African Traditional Religions

African traditional religions are all religions of the various traditional peoples of sub-Saharan Africa , which represents 70% of followers of traditional religions in the world they represent, however, throughout Africa, only 12% of the population, 45% of Africans are Christians and 40% Muslims ^{Definition of traditional African religious sentiment}

"The human body is very small compared to the spirit within."

- African oral tradition .

The ethnologist French Marcel Griaule ( 1 898 - in 1956 ) defines the content and form of African religious feeling as a "system of relations between the visible world of men and the invisible world governed by a Creator and powers which, under various names and while the manifestations of this one God, are specialized in all kinds of functions .

But with fetishism , manipulation can respect the sacred magic of the Word in relation to the forces, but also the superstitions and magical attitudes ^{Main Belief}

"Everything is connected. Everything is alive. Everything is interdependent. "

- Amadou Ba Hampt cited by Aminata Traor .

African religions are characterized by belief in a cosmic life force, God, emanating from both the spirits of nature , ancestors, tribal leaders and priests initiated into the esoteric aspect .

This strength is reflected in particular by the fertility , whether that of men , of plants or animals .

Cults and rituals are for development of this vital force and protect it from evil forces trying to weaken .

For this cosmic life force to grow, there must be continuity and a close relationship with the mythical origins of the family and tribe .

We must respect the traditions , consolidating them: give it up, that is to say, go against the established social order and sacred by the ancestors, means limiting the life force, or even destroy it .

According to the African religious thought, every being has a soul - that is to say, a vital principle:

"Every living thing has a soul."

- African oral tradition .

The belief in reincarnation of souls, spread through a large part of humanity (in Asia for example), is well established in sub-Saharan Africa:

"Every birth is the rebirth of an ancestor."

- African oral tradition .

In the context of African religions, this belief is highly multifaceted. At the popular level, reincarnation is usually part of the evidence daily, whereas a more reflective, she enrolled in anthropological constructions sometimes quite complex.

Worship and ritual

"The human being has control of the floor, so it rests on him to lead the life force."

- African oral tradition .

The worship is mainly regenerate the vital force for health , children , good harvests , etc. .

Within the tribes , the king also serves as high priest and spiritual master large insider stands beside him, carrying a dominant role, both a harbinger of the rain and healer. To do this, he often uses ancestral relics.

With regard to places of worship, it was often difficult to distinguish them places to live ^{Examples of religious traditions in sub-Saharan Africa}

Despite ongoing changes that affect the world of African religion, it is possible to identify some common elements of African religious traditions.

Firstly, all religions discussed here are based on the belief in one God that defines the history of religions as the Supreme Being. This Creator God is almost identical in all African religions: after creating the world, God withdraws and rarely intervenes in human affairs because it is considered too pure gasoline to interfere in these affairs of men, which are often related to their physiological needs. He is the guarantor of the established order of things, not caring to be just that once he joined the invisible world to judge. Human beings no longer living, his body remains on earth and is transformed under the laws of nature, while his soul joined the invisible world. Depending on how good or bad deeds he has done on earth, he may be reincarnated in order to improve still more, to join the ancestors living in God when his soul will be judged sufficiently pure for this, either undergo a second death, the soul, too sullied by the peach, is sent to the magma poor souls destroyed. The Supreme Being is rarely the object of veneration or worship. For example, Ngai, the god of the Kikuyu people, a people living in Kenya , is supposed to have retired on the summit of Mount Kenya , where he takes no active part in the vicissitudes of his creatures. However, the Kikuyu still turn his face toward the mountain when they pray, as a token of respect. The African people are all monotheistic religions in their traditional, and each has its name for God, Amma for the Dogon , Engai for Masai , Maa Ngala for the Mandingo , Gueno for Fulani , Nzambi for Bantu , Olodumare for Yoruba , Nyam for Fang , ect.

The Supreme Being is the most important figure of a whole series of spiritual beings who act as mediators between the Supreme Being and humans. In African religions, the various spirits are very important, because God is seen as too distant from a divine essence. God is seen as impartial. It is to these spirits that the people turned to make his demands. There are two kinds of minds: those who are not of human origin and those who, after humans have become "ancestral spirits" under the blessings of God. The spirits are just hypostasis , which represent the many facets of God's creation, has both single and plural by its actions, its creation and so on., like the Christian trinity eg. For African spirituality in every element of creation is the divine part. That is why African spirituality has great respect nature and be alive. By this assumption, an action deliberately destructive to be an item or creation goes back to question the divine essence. To make use of nature and living beings, the demand for protective spirits, set up for this form of prayer is recommended.

The minds of nonhuman origin are often related to natural places. For example, the wood-spirits or the spirits of the sea In Kenya , one of the most active minds and closest to the people Luo , Mumbo is the spirit of the Lake. This is explained by the proximity of Lake Victoria on the shores of which the Luo live long. In the Dogon , in Mali , the water spirit, Nommo , is considered the father of mankind, he who taught men the art of using fire and tools.

The spirits of nature do not have a clear personality. They are the keepers of the land on which a population lives and with whom they establish complex social relationships. Other spirits are identified with natural phenomena, like the spirit of thunder, the wind spirit, the spirit of the storm, rain, and so on. All these entities are spiritual beings created by God and more powerful than humans (Djin in Islam ). They can be good or bad, or even a mixed nature. In some cases they are friendly and well disposed toward humans, but in other cases they may be hostile. Some rarely intervene, others are ubiquitous in everyday life. Some travel a lot, others are sedentary. Each of these entities has a definite place on a ladder and their relationships with each other and with humans are coded according to this hierarchy. Some minds come in contact with men during states of trance or possession. Sometimes whole families of spirits captured periodically from a person and dictate his action for the good of the clan or the whole community. You can find such situations with the Bori spirits among Hausas the Niger or the spirits in Bisimba Zlas of Zaire.

The ancestors belong naturally to the second category of spirits. Death does not automatically convert a parent ancestor. Specific rites are necessary. They go in a way the deceased in the afterlife to help them assume a new spiritual essence. These rites include, among others, "Double Funeral," in which case it is expected that during a certain period of time, the spirit of the deceased or ill-disposed towards the living, until the second funeral, with a range of offerings and collective prayers, the reconciled with his family.

In all African societies, the ties between the living and the dead are very high: one must always respect the dead and honor them with offerings of various kinds. They keep a firm grip on the family structure and is feared to cause anger. The ancestors are the most immediate link between the living and the spiritual world, they are able to guarantee the prosperity, health and fertility of their descendants. In Kenya , the social structure of Kikuyu reflects the world of their ancestors, they call Ngoma, and which include Ngoma cia ACIAR, or immediate ancestors.

Among African religious rites, the Fasts , pilgrimages to holy places, offerings and sacrifices, the daily prayers, big ceremonies in honor of God, ancestors and tutelary spirits, and the cycle repeated following the initiation stages of life through classes for ages, punctuates the African spiritual life.

Status of African religion today

African traditional religion "survived", across Africa, especially by syncretism with Islam and Christianity. Indeed, if a majority of Africans are now Muslims or Christians, their Islam or Christianity, remains heavily influenced by religion of origin.

Abandoning the majority of African religion by Africans, resulting in a loss of the composition thereof. So that many Africans believe that African religion at present, becomes less and less rich, and offers the most comprehensive aspect, Islamic or Christian religions, in practice.

Also propaganda of Islam and Christianity, against the African religion, it does not help, which is now seen by many Africans as witchcraft, paganism, cults unclear.

However, there are some countries and peoples, where you can observe real resistance among practitioners of African religion, and which leave no room for syncretism. Such is the case in Benin , or practitioners of African religion are the majority, and in many countries of the Gulf of Guinea, by the people Fon-gbe , Ewe , Yoruba in particular, with the Voodoo. In Cameroon in Bamileke and Bamouns. Gabon, in a portion of Fangs , the Mitsogo with the Bwiti. In Mali, many Mandingo , especially Malinke and Bambara and Dogon , remained of African religion. In Senegal, among Sereres , Diola , ethnicities in the eastern region, the Badiaranks , many people stayed at the African religion. In Central Africa, among the great nation of Kongo , the group Bantu. Among the Nilotic peoples of the Omo Valley, Dinka , Nuer , Hamer , Nyangatom, etc.. The various groups Masai to Kenya and Tanzania. In Shona in southern Africa.

There are communities Voodoo, who do not syncretism, outside Africa, Haiti and Brazil. There are also current or Kemite Kamita in the African Diaspora and Africa. Kemite report in Kemet , the name given to ancient Egypt by the ancient Egyptians, considered by Afrocentric as meaning the land of the blacks. This is the African religion, where the names of its components, are taken from the ancient Egyptian religion, because the pattern remains the same.

Despite this, African religion is losing ground every day, because its true adherents are often elderly, and few are those among African youth, who agree to continue the spiritual tradition, or to be initiated. The Future of African religion remains uncertain.

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