Anthropologica, journal of the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) was created from the merger of the Society's former journal, Culture, with Canada's oldest anthropology journal, Anthropologica. The God described in the Bible is none other than the God who is already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. The fusion of cultures that was effected by the conquest of Alexander the Great (4th century bce), his successors, and the Roman Empire tended to bring together a variety of religious and philosophical views that resulted in a strong tendency toward religious syncretism. While Islam and Christianity tend to be overtly resistant to adopting traditional African religious ideas or practices, indigenous African religions have always accommodated other beliefs. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. 75 19 Request Permissions, Published By: Canadian Anthropology Society. The unseen world is populated by lwa (spirits), myst (mysteries), anvizib (the invisibles), zanj (angels), and the spirits of ancestors and the recently deceased. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. Ethiopia's Christian population, at 6 million in 1900, will grow to a projected 100 million in 2050. One of Jacob Oluponas earliest memories in Massachusetts is of nearly freezing in his apartment as a graduate student at Boston University during the great snowstorm of 1978. The conviction that people will be reborn in this world again and again tends to be more common among Christians than Muslims. The Pew Forums survey found 52% of the population is Muslim. Vodou ritual activity (e.g., prayer, song, dance, and gesture) is aimed at refining and restoring balance and energy in relationships between people and between people and the spirits of the unseen world. In four countries (Chad, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria and Tanzania), the number of Christians and Muslims is more equally divided, with a ratio of less than two-to-one in either direction.2 The other countries surveyed are predominantly Christian with Muslim minorities of varying sizes. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. degree at Harvard Divinity School. PDF Christianity and the African traditional religion(s): The postcolonial OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. African Traditional Religion in the Context of increasing Christian and Islamic Encounter . Traditional African religions and practices were brought to the Western hemisphere through the African diaspora and the slave trade, often resulting in a syncretic blending with Christianity. This chapter includes information on: Download chapter 1 in full (6-page PDF, <1MB), 1 The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in the easternmost part of North East Africa, on the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. In contrast, witchcraft beliefs persist. In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. The church is composed largely of people who come out of the African religious background. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. According to all the major surveys, Christianity and Islam each represent approximately 40 percent of the African population. These impinge upon their daily life- and experience of the Christian faith. What factors are responsible for it? African spirituality has always been able to adapt to change and allow itself to absorb the wisdom and views of other religions, much more than, for example, Christianity and Islam. I have been greatly enriched by working at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, 1974-1980. Updates? That finished the interview. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> Nevertheless, since 1900, Christians in Africa have grown from approximately 7 million to over 450 million today. I want to make a pilgrimage into Christ. It was during the Belgian colonial period that the first Catholic and Protestant missionaries came to this region of Zaire. The statistical expansion of the Christian faith in Africa in this century is one of the considerations that led me back to the issue of its relation with African religion. The councils programs in response to these problems are impressive. 93 0 obj I have concentrated these comments on the role of African background in my theological reflection. African scholars All these spirits are believed to live in a mythic land called Ginen, a cosmic Africa. The God of the Christian Bible is understood to be the creator of both the universe and the spirits; the spirits were made by God to help him govern humanity and the natural world. A prominent European New Testament professor visited Makerere University and interviewed me on what I thought about the "death of God" discussion. A subscription to Anthropologica is included in CASCA's annual membership fee. 0 In its place there emerged the word "also." The council made me aware, perhaps even frightfully so, of the problems of our world. First, the association of traditional African religion with an other-worldly orientation may appear problematic, given the "pragmatic" basis of this religion. Today, the country claims about 80 million of each . (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. The primary goal and activity of Vodou is to sevi lwa (serve the spirits)to offer prayers and perform various devotional rites directed at God and particular spirits in return for health, protection, and favour. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam . (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax In contrast, witchcraft beliefs persist. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. Indeed, ten years ago I had no significant theological position. 0000001519 00000 n According to the 2003 Demographic and Health Survey, for example, Muslims constituted 50% of the population, while the 2008 DHS figure is 45% and the Nigerian Ministry of Healths 2008 estimate is 50%. Following a period of parish work in England, I went to teach at Makerere University, Uganda, where I remained for ten years until 1974. GAZETTE: How would you define indigenous African religions? For myself, I negotiate between my Yoruba and Christian identity by, for example, affirming those aspects of African culture that promote good life and communal human welfare. Black Americans who identify with a religion are most likely to say belief in God is essential to what their faith means to them (84%), while large majorities say the same about opposing racism (76%) and sexism (71%). What is African Traditional Religion? En ce qui concerne la croyance en Dieu, il semblerait que les Biras se soient servis de la chrtient pour rendre leur dieu traditionnel Mbali plus accessible et plus comprhensif, un changement qui a rendu le Dieu des chrtiens plus compatissant et indulgent vis vis du pch. They were names of one and the same God, the creator of the world, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. They proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ. That experience gave me a face-to-face encounter with the ecumenical movement and left a lasting mark on me. Subscriptions are available to libraries and individuals who are not members of CASCA. In Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia and Mozambique, Muslims account for between 15% and 30% of survey respondents. The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God to our continent. This is, obviously, a general statement, one which needs detailed elaboration. It publishes a journal Anthropologica and has reclaimed the name of its former journal, Culture for its occasional online bulletin. OLUPONA: If we lose traditional African religions, we would also lose or continue to seriously undermine the African practice of rites of passage such as the much cherished age-grade initiations, which have for so long integrated and bought Africans together under a common understanding, or worldview. The first and most intriguing topic that immediately engaged my attention was the thinking of African peoples about God. Updates? But in practical terms, there is a Christian Yes to African religiosity. At first, Christianity made few inroads into the African slave population, which had its own religious traditions. Vodou is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. Of course, behind all these factors is the Holy Spirit working through them. The Story of Africa| BBC World Service - Logo of the BBC 0000002884 00000 n Corrections? 300 ce). Their culture, history, world views and spiritual aspirations cannot be taken away from them. As the map also shows, the ratio of Christians to Muslims increases the further south one goes in the continent. mixing of Christianity and traditional African religions What were maroon communities? Nevertheless, I am convinced that the World Council of Churches is a great witness of the Christian response to the prayer of our Lord that we may all be one. This massive expansion within a short time is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. For example, in 14 of the 19 countries surveyed, more than three-in-ten people say they sometimes consult traditional healers when someone in their household is sick. The Church in Africa, 1450-1950. No doubt there still remain much research and reflection to be done in order to work out a consistent theological understanding of the issues entailed here. African Christianity - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors, Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects. Instead, God brought them, for the God described in the Bible is none other than the God who was already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. Instances of religious syncretismas, for example, Gnosticism (a religious dualistic system that incorporated elements from the Oriental mystery religions), Judaism, Christianity, and Greek religious philosophical conceptswere particularly prevalent during the Hellenistic period (c. 300 bcec. Its about getting tangible results. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. APUSH Unit 1 Flashcards | Quizlet The theological horizon continues to expand. On returning home, the learned professor wrote an article using my brief answer as his title. The recipient of many prestigious academic honors and research fellowships, Olupona also received the 20152016 Reimar Lust Award for International and Cultural Exchange, considered one of Germanys most prestigious academic honors. Eating pattern tied to 24% reduction in cardiovascular, cancer mortality in people diagnosed with the chronic condition, HMS/Brigham study shows most advertised medicines little better than other treatment options. African religion has equipped people to listen to the gospel, to discover meaningful passages in the Bible, and to avoid unhealthy religious conflict. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. Par consquent, Mbali-Dieu est la rponse crative des Biras une rencontre religieuse syncrtique. But to the disappointment of those theological exporters, this fish was not attracted by the bait. 817-820. I find the traditional Western distinction between "special revelation" and "general revelation" to be inadequate and unfreeing. I am very excited, for example, by the estimate that in 1987 there will be a statistical balance of Christian population between the north (Europe, Soviet Union and America) and the south (Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania). Since I myself had never heard any lectures on African religion, I set out to do research on the subject in order to teach the course adequately. Vodou represents a syncretism of the West African Vodun religion and Roman Catholicism by the descendants of the Dahomean, Kongo, Yoruba, and other ethnic groups who had been enslaved and transported to colonial Saint-Domingue (as Haiti was known then) and partly Christianized by Roman Catholic missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. The WCCs very existence as a council of churches is a living hope. Some scholars choose to call it the African Traditional Religion, while others prefer to name it the African traditional Religions. 0000001586 00000 n Some individuals have criticized these books -- and no book is perfect. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, between 10% and 15% of respondents are Muslim. Some people tried to involve Africa in the debate. GAZETTE: But yet you said its a mixed bag? Alternate titles: Vaudou, Vodun, Voodoo, Voudou, vodon, Elizabeth McAlister Associate Professor of Religion, Weslyan University. GAZETTE: Are ancestors considered deities in the traditional African cosmology? The book comprised ideas that I had gathered from 300 African peoples ("tribes" -- a term that today is sometimes used in derogatory ways). Religious pluralism serves peace. Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. In the end, I believe that Africans can make room for a plurality of religious points of view without one religious point of view excluding or compromising the other. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth.