SELECTED ASPECTS IN AFRICAN RELIGIOUS HERITAGE

African concept of God, Spirits and Ancestors

a) God

All African communities believe in a supreme being who is the origin and sustainer of all things.
He is the creator of the universe and all that it contains.
All Africans agree that nobody has ever seen God.

Attributes of God as understood by African people

God is the creator of the universe and everything in it.
1. God is a provider. He provides and sustains his creation.
1. God is merciful. He removes suffering from communities.
1. God is all powerful / omnipotent. He has power over all creation and controls nature.
1. God is holy/ pure seen from the nature of sacrifices and the purity of the people involved in sacrificing.
1. God is all-knowing /omniscient. He knows and sees everything e.g. Zulu of South Africa refer to him as the “wise one”.
1. God is everywhere/ omnipresent in the universe e.g. when a person is on a journey, members of the family ask God to be with the person.
1. God is immanent because he is not limited to space and time. He is both very far and very near.
1. God is transcendent. He is beyond human description/beyond human comprehension and cannot be limited.
1. God is self-existent. He exists on his own and existed before creation. He continues to exist.
1. God is a spirit. He has no physical form and is invisible.
God is everlasting/eternal. He is immortal and lives for ever.
God is good. He is not evil and did not create evil.

(b) African concept of spirits

They are invisible beings second in Seniority in the hierarchy of beings.
Some spirits are believed to have been created by God as spirits/ divinities.
Others are spirits of people who died long ago and are no longer remembered by theliving.
Spirits are subordinate to God and depend on him for survival.
God uses them to perform certain things such as causing floods and lightening.
They can be reborn among the living.

TYPES OF SPIRITS

Sky and Nature Spirits

They are of two types

(i)Spirits of the sky

They are associated with the sun, moon, stars, thunder and lightning.

(ii)Spirits of nature

Are associated with natural phenomena such as hills, mountains, rocks, forests, lakes, rivers, animals and insects.

They are believed to control the force of nature

Some may be manipulated by human being for good or evil purposes.

The human spirits

They are of two categories

(i)Ghost spirits

Belonging to those who died long ago and whose names cannot be remembered.

(ii)Ancestral spirits/ living dead

These are dead people whose identities are still alive in the memories of people

3. The divinities

Communities in Africa e.g. the Ashanti of Ghana believe in a category of spirits between God and the spirits.

They are believed to have been created by God.

4. The ancestors

They are founders of African clans and tribes.
They are people who died and whose names and identities are still remembered by their relative
As spirits, they are concerned with the people’s welfare and are close to them.
They speak the language of human beings when they appear to them in dreams or visions.
They participate in the activities of the living relatives.

THE AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING OF THE HIERACHY OF BEINGS

Hierarchy of beings

The Africans understand the universe to consist of two parts.

The visible/ earth.

(ii) The invisible/ sky which is regarded as the home of God.

The universe has a specific order of created beings, with God the creator occupying the highest rank.

This ordering is what is referred to as the hierarchy of beings.

It can be divided into seven categories as follows;

GOD (Supreme being responsible for the existence and sustenance of human beings and all other beings).
DIVINITIES (Are spirits created by God).
SPIRITS (Belonging to people who died a long time ago).
LIVING DEAD/ANCESTORS (Act as intermediaries between human beings who are alive and the spirit world).
HUMAN BEINGS(Include those who are physically alive and those yet to be born).
PLANTS & ANIMALS (They are used by human beings in their natural and religious life as food and sacrifice).
NON-LIVING THINGS (Natural and artificial beings e.g. rain, rivers, mountains, rocks and all other lifeless bodies).

Inter-relationship of all things, living and non-living

According to the African view of the universe, all created things depend on each other and God.
The universe is viewed in totality of existence.
It is also viewed in a religious context.

(i)Human Beings and God

Many African myths of creation point to the fact that human beings are dependent on God e.g.

They depend on God for the most essential requirements of life e.g. rain, air and sunshine.
Are less powerful than God.
Must obey God’s laws and commandments.
Failure to heed these regulations may lead to punishment. Those who obey prosper.
Must offer sacrifices to God to maintain a good relationship with him.
Natural calamities e.g. drought, famine, floods and earthquakes are believed to be controlled by God and are beyond people’s power.

(ii)Human Beings and animals

Africans believe God gave human beings animals for their use and should handle them responsibly.

The following are the uses of animals to human beings;

Domestic animals like cattle, sheep and goats are used for food.
Payment of dowry and settlement of disputes.
Possession of animals is seen as a sign of prestige and wealth.
Skins are used as clothes.
Used to make music instruments e.g. drums.
Used as sacrifices to God.
Used as payment of a fine from an offender to God/ancestors or the offended.
Used to predict weather patterns. Some of them are used to communicate the social standards expected of people e.g.

Hyena – Used to discourage cowardice and greed.

Hare – Used to discourage trickery.

Tortoise – Illustrates the importance of being slow but wise.

Snake – Not killed by some communities, it is believed to be immortal and that the ancestors may visit the living from it.

Some animals and birds are treated as totems by communities. Plants and animals are used as a symbol of a family.

(iii)Human beings and plants

Human beings depend on plants in various ways e.g.

Food.
Fuel.
Construction of buildings.
Medicinal purposes.
Totems.
Pasture.
Some trees are used as sacred places of worship.
Pasture for their animals.
Provision of shelter.

(iv) Human beings and non-living things

Non-living things e.g. rain, rocks, mountains, hills, rivers, moon and sun are given religious significance e.g. rain is a great blessing from God while thunder is seen as God’s movement or voice.
Rocks and mountains are viewed as God’s manifestation to humankind and also as dwelling places for the living dead and spirits. Such places are used for the worship of God and are treated as sacred.
Heavenly bodies help human beings to determine times and seasons.
Human beings depend on the sun for sunlight during the day and on the moon and stars for light at night.

THE ROLES OF GOD, SPIRITS AND ANCESTORS

a. Roles of God

Refers to the functions/roles of God which He plays in the world and peoples’ lives. They include;

God cares for his creation and can be invoked in times of need.
He is the giver and sustainer of life, provides necessities of life e.g. food, air, water and fire.
He protects human beings from evil, e.g. protects the weak and hears the cry of those unjustly treated.
He comforts the sorrowful e.g. heals the sick.
He is the guardian of moral and ethical order. He punishes those who do evil.
He controls the spirits that are more powerful than humans.
He gives order to the universe and controls it. His activity didn’t end with creation.
Gives power to the religious specialists e.g. medicine persons, kings, priests and prophets. He communicates with them through dreams, trances and visions.
He answers prayers.

B. The role of Spirits

Although spirits are invisible, they are believed to play an important role in the lives of the living. Generally people fear spirits; they are viewed as total strangers to the living. When they appear to humans, people feel disturbed. The roles of spirits include;

Some may be manipulated by human beings and cause harm to others e.g. with sickness and death.
Spirits can posses religious specialists e.g. medium and diviners and give them important information on how to handle people’s problems.
Spirits relay God’s response to human beings. In return human beings act according to the wishes of God through the spirits.
Bad spirits sometimes posses people.
Spirits guard sacred places.
They intercede for people before God.

B. Roles of ancestors

They are believed to appear to the living in various forms e.g. visions/dreams to enquire about the family affairs and to find out what is going on as they’re still part of the family.
May cause illnesses or mental disturbances.
Give instructions to the family as to what should be done in certain areas affecting it.
Rebuke and warn the living of the impending punishment to those who have failed to honour their obligation to them.
Request for something like animals to be slaughtered for them.
Interact with the living.
Act as mediators between the living and God.
Inflict punishments on offenders in society.
Bless the living members of the family.
Avert consequences of curses.
Protect human beings against evil.
Provide names to new born.
Preside over all religious ceremonies in the community.
Custodians of African traditional, moral culture and religious values.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LIVING TOWARDS GOD, SPIRITS AND ANCESTORS

GOD

Take care of God’s creation.
Obey God’s instructions.
Set aside specific places for worship of God.
Respect sacred places of worship.
Appreciate God’s blessing.
Make their request known to God.
Worship God.
Give their children names of God.
Had a duty to share God’s given resources with fellow human beings.

SPIRITS

Respect places like shrines which are associated with spiritual manifestation.
Appease the spirits by pouring libation to them.
Respect and honour the spirits.
Protect sacred places.
Consult spirits on spiritual matters.
Obey the will of the spirits.

ANCESTORS

Show respect to them.
Address them by their proper names and titles.
Pour libation to them.
Offer sacrifices to them and give them offerings to appease them.
Obey their commands and wishes.
Name their children after their ancestors.
Build shrines for them.
Pray to God through them.
Invite them to social functions.
Teach their children about their ancestors.
Consult them through diviners and medicine people.
Praise them through song.

TRADITIONAL AFRICAN WAYS OF WORSHIPPING GOD

Worship is the means through which human beings communicate with God.
Worship may be public or private, formal or informal, communal or individual and direct or indirect.

Places where worship is conducted in African traditional society

Under sacred trees e.g. Mugumo tree.
On hilltops and rocks.
In caves.
At riverbanks and on the shores.
In the sacred forests.
In graveyards
At crossroads.
In the homes of some religious specialists.

God is worshipped through the following ways;

Through sacrifices
Through offerings
Through singing and dancing
Through prayers.

Sacrifices
An animal is slaughtered in honour of God.
It involves the shedding of blood of human beings, animals or birds.
Sacrifices are carefully selected, since they are offered to the creator of the universe.
Animals offered have to be of one color e.g.
Black.
White.
Brown.
They are given back to God as a sign of appreciation of what God has provided for them.

Why sacrifices are made to God, spirits and ancestors

To appreciate God as the source of life.
To thank God for the blessings to the people.
To appease God for the wrongs done.
To petition God for help during difficult times.
To invite God to participate in family and community functions.
To maintain a good relationship
To avert evil e.g. drought, famine, floods or epidemics.

Occasions when sacrifices where offered

During rites of passage i.e.
Birth and naming.
Initiation.
Marriage.
Death.
During disasters.
After a good harvest.
During installation of leaders.
During cleansing ceremonies.
During reconciliation ceremonies.
Before going to war.

Note

Sacrifices are offered by heads of families, priests, medicine persons.
Prayers accompany sacrifices.
They are acts of humility before their creator.

Offerings
It is another way of worshipping God.
It involves the taking of foodstuffs e.g. milk, water or honey and giving them to God.
Offerings are carefully selected.

Singing and dancing in worship
Songs and dances are performed during communal worship.
They are used in praising and thanking God.
Songs and dances make the worshipers emotionally connected with God.
Songs and dances are accompanied by clapping of hands, drumming and playing musical instruments.
They also promote solidarity among the worshippers.

4. Prayers.

They are verbal communications with God.
Prayers are mostly short and to the point.
Prayers are offered during important religious occasions. They pray in different ways e.g.

Kneeling.
Standing.
Prostrating.
Bowing.
Facing certain directions.
Raising hands.

5. Invocations -Short formal prayers e.g. “Help me, O God!” or “O Great God”.

6. Blessings -Blessings by an elder constitute acts of prayer. It is believed that the person blessing is doing so on behalf of God.

7. Salutations -e.g. “Dear God”.

VENERATING AND COMMUNICATING WITH SPIRITS AND ANCESTORS

Veneration refers to the way in which respect and honour is accorded to the ancestors and spirits.

Ways in which traditional African communities demonstrated their respect to ancestors and spirits

Pouring libations.
Making sacrifices and giving offerings.
Naming children after them.
Praying to God through them.
Addressing them by their proper names and titles.
Inviting them to social functions e.g. birth, initiation, and marriage.
Teaching children about them.
Building shrines.

Communicating

Human beings communicate with spirits for a good or bad cause.
People communicate with the spirits through the religious specialists e.g. the diviners and mediums.
The religious specialists link human beings to the living world.
Mediums and diviners may become spirit possessed through;
Sitting quietly in a place.
Singing.
Dancing.
Clapping of hands.
Falling into a trance. The possessed person looses ones senses and becomes the spirit’s instrument.
The spirits speaks through the medium and reveals information on issues like findinglost property.mies in the society
The spirit may make certain demands on the living.
They may advice and give a warning on impending danger.
They may make promises of blessing to a given family or clan.

NB:It is the duty of the living to abide by what the spirits wants.

Spirits that possess mediums are not harmful.
Evil spirits cause harm to those they posses.
People communicate with spirits through the following ways;
- Through divination.
- Singing and dancing to them.
- Recitation/ chanting and invoking their names.
- By making sacrifices to them.
- By saying prayers.
- By giving offerings.
- By giving sacrifices.
- Through burning incense.

Revision questions

1. 1994 Q 47

State the responsibilities of the living to the ancestors.

2. 1994 Q 1c (pp 2)

Discuss how traditional African communities use the environment to demonstrate their belief in God.

3. 1997 Q 13

Identify five traditional African Practices which demonstrates people’s belief in God. (5marks)

4. 1999 Q 13

With reference to traditional African communities state five ways in which the African sought reconciliation with God (5 marks)

5. 2001 Q 15

State five beliefs about the nature of God in traditional African communities (5marks)

6. 2001 Q 16

State five ways through which human beings communicate with the spirit world in traditional African societies

7. 2003 Q 13

Write down five teachings about God from the traditional African myths of creation.

8. 2003 Q 14

Identify five occasions when sacrifices are made in Traditional African communities (5marks)

9. 2004 Q 14

State five roles of the ancestors in traditional African communities (5marks)

10. 2010 Q 6c

11. 2011 Q 6b,c

b) Explain six factors that have affected the traditional African people’s dependence on God. (6 marks)

c) Outline six similarities between the Christian and Traditional African ways of showing respect to God. (6 marks)

Answers

1994 Q1c

Using the land and its resource responsibility
Setting aside sacred place (e.g. mountains/ sacred trees/groves/forest/caves/and building of shrines) for the worship of God
Setting aside totems regarded as sacred (e.g. animals/birds/reptiles)
Praying while facing the sun/moon/or mountain/objects/which are regarded as the symbol of God’s presence
Using the soil during oathing/cursing ceremonies/and the blessing/and making of covenants
Protecting the because it was given to them by God
Sharing of the resources from land
Making libation/and the poring to the ground of blood during initiation/curing covenant making/sacrifices to appease God
Burning of sacrifices to God so that the smoke ascends to God
Offering the resources from land e.g. harvest/animal sacrifices as a sign of thanksgivings.)

1997 Q 13

Praying to God
Offering of sacrifices
Singing and dancing to God
Giving children the names of God
Building of shrines for God, e.g. mountains, caves, lakes, hills, forests
Pronouncing blessings and curses in the name of God
Taking oaths in the name of God/ making covenants in the name of God
Giving instructions on / /t the teaching attributes of God
Teaching of moral, taboos/ living virtues lives
Invoking the name of God in times of problems
Visiting holy scared places
Telling stories of creation/ origin of life and death to their descendants
Using proverbs and riddles to uncover the mysteries of nature/ creation
Caring for God’s creation/ sacred trees, animals and birds
Consulting priest/ seers, prophets about God’s will. (5 x 1 = 5 marks)

1999 Q 13

Through prayers
Through invoking the name of God
Pouring libations to the ancestors.
Offering sacrifices
Singing /dancing to God
Visiting the sacred places
Helping the less fortunate in the community
Giving offerings /gifts.
Reciting/chanting the names of the ancestors.
Approaching God through the mediators e.g. diviners
Cleansing wrongdoers/abstaining from various practices. (5 x1=5 marks).

2001 Q15

He is everywhere/omnipresent.
He is all powerful/omnipotent/Almighty/controller.
He is loving
He punishes evil/he’s just
He is all knowing/omniscient
He is the source of all things/the creator.
He is caring /provides/Generous/blessing
He’s impartial.
He’s transcendent/beyond/supreme/high above/as pint.
He’s immincint/Near/amount
He’s everlasting.

2001 Q 16

Through pouring/making libations
By offering sacrifices.
Through prayers.
Through the naming of children
Through the naming of children
Through divination of children
Through dreams/visions
By singing /dancing
By invoking/ chanting/calling/incantation/salutation
Giving offering 5 x 1=5 marks.

2003 Q 13

God’s is the creator/ giver of life
He is orderly
He is powerful/ mighty
He is a provider/ caring / loving
He is everywhere/omnipresent
He is eternal/ everlasting
He is all knowing/ omniscient
He is mysterious/ transcendent
He is a just Go (5 x 1 = 5 marks)

2003 Q15

during marriage
During initiation
During burial rites
At times of calamities
When settling disputes
Naming ceremonies
In sickness
Times of war
When a baby is born
When a taboo is broken
Installation of leaders (5 x 1 = 5 marks)

2004 Q 14

To protect/ care for the living / provide for their needs
Act as mediators link the living to the spiritual world God
They give instructions/ guide/ direct the living/ maintaining the law and order
They bless the living/ empowering the living
They warn about the impending danger/ calamity
They give identity to individuals/ community/ legacy
They punish the living
They participated into community ceremonies/ rituals
Welcomed the dead into the spiritual world

2010 Q 6c

They act as mediators/intercessors between the living and God.
- They monitor oversee what is happening in the community.
- They bring punishment to the wrong doers/blessings to the righteous
- They give instructions/directions on what should be done by members of the community.
- They rebuke/give a warning of the coming punishment for wrong doers.
- They give guidance on how rituals should be conducted.
- They are community values/traditions.
- Through the ancestors, the living have a sense of belonging/identify.
- They welcome the dead to the spiritual world.
They provide a reservoir of names. (7 x 1 = 7 marks)

2011 Q 6b, c

The introduction of western culture
Some people rely on witchcraft to solve their problems
Greed for power/ materialism without the fear of God
Some people rely on science and technology
Money economy where success now depends on how much money one earns
Abject poverty has made people loose hope/ faith in God
Negative peer pressure influences the members to rely on themselves other than God
Pressure of modern living/ makes people too busy to serve God.

In both members pray to God
In both they give offerings
In both members show respect to God by helping those in need
In both they use God’s name sparingly/ avoid mentioning God’s name carelessly
In both members use the God given resources/ environment carefully.
In both they build/ maintain / honour places of worship
In both members take care of religious leaders
In both members obey the laws / commands of God

Post Views: 101