a power phenomenon. The city or the district town centre is the place where
decisions are made concerning the administration of the surrounding countryside. The people
with power live mainly in the towns. Educational and medical facilities are usually better in the
towns. The town dweller has an advantage over the countryman. So far urbanisation has not
suffered so much from the situation in the rest of the world where town people make laws and
decisions that affect country people without understanding country problems. In African towns
most of the people with power have homes and farms in the country as well, so town and country
are in close contact all the time.
Mbiti says that towns have a de-tribalising effect because towns-people have been uprooted from
their tribal backgrounds to live in towns. Shorter disputes this. He also points out that in big cities
tribal areas tend to be established because tribes congregate together in groups. In this way tribal
identity in the town is preserved. Shorter prefers to call this 're-tribalisation' because it transplants
the tribal situation into a new environment of the town.
Shorter however admits that urban populations are very unstable and always changing. For many,
town life is only temporary. The eventual aim is to return to the land. Children are often sent
away from the towns to live with relatives in the rural areas.
In spite of the tribal 'reserves' in big towns, urban life encourages individualism at the expense of
traditional communal life. The cost of living in the town encourages the educated families to
practise birth-control and to adopt the 'nuclear' family idea. This limits the family to the parents
and their immediate children. This is different from the traditional 'extended' family. Marriage is
considered to be a matter of mutual consent between the man and the woman. Consultations
between the respective families required by traditional custom are no longer considered to be
necessary. Often, because men outnumber the women in towns, they contract 'casual unions' with
women for the time when they are in town and then later desert them when they leave. In a
census in a certain country, women outnumbered men by a ratio of 100 to 40 and the figure is
likely to be the same today. This also encourages prostitution.
Mbiti points to the shortage of housing as one of the factors which causes men to live alone in
towns leaving their wives and children at home on the farm. He is very unhappy with the
'absentee father' situation which leaves the children with the idea that a father is someone remote
who never takes an interest in them. He criticises very strongly the husband's irresponsibility in
living away from home. He says that the town-living father just descends upon his country-living
wife once a year or less often to quench his sexual passion, fertilise her and then disappear like a
frogman. He does not share in the daily responsibilities of raising and disciplining a family.

53
THE DILEMMA OF POLITICAL CHANGE
This is the other factor which has affected African social values. It began in the colonial period
and has continued with the coming of political independence. For example, Traditional life in
Africa was small-scale. People lived in small communities of the family, clan or tribe. People
knew each other. Modern governments in Africa are now faced with the problem of transposing
the characteristics of small scale living to the level of the large scale modern state with a growing
population of millions instead of thousands. How do you maintain the traditional values of
village life in a modern state?
The destruction of traditional political institutions and government during the colonial period
meant that traditional skills in local government were wasted through dis-use. Much useful talent
was lost.
Colonialism imposed a new kind of administration upon traditional African society which did not
always fit the traditional method of local administration and leadership. Colonialism has been
expelled but the colonial method of administration has been largely retained. The struggle for
independence united many sectional and tribal interests in the cause of national independence.
Since independence governments have been looking for ways and means of maintaining national
unity. Parliamentary government has been discarded or reformed along 'one party' lines but this
attempt to unite sectional interests has not always succeeded. International co-operative efforts
like the East African Community have failed. Both international and national solidarity are goals
difficult to achieve. Campaigns against neo-colonialism and economic colonialism do not spark
great interest except perhaps among students. The majority are satisfied with political
independence which leaves them freer to pursue their own interests. Pleas for further struggle do
not arouse them. The achievement of independence can lead to political apathy or to sectional
rivalry.
Countries which have followed the socialist path are faced with the problem of what to do with
Trades Unions. In the past the unions were fighting exploitation by capitalist employers. Where
the State has stepped in to nationalise certain trades and industries the State is the new employer.
If the Unions continue to struggle for better working conditions their struggle is against the State.
This works against national unity instead of creating it.
The attempt to encourage 'negritude' and traditional African culture also creates a political
dilemma. Traditional African life was tribal and sectional. If 'negritude' is pushed too far it will
be counter-productive. It will encourage sectional and tribal thinking at the expense of national
unity. New nations need to be united. How does one promote pride in traditional African values
without destroying fragile national unity?
CONCLUSION
In certain areas the values and to some extent the fabric of African society have been radically
changed. In other areas, notably in the structure of family life, with the exception of polygamy,
change has not been so radical and life continues within the tradition of the past. Even where
African culture has been shaped by modern influences, it is still distinctively and joyously
African.
CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE
54
Inter-action of cultural traditions
The second area of relatively easy personal change concerns the use of technology in the home.
The third more difficult area for personal change is that of personal values and priorities. Finally
the most difficult area to change is someone's own ultimate cultural coding. For this, one could
give the example of someone who lives for a very long time in another country or culture. In
some cases the person eventually begins to identify wholly with the new culture and values.
Another example of the attempt to change ultimate cultural coding might be the female
circumcision controversy among the Gikuyu people in Kenya. Attempts were made to abolish
this practice. As a result, circumcision became the symbol of African identity and political as
well as cultural independence. This 'ultimate' identity is inherited from one's family and nation
and influences one's world-view. Yet it has been observed that people will change when they
want to do so.
John Mbiti, at the Pan Africa Christian Leadership Assembly in December 1976, said:
"The Gospel does not throw out culture: to the contrary, it comes into our culture, it settles there,
it brings its impact on our total life within that culture. It is within our culture that God loves us
and calls us to repentance; it is also within our culture that God wants us to love, worship and
obey Him. God does not want us to be aliens to our culture - but only aliens to sin."
Mbiti then went on to quote an African proverb which says, 'A bee does not start a new home
with honey.' By this he meant that a bee starts a new home as he finds it. The place is only slowly
transformed and the goal of making honey only comes later. So it is with conversion. God starts
with us where we are in our cultures and then slowly He transforms us into His new creation (2
Cor. 3.17-18).
But Mbiti also goes on to say,
"The Gospel is deeply protective and jealous, to make sure that culture does not monopolise and
keep man forever on the cultural level of life alone. There are other heights and values beyond
those of culture. Therefore, the Christian is a cultural pilgrim and not a settler, moving even with
his cultural baggage towards the eschatological goal of the Gospel."
We can say therefore that there is a negative and positive side to conversion. Culturally God
breaks into our culture at conversion and begins to transform it. Yet at the same time God expects
us to respond to Him from within our culture and express our worship and obedience to Him
from within that culture. He expects us to stop those practices which ethically are contrary to the
teaching of the Gospel like lying, stealing, etc. But He also expects us to affirm the ethical
teaching of our culture which agrees with the Gospel. We always recognise that while we are in
this world, we are strangers and pilgrims even within our own culture as we move towards the
heavenly goal (Heb. 11.13-16; 13.14).
We also need to remember that the Gospel always comes to us in a particular cultural form which
may or may not be foreign to us. Often therefore Christian converts go through three different
'cultural' stages after their conversion. They are:

55
a. The convert begins by rejecting his own cultural background entirely. This is especially true if
the Gospel has come to him from outside of his culture. He identifies with the new culture and
rejects his own. It is sometimes difficult for the preacher to stop this from happening.
b. Then later the convert may begin to recognise more easily those parts of his culture which need
not be rejected. This is the stage of accommodation. Sometimes it is accompanied by the
temptation to compromise his new faith with the traditional customs and values of his own
culture.
c. The third stage is the re-establishment of identity. This may still involve a rejection of his
cultural past. This can lead to fanaticism. On the other hand it may also involve a greater
compromise between his new faith and his own ultimate cultural coding. This can lead to great
'worldliness.' These two opposing positions, once adopted, are usually very difficult to change.
Hopefully a more balanced identity is established by the convert in which he has a mature
understanding of his new Christian faith and its relationship with his own culture. He knows what
to affirm and what to reject in his own background.
THE INTERACTION OF RELIGIONS IN AFRICA
Shorter points out that in traditional society each people had its own religion. There was no
choice. It was a situation of one tribe, one religion. Today however this traditional religious
particularism has given way to pluralism. Instead of facing only one religion the modern African
is faced by many religions - competing for converts from among the uncommitted and from each
other. We can list the chief competitors in this religious field:
a. Islam including Sunnis, Shi'ites, Isrnailis and Ahmadiyyahs.
b. 'Mission Christianity' i.e. Roman Catholics and the main Protestant groups like Anglicans,
Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and Presbyterians. .
c. African 'Independent' churches.
d. The monophysite 'Coptic' church in Egypt and 'Orthodox' church in
Ethiopia.
e. Christian sects like Jehovah's Witnesses, Moonism, Seventh Day Adventists.
f. Marxism, materialism and secularism.
g. Hinduism and Jainism.
h. Sikhism and Bahaism.
i. Judaism.
j. ATR or what we may call 're-culturalising' - the attempt to revive traditional African beliefs
and culture as a reaction to what is seen as the 'foreign' religious invasion of Islam, Christianity
and secularism etc.
It is not surprising that many people in Africa are confused by all this. They are being faced with
a choice. Traditionally 'choosing' a religion was unheard of. One inherited one's religion from

56
one's family and people. Often the result of this pluralistic situation today has been the mixing of
two or more cultures and religions together. This has produced 'half-caste' religions and cultures
none of them purely African or purely Western or purely Islamic.

THE AFRICAN RESPONSE TO ISLAM

On the whole it may be said that Islam is closer to ATR than Christianity. There is less cultural
and religious disruption and more continuity between Islam and ATR than between Christianity
and ATR. It is easier for Muslims to argue that Islam completes and fulfils ATR than for
Christians to do so. Consider the following facts about this:
The ATR concept of the one God fits easily both into Islam and into Christianity, as do the
ethical rules about illegal sexual relationships, lying and stealing. The Islamic practice of making
marriage gifts (although more is given to the bride than to her family) fits in more easily with
ATR than Christianity which is silent about this practice. Islamic rules about polygamy are closer
to ATR than Christianity. Freer access to divorce in Islam is not part of traditional African
practice and at this point Christianity is closer to ATR than Islam. The position of Muhammad in
Islam and Christ in Christianity are both equally difficult to fit into ATR because the idea of a
religious founder is foreign to ATR. Angels, Jinns and devils in the Koran are easily accepted by
ATR. Traditional African 'heroes' are identified as Muslim 'saints'. The living dead in ATR
become Islamic 'intercessors' between man and God. Christianity is unable to accept this idea, at
least among Protestants, because of the teaching of 1 Timothy 2:5. Islam also encourages the use
of divination and good magic. Christianity does not. Islamic prayers for birth, marriage and death
rites of passage present little difficulty to practices associated with ATR. Islam has introduced
circumcision into some tribes (e.g. the Baganda and Basoga in Uganda) where previously it did
not exist in their ATR. This contrasts with the attempt of Christianity in some areas to abolish
circumcision, especially, female circumcision. Islamic ritual washing after burial is easily
acceptable to ATR. Christianity says that this is unnecessary - the only dangerous defilement is
that which comes from within man's heart and thoughts (Mark 7.14-23). Both the fast of
Ramadhan and the fast of Lent are observed by Africans although fasting was not a traditional
African custom. Both Easter, the celebration of the death and Resurrection of Christ and Id el
Fitr, the end of Ramadhan feast, are celebrated. The giving of alms in both Islam and Christianity
is equated with sacrifice in ATR. Pilgrimage to Mecca is accepted although not part of ATR.
Both Islamic and Christian teaching about life after death and judgment were not part of ATR
and both religions are at an equal disadvantage at this point.
LAW AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
One serious disadvantage that Christianity has in Africa which is not shared by Islam concerns
the teaching about Law and Spirit. ATR had no written law but it is much easier for Africans to
accept the religious legal teaching of the Koran than the more disturbing teaching of Christ who
refused to give easy 'legal' answers to questions put to Him. New wine has to be put in new
wineskins. This saying stresses the discontinuity between the Christian convert's past life and his
new life as a Christian. He has to be 'born again' (John 3.5-16). In Islam church and state are one.

57
In Christianity man has to work out for himself his relationship with God and with the politics of
Caesar. Jesus gives no easy answers to this question. Islam teaches' Jihad' - the holy war. Jesus
teaches a man to forgive and to love his enemies (Luke 6.27,35). Islam does not require an
inward spiritual revolution, only submission to God and the Law of God revealed in the Koran.
That Law is fixed and much closer to the fixed tradition of ATR.
The chief challenges to Islam in Africa come from the fact that many of its leaders are poorly
educated. This lack of education may begin to be rectified as more and more Arab oil money is
made available to Muslims in Africa. The central Nairobi Mosque, for example, has been
extended with money from Saudi Arabia. A lot of mosques all over Africa are financed by
Muslims elsewhere. So far Islam has not made any serious attempt to solve the many social
problems associated with modern change. Secularism threatens Islam in Africa as much as it does
Christianity.
THE AFRICAN RESPONSE TO CHRISTIANITY
The divisions of Christianity
Christianity has more divisions than Islam. The list of Christian groups in paragraph 3.2 above
shows this. There are three main historical divisions in Christianity - the Eastern Orthodox, the
Roman Catholics and the Protestants who are themselves greatly divided. Then there are the extra
Christian sects like Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, Christian Scientists, Seventh Day
Adventists which started in North America in the 19th century. There are other 20th century sects
like 'Moonism' which started in Korea together with the thousands of African 'Independent'
churches, notably in South Africa and Kenya. It could be argued that these many divisions of
Christianity in Africa only reflect the traditional fragmentation of African society into many
hundreds of different peoples. But this analysis would miss the point. Today these fragmentations
of Christianity can all occur within one group of people. Traditionally the clan was strongly
united. Today members of one clan could belong to ten or more different Christian
denominations. This is not traditional.
Christianity and Western Culture
Although Coptic Christianity in Egypt and 'Orthodox' Christianity in Ethiopia survived right from
the start of the Church, most Christian evangelism in Africa has been accomplished since the end
of the 19th century when European imperialism was strong. Many people believed that in order
to accept Christianity it was also necessary to accept Western culture. Christianity and Western
civilisation were confused. This has not been so true of Islam. Islam was not identified with
imperialism although it was identified with the slave trade.
Christianity and Western Scepticism
Colonialism also brought with it Western scepticism and a mechanistic view of the world. This
teaches that every event in the world has a physical rather than spiritual cause. This Western
scientific outlook which many Christian missionaries accepted either consciously or
unconsciously, was the very opposite to the beliefs of ATR. ATR sees spiritual as well as
physical causes for all events. Not long ago one Western missionary among the Chaco Indians of
South America was excluded from a healing meeting because it was assumed that his beliefs
about illness being caused by physical germs would prevent him from having enough faith to
58
believe that healing at the meeting would take place. Western ideas of medicine brought by the
missionaries did not always fit in with traditional beliefs.

Christian Social Structures

Another disadvantage of Christianity concerns traditional African feudalism and Christian social
teaching. In Africa everyone knows his or her own social position depending upon wealth and
family status. The Christian teaching of salvation by God's grace received through faith
(Justification by Faith) places every person in an equal position before God. Christ alone is our
Teacher and we are all equal before God as brethren. There is only one senior brother in a family
(the first-born) and that is Christ Himself. Those churches which stress the hierarchy of
leadership (e.g. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, etc.) with Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, Canons,
priests etc. are closer to the traditional social hierarchy of Africa. (It is interesting that in many of
the African Independent churches there is a strong emphasis upon the hierarchy of leadership).
But it is doubtful whether they are following seriously the teaching of Matthew 23.1-12 and
Jesus' own example of washing the disciples' feet (John 13.1-17). Jesus' command, both to leader
and to His ordinary followers, to follow His humble example is contrary to African social
custom. Often there is a danger that the spiritual gifts of service appointed by God in the Church
(e.g. Apostles, Prophets, Teachers etc. 1 Cor. 12.28) are interpreted in Africa (and elsewhere) in
terms of social status instead of humble, loving, spiritual service.
African Independent churches are closer to African tradition in their expressions of worship, in
their belief in spiritual healing and in their church hierarchical structures. However Mbiti
criticises them because their leaders are not well educated and are not normally concerned about
social problems. In this respect he says that mission Christianity is better adapted to the changing
modern African church situation than 'Independent' Christianity.
There is also a success side to Christianity's arrival in Africa. It has produced highly dedicated
Christians who have been able to die victoriously as martyrs. The East African Revival has
strengthened the church and made it more genuinely African. Christian leadership is also strongly
African today and no longer so dependent upon missionaries. Indeed some scholars argue that
Christianity is growing faster in those areas of the world where primal religions are strongest.
This refers chiefly to South America and Africa south of the Sahara. In this respect Christianity in
Africa presents a puzzle. It challenges many aspects of African tradition, it is deeply divided and
yet it grows.
THE AFRICAN RESPONSE TO SECULARISM
Mbiti mentions an increasing number of people who have rejected both ATR and the two
monotheistic religions, Islam and Christianity. He says that these people are found mainly in
towns among the educated elite. He believes that these secular attitudes have been imported into
Africa from Europe. Shorter agrees and argues that secularism has begun to flourish because the
way in which Christianity has been preached has made it seem socially irrelevant. It has not met
the expressed social needs of the people. Agricultural development, unemployment etc. have not
been considered 'spiritual' enough to be important. Therefore they have been neglected. However
59
secularism considers these needs to be very important. Therefore secular man rejects religion
because religion has rejected his secular needs. Religion in Africa has to show that it can meet
both the spiritual and the secular needs of modern man.
Another reason for the growth of secularism may again be found in the traditional attitude to
time. If Mbiti is right, SASA time is very important. The eternal future offered by Christianity
and Islam is not so attractive as the traditional emphasis upon man's needs in this world, here and
now. This is similar to secular thinking.
Thirdly, as we have seen, ATR is 'anthropocentric'. Man is at the centre of traditional philosophy.
Secularism is also man-centred.
On the other hand, secularism rejects the spirit world and the spiritual dimension of man. This
makes secularism into a philosophy which, at best, is only half African, and at the worst a
'foreign' non-African ideology which is not likely to gain universal acceptance in Africa.

60