CHARACTERISTICS COMMON TO TRADITIONAL AFRICAN RELIGIONS

Introduction

Traditional African religions (TAR) refer to all the indigenous religions and beliefs present in sub-Saharan Africa. They are distinct from Abrahamic religions and take a variety of forms depending on the people and ethnic group, although they share common roots. This study aims to explore these common features. Given the depth of the subject, we will examine three essential aspects: the conception of God, cosmogony and religion as culture.

The conception of God

African rites, especially those practised on a large scale, often mask a monotheistic reality behind polytheistic appearances. It is now widely accepted that traditional religions attest to the existence of a Supreme God who is unique, invisible, uncreated, has no beginning and no end, cannot be represented by any image, is the creator of all things and is characterised primarily by his goodness. For example, among the Lega of the DRC, three different names for God are commonly cited (Kinkunga: the author of the world; Kalaga: the great promise; and Samiganza: the active force), but these designations refer to a single Supreme Being. 

Although ancestors and other spirits are also invoked, they do not play the same role as God. The monotheism of the RTAs is experienced in a variety of ways and is expressed through forms inspired by social organisation and the environment. Each person conceives their religious practice as a function of their living environment. For pastoral peoples such as the Fulani and Tutsi, the fertility of domestic animals is the main symbol of life, and their religious expression derives from this. By contrast, in great civilisations such as Benin and Mossi, the emphasis is on the empire’s founding heroes and royal ancestors.

Cosmogony

African cosmogony unanimously presents the universe in three parts: the world of the living at the centre, the sky where God resides and the underworld where the ancestors and spirits reside. Contrary to the Aristotelian conception, the RTA do not consider man to be composed of a soul and a body, but rather to be composed of multiple principles.

According to RTA, it is man’s duty to maintain the balance of the cosmos. When this balance is upset, the population suffers consequences such as lack of rain and game. Respecting cults and traditions helps to maintain this cosmological balance.

 

Religion as culture

As Opoku points out, the RTAs represent our ancestors’ attempt to explain the universe and man’s place in it in their own way. In this way, African belief and African culture are inseparable. RTAs reflect the thinking, beliefs and values of the African people; in short, African religion is the very life of Africans.

RTAs are expressed in everyday life through a set of symbols, gestures, objects, rites, ceremonies and myths, as well as through language, music, dances and even modes of dress. They represent a structure deeply rooted in existence and form the basis of everything.

Conclusion

It is undeniable that talking about RTAs today does not mean locking Africans into an archaic past or rejecting evolution. As Gérard BUKASA points out, African religion does not exist anywhere in concrete terms, but it is omnipresent, whether in people’s consciousness, in spiritual or empirical practices, in representations, in rural or urban areas. It represents a characteristic African heritage and a system of thought that unites Africans in their daily lives.

 

Rodrick Kapwa Ilunga

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