I

NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

I
NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONANDOTHERRELI
GIONS

Indige nousRe ligiondi ff

ersfromr eli
gi onssuc hasJ uda is
m,Chr isti
anity,a ndI slami nan umbe r
ofwa ys .Al t
houghi ndividua lpe oplesma yr e
me mbe rlegendaryf igur esfr om t he i
rhi story,
Indige nousRe ligionha snos inglef ounde rorc entralhistori
calfigur e
.I tor igina teswi t
ht he
peoplet hems el
ve [Link] sa nexpr essionofma nythous andsofye arsofl ivi
ngc l
os etot helanda nd
ofs eek i
nga nswe rstot hemys teriesofl ife:Whya rewehe re?Howdowel ivewe ll?Whydowe
die?I ndi genousRe ligionha snoc hur che sormos que slikethoseofChr is
tianit
yorI [Link] t
ead
ithass hrinesc ons t
ruc teda c
c ordingt ot hetr a
diti
onsoft hepa rt
icul
a rge ographi cala rea
.Pe opl e
ma ya lsot urntoage ographicalorna turalfeatur
e,s ucha samount ainoral arget ree ,asaf ocus
forwor [Link] ndige nousRe l
igiont he reisnos ingleor dainedpr i
[Link] ligiousdut iesar e
carri
e doutbyava rietyofr eligiousl ea ders
.The rea repr i
estsandpr iestesses,he alers,diviners,
me diums ,s eer
s ,r a
inma kers,e lders,a ndr ulers
,e achwi thas pecialr olei nma intai
ningt he
spiri
tua ll i
feoft hec ommuni tya ndi tspe ople.

THEORALTRADI
TION

IndigenousReligi
onlorehasalwaysbeenpasseddownor a
ll
[Link] r
eisnowr i
tte
ns e tofbeli
efs
,
no“ holybook”s uchastheBibleortheQur a
[Link]
lbeli
efsandrule
sf orli
vinga r
epa s
sed
downf r
om gene r
ati
ontoge ne
rat
ionbywor dofmout [Link] ri
canpeopleshavenowr i
tt
en
language,butme mbersofthecommunityaretra
inedfr
omc hi
ldhoodtoperformpr odigiousact
s
ofme mor i
zat
ion,reci
ti
ngthewholehis
toryofthecommunityforsucce
ssi
vege ne
rations.

BASI
CBELI
EFS

Fol lowe rsofI ndi genousRe ligionma kenodi s

tincti
onbe t
we e nrel
igiona ndot heraspe c
tso fthe i
r
live [Link] i
rbe liefsa r
es oc l
ose l
yboundt otheircult
urethatre l
igi
ona ndc ultureareone .Re ligion
ist he r
eforenots ome thi
ngpe opledoa tc ert
aintime sandi nc ert
ainpl a
c es,butitispa rtoft he
fabr icofl [Link] thoughaSupr emeBe ingisa bovetheliving,lessergods ,spir
its
,a nda nces tors
wa lkbe sid et hel ivi
nga ndgui dethemi nthedi r
ecti
ont he ymus [Link] ya res ome t
ime s
dis pleasedbyt hos ewhodonothe edthe [Link] opleandgodsa r
ec ons tantlyinter
ac ti
ngt hrough
ritual,pr ayer,a nds a
c ri
fi
ce,butmos tlythrought hebusinessofl [Link] ric a
np eopl es
communi ty,c ulture,a ndr e
ligiona retightl
yboundt [Link] ri
ca nvi ewoft hewor l
di s
funda ment al
l yoneofbe i
ngpa rtofac ommuna [Link] oplebe li
e vei ns hari
ngt he i
rpr ope rty
ands ervice s
,a ndt heye xpecttheot herme mbe rsofthecommuni tyt os harewi [Link] teve r
ha ppe nst ot hei ndividualha ppe nstot hewhol egroup,a ndwha t
e verha ppenst ot hegr oup
ha ppe nstot hei ndi vi
dua l
.Thei ndivi
dua lcanonl ysay,'
'Iam,be causewea re,ands incewea r e
,
the reforeIa m, "a ndi nthiscommuni tyspiri
tli
e sthei
rsecurity.

Rev
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 I
NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

AFRI
CANRELI
GIONANDI
SLAM

Islamme ans“ submi ssi

ont othewi llofGod. ”Thec r
e edofI s
lami s“The r
ei snogodbutAl lah
[God] ,andMuha mma di sHi spr ophe t
.”Whe nMus l
imsa r
rivedinAf r
icaint hes event
hc entury
[Link] dnoti dentif
yAf r
icanr el
igiona sar e l
[Link] yc al
ledthena t
ivepe opleka ff
irs,
whi chme ans“ i
nfidels”— pe opl ewhoha venof ai
th,orunbe li
[Link] mes tuck,a nd
Af r
icansc amet obeknowna spe oplewi t
hnof [Link] arl
yMus limsdi dnotwa geahol ywa r
againstAf rica
nr el
igionorpr actic
ef orcedc onve r
s i
[Link] ver,Islam pr ovedt obea n
attr
a c
tivere li
giont oma nyAf ricans,pa rt
icularl
yi nthenor th,whoma yha vef ounds i
mi lar
itie
s
be t
we enthe irreli
giona ndI s
[Link] ayIslami soneoft hemos tdynami cr el
igionsinAf ri
c [Link]
iswe llrepr ese
nt e
di npr acti
ca l
lya llAf ri
ca nna [Link] omeAf r
icanc ountriessucha sLi bya
andMor oc coi tisthepr edomi nantr el
[Link] ric anpe opleshavewonde rfultalestotellabout
thebe ginningoft i
me .Tr adi
tiona ll
yt hee lde r
soft hevi l
lagega t
herthec hi l
drena ndt e
llthe m
aboutt imeswhe nt hewor l
dwa syoung,whe na nima lscouldt a
lk,whe nhe r
oeswa lkeda mong
huma nkind ,whe ntheirGodma det heEa rtha nde ve r
ythingini t
.I ntheha ndsoft hes kil
led
storytel
lert hec haract
e r
sc omea live,andt hec hildrenwi llneverf or
gett [Link] toriesa r
e
entertai
ning,bute ntert
ainme nti snott he irprima r
ygoa [Link] he ylisten,t hec hi
ldrena r
e
absorbingt hemyt hsa ndthec ultureoft heirc ommuni t
y.

HOW TRADI
TIONI
SPASSEDON

Livingc l
osetona t
ure,Af r
ic anshavea l
wa ysobs er
vedt hewor ldaroundt [Link] ngup,t he
y
sawt hev aste xpanseoft hes [Link] oundt he mt he
ys aw oc e
ans,s eas,lake s
,r i
vers,forest
s,
anima l
s,a ndma nyot herma rvelsofc r
e [Link] yponde redt heki ndsof quest
ionst hat
huma nkindha saskedf orunt oldc e
ntur
[Link] dthewor ldc omet obe ?Wha tha ndfashione
d
usa ndputushe re?Wha tdoe sitme antobea li
ve?Ove rcenturi
espe opleha vefor medans wers
tosuc hque s
ti
ons ,oftenint hef ormofs t
orie s,myths,andpr over
[Link] seans we rswerepa sse
d
downbywor dofmout hfrom onege nerationt othene xt
.Int hi
swa yor a
lt radit
ions,ma nyof
whic haddressque s
tionsofe xi s
tencefr
omt hebe ginningoftime ,areestabli
she d.

Theor a ltradit
ionsc onst
it
utet heme thodoft ransmittinghi st
orya ndr eli
gioust radi
tionsby
spokenr a t
hert ha nwr it
tenme a ns.I nAf ric
ant radit
iona lc ommuni ti
esi twa spa r
tofhome
educat
iont ome mor iz
ethoset r
a dit
io nswi t
hgr eata cc
ur [Link] altradit
ionsa repa ss
e doni na
vari
et
yoff orms —i nmyths,legends ,storie
s,andpr [Link] orie
sge nera
llys a
ys ome thi
nga bout
lif
einor dertoe duc a
teande nte r
taint hec ommuni [Link] hsde alwi t
ht hedi [Link] yha ve
rel
igi
ouss ubjects,s uchastheor i
gi noft heuni versea ndofna t
[Link] ya ddressa nda nswer
quest
ionsl ike,Whe redidhuma nkindc omef r
om?Ho wa rehuma nbeingse xpectedtoa ctasthey
tra
velthro ughlife ?Wha tisthede stinyoft hehuma nr ace?Le gendsa r
eabodyofs t
oriesabout
famil
ies,pe ople
,a ndpa r
ti
cularl
yhe roesoft hecommuni [Link] tenbasedonr ealpeopleandf acts
,
theyha vebe ent olda ndret
oldunt ilt heybe comepa r
toft hel oreoft hec ommuni tya sawhol e
.
Proverbsa reshor tstat
ementsthate xp resswisdoma boutc r
eationa ndhuma nexperience.

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 I
NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

CREATI
ONMYTHSANDTHEFALLOFHUMANKI
ND

Fromt heirearli
estbeginnings ,Af r
icanpe opleha veaske dque sti
onsa boutt hei
rexi s
[Link] h
quest
ionsa s,Whoa rewe ?Howdi dwec omet obehe re?Hows houldweunde rst
andourpl a
cei n
thi
swor ld?ha vegivenr is
et ot her ichandva ri
edc reat
i onmyt hsofAf r
ic [Link] hsof
creat
iontellofthesacredbe ginni ngsoft hepe [Link] yus ual
lyc ent
e ronaSupr e
meBe ingwho,
accordi
ngt oAf rica
nor alt r
a dition,c rea
te dthewor [Link] yrecogni zethes peci
a lposit
iont he
Creatorhasg i
ve ntohuma nki [Link] r
icanc re
ationmyt hsof tentellaboutt hespecialrela
tionship
betweenaGoda ndt hef ir
stpe ople,whe nt hehe ave nswe r
eve r
yc l
os etoEa [Link] we ver
huma nki
nd ,beingimpe rfect,ma demi st
a kesforwhi cht heymus tbepuni [Link] ri
canmyt hs
commonl yc oncludewi t
hal es sona bouttheimpor ta
nc eofpe oplelivingwe l
linthiswor l
d.

HEROESANDLEGENDS

Huma nlifeisgeneral
lyma rkedbys ucces
sa ndf a
ilureaswe l
lasava ri
etyofmi norupsand
[Link] rotal
esandlegendsfocusons uc
ce s
s,encouragingaposit
ivegroupima ge
.InAfric
an
tr
adit
ions,manyhe r
oesa r
ehuma nbe i
ngswhoa r
ede if
ied,thati
s,el
evate
dt othesta
tusofgods.
Throught hei
ractsonEa r
ththeyb ecomea ssoci
atesoft heSupremeBe i
ng.A he romaybe
someonewhodoe sagreatdeedforthecommuni tyors ome onewhos e
emst ouche
dbyt hegods,
especi
all
yc hos
enfromc hil
dhoodforsomehi gherpurpose.

STORI
ESANDFABLES

Stor
iesandfablesusuall
yill
ust
rat
esomet rut
ha bouthuma nnat
ureandendwithas tat
edor
unst
[Link]
esarepar
tl
yf orent
ert
ainme nt
,butt
heyaremorethanjustamusi
ng
ta
[Link]
et heAf r
icanwayofteachingandpa s
singdownethi
cs,orr
ightbehavi
or,t
othe
nextgene
rat
ion.

PROVERBS

Pr
overbsar
eshor
tsayi
ngsthate
xpres
sar ecogni
zedtrut
[Link]
usepeopl
ere
pea
tthe
m oft
en,
t
heya ree
asytoremember
.Af r
ica
npe opl
ee xpr
esstheirbe
li
efinthei
rGodandhisworks
t
hroughpr
over
bst
hatre
mindthemconst
antl
yofhispowe r
.

I
NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONANDTHEORALTRADI
TION

TheAf ricanor altr

adit
ion,withi t
smyt hs,l
egends,st
ories,andproverbs,inst
il
lsthei mportant
ele
me ntso frel
igionandc ult
ureinthemi ndsandhe a
rtsoftheAf r
icanpe opl
ea l
lthewa ya c
r oss
t
hec ontinent
.Thes t
ori
e s
,myt hs,andt alest
hattheyhe a
ra ndrepe
atfrome ar
lychildhoodtea ch
t
he ma boutthee thi
cs,belief
s,andt r
a di
tionsofthei
rc ommuni t
[Link] he i
roralli
terat
urethe y
l
e a
rnwhyt hingsa r
ea st heya rea ndhow l ifeistobel ivedont hisEa rt
[Link] r
hapsmos t
i
mpor tantl
yt heyl e
arnoft hepowe ra ndma jest
yofaGod,t heSupre meBe ing,a ndoft heir
speci
alre l
ati
onshiptohim, thei
rCr ea
tora ndthegiverofallli
fe.

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 I
NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

PROVERBSI
NAFRI
CANSOCI
ETY

Prove r
bste
achr e
vere ncefora nda ppr e
ciati
onofauthorit
y;ther e
ali
zati
onthatGodtheCr eatoris
as upremebeing,reve r
enc eforj ustic
e,huma nsympa thya ndf ell
owf eel
ingamongi ndivi
dua l
s,
thea bi
li
tyto[tur
na wa yf rom]bi t
ternessandlear
nf rom pa infulexper
iences
,andthef uti
li
tyof
envya ndcompe t
it
ive [Link] yhe lpyout oundersta
ndt ha tifyout wis
tthearmofj usti
ce,you
twistthemoralsoft hes ociet
[Link] a
nnota l
lhopet obel iket hema iz
e( c
orn).Thema i
zeha s
goodl uckalltheti
me .Itgoe st ot hes oi
lnakedandr e
turnswi t
hgoodl uckwi t
hhundr edsof
childre
[Link] tyourf ivef i
nge [Link] etheyequal
?Soa rehuma nbe i
[Link] niswi s
e
beca us
eheisinhiss econdc hildhooda nd,likeachi
ld,hei sa lwaysreadytolear
n.

THESHI
NINGONE

Thei ndi
genouspeopl
eha vemanyprover
bsthatarerel
at
edtothei
rcre
ati
onmyths
.Theirname
forGodi sMwa r
i,whichme a
ns“theSupr
emeBe ing,”“t
heShini
ngOne,”“t
heOri
gina
tor,
”and
“fi
rstmoverofeveryt
hing.
”Herearesomeofthewa y
sinwhichthei
rpr
over
bsdepi
cthi
m:

Noonepoi
ntsoutMwa
rit
oac
hil
d.

TheEa
rthi
swi
de,butMwa
rii
schi
ef.

Al
lpe
opl
ear
eMwa
ri’
sof
fspr
ing;noonei
stheof
fspr
ingofEa
rth.

Al
lMwa
ridi
disgood.

Theor
derMwa
riha
sse
tt
le
d,l
ivi
ngpe
opl
eca
nnots
ubve
rt.

The
rei
snoby-
pas
stoMwa
ri’
sde
sti
ny.

PHYSI
CALANDSPI
RITUALSUFFERI
NG

Indi
genousReli
gionteache
st hatpeopl
ea rema deupofmor a
l,soci
al,spir
it
ual
,andphysi
cal
part
[Link]
sf unct
iontogether
.Ifa nypartisoutofba l
ance
,thepe rsonmaybecome
physi
call
yillors uf
ferspir
it
[Link] onf
li c
twi t
ha notherpers
onmayma ke
someonesic
k,oramor almis
de e
dma ybringaboutmis
for
tune.

COMMONTHEMESI
NINDI
GENOUSRELI
GIOUSLI
FE

Alt
houghI
ndige
nousReli
gionva
rie
swidel
yfr
om r
egi
ont
ore
giona
ndpe
opl
etope
opl
e,t
her
e
ar
eanumberofthi
ngst
hatt
heyal
lhavei
ncommon.

•Allthi
ngsint
heuni
ver
sea
repa
rtofawhol
[Link]
rei
snos
har
pdi
st
inc
ti
onbe
twe
ent
hes
acr
ed
andthenons
acr
ed.

•inmos tI
ndi
genoustr
adi
ti
onst
her
eisaSupr
emeBe
ing:ac
rea
tor
,sus
tai
ner
,pr
ovi
der
,and
cont
rol
le
rofal
lcrea
ti
on.

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 I
NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

•Servingwi t
ht hecr
eat
orareava ri
et
yofles
sera
ndi
nte
rmedi
arygodsa
ndguardi
anspi
ri
ts.
Thesele s
sergodsareconst
ant
lyinvol
vedinhuma
naf
fair
[Link]
ecommuni
cat
ewi t
hthe
se
godsthroughri
tual
s,s
acr
ific
es,a
ndpr a
yer
s.

•Thehumanc ondi
tionisimper
fec
tandal
wayswillbe
.Si
ckness
,suff
eri
ng,andde
athareal
l
f
undament
alpart
sofl i
[Link]
fer
ingisc
aus
edbys i
nsandmisde
edsthatoffe
ndthegodsand
anc
est
ors
,orbybe i
ngoutofhar
monywiths
oci
ety.

•ri
tualact
ionsma
yrel
ievetheprobl
emsandsufferi
ngsofhuma
nl i
fe,e
ithe
rbysat
is
fyingt he
of
fe nde
dgodsorbyresol
vingsocia
lconf
lict
[Link]
tua
lshel
ptore
stor
epe opl
etot
hetradit
ional
va
luesandr e
newt
hei
rcommi t
menttoaspi
ri
tua
llif
e.

•Hu mans oci

et
yi scommuna l
.Anc est
ors,theli
ving,t
helivi
ng-
de a
d,andthos
eyettobeborna
re
allani mportantpa r
toft hec ommuni t
[Link] el
at
ionshi
psbe twee
nt heworldlyandthe
othe
rworldlyhelptoguideandba l
ancethel i
[Link]
era
ctwi
th
thespi
ri
twor l
d,whi chisal
laroundthem.

THESUPREMEBEI
NG

MostIndi
genousor
alt
radi
ti
onsha
vepointedt
otheexis
tenceofapowe
rabovewhi
cht
her
eisno
ot
herpower,aSupr
emeBeing,Cr
eat
or,andOri
gina
toroftheWorl
d.

TheAf
ri
canConc
eptofMonot
hei
sm

InWe sternr el
igionr el
igiouss yst
e msa r
eus ual
lyclass
ifi
edase it
hermonot he i
sti
c,tha tis,
beli
evingi noneGod,orpol yt
he i
st
ic,be li
evinginmanygods .I
nAf ri
canreligi
onmonot heis
m
andpol ytheis
me xis
tsidebys i
[Link] t
ent heAf r
ica
nconceptofmonothei
smi soneofahi era r
chy
withaSupr e meBe i
nga [Link] hissyst
e mtheSupremeBeingrule
sove rava stnumbe rof
divi
niti
e swh oa r econsideredtobet hea ss
ociat
[Link] rica
nunde r
standi
ngoft he
str
uctureoft hehe a
venlyki ngdom mi ghtbec ompar
edt otheChris
tia
nc onceptofGodr uli
ng
overthes aintsanda [Link] vi
n ehi er
archyinAfri
canrel
igi
onma kesitpossibletoclassi
fy
thema sbo t
hmonot heist
ica ndpolytheist
icatonce(monothei
smwi t
hpolythei
sm).

TheNa
tur
eoft
heSupr
emeBe
ing

Howt hema nydiffe

rentAfri
canpe op
l esconcei
veofGodus uall
yf oll
owst hesoci
alstr
uct
ureof
aparti
cula
rlocal
ityorcult
[Link]
canpe oplewhosec ul
ture
sa r
eor ganiz
eda smonarchi
eswitha
kingatthehe a
dus ual
lyconc e
iveoft hei
rGoda sthes upr
emeki [Link] herecanbeonlyone
supre
mek inginac ommuni t
y,Af r
icansha vetr
adit
ionallyconc
lude dthatther
ecanbeonlyone
SupremeBe ingfortheenti
rehuma nr [Link] j
orityofAf r
icanpe ople
sc onc
eiveofGoda s
one.

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NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

ATTRI
BUTESOFGOD

Peopl
einIndi
genousre
li
gioust
radi
ti
onsf
reque
ntl
yas
soc
iat
ethe
irSupr
emeBe
ingwi
thc
ert
ai
n
ba
s i
catt
ri
but
[Link]
eare:

•Godi
stheCr
eat
orofa
llt
hings
.

•Godi
sthea
bsol
utec
ont
rol
le
rands
ust
ai
neroft
heuni
ver
se.

•Godpr
ovi
desf
orwha
thec
rea
ted.

•Godpos
ses
sesa
llt
hathec
rea
ted.

THECREATOROFALLTHI
NGS

Bot
hAf r
icanoralt
radi
ti
onsandla
terwrit
te
nsour
cesindi
cat
ethatallAf
ri
canpe
opl
esbe
li
eve
t
hatpowerofcr
eati
onist
hefore
mostat
tr
ibut
eoft
heSupremeBeing.

Afric
anmythsofcreat
ionstronglysupporttheide
at ha
tallAfr
ica
nsatal
ltimesfr
ompr ehist
ory
tothepr
ese
nt-dayhaverecognizedaSupr emeBe ingastheCreat
orofal
lthi
[Link]
ionthe
namesbywhichma nydiff
e r
e ntgr
oupsa c
ros sAfr
icacal
ltheSupremeBei
nge xpr
esstheideaof
Goda st
he“Origi
nat
or,”Creatorofeveryt
hing.

CONTROLLERANDSUSTAI
NEROFTHEUNI
VERSE

Inmos tAfri
cantr
adit
ionandthoughtone’sGodhasabsolut
ec ontr
oloft
heunivers
eanda llt
hat
itconta
[Link]
sbecauseal
lotherbeingsexi
stbec
auseofhi [Link] i
gina
toroftheunivers
e,
Godi stheult
imat
efounta
inhe
a dofallpowerofal
lnatur
alrul
esf oror
der
lyexis
tenc
[Link]
thediffer
entregi
onsofAf ri
cae xpressGod’scontr
oll
inga nds ust
ai
ningrol
eofc reat
ioni n
vari
ouswa ys.

THEPROVI
DER

Inname s,i
nmyt hol
ogy,inlegends
,a ndpart
icul
arl
yi nproverbs,Afri
canpeopl
eshowthatt
hey
areawa r
ethatthei
rGodpr [Link] yacknowledget hi
sinavariet
yofways.“God
give
shi sgi
ftst
owhos oeverhefavors.”Afr
icanshavealsoobs e
rvedthatt
heprovi
denc
eofGod
func
tionsent
ire
lyindepe
nde nt
lyofhuma nbeings.

Rev
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GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

THENAMESOFGOD

Thefol
lowingnamesofgode xpre
ssIndi
genousRe l
igi
ousidea
soft heonegodthecr
eat
or.
TheseAfri
cannamesdemonst
ratetheuni
tyofthinkingaboutagodwhi l
eatthesameti
me
expr
ess
ingtheAf
ric
andi
vers
it
yofe xpre
ssi
onaboutthesameandonegod.

Thec
rea
torofe
ver
ythi
ng

Hewhoi
seve
rywhe
re;

Hewhos
eesa
ndhe
arse
ver
ythi
ng

Theonewhobe
arst
hewor
ld

Omni
pot
entf
athe
r

Ul
ti
mat
esour
ceofpowe
r

Gr
eatc
rea
torSpi
ri
t

Cr
eat
orSpi
ri
t

Owne
rofa
llt
hings

Powe
roft
heSun

Skygod

TheShi
ningone

Al
one
,thegr
eatone

TheMos
tSupr
emeBe
ing

TheHi
gh-
Upone

Theoneyoume
ete
ver
ywhe
re

Hewhos
uppl
ie
sthene
edsofHi
scr
eat
ure
s

“
Who-
appe
are
d-f
irs
t,
”thepowe
rabove
,una
ppr
oac
habl
e,unpr
edi
ct
abl
e,ofnos
pec
ifi
cse
x

Hewhoi
sin,orownst
hes
ky,t
hegr
eatoneoft
heSk
y

Thegr
eatol
des
tone

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VENOTES

THESPI
RITWORLD

InI ndi ge nousRe ligiont heSupr emeBe i

ngr eignsa st hec hi
e fgodi nhe a [Link] ver,inmos t
traditionshei snoti nvolve di nt heda y-t
o- daya ffairsofhuma nbe i
ngs .Thi sf unctionhede l
e gates
tot hel essi mpor t
antgodsofAf r ica nbeli
e fwhooc cupyt hes [Link] piritwor l
di sma de
upofs upe rhuma nbe ings ,be ingst hatocc upyt hes piritua lunive rsebe twe engodsa ndhuma nity,
thes pa cebe t
we enhe avena ndEa [Link] yi nvisiblyt readt heEa rths ot hatt heya rec onti
nua lly
pres ent.I tistot hesel esse rgodst hatpe oplet urni nt ime sofj oya nds orrow.I ti stot hemt hat
theyma ker eque st
sc once rningt he irneedsa ndde sire
s ,a ndtot he mt ha tthe yma keof fer
ingsa nd
sacr i
fic esforhe alt
ha ndha ppine ss ,successfulc rops,thebi rt
hofhe al
thyc hildren,a ndpr otecti
on
from e [Link] rhuma nbe ingse xistinahi erarc hy—t ha ti s
,t he yarer anke da cc ordingt ot he i
r
ne arne ssa ndimpor t
a ncet ot heSupr emeBe [Link] timpor t
ants upe rhuma nbe ingsma ybe
calleda ssociat
e [Link] sea rel es
sergodswhor ankbe l
owt heSupr emeBe i
ngbutwhoof ten
wor kj ointlywi thhi [Link] heri nf luentia
ls pirit
soft hec ommuni tyarei nte rme di
a ries,gua rdians,
anda nc [Link] dia riesa res pir
ita gentst ha ta cta sgo- betwee nsbe twe endi viniti
esa nd
huma ns .Spi r
itualgua rdiansa nda nc es
torsa repr otectorsa nda dvoc at
e sf orhuma ns,s pir
itua lly
pos it
io nedbe twe ens uperhuma nbe ingsandhuma nbe ings .

SPI
RITSOFTHESPI
RITWORLD

Afric ant ra
dit
iona ndthoughtconsiders piri
tstobee l
eme nt
sofpowe r
,force,authority,andvital
ener gyunde rlyingallexist
ence
.Invis
iblet hought hispowe rmaybe,Af r
icanspe r
ceivei tdi
rect
ly.
Peopl eknow a ndbe l
ievethatspir
it
sa rethe re.I ntheirdail
ylivestheypoi nttoava ri
etyof
actionst hatve r
ifytheexist
enceofspiri
ts .Theya ls oknowt hats
piri
tsaretobeha ndledwi t
hc a
re.
He nc etheva ri
e t
yofr itual
sandt aboost ha tac knowl e
dget heexist
enceofs pir
it
s .Spi r
it
sa r
e
founde ve r
ywhe [Link] r
etheya rec onsidere dtobe ,peopl
[Link] reisno
obje ctorc r
ea t
ure,thereisnoc orneroft heEa rth,thatisnotinhabit
edbys piri
[Link] e
some t
hingc omma ndsa we—byi tssi
z e,be auty,orpowe r—themor ethatthi
ngbe come sidenti
fi
edwi t
hs pi
rit
s.

SPI
RITUALGUARDI
ANS

Spir
it
s,noma tt
eratwhic hleve lt
he ymaybe,inspi
resomes ens eofsupe rhuma nit
[Link] xample
ofthi
sist hos
es pi
rit
sde si
gna teda sspi
ri
tua
lgua rdi
[Link]
ua lguardia nsareava ri
edgroup.
Amongt he marea nc
estorsa ndt hespir
it
sofde part
edhe r
oes .Anot he
rt ypeofs pir
itresi
desin
nat
urallandmarks.A ne ar
bymount a
inma ybet hea bodeoft hespir
i tt hatisguardi
ant othe
[Link] pir
itofar ive rma ybeidenti
fie
da sguardianoft hata [Link] xt
raordi
nari
ly
hugetr
eei navill
agema yb ec onsider
edtheabodeofal oca
ls pirit
ualgua rdian.

Animall
ife
,too,mayhousespi
rit
[Link]
dma ybeacce
ptedinac ommuni
tynota
samascot,
butasaspi
rit
ualanc
horageoft
hegua r
dianspi
ri
tofaloca
lit
[Link]
nspir
it
sofacommunit
y
arei
dent
if
iedinnume r
[Link]
ommuna lrit
ual
.

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VENOTES

SPI
RITSOFTHEDEPARTED

Thes pirit
soft hede ada r
epa rtofthes pi
[Link] r
ea ncest
orsandot hersa r
et hespiri
tsof
theordi naryde a
d—t hatis,thede adofthec ommuni t
ywhoa renei
thera ncestorsnori de
ntifie d
asout standin
gme mbersoft hec ommuni [Link] r
icansdonotwor s
hipt hei
rde a
da nc est
ors,but
theydove nerat
ea ndr e
spe [Link] dinaryde adarer es
pecteda swe ll,withduer itual
observationsbya l
lt heme mbersoft hec ommuni [Link] r
icanreli
giousbe li
e f
,whe nape rson
dieshisorhe rsouls epar
a t
e sfrom thebodya ndc hangesfrom beingas oultobe ingas pirit
.
Becomi ngas pir
itisas ociale l
evati
[Link] twa shuma nbecome ssuperhuma [Link] hispointt he
spir
ite ntersthes t
ateofi mmor tal
it
[Link] i
vinga reexpect
edt otakenot eoft hisde vel
opme nt
andr ende rduer especttot hede part
edt hroughr i
[Link]
oplee xpectanc e
s t
orstobeunc easing
guardiansoft heliving.

THESPI
RITUALHI
ERARCHY

Imagi net heunivers

ea sbeinglikeag ove r
nme [Link] hehe adist heCr eat
or,theSupr emeBe ing.
Hei se ve rprese
ntbutdoe snotma naget hedailya ff
a irsofhuma [Link] sresponsi
bi l
it
yhe
del
ega t
est ohi sa s
s oci
ate
s —alsodi vine,butofal esseror de r
.Thea s
socia
tesofGoda re
spi
ritua l
lyma det ohe addepart
me [Link] segodsha vebe e
nbr oughti ntobe i
nga sfunctionaries
intheGod- cent
eredgove rnmentoft heuni [Link] ya r
et hedi vi
nitieswhodot hes pir
itual
workofma nagi
ngt hehuma nwor ld,a ndtheya reth eone spe oplecalloni ntime soft rouble.
Theya rel ocalgods,inti
ma t
elyc onne ctedwit hl ocals i
tuati
ons .Eachoft hemist hegodofa
part
icu larp e
oplewithas pecif
icfunc t i
oninor deringt hetotallifeofthec ommuni t
[Link] rthe i
r
vari
ousna mesandf uncti
onsthedi vinitie
sformt hepa ntheonofgodsi ne achparticula
rlo cal
ity.
Panthe oni sthetermf oral
lthegodsofapa rt
icula rpe opletake [Link] ntheonsoft he
dif
fere ntAf r
icanrel
igionsdiff
ersome wha taccordingt othene edsa ndc haract
erofthepe ople.

Cr
oss
ingt
otheSpi
ri
tWor
ld

Whensome
onedi
ess
eni
orf
ami
lyme
mbe
rss
pea
kpr
aye
rsa
tthebur
ial
.Ones
uchpr
aye
rist
he
f
oll
owi
ng:

"
Yourchi l
drenwhom youha velef
the r
e,yous houldorde
rmoneyf [Link]
t
hemchildre
[Link] houl
ds endtheme ver
ythingTha ti
suse
dinthewor l
d...Asthe
yha veli
ved
t
[Link]
irc hil
dre
nlivetodoi tforthem...Asyoul ooke
daft
eryourchil
dre
n.
Whenyouwe reintheworld,Soyous houldlooka f
tert
hemUnceasi
ngly."

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 I
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GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

I
ndi
genousPe
opl
esa
ndt
heSpi
ri
tWor
ld

Associ
ate
sofone ’
sGod,na tur
a ls p ir
its
,thes pi
ri
tsofde pa
rte
dhe roe
s ,ance s
tors,a ndother
membe r
softhecommuni tyalljoint ogethe
rtoc r
eateasenseofli
vinginas piri
tuall
yc harged
uni
verse
.ForAfri
canbeliever
sthes piritworl
disneverver
yf a
[Link] kya ndsea,
Eart
ha ndallcreat
ion,a ndi nt heme mor yoft hos
ewhoha vegonebe [Link] oplef ee
l
communionwiththes pir
itsalla ro undt hema ndc ommunicat
ewitht hemr egula
r l
yt hrough
sac
rif
ice
,off
eri
ng,wor shi
p ,a
nds i
mpl ec onver
sat
[Link] ndi
ge nousRe l
igiona reas
neart
othemasthei
rfami l
y,fr
iends ,a ndne i
ghbors
.

RI
TESANDRI
TUALSI
NINDI
GENOUSRELI
GION

ToAfrica
nsbe li
efwithoutr i
tualact
ionwoul dtakeawa ymuc hofreli
gion’
[Link]
s
andri
tualpunctuatealla s
pectsofAf ri
canr e
li
[Link]
gioniss odeepl
yingra i
nedinthe
dai
lyli
feoft r
adit
ionalAf ri
cathatitisallbutimpossibl
etos epar
ateitfr
omot heraspect
softhe
cul
tur
[Link] r
icanc ommuni tyreli
gionisthes t
rongestinf
luenceonpe opl
e’sthoughts
,a c
ts,
andli
[Link] ageandot hercommuna lrit
esa rethec l
ear
estexamplesofhowr e
ligi
on
per
mea t
esallaspect
sofAf r
icanli
fe.

Ri
tesofPa
ssa
ge

Ri
tesofpa
ssa
gea
rer
it
est
hatha
vet
odowi
tht
hehuma
nli
fec
ycl
e.

Theya r
epra
cti
ces,cus
toms,a ndceremoni
esthatpeopl
eperf
ormtomovepeopl
es moothly
thr
oughthest
agesoflif
ef r
om beginningt
oe [Link]
age
sinc
ludebi
rt
handc hi
ldhood,
puber
tyandi
nit
ia
ti
on,marri
age,agi
ng,anddeat
h.

BI
RTHANDCHI
LDHOOD

Thee a
rlyst
age
softhel i
fecycl
eincl
udec once
pti
on,t
heper
iodofpre
gnanc
y,t
heact
ualbir
thof
t
hec hil
d,i
tsnaming,andi t
schi
[Link] i
te
sofbir
thbegi
nwi t
hthemot
her
’spregnancy.
SomeAf ri
cantra
dit
ionsregar
dconcepti
ona sacoope
rati
vevent
urebet
weent
hepare
nts-t
o-be,
t
heirGod,andtheassoc
iat
egods.

PREGNANCY

Whe nt het imef ort hebi rthcome s,expe r

iencedelder
lywome na c
ta smi dwivestohe lpthe
mothe rde l
iverthec hi
l [Link] oleofmi dwifeisconside
redthes acredc al
li
ngofame dici
ne
woma [Link] ri
canr eligionhealingisar eli
giousacti
vit
[Link] rt
hma yta kepl
aceinthehous e
orne a r
byi nas ec ur ea reaoft hega [Link] ongwi t
ht hene wbornba by,thepl a
centaa nd
umbilicalcor drece ives peci
alconsider
a t
[Link] s
et woitems,soc l
os el
yr el
at
edt othene wly
born,r e
quirer e
li
gi ousc ar
[Link] it
ualdisposaloftheplacent
aa ndtheumbi li
calcordindicat
es
tha
tt hec hi
ldha sdi e dt ot hest
a teofpregnanc yandisnowa liveina notherst
ateofexistence
.
Thec hildisborni ntot hene wli
fea spartofhuma nsocie
ty.

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VENOTES

BI
RTHSPI
RIT

Ins omeShon acult

ure sbel
ievet hatac hi
ldisbor nwithadoubl e
,ort win,c a l
le damul [Link] s
twi ncons i
st
soft hepla c
entaa ndumbi l
[Link] t
ert hebi r
ththemot he rwr a psthepl acentai n
ba nanale a
vesa ndbur ie
sita tthef ootofaba nanat r
eei ns uchawa ya st opr otectitfromwi ld
ani mal
s .Thet r
e ethena ssume ssa credsignificanceunt i
lt hefruitma ture [Link] ntheba nana s
ripenthec hil
d’spa te
rnalgr a
ndmot he rusesthe mt oprepa r
eas a
c r
edf eastma rkingtheoc casion.
Ina dditi
ont hemot herpreservesthepa rtoft heumbi li
c alcordthatr e
ma i
nsa tta c
hedt ot hec hild
[Link] onta
inapr otecti
ves pir
[Link] nitdr opsof fs hewr apsi tinba rk
clotha ndpr es
[Link] het imeo fthec hild’snami ngiti sdroppe dinac ontainerofba na na
wi ne,mi l
k,andwa te
[Link] hi
ldi sc onsi
deredl egit
ima t
e,andt hena mi ngpr oceeds .If
thec or
ds i
nksthechildiscons ider
e dill
egiti
ma te,andthemot herispunis he d.

NAMI
NGTHECHI
LD

Thena meac hil

dr eceive si se xpe ct
e dt oexpresst h
eve ryessenceoft hepe rsonwhobe a rsit
.
Name sindividua li
zec hildre n,gi vethe m as t
anding,a ndincorporat
et hemi ntot hecommuni t
y.
Parentst
akemuc hc a
re,the r ef
or e,inna megi [Link] mingce r
emoni esinZi mba bwedi ff
e rf r
om
peopletope opl e,butt hena me st hems e l
vesha veanumbe roft hi
ngsi nc [Link] lAf rican
name shaves pe ci
ficme a
ni ngs .Mos tAf ri
canpe rs
ona lnamesa tlea
stindire
c tl
yr eflectreligious
beli
ef,ands omeha ves t
r onglyr eligioustheme [Link] l
esspe rsonalna me si nI ndige nous
Reli
gioustradi ti
onse xpre ssr eligiousi [Link] reconnectedwi thdivi
ni t
ies,a ndma nya re
rel
atedtospiritualandhuma nc ircums [Link]
etoa t
tri
butesoftheSupr emeBe ing,f or
ins
tance,Ti
na s he,Muna she ,Te nda ishe,Kuda kwas heetc.

FROM PUBERTYI
NTOADULTHOOD

Pubert
yrite
sarecere
moniesperf
ormedtomarkthetimeduri
ngwhi c
hyoungpeoplemovefrom
chil
dhoodtoadole
scenc
[Link]
iat
eyoungpeopleint
otheadul
tworld,mar
kingthephysi
cal
changesthats
ignalt
hetra
nsit
ionfrom t
heasexualworl
dofc hil
dhoodtothesexualworl
dof
adult
hood.

I
NITI
ATI
ON

Thea pproach,timing,andplacesfortherit
esofini ti
ati
onva ryfr
om pe opl
et [Link]
peoplema ybei ni
tiat
edthroughe i
therphysic
ali nit
iati
onori nstructi
ona lret
rea
[Link] i
cal
ini
tia
tionusuall
yme ansci
rcumc i
si
on,ortheremovaloft hefores
kinoft hepe ni
sforboys,anda n
operati
ont oremovet hecli
tori
sforgirl
[Link]-calle
df emalecir
cumc i
sionisnowa nis
sueof
deepc ontr
[Link]
femaleempha s
isandthen ot
-infr
equentdeathsc ausedbyt hi
spa i
nful
operati
on on young gi rl
sha vel edt ointer
nati
ona la genci
esa nd ma ny tr
adit
ionale l
ders
dema ndingthatthepr act
[Link] ls
onow be c
omea nis s
uebywhi chha rd-
line
tra
dit
iona l
is
tsexpr e
ssthei
ropposit
iontomode r
ntrendss uchastherightsofwome n.

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VENOTES

Apa rtf
romthe i
rdramaa ndimpa ct
,initi
a t
ionri
tesco nveyma nyre l
igi
ousme a [Link]
youngpe opl
etor e
t r
eatsa wayfromhomewhe r
etheyl ear
nthea rt
sofc ommuna [Link]
int
roducedtotheba si
cf actsofadultli
[Link] yaretaughttheshari
ngofpr ivil
ege s,ri
ghts,duti
e s
,
andr es
ponsibi
li
tie
soft hec ommuni [Link] nit
iati
onr it
esgivet hemi nstr
uctioni nma t
ter
sof
sexuallif
e,ma r
riage,proc re
ati
on,a ndf amilyresponsibi
lit
ie
s .Throught hi
si niti
a t
iontheya re
prepare
da sa dult
st os he dbloodf ort [Link] ya realsoe ncouragedt oa cce
ptt he
responsi
bil
it
yofpl anti
ngt heirbiol
ogicalse e
da sawa yofcontri
butingtowa r
dane wge nera
tion
ofthecommu nitythroughma rr
iage
.

MARRI
AGE

Ma rri
a geisas ta r
tingpointf orane wge nerat
ion,asi tisas tart
ingpoi ntforpe rsonalimmor tal
it
y
thr
oughof fspring.I nAf r
icant houghtma rri
ageisar eligiousobl iga t
[Link] thoutma rria
get her
e
isnoa ssuranceofha vingde s
c [Link] pa r
tedc ountonbe i
ngt akenc areofby,a nda r
e
assuredofbe ingr ei
ncarnatedorr ebornthrough,t he i
rde scenda nts.A pe rsonwhoha sno
descenda ntsi ne ffe
ctdi sruptst hec hain ofr eincarna ti
on,t ot hegr eata nnoyanc eoft he
superhuma nb [Link] rria
get hereforeisas acr
e dunde rtakingt hatmus tnotbene [Link]
familiesga therinawi dec [Link] n,we ari
ngt raditi
ona lc ostume ,danc e
.The nt hereisan
excha ngeofpr esentsfrom t hebr idet ome mbe r
soft hegr oom’ sf ami l
[Link] s
ea reu suall
y
blanke t
sa ndma [Link] eci
pi entsda nceors i
ngt heirtha nks .Thegr oom’ sgift
,abl anket,comes
las
[Link] spresentedt ohimi nas kit
,whe r
eitisthrownove rhi shea [Link] ide’sfri
endsbe athim
playfully,indicati
ngwha tthe ywi lldoi fhedoe snott reatthebr idewe ll
,untilhee [Link] t
h
theexc hangeofgi ftsove r
,thef e
astbe gins
.Thef eastse alsthema r
[Link] nt hetwof ami l
ie
s
havee at
ent ogetherthec ouplei sjoineda sone.

AGI
NG

Ast heya dvancei na gep eoplea r

ede eme dtogr owi nexperiencea ndwi [Link] re
ntsa r
e
expe cte
dt obe arthet orchthathe l
pse nli
ghtent [Link] yt a
kepa rtinthee xpectat
ionsas
obs ervedintheAf r i
canpr overb“ I
ttakesavillaget or
a i
seachild.”Intimethe ycomet ool dage
andqua li
fyt obea ddresseda se l
de r
s,amongwho ma r
ef oundt hes age sands eersoft he
communi [Link] ver,inr ecentdecadesthereha sbeenade cl
inei ntradi
tionalrespectforthe
eldersduet os uchf actorsasthemovef romr uraltourbanareasa ndther esult
ingwe akeningof
fami lystr
[Link] dditi
onma nyfamilie
sha vebe enbrokenupbyde at
hsc ause
dbyt heAI DS
virus,civilstr
ife,orna tur
aldi sas
ter
[Link] reisa l
sotheinflue nceofagr owinggl obalyouth
culturea c
c es
sedt hroughi mpr ovedc ommuni cationssuchastheI nt
ernet
,wi thane mpha sison
cons ume r
ismr at
he rtha ntr
aditi
onalva l
ues.

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DEATH

De a
thi sthet i
mewhe nthes oulleavest hebodyt obecomeas pir
[Link] ri
canmyt hologya llot
sa
greatdea lofs pac
et othes ubjectofde [Link] l
lythes a
memyt hsofc rea
ti
ont ha tt
rac ethe
ori
ginofhuma nbe i
ngsi ncludet heor i
ginofde ath
.I nthesemyt hsde at
hof tenc ome stot he
worldbe causeofhuma nmi [Link] thoughAf r
icanpeopleacc e
ptde a
tha sana t
uralpa r
toft he
li
fec yclethe ygene r
all
yf eelthate ac hi ndivi
dualde a
tha l
wa ysha sac ausea s
soc i
atedwi th
supernatura
lpowe r
[Link] sei ncludemys t
icalpowe rsli
kema gic,wi tchcr
a f
t,ands [Link]
understandi
ngofde at
hbr ingswi thitther eal
izat
ionthatape r
son’sbodya ndsoula renol onger
one.I ndying,t heindivi
dua lhasj oinedt hewor l
doft hede parte [Link] actusuallye vokes
sorr
owf [Link] pirit
ua lpe ri
odofmour ningse t
si n,wi thfuneralri
testha tvary
bye t
hnicgr [Link]
lsf orar it
ualdi sposalofthebodyoft hede cea
s e
d.

Buria
lr i
tesarepe r
forme dbyt hec ommuni t
[Link] tt
endi
ngt heburi
albidf ar
ewe l
ltothe
decea
s e
dbyt hrowingabi tofsoilorflowerpeta
lsi
ntot hegra
vebe f
oretheburia
lisc ompl
ete
d.
Peopleareveryatt
entivetogivi
ngt hede pa
rte
dapr operfuner
al.I
tisimporta
ntthatt
hes pi
ri
tof
thedepart
edb econtentinthewor l
dbe yondandnotc omeba c
ka sadiss
a t
is
fie
dghos ttopl
ague
thos
eleftbehi
nd.

I
nma nyAf ric
antradi
ti
onst herea r
efinalfuneralri
te
[Link] sema r
kt hee ndoft hetimeof
mour [Link]
methede s i
gnate
dhe i
roft hedeceas
edisof fi
cial
lyde clar
ed,inst
all
ed,and
i
nves tedwiththerit
ualins
trume nt
sthatenti
tl
ehi m orhertothei nheri
[Link] c
tedtothe
f
inalf uneralri
tesi
stheideat hatthedeceas
edma ybereincar
nated,orr eborn,i
ntoane wl i
fe
t
hroughna [Link]
ngthi
st i
met hedecease
dbe comesincre
asingl
yi denti
fiedwiththeworldof
t
hes pirit
samongwhomheors henowdwe lls
.

RI
TUAL

Ri
tual
sarer
eli
gious
lyme a
ningf
ulact
stha
tpe
opl
epe
rfor
mina
ppr
opr
iat
eci
rcums
tanc
es,us
ual
ly
f
oll
owingst
ri
ct
lypresc
ribe
dpa t
te
rns
.

Rit
ualsar
et hec oncre
tee xpr
ess
ionofbe l
ie
[Link]
ica
nbe li
eve
rs,andi
ndeedbel
ie
ve r
sofa l
l
re
ligi
ons
,fee
lt ha
tt he
yha vetoshowthe
irbeli
efi
nsomewa [Link]
hisbywor
shippi
ngthe
SupremeBeing,bydoi ngrever
encet
os uper
humanbeings
,andbypayi
ngdueres
pecttothei
r
fe
llowhumans.

Pr
ayer
,mus
ic,a
ndda nci
nge
nhanc
et heef
fec
tive
nes
sofri
tua
lact
[Link]
ifi
cesa
ndoffe
ringshe
lp
t
oconfi
rmt
herel
at
ionshi
pbet
weentheSupre
meBe i
ng,s
uper
humanit
y,andhumani
ty.

Rit
ual
stakepla
cedur
ingcommuni
tyc
ele
bra
ti
onsa
ndf
est
iva
lsf
ort
hepur
pos
eoft
hanks
givi
ng,
pur
if
ica
ti
on,andcommuni
on.

The
irpe
rfor
manc
ehe
lpst
oli
nkhuma
nit
ywi
ths
upe
rhuma
nit
y.

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PRAYER

InI ndigenousRe li
giont her
ea r
ec ountlesspraye r
[Link] keot herAf r
icanr eli
giouslit
erat
urethey
areha nde ddownor all
yf r
omge nerat
iont ogenera t
[Link] nypr ayersaretradit
ionalandc e
nturi
es
[Link] ta r
er e
c i
tedbype opleinof ficialcapa ci
[Link] sei ncludepr iest
sa ndpr i
este
sses
,
diviners,r a
inmaker s
,me dicineme na ndwome n,k ings,chi ef
s ,rit
uala ndf amilye l
ders,and
headsofor ganiz
e dgroupss ucha shunt [Link] r
sa reusua llya ddressedtoGod,s uper
huma n
beings,a nda ncestors
.Pe oplei nse ar
c hofs pirit
ua la s
sis
ta ncef orava r
iet
yofhuma nne eds
addresst heirprayerstot hepowe rsabove .Pe oplepr ayf orl ife,health,he al
ing,we al
th,and
prospe r
[Link] a
yf orsuc ces
sa twor [Link] ypr a ytobede liver
edf rom di f
ficult
[Link]
addresspr a
yerse i
therdirectlyori ndirect
lythr oughi nter
me diarie
sf ora llspiri
tua
la ss
ist
ance
[Link] yprayinpr ai
se,theypr a
yi njoy,andt he yprayi ntha nksgiving.

MUSI
C

Mus icisana udi

bleexpre
ssi
onofAf ri
canpraye
[Link] r
ea r
ema nyre
ligioussongsinprai
seof
one’
sGoda ndsuper
humanbe i
ngs
.The rear
ema nys ongsint
ende
dtoe xpressjoyforspi
ri
tua
l
ble
[Link]
ngfavorsfr
om [Link] he
rearesongse xuber
antl
ysungin
tha
nks gi
[Link]
llyac
compa ni
edbyt hebeati
ngofdrumsa ndthepl a
yingofothe
r
ins
truments.

DANCE

Whereassongi sreli
giousexpr
essi
oninvoice,danci
ngc oncent
rat
esone xpr
ess
ingrel
igi
ous
e
motions,ele
ganc e
,anddynamismthroughbodi
lymoveme [Link]
ica
nrel
igi
ousrit
ualwouldbe
l
if
ele
s swit
houtthea c
companimentofmusicandda
n c
[Link] s
earepowe
rfulmeansofAfri
can
r
eli
giousexpres
sion.

SACRI
FICE

Sacr
ifi
ceisgi vi
ngupsome t
hingva l
uabl
einorde
rtorende
rhoma getosomesuper
iorbeing.A
sac
rif
iceisthusagif
toff
eredtoGodort oasuper
humanbeinginr
e c
ogni
tionoft
hei
rsuperior
it
y
overhuma nit
[Link] llact
sofwor shiptotheSupr
emeBe i
ng,sacr
if
icesandoffer
ingsa r
e
emphasiz
edmos tinAfri
canreli
gion.

COMMUNALRI
TUAL

Praye
r,music
,songs,drums,ot
hermus i
cali
nst
rument
s,danc
ing,andsacr
if
icec
omet oget
herin
vivi
dlyorc
hestr
ate
dc ommuna lri
tual
.Theseri
tual
scele
brat
es uc
ht hi
ngsaspuri
fi
cati
onr i
te
s,
communionrit
es,andagri
cul
tura
lrit
es.

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BRI
NGI
NGRAI
N

Agr i
cultur
alrit
eshavetodowi ththewa ypeopleusel
andfortheproducti
[Link] r
mingis
oneoft hegreates
tpreoccupati
onsoft hepeopl
[Link]
simport
ancerequir
esthebl
essingsofGoda nd
thoseoft hes uper
huma ngua rdiansoft hepeople
.Forthatre a
sone a
c hst
ageofa gri
cul
tura
l
developme ntcall
sforspirit
uala s
s i
st
[Link] ti
mport
antisthene edforra
[Link] i
ni ssovita
l
thattherea r
ec er
tai
nr i
te
s ,andr i
tualspeci
ali
st
s,whosema i
nf unct
ionistobringa boutra
inat
cruci
a lt
ime s
.

PLANTI
NGANDHARVESTRI
TES

The rea r
ea l
soritesc oncer
nedwi tht hepreparati
onofne wf i
e l
ds ,pl ant
ingr it
es,andha r
vestrit
es.
Att het i
meofs owi ngandha r vest
ing,I ndigenousr e
ligioustra ditionsha veimpor tantcommuna l
ceremoni esthatl i
nkt hepeopl e’
sa gri
culturalact
ivit
ieswi tht he spiri
tsoft hec ommuni t
[Link] n
thel andistill
eda ndplantedpe opl eofa llAf ri
canc ulture
sa s kbl es
singsf r
om t hes uperhuman
beings .Atthet imeofr ipeninga ndha rvesttheyhol d“ f
ir
s tf ruits”c e
r [Link] c
ordingto
tra
dition,superhuma npowe rsmus te a
toft hef i
rstfr
uitsofha r ves tbeforehuma nbe i
ngspa rta
ke
ofthe [Link] ymus trec
eivet heirs hareinof fer
ingbe forea nyt hingi sgi ventoa nyonee [Link]
deprivet hem oft he i
rimpor t
a ntpl aceint hehi era
rchywoul di nduc ethe mtot a ker e
vengeby
threateni
ng thef utureha r
ve [Link] ir
s tfrui
tsc eremoni esa r ef est
ivaltime sf oro ff
eri
ng
thanks gi
vingtot hes uper
huma npowe rsforthene wha rvest
.

RI
TUALLEADERS

Rit
ualleadersarethosemembe r
soft hecommuni tywhopr esi
deovera ndc onductpa rti
cul
ar
re
li
giousr i
tuals
.The ycomet othei
rl e
aders
hipr ol
esi ndiff
ere
ntwa [Link] i
tionsare
her
edita
[Link] her
saretheresul
tofas peci
alspiri
tualcal
li
nga l
ongwi t
hs pecialt
r a
[Link]
cat
egoryofAf ri
canri
tuall
eader
sinc
ludesrul
ers,pri
ests
,mediums,di
viner
s ,he
a l
ers,rai
nma ker
s,
el
ders,andsages.

RULERSANDLEADERS

Af ri
canki ngs,queens,a ndchiefsha vebothpr ivilegesanddut [Link] irpos it
ionc arri
e swithit
outstandingpowe r,authorit
y,a ndi n
f l
[Link] ve ralt
houghr ulersaree ndowe dwi thpowe r
andpr erogati
ve,theya realsoboundbyobl i
gat
i onsa ndke pti nc he c
kbyt aboos .Ther uleristhe
father
/mot herofthepe opleandt hes ymboloft he irethnicuni [Link] hemus tther
e foresolve
huma npr oblemsa ndgivea nea rtoallsubject
s,a swe llasrepr esentingthepe opl eincont actwith
otherpowe r
[Link] nya re
aswhe r
eI ndigenousRe li
gioni ss tr
ong,t heki ngi sthehi ghpr iestof
thepe [Link] iestheisnotonl yi nchargeofma ttersofgove rnme nt,buta lsoofr eli
gious
ma tt
[Link] xample,theve ner a
tionoft hegodsi sunde rt hei mme dia
tec ontroloft heki ngor
[Link] sauthori
tyt emplesa rebui lttothedi ff
erentgods .Heha stheul ti
ma t
epowe rto
confirmorr e
jectthechoi c
eofpr iestsma debyt hec l
ansa cc ordi
ngt othet radi
tionss urrounding
thedif f
[Link] sidesbeingt heprima r
yr e l
igiousleade roft hepe ople,ther ule
ri sc l
osely

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connect
e dwithr i
tualtr
a dit
[Link] t
ualocc
asionsc onnec
tedwithkingshi
porc hi
efdom,s ucha s
coronat
ion,e nt
hrone ment,a ndf unera
lrit
es,c onnectstr
onglytothes acr
ednes
soft her ul
e r
.
Rulersareregardeda saGod’ searthl
yrepr
esentati
[Link]
cti
onoftheGod’ srule
intheuni ve
[Link] ndi
ge nousRe l
igi
onma nyr uler
sa r
enotordinar
yme norwome [Link] re
li
vingsymbol soft heconne c t
ionbe t
weentheSupr e
meBe ing,t
hes uper
huma nbeings,andt he
huma nbeings.

PRI
ESTS

InI ndigenousr eli

gi oust r
aditi
onapr ies
ti sar itualleaderwhoove rsees,a dminist
er s,and
coordinatesrel
igiousma tt
ersfort hec ommuni [Link] est
sma ybeme norwome [Link] i
estsa rekey
fi
gur e
si nma i
nta i
ni ngt hereligiousa ffa
irsofa nAf rica
ne thnicgr [Link] i
estsa r
eus uall
y
att
ache dtoat empl eofagoda nda recharge dwi thi t
sc a
[Link] oplebe comepr ies
tsb ybot h
vocationa ndtrai
ni [Link] iest
hoodi sa l
sohere dit
[Link] opl
ebe li
evet hatpr ies
tsandpr iestesse
s
arec all
edbyt hegods .Somea res aidtohavebe ens etasi
def r
om [Link] hersa r
es ai
dt oha ve
beenc all
e dbyagodt hroughbe ingpos sesse
dbyhi sorhe rspir
it
.Atot he rtimespa rentss enda
chil
dt obet rai
neda sapr i
estbe causethec hi
ldwa sb orninanswe rtopraye r,ands oisde dicat
ed
tothes ervic
eoft hegods .Traineesa resubmi tte
dt ot heguidanceofa nol de rprie
[Link]
usuall
ya rduous.I tma ylastsomeye ars,duringwhi chthec hi
ldl ear
nst hes ecret
sofs e rvinga
god.

DI
VINERS

Divinersar eri
tualleaderswhosespecialposi
ti
onistounveilthemys t
eri
esofthepa
standfutur
e.
I
ns odoi ngt heypr onouncewha tmaybec a
usingpr
oblemsi nthec ommunit
[Link]
nersnotonly
r
e adthes ignsoft hepresentbutal
soha vetechni
quesbywhi chtheydiscove
rhiddenknowledge
aboutthepa s
t,thepr es
ent,andthefutureofthosewhoc onsultthe
[Link] indouttheunknown
f
orac lientdivine rsma yuses hel
ls
,pe bbles,wat
er,animale ntr
ail
s,andma nyotherobj
e ct
s
r
e garde
da s“mi r
rors.”Fromthesetheyreadwhys omethi
ngha sgonewr ong

MEDI
UMS

Me di
umsa r
epe oplewhoc anconta c
tthes pi
ritworld,usua
llybybe i
ngpos sess
e dbyspir
it
s .Asa
rul
et heybe comeme diumst hroughbe ingpos s
essedbys uper
huma nbeings,a f
terwhicht hey
undergotrai
[Link] diumsa reus uall
ywome [Link] yareatt
achedeithertoapr ie
statatempleor
toadi viner
.The ys i
nki nt
oat r
a nce,usuall
yi nducedbymus i
c,dr ummi ng,ands i
nging,a nd
becomepos [Link] piri
tspea ksthrought heme di
um,trans
mi tt
ingme ssagesfromthes piri
t
worldtoh uma nbe i
[Link] t
ime stheme s
sagema ybeinas t
rangel a
ngua ge,andthepriestor
ana s
sist
antma ybec all
e dtointer
pr et
.

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MEDI
CINEMENANDWOMEN

Heal
ersareva r
iouslyr
e f
erredtoasme di
c ineme norwome n,herbali
st
s,andsome ti
me saswitch
doct
ors
.Theya res omeoft hemostinf
lue ntia
lpeopleinanAf r
icancommuni [Link]
rinfluence
comesfrom theirimportantworkofc uringme mbe rsofthec ommuni t
yofi llnes
sa nddise
a s
e.
Thei
rgif
tsarebot hma te
rialandspi
rit
[Link] ter
iall
ytheyha vewi deknowledgeofhe al
ingherbs
andmedicat
[Link]
tual
lytheyhealtheunde rl
yingspir
it
ua lcausesofil
lne
s s
.

HEALERS

I
ns omepa rt
sofZi mba bweahe a l
eri sc a l
le
dGodobor i,“ape rsonwi thknowl edgeofhe rbs .
”
He aler
sa ree asil
ydi stinguishedbyt heba gt heyc ar
rya ndbyt heira t
tir
[Link] al
e r
sc ustoma rily
we aramul ets,shell
s,a ndot herde corativea ccessoriesthator di
na rype opledonotwe [Link] g
t
ha ttheyc a
rryi stheirt ra
de ma r
k.I ni ta r
ea lltype sofme dicine s
.I nabr oads ensehe alersa re
r
ituall eaderswhos es ervicer el
iesons upernatur a
lpowe r s
.The yc omet ot hea i
doft he
communi tyinma tt
ersofhe alt
ha ndwe ll
-[Link] al
erswor ki nc onjunc ti
onwi t
hot he rritual
l
e aderstoke ept heme mbe r
soft hec ommuni t
yph ysical
lya nds pi r
it
ua l
lyhe al
[Link] r
ic an
t
houghti llnessisa l
wa ysc ause dbys upe rhuma na ge nci
esorbye xtrahuma nf orcessucha sma gic,
witchcraft,ands [Link] r
efores ome onewhoi ss i
ckmus tde terminet hes piri
tualcaus eofa n
i
llnessinor de rtocurei [Link] werstot heque s
tionofwhya ni ll
ne ssha socc urr
e dma yc omef r om
t
hes pi
ritwor ldi nora clesordi vinepr onounc eme ntsthrought hec oope r
at i
onofapr i
esta nda
me [Link] hey ma yc ome f rom t he supe rhuma na nd e xt
rahuma n wor ldt hroug ht he
coope r
ationofadi [Link] aclesanddi vinati
ona retheme a nsofi de nti
fyingt hec auseofi ll
ne ss
andt heillnessi t
self
.Whe nthei l
lnessi sidentif
iedt hehe alerc ande viset hec [Link] al
e rsthe n
t
ur ntothes piritworldf orhe lpinge t
tinga nda dmini s
teri
ngt her ightme dicine.

He al
e r
sa reoftens peci
alist
[Link] ocusonpe rf
ormi nghe ali
ngrit
ualsinc ombinati
onwi thot her
r
ituall [Link] hersma yc onc entrat
eononea spe ctofhe ali
ngs ucha sbone sett
ing,he rbal
r
e me die
s,ordi etarypresc r
[Link] irspe c
ialt
iesde pendonhowt hehe alerr
e c
eivedhisorhe r
call
[Link] a le
rsa r
ehe a le
rsbyi nherit
[Link] ircraf
tisha ndeddownf r
om pa rentsor
r
e l
a t
[Link] herslearnthet radef rome xpe rie
nc edhe aler
swi thwhomt heys t
udya ndwor kf ora
substanti
a llengthoft i
mebe foret heya rea l
lowe dtopr a
cticeonthe i
[Link] sepowe rsc a
n
als
obeus e
dt obr i
ngs uffe
ri ng,byc ursings ome onewhoi sthoughtt obebe havingi na n
i
na ppropriat
ewa [Link] arofs uc hc ursesa ndbe liefint heire f
fi
cacyi swi despr
ea dthroughout
Africaandc anc a
us erealdistre s
s,me ntalbreakdown,ore vende at
[Link]
ei sint
endedt obeone
t
ha tplacesthes afetyofthec ommuni t
ya bovet hesafe t
yoft heindi
vidua l
.

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GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

RAI
NMAKERS

Rain,soe sse
nti
altoa gri
cult
ureandt heref
oretos u
rvival,iscl
osel
yc onnecte
dt oIndige
nous
Religi
[Link] i
nisvieweda sdi
vineinfluencethatdesc
endst oEart
[Link] onti
nuedfert
il
it
yoft he
l
andr equir
esrai
[Link] nitfai
lstofa l
lpe oplebegi
ntowonde rwhatthe
yma yhavedonewr ong.
Theyf eelane e
dt oputrightwhateve rha scause
dapr oble
m betweent he
ma ndt heSupreme
Beingort hespiri
twor l
[Link] allfort herit
uallea
de rs
hipthatcomesf r
om thoseknowna s
ra
inma kers
.

Rai
nmake r
sarespeci
ali
st
si nre
ligi
ousma t
tersperta
ini
[Link]
rminet
her ea
sons
whyrainfail
stof a
llorwhyt hereistoomuc hrai
[Link]
ormrit
esofprayeror
sa
cri
fi
cesoffe
redtoensur
ethatenoughrai
nwi llfal
latt
hepropertimes
.Theyals
opres
ideover
pr
ayer
sa ndsac
rif
ice
soffer
edtocheckexces
siver a
inf
all
.Theyarethusbot
hrai
nmake
rsandr a
in
st
opper
s.

Ape rs
onma ybecomear a
inmakerei
therbyt r
aini
ngorbyi nheri
ta
nc e
.Thr
oughme s
sagesfr
om
thes pi
ritwor
ldandt hr
oughdreamsape rsonma yf i
ndac a
lltobecomear ai
nmaker
.Thenthat
personma yt
rai
nunde ra nexperi
encedrainmaker.A fa
irl
ylongperiodoftr
aini
ngisrequi
red
beforet heper
sonc ane nt
eras eri
ouspra ct
ic
[Link] rearea l
sorainmake
rswhoa chie
vethis
rel
igiousandri
tualposi
ti
onbyi nher
it
ance.

SACREDSPACESANDPLACES

Theplaceswher
etherit
esandrit
ualsofIndige nousReli
giona rec arr
iedoutareAf r
icansacre
d
spac
[Link] he
seplacesar
ec onstr
ucteds pecif
ica
ll
yf orre l
igiouspurposes
,butot her
sa re
nat
uralpl
acesi
ntheenvi
ronmentwhe r
epe oplec ometoget
he rforritualpur
[Link]
o
pla
cesthatwoul
dnorma l
lyberegardeda snons acr
edbutt hatma yonoc cas
ions e
rvea sri
tual
spac
[Link]
reoft
enhome si
nwhi chseniorfami l
yme mbe r
sma yoffic
iat
easritua
lelders
.

SACREDSPACE

Somepl ace
sa r
ema desacr
edt hroughther e
li
csofdivinebe i
[Link] ya
lsosigna
lthe
spe
c i
alsanct
it
yofapl ac
eins omewa [Link] l
s,bythei
rs ymbolicre
lat
ions
hipst
ot hegodsas
wellasbythei
rrit
ualguar
dianshipofal ocal
it
y,oft
enares i
gnsofc ommunica
tionf
romt hespi
ri
t
[Link]
rappear
anceinac ert
ainlocali
tymayma rkthatpla
cea ssac
red.

Inalargersensepeopleunder
sta
ndthewhol
elandofthe
irpar
ti
cul
arcul
tureandethni
cgr
oupto
[Link] enarrat
ivesofthesacr
edori
ginsofthelandanditspeoplecommunica
tethis
sac
[Link]
sr e
asonprese
nt-
daypol
it
ic
allea
derswhoignor
ethesacr
ednessofapeopl
e’s
la
ndsof t
enbe c
omet hecauseofunr
est
.

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VENOTES

SPI
RITUALGEOGRAPHY

Afr
ica
nshavelonga ssociat
edthewonder
sofnat
urewit
hre
li
gion.I
nAfric
ant r
adi
ti
ona nyt
hing
t
hatsee
mstobes hroude dinmyste
ryhaste
nde
dtoevokeas
enseofther
eli
gious
,andthenatura
l
worl
disfil
le
dwi thbea utyandmyste
ry.

ForAfri
canpe opl
ethewhol euni
ve r
seisfil
le
dwi t
hrel
igiousspir
[Link] l
igional
l
el
ementsoft
heuni vers
ea rere
gar
deda [Link] a
credspac eoftheun i
ver
se
hast
hreepar
[Link] heEart
histhesky,orheaven,t
hehomeoft hesupremebe [Link]
Eart
histher
eal mofthes pi
ri
ts
,whichkeepshuma ni
[Link] ddleist
he
Eart
h,t
heworldofhuma nit
yandthehereandnow.

THESKY

TheAf ricanskyi nspir

esmuc hr el
igiousfeel
[Link] ghi nthehe ave nsthebl azingSuna nd
glowi ngMooni nspi
rehuma nit
ywi t
ha [Link] gh tskyi sembe l
li
s hedwi ththousandsupon
thousa ndsoft winkli
ngs t
arstha
t,onac l
earni
ght,ca nle a
veobserversi nas tat
eofwonde [Link],
Moon,a ndEa rt
hc ar
rya sp
e c
tsofdivinit
[Link] ricanpeopl
e sina llcornersoftheAf r
ican
contine nt,theSuni sas ymboloftheSupr e
meBe ing.I ngeneraltheMooni sr e
cognize
da sa
naturalphe nomenont hatcar
rie
ss a
credness,ser
e ni
ty,a [Link] hatreasonAf ri
cans
ma rkt hea ppear
anceofthene wMoonwi t
hrit
ualsthate xpre
ssthes a
cre dne
s softheMoon.

THENATURALWORLD

TheEarth,t
oo,isas ourc [Link]
ca’
sgeographyise xt
remel
yva r
[Link]
andmarks
i
ncludemountains,ocea ns,l
akes
,rivers
,wa t
erf
all
s,fores
ts,roc
ks,cave
s,andt r
ees,anyorallof
whichma yinspirer e
ligiousfeel
[Link] ai
nsa r
ea l
ivewithagr ea
tva r
iet
yof
ani
ma l
s:chatt
eri
ngbi rds ,cr
eepi
ngr ept
il
es,spi
ders
,a ndinsect
s,al
lofwhic h,byinhabit
ingthe
worldwithhuma ns,begt heques
ti
onoft hei
rplac
eint heuniver
se.

RI
TUALPLACESANDOBJ
ECTS

ForI ndi genousRe ligionr i

tua lplacesa rehuma nma des t
ructur
e sorma rkedarea
sa twhich
reli
giousr itesma ybeobs [Link] esei ncludes hrines,tombs ,t
e mples
,a ndsac
redlocal
it
ies
.
Sincet hebe gi
nningoft imeAf r
icansha ves e ns
e dagr eatinvis
iblepowe r,avit
alfor
cethat
surroundsa ndispa r
tofa l
lna [Link] lpt hems elvesc omet otermswi t
ht hi
spowerAfri
cans
havede vis
e dwa ysofc ontainingi tbyinvi t
ingi tt
or e s
ideinhuma n-madeplacesa
ndobject
s,so
thattheyma yper c
eivei tinsma [Link] c
e sbuiltforreli
giouspurposesmaybetemplesand
otherc onstruct
eds [Link] mpl e
sa rearchitectur
a lstr
uc t
uresthatva r
yins i
zeandshape
.Other
cons t
ruc t
eds hr
inesma yva ryf rom api l
larormonume nttoas ma llst
oneora nir
onorwoode n
ma [Link] mplesofs uc hshrinesincludeGr eatZimba bwea ndMa tonj
eni
.

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GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

TEMPLES

At emplei sapl aceorab uildingwhe repeoplec ongrega tetowor s

hip,t
opr ay,andt oa s
kf or
favorsf r
om s pi
ri
tualpowe r
s .The rearenume r oust ype soft emplesinAf r
icac onstr
ucted
accordi
ngt ot hevarioustradit
ionsofdi f
fer
entpeopl es
.The rea relar
getempl es,sma l
lone s,and
evenmi [Link] nyha vebe enoverwhelme db yt hea ppea r
anceinAfric aofreli
gionslike
Christi
anit
ya ndI s
lam,butot her shavepers
ist
eda ndh avebe ena dapt
edtocont empor ar
yc ol
oni a
l
typesofa r
c hit
ect
[Link] mplesinot herpar
tsofAf rica
,bui ltbyt hepeopleanda t
tendedbypr iest
s
andpr ies
tes s
es,oftenf oll
ow t hepa t
ter
nofl ocalc ons tr
uc t
[Link] hemos tconspicuous
templebuildingsinAf ri
c asouthoft heSahar
aisc onnec tedwi thGr eatZi
mba bwe .Thisisas tone
buildi
ngofc omplexc onstr
uc t
ionpos si
blydevotedt othewor shipofMwa ri
,t heShonana meof
thei
rSupr emeBe i
ng,a ndc ult
soft hemhondor o,thes piri
tsa ssociat
edwitht her uli
ngdyna sti
es
inthissouthernAf r
icana re
a .

SACREDMOUNTAI
NSANDHI
LLS

Alt
hough almosta ny geographicalf ea
turei n Af r
icama y becomet hef ocusofwor ship,
mountai
nsandhillsarethefeature
sus uall
yi dent
ifi
eda sbei
[Link] ewholivene ar
t
hegr eatAfrica
nmount ai
nss uc
ha sMountI nyangani
,MountWe dzaa ndMa t
opoma ke
sac
rif
icesandof f
erings
,pe r
formr ituals
,a ndof ferprayer
stot heSupr emeBe i
ngandot her
spi
ri
tualpowersonorbe si
des uchpla c
e s
.Ot hernatura
lsit
essucha st
rees,i
sl
a nds,l
akes
,rive rs
,
andwaterf
all
sma yalsobedesignateda ssacredspaces.

THEMAGI
COFGREATZI
MBABWE

Thename“ gr
eatZimba
bwe”isgiventoanc
ientst
onerui
nsinthec ount
ryofZimba
bwe .The
se
rui
ns,whichinc
ludemassi
vewa l
ls
,as t
onetower,anacropoli
s,orc l
ust
erofbui
ldi
ngsona
hil
lt
op,gobac
kma nyhundr
edsofyear
sandtest
if
ytoAfri
ca’sanci
entcult
ure
.

It
hinkthepl
aceiswe l
loverathousa
ndyearsol
[Link] yarguetheca
se.
Her
ei swher
ewer edeemtheha l
fpromis
[Link] boutthemagicofAfri
cathatdidnot
i
ncl
udeawor daboutthegr
eatZimbabwe,asiti
scal
le
d,wouldbeunt
hinkabl
e.

Thef irs
tthingwhichstr
ikesoneist
hela
rgee xpa
nseofrui
nedst
onedwell
ings
,huddl
edtoget
her
atare s
pectf
uldist
ancefromthegrea
tbuil
dingsofthete
mpleandfor
t,r
emindi
ngoneirr
esis
ti
bly
ofthes i
lentcit
yoft hedeads pr
awl
inginitssol
itar
ydecr
epit
udeundert
hes e
renegaz
eoft he
Sphinx.

SHRI
NES

I
nIndi ge
nousRe l
igi
onashri
neisanycont
ai
ner,box,orrec
epta
clethatmayrece
iveandcont
ain
s
uperhuma [Link]
ineist
here
for
ea nanchor
age,orpl
aceofrest
,fors
pir
it
ualpowers
.Asa
c
onstruct
eds t
ruc
ture
,ina
ddit
iontonat
urall
andmarks,ashri
nema r
ksthesacr
edgeogra
phyofa
r
eli
gioustradi
ti
on.

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GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

TOMBS

Thet radi
ti
onoft ombbui ldingi nAf ri
cagoe sbackmi ll
ennia,incl
udingtombss ucha sthe
pyramidsofa nci
e ntEgypta ndNubi [Link] l
pingust otrac
eba cksomevi ta
lreli
giouside
as,the
Gr e
atPyrami dsa tGi z
aexpr essbel
iefindivinityofthekingasrepresent
ati
veoftheSungodRe
andt heplacewhe reheas cendedtoj oi
nt heSung odinthea fter
li
[Link] nyother
repre
s e
ntat
ivet ype sofrel
igiouslyexpressi
vet ombs,a mongwhi charetheChihomvaTombsof
theMa konia ndBi ngguruf ortheMb izi
.The setombsa rete
ndedbyyoungpr i
est
esses
,whoke ep
thefireswithint hema ndpe rformrite
st hatwor shi
p per
sma ya t
[Link] husser
vea s
placeswhereor dinarypeoplema ybei ntouchwi t
hthehigherpowe r
s.

Ma
rke
dLoc
ali
ti
esofRe
ligi
ousSi
gni
fi
canc
e

I
nma nyIndige
nousRe li
gioust
raditionst
herearelocal
it
ie
st ha
tareident
if
iedasshri
neswit
hout
t
hec onst
ruct
ionofelaborat
ebuildingsorstr
uctur
[Link]
sa tsuc
has hri
nethathi
sfoll
owers
,who
i
ncludehunters
,blac
ks mit
h s
,enginee r
s,mechani
cs,dri
vers,ar
ti
sans
,anda l
lpeoplewhodealin
i
ron,ste
el,orothe
rme tal
s,gotos e
e kspir
it
ualhel
p.

RI
TUALOBJ
ECTS

Ritualobjectssuc hastal
is
ma nsorsta
tuesareus e
dinobs er
vingI ndigenousrel
igi
ousrit
[Link]
useofr it
ualpl acesa ndobjectsgoesfarba cki nIndigenoust radi
[Link]
ctsare
compa rat
ivelysma l
lhuman-ma deit
[Link] uchite
mi sas hri
neobj ect,asma l
lamuletor
charmt hatisbelievedtocarr
ys pi
ri
tua
lpowe [Link]
ctsma ybepr oducedi
namul ti
tudeof
[Link] yma ybeowne dcommuna l
lyorpe rs
onall
[Link]
ousobj ect
sareusual
lyworks
ofa r
twi t
hr eli
giousthemes,suchasma s
ksors tat
[Link] yma ya l
sobeitemsint
ended
forutil
ita
rianpur poses
,li
kepitcher
sorpots,whichb e
causeofre li
giousde c
orat
ionorformma y
spontaneouslybec onsi
deredrel
igi
ousobjec
ts.

SACREDSPACEI
NAFRI
CANLI
FE

Athome ,int e
mplesa nds hri
nes,andi nt hec ountrysi
de,Afr
icanpe oplea r
ea wareoft he
sacrednessa r
[Link] thoughtheyma yc ongregateinapart
icula
rpl aceort urntowarda
parti
c ul
arge ogra
phi
c a
lf eat
uredur i
ngpr ayer,theyha veac ont
inuings e
ns ethats uper
huma n
beingswa l
kbe si
dethemi nthei
rda i
lylive
s .Theirpresencemakesallplacespotential
lysacr
ed.
Sacredne s
sma ybemor ec oncentr
ate
di napl a c
ebu i
ltordesi
gnate
da ss uch,buti nf a
ctitis
everywhe [Link]
st hatAfri
canpeoplec reat
ea ndpl a
ceonshrinesandi ntheirhome sare
continuingreminder
soft hi
ss a
credness
.

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GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

Sc
ulpt
ure
sasRi
tua
lObj
ect
s

Lacki
ngwr i
ting,Afri
cansc a
rri
edt heirmythology—theirl
it
era
ture
—i ntheirhe
a ds,t
rans
mi t
ti
ng
thele
gendso ral
lyfr
om ge ner
ati
ont oge nera
[Link]
ptur
ewa sanaddit
ionall
a ngua
gethrough
whichtheyexpress
edthe i
rinnerlifeandc ommuni ca
tedwitht
heinvis
ibleworld,alanguageof
emoti
onalcommuni cat
ion,usedfrombi rthtode a
[Link]
tua
llyeve
ryactintheli
feoft heAfri
can
hadit
srit
ual,andever
yr it
ehaditsa ppropri
ateimage.

MYSTI
CALFORCES

Africanpeoplef eelthepowe ra nde ne

rgyoft hes piri
twor l
dt hatisallaroundt [Link] y
experi
enceth eacti
onsofgodsa nda nces
torsine ve
rythingt [Link] ri
canpe opl
ea redeeply
awa r
eoft hepowe rfulf orceofcr eat
iont hatputt hem ont heEa rt
ha ndgui
de sthei
rf oot
st
e ps.
Theya reclosel
ya ttunedt othemys tica
la ndmys te
riouss uperhuma npowersint heirli
[Link]
addit
iontotheirsenseoft h evit
alf or
c eoftheuni vers
e ,Africansrecogniz
eothertypesofforc e
s
t
ha tarene i
thersupe rhuma nnors implyhuma nbu tlies ome wher ebet
[Link] semys ti
c al
for
c e
sincl
udema gic,wi tc
h cr
aft
,a nds or
[Link] piri
tualforces,theyaf
fec
tpe ople
’slive
sa nd
t
hel i
vesofthe i
rcommuni ty.

Ma
gic
,Wi
tchc
raf
t,a
ndSor
cer
y

Ma gi
ci sthepract
iceofma ni
pula t
ingmys teri
ousf orcesforpract
icalpurpos [Link] re
ablet
obr ingaboutma gica r
eknowna sma gi
cians.I nAfri
canbe l
iefma gicisaf arcryf r
omt he
smokea ndmi r
rorsoftheWe ste
rnt hea
[Link] rica
nma gicdoesnotha vetodowi t
hill
usion
ortri
cke r
[Link]
sat ruereli
giouse [Link] r
icansbe li
evethatma gicisne utr
a l
.Itma ybeus ed
foreithergood ore vilpur [Link] ri
canr eligioni sma inlyc oncerned wi tha ski
ng the
cooperati
onofone ’
sSupr emeBe ingands uperhuma nbei
ngsf ort
hewe l
l-beingofhuma ni
[Link]
thesensethatri
tualleadersarea bletocallupont hehigherpowe rseff
e c
tively,thereisalways
somethingofama gici
ani nthepe rsona
li
tyofar i
tua ll
eader.

Ma gicinAf ri
canreli
gion,asinma nyot herr
eli
gions,make stheunknownl essthrea
teninga nd
providesps yc
hologic
alr eas
surancesf orpotenti
allydiff
ic ul
tore venda ngerouss i
tuat
ions.
AlthoughWe st
ernersdonotc a
llitma gi
c,ther
ea rema nyt hi
ngspeopledo,of tenwi thout
knowi ngtheyaredoingthem,t hatanAf ric
anwoul dconsi
de rtobema gi
ca [Link] ybelieve
itisma gi
cwhe naba se
ba l
lplayercrosseshimsel
fbe f
orest
e ppinguptotheplateinordertoge ta
hit
.Iti sformagicalprot
ecti
ont hatat r
uc kdr
iverplacesar osaryontheda s
hboa r
[Link] t
s
andta l
ismansprovi
dema gicalprotect
ionf r
omunknownda nge r
sa r
oundthewor l
d.

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VENOTES

WI
TCHCRAFT

Tradit
iona
llyAfricanpeopl
ebe lie
vet ha
twi t
chcraftisoneoft hecausesofmi s
for
tunesina
communi t
[Link] t
chcraf
tisadreadede l
ementinAf ric
ansoci
[Link] t
chcr
aftasthe
st
ateofbeingpos s
esse
dbye xtr
ahuma nforce
st [Link] i
zablepopulat
ionof
Africa
nsata l
llevel
sofsociet
ybe li
eveinwitchcraft
.Theyholdwi t
chcra
ftresponsi
bleforsuch
misfort
unesasfail
uret
obe a
rchildre
n,dise
ases
,f a
ilurei
nlif
e,il
lnes
s,andde at
h.

Peopl
eha veavari
etyofvi
ewsabouthows omeonebec
omesawit
[Link]
tcommonl
ybe li
ef
ist
hatthetra
iti
sinher
it
edfromapa r
ent.I
nthatse
nsesomepe
opl
ea r
ebor
nwitc
hes
.Inthecase
ofheredi
tarywit
chcraf
titispossi
bleforsomeonetobeawi t
chandnotknow i
t,a
lthough
event
uall
ythewitchnot
ice
shisorherpowers
.

The s
epowe r
scanbeus e
dtoc as
taspel
landdoha r
mt [Link]
lwitchcr
aftisher
edit
ary,
howe ver
.Peopl
ealsofeelt
hatwitc
hcra
ftcanbe“ c
a ught
”l i
keaninf
ecti
on,orthatsomeonewho
wa nt
stobeawi t
chc a
nbu ythepowerfr
oma [Link]
chcra
ftcaus
ese vi
landunresti
na
communi t
[Link] ommunityfi
ghtsit
sinf
luencebyc a
ll
ingonhe al
erswhos peci
ali
zeinc ur
ing
theeffe
ctsofwi
tchcra
ft.

Thesehe a
lershavecometobeknowna s“ wit
chdoct
ors,
”at e
rmt hati
softenmisunderst
ood
bothinAfricaandi
nthewide
[Link]
chdoctor
sarenotwit
chesthe
ms e
lve
[Link],th
eya r
e
notevilpeoplewhowantt
oharmtheirne
ighbor
[Link]
ya rer
espect
edme mber
sofsocietywhose
funct
ionisnottohar
mbuttohea
l.

Awi t
chdo ctorhe l
psthosewhobe l
ievet heyhavebeenbe wi
tc
he [Link] si
bili
tyofwi tchcraf
t
iseverywhe [Link]
ect
iona ga i
nsti
tinava ri
et
yofwa [Link] hepersonallevelthey
ma yus ea mul e
ts,charms,ortali
sma nst ohelpwa rdoffthepr esenceofe vil
.A hunt er,for
exampl e,ma ywe arapie c
eofatoothofal i
ona sprot
ect
ionagainstwi t
chcr
aftdur i
ngah unting
expediti
[Link] egnantwo ma
nma ywe aratali
smana r
oundherwa isttoprot
ecthe runbornchild
againstwitchcraf
[Link] adofahouse holdma yhanganamuletont hedoorpostofhisho usefor
prot
e c
tionoft hosewi t
hin.

SORCERY

Thewor ds or
ceryme ans“ t
heus eofma gicore nchant
ment;t
hepr acti
ceofma gi
carts
;
wit
chcra
ft.
”ToAf r
ica
ns ,however,the“ma gi
ca r
ts”a r
enothi
nga r
ti
sti
core nchanti
[Link]
Afr
icanunders
tandi
ngofs orcer
yi [Link]
magict
odoha [Link]
erys ha
resthi
squali
tywithwit
c hcr
aft
.Thedi
ff
erenceisindegree.

Wit
chc
raf
tmaybede
fineda
samyst
icalandi
nnat
epowe r
,whichc
anbeus
edbyi
tspos
ses
sort
o
ha
rmothe
rpe
ople
,where
ass
orc
eryi
sevilmagi
cagai
nstothe
rs.

Sor
cer
ersse
touttodohar
[Link] i
kewitc
he s
,whoma yc
astspel
lsorc
allonmyst
ic
alfor
cestodo
t
hei
rmischi
ef,s
orcer
ersr
esor
ttoart
if
icialmean,s
uchaspois
ontoplythei
rcr
aft
.Forexample
,

Rev
.[Link] BandPSt
udyCent
reHi
ghSchool
23
 I
NDI
GENOUSRELI
GIONCOMPREHENSI
VENOTES

t
heygr
owlongfinge
rnai
lsinwhi
chtohidethehar
mfulpot
ionst
hatt
heyma ydr
opi
nsomeone
’s
f
[Link] r
ica
nunderst
andi
ngs orc
ere
rsaree vi
[Link]
emuc htr
oubl
eina
c
ommunit
yi nt
heformofdisc
ont
ent,i
ll
ness
,andevendeat
h.

SomeAf ri
cansoci
eti
esspec
ifical
lyrefertosorc
e r
ersors
orc
eress
esa
s“poi
soner
s.
”Thei
rsi
s
evilmagi
c,del
ibe
rat
elyai
meda tharmi
ngpe opleandcommuni
tie
[Link]
nthecas
eofwit
chc
raf
t,
peoplet
urntohea
ler
sfordef
ensesagai
nstsorc
ery.

ToAf r
icanbel
ie
ver
sther
eisnothi
ngimagina
rya boutext
rahumanfor
ces
.Peopl
ebe l
ievede
eply
intheinf
luenc
eofthes
efor
cesont he
irl
ives
.Ext r
ahumanf or
cesa
renottobeignor
edortaken
li
ghtl
[Link]
lowi
ngevent
,repor
tedasfact
,il
lustr
ate
sjusthowpowe r
fult
hes
ef or
cesandthe
bel
iefi
nthemc a
nbe.

MAGI
C

Inmagiccert
aingest
ures,words,orac
ts,se
para
tel
yortogether,ar
ebeli
evedtoinvoket
hedir
ect
ass
ist
anceofs uper
natur
a lpowersinhuma naffa
irsortogi vepeoplecontr
oloverthesec
ret
powersofNature.I
na notherse
nsema gicmaybede f
ineda stheartofl
ivinginint
imat
euni
on
wit
hNa tur
eands ha
ringandus i
ngitss
ecret
sthr
oughrit
ualor“ doi
ng.
”

Theprofe
ssionofmagi
ci
anishel
dinest
[Link]
spas
sedonfr
om fa
the
[Link]
stt
he
magi
ci
a npromote
dthewel
far
eoft
hecommunit
y;asme
dici
nemanhehea
ledt
heail
ing.

TheMa
gic
iana
ndt
heSor
cer
er

Althoughinthebroadests ensethefiel
dofma gi
cmi ghtbes ai
dtoincludesorc
ery...forthe
sakeofs impl
ici
tywes hallcallma gi
cthatwhichisintendedtohavebe nefic
ialef
fect
s,and
sorceryt
hatwhichisintendedtodoh a
[Link] gi
ci
a nma inl
yserve
sthec ommunit
y;heorshe
performsrit
estopr omot ef e
rti
lit
ya ndaver
tmi sf
[Link] orc
ereront heotherhandis
empl oye
dpriva
tel
y,servingonepe rsoninor
dertohar
mt heenemy.

Rev
.[Link] BandPSt
udyCent
reHi
ghSchool
24