In Africa, religion has always played a vital role in people’s lives. For example, we have the traditional religions that have survived the course of time and continued to impact many lives. That is even though the majority of Africans are either Muslim or Christian.
Religion runs like a thread through daily life. Often, it is marked by prayers of thanksgiving in times of plenty and prayers of supplication in times of need. It also provides a sense of belonging through confirming an individual’s and a group’s identity.
What is the Traditional African Religion?
Traditional African religion is a way of life in which ancestors are involved in any significant event, such as weddings, births, and deaths, and minor events like finding a job and graduating from university. Typically, an offering is made to honor, please, and thank the ancestors on these occasions. An offering of a cow, sheep, or chicken is slaughtered, and the ancestors are summoned to receive it and be blessed.
Even though traditional African religion recognizes a Supreme God, adherents do not explicitly worship him or her because they do not believe they are worthy. As a result, they request their ancestors to speak on their behalf. In times of great difficulty and necessity, such as famine or epidemics that endanger the whole community, they invoke the Supreme being. Therefore, God is the link between people and the universe.
Link Between Traditional African Religion and Ancestor Worship
Ancestor worship and belief is an outgrowth of reverence for and belief in elders. Traditional African religious believers claim that their ancestors have a divine bond with their living relatives.
The majority of ancestral spirits are benevolent and kind. However, ancestral spirits’ only harmful intentions are to trigger mild ailments to alert people that they are on the wrong track. Typically, beer and meat offerings are made to appease them.
The Religious Practices
Traditional African religion is based on oral traditions, which only means that the fundamental beliefs and lifestyles are passed down from generation to generation. These rituals are cultural identities passed down through myths, stories, and tales rather than religious beliefs.
Meanwhile, the continent has several different religious traditions that have a few things in common. They include a belief in one God above a plethora of lesser gods or semi-divine figures; a belief in ancestral spirits; the concept of sacrifice frequently requiring the death of a living thing to ensure divine security and generosity; the need to go through rites of passage to transition from childhood to adulthood.
Religion has had a strong impact on political reform in the history of Africa. Spirit mediums have led revolts against European and African rulers, ancestral spirits have ordered acts of destruction and called for the overthrow of rulers and chiefs. To gain power and riches, people have sought the assistance of priests and medicine men. Generally, a lot has happened, and more is to come in a world powered by greed and thirst for wealth. Compared to Traditional African religion, there is so much hypocrisy going on in the newly found religion.
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