Over the years, African traditional institutions have thrived on
religion. Religion serves as the structure around which all other
activities, such as cultural, economic, political and social
organizations are built.
In order to understand the people of Africa
fully, an in-depth study of the religious beliefs of its people must be
carried out. To the people of Africa, religion is literally life and
life is religion.
Although there are some similarities in the religions
of most African communities because they all believe in God as the
supreme being, the existence of man, the universe, life and life after
death, the power of deities, the idea of sacrifice, rights of passage
from childhood to adulthood and ancestral ties; there are, however,
numerous differences in their beliefs and religious activities since
most are tribal or clan based.
Therefore, there is no single African
traditional religion that can be seen as a generalized representation of
the religious and cultural beliefs of the people of Africa. Africans
recognize eternity, omniscience, omnipresence, holiness, justice, mercy,
faithfulness and transcendence of God although perceptions of God’s
attributes vary from one place to another.
Another important aspect of African traditional religion is the presence
of spirits. In the African world, spirits are everywhere--in persons,
trees, rivers, animals, rocks, mountains, and even in automobiles and
other personal effects.
The presence of these spirits in the African
society offers a serious challenge to the behavior patterns of the
people on the continent and elsewhere because traditional religious
practices permeate every aspect of life on the continent. These spirits
in many ways act as moral entrepreneurs of the African society.
They
abhor crimes like adultery, stealing, cheating, and suicide. These
spirits communicate their wishes, demands and prescriptions to the
larger society through the traditional priests.
These traditional
priests are able to satisfy their clients through the performance of
rituals. On the African continent, every major event has its own ritual,
a ritual that may never be overlooked for any reason.
The rituals are
often performed through a dance, music, libation or art. In the presence
of other religious practices on the continent, these rituals have
survived in one form or another.
The practice of medicine and magic is also important in most African
societies. They engage in fetishism, in which they believe that certain
objects, mostly man-made, have supernatural powers in them. Magic or
sorcery refers to the influencing of events and physical phenomena by
supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means.
They are complexes of
beliefs and practices that believers can resort to in order to wield
this supernatural influence, and are similar to cultural complexes that
seek to explain various events and phenomena by supernatural means.
The
roles of certain religious functionaries is also important. They have
native doctors/physicians, diviners, witch doctors, and traditional
birth attendants. All these people have important roles to play in the
traditional African society.
The beliefs and practices of African traditional religion and society
are based upon the faith of the ancient indigenous people who are
referred to as ancestors.
This is why it is qualified as traditional,
traditional comes from the Latin verb "tradere" which means to hand down
doctrines, customs etc., from generation to generation. The belief in
ancestors is an important element of African traditional religions.
The
belief occupies an important place in the understanding of the role of
the traditional religion in inculcating the ideals of culture and
religion among African peoples.
The ancestors are believed to be
disembodied spirits of people who lived upright lives here on earth,
died 'good' and natural deaths, that is at a ripe old age, and received
the acknowledged funerary rites. They could be men or women.
This means
that not all who die become ancestors, but there are conditions which
must be fulfilled while the person is alive.
Traditional Africans hold the ancestors as the closest link between the
physical and spirit worlds.
"The living-dead are bilingual; they speak
the language of men, with whom they lived until 'recently', and they
speak the language of the spirits and of God .
They are the spirits with
which African peoples are most concerned: it is through the living-dead
that the spirit world becomes personal to men. They are still part of
their human families, and people have personal memories of them".
Africans believe that the ancestors are essentially benevolent spirits.
They return to their human families from time to time and share meals
with them, however, symbolically.
They know and have interest in what is
going on in their families. These ancestors are seen as guardians to
the family often reincarnating through new born babies.
So it is suffice
to say that for the most part, African traditional religion depends
very much on the spirit world.
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Sunday, 6 July 2014
African Traditional Religions
Since the time of Pliny the elder, who is reputed to have first used
it, the term “Africa” has been a bone of contention because it means
different things to different people — for many people Africa is
essentially a racial group;
For some, Africa is a geo-political entity carved up in the last century at the Berlin conference of 1884-85;
For others, Africa is a linguistic- cultural entity that describes the life of the African peoples that belong to these communities: the Niger-Congo, the Nilo-Sahara, the Afro-Asiatic and the Khoisan linguistic groups.
Generally, today, we are conditioned to view Africa as a conglomeration of different ethnic groups bound together by the colonial divisions of Africa which still persist today in independent Africa.
The Concept of African Religion
Related to this geo-political and cultural view of Africa is the 19th-century classification based on the so-called evolutionary theory of culture and religion.
This classification of religions based on belief systems puts African religion and culture on the lowest level of the evolutionary ladder, because, it was believed, African primitive culture can only produce the most elementary and primitive belief systems.
Until recently, this treatment of African religions in the Western intellectual tradition has made it impossible for African traditional religion to speak for itself except in terms of 19th-century evolutionism or the Western anthropological theories of primitive religions and cultures.
From History to Culture
Today the liberation from the classifications of the last century has given an intellectual autonomy to African religion and culture.
They can now be understood as self-contained systems that are internally coherent without reference to any grand theories. This has allowed us to face up to the plurality of religions and cultures.
Therefore in any discourse about African religion we must start from the perspective of the worshipers and devotees of African traditional religion.
African Religion From Within
A study of the beliefs and practices of the African peoples leads to the theological observation that African traditional religion is a religion of salvation and wholeness.
A careful analysis shows an emphasis on this-worldly salvation and wholeness as the “raison d’etre” of African traditional religion.
Because Africans believe that life is a complex web of relationships that may either enhance and preserve life or diminish and destroy it, the goal of religion is to maintain those relationships that protect and preserve life.
For it is the harmony and stability provided by these relationships, both spiritual and material, that create the conditions for well-being and wholeness.
The threat to life both physical and spiritual is the premise of the quest for salvation. The threat is so near and real because, for the African, life is a continuum of power points that are transformed into being and life is constantly under threat from evil forces.
This logic of the relationality of being and cosmic life gives rise to the view that all reality is inter-related like a family. This same relational metaphysics is what under girds the life of the individual in community.
Individual in Community
J. S. Mbiti captures this relational metaphysics succinctly in the dictum: “I am because we are and because we are therefore I am.”
The life of the individual comes into fruition through the social ritual of rites of passage. These rites are the process that can help the individual to attain to the goals of his or her destiny, given at birth by God.
Those who successfully go through the rites of passage become candidates for ancestorhood — the goal of the ideal life. For the African, ancestors are much more than dead parents of the living. They are the embodiment of what it means to live the full life that is contained in one’s destiny.
God, Creation and Cosmic Life
God in Africa is a relational being who is known through various levels of relationship with creation. In relation to humanity, God is the great ancestor of the human race.
Therefore, all over Africa God is portrayed more in terms of parent than as sovereign. In relation to the earth, God is a husband who stands behind the creative fecundity of the earth that sustains human life. God in relation to creation is the creator from whom life flows and is sustained. In relation to the divinities, God is their father who requires them to care for the cosmic processes.
Unity and Diversity
The various elements of African religion that make what I call the transcendental structure of African religion are expressed differently by the various African peoples on the basis of their social organization and environment.
A Definition
One can describe African religion as a this-worldly religion of salvation that promises well-being and wholeness here and now.
It is a religion that affirms life and celebrates life in its fullness; this accounts for the lively and celebrative mood that characterizes African worship in all its manifestations.
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For some, Africa is a geo-political entity carved up in the last century at the Berlin conference of 1884-85;
For others, Africa is a linguistic- cultural entity that describes the life of the African peoples that belong to these communities: the Niger-Congo, the Nilo-Sahara, the Afro-Asiatic and the Khoisan linguistic groups.
Generally, today, we are conditioned to view Africa as a conglomeration of different ethnic groups bound together by the colonial divisions of Africa which still persist today in independent Africa.
The Concept of African Religion
Related to this geo-political and cultural view of Africa is the 19th-century classification based on the so-called evolutionary theory of culture and religion.
This classification of religions based on belief systems puts African religion and culture on the lowest level of the evolutionary ladder, because, it was believed, African primitive culture can only produce the most elementary and primitive belief systems.
Until recently, this treatment of African religions in the Western intellectual tradition has made it impossible for African traditional religion to speak for itself except in terms of 19th-century evolutionism or the Western anthropological theories of primitive religions and cultures.
From History to Culture
Today the liberation from the classifications of the last century has given an intellectual autonomy to African religion and culture.
They can now be understood as self-contained systems that are internally coherent without reference to any grand theories. This has allowed us to face up to the plurality of religions and cultures.
Therefore in any discourse about African religion we must start from the perspective of the worshipers and devotees of African traditional religion.
African Religion From Within
A study of the beliefs and practices of the African peoples leads to the theological observation that African traditional religion is a religion of salvation and wholeness.
A careful analysis shows an emphasis on this-worldly salvation and wholeness as the “raison d’etre” of African traditional religion.
Because Africans believe that life is a complex web of relationships that may either enhance and preserve life or diminish and destroy it, the goal of religion is to maintain those relationships that protect and preserve life.
For it is the harmony and stability provided by these relationships, both spiritual and material, that create the conditions for well-being and wholeness.
The threat to life both physical and spiritual is the premise of the quest for salvation. The threat is so near and real because, for the African, life is a continuum of power points that are transformed into being and life is constantly under threat from evil forces.
This logic of the relationality of being and cosmic life gives rise to the view that all reality is inter-related like a family. This same relational metaphysics is what under girds the life of the individual in community.
Individual in Community
J. S. Mbiti captures this relational metaphysics succinctly in the dictum: “I am because we are and because we are therefore I am.”
The life of the individual comes into fruition through the social ritual of rites of passage. These rites are the process that can help the individual to attain to the goals of his or her destiny, given at birth by God.
Those who successfully go through the rites of passage become candidates for ancestorhood — the goal of the ideal life. For the African, ancestors are much more than dead parents of the living. They are the embodiment of what it means to live the full life that is contained in one’s destiny.
God, Creation and Cosmic Life
God in Africa is a relational being who is known through various levels of relationship with creation. In relation to humanity, God is the great ancestor of the human race.
Therefore, all over Africa God is portrayed more in terms of parent than as sovereign. In relation to the earth, God is a husband who stands behind the creative fecundity of the earth that sustains human life. God in relation to creation is the creator from whom life flows and is sustained. In relation to the divinities, God is their father who requires them to care for the cosmic processes.
Unity and Diversity
The various elements of African religion that make what I call the transcendental structure of African religion are expressed differently by the various African peoples on the basis of their social organization and environment.
A Definition
One can describe African religion as a this-worldly religion of salvation that promises well-being and wholeness here and now.
It is a religion that affirms life and celebrates life in its fullness; this accounts for the lively and celebrative mood that characterizes African worship in all its manifestations.
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Life after death
African Traditional Religion (ATR) is a set of beliefs that continue to be relevant to people in Africa. Magesa
(1997, p.17) claims that “African religious perspectives persist
despite the odds against them, and they serve a positive purpose”. Those
beliefs find their concrete manifestation in a variety of practices
that are to be found among various tribes.
In order to appreciate the value of African culture, one has to be aware that “religion and religious beliefs and their effects on the African community are the key to understanding the African world and ideology” (Onwubiko, 1991, p.3). It could be argued that some of those beliefs are of predominant importance. Without those main beliefs, ATR would not present itself as a comprehensive set of rules to be followed. Other beliefs could be considered of lesser importance and would not constitute the core of the phenomenon called ‘African Traditional Religion’.
The researcher believes that the notion of life after death is an important tenant of ATR.
Justification
The researcher decided to focus in a general way on the concept of life after death in ATR. He thought that such an exploration would help him to get a better understanding of afterlife as well as a partial understanding of other concepts directly connected with it such as e.g. God, ancestors and life.
The main purpose of this work is to get a better understanding of the notion of life after death in ATR as understood by the interviewees and to compare that understanding with the available literature and the course content.
Methodology
Keeping in mind the scope and the nature of this work, the researcher decided upon choosing a qualitative approach as the most appropriate. Such a procedure would enable him to present collected data in a more comprehensive way.
Methods of collecting data
Having had some previous knowledge about the research topic alongside with experience of conducting research for other courses related to his studies in MIASMU, the researcher started planning his work from the point of view of data he wanted to gather.
It was his belief that semi-structured interviews would be the most appropriate method of collecting data giving him also an opportunity to interact with the interviewees. The main tool used during the interviews was a questionnaire created by the researcher for the purpose of gathering data about the topic. The questionnaire consisted of a series of detailed questions which were presented to the interviewees. During the interviews other questions were asked that were directly related to the topic or to other matters associated with ATR.
During each interview, after having asked and received an explicit consent to do so, the notes were taken by the researcher and his field assistant. Those notes were later compared and some conclusions were drawn so as to get a better understanding of what was meant by life after death in ATR.
The content analysis was used to interpret collected data. Within such an approach to data “the task of the researcher is to come up with a set of categories and then to proceed to count the number of instances that fall into each of those categories” (Dominik, 2007, p. 53). Since “all analysis is the search for patterns in data” (Russell, 1994, p. 360), the researcher believed that content analysis combined with some elements of descriptive statistics would be the most suitable to interpret data.
Ethical issues
All respondents were informed about the purpose of the interviews and that the information collected would be used to write a paper. All were informed that they would not be personally identified. All the interviewees allowed for the notes to be taken.
The limitations of the research
The researcher decided upon a general approach to the topic rather than choosing a particular group of people/tribe. As a result, he got a number of data, some of them emphasizing different aspects, e.g. about the place where the dead resided. At the same time, this limitation, however, reflects the complexity of the beliefs surrounding death and what follows after it.
Another limitation that affected this presentation had to do with many possible ways in which this topic could be elaborated. The researcher decided to confine himself to a general approach that reflects, to a certain extent, the richness of beliefs surrounding death and afterlife among various tribes in Africa.
Field research findings
All interviewees believe that ATR exists. Its most important elements are: belief in God (cf. App. #, no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9), belief in ancestors (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6, 8, 9, 10), belief in life after death (cf. App. #, no. 3, 6, 10), value of life (cf. App. #, no. 5) and a pervasive feeling that things will be all right (cf. App. #, no. 2).
All interviewees also acknowledged that ATR is relevant to the lives of people. One person described it as “extremely, extremely, absolutely relevant” (cf. App. #, no. 10). Some people who follow ATR (cf. App. #, no. 7) practice it in villages (cf. App. #, no. 3), in special places like shrines (cf. App. #, no. 3) and continue to offer sacrifices (cf. App. #, no. 3, 5, 9). Beliefs related to ATR find their expression during naming ceremonies (cf. App. #, no. 8, 9), marriage ceremonies (cf. App. #, no. 5), during sickness, when people look for its explanation (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6) burials and rituals around death (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 8, 9). People who are Christians would go back to ATR, especially during those three moments of marriage, sickness and death. Veneration of ancestors is a particular expression of the beliefs concerning the future of those who died (cf. App. #, no. 7).
Life was seen as a gift of God (cf. App. #, no. 6, 9). It was a part of a plan of God (cf. App. #, no. 1, 5) who gave people an opportunity to live their lives fully (cf. App. #, no. 2) and to share it with others through the means of procreation (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10).
People learnt about life after death through a variety of means. People acquired information about it during various religious ceremonies such as naming (cf. App. #, no. 4), sacrifices (cf. App. #, no. 7, 10) and burials (cf. App. #, no. 2, 4). Some special people in the community, such as prophets were believed to have learnt about it from God and transmitted that knowledge to the living (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 5). Diviners (cf. App. #, no. 3, 6) and elders (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6, 10) conveyed that consciousness to others. The power and activity of witches was seen as a proof o the existence of something beyond this world (cf. App. #, no. 3). Some people learnt about it through dreams and trance (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6, 8). It was disclosed through the stories (cf. App. #, no. 4, 7). Those preparing for some special functions in the society, such as priests were taught about it during their training (cf. App. #, no. 7). When calamities and unexplained reoccurring death were present in the community, such events were understood in terms of ancestors not being happy and punishing the community (cf. App. #, no. 8).
Life did not end with a moment of physical death (cf. App. #, no. 2, 6, 7, 8, 9) but continued (cf. App. #, no. 3, 8, 10). Some interviewees saw it as a movement to a different stage (cf. App. #, no. 4, 7), to the place of the forefathers (cf. App. #, no. 5). One person claimed that death comes because God intends it (cf. App. #, no. 5).
Life after death was a continuation of the present life, but it was not as if it was the same. One person saw life after death as a continuation of the life on earth but in a better state (cf. App. #, no. 3) or in a different form, a spiritual one (cf. App. #, no. 4, 10). Another person pointed out that it was not correct to talk about life after death because it suggested some kind of rupture. According to him, “there is really no life after death, because it continues. It is a continuation of life in the world of the spirits” (cf. App. #, no. 10).
One interviewee stressed that a person, after having lived a good life, was to become an ancestor. Becoming an ancestor should be seen as a normal step following death. An ancestor would intercede for the living and protect them. In that context it meant that it is in ancestorship one could find the continuation of life. However, life after death could not necessarily be seen as a continuation in case of a bad person. When a bad person died, he would not be named after and the cycle of life would be interrupted because he would not be reincarnated. In that case, life after death could be seen as an interruption (cf. App. #, no. 7).
Those who were interviewed saw soul/spirit as the element that continued to live after the moment of physical death (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Those who died would retain their individual characteristics (cf. App. #, no. 5) and would continue to live in the minds of the living (cf. App. #, no. 2).
Death could be characterized by its inevitability – it “must happen” (cf. App. #, no. 2, 3). The quality of life after death was determined by the life on earth – if one was a good person in this life, he would enjoy a good status after death (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10). People would move into a “village of ancestors” (cf. App. #, no. 6, 7). God would not be a part of that village but would live above it (cf. App. #, no. 7). One person claimed that the spirit would remain around his grave and that the ancestors would meet God (cf. App. #, no. 8). For another person, there was no other world as such. The world of the spirits was in this world because people seeing, e.g. a tree would see it as closely associated with a particular spirit/spirits (cf. App. #, no. 9, 10).
After death there would be no death, no hunger, no cry and no work (cf. App. #, no. 3, 5, 9). The hereafter would be a place of peace and joy (cf. App. #, no. 3, 5, 6, 9). The dead would be able to interact with the living (cf. App. #, no. 4). Some claimed that people after death would act in the similar way they used to do it on earth and that they would have similar needs, though in a more spiritual sense (cf. App. #, no. 4, 8). Those who led a good life on earth would become ancestors and would help the living. They would be named after and the libations would be poured for them (cf. App. #, no. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). If they were unhappy with the behavior of the living, they could punish them (cf. App. #, no. 8, 10). Bad people would be forgotten and feared since even after death they could try to harm the living. One claimed that the quality of life of the ancestors depends upon the life of the people on earth: if the behavior of the living was morally wrong, it would make the ancestors upset, if people behaved according to moral rules of the community, it would make the ancestors happy. The ‘emotional state’ of ancestors would depend upon the behavior of the living (cf. App. #, no. 9, 10).
The belief in afterlife was influencing the life of people on earth. First of all, it reminded them about the role of God as the Provider (cf. App. #, no. 1). People believed that living a good life on earth was a means to receive God’s blessing already here on earth and then in the afterlife (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 7). People then tried to live good lives because it had many advantages, temporary and eternal ones (cf. App. #, no. 1, 4, 9). Doing good things on earth seemed to be the best way to remain in the memory of people after one’s death (cf. App. #, no. 2).
Believing in afterlife was helping to maintain social order in the community because it was motivating people to follow its laws. One tried to be a good person and to go through all the rites of passage in order to achieve the status of ancestor in afterlife. Following the rules of a community was mandatory in order to be of help to the community after death and to achieve the best status after death – to be an ancestor (cf. App. #, no. 9).
In ATR people believed that life was cyclic. A person could be reincarnated in a child through the process of naming and in such a way he continued to exist (cf. App. #, no. 6, 8, 9). Hence, to be named after was very important. The living wanted to make sure that after their death, their family members would like their children to be named after them. The only way to ensure it was to live an exemplary life (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 6). If one was a bad person here on earth, after his death, the living did not want to name their child after him since the child was believed that, through the naming process, would inherit some qualities of the deceased person. A bad person was seen as a cursed person (cf. App. #, no. 8, 9).
Literature review
Defining ATR
ATR is a complex phenomenon that is intrinsically connected with African culture and in which it finds its expressions (Lugira, 1999, p. 12, Gehman, 1989, p. 50). Byaruhanga-Akiiki (p. 3-4) defines it from a perspective of life. He says that “Religion in Africa means Life –the reality that is lived in a cobweb of relationships… The major actors or actresses involved in those relationships include the Master Creator,… human beings, living and dead, all plants, animals, birds, molecules, atoms, particles and whatever the Creator created that is visible and invisible”.
Mbiti (1975, p. 113) talks about religion as constituted of five parts: 1. beliefs, 2. practices, ceremonies and festivals, 3. religious objects and places, 4. values and morals and 5. religious officials and leaders.
In ATR, God, is perceived as the Supreme Being, Creator, Sustainer of his creation, Provider, and the one who rules over the universe (Mbiti, 1975, pp 49-52, Lugira, 1999, pp. 37-41). God knows everything, is almighty, holy, kind and unique (Gehman, 1989, pp. 189-191). Ancestors and other spirits play an important role in ATR (Magesa, 1997, p. 41, Mbiti, 1975, pp. 70-81).
Within ATR and its worldview, man is “the centre of the universe” (Gehman, 1989, p. 36). One of his most important responsibilities is to maintain harmony between the visible (material) world and the invisible one (God, ancestors and other spirits). Fulfilling that responsibility is a sign of moral character and ensures the harmony between all elements of the universe (Magesa, 1997, p. 73). Mbiti (quoted in Gehman, 1989, p. 50) says that:
“African philosophy is basically anthropocentric: man is at the very centre of existence and African people see everything in its relation to this central position of man. God is the explanation of man’s origin and sustenance; it is as if God exists for the sake of man. The spirits are ontologically in the mode between God and man; they describe or explain the destiny of man after physical life…”
The relevance of ATR
A number of people in Africa are followers of African Traditional Religion. The number of adherents of ATR is estimated by some around 100 million followers, including those living in Africa and outside (http://www.adherents.com). Others would estimate them as more numerous (http://www.africamission-mafr.org). Some claim that in some countries, such as Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, the number of followers of ATR is above 50% of the total population (http://www.africamission-mafr.org). However, other statistics indicate far lower number of followers of ATR in those countries (http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/Statistics.htm).
Even though it is difficult to provide an exact number of the followers of ATR, Magesa (1997, p. 17) claims that “the moral perspectives of African Religion are essentially alive throughout the continent”. For many others who have converted to Christianity or Islam, ATR continues to exercise its influence. Others agree with his point of view (Hackett, 1991, p. 135, Gehman, 1989, p. 19, Lugira, 1999, p. 113). Magesa notices that religious practices and believes are present also among Christians who seem to profess a form of syncretism between official Christianity and main tenants of ATR (1999, p. 19). That view is similar to the one expressed by Cardinal Arinze who said that “ATR is the religious and cultural context from which most Christians in Africa come, and in which many of them still live to a great extent”(http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/vatican.html). Taylor asserts that “different aspects of ATR and of the way of looking at things which persists as an inarticulate philosophy in many Africans long after the old religion itself has been discarded” (2001, p. 9).
Hackett (1991, pp. 135-145) talks about some revitalization of ATR in a process of universalization, modernization, politicization, commercialization and individualization. A number of beliefs of ATR is included into some practices of some African Independent Churches, e.g the Aquarian Church of the Angers in Nigeria (Hackett, 1991, p. 138).
Life and its purpose
Man is in the centre of African universe and everything seems to be related to him. Religion has then a functional value – it is to help people to acquire earthly goods and to maintain social order. Everything around man that enhances his life force is desirable and everything that destroys it or diminishes is to be avoided. “The sole purpose of existence is to seek life, to see to it that human life continues and grows to its full capacity” (Magesa, 1997, p. 55).
Zuesse emphasizes the role of relationship as a way of affirming the flow of life and see the goal of life in maintaining and joining “that cosmic web that holds and sustains all things and beings, to be a part of the integral mutuality of things” (Zuesse, 1991, p. 173).
Death and after life
The origin of death is described in many African myths. In most of them death is conceived as something that came as a result of some mistake. Death was not supposed to be a part of human life. The blame for it is laid on some animal, on people or on some spirits (Mbiti, 1975, pp. 116-117, Zahan, 1979, pp. 36-43). In general death is not considered as a natural event but tends to be seen as ‘caused’ by some external forces such as witches, spirits or curse (Mbiti, 1975, p. 118, Gehman, 1989, p. 54).
Kirwen (2008, p. 208) describes death as “an inevitable event in the personal history of every living person…” Though inevitable, death does not terminate human existence, but is a moment of passage to the afterlife.
After death human person continues to live on as a spirit. The network of relationships that characterizes human existence is not interrupted. Gehman (1989, p. 54) summarizes it saying that “death is a necessary door through which the living pass in order to take up the inevitable role as the living dead. Death is transition to the final destiny of all men and women”. Mbiti affirms that “life goes on beyond the grave” (1975, p. 119). Birago Diop, quoted in Taylor (2001, p. 107) endorses such a view claiming that “Those who are dead are never gone: they are in the thickening shadow… they are in the wood that groans, they are in the fire that is dying… they are in the forest, they are in the house, the dead are not dead”.
Death is a moment when the spirit, often associated with breathing, separates from the body and goes into hereafter. Some understand the hereafter as a distant place. The deceased then, equipped with food and weapons, has a journey to make before he arrives to the hereafter. For others, it is ‘here’, though it is invisible to human eye (Mbiti, 1969, pp.162-165).
The dead person becomes a living dead. A living dead is still considered as a member of the family. He is in the state of personal immortality (Mbiti, 1969, p.163). It can help the family and the community in times of trouble and it can also cause trouble if certain rituals have not been performed properly or if there are some violations of community laws. It remains in such a status for about four to five generation during which he can partially be reincarnated in a new born child. After that period, when nobody among the living remembers him by naming children after him or pouring libations, it becomes a ghost of an unknown person. A spirit becomes ‘it’ and enters the state of collective immortality. It is one of the many spirits who lost their humanness. Such spirits are usually feared by people (Mbiti, 1975, pp. 122-126).
Among the spirits, the ancestors create a special category on their own. They are those who have died long ago, have lived exemplary life and who fulfilled all social and religious duties as understood by their community. Because of their good life they are remembered by the living. Ancestors are the guardians of the family traditions and life, receive requests from the living, can serve as intermediaries between God and people and can communicate with the living through various means such as dreams, possession, and divination (Gehman, 1989, pp. 140-143, Magesa, 1997, pp. 77-81). As ancestors they have some extra powers. To become an ancestor is the best one can expect after death.
As such death and what follows it is not desired because the life here on earth is at the centre of human existence. When a person dies, he is slowly forgotten, with the exception of great ancestors. The length of time one is remembered depends directly on the quality of life on earth. Nkemnkia (1999, p. 119) says that “the necessary condition to remain always alive and present in the memory of the living is to lead a good and virtuous life. What each African fears most is to be forgotten by the living ones, the parents and the human race”. The moment of death is the beginning of the process of forgetting about the dead person.
Gehman (1989, p. 140) describes life after death in terms of similarities with this life. He says that:
“Wherever the living dead are, their abode is modeled after the pattern of the living. The herd-boy herds the goats and sheep, the women hoe their gardens and reap the crops, the men delight in their cattle, the villagers gather for discussion in the evenings… There is no division of the dead on the basis of character. Apart from witches and outcasts, all the living-dead, good and bad, live together in the world of spirits. Their character is much the same as in this life, partaking of jealousies and offended feelings like the living. Although the ancestral spirits partake of increased power and knowledge, the state of the ancestors is nothing to be desire… A Tschwi proverb states ‘One day in this world is worth a year in Srahmandazi(the underworld)’”.
Mbiti (1969, p. 163, 165), in his description points towards the differences. He claims that
“Man is ontologically destined to lose his humanness but gain his full spiritness: and there is no general evolution of devolution beyond this point. God is beyond and in African concepts there is neither hope nor possibility that the soul would attain a share in the divinity of God (p. 163)…Death is death and the beginning of a permanent ontological departure of the individual form from mankind to spirithood” (p. 165).
Class notes review
Prof Katola presented African Traditional Religion in an extensive form. The variety and the multitude of information were very useful for the researcher to get acquainted with. However, in the context of this work, only certain elements can be presented.
Prof Katola stressed the connection between religion and culture in Africa –religion could not be seen as separate from the culture and vice versa. Both were closely connected and intertwined.
The study of ATR is not an easy enterprise. It is due to the fact that there are around 1000 various ethnic groups in Africa, there is no written records and that traditions change over time.
Religion permeated all aspects of life in Africa. What was common to various tribes were their beliefs in God, in good and bad spirits, in ancestors, in magic and traditional medicine/medicine men and diviners. African worldview, hence, was a spiritual worldview where various spiritual forces coexisted with the living. African spirituality, with God being its source, was enabling people to look for spiritual meaning in every aspect of life.
African worldview, which was in its essence, a religious worldview whereby physical and spiritual world are one and the same, developed as a result of reflective thinking about various elements of nature, such as water, thunder, sky. That reflection spread among people and was expressed in art.
Since there were no books, people learnt about ATR from the elders, through language that expresses religious values and through social structure of the community. Religious values were conveyed by specialists, such as diviners and herbalists. During various rituals, such as naming, marriage, burial rites that were performed in sacred places, people gained religious understanding of life in traditional Africa. It was expressed by wearing various charms and believing in their power and through proverbs, folktales and myths.
God was at the top of African hierarchy. He was the source of vital power. His existence was unquestionable. He was all-knowing and all powerful. He was the Creator of everything that existed. He was followed by the orisha who could be great patriarchs or special spirits endowed by God to take care of certain aspects of life, like fertility and war. Then there were the ancestors, the living dead and the living. At the end there were animals/plants/minerals and land.
People expressed their belief through worship. It would usually consist of two elements: prayer and sacrifice. Worship could be regular, take place during the rites of passage, during planting and harvesting, during calamities and in times of personal need. It took place in natural locations such as certain caves, hills or mountains. There were no permanent structures built by people for worship. It was usually done by certain special individuals in the community who were doing it on its behalf. At the same time, there was worship in the family, in the clan and even on a national and international level.
Community/society was more important than an individual. One was defined through the community, rules of which he was supposed to follow. The sense of community was creating good interpersonal relationships: there was mutual help and interdependence. Community was a large unit consisting of many people and spiritual beings such as God and ancestors. Therefore, any community was a religious community. The ancestors were the link between the living and God. Anything that was weakening either the horizontal or vertical relationships within the community was considered as wrong, as diminishing the vital force. All were supposed to contribute to the maintenance of the neutral ritual status, which was making all beings happy.
In a community rites of passage played a very significant role. Consisting of three basic parts: separation, seclusion and incorporation, the rites of passage were marking permanent changes in the life of an individual. They were making him aware of his new rights and responsibilities.
Among rites of passage, initiation was of particular importance. Due to initiation one became an adult in the society and was given new tasks to fulfill on behalf of the community. One could marry, perpetuate life through procreation and as a consequence could hope to be an ancestor and to be named after. Marriage was enhancing the harmony in the society because it involved not only living but also the spiritual beings, especially the ancestors.
Among various forms of marriage, monogamy and polygamy were most popular, depending upon an ethnic group. Other forms were practices such as widow guardianship, surrogate marriage and woman to woman marriage. No matter in what form marriage was contracted, it was for the purpose of procreation of children. In the modern society, there are other forms practiced such as trial marriage, same sex marriage and single parenthood.
For Africans, life on earth was of crucial importance. Death and life after death were seen as unavoidable, but not looked forward to. This world was the best place people could live in. The greatest expectation one would have after death was to continue to participate in the life of the community. A person, who lived a good moral life, went through all rites of passage, died at the old age of natural causes, could expect to become an ancestor, to be asked to intercede on behalf of the community and to expect to be partially reincarnated through the naming process. Morally bad people such as witches, sorcerers, criminals and those who died in a ‘bad way’ –through suicide or a certain sickness, could not become ancestors because their evil would be perpetuated through the naming process.
There was a number of rituals to be performed surrounding death. Those rituals were to facilitate the passage of the dead person between this world and the next one. If those rituals were not performed properly, it was believed that the deceased person would become angry and punish the living. After the burial some rituals could be performed to restore order such as sharing a meal, shaving or a sexual intercourse.
Research integration
Comparing the information gathered through the interviewing process, the data from literature review and the class notes, the researcher believes that there is a basic agreement about what life after death stands for in African Traditional Religion. Generalizing, one notices that all sources of data are in unison that life after death existed because life here on earth was not seen as an end of someone’s existence. Life continued beyond physical death. The ancestors played an important role in that concept because their status was the best one could hope for after death. They were also involved in the community by helping people as intercessors. Being a good person in this life by behaving according to moral values of a community was important because it ensured the status of ancestors after death.
It is also important to stress that the literature, the lectures at MIASMU and the interviewees stressed that traditional African beliefs constituted an important part and parcel of the worldviews of a significant number of Africans, including those living outside of the continent.
One difference that the researcher noticed is between the description of the quality of life after death in books and the class notes and the research. The researcher believes that the interviewees had a more positive view of life after death than the other sources of information. In the view of the interviewees, life after death was more fulfilling that one could conclude from the descriptions provided by Gehman (1989, p. 140) and Mbiti (1969, p. 163) which were quoted in this work (pp. 13, 14). A further research would be necessary to clarify the issue. One of the reasons that could explain the difference might be the impact of Christian beliefs about life after death that intermingled with the traditional understanding of life after death.
If the researcher was to draw some general conclusions, being aware of the danger of such an approach, he would conclude that:
Conclusion
The research, the presentation by Prof Katola and literature review indicate that the concept of life after death played a crucial role in African Traditional Religion. And since there was no separate compartment for the culture, religious beliefs had very direct and long-reaching consequences on the lives of individuals. One could argue that those beliefs were crucial in shaping one’s attitudes and behavior on daily basis.
Beliefs surrounding life after death were helping people to be fully engaged in the ‘here and now’. Their best time was here on earth and because of that they were motivated to do their optimum to take advantage of it. The notion of ancestors was reminding people about the value of good, moral life creating a counterbalance to the danger of exploiting other people and the creation in this world.
Beliefs and practices centered on death are present and alive in the modern society. They exercise a lot influence on many people and one could assume that they will continue to do it the years to come.
In the context of Kenya and its political scene one could ask if some of the politicians did not narrow down the ramifications of the belief of life after death to an aspect of this life being the best there is and hence, doing everything to enjoy it, often, unfortunately at the expense of others. Sometimes it would seem that they have forgotten that only a good, moral life was a means to ensure them the status of ancestors!
Bibliography
Arinze, F. (1988) Pastoral Attention to African Traditional Religion.Letter from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican city, to the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and of Madagascar (Rome, 25 March, 1988). Retrieved on October, 22, 2008 from World Wide Web: http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/vatican.html
Byaruhuanga-Akiiki, A.B.T. (Ed). African World Religion. Kampala: Makerere University Printery
Dominik, W. (2007). What is Christian counselling within spiritual/religious paradigm, unpublished MA thesis, Manchester University.
Gehman, R.J. (1989). African Traditional Religion in Biblical Perspective. Kijabe: East African Educational Publishers Limited.
Geographical distribution of adherents of African Traditional Religion in the continent of Africa. Retrieved on October, 22, 2008 from World Wide Web: http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/Statistics.htm
Hackett, R.I.J. (1991). “Revitalization in African Traditional Religion”. In Olupona, J.K (Ed). African Traditonal Religion in contemporary society. pp. 135-148. New York: International Religious Foundation.
Kirwen, M.C. (2008). (Ed). African Cultural Domains. Nairobi: MIAS Books.
Lugira, A.M. (1999). African Religion. New York: Facts On File.
Magesa, L. (1997). African religion. The moral traditions of abundant life. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa.
Major Religions of the World. Retrieved on October, 22, 2008 from World Wide Web: http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
Mbiti, J.S. (1969). African Religions and philosophy. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers Ltd.
Mbiti, J.S. (1975). Introduction to African Religion. (2nd ed.). Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers, Ltd.
Missionaries of Africa. African Traditional Religion. [Home Page]. Retrieved October 22, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.africamission-mafr.org
Nkemnkai M.N. (1999). African Vitalogy. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa.
Onwubiko, O.A. (1991). African thought, religion and culture. Enugu: Snaap Press, Ltd.
Russell, H.B. (1994). Research methods in anthropology. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Sage Publications.
Taylor, J.V. (2001). Christian presence amid African Religions. Nairobi: Acton Publishers.
Zahan, D. (1979). The religion, spirituality and thought of traditional Africa. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Zuesse, E.M. (1991). Perseverance and transmutation in traditional religion. In In Olupona, J.K (Ed). African Traditonal Religion in contemporary society. pp. 167-184. New York: International Religious Foundation
Interviews
1. 09.09.08. Embakassi. A 55 year old Kisi elder was interviewed. According to him, religion has to do with knowing and worshiping God. After death the body decays but the spirit continues to live. Life after death is better than this one: 'no work, no sweating, no mud'. Whatever you want is made available to you – you just say what you want. Life on earth influences the life after death-if you live a good life here on earth, you will experience good life after death as well. There will be a lot of joy in the life after death.
2. 16.09.08. Tangaza College. A 25 year old Luo man was interviewed. He believes that African Traditional Religion exists and that it can be seen as a belief system that is rooted in the belief in God. Belief in life after death comes as a result of participating in such practices like burial and learning from those who participate in it. It is important to live well here on earth and do good things because those things will be remembered. After death there is no more rites of passage, no more tests. After death, a dead person still can influence the living.
3. 24.09.08. Embakassi. 2 ladies were interviewed of 29 and 36 years of age. They believe in existence of ATR and one of them participated in some worship taking place in a shrine in her village. Faith, belief in God who is a creator of all life on earth and belief in life after death were main elements of ATR. Life does not end with a natural death, it continues after death. Life after death is better than the one here on earth: there is no death, no hunger, no cry. People learnt about life after death through some prophets, diviners and witches who were pointing out to something that is beyond. The quality of life after death depended upon the quality of life here on earth.
4. 10.10.08. Ngong. A 31 year old Luhya was interviewed. According to him religion has to do with a belief in the Supernatural Being and the relationship to that Supernatural Being. ATR is still practices and relevant to the lives of people, esp where there is sickness or death. At the point of death, spirit continues to live. People after death would be h(cf. App. #, no. )y in a spiritual sense. The dead still influence the living and their presence is felt in the community-they want are named after, can help or punish the community. Good people become ancestors and are able to help the community because they have some extra power. One’s status after death depends directly upon the quality of life here on earth.
5. 14.10.08. South C. A 46 year old Kalenjin man was interviewed. According to him, belief in God and value of life are the most important elements of ATR. Death is not the end, but a passage to a new place, a place where the forefathers are. Death is by intention of God so that people may join their forefathers and take care of the living. People learn about life after death through creation and by an instinct that God put in them. There are also some special people called ‘orgoyot’, seers who would communicate about the reality after death. In the life after death, there will be plenty of everything, people will enjoy and all will have enough.
6. 20.10. 08. Langata. A 31 year old man from DRC was interviewed. According to him, ATR is relevant in the lives of people, especially when people fall sick, when something is lost the ancestors are invoked and when there are land disputes. Life, as a gift from God, does not end with natural death but life after death is a continuation of this life. Life after death is seen as going to another village. If one was good he becomes an ancestor, people ask him to intercede for them and is reincarnated through the process of naming. There is no suffering, only happiness for a good person. People try to live good lives because their life on earth will influence their life after death – if somebody was a bad person on earth, his name will not be given to children once he is dead.
7. 22.10.08. Langata. A 32 year old man from Ivory Coast was interviewed. According to him, people use ATR when looking for answers and go to a traditional priest who asks a fetish and gets an answer. A ‘normal life’ would be to live a good life and then to become an ancestor – if it is done, life after death can be seen as a continuation of life on earth. If somebody lives a bad life, then the cycle of life is somehow interrupted - a bad person will not be named after and will not be asked to intercede for the living. A good person after death becomes an ancestor and joins the village of the ancestors. God does not live in that village, he lives above it. Only soul will live in the afterlife.
8. 28.10.08. Langata. A 28 year old Sukuma man was interviewed. For him ATR is a religion that plays an important role and will never disappear. Belief in ancestors would be one of the most important beliefs of ATR. Death is not an end but a continuation of life. The spirit of the deceased is believed to live around the grave on which a tree is planted during the funeral. If one lives a good life on earth he will be happy in the hereafter. If he is bad on earth, he will continue to try to harm people after death and he will not be named after. The ancestors will meet with God and will be able to assist the living. They can get annoyed with people when e.g. there is a conflict in a family. The knowledge about afterlife comes through dreams and calamities.
9. 03.10.2008. Next to Holy Family Basilica. A 31 year old Kamba man was interviewed. For him the rites of passage were a very important aspect of practicing ATR. After death one was becoming a spirit and continuing to live and influence the community. Through prophets and spirits appearing to people, the living would learn about life after death. The ancestors would live in a happy place. Their state would, somehow, be influenced by the behavior of the living –if the living behaved well, the ancestors were happy; if the living behaved badly, it was making the ancestors unhappy. The understanding of the life after death was helping the living to go through all the rites of passage and to behave well because their after life depended upon it.
10. 08.11.2008. Nakumatt, Embakassi. A 41 year old Kamba man was interviewed. He described ATR as ‘extremely, extremely, absolutely relevant’. Life after death was sees as a continuation of the life on earth though in a spiritual form. People learnt about life after death through family elders and seeing elders performing rituals such as sacrifices. One after death would become an ancestor if he lived a good life. The main function of the ancestors was to intercede to God on behalf of individuals and community in the time of need. By doing ‘wrong’ things the living could upset the ancestors who, as a result, had to be appeased.
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In order to appreciate the value of African culture, one has to be aware that “religion and religious beliefs and their effects on the African community are the key to understanding the African world and ideology” (Onwubiko, 1991, p.3). It could be argued that some of those beliefs are of predominant importance. Without those main beliefs, ATR would not present itself as a comprehensive set of rules to be followed. Other beliefs could be considered of lesser importance and would not constitute the core of the phenomenon called ‘African Traditional Religion’.
The researcher believes that the notion of life after death is an important tenant of ATR.
Justification
The researcher decided to focus in a general way on the concept of life after death in ATR. He thought that such an exploration would help him to get a better understanding of afterlife as well as a partial understanding of other concepts directly connected with it such as e.g. God, ancestors and life.
The main purpose of this work is to get a better understanding of the notion of life after death in ATR as understood by the interviewees and to compare that understanding with the available literature and the course content.
Methodology
Keeping in mind the scope and the nature of this work, the researcher decided upon choosing a qualitative approach as the most appropriate. Such a procedure would enable him to present collected data in a more comprehensive way.
Methods of collecting data
Having had some previous knowledge about the research topic alongside with experience of conducting research for other courses related to his studies in MIASMU, the researcher started planning his work from the point of view of data he wanted to gather.
It was his belief that semi-structured interviews would be the most appropriate method of collecting data giving him also an opportunity to interact with the interviewees. The main tool used during the interviews was a questionnaire created by the researcher for the purpose of gathering data about the topic. The questionnaire consisted of a series of detailed questions which were presented to the interviewees. During the interviews other questions were asked that were directly related to the topic or to other matters associated with ATR.
During each interview, after having asked and received an explicit consent to do so, the notes were taken by the researcher and his field assistant. Those notes were later compared and some conclusions were drawn so as to get a better understanding of what was meant by life after death in ATR.
The content analysis was used to interpret collected data. Within such an approach to data “the task of the researcher is to come up with a set of categories and then to proceed to count the number of instances that fall into each of those categories” (Dominik, 2007, p. 53). Since “all analysis is the search for patterns in data” (Russell, 1994, p. 360), the researcher believed that content analysis combined with some elements of descriptive statistics would be the most suitable to interpret data.
Ethical issues
All respondents were informed about the purpose of the interviews and that the information collected would be used to write a paper. All were informed that they would not be personally identified. All the interviewees allowed for the notes to be taken.
The limitations of the research
The researcher decided upon a general approach to the topic rather than choosing a particular group of people/tribe. As a result, he got a number of data, some of them emphasizing different aspects, e.g. about the place where the dead resided. At the same time, this limitation, however, reflects the complexity of the beliefs surrounding death and what follows after it.
Another limitation that affected this presentation had to do with many possible ways in which this topic could be elaborated. The researcher decided to confine himself to a general approach that reflects, to a certain extent, the richness of beliefs surrounding death and afterlife among various tribes in Africa.
Field research findings
All interviewees believe that ATR exists. Its most important elements are: belief in God (cf. App. #, no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9), belief in ancestors (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6, 8, 9, 10), belief in life after death (cf. App. #, no. 3, 6, 10), value of life (cf. App. #, no. 5) and a pervasive feeling that things will be all right (cf. App. #, no. 2).
All interviewees also acknowledged that ATR is relevant to the lives of people. One person described it as “extremely, extremely, absolutely relevant” (cf. App. #, no. 10). Some people who follow ATR (cf. App. #, no. 7) practice it in villages (cf. App. #, no. 3), in special places like shrines (cf. App. #, no. 3) and continue to offer sacrifices (cf. App. #, no. 3, 5, 9). Beliefs related to ATR find their expression during naming ceremonies (cf. App. #, no. 8, 9), marriage ceremonies (cf. App. #, no. 5), during sickness, when people look for its explanation (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6) burials and rituals around death (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 8, 9). People who are Christians would go back to ATR, especially during those three moments of marriage, sickness and death. Veneration of ancestors is a particular expression of the beliefs concerning the future of those who died (cf. App. #, no. 7).
Life was seen as a gift of God (cf. App. #, no. 6, 9). It was a part of a plan of God (cf. App. #, no. 1, 5) who gave people an opportunity to live their lives fully (cf. App. #, no. 2) and to share it with others through the means of procreation (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10).
People learnt about life after death through a variety of means. People acquired information about it during various religious ceremonies such as naming (cf. App. #, no. 4), sacrifices (cf. App. #, no. 7, 10) and burials (cf. App. #, no. 2, 4). Some special people in the community, such as prophets were believed to have learnt about it from God and transmitted that knowledge to the living (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 5). Diviners (cf. App. #, no. 3, 6) and elders (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6, 10) conveyed that consciousness to others. The power and activity of witches was seen as a proof o the existence of something beyond this world (cf. App. #, no. 3). Some people learnt about it through dreams and trance (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6, 8). It was disclosed through the stories (cf. App. #, no. 4, 7). Those preparing for some special functions in the society, such as priests were taught about it during their training (cf. App. #, no. 7). When calamities and unexplained reoccurring death were present in the community, such events were understood in terms of ancestors not being happy and punishing the community (cf. App. #, no. 8).
Life did not end with a moment of physical death (cf. App. #, no. 2, 6, 7, 8, 9) but continued (cf. App. #, no. 3, 8, 10). Some interviewees saw it as a movement to a different stage (cf. App. #, no. 4, 7), to the place of the forefathers (cf. App. #, no. 5). One person claimed that death comes because God intends it (cf. App. #, no. 5).
Life after death was a continuation of the present life, but it was not as if it was the same. One person saw life after death as a continuation of the life on earth but in a better state (cf. App. #, no. 3) or in a different form, a spiritual one (cf. App. #, no. 4, 10). Another person pointed out that it was not correct to talk about life after death because it suggested some kind of rupture. According to him, “there is really no life after death, because it continues. It is a continuation of life in the world of the spirits” (cf. App. #, no. 10).
One interviewee stressed that a person, after having lived a good life, was to become an ancestor. Becoming an ancestor should be seen as a normal step following death. An ancestor would intercede for the living and protect them. In that context it meant that it is in ancestorship one could find the continuation of life. However, life after death could not necessarily be seen as a continuation in case of a bad person. When a bad person died, he would not be named after and the cycle of life would be interrupted because he would not be reincarnated. In that case, life after death could be seen as an interruption (cf. App. #, no. 7).
Those who were interviewed saw soul/spirit as the element that continued to live after the moment of physical death (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Those who died would retain their individual characteristics (cf. App. #, no. 5) and would continue to live in the minds of the living (cf. App. #, no. 2).
Death could be characterized by its inevitability – it “must happen” (cf. App. #, no. 2, 3). The quality of life after death was determined by the life on earth – if one was a good person in this life, he would enjoy a good status after death (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10). People would move into a “village of ancestors” (cf. App. #, no. 6, 7). God would not be a part of that village but would live above it (cf. App. #, no. 7). One person claimed that the spirit would remain around his grave and that the ancestors would meet God (cf. App. #, no. 8). For another person, there was no other world as such. The world of the spirits was in this world because people seeing, e.g. a tree would see it as closely associated with a particular spirit/spirits (cf. App. #, no. 9, 10).
After death there would be no death, no hunger, no cry and no work (cf. App. #, no. 3, 5, 9). The hereafter would be a place of peace and joy (cf. App. #, no. 3, 5, 6, 9). The dead would be able to interact with the living (cf. App. #, no. 4). Some claimed that people after death would act in the similar way they used to do it on earth and that they would have similar needs, though in a more spiritual sense (cf. App. #, no. 4, 8). Those who led a good life on earth would become ancestors and would help the living. They would be named after and the libations would be poured for them (cf. App. #, no. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). If they were unhappy with the behavior of the living, they could punish them (cf. App. #, no. 8, 10). Bad people would be forgotten and feared since even after death they could try to harm the living. One claimed that the quality of life of the ancestors depends upon the life of the people on earth: if the behavior of the living was morally wrong, it would make the ancestors upset, if people behaved according to moral rules of the community, it would make the ancestors happy. The ‘emotional state’ of ancestors would depend upon the behavior of the living (cf. App. #, no. 9, 10).
The belief in afterlife was influencing the life of people on earth. First of all, it reminded them about the role of God as the Provider (cf. App. #, no. 1). People believed that living a good life on earth was a means to receive God’s blessing already here on earth and then in the afterlife (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 7). People then tried to live good lives because it had many advantages, temporary and eternal ones (cf. App. #, no. 1, 4, 9). Doing good things on earth seemed to be the best way to remain in the memory of people after one’s death (cf. App. #, no. 2).
Believing in afterlife was helping to maintain social order in the community because it was motivating people to follow its laws. One tried to be a good person and to go through all the rites of passage in order to achieve the status of ancestor in afterlife. Following the rules of a community was mandatory in order to be of help to the community after death and to achieve the best status after death – to be an ancestor (cf. App. #, no. 9).
In ATR people believed that life was cyclic. A person could be reincarnated in a child through the process of naming and in such a way he continued to exist (cf. App. #, no. 6, 8, 9). Hence, to be named after was very important. The living wanted to make sure that after their death, their family members would like their children to be named after them. The only way to ensure it was to live an exemplary life (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 6). If one was a bad person here on earth, after his death, the living did not want to name their child after him since the child was believed that, through the naming process, would inherit some qualities of the deceased person. A bad person was seen as a cursed person (cf. App. #, no. 8, 9).
Literature review
Defining ATR
ATR is a complex phenomenon that is intrinsically connected with African culture and in which it finds its expressions (Lugira, 1999, p. 12, Gehman, 1989, p. 50). Byaruhanga-Akiiki (p. 3-4) defines it from a perspective of life. He says that “Religion in Africa means Life –the reality that is lived in a cobweb of relationships… The major actors or actresses involved in those relationships include the Master Creator,… human beings, living and dead, all plants, animals, birds, molecules, atoms, particles and whatever the Creator created that is visible and invisible”.
Mbiti (1975, p. 113) talks about religion as constituted of five parts: 1. beliefs, 2. practices, ceremonies and festivals, 3. religious objects and places, 4. values and morals and 5. religious officials and leaders.
In ATR, God, is perceived as the Supreme Being, Creator, Sustainer of his creation, Provider, and the one who rules over the universe (Mbiti, 1975, pp 49-52, Lugira, 1999, pp. 37-41). God knows everything, is almighty, holy, kind and unique (Gehman, 1989, pp. 189-191). Ancestors and other spirits play an important role in ATR (Magesa, 1997, p. 41, Mbiti, 1975, pp. 70-81).
Within ATR and its worldview, man is “the centre of the universe” (Gehman, 1989, p. 36). One of his most important responsibilities is to maintain harmony between the visible (material) world and the invisible one (God, ancestors and other spirits). Fulfilling that responsibility is a sign of moral character and ensures the harmony between all elements of the universe (Magesa, 1997, p. 73). Mbiti (quoted in Gehman, 1989, p. 50) says that:
“African philosophy is basically anthropocentric: man is at the very centre of existence and African people see everything in its relation to this central position of man. God is the explanation of man’s origin and sustenance; it is as if God exists for the sake of man. The spirits are ontologically in the mode between God and man; they describe or explain the destiny of man after physical life…”
The relevance of ATR
A number of people in Africa are followers of African Traditional Religion. The number of adherents of ATR is estimated by some around 100 million followers, including those living in Africa and outside (http://www.adherents.com). Others would estimate them as more numerous (http://www.africamission-mafr.org). Some claim that in some countries, such as Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, the number of followers of ATR is above 50% of the total population (http://www.africamission-mafr.org). However, other statistics indicate far lower number of followers of ATR in those countries (http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/Statistics.htm).
Even though it is difficult to provide an exact number of the followers of ATR, Magesa (1997, p. 17) claims that “the moral perspectives of African Religion are essentially alive throughout the continent”. For many others who have converted to Christianity or Islam, ATR continues to exercise its influence. Others agree with his point of view (Hackett, 1991, p. 135, Gehman, 1989, p. 19, Lugira, 1999, p. 113). Magesa notices that religious practices and believes are present also among Christians who seem to profess a form of syncretism between official Christianity and main tenants of ATR (1999, p. 19). That view is similar to the one expressed by Cardinal Arinze who said that “ATR is the religious and cultural context from which most Christians in Africa come, and in which many of them still live to a great extent”(http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/vatican.html). Taylor asserts that “different aspects of ATR and of the way of looking at things which persists as an inarticulate philosophy in many Africans long after the old religion itself has been discarded” (2001, p. 9).
Hackett (1991, pp. 135-145) talks about some revitalization of ATR in a process of universalization, modernization, politicization, commercialization and individualization. A number of beliefs of ATR is included into some practices of some African Independent Churches, e.g the Aquarian Church of the Angers in Nigeria (Hackett, 1991, p. 138).
Life and its purpose
Man is in the centre of African universe and everything seems to be related to him. Religion has then a functional value – it is to help people to acquire earthly goods and to maintain social order. Everything around man that enhances his life force is desirable and everything that destroys it or diminishes is to be avoided. “The sole purpose of existence is to seek life, to see to it that human life continues and grows to its full capacity” (Magesa, 1997, p. 55).
Zuesse emphasizes the role of relationship as a way of affirming the flow of life and see the goal of life in maintaining and joining “that cosmic web that holds and sustains all things and beings, to be a part of the integral mutuality of things” (Zuesse, 1991, p. 173).
Death and after life
The origin of death is described in many African myths. In most of them death is conceived as something that came as a result of some mistake. Death was not supposed to be a part of human life. The blame for it is laid on some animal, on people or on some spirits (Mbiti, 1975, pp. 116-117, Zahan, 1979, pp. 36-43). In general death is not considered as a natural event but tends to be seen as ‘caused’ by some external forces such as witches, spirits or curse (Mbiti, 1975, p. 118, Gehman, 1989, p. 54).
Kirwen (2008, p. 208) describes death as “an inevitable event in the personal history of every living person…” Though inevitable, death does not terminate human existence, but is a moment of passage to the afterlife.
After death human person continues to live on as a spirit. The network of relationships that characterizes human existence is not interrupted. Gehman (1989, p. 54) summarizes it saying that “death is a necessary door through which the living pass in order to take up the inevitable role as the living dead. Death is transition to the final destiny of all men and women”. Mbiti affirms that “life goes on beyond the grave” (1975, p. 119). Birago Diop, quoted in Taylor (2001, p. 107) endorses such a view claiming that “Those who are dead are never gone: they are in the thickening shadow… they are in the wood that groans, they are in the fire that is dying… they are in the forest, they are in the house, the dead are not dead”.
Death is a moment when the spirit, often associated with breathing, separates from the body and goes into hereafter. Some understand the hereafter as a distant place. The deceased then, equipped with food and weapons, has a journey to make before he arrives to the hereafter. For others, it is ‘here’, though it is invisible to human eye (Mbiti, 1969, pp.162-165).
The dead person becomes a living dead. A living dead is still considered as a member of the family. He is in the state of personal immortality (Mbiti, 1969, p.163). It can help the family and the community in times of trouble and it can also cause trouble if certain rituals have not been performed properly or if there are some violations of community laws. It remains in such a status for about four to five generation during which he can partially be reincarnated in a new born child. After that period, when nobody among the living remembers him by naming children after him or pouring libations, it becomes a ghost of an unknown person. A spirit becomes ‘it’ and enters the state of collective immortality. It is one of the many spirits who lost their humanness. Such spirits are usually feared by people (Mbiti, 1975, pp. 122-126).
Among the spirits, the ancestors create a special category on their own. They are those who have died long ago, have lived exemplary life and who fulfilled all social and religious duties as understood by their community. Because of their good life they are remembered by the living. Ancestors are the guardians of the family traditions and life, receive requests from the living, can serve as intermediaries between God and people and can communicate with the living through various means such as dreams, possession, and divination (Gehman, 1989, pp. 140-143, Magesa, 1997, pp. 77-81). As ancestors they have some extra powers. To become an ancestor is the best one can expect after death.
As such death and what follows it is not desired because the life here on earth is at the centre of human existence. When a person dies, he is slowly forgotten, with the exception of great ancestors. The length of time one is remembered depends directly on the quality of life on earth. Nkemnkia (1999, p. 119) says that “the necessary condition to remain always alive and present in the memory of the living is to lead a good and virtuous life. What each African fears most is to be forgotten by the living ones, the parents and the human race”. The moment of death is the beginning of the process of forgetting about the dead person.
Gehman (1989, p. 140) describes life after death in terms of similarities with this life. He says that:
“Wherever the living dead are, their abode is modeled after the pattern of the living. The herd-boy herds the goats and sheep, the women hoe their gardens and reap the crops, the men delight in their cattle, the villagers gather for discussion in the evenings… There is no division of the dead on the basis of character. Apart from witches and outcasts, all the living-dead, good and bad, live together in the world of spirits. Their character is much the same as in this life, partaking of jealousies and offended feelings like the living. Although the ancestral spirits partake of increased power and knowledge, the state of the ancestors is nothing to be desire… A Tschwi proverb states ‘One day in this world is worth a year in Srahmandazi(the underworld)’”.
Mbiti (1969, p. 163, 165), in his description points towards the differences. He claims that
“Man is ontologically destined to lose his humanness but gain his full spiritness: and there is no general evolution of devolution beyond this point. God is beyond and in African concepts there is neither hope nor possibility that the soul would attain a share in the divinity of God (p. 163)…Death is death and the beginning of a permanent ontological departure of the individual form from mankind to spirithood” (p. 165).
Class notes review
Prof Katola presented African Traditional Religion in an extensive form. The variety and the multitude of information were very useful for the researcher to get acquainted with. However, in the context of this work, only certain elements can be presented.
Prof Katola stressed the connection between religion and culture in Africa –religion could not be seen as separate from the culture and vice versa. Both were closely connected and intertwined.
The study of ATR is not an easy enterprise. It is due to the fact that there are around 1000 various ethnic groups in Africa, there is no written records and that traditions change over time.
Religion permeated all aspects of life in Africa. What was common to various tribes were their beliefs in God, in good and bad spirits, in ancestors, in magic and traditional medicine/medicine men and diviners. African worldview, hence, was a spiritual worldview where various spiritual forces coexisted with the living. African spirituality, with God being its source, was enabling people to look for spiritual meaning in every aspect of life.
African worldview, which was in its essence, a religious worldview whereby physical and spiritual world are one and the same, developed as a result of reflective thinking about various elements of nature, such as water, thunder, sky. That reflection spread among people and was expressed in art.
Since there were no books, people learnt about ATR from the elders, through language that expresses religious values and through social structure of the community. Religious values were conveyed by specialists, such as diviners and herbalists. During various rituals, such as naming, marriage, burial rites that were performed in sacred places, people gained religious understanding of life in traditional Africa. It was expressed by wearing various charms and believing in their power and through proverbs, folktales and myths.
God was at the top of African hierarchy. He was the source of vital power. His existence was unquestionable. He was all-knowing and all powerful. He was the Creator of everything that existed. He was followed by the orisha who could be great patriarchs or special spirits endowed by God to take care of certain aspects of life, like fertility and war. Then there were the ancestors, the living dead and the living. At the end there were animals/plants/minerals and land.
People expressed their belief through worship. It would usually consist of two elements: prayer and sacrifice. Worship could be regular, take place during the rites of passage, during planting and harvesting, during calamities and in times of personal need. It took place in natural locations such as certain caves, hills or mountains. There were no permanent structures built by people for worship. It was usually done by certain special individuals in the community who were doing it on its behalf. At the same time, there was worship in the family, in the clan and even on a national and international level.
Community/society was more important than an individual. One was defined through the community, rules of which he was supposed to follow. The sense of community was creating good interpersonal relationships: there was mutual help and interdependence. Community was a large unit consisting of many people and spiritual beings such as God and ancestors. Therefore, any community was a religious community. The ancestors were the link between the living and God. Anything that was weakening either the horizontal or vertical relationships within the community was considered as wrong, as diminishing the vital force. All were supposed to contribute to the maintenance of the neutral ritual status, which was making all beings happy.
In a community rites of passage played a very significant role. Consisting of three basic parts: separation, seclusion and incorporation, the rites of passage were marking permanent changes in the life of an individual. They were making him aware of his new rights and responsibilities.
Among rites of passage, initiation was of particular importance. Due to initiation one became an adult in the society and was given new tasks to fulfill on behalf of the community. One could marry, perpetuate life through procreation and as a consequence could hope to be an ancestor and to be named after. Marriage was enhancing the harmony in the society because it involved not only living but also the spiritual beings, especially the ancestors.
Among various forms of marriage, monogamy and polygamy were most popular, depending upon an ethnic group. Other forms were practices such as widow guardianship, surrogate marriage and woman to woman marriage. No matter in what form marriage was contracted, it was for the purpose of procreation of children. In the modern society, there are other forms practiced such as trial marriage, same sex marriage and single parenthood.
For Africans, life on earth was of crucial importance. Death and life after death were seen as unavoidable, but not looked forward to. This world was the best place people could live in. The greatest expectation one would have after death was to continue to participate in the life of the community. A person, who lived a good moral life, went through all rites of passage, died at the old age of natural causes, could expect to become an ancestor, to be asked to intercede on behalf of the community and to expect to be partially reincarnated through the naming process. Morally bad people such as witches, sorcerers, criminals and those who died in a ‘bad way’ –through suicide or a certain sickness, could not become ancestors because their evil would be perpetuated through the naming process.
There was a number of rituals to be performed surrounding death. Those rituals were to facilitate the passage of the dead person between this world and the next one. If those rituals were not performed properly, it was believed that the deceased person would become angry and punish the living. After the burial some rituals could be performed to restore order such as sharing a meal, shaving or a sexual intercourse.
Research integration
Comparing the information gathered through the interviewing process, the data from literature review and the class notes, the researcher believes that there is a basic agreement about what life after death stands for in African Traditional Religion. Generalizing, one notices that all sources of data are in unison that life after death existed because life here on earth was not seen as an end of someone’s existence. Life continued beyond physical death. The ancestors played an important role in that concept because their status was the best one could hope for after death. They were also involved in the community by helping people as intercessors. Being a good person in this life by behaving according to moral values of a community was important because it ensured the status of ancestors after death.
It is also important to stress that the literature, the lectures at MIASMU and the interviewees stressed that traditional African beliefs constituted an important part and parcel of the worldviews of a significant number of Africans, including those living outside of the continent.
One difference that the researcher noticed is between the description of the quality of life after death in books and the class notes and the research. The researcher believes that the interviewees had a more positive view of life after death than the other sources of information. In the view of the interviewees, life after death was more fulfilling that one could conclude from the descriptions provided by Gehman (1989, p. 140) and Mbiti (1969, p. 163) which were quoted in this work (pp. 13, 14). A further research would be necessary to clarify the issue. One of the reasons that could explain the difference might be the impact of Christian beliefs about life after death that intermingled with the traditional understanding of life after death.
If the researcher was to draw some general conclusions, being aware of the danger of such an approach, he would conclude that:
- The research, though limited in scope to the interviewees coming from Kenya, Tanzania, DRC and Ivory Coast confirms the existence of ATR in various African countries. It also indicates the similarity of beliefs, though with some minor differences, of the, at least in those 4 countries. As we know, there were no books that would contribute to the spreading of beliefs of ATR. Such similarities can be view as an important and amazing sociological and cultural phenomenon worth farther exploration;
- The notion of life after death played an important role in the overall system of beliefs of African Traditional Religion. It affirmed the inner coherence of African religious worldview whereby man was its center in the life on earth and remained also its prominent figure after death as an ancestor. Such a notion stressed also the role of the community: one’s life on earth was defined through his belonging to a community. As an ancestor, one continued to be useful to the community as an intercessor, because he remained a part of that community, even as a dead person. The communitarian aspect of African worldview continued even after death. The ancestors, within this concept of life after death, made communication between people and God possible because it was believed that ancestors were closer to God;
- The understanding of life after death was crucial in the context of African view about the cyclic nature of life. Only life after death conceived not as the end, but rather as a passage to a new stage, with its notion of partial reincarnation through the naming process, could ensure that there was no logical contradiction with ATR, concerning this particular aspect;
- Life after death and its understanding had a lot of implications for the maintenance of social order in the community. To become an ancestor one had to be a morally upright person, following the laws of the community, and having gone through all the rites of passage. Following the laws was helping to maintain peace and stability in the community. It was advantageous to one to be a morally behaving person because of what he was to gain after his death. Hence, both, the community and individuals, were benefitting from such a concept;
- Procreation was crucial in order to become an ancestor. Hence, the notion of life after death ensured the physical as well as religious survival of the community through the religious meaning attached to bearing children.
- Comparing ATR with Christianity, one could argue that, since there was no notion of mercy as understood in Christian terms, everything after death depended upon one’s life on this earth. It probably was a very strong motivating factor to be a morally upright person because everything depended upon an individual;
- The understanding of life after death was stressing personal responsibility in this life. Even though that responsibility was exercised within a community, one had a choice of not exercising it. As such it was providing a kind of counterbalance to the prominent importance of community in the African worldview;
- Since life after death, for some, was understood as a copy of this life, one probably worked hard to make the best out of it. It was probably another motivating factor to be pro-active and inventive in the life on earth because it had ‘eternal’ consequences.
Conclusion
The research, the presentation by Prof Katola and literature review indicate that the concept of life after death played a crucial role in African Traditional Religion. And since there was no separate compartment for the culture, religious beliefs had very direct and long-reaching consequences on the lives of individuals. One could argue that those beliefs were crucial in shaping one’s attitudes and behavior on daily basis.
Beliefs surrounding life after death were helping people to be fully engaged in the ‘here and now’. Their best time was here on earth and because of that they were motivated to do their optimum to take advantage of it. The notion of ancestors was reminding people about the value of good, moral life creating a counterbalance to the danger of exploiting other people and the creation in this world.
Beliefs and practices centered on death are present and alive in the modern society. They exercise a lot influence on many people and one could assume that they will continue to do it the years to come.
In the context of Kenya and its political scene one could ask if some of the politicians did not narrow down the ramifications of the belief of life after death to an aspect of this life being the best there is and hence, doing everything to enjoy it, often, unfortunately at the expense of others. Sometimes it would seem that they have forgotten that only a good, moral life was a means to ensure them the status of ancestors!
Bibliography
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Interviews
1. 09.09.08. Embakassi. A 55 year old Kisi elder was interviewed. According to him, religion has to do with knowing and worshiping God. After death the body decays but the spirit continues to live. Life after death is better than this one: 'no work, no sweating, no mud'. Whatever you want is made available to you – you just say what you want. Life on earth influences the life after death-if you live a good life here on earth, you will experience good life after death as well. There will be a lot of joy in the life after death.
2. 16.09.08. Tangaza College. A 25 year old Luo man was interviewed. He believes that African Traditional Religion exists and that it can be seen as a belief system that is rooted in the belief in God. Belief in life after death comes as a result of participating in such practices like burial and learning from those who participate in it. It is important to live well here on earth and do good things because those things will be remembered. After death there is no more rites of passage, no more tests. After death, a dead person still can influence the living.
3. 24.09.08. Embakassi. 2 ladies were interviewed of 29 and 36 years of age. They believe in existence of ATR and one of them participated in some worship taking place in a shrine in her village. Faith, belief in God who is a creator of all life on earth and belief in life after death were main elements of ATR. Life does not end with a natural death, it continues after death. Life after death is better than the one here on earth: there is no death, no hunger, no cry. People learnt about life after death through some prophets, diviners and witches who were pointing out to something that is beyond. The quality of life after death depended upon the quality of life here on earth.
4. 10.10.08. Ngong. A 31 year old Luhya was interviewed. According to him religion has to do with a belief in the Supernatural Being and the relationship to that Supernatural Being. ATR is still practices and relevant to the lives of people, esp where there is sickness or death. At the point of death, spirit continues to live. People after death would be h(cf. App. #, no. )y in a spiritual sense. The dead still influence the living and their presence is felt in the community-they want are named after, can help or punish the community. Good people become ancestors and are able to help the community because they have some extra power. One’s status after death depends directly upon the quality of life here on earth.
5. 14.10.08. South C. A 46 year old Kalenjin man was interviewed. According to him, belief in God and value of life are the most important elements of ATR. Death is not the end, but a passage to a new place, a place where the forefathers are. Death is by intention of God so that people may join their forefathers and take care of the living. People learn about life after death through creation and by an instinct that God put in them. There are also some special people called ‘orgoyot’, seers who would communicate about the reality after death. In the life after death, there will be plenty of everything, people will enjoy and all will have enough.
6. 20.10. 08. Langata. A 31 year old man from DRC was interviewed. According to him, ATR is relevant in the lives of people, especially when people fall sick, when something is lost the ancestors are invoked and when there are land disputes. Life, as a gift from God, does not end with natural death but life after death is a continuation of this life. Life after death is seen as going to another village. If one was good he becomes an ancestor, people ask him to intercede for them and is reincarnated through the process of naming. There is no suffering, only happiness for a good person. People try to live good lives because their life on earth will influence their life after death – if somebody was a bad person on earth, his name will not be given to children once he is dead.
7. 22.10.08. Langata. A 32 year old man from Ivory Coast was interviewed. According to him, people use ATR when looking for answers and go to a traditional priest who asks a fetish and gets an answer. A ‘normal life’ would be to live a good life and then to become an ancestor – if it is done, life after death can be seen as a continuation of life on earth. If somebody lives a bad life, then the cycle of life is somehow interrupted - a bad person will not be named after and will not be asked to intercede for the living. A good person after death becomes an ancestor and joins the village of the ancestors. God does not live in that village, he lives above it. Only soul will live in the afterlife.
8. 28.10.08. Langata. A 28 year old Sukuma man was interviewed. For him ATR is a religion that plays an important role and will never disappear. Belief in ancestors would be one of the most important beliefs of ATR. Death is not an end but a continuation of life. The spirit of the deceased is believed to live around the grave on which a tree is planted during the funeral. If one lives a good life on earth he will be happy in the hereafter. If he is bad on earth, he will continue to try to harm people after death and he will not be named after. The ancestors will meet with God and will be able to assist the living. They can get annoyed with people when e.g. there is a conflict in a family. The knowledge about afterlife comes through dreams and calamities.
9. 03.10.2008. Next to Holy Family Basilica. A 31 year old Kamba man was interviewed. For him the rites of passage were a very important aspect of practicing ATR. After death one was becoming a spirit and continuing to live and influence the community. Through prophets and spirits appearing to people, the living would learn about life after death. The ancestors would live in a happy place. Their state would, somehow, be influenced by the behavior of the living –if the living behaved well, the ancestors were happy; if the living behaved badly, it was making the ancestors unhappy. The understanding of the life after death was helping the living to go through all the rites of passage and to behave well because their after life depended upon it.
10. 08.11.2008. Nakumatt, Embakassi. A 41 year old Kamba man was interviewed. He described ATR as ‘extremely, extremely, absolutely relevant’. Life after death was sees as a continuation of the life on earth though in a spiritual form. People learnt about life after death through family elders and seeing elders performing rituals such as sacrifices. One after death would become an ancestor if he lived a good life. The main function of the ancestors was to intercede to God on behalf of individuals and community in the time of need. By doing ‘wrong’ things the living could upset the ancestors who, as a result, had to be appeased.
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Protection spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/protection-spells.html
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Divination
Divination (from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be inspired by a god", related to divinus, divine) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual.
Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand.
If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine.
Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.
There are four types of divination methods
1. Omens and omen texts.
Chinese history offers scrupulously documented occurrences of strange births, the tracking of natural phenomena, and other data. Chinese governmental planning relied on this method of forecasting for long-range strategies. It is not unreasonable to assume that modern scientific inquiry began with this kind of divination; Joseph Needham's work considered this very idea.
2. Sortilege (cleromancy).
This consists of the casting of lots, or sortes, whether with sticks, stones, bones, beans, coins, or some other item. Modern playing cards and board games developed from this type of divination.
3. Augury.
This ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination.
The Romans, in classical times, used Etruscan methods of augury such as hepatoscopy (actually a form of extispicy) (for example, Haruspices examined the livers of sacrificed animals).
Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds.
But also, the use of the rooster through alectryomancy may be further understood within that religious character and likewise defined as a cockfight, or cockfighting with the intent of communication between the gods and man.
5. Spontaneous.
An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination.
The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon.
Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as "intuitive" and "fuzion"
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Revenge spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/revenge-curses-spells.html
Fertility spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/fertility-spells.html
Protection spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/protection-spells.html
Court case spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/court-case-justice-legal-spells.html
Gay love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/gay-love-spells.html
Lesbian love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/lesbian-love-spells.html
Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand.
If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine.
Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.
There are four types of divination methods
1. Omens and omen texts.
Chinese history offers scrupulously documented occurrences of strange births, the tracking of natural phenomena, and other data. Chinese governmental planning relied on this method of forecasting for long-range strategies. It is not unreasonable to assume that modern scientific inquiry began with this kind of divination; Joseph Needham's work considered this very idea.
2. Sortilege (cleromancy).
This consists of the casting of lots, or sortes, whether with sticks, stones, bones, beans, coins, or some other item. Modern playing cards and board games developed from this type of divination.
3. Augury.
This ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination.
The Romans, in classical times, used Etruscan methods of augury such as hepatoscopy (actually a form of extispicy) (for example, Haruspices examined the livers of sacrificed animals).
Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds.
But also, the use of the rooster through alectryomancy may be further understood within that religious character and likewise defined as a cockfight, or cockfighting with the intent of communication between the gods and man.
5. Spontaneous.
An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination.
The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon.
Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as "intuitive" and "fuzion"
African Traditional Healer Kilimanjaro uses medicinal healing & spiritual healing to give wisdom and healing to people. http://www.kilimanjarospells.com
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Lotto spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/lottery-gambling-casino-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/revenge-curses-spells.html
Fertility spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/fertility-spells.html
Protection spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/protection-spells.html
Court case spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/court-case-justice-legal-spells.html
Gay love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/gay-love-spells.html
Lesbian love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/lesbian-love-spells.html
African traditions
The indigenous religious beliefs and practices of African peoples include various traditional religions. While generalizations of these religions are difficult, due to the diversity of African cultures, they do have some characteristics in common.
Generally, they are oral rather than scriptural, include belief in a supreme being, belief in spirits and other divinities, veneration of ancestors, use of magic, and traditional medicine. The role of humanity is generally seen as one of harmonizing nature with the supernatural.
While adherence to traditional religion in Africa is hard to estimate, due to syncretism with Christianity and Islam, practitioners are estimated to number over 100 million, or at least 10 percent of the population of the continent.
African diasporic religions are also practiced by descendants of Africans in the diaspora in the Americas such as Candomble, Umbanda, Quimbanda in Brazil, Santeria in Cuba and the United States, Lucumi in the Caribbean and Vodun in Haiti and the United States
African traditional religion, African traditional religions, Indigenous African religions are all common terms used to discuss the subject of indigenous faiths found within Africa. Each term is debated among scholars.
Some challenge the word "traditional" and prefer "indigenous" since traditional can also include traditional African Islam and Christianity, and are established traditions in African societies.
Some, such as Mbiti, contend that while using the singular "religion" a plural understanding is needed. Others suggest that these thousands of "religions" are only differing expressions of the same basic "religion."
The argument posited is that a centralized structure of rituals and beliefs run the entirety of the African continent.
Some suggest this is problematic as there is no "genetic" relationship between these plural beliefs to create ideological homology, and the observed similarities can subjectively also be found outside of Africa.
West African religious practices generally manifest themselves in communal ceremonies and/or divinatory rites in which members of the community, overcome by force (or ashe, nyama, etc.), are excited to the point of going into meditative trance in response to rhythmic or mantric drumming and/or singing.
One religious ceremony practiced in Gabon and Cameroon is the Okuyi, practiced by several Bantu ethnic groups.
In this state, depending upon the types of drumming or instrumental rhythms played by respected musicians (each of which is unique to a given deity or ancestor), participants embody a deity or ancestor, energy and/or state of mind by performing distinct ritual movements or dances which further enhance their elevated consciousness, or, in Eastern terms, excite the kundalini to a specific level of awareness and/or circulate chi in a specific way within the body.
When this trance-like state is witnessed and understood, culturally educated observers are privy to a way of contemplating the pure or symbolic embodiment of a particular mindset or frame of reference.
This builds skills at separating the feelings elicited by this mindset from their situational manifestations in daily life. Such separation and subsequent contemplation of the nature and sources of pure energy or feelings serves to help participants manage and accept them when they arise in mundane contexts.
This facilitates better control and transformation of these energies into positive, culturally appropriate behavior, thought, and speech.
Further, this practice can also give rise to those in these trances uttering words which, when interpreted by a culturally educated initiate or diviner, can provide insight into appropriate directions which the community (or individual) might take in accomplishing its goal.
Followers of traditional African religions pray to various secondary deities (Ogoun, Da, Agwu, Esu, Mbari, Thiorak, etc.) as well as to their ancestors. These divinities serve as intermediaries between humans and the primary god.
Most indigenous African societies believe in a single creator god (Chukwu, Nyame, Olodumare, Ngai, Roog, etc.).
Some recognize a dual or complementary twin Divinity such as Mawu-Lisa. For example, in one of the Yoruba creation myths, Olodumare, the 'Supreme', is said to have created Obatala, as Arch-divinity, who then created humans on earth. Olodumare then infused those human creations with life. Each divinity has their own priest or priestess.
There are more similarities than differences in all traditional African religions. Often, the supreme god is worshiped through consultation or communion with lesser deities and ancestral spirits.
The deities and spirits are honored through libation, sacrifice (of animals, vegetables, or precious metals). The will of God is sought by the believer also through consultation of oracular deities, or divination.
In many traditional African religions, there is a belief in a cyclical nature of reality. The living stand between their ancestors and the unborn. Traditional African religions embrace natural phenomena – ebb and tide, waxing and waning moon, rain and drought – and the rhythmic pattern of agriculture. According to Gottlieb and Mbiti:
The environment and nature are infused in every aspect of traditional African religions and culture. This is largely because cosmology and beliefs are intricately intertwined with the natural phenomena and environment.
All aspects of weather, thunder, lightning, rain, day, moon, sun, stars, and so on may become amenable to control through the cosmology of African people. Natural phenomena are responsible for providing people with their daily needs.
For example in the Serer religion, one of the most sacred stars in the cosmos is called Yoonir the (Star of Sirius).
With a long farming tradition, the Serer high priests and priestesses (Saltigue) deliver yearly sermons at the Xoy Ceremony (divination ceremony) in Fatick before Yoonir's phase in order to predict winter months and enable farmers to start planting.
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Revenge spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/revenge-curses-spells.html
Fertility spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/fertility-spells.html
Protection spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/protection-spells.html
Court case spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/court-case-justice-legal-spells.html
Gay love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/gay-love-spells.html
Lesbian love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/lesbian-love-spells.html
Generally, they are oral rather than scriptural, include belief in a supreme being, belief in spirits and other divinities, veneration of ancestors, use of magic, and traditional medicine. The role of humanity is generally seen as one of harmonizing nature with the supernatural.
While adherence to traditional religion in Africa is hard to estimate, due to syncretism with Christianity and Islam, practitioners are estimated to number over 100 million, or at least 10 percent of the population of the continent.
African diasporic religions are also practiced by descendants of Africans in the diaspora in the Americas such as Candomble, Umbanda, Quimbanda in Brazil, Santeria in Cuba and the United States, Lucumi in the Caribbean and Vodun in Haiti and the United States
African traditional religion, African traditional religions, Indigenous African religions are all common terms used to discuss the subject of indigenous faiths found within Africa. Each term is debated among scholars.
Some challenge the word "traditional" and prefer "indigenous" since traditional can also include traditional African Islam and Christianity, and are established traditions in African societies.
Some, such as Mbiti, contend that while using the singular "religion" a plural understanding is needed. Others suggest that these thousands of "religions" are only differing expressions of the same basic "religion."
The argument posited is that a centralized structure of rituals and beliefs run the entirety of the African continent.
Some suggest this is problematic as there is no "genetic" relationship between these plural beliefs to create ideological homology, and the observed similarities can subjectively also be found outside of Africa.
West African religious practices generally manifest themselves in communal ceremonies and/or divinatory rites in which members of the community, overcome by force (or ashe, nyama, etc.), are excited to the point of going into meditative trance in response to rhythmic or mantric drumming and/or singing.
One religious ceremony practiced in Gabon and Cameroon is the Okuyi, practiced by several Bantu ethnic groups.
In this state, depending upon the types of drumming or instrumental rhythms played by respected musicians (each of which is unique to a given deity or ancestor), participants embody a deity or ancestor, energy and/or state of mind by performing distinct ritual movements or dances which further enhance their elevated consciousness, or, in Eastern terms, excite the kundalini to a specific level of awareness and/or circulate chi in a specific way within the body.
When this trance-like state is witnessed and understood, culturally educated observers are privy to a way of contemplating the pure or symbolic embodiment of a particular mindset or frame of reference.
This builds skills at separating the feelings elicited by this mindset from their situational manifestations in daily life. Such separation and subsequent contemplation of the nature and sources of pure energy or feelings serves to help participants manage and accept them when they arise in mundane contexts.
This facilitates better control and transformation of these energies into positive, culturally appropriate behavior, thought, and speech.
Further, this practice can also give rise to those in these trances uttering words which, when interpreted by a culturally educated initiate or diviner, can provide insight into appropriate directions which the community (or individual) might take in accomplishing its goal.
Followers of traditional African religions pray to various secondary deities (Ogoun, Da, Agwu, Esu, Mbari, Thiorak, etc.) as well as to their ancestors. These divinities serve as intermediaries between humans and the primary god.
Most indigenous African societies believe in a single creator god (Chukwu, Nyame, Olodumare, Ngai, Roog, etc.).
Some recognize a dual or complementary twin Divinity such as Mawu-Lisa. For example, in one of the Yoruba creation myths, Olodumare, the 'Supreme', is said to have created Obatala, as Arch-divinity, who then created humans on earth. Olodumare then infused those human creations with life. Each divinity has their own priest or priestess.
There are more similarities than differences in all traditional African religions. Often, the supreme god is worshiped through consultation or communion with lesser deities and ancestral spirits.
The deities and spirits are honored through libation, sacrifice (of animals, vegetables, or precious metals). The will of God is sought by the believer also through consultation of oracular deities, or divination.
In many traditional African religions, there is a belief in a cyclical nature of reality. The living stand between their ancestors and the unborn. Traditional African religions embrace natural phenomena – ebb and tide, waxing and waning moon, rain and drought – and the rhythmic pattern of agriculture. According to Gottlieb and Mbiti:
The environment and nature are infused in every aspect of traditional African religions and culture. This is largely because cosmology and beliefs are intricately intertwined with the natural phenomena and environment.
All aspects of weather, thunder, lightning, rain, day, moon, sun, stars, and so on may become amenable to control through the cosmology of African people. Natural phenomena are responsible for providing people with their daily needs.
For example in the Serer religion, one of the most sacred stars in the cosmos is called Yoonir the (Star of Sirius).
With a long farming tradition, the Serer high priests and priestesses (Saltigue) deliver yearly sermons at the Xoy Ceremony (divination ceremony) in Fatick before Yoonir's phase in order to predict winter months and enable farmers to start planting.
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Lover spells http://kilimanjarospells.com/love-spells.html
Money spells http://kilimanjarospells.com/money-spells.html
Lotto spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/lottery-gambling-casino-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/revenge-curses-spells.html
Fertility spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/fertility-spells.html
Protection spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/protection-spells.html
Court case spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/court-case-justice-legal-spells.html
Gay love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/gay-love-spells.html
Lesbian love spells http://www.kilimanjarospells.com/lesbian-love-spells.html
URBANIZATION AND AFRICAN TRADITIONAL VALUES
One can easily characterize the struggle of the African* since
independence as a total commitment to urbanization and modernity.
Rightly or
wrongly, the African has considered his pre-independence or colonial
existence as a period of serfdom, political and economic oppression,
rural
poverty and underdevelopment of natural resources.
Consequently, on gaining independence, his overriding task appears to be nation-building and a serious effort to raise his standard of living. As a result growth, especially as development of cities, has been rampant in Africa.
Hence, in his important study of the growth of urban populations in Africa, Professor Jacques Maquet remarks that in 1961 it was estimated that about ten percent of the population of Africa lived in cities. Even more significant are the rate and speed of its growth.
What we are concerned about here, however, is not the phenomenon of city growth as such, but the possible deleterious effects of urban life on the traditional values of the African.
For experience clearly teaches that urbanization, and industrialization for that matter, are mixed blessings for man as a political animal whose aim in forming a political community is the "good life," as Aristotle phrases it.
What increasingly has become obvious to the African as he pursues national growth, development and urbanization as important values for a reasonably contented existence is the crisis of his traditional values and, of course, the creation of new ones.
He is fast learning from experience that the development of his rural setting into urban and semi-urban centers entails certain hazards to his long cherished traditional values.
This change of habitat, Professor Maquet puts it simply, "alters everyday life." Other great scholars of the many-sided problems of Africa also have made mention of the influences of the "European ways of life" and have noted strikingly that these influences "have had a devastating impact on the traditional way of life."
The African himself also is increasingly aware that his daily life in its traditional village setting, characterized by a stable and well articulated pattern of events, gradually is "falling apart," in Professor Chinua Achebe's well known phrase. In what characteristic ways has urbanization affected the traditional values of the modern African?
This is the question to which we shall attempt to respond by research in contemporary African values as critically influenced by the process of urbanization and the many dynamic changes taking place on the African continent. The first task, however, is a brief critical examination of the major traditional values of the African.
THE AFRICAN AND HIS DOMINANT VALUES
In this paper, we take "value" in its simple connotation of "a thing of worth." A thing has value if it has some worth, and in this sense man considers life worth living because he finds certain things intrinsically valuable.
In his traditional life the African holds certain things to be of great value. It is these values which give him a distinct cultural personality and enable him to make some contribution to world knowledge, history and civilization.
It is not our task in this essay to articulate all the cultural values of the African, but only the dominant ones as we attempt to assess their status against the current tide of urbanization sweeping across the continent.
One of the foremost traditional values of the African is a large family. Children are of supreme value to the African. His primary purpose for marriage is children and to have as many of them as possible.
This is the reason why polygamy or the union of one man with several women still holds great attraction for him, and also why the birth rate in Africa is among the highest in the world.
The fact is that the African still counts his blessings by the number of children he has, whether they are educated or not, rich or poor, healthy or sick, well-fed or hungry.
Another important traditional value of the modern African is love for, and practice of, the extended family system. As a matter of fact the extended family characterizes the life of the African and somehow shapes his personality and outlook on life.
Unlike Western man, for instance, the African sees his nuclear family as broadening out into a larger family unit. Professor Maquet describes this broader family life thus:
The African child has only to take a few steps in his village to visit several who can substitute for his father, mother, brothers and sisters, and they will treat him accordingly. Thus the child has many homes in his village, and he is simultaneously giver and receiver of widespread attention.4
This extended family system is widely practiced in Africa. Indeed it is one "in which everybody is linked with all the other members, living or dead, through a complex network of spiritual relationship into a kind of mystical body."5
Consequently, it is not just "being" that the African values; "being-with-others" or as Maquet says, "being rooted in kinship" is an equally important existential characteristic of the African.
He is never isolated since several persons are assimilated into one parental role: his father's brothers are assimilated by extension into the role of father, his mother's sisters into the role of mother, his patri-lateral uncle's daughters into the role of sister.6
Against the background of this great African value, a person is an individual to the extent that he is a member of a family, a clan or community.
Another great value in traditional Africa is respect for old people ("senior citizens"), particularly one's parents, grandparents and relatives.
Together with this value, one must also consider "ancestor worship" as an important related value in African culture. In fact, the basis for the honor and respect accorded to old people in the traditional African culture is their closeness to the ancestors, for in his ontological conceptual scheme the African places his old relatives closest to his ancestors or dead relatives in his great hierarchy of beings.7
It must be noted that in the African universe the living and the dead interact with one another. Life goes on beyond the grave for the African and is a continuous action and interaction with dead relatives.
These unseen ancestors called "the living dead" become part of one's living family and often are invited to partake (spiritually) in the family meals. As Parrinder observes: The ancestors are not just ghosts, nor are they simply dead heroes, but are felt to be still present watching over the household, directly concerned in all the affairs of the family and property, giving abundant harvests and fertility.8
According to the traditional belief, the African ancestors--the morally good ones, of course--are held in high esteem.
People have great recourse to them as powerful intermediaries between God and the living members of their particular families. These good ancestors are expected also to reincarnate into their families in due time.
The respect and honor bestowed on the ancestors filter through the old people--one's parents, grandparents and other relatives--as living embodiments of wisdom and of the good moral life who are expected sooner or later to join other good ancestors in the land of the "living dead." Old age therefore is an important value to the African.
Another value to be examined in the light of the urbanizing influences in Africa today is religion. To the traditional African, religion is an indispensable value. "To be" for him is to be religious. Professor John Mbiti of Kenya and Tanzania speaks of him as "notoriously religious"; other scholars regard him as "incurably religious."
As religion truly permeates his total life, there is for him no "secular" existence or naturalistic vision of world order. In this important way also, the African exhibits a cultural personality distinct from that of Western man, for instance, who easily makes a radical distinction between the secular and the religious, the natural and the supernatural, this world and the next.
How does this religious value of the African stand the test of urbanization and technological advances evident in Africa today? This is a central question and, like other values considered above, will be the object of later reflection.
Also one cannot forget the fact that the African loves nature and feels one with it. We are clearly reminded by Professor Maquet of the basic fact that, unlike Westerners who, having succeeded in defying nature, proceed toward its complete subjugation, Africans seek harmony with nature and achieve this by sharing its life and strength.9
The African values the whole of creation as sacred. To him nature is neither uncanny nor for subjugation and exploitation, but something sacred, participating in the essential sacred nature of God Himself and of all reality.
Open spaces, fields, forests, trees, oceans and lakes are sacred to him and consequently important as places reminiscent of the ashes of his fathers and the sanctuaries of his gods.
Many other values distinguish the life of the African and in characteristic ways determine also his modes of being-in-the-world, such as music, dance, a sense of family togetherness, hospitality and love for community.
We have made mention of the dominant ones, but our main objective is to discover the status of these values in the wake of such modern values as urbanization, industrialization, science and technology.
Definitely, as the African passes from folk to urban society, from traditional to modern urban and semi-urban life with its complicated money economy and international trade, his traditional values are bound to be affected.
In some cases, old values disappear only to reappear as higher ones in a transvaluation of values; in other cases some traditional values suffer disruption, at times to the point of extinction; in yet other cases the African suffers a reversal of his traditional values; lastly, he creates altogether new values with consequent tensions.
In short, these are the main ways that urbanization and industrialization, as modern African values, seriously affect traditional values. We will discuss briefly each category.
Of course, in speaking about the cumulative effects of urbanization on the traditional life of the African, one must not lose sight of such other factors as education, technology, arts, science and Christianity, which are now part and parcel of modern civilization and which influence the values and destinies of peoples and nations alike in their continuous thrust toward progress and a better life.
THE TRANSVALUATION OF VALUES
In speaking about the traditional African and his values, we bear in mind that since independence, that is to say, since after the Second World war, urbanization as a process of development is itself a value to him.
His thinking has remained practical and existential in the sense that his priority value has been the concrete modes of self-realization. The growth and development of his cities have remained an integral part of his post-independence struggles for self-reliance and self-development.
Together with urbanization, since independence the African has steadfastly pursued industrialization and "transfer" in his effort to control and dominate the environment. In this ongoing struggle, the African is gradually realizing the priceor rather the perilof progress, particularly with reference to his traditional values.
In some cases, he experiences not a total loss, but a transvaluation. One such case is his traditional religion, with its own code of ethics. Scholars of African traditional religion have come up with different names in their effort to describe the nature of the religion of the African's forefathers: "animism," "paganism" "polytheism" and "diffused monotheism" have surfaced at one time or the other in their scholarly journals.
The point is that in Christianity, the revealed religion of Jesus Christ which the African is increasingly embracing as he comes under the dominating influences of the missionaries, his traditional religion does not cease to be practiced, but somehow reappears at a higher level. Christianity and the ethics of Christ become new and, at the same time, higher values for the African.
The African Christian now no longer believes in the many gods of his traditional religion, but in one God, as his ultimate Lord and Master. Rudolf Otto's sense of the numinousfascinans et tremendum, as he characterizes religious feelingfor African Christians as for Christians the world over has reference to the One true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, belief in this God is no longer belief in the plural gods of his "pagan" world or the natural morality which characterized their worship.
In connection with the transvaluation of religious values, one must not forget the African's great value of ancestor worship. "Everywhere the African is first defined by reference to his ancestor," Maquet reminds us.10 The ancestors or "living dead" are the great intermediaries between the African Great God (with different names in different African nations), the other gods and human beings.
On becoming a Christian, the African easily sees Christ, the only mediator between God and man, as "a proto-ancestor."
This interpretation is advanced by an African theologian in his effort to Africanize the church or incarnate Christianity in the local culture. It has its problems, of course, as a Zimbabwean Jesuit theologian notes,11 but it is a potent mode of recovering and at the same time transforming an important African traditional value into a higher one.
Also, since urbanization as a modern African value is really inseparable from such other concomitant values as industrialization and Christianity, the African's great love for large families, extended familyhood and communitywhat the late Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal calls "the sense of communion"is practiced on a much higher level in Christianity, since the African Christian sees the church as one large institution housing all members of the one family of God.
All men become brothers under one God, as all strive for the same home and destiny, namely, heaven. Consequently, the African Christian sees not only the members of his natural family, but all human beings as brothers and sisters, for Christianity professes the same common Father and hence a common brotherhood for all men.
This, too, is a transvaluation of traditional values.In this consideration of the African's transvaluation of traditional values, note should be made also that with urbanization, the African exhibits his existential trait of being a lover of community or essentially a man-in-community by his development of new voluntary associations which increasingly have become distinctive features of his urban milieu.
These associations willingly formed by the urban African, increase his chances for more economic security and social well-being; in general, they provide more opportunities for self-survival.
These ends specify and define the nature and activities of the associations12 themselves. Indeed, Peter S.C. Gutkind rightly notes, the activities of the voluntary associations are manifold, ranging from burial services to recreation clubs and friendly societies, improvement, saving and contribution clubs, and occupational and religious associations.
Consequently what the African loses in his tribal village life or experiences as highly precious is doubly assured in his urban life through these voluntary associations.
THE AFRICAN AND THE REVERSAL OF VALUES
The growth of cities in this era of industrialization and push-button technology is not exactly a total blessing for the African or for anyone else.
It brings about its own reversal of traditional values, perhaps most obviously that of his (novel) radical attitude toward nature or his environment. Mention has been made of the fact that to the premodern African nature was sacred, not an object to conquer and exploit; he felt in harmony with all reality.
But urbanization itself is a value, and such other concomitant values as education, technology and industrialization have brought about a completely different mental posture towards the African environment. Land and open spaces are no longer as sacred as in the days of old.
They are increasingly scarce since more and more they are converted into urban and semi-urban industrial centers, as well as into areas for mechanized farming. Consequently, land or nature as a whole has acquired much economic value.
The sacred groves of the ancestorstrees, forests, and places consecrated to the godsare fast decreasing in number as the African, like the rest of the world, joins the industrial and technological age and adopts the scientific spirit which underlies its progress.
Like the Westerner, the African has set out to conquer, subdue and exploit nature, no longer to venerate it; this is a far cry from his premodern mentality and outlook.
In addition, one must also mention the serious impact of urbanization upon African families as another instance of a reversal of values.
One great attraction of urban life, the reason for citypopulation growth, is the possibility of making a "decent living" which, in short, means more income for the family. In practice this means establishing new homes away from home mostly by young men, women and fathers of families.
The obvious consequence is a gradual, but inevitable breakup of families. For the African, that is a tragic reversal of values since African families are close-knit. Unity and togetherness in the family are the basic values.
In these days the quest for more money and better living conditions has pushed him out into the city; gradually it is alienating him from his family; worse still, it is tearing the family apart.
Gutkind rightly points out that among all the problems which are alleged to have their etiology in urbanization and urbanism, frequent reference is made to the breakdown of African kinship and family life in towns.13 Perhaps in no place is this observation more true than in South Africa, especially among mine workers.
Although urbanization and industrialization have their advantages, yet they exact their full toll from the African as from anyone else. He, too, experiences all sorts of new problems and difficulties in his new way of life in the city, such as slums, poverty, loneliness or estrangement, poor sanitation, light failure, joblessness, organized and unorganized crime waves, traffic jams.
The lover of space and nature in his rural setting has now to contend with overcrowded cities and rundown apartment buildings. He has begun seriously to complain about city dirt and pollution of the environment in an unexpected reversal of values.
But these unhappy consequences are light when compared to their effect on the family size of the urban African. He now speaks in terms of family planning and cutting down family size.
The younger urban generation is no longer prepared to make the same mistakes as their parents and grandparents, particularly in not limiting the number of births.
The overall effects of urbanization, the increasing lack of habitable space and the high cost of education and living standards have brought about this reversal in the African traditional value, which the Zairean theologian, Otene, called simply "the African value of fecundity."14
In a way, monogamy for the African, particularly the Christian, is a reversal of value since polygyny or plurality of wives is the ideal and primal value for the traditional African.
The new cultural determinants we mentioned above, such as urbanization, the high cost of living, education and Christianity, have meant a reversal of this value.
What of the depersonalizing force of mass society upon the African as a result of increasing urbanization and industrialization?
The urban African rooted in his kinship, who usually maintains a very close family relationship, becomes suddenly all alone in the city, uprooted so to speak from his kith and kin in his village and forced to cultivate individualism as a new way of life.
This is certainly another instance of a reversal of value. Of course, the urban African forms new associations in the city, but this is an altogether new way of life which does not really cure the city loneliness and estrangement which Viktor Franuntkl calls an "existential vacuum."
In addition, other traditional values suffer in the wake of urbanization, such as "respect for the aged" and high regard for their wisdom.
This appears natural for, as the African, particularly the younger generation, faces up to the challenges of modern life dictated by education, modern economy, developments in art, science and technology and the new values they create, increasingly he finds the "senior citizens" and their wisdom irrelevant to his life.
Time becomes important to him as increasingly he defines his existence in terms of work or business, rather than leisure. As in the Western world, this means for the African also less time and concern for the older generation and its views, and thereby a reversal of traditional values.
THE AFRICAN AND NEW VALUES
In the process of urban growth and development, the African acquires new values as he forms units as component parts of his new urban settlement. His mental horizon and pattern of life change rapidly. He is no longer enclosed in his rather stable village environment with its close-knit families; he is no longer in the midst of members of his village.
In the urban environment, he has to learn to live with, and respect, people of different ethnic backgrounds since urban life is a "melting pot" of people from various ethnic groups with different customs, traditions, mannerisms and languages, etc. This openness to new peoples is healthy for the African since he, too, can build a viable and progressive nation only through the cooperative endeavor of all.
In this context of "love-for-other-people," as opposed to "love-of-one's-own ethnic group" characteristic of village life, mention can be made of the virtue of patriotism as an additional value for the African. He now learns to appreciate and love his country with all its peoples and subcultures. The African learns to fight for common interests, for the common good, even at the risk of his own or ethnic good. In a continent such as Africa characterized by excessive outbursts of ethnic feelings or prejudices (tribalism), often to the point of war and national disorders, patriotism is indeed a new value.
With urbanization and the technological development which underlies its progress, the African learns to appreciate scientific knowledge and education. Scientific education has become a dominant value to the African, rather than the oral education, unwritten customs and traditions of his forebears. This is one of the outstanding areas where he has profited from colonialism and the consequent Westernization of African values.
Formal education, a result of colonialism, radicalized the traditional values of the African and introduced some completely new ones. Professor Ali A. Mazrui put it thus, "The colonial impact, I have argued, transformed the natural basis of stratification in Africa." Instead of status based on, say, age, there emerged status based on literacy. Instead of classes emerging from the question, "Who owns what?" class formation now responds to the question, "Who knows what?"15
Education is indeed a priority value to the African; it is truly power. In Africa, it is a door to other values and carries with it affluence and social influence Two forms of knowledge have been particularly critical in determining who rules Africa: literacy or academic knowledge among African intellectuals and military knowledge within the African armed forces. The knowledge of the intelligentsia has produced something approaching a meritocracy; the skills of the soldiers have produced what might be called a militocracy.16
Also as a result of urbanization and its economic imperatives on modern life, money has assumed a very important value in Africa, as in other continents. Like knowledge it too is power. "The pursuit of personal profit has escalated in African economic systems," Professor Mazrui noted. With the heavy influence of Western capitalism, the African clearly is developing and appreciating the values of capitalism as well, such as class distinction based on the haves and have-nots, competitive spirit, private enterprise and the profitmotive.
These values are highly operative particularly in the economic life of the modern urban African. Indeed, money economy and what Mazrui paraphrases as "the culture of the clock"17 or time consciousness have made material progress in the modern scientific and technological sense additional values for the African.
One cannot really speak about urbanization and its philosophy of material progress without mentioning labor or work, which in its modern scientific sense is a new value. Of course, for the premodern African, as Guy Hunter observed, work was necessary for subsistence, to fulfill tribal and family obligations, to amass bride price or perhaps gain status: it had no personal moral connotation.18
But to the educated urban African work has increased its value and is seen as a condition for progress as well as for money. It does mean long hours at the office or on the farms, the emergence of working class mothers, of young working girls and boys particularly in cities, and less leisure. Hunter summarizes it all, "Probably the greatest shock to the newly educated African in paid employment is that he has to work all day and everyday."19 Certainly, this new attitude to work is far removed from the older African way of life.
URBANIZATION AND AFRICAN SELF-REALIZATION
From the above reflection, there is no doubt that urbanization as a sociological process alters the everyday life and culture of a people. In Africa as in practically all cultures, it has given rise partly to a transvaluation and partly to a reversal of traditional values. Certainly it has created additional values. Of course, urbanization need not go with industrialization and technological development, though these are prime factors and causes for city growth and development. Education too is one of the causes of the rural drift to cities, or urbanization, in Africa as elsewhere.
The point which must be stressed here is that it is through all these factors, namely, healthy development of cities, of science, arts, technology and education that the African hopes and strives to achieve self-realization. This is the ideal he has pursued steadfastly since independence.
His post-independence thrust has been for self-reliance and the mastery of his continent, for his experience of colonial subjugation and its concomitant humiliation was highly unpleasant. "We have for too long been the victims of foreign domination," Kwame Nkrumah, the late leader of Ghana once said. "For too long we have had no say in the management of our own affairs or in deciding our own destinies."20
The same realization of impotence and frustration on the part of the African after his colonial experience is concisely stated by Obi B. Egbuna:
We do not control our land, our lives or our direction. We do not command the means of distribution or production. We do not even earn a reasonable living wage, but we were born here and our forefathers claim ownership of the land.21
Consequently, what the present-day African wants is power, the scientific knowledge and technical skill to establish himself as the master and architect of his world and destiny. This is tantamount to a reestablishment of self in a self-determined, self-directed and self-controlled environment.
In this great task, he needs, among other things to industrialize, to buildup and develop his cities, and not least of all to enter into the race for technological, scientific and material progress as must the rest of the world in the quest for that "good life" which is the end of all political societies. In this ambition the African experiences definite tensions. As seen above, on the one hand, he wishes to retain many values of his traditional culture which, on the other, urbanization and the imperatives of modern life seriously threaten.
For Africans, as for the rest of the world, rural drift to cities has a purpose, namely, to seek employment, education, better living conditions or even negatively to escape from certain traditions which are found to be unpleasant. In other words, the escape of people to towns is to search for alternative forms of subsistence, generally for making life worth living. In the resulting urbanization certainly they experience additional problems.
Another outstanding value of the modern African is his desire to build up African culture. "We are doing everything to revive our culture," Nkrumah assured the National Assembly in Accra in 1965. Indeed since independence, culture-building has remained for the African a top practical pursuit.
The various festivals of arts and culture held in many African countries bear this out, as well as the pursuit of indigenous technology and political systems as the "Ujamaa Experiment" in Tanzania initiated by Julius K. Nyerere,23 and the promotion of indigenous music, painting, religion, fashion and education for self-reliance in many African nations.
In short, the African wishes to retain his self-identity through retaining his traditional values, yet, he experiences that his drift to the cities and the values of its scientific and technological culture, which are vital concomitants of modern civilization, seriously endanger his traditional values, and consequently, his cultural identity. He wants to retain the past, from which he yet alienates himself. Is this possible, or as Professor Maquet put it, "Is such an undertaking viable?"23
Urbanization therefore poses serious problems for the African. Although industrial techniques and scientific development do not yet completely dominate his life, steadily they are influencing practically all aspects of his life today. Will the scientific and technological values of modern civilization, in time, eliminate the traditional ones and alienate the African from himself? This is the question; and it is a crucial problem for the African himself.
Professor W.E. Abraham gives his own view. "The future of Africa," he says, "rests on the present and the present is an outcome of the past.
By the present, one wishes to indicate the resultant of the operation of the forces of traditional Africa and the forces which the contact with Europe has unleashed." Scientific knowledge and techniques--modern man's common inheritance--may well be regarded as one of the "forces unleashed" on the African by contact with America and Europe.
Consequently, an important test of his maturity, of his quest for self-realization and self-identity, is his ability to domesticate or indigenize these adventitious values, that is to say, those values brought about by his contact with the white man's scientific and technological culture.
"The progress of Africa will depend on Africa's ability both to appreciate problems and to solve them," Abraham reiterates.25
Africa's success in her struggle for self-realization and self-identity will depend then on her ability to subject foreign values to her traditional ones, to master and at the same time domesticate industrial techniques and scientific knowledge to serve her own ends, and not the other way round.
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Consequently, on gaining independence, his overriding task appears to be nation-building and a serious effort to raise his standard of living. As a result growth, especially as development of cities, has been rampant in Africa.
Hence, in his important study of the growth of urban populations in Africa, Professor Jacques Maquet remarks that in 1961 it was estimated that about ten percent of the population of Africa lived in cities. Even more significant are the rate and speed of its growth.
What we are concerned about here, however, is not the phenomenon of city growth as such, but the possible deleterious effects of urban life on the traditional values of the African.
For experience clearly teaches that urbanization, and industrialization for that matter, are mixed blessings for man as a political animal whose aim in forming a political community is the "good life," as Aristotle phrases it.
What increasingly has become obvious to the African as he pursues national growth, development and urbanization as important values for a reasonably contented existence is the crisis of his traditional values and, of course, the creation of new ones.
He is fast learning from experience that the development of his rural setting into urban and semi-urban centers entails certain hazards to his long cherished traditional values.
This change of habitat, Professor Maquet puts it simply, "alters everyday life." Other great scholars of the many-sided problems of Africa also have made mention of the influences of the "European ways of life" and have noted strikingly that these influences "have had a devastating impact on the traditional way of life."
The African himself also is increasingly aware that his daily life in its traditional village setting, characterized by a stable and well articulated pattern of events, gradually is "falling apart," in Professor Chinua Achebe's well known phrase. In what characteristic ways has urbanization affected the traditional values of the modern African?
This is the question to which we shall attempt to respond by research in contemporary African values as critically influenced by the process of urbanization and the many dynamic changes taking place on the African continent. The first task, however, is a brief critical examination of the major traditional values of the African.
THE AFRICAN AND HIS DOMINANT VALUES
In this paper, we take "value" in its simple connotation of "a thing of worth." A thing has value if it has some worth, and in this sense man considers life worth living because he finds certain things intrinsically valuable.
In his traditional life the African holds certain things to be of great value. It is these values which give him a distinct cultural personality and enable him to make some contribution to world knowledge, history and civilization.
It is not our task in this essay to articulate all the cultural values of the African, but only the dominant ones as we attempt to assess their status against the current tide of urbanization sweeping across the continent.
One of the foremost traditional values of the African is a large family. Children are of supreme value to the African. His primary purpose for marriage is children and to have as many of them as possible.
This is the reason why polygamy or the union of one man with several women still holds great attraction for him, and also why the birth rate in Africa is among the highest in the world.
The fact is that the African still counts his blessings by the number of children he has, whether they are educated or not, rich or poor, healthy or sick, well-fed or hungry.
Another important traditional value of the modern African is love for, and practice of, the extended family system. As a matter of fact the extended family characterizes the life of the African and somehow shapes his personality and outlook on life.
Unlike Western man, for instance, the African sees his nuclear family as broadening out into a larger family unit. Professor Maquet describes this broader family life thus:
The African child has only to take a few steps in his village to visit several who can substitute for his father, mother, brothers and sisters, and they will treat him accordingly. Thus the child has many homes in his village, and he is simultaneously giver and receiver of widespread attention.4
This extended family system is widely practiced in Africa. Indeed it is one "in which everybody is linked with all the other members, living or dead, through a complex network of spiritual relationship into a kind of mystical body."5
Consequently, it is not just "being" that the African values; "being-with-others" or as Maquet says, "being rooted in kinship" is an equally important existential characteristic of the African.
He is never isolated since several persons are assimilated into one parental role: his father's brothers are assimilated by extension into the role of father, his mother's sisters into the role of mother, his patri-lateral uncle's daughters into the role of sister.6
Against the background of this great African value, a person is an individual to the extent that he is a member of a family, a clan or community.
Another great value in traditional Africa is respect for old people ("senior citizens"), particularly one's parents, grandparents and relatives.
Together with this value, one must also consider "ancestor worship" as an important related value in African culture. In fact, the basis for the honor and respect accorded to old people in the traditional African culture is their closeness to the ancestors, for in his ontological conceptual scheme the African places his old relatives closest to his ancestors or dead relatives in his great hierarchy of beings.7
It must be noted that in the African universe the living and the dead interact with one another. Life goes on beyond the grave for the African and is a continuous action and interaction with dead relatives.
These unseen ancestors called "the living dead" become part of one's living family and often are invited to partake (spiritually) in the family meals. As Parrinder observes: The ancestors are not just ghosts, nor are they simply dead heroes, but are felt to be still present watching over the household, directly concerned in all the affairs of the family and property, giving abundant harvests and fertility.8
According to the traditional belief, the African ancestors--the morally good ones, of course--are held in high esteem.
People have great recourse to them as powerful intermediaries between God and the living members of their particular families. These good ancestors are expected also to reincarnate into their families in due time.
The respect and honor bestowed on the ancestors filter through the old people--one's parents, grandparents and other relatives--as living embodiments of wisdom and of the good moral life who are expected sooner or later to join other good ancestors in the land of the "living dead." Old age therefore is an important value to the African.
Another value to be examined in the light of the urbanizing influences in Africa today is religion. To the traditional African, religion is an indispensable value. "To be" for him is to be religious. Professor John Mbiti of Kenya and Tanzania speaks of him as "notoriously religious"; other scholars regard him as "incurably religious."
As religion truly permeates his total life, there is for him no "secular" existence or naturalistic vision of world order. In this important way also, the African exhibits a cultural personality distinct from that of Western man, for instance, who easily makes a radical distinction between the secular and the religious, the natural and the supernatural, this world and the next.
How does this religious value of the African stand the test of urbanization and technological advances evident in Africa today? This is a central question and, like other values considered above, will be the object of later reflection.
Also one cannot forget the fact that the African loves nature and feels one with it. We are clearly reminded by Professor Maquet of the basic fact that, unlike Westerners who, having succeeded in defying nature, proceed toward its complete subjugation, Africans seek harmony with nature and achieve this by sharing its life and strength.9
The African values the whole of creation as sacred. To him nature is neither uncanny nor for subjugation and exploitation, but something sacred, participating in the essential sacred nature of God Himself and of all reality.
Open spaces, fields, forests, trees, oceans and lakes are sacred to him and consequently important as places reminiscent of the ashes of his fathers and the sanctuaries of his gods.
Many other values distinguish the life of the African and in characteristic ways determine also his modes of being-in-the-world, such as music, dance, a sense of family togetherness, hospitality and love for community.
We have made mention of the dominant ones, but our main objective is to discover the status of these values in the wake of such modern values as urbanization, industrialization, science and technology.
Definitely, as the African passes from folk to urban society, from traditional to modern urban and semi-urban life with its complicated money economy and international trade, his traditional values are bound to be affected.
In some cases, old values disappear only to reappear as higher ones in a transvaluation of values; in other cases some traditional values suffer disruption, at times to the point of extinction; in yet other cases the African suffers a reversal of his traditional values; lastly, he creates altogether new values with consequent tensions.
In short, these are the main ways that urbanization and industrialization, as modern African values, seriously affect traditional values. We will discuss briefly each category.
Of course, in speaking about the cumulative effects of urbanization on the traditional life of the African, one must not lose sight of such other factors as education, technology, arts, science and Christianity, which are now part and parcel of modern civilization and which influence the values and destinies of peoples and nations alike in their continuous thrust toward progress and a better life.
THE TRANSVALUATION OF VALUES
In speaking about the traditional African and his values, we bear in mind that since independence, that is to say, since after the Second World war, urbanization as a process of development is itself a value to him.
His thinking has remained practical and existential in the sense that his priority value has been the concrete modes of self-realization. The growth and development of his cities have remained an integral part of his post-independence struggles for self-reliance and self-development.
Together with urbanization, since independence the African has steadfastly pursued industrialization and "transfer" in his effort to control and dominate the environment. In this ongoing struggle, the African is gradually realizing the priceor rather the perilof progress, particularly with reference to his traditional values.
In some cases, he experiences not a total loss, but a transvaluation. One such case is his traditional religion, with its own code of ethics. Scholars of African traditional religion have come up with different names in their effort to describe the nature of the religion of the African's forefathers: "animism," "paganism" "polytheism" and "diffused monotheism" have surfaced at one time or the other in their scholarly journals.
The point is that in Christianity, the revealed religion of Jesus Christ which the African is increasingly embracing as he comes under the dominating influences of the missionaries, his traditional religion does not cease to be practiced, but somehow reappears at a higher level. Christianity and the ethics of Christ become new and, at the same time, higher values for the African.
The African Christian now no longer believes in the many gods of his traditional religion, but in one God, as his ultimate Lord and Master. Rudolf Otto's sense of the numinousfascinans et tremendum, as he characterizes religious feelingfor African Christians as for Christians the world over has reference to the One true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, belief in this God is no longer belief in the plural gods of his "pagan" world or the natural morality which characterized their worship.
In connection with the transvaluation of religious values, one must not forget the African's great value of ancestor worship. "Everywhere the African is first defined by reference to his ancestor," Maquet reminds us.10 The ancestors or "living dead" are the great intermediaries between the African Great God (with different names in different African nations), the other gods and human beings.
On becoming a Christian, the African easily sees Christ, the only mediator between God and man, as "a proto-ancestor."
This interpretation is advanced by an African theologian in his effort to Africanize the church or incarnate Christianity in the local culture. It has its problems, of course, as a Zimbabwean Jesuit theologian notes,11 but it is a potent mode of recovering and at the same time transforming an important African traditional value into a higher one.
Also, since urbanization as a modern African value is really inseparable from such other concomitant values as industrialization and Christianity, the African's great love for large families, extended familyhood and communitywhat the late Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal calls "the sense of communion"is practiced on a much higher level in Christianity, since the African Christian sees the church as one large institution housing all members of the one family of God.
All men become brothers under one God, as all strive for the same home and destiny, namely, heaven. Consequently, the African Christian sees not only the members of his natural family, but all human beings as brothers and sisters, for Christianity professes the same common Father and hence a common brotherhood for all men.
This, too, is a transvaluation of traditional values.In this consideration of the African's transvaluation of traditional values, note should be made also that with urbanization, the African exhibits his existential trait of being a lover of community or essentially a man-in-community by his development of new voluntary associations which increasingly have become distinctive features of his urban milieu.
These associations willingly formed by the urban African, increase his chances for more economic security and social well-being; in general, they provide more opportunities for self-survival.
These ends specify and define the nature and activities of the associations12 themselves. Indeed, Peter S.C. Gutkind rightly notes, the activities of the voluntary associations are manifold, ranging from burial services to recreation clubs and friendly societies, improvement, saving and contribution clubs, and occupational and religious associations.
Consequently what the African loses in his tribal village life or experiences as highly precious is doubly assured in his urban life through these voluntary associations.
THE AFRICAN AND THE REVERSAL OF VALUES
The growth of cities in this era of industrialization and push-button technology is not exactly a total blessing for the African or for anyone else.
It brings about its own reversal of traditional values, perhaps most obviously that of his (novel) radical attitude toward nature or his environment. Mention has been made of the fact that to the premodern African nature was sacred, not an object to conquer and exploit; he felt in harmony with all reality.
But urbanization itself is a value, and such other concomitant values as education, technology and industrialization have brought about a completely different mental posture towards the African environment. Land and open spaces are no longer as sacred as in the days of old.
They are increasingly scarce since more and more they are converted into urban and semi-urban industrial centers, as well as into areas for mechanized farming. Consequently, land or nature as a whole has acquired much economic value.
The sacred groves of the ancestorstrees, forests, and places consecrated to the godsare fast decreasing in number as the African, like the rest of the world, joins the industrial and technological age and adopts the scientific spirit which underlies its progress.
Like the Westerner, the African has set out to conquer, subdue and exploit nature, no longer to venerate it; this is a far cry from his premodern mentality and outlook.
In addition, one must also mention the serious impact of urbanization upon African families as another instance of a reversal of values.
One great attraction of urban life, the reason for citypopulation growth, is the possibility of making a "decent living" which, in short, means more income for the family. In practice this means establishing new homes away from home mostly by young men, women and fathers of families.
The obvious consequence is a gradual, but inevitable breakup of families. For the African, that is a tragic reversal of values since African families are close-knit. Unity and togetherness in the family are the basic values.
In these days the quest for more money and better living conditions has pushed him out into the city; gradually it is alienating him from his family; worse still, it is tearing the family apart.
Gutkind rightly points out that among all the problems which are alleged to have their etiology in urbanization and urbanism, frequent reference is made to the breakdown of African kinship and family life in towns.13 Perhaps in no place is this observation more true than in South Africa, especially among mine workers.
Although urbanization and industrialization have their advantages, yet they exact their full toll from the African as from anyone else. He, too, experiences all sorts of new problems and difficulties in his new way of life in the city, such as slums, poverty, loneliness or estrangement, poor sanitation, light failure, joblessness, organized and unorganized crime waves, traffic jams.
The lover of space and nature in his rural setting has now to contend with overcrowded cities and rundown apartment buildings. He has begun seriously to complain about city dirt and pollution of the environment in an unexpected reversal of values.
But these unhappy consequences are light when compared to their effect on the family size of the urban African. He now speaks in terms of family planning and cutting down family size.
The younger urban generation is no longer prepared to make the same mistakes as their parents and grandparents, particularly in not limiting the number of births.
The overall effects of urbanization, the increasing lack of habitable space and the high cost of education and living standards have brought about this reversal in the African traditional value, which the Zairean theologian, Otene, called simply "the African value of fecundity."14
In a way, monogamy for the African, particularly the Christian, is a reversal of value since polygyny or plurality of wives is the ideal and primal value for the traditional African.
The new cultural determinants we mentioned above, such as urbanization, the high cost of living, education and Christianity, have meant a reversal of this value.
What of the depersonalizing force of mass society upon the African as a result of increasing urbanization and industrialization?
The urban African rooted in his kinship, who usually maintains a very close family relationship, becomes suddenly all alone in the city, uprooted so to speak from his kith and kin in his village and forced to cultivate individualism as a new way of life.
This is certainly another instance of a reversal of value. Of course, the urban African forms new associations in the city, but this is an altogether new way of life which does not really cure the city loneliness and estrangement which Viktor Franuntkl calls an "existential vacuum."
In addition, other traditional values suffer in the wake of urbanization, such as "respect for the aged" and high regard for their wisdom.
This appears natural for, as the African, particularly the younger generation, faces up to the challenges of modern life dictated by education, modern economy, developments in art, science and technology and the new values they create, increasingly he finds the "senior citizens" and their wisdom irrelevant to his life.
Time becomes important to him as increasingly he defines his existence in terms of work or business, rather than leisure. As in the Western world, this means for the African also less time and concern for the older generation and its views, and thereby a reversal of traditional values.
THE AFRICAN AND NEW VALUES
In the process of urban growth and development, the African acquires new values as he forms units as component parts of his new urban settlement. His mental horizon and pattern of life change rapidly. He is no longer enclosed in his rather stable village environment with its close-knit families; he is no longer in the midst of members of his village.
In the urban environment, he has to learn to live with, and respect, people of different ethnic backgrounds since urban life is a "melting pot" of people from various ethnic groups with different customs, traditions, mannerisms and languages, etc. This openness to new peoples is healthy for the African since he, too, can build a viable and progressive nation only through the cooperative endeavor of all.
In this context of "love-for-other-people," as opposed to "love-of-one's-own ethnic group" characteristic of village life, mention can be made of the virtue of patriotism as an additional value for the African. He now learns to appreciate and love his country with all its peoples and subcultures. The African learns to fight for common interests, for the common good, even at the risk of his own or ethnic good. In a continent such as Africa characterized by excessive outbursts of ethnic feelings or prejudices (tribalism), often to the point of war and national disorders, patriotism is indeed a new value.
With urbanization and the technological development which underlies its progress, the African learns to appreciate scientific knowledge and education. Scientific education has become a dominant value to the African, rather than the oral education, unwritten customs and traditions of his forebears. This is one of the outstanding areas where he has profited from colonialism and the consequent Westernization of African values.
Formal education, a result of colonialism, radicalized the traditional values of the African and introduced some completely new ones. Professor Ali A. Mazrui put it thus, "The colonial impact, I have argued, transformed the natural basis of stratification in Africa." Instead of status based on, say, age, there emerged status based on literacy. Instead of classes emerging from the question, "Who owns what?" class formation now responds to the question, "Who knows what?"15
Education is indeed a priority value to the African; it is truly power. In Africa, it is a door to other values and carries with it affluence and social influence Two forms of knowledge have been particularly critical in determining who rules Africa: literacy or academic knowledge among African intellectuals and military knowledge within the African armed forces. The knowledge of the intelligentsia has produced something approaching a meritocracy; the skills of the soldiers have produced what might be called a militocracy.16
Also as a result of urbanization and its economic imperatives on modern life, money has assumed a very important value in Africa, as in other continents. Like knowledge it too is power. "The pursuit of personal profit has escalated in African economic systems," Professor Mazrui noted. With the heavy influence of Western capitalism, the African clearly is developing and appreciating the values of capitalism as well, such as class distinction based on the haves and have-nots, competitive spirit, private enterprise and the profitmotive.
These values are highly operative particularly in the economic life of the modern urban African. Indeed, money economy and what Mazrui paraphrases as "the culture of the clock"17 or time consciousness have made material progress in the modern scientific and technological sense additional values for the African.
One cannot really speak about urbanization and its philosophy of material progress without mentioning labor or work, which in its modern scientific sense is a new value. Of course, for the premodern African, as Guy Hunter observed, work was necessary for subsistence, to fulfill tribal and family obligations, to amass bride price or perhaps gain status: it had no personal moral connotation.18
But to the educated urban African work has increased its value and is seen as a condition for progress as well as for money. It does mean long hours at the office or on the farms, the emergence of working class mothers, of young working girls and boys particularly in cities, and less leisure. Hunter summarizes it all, "Probably the greatest shock to the newly educated African in paid employment is that he has to work all day and everyday."19 Certainly, this new attitude to work is far removed from the older African way of life.
URBANIZATION AND AFRICAN SELF-REALIZATION
From the above reflection, there is no doubt that urbanization as a sociological process alters the everyday life and culture of a people. In Africa as in practically all cultures, it has given rise partly to a transvaluation and partly to a reversal of traditional values. Certainly it has created additional values. Of course, urbanization need not go with industrialization and technological development, though these are prime factors and causes for city growth and development. Education too is one of the causes of the rural drift to cities, or urbanization, in Africa as elsewhere.
The point which must be stressed here is that it is through all these factors, namely, healthy development of cities, of science, arts, technology and education that the African hopes and strives to achieve self-realization. This is the ideal he has pursued steadfastly since independence.
His post-independence thrust has been for self-reliance and the mastery of his continent, for his experience of colonial subjugation and its concomitant humiliation was highly unpleasant. "We have for too long been the victims of foreign domination," Kwame Nkrumah, the late leader of Ghana once said. "For too long we have had no say in the management of our own affairs or in deciding our own destinies."20
The same realization of impotence and frustration on the part of the African after his colonial experience is concisely stated by Obi B. Egbuna:
We do not control our land, our lives or our direction. We do not command the means of distribution or production. We do not even earn a reasonable living wage, but we were born here and our forefathers claim ownership of the land.21
Consequently, what the present-day African wants is power, the scientific knowledge and technical skill to establish himself as the master and architect of his world and destiny. This is tantamount to a reestablishment of self in a self-determined, self-directed and self-controlled environment.
In this great task, he needs, among other things to industrialize, to buildup and develop his cities, and not least of all to enter into the race for technological, scientific and material progress as must the rest of the world in the quest for that "good life" which is the end of all political societies. In this ambition the African experiences definite tensions. As seen above, on the one hand, he wishes to retain many values of his traditional culture which, on the other, urbanization and the imperatives of modern life seriously threaten.
For Africans, as for the rest of the world, rural drift to cities has a purpose, namely, to seek employment, education, better living conditions or even negatively to escape from certain traditions which are found to be unpleasant. In other words, the escape of people to towns is to search for alternative forms of subsistence, generally for making life worth living. In the resulting urbanization certainly they experience additional problems.
Another outstanding value of the modern African is his desire to build up African culture. "We are doing everything to revive our culture," Nkrumah assured the National Assembly in Accra in 1965. Indeed since independence, culture-building has remained for the African a top practical pursuit.
The various festivals of arts and culture held in many African countries bear this out, as well as the pursuit of indigenous technology and political systems as the "Ujamaa Experiment" in Tanzania initiated by Julius K. Nyerere,23 and the promotion of indigenous music, painting, religion, fashion and education for self-reliance in many African nations.
In short, the African wishes to retain his self-identity through retaining his traditional values, yet, he experiences that his drift to the cities and the values of its scientific and technological culture, which are vital concomitants of modern civilization, seriously endanger his traditional values, and consequently, his cultural identity. He wants to retain the past, from which he yet alienates himself. Is this possible, or as Professor Maquet put it, "Is such an undertaking viable?"23
Urbanization therefore poses serious problems for the African. Although industrial techniques and scientific development do not yet completely dominate his life, steadily they are influencing practically all aspects of his life today. Will the scientific and technological values of modern civilization, in time, eliminate the traditional ones and alienate the African from himself? This is the question; and it is a crucial problem for the African himself.
Professor W.E. Abraham gives his own view. "The future of Africa," he says, "rests on the present and the present is an outcome of the past.
By the present, one wishes to indicate the resultant of the operation of the forces of traditional Africa and the forces which the contact with Europe has unleashed." Scientific knowledge and techniques--modern man's common inheritance--may well be regarded as one of the "forces unleashed" on the African by contact with America and Europe.
Consequently, an important test of his maturity, of his quest for self-realization and self-identity, is his ability to domesticate or indigenize these adventitious values, that is to say, those values brought about by his contact with the white man's scientific and technological culture.
"The progress of Africa will depend on Africa's ability both to appreciate problems and to solve them," Abraham reiterates.25
Africa's success in her struggle for self-realization and self-identity will depend then on her ability to subject foreign values to her traditional ones, to master and at the same time domesticate industrial techniques and scientific knowledge to serve her own ends, and not the other way round.
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