INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

1.0 INTRODUCTION

That religion plays a significant role in the lives of people all over the world is not an understatement. The truth of this is brought out much more in the life of the African. This unit introduces you to the religion that was and still being practiced in Africa prior to the advent of Christianity and Islam. The aim of this course is not to turn you to a traditional religionist but to give you an insight into the religious worldview of the adherents of this religion. This will on the long run give you an opportunity to minister to them at the point of their needs. In this second unit you will be introduced to the study of African Traditional Religion. You will examine the relationship between the Africans and religion, the obstacles and the difficulties experienced in the process of the study of the religion, the stages in the study of the religion, the sources of information for the study of the religion as well as the issue of nomenclature.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit you should be able to:

1. evaluate the relationship between Africans and their religion 
2. identify the problems facing the study of African Traditional Religion 
3. propose solutions to the problems facing the study of the religion 
4. identify the stages in the study of the religion 
5. identify the characteristics of each of the stages 
6. discuss the sources from where African religion can be studied 
7. discuss the issues surrounding nomenclature. 

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The African and Religion

The African society is overtly religious. In African societies, religion is an integral part of the lives of the individual, the family and the community as a whole. African religion is best described by Dennis L. Thompson when he states, "Indigenous religion and the family are closely connected in Africa. In fact, African religion can be seen as a system of rites, rules, and practices that aims at preserving and strengthening the fellowship of the people, the tribe and the family, and at increasing power."

When this is properly understood, one would be able to understand why religion is central to the African life. For example, from birth through all the major phases of life, there is always a religious touch for the African. When a child is born, it is most natural to take the child to the diviners to have a glimpse of the child's destiny so as not to commit any error in the process of the child's upbringing. At puberty, the child also passes through another set of religious rituals. When it is time to get married, consultations would be made concerning the choice of the spouse and the ancestral divinities would be invoked to bless the marriage. Finally when death come knocking, religion also has a central role to play. In the whole of the African life, there is no sharp distinction between the secular and the sacred as it is in the West. The African life is totally soaked in religion.

3.2 Obstacles Facing the Study of African Traditional Religion

The Dark Continent SyndromeThe first problem that researchers have faced is the geography of the continent that has made it very difficult to move around the continent and gather necessary information. This made Africa highly inaccessible at the beginning and thus earned the sobriquet "the Dark Continent". By this it was meant that Africa was a continent that much is not known about. Despite the acknowledgement of this fact, many foreign writers still go ahead and publish incorrect information about the African


religion. It is unfortunate that to date such information still makes rounds not only among foreigners but also among Africans. In other words, because of the fact that the early writers and even some now do not have adequate knowledge of the people and the religion of Africa, most of what had been written is mostly or partially untrue or exaggerated or distorted for various reasons.

The Large Size of the ContinentMicrosoft Encarta Dictionary declares that Africa is the second largest continent with an area of 30, 243, 910 square kilometres. With this great size, the tendency to generalize among the early scholars results in fallacy. For example, it might be very difficult to have a general African view of God because there are some African societies that conceive God in feminine terms and there are some that thinks of God in masculine terms. This issue will also be discussed under the issue of nomenclature.

Direct and Indirect Colonial IndoctrinationFrom the colonial days there has been a lot of indoctrination of the African mind against their culture and their religion. Even today in the post colonial era, the indoctrination still goes on abated and it is not uncommon to hear Africans referring to their culture as demonic and evil. As a result, most Africans are not even interested in studying the religion and those who do are looked down upon. This bias also affects the research work of the scholars most of whom today have become Christians or Muslims. The lack of interest in African religion and culture has led to the gradual extinction of the religion and all it stands for.

DeathThe next obstacle following indoctrination and which is much more devastating is the death of the faithful adherents of these religions. While indoctrination keeps away the youths and the crème of the society away from traditional religion death started to take away those who would have passed down the religion to them intact and undiluted.

Unfortunately as the generation of these adherents die one after the other, so does the tradition become remembered in fewer details. Naturally dislocations, distortions and gaps begin to occur in the body of knowledge of these religions. It is significantly unfortunate because African religions are highly oral and depends on oral transmission. As a result, where the priest has died, some religious values, items and knowledge may be lost.

Secrecy
Usually, the practices and information about most aspects of religion are guarded secretly. These secrets are revealed only to the initiates. Those who also have this secret information on these religions are also under oath not to reveal the secrets to any non-initiate. This secrecy makes it difficult for the non-initiates to have a true understanding of these religions.

Multiplicity of LanguagesThe multiplicity of languages in Africa is also a major hindrance to the study of religion. If you take the case of Nigeria as an example, there are at least 250 languages and 400 dialects. No researcher would want to master 250 languages because of interest in religion. Yet, a proper and in-depth study of any religion requires a thorough understanding of the original language of the adherents of the religion. The Microsoft Encarta Premium has this to say about the number of languages in Africa: "the number of distinctive languages spoken in Africa is open to debate. Some experts put the number at around 2,000, while others count more than 3,000".

Influence of other ReligionsThe influence of other religions, especially, Christianity and Islam on African religion cannot be overemphasized. As generation after generation of Africans come under the influence of foreign religions or embrace the foreign religions, one or two things happen: they either cut away completely from the old faith (which may lead to total neglect of the old faith until it gradually disintegrates) or practice the two religions and come out being syncretistic.

The Influence of Western Education and CultureWestern education has most of the time take the people out of their native homes and exposed them to foreign education and culture. Consequently, they lost touch with their homeland and culture and this leads to loosing touch with their religion. There are times when people like this return home and are made rulers or chief yet they lack a proper understanding of the traditional religion and this has come to poses serious problem to the existence and the study of African religions.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Discuss the factors that are militating against the study of African Traditional Religion.

3.3 Sources of Information

Since Africa was largely oral and had no written record, the question then had been where we can gather facts from which we can bring out the teachings and concepts of African religion. The following gives us a wide array of physical and oral sources.

The Physical Sources

Shrines and Sacred PlacesThese are the places that are connected with the worship of the divinities. They could be found in the homes where family religious rituals are conducted or in the grooves that are normally hidden to the uninitiated. These places are important because religious concepts could be expressed through them.

Music, Dance and DramaAfricans are dancing people and their religion is usually embedded in religious festivals, rituals and ceremonies. The religious music, dance and drama are powerful media of communication especially in the traditional societies. The Africans sing and dance out of religious feelings. Thus when people participate it serves as an outlet for their religious feelings.

Religious Articles and ObjectsTraditional religion does not frown at the use of religious articles and objects. These include objects worn round the neck, waist, on the arms and the legs. The importance of these objects lies in the fact that these religious articles and objects help the researchers to peep into the concept behind the objects.

Art Works and SymbolsDifferent categories of art works could be invaluable sources of religious beliefs. They provide a wealth of information on the past and present religious beliefs of the people. These include wooden and clay sculptures found in the family shrines and general shrines and grooves. These simple cultic objects and symbols could throw more light on the whole complexity of beliefs and practices connected with their use.

Religious Specialists or Cultic PersonnelThese are people that are found in every society that are encyclopaedia of the religion. They know a lot about rituals, ceremonial and religious maters. The list includes medicine men, priests, rain-makers, diviners, musicians and craftsmen. Each one of these people is a trained specialist in their profession and in most cases highly experienced. A lot can be collected about African religion from these set of people.

Non-Physical SourcesMyths ;These are scared tales that centres on spiritual beings and deities and are usually believed to have happen. Most African myths give explanatory answers to the questions posed to humanity by their physical environment. Myths serve as the practical way of documenting the oral beliefs and handing them down from generation to generation. Myths include aetiological myths (those that attempt to explain the mysteries of life), cosmogonic myths (myths explaining the origin of the earth) and creedal myths (those that are ritual formulae that are learnt and recited like prayers). Myths enjoy a high degree of authenticity and when these are properly studied, they could provide invaluable illumination on African religion.

Theophanous NamesThe importance of names as sources of African religion derives from the significance and impact of names among Africans. For the Africans, a name is an omen. It is supposed to represent the most cherished thought or the situation surrounding the birth of the child. Names thus reflect the African philosophy of life or a wish or prayer. Consequently, many names affirm the existence of God and also describe the African thought of Him. Examples are Igbo names such as Chukwuka (God is greater); Chukwudi (God exists); Yoruba names such as Oloruntobi (God is great); Olorunkoya (God decries oppression).

ProverbsAfricans have a rich repertoire of proverbs in which are enshrined ancient wisdom, beliefs and accumulated experiences of past generations. The value of proverbs as source materials for the religious beliefs of the oral based people derives from the high regard in which proverbs are held in African societies. In different African societies there are different proverbs which have the belief in God as their themes. For example, the Akan of Ghana has a proverb that can be translated to mean "if you will tell God, tell it to the wind". This is a proverb that establishes the omnipresence of God. There are also proverbs that have to do with the relationship of man to the deities. If a list of proverbs of Africa are collected and studied, they would yield highly important information on African religion.

PrayersPrayers are specifically religious activities and would contain a lot of information on religious beliefs. Prayers in Africa are usually made to God, the deities and the ancestors. 'through prayers one can see man's dependence on God and the belief that God has the ability to meet man's need being expressed.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, you have been introduced to African Traditional Religion. You have studied about the religious nature of the Africans, the obstacles to the study of African Traditional Religion as well as sources from where data concerning the religion could be found.

5.0 SUMMARY

The following are the major points that you have learnt in this unit:

1. Africans by nature are very religious 
2. There are many factors that serve as obstacles to the study of African Traditional Religion. 
3. The sources for the study of African Traditional Religion can be found in physical and non-physical sources. 
4. The physical sources include shrines, art works, religious artefacts and symbols as well as dances, music and drama. 
5. The non-physical sources include myths, proverbs and prayers. 

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What are the sources from which data for the study of African Traditional Religion can be found?