1. AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY
INTRODUCTION

2. Lecture outline
 A. Introduction – why study African
Spirituality?
 B. Approaches to tradition
 C. Misconceptions about African
Spirituality
 D. African Spirituality – outline based
on Mbiti‟s reading
 E. Exam preparation for this section

3. A. Why study African
Spirituality/ies?
 1. Basis of African culture
 culture, religion and spirituality are
inter-related and are basis of African
culture
 2. still practiced today either
independently or with other
religions e.g. Christianity & Islam

4. Why study African Spirituality
cont..?
 3. Enter into dialogue with Christianity
◦ Inculturation
◦ Partner together in confronting issues in
our context

5. B. Three approaches to
Tradition
1. Return to tradition = Past
orientation that romanticizes and
mystifies culture –„return to past‟
2. Dismisses tradition as irrelevant
-
- „forget the past‟
3. Critical dialogue – search for
continuities and discontinuities
critically bridges past and present
„reinterpret past in light of present‟

6. First approach-Return to tradition
This view defines tradition
 “narrowly as an unchanging or static
corpus of representations, beliefs,
ideas, values, rules or customs that
are handed over by the ancestors of
the tribe to subsequent generations”
(Makang 1997:324)
 Uncritical (often selective) acceptance
of culture “its my culture”

7. First approach cont.
 „tradition‟ is used to designate a mode
of thought and a praxis proper to a
certain kind of society known as tribe
or clan, and is conceived in
opposition to modernity or progress‟
(:324)
 -does not take into account socio-
political context that have affected
African life such as colonialism,
apartheid

8. Weakness
- strips African people of their historicity
-reduces culture to dress, music, ritual
etc
-reduced culture to a fixed past that is
out of touch with realities of people
-fail to engage with economic and
political realities that continue to
deprive Africans of a life of dignity

9. 2nd Approach- tradition =
irrelevant
 Beliefs and practices of past are
irrelevant
 “a mythical and nostalgic universe
does not affect the ordering of things
in the present; it is therefore,
incapable of helping present
generations of Africans in their
striving for control over their own
destiny” (:327)

10. 2nd approach cont.
-ignores reality that persons exist in
cultural context that shapes values
and beliefs
-humans have social and historical
identity

11. 3rd Approach Critical dialogue
-middle ground
-acknowledges importance of
 past tradition, beliefs and spiritualities
 Colonial history
 Political and economic systems
 Westernization
As factors which have influenced
African life and spirituality

12. Way forward
Way forward as we study African
Spirituality
Apply African wisdom (two principles)
1. “Sankofa” is an Akan (Ghanaian
vernacular) word that means, “We
must go back and reclaim our past so
we can move forward; so we
understand why and how we came to
be who we are today”.

13. Sankofa - go back and
retrieve
Symbol of a mythical bird that flies forward
with its head turned backwards – means
that
-the past is guide for future
-wisdom of learning from the past for the
future
-critical application – discover value of
cultural practice before either rejecting or
uncritically accepting

14. 2nd principle -Bujo‟s principle
 Any cultural change or transformation
needs to
 -discover the deepest meaning behind
a practice i.e. Positive aspect
 -and offer a new alternative that will do
justice to the positive purpose of the
abandoned practices (1998:132)

15. C. Misconceptions about African
Spirituality
 Pagan – no consensus on meaning of word.
Historical usage Some believe that in the
early Roman Empire, "paganus" came to
mean "civilian" as opposed to "military."
Christians at the time often called themselves
"miles Christi" (Soldiers of Christ). The non-
Christians became "pagani" -- non-soldiers or
civilians. No denigration would be implied.
-By the fifth century CE, its meaning evolved
to include all non-Christians. Eventually, it
became an evil term that implied the
possibility of Satan worship. The latter two
meanings are still in widespread use today.
 http://www.religioustolerance.org/paganism1.
htm

16.  The Cambridge Advanced Learner's
Dictionary defines "pagan" as:
"belonging to a religion which
worships many gods, especially one
which existed before the main world
religions.“
 Pagan negative judgement term to
imply inferiority of a particular religion
to Christianity

17.  Heathenism – Offensive. One who adheres to
the religion of a people or nation that does not
acknowledge the God of Judaism, Christianity, or
Islam.
 Such persons considered as a group; the
unconverted
 Read more:
http://www.answers.com/topic/heathen#ixzz1Lvk
oCfmO
 Fetishism – worship of objects like charms etc -
Fetishism means the religion of the fetish. The
word was probably first applied to idols and
amulets made by hand and supposed to possess
magic power.

18.  Animism – belief that all objects/animals
have spirits
 The term animism is derived from the Latin
word anima meaning breath or soul. The
belief of animism is probably one of man's
oldest beliefs, with its origin most likely dating
to the Paleolithic age. From its earliest
beginnings it was a belief that a soul or spirit
existed in every object, even if it was
inanimate. In a future state this soul or spirit
would exist as part of an immaterial soul. The
spirit, therefore, was thought to be universal.

19.  Primitive and native –
backward, uncivilized
 adjective
 of or existing in the beginning or the
earliest times or ages; ancient; original
◦ characteristic or imitative of the earliest
ages
◦ crude, simple, rough, uncivilized, etc.

20. C. African Spirituality
 Definition of Spirituality
 All spirituality is particular. It takes
place in a particular context; in a
particular location (including its own
geography and climate), particular
historical setting (including its political
economic and social elements), and a
particular culture (including its
language, symbols, myths and
values)” (Perrin 2007:58)

21.  African spirituality:
 “Traditional [African] spirituality is the
fruit of African Religion. It is found in
all areas of this religious heritage”
(Mbiti 2006:4)
 “ it is a largely communal spirituality, a
mirror of past generations, a response
to the contemporary situation, and an
anticipation of subsequent
generations” (2006:4)

22. Context - Africa

23. Some facts
 2nd largest continent – 52 countries
 Over 700 million people and over 800
different languages
 Diverse landscape
 World‟s largest desert – Sahara
 World‟s longest river – Nile
 3 main religions African Traditional
Religions, Islam and Christianity

24. Map of world

25. Economic Map

26. Child Mortality

27. HIV & AIDS

28. Context = challenges
 Our studies on African spirituality are
done in this context
 To respond to challenges
 To critically appropriate positive
aspects and replace practices that do
not contribute to development and
community

29. How? Plan for course
 Define and describe aspects of African
Spirituality in general acknowledging that
there is great diversity
 Focus on African beliefs about health
and healing and compare these to
western bio-medical models and
Christian faith healing. Apply lessons in
the context of HIV & AIDS
 Conclude with discussions on
relationship between African Spirituality
and Christian faith

30.  Hand out course outline

31. MBITI - African Spirituality
- One of pioneers of scholarship on
African religion
- He defines the relationship between
African Spirituality and religion as
follows:
“Traditional Spirituality is the fruit of
African Religion” (:2006:4)
-

32.  Our key source is Mbiti‟s paper on
African Spirituality presented at St
Augustine 2006.
 His description of African Spirituality
based on study of prayers of African
people
 Latin phrase “lex orandi, lex credendi”
which can be translated “as we
pray, so we believe” or “praying
shapes believing.”

33. African religion -11
characteristics
 Brief overview of each one
 Particular emphasis on
 -God
 -Ancestors
 -Community
 -Ethics
 -ubuntu
 For exam preparation pay attention to
areas of emphasis

34. African Spirituality 4 aspects
 Spirituality of death
 Spirituality of the land
 Spirituality of life and health
 Spirituality of joy, peace and hope
 The result of spirituality is formulation
of a particular world view

35.  Worldview is “set of basic
assumptions that a group of people
develops in order to explain reality and
their place and purpose in the world.
These assumptions provide a frame of
reference to address problems in life.”
(Mkhize 2004:35)
 The impact of worldview will be clear
when we look at health issues in
contemporary society and in the
context of HIV & AIDS.

36. 1. Definition
(11 chracteristics)
African religion is
 “rooted in our languages, customs,
traditions, histories, cultures and
worldviews” (2006:4)
 Evolved over time based on
experiences & interaction with nature
 Communal in “origin, practice and self
propagation” (4)
 No founder

37. 2. Sources of African religion
 no scripture or written form
 Oral forms e.g. in history, myths,
proverbs, songs, prayers, customs
 rituals e.g. funeral, marriage, birth,
initiations
 symbols e.g. Sacred places, objects,
 Art music, artwork, dance,
celebrations, drama

38. examples
 Batammaliba of Togo and Benin
republic
 (hand out)
 Creation stories from different ethnic
groups
 Example of artwork from East Africa

39. 3. Monotheistic
 “belief in God is the central element and
force that holds African Religion
together” (5)
 In every language there is a name for
God
 Ghana – (Akan) Nyame
 Uganda – (Baganda) Katonda
 South Africa – (Zulu) Umveliqanga
(Ndlovu 2009)
 Bavenda – Mwari
 Sotho - Modimo

40. Descriptions of God
 Concepts of God –what God does: -
creator of all things – many names
that describe God as creator of all
things; potter, Originator, Fashioners
 God sustains universe and all of
creation; provides and rules
 Who God is –
powerful, kind, great, good
 Human images of God:
Parent, Father, Mother, Grandfather, F

41.  Images of bodily parts of God –
people say that God sees, hears,
smells, has ears, eyes or wings –
speaking metaphorically
 no physical representation of God
 God as distant – need for
intermediaries between humanity and
God e.g. Ancestors

42. Proverbs about God
 “God is never in a hurry, but is always
there at the right time” (Ethiopia)
 “God knows the things of tomorrow”
(Burundi)
 “God drives away flies from the back
of a tailless cow” (Nigeria)
 (Class discussion – proverbs about
God from students‟ cultures)

43. Praise song for God
Axe that fears no thistle,
Hoe that fears no soil
Ram of majestic sinews and majestic
carriage
Hero who never flees before the enemy
Big boundless hut
Victory over death!
Response: Protect us

44. Approaching God
 1. Prayer - God is approached through
(Mbiti 1991:61)
 Anyone can pray to God at any time and
place
 But there are people who pray or
intercede to individuals, families and
communities – priests, rain-
makers, chiefs, kings
 African traditional prayers include
praise, thanksgiving, celebration and
requests – prayers for health, protection
etc

45.  2. Sacrifices and offerings – blood is
shed in making sacrifices – human or
animal „ life is being given back to God
who is in fact the ultimate source of all
life –
 Kinds of situation that require
sacrifices –
droughts, epidemics, war, calamity, flo
ods, any danger

46.  3. Singing and dancing in worship –
beating drums playing musical
instruments – participation emotionally
and physically in worship (:67)

47.  4. Intermediaries
 Belief that intermediaries important in
approaching God – they are closer to
God e.g. Priests and ancestors
 People fear to come too close to God
 But do not worship intermediaries

48. Example
 Yoruba – Nigeria
 Supreme God is Oludumare
 Lesser gods – orisha each orisha has
own priesthood, temples, religious
community and special sections in
town (Ray 2000:28)
 For example goddess Oshum is
important for women seeking to
become pregnant and give birth safely

49. 4. Spiritual beings
 Spiritual realm populated by spiritual
beings
 Created and subject to God –
 Are everywhere – good and evil spirits
 Different categories of Spirits
 -lesser deities or gods e.g. Yoruba
religion Nigeria
 -nature spirits associated with nature e.g.
Mountains, rivers, animals and
sky, sun, etc
 -human spirits e.g. Ancestors, ghosts

50. People and Spirits
 people communicate with Spirits
through rituals, sacrifices, and prayers
 Continuous interaction between
spiritual and human/natural world
 Spirits impact lives of people for good
or bad

51. 5. Mystical power
 There is a vital force in universe or
mystical power that comes from God –
hidden/mysterious – available to spirits
and certain people –healers and
sorcerers/witches
 mystical power is neutral – can be used
for evil or good by spirits or people
 Evil usage – causing others
misfortune, illness
 Witchcraft, sorcery
 Good usage – reverse misfortune, illness
etc

52. Witchcraft-
 Dreaded element – cause of
misfortune/illness
 -embodiment of evil (
 Symbol of evil use of mystical power
 People seek protection through
prayer, charms, amulets etc
 Disrupts relations in families and
communities
 Witches/wizards – abathakathi (Zulu)

53.  Sorcerers use poison or natural
substances
 Both deliberately aimed at harming
people
 Role of diviners and traditional healers
– use mystical power for good to;
 -identify person responsible
 -prepare ritual to remove effects
 -restore broken relationship

54. Example
 Beliefs about how one becomes a
witch
 -Azande in DRC - inherited -
 - Yoruba, Nigeria - deliberately chosen
by individual before birth
 Examples of witchcraft
 -send animals e.g. Snake to harm
person
 -during the night their spirit leaves to
harm
 -change into an animal and harm

55. 6. Ethical and moral values
 “African communities believe that their future
depends on the ethical conduct of their
members. Education in ethical conduct that
promotes the good of the community plays a
decisive role here...[..] for example fairy tales and
legends that are told to children again and again
with especial emphasis on the vices and virtues
of the protagonists. The children internalize these
as lessons for daily dealing with their fellow
human beings. Proverbs are equally important.
These play a decisive role in communicating
ethical goods and correct behavior, and they
often supplement and correct one another by
means of contradictory assertions” (Bujo
2003:45)

56.  Hand out on proverbs and discussions
in pairs on importance of each proverb
for ethical behaviour
 See if there are contradictory proverbs
that correct each other

57. Ethical and moral values
cont..
 2. Initiation – important in education
of the young
 -learn history of their ancestors and
ethnic group as a whole
 -internalize values and traditions
 -attain „a new birth and become a new
person, in order to contribute a new
dynamism to the community and to
pass on to the next generation virtues
acquired through new birth”

58.  3. Communitarian ethics – individual as
part of community not separate – ethics
lived by individual for the benefit and
strengthening of relationships in
community
 “Ones actions can either contribute to
the growth in life of entire community or
loss or reduction of life”
 -two way relationship of ethical
responsibility – individual towards
community and community towards
individual

59. Community
 To be human is to belong to a
community
 To live according to traditions, values
and morals of community
 Community =
 Living dead – i.e. Ancestors
 Living (family and community)
 Yet-to-be-born

60. Quote
 “in the African way of looking at
things, it was not God, but the human
who was responsible for the
appearance of sin and evil. The moral
order is thus seen as a matter, not of
the relationship between human and
God, but of the relationships between
human beings themselves” (Bujo
1992:31)

61. 7. Celebration of life
 “African religion affirms and celebrates
life” (7)
 Life is understood as fullness of live in
all aspects – health, wellbeing,
harvest, family, community – holistic
and
 Harmonious relatioship
 “Bophelo” -- Sotho
 “Impilo” --Zulu

62.  events are celebrated –
birth, marriage, death, success etc
 Celebrations strengthen communities
and families
 -dance, music, eating and ritual
 -secret of fullness of life – following
traditions of ancestors

63. 8. Marriage as religious
duty
 Marriage is “religious or sacred duty”
for everyone. It is also for
 -transmission of life
 -continuity of family
 -transmission of cultural values
 -Children given identity and belonging
 -context for sexual expression
 -Building block of community

64. Preparation for marriage
 Initiation rites and rituals
 Transition from childhood to adulthood
 E.g. Circumcision “shedding of blood
from organs of reproduction
...profound religious act by means of
which the young people accept that
they have to become bearers of
children and their communities give
approval to that step” (Mbiti 1991:104)

65. Bride wealth
 “Lobolo” (Zulu) “bogadi” Sotho
 Not a commercial transaction – deeply
religious
 integrating families both living and
dead
 Ritual – involves animal sacrifice to
thank ancestors
 -receiving of couple in each others
families and communities

66. Different types of marriages
 Polygamy
 Levirate – brother marries wife of
deceased brother
 Ghost – deceased man who dies
without children a wife is found to give
birth to his children
 Sororate barren woman asks sister to
be co-wife – bear her children „

67. African wedding
 Watch a video clipping – will end class
with this

68. 9. Life after death
 Life does not cease at death
 death transforms person into spiritual
being –continuation of life
 Involved in lives of living
 Appear in dreams, divinations
 Sacrifices used to communicate
appease spirits of the dead

69. Ancestors- “badimo”
“amadlozi”
 Who are they?
 „Living dead‟ those who have died and
are part of spiritual realm.
 Are spirits but not all spirits are
ancestors
 Only those who lived high moral
standards, promoted harmony in
family and community become
ancestors when they die

70. Ancestors cont...
 Relationship with the living
 Interdependence
 -the ancestors need the living to
perform rituals on their behaviour as it
elevates their status and brings them
closer to God so they can negotiate
with God on behalf of descendents –
important for family unity and
prosperity.

71. Ancestors cont...
 Living need to follow moral example of
ancestor and offer sacrifices
 Ancestors can withdraw blessings
when the living turn away from morals
or fail to carry out sacrifices

72. Communicating with
Ancestors
 Families communicate with ancestors
through sacrifice – to give thanks or
ask for help
 Sacrifice slaughtering animal let its
blood flow into ground
 Examples of sacrifices (Basotho)
 At funeral – pheletietso
 Marriage – tlhabiso
 Birth of child- kananelo

73. Ancestors
 At numerous feasts mekete ea balimo
 Ancestors communicate through
 -calamities – indicating something is
wrong
 -visions, dreams, divination
 Ancestors are part of the family, involved
directly in lives of members for good or
evil
 Important to maintain good relations with
them

74. Example – funeral rites
 Among Behema in DRC
 “during the funeral rites, the sons, as
heirs, all „receive communion‟ from the
hand of their dead father. Grains of millet
are placed in the hands of the corpse,
and each son licks them off four times,
four being the masculine number. The
significance...the dead man‟s children
receive his strength, and they must not
be unduly depressed by their loss” (Bujo
1992:24)

75.  “The father who becomes an ancestor
blesses his descendents with
everything needed for a full life:
peace, gentleness, fruitfulness, health,
steadfastness” (25)

76. 10. Relationship with other
religions
 New religions in Africa
 -Christianity
 Islam
 Judaism
 African religion has impacted all and is
impacted by all
 (will discuss African religion and
Christianity in separate lecture)

77. 11. Resilience of African
Religion
 African religion persists.
 African Christianity is rooted in African
religion and spirituality

78. FOUR SPIRITUALITIES
 Spirituality of death – affirmation of
death
 Spirituality of land
 Spirituality of health and life
 Spirituality of joy, peace and hope

79. SPIRITUALITY OF DEATH
 explains origin of death – stories (9-
10)
 “this spirituality is directed at; keeping
death at bay, facing death, dealing
with death, accepting death as
inevitable, and looking beyond death.
The struggle with death goes on
everywhere and it is primarily a
spiritual struggle.” (11)
 Prayers offered at every stage of

80. Lessons from prayers
 “God is central, death is inevitable and
devastating”
 Communication goes on beyond death
as seen in ancestors
 Legends and myths explaining origin
of death
 Read page 9 Mbiti

81. Spirituality of the Land
 Land spiritual inheritance given by
God
 Rituals performed before working,
planting
 Prayers said by community
 Harvest time – celebration,
thanksgiving to God who “gives rain
harvest health and peace”

82. Relationship with land
 “Earth is the mother of all” (17) land
feeds everyone
 “The earth opens its mouth for all.” the
land buries all.
 Land is sacred – provides life and
death

83. Spirituality of Life and Health
 “Sickness is a daily experience in
African life..there are prayers for
healing and help in times of sickness”
addressed to God and ancestors
 Discuss further on section on health
and healing

84. Spirituality of Joy, Peace and
Hope
 “Africa has every reason to be or to
look gloomy, miserable, unsmiling and
even weeping” (21)
 Political, economic and social context
 African spirituality transcends these
experiences and it a spirituality of joy
 Music – drum vibrates inside urging
people to dance, celebrate

85. Exam preparation
 Focus on these topics - Remember to
include indigenous terms (extra
marks for inclusion)
 -Ancestors
 -Monotheism and Spirits
 -Marriage
 -Ethical and Moral values (include
community)
 Celebration of life (include land) and
 Mystical power (include witchcraft,
sorcery, role of diviners)

86. Bibliography
 Bujo, B. 1992. African Theology in its social context. Trans.
By John O‟Donohue, M. Afri. Revised Edition. Nairobi:Pauline
Publications
 Lugira, Aloysius M. 2004. African Religion. World Religions.
Revised Edition. New York: Facts on File
 Magesa, Laurenti 1997 African Religion: The Moral Traditions
of Abundant Life. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis books
 Mbiti, John S. 1991 Introduction to African Religion 2nd Edition
Heinemann Publishers: Johannesburg
 Perrin, David B. 2007. Studying Christian Spirituality. New
York: Routeledge
 Ray, Benjamin C. 2000. African Religions. Symbol, Ritual and
Community. Second Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

87.  Molebatsi, Xolile et al. 2009 “Xhosa funeral
rites” in Class discussions on African
Spirituality. Johannesburg: St Augustine
College
 Maluleke, Mlamani. 2009. “Tsonga funeral
rites” in Class discussions on African
Spirituality. Johannesburg: St Augustine
College
 Ndlovu, Lindiwe. 2009. “Zulu names for God”
in Class discussions on African Spirituality.
Johannesburg: St Augustine College
 Nishimwe, Clementine. 2009. “Rwanda
funeral rites” in Class discussions on African
Spirituality. Johannesburg: St Augustine