Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2014 Africa and Religions
2014 Africa and Religions
Beliefs
Role of Religion in Africa
African Religions
• “African Traditional Religions” = indigenous
religions
ANIMISM
1. Belief in one remote Supreme Being.
2. A world of spirits (good & bad) in all
things.
3. Ancestor veneration.
4. Belief in magic, charms, and fetishes.
5. Diviner mediator between the tribe
and God.
Religion
• The fishermen
consider her
so sacred
they do not
talk about her
openly.
People believed they had to
maintain a favorable (good)
relationship with the spirits
or else suffer their wrath
(anger).
Water: A Sacred Element
• Water sacred to many cultures.
• When life depends on water in the form of
rainfall, rivers, and streams, water takes on a
life of its own.
• Africans use water for rituals such as the
washing of the newborn and the dead.
• It must come from a source of sacred, living
water.
• It must not be heated or boiled, or treated with
chemicals as that would kill the spirit in it.
Ouidah, Benin
• Shaman
– Medicine man
or woman
– Conducts
ceremonies
Religious Leaders
• Diviners:
• Served as
interpreters
• Job was to
explain
misfortune
Religious Leaders
• Healers
– Helped families
become aware of
problems, along
with providing
remedies
North
American
Shaman
West African
Griot
Animism
• Medicine Man
Role of Rituals and Diviners
Diviners and Healers
Diviners and Healers
• Rooted in Tradition
• Their purpose was to
explain the cause of
misfortune
• Experts in herbal medicine
• Today, doctors study the
roots and herbs used in
traditional African healing
Diviners: Communication with
Ancestors
• They can speak to you in dreams
• They can send signs to you in nature that
can be interpreted with the help of
diviners, spiritual specialists
• Signs are sometimes interpreted by
looking at the organs of sacrificed animals
• Diviners can also contact ancestors for
help with knowing the future.
Diviners
• Causes: natural & supernatural; human-
human, human-divine, & human-natural
relationships are messed up
• Rituals take
place
outdoors in
nature
Ritual
• Organized group activity
ISLAM 25%
* Nigeria
largest sub-Saharan
Muslim countries.
CHRISTIANITY 20%
• Religion
• Indigenous religions tend to be animistic
– The Introduction and Spread of Christianity
• Entered northeast Africa around 300 A.D.
– Coptic Christians - Ethiopia & Eritrea; other
Christians in Sudan
• Dutch brought Calvinism to South Africa in 1600s
– The Introduction and Spread of Islam
• Introduced about 1,000 years ago
• Today, orthodox Islam prevails in most of the Sahel
– Interaction Between Religious Traditions
• Religious conflict most acute in northeastern Africa
• Sudan: conflict between Muslims in north and Non-
Muslims in the south
72 Globalization & Diversity:
Rowntree, Lewis, Price,
Christianity in Africa
The route of African Christianity
• Egypt and Libya in the • Preservation of
beginning Scriptures in Africa, the
• Apollos of Alexandria Sinaiticus Texts
• Others from Cartage particularly
• Eunuch of Ethiopia, • Bishops such as
Meroitic Official, a.k.a. Clement and Cyril, men
Kandaka, a Regent to of Alexandria in Egypt.
the throne of Candace, • The Nubians of Sudan
the Queen of Ethiopia and the Coptic of
Ethiopians are part of
Africa Christians
heritage.
4
Aksum
churches
Arab merchants
brought their
religion with them
to East Africa
Islam was
introduced to
the East African
trade cities
Islamic Mosque in Ghana
WEST AFRICA AND ISLAM
Cultural diffusion
between West Africans
and the Muslims resulted
Islam in West Africa
• Along with adopting new practices and
ethical values, West Africans kept some of
their old religious practices.
– Muslim leaders allowed them to continue
religious traditions as long as they did not
contradict (conflict with) the Five Pillars Faith.
– W. Africans continued to show respect for the
spirits of dead ancestors. They kept their belief
in spirits who could help those or made sacrifices
to them.
– They used amulets, or charms, that they believed
helped people or protected them from harm.
The Spread of Islam in West Africa
Traders Bring Islam to
Ghana
• Between 639 and 708
C.E., Arab Muslims
conquered North Africa
• They wanted to bring W.
Africa into the Islamic
world.
• Initially the king of Ghana
did not convert, nor did
the majority of the people.
• But the king did allow
Muslims to build
theradiantlight.blogspot.com
settlements within his
empire
Islam in Mali
http://www.civilizacoesafricanas.blogspot.com
EAST AFRICA
The mix of African and Arab cultures led to the
development of a new language: Swahili
• An important change in
government was in how
people chose their next
leader, or “line of
succession”
• Traditionally succession to
the throne had been
matrilineal – the right to rule
was traced through the
woman’s side of the family
• After the arrival of Islam,
succession became
patrilineal – the right to rule http://www.zacstravaganza.blogspot.com
went from father to son.
Change #2: Structure of Gov’t
• Muslims believed in a
highly centralized
government, which was
different than traditional
African society
• After conversion to Islam,
West African kings sought
more control of local
rulers
• Rulers adopted titles used
in Muslim lands, such as
“emir” and “sultan”
http://etudesafricaines.revues.org/docannexe/image/135/img-2-
small480.png
Change #3: Adoption of
Shari’ah Law
• Customary laws of
Africa usually:
– were enforced by
chiefs or kings
– didn’t give physical
punishments
– Weren’t written down
– Guilty person paid
injured party with gifts
or services
– Family or clan of guilty
person could also be
punished http://www.onlinelegaltips.com/images/Judiciary-System-In-Africa.jpg
Shari’ah Law:
• Laws were written
• Muslims believed
that shari’ah came
from God
• Administered by
judges called qadis
– Cases were heard in
a court
• Witnesses called
• Ruled on basis of the
http://shariahcouncil.org/ law and the evidence
presented
Change # 4: Emphasis on
Education
• Muslims highly value learning &
encouraged people to become educated.
• Timbuktu
– Became famous for its community of Islamic
Scholars
– Contained several universities
– Schools were set up to educate children in the
Qur’an
• Schools run by an imam (scholar)
• Basic subjects included studying the Qur’an,
Islamic studies, law, and literature
Change #5: Arabic: A New
Language
• In West Africa, Arabic became the language of religion, learning,
commerce (business), and government.
• Scholars used Arabic to begin to write about the history and culture of
West Africa.