posted
Timeless Taboo: New Attacks on African Spirituality
On January 13, 2010 Pat Robertson, founder and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, stated that Haiti “swore a pact to the devil.” This was one day after a 7.0 earthquake rocked the island nation resulting in massive loss of life. The “pact” Robertson so confidently mentioned to various media outlets was a reference to the Haitian Revolution, more specifically, the Bwa Kayiman (Bois Caiman) Ceremony in August of 1791.
The event is significant because Africans of varying ethnicities joined together in a traditional ceremony to affirm that they would no longer remain enslaved. The insurrection in Saint-Domingue (modern Haiti), in what would become known as the Haitian Revolution, resulted in the establishment of a Haitian republic in 1804. The “devil” Robertson spoke of was a reference to the African gods invoked by Haitians to overthrow their French oppressors.
This practice of referring to anything in the realm of African spirituality as evil or devilish is a continuation of the propaganda used by missionaries, slave traders, and colonizers ever since they ventured onto the continent. Enslaved Africans were treated as a people without culture. They were reduced to being treated as cargo. Africans were viewed as heathens because they had their own religious traditions prior to the introduction of Christianity and Islam. These traditions include ancestor veneration, systems of initiation and respect for the natural environment.
African Traditions in the Americas
African spiritual systems, which fall under the category of African Traditional Religion (ATR), are the traditions that have sustained us since time immemorial. Enslaved Africans brought these traditions to such places as Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, New Orleans, Florida, and South Carolina. They can be seen in the burial custom of placing items on the graves of deceased family members, knowledge of certain ritualistic and medicinal practices, known under various names as juju, hoodoo, rootwork, etc. They can be seen in the tradition of adorning trees with bottles, vessels, and other objects to protect the household through invocation of the dead as noted in places like Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia.
In the African worldview, as noted by such scholars as John Mbiti, spirituality is intertwined with culture. “In traditional society there are no irreligious people. To be human is to belong to the whole community,” said Mbiti. “A person cannot detach himself from the religion of his group, to do so is to be severed from his roots, his foundation, his context of security, his kinships and the entire group of those who make him aware of his existence. To be without one of these corporate elements of life is to be out of the whole picture.”
The Desecration of Traditional Beliefs & the Hysteria Surrounding “Witches” in Africa
“Witch” is an Old English word. Thus it is linguistically and functionally problematic to try to define a witch within an African context. Many females who today would be prosecuted as witches in parts of Africa, would in ancient times be revered for their powerful feminine energy. To impose European concepts of spirituality upon African traditional beliefs results in this type of mistranslation and attempt to suppress the spirit of African peoples.
One of the most well-known witch hunts in history is the Salem Witch Trials. Interestingly, Tituba, the woman thought to have sparked these trials, is recorded by some as an African woman and in other reports an Indian woman who would participate in divination with young New England girls and adolescents. She was also said to tell stories of witchcraft, demons, and mystic animals. Examining this within the larger context of traditional beliefs might provide further insight into why this enslaved woman was accused of witchcraft in 17th century Massachusetts, and why the accompanying hysteria followed.
According to a July 2010 article in the Guardian titled “Protecting Child ‘witches’ in Africa,” “The phenomenon of accusing children of witchcraft emerged only within the last 10-20 years (and in Nigeria more recently)”. Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry and one of the largest movie industries in the world, often portrays themes of witchcraft and “black” magic in its films. The 1992 film, “Living in Bondage” is often considered the first Nollywood blockbuster film. Can you guess what theme was displayed prominently in the film? Witchcraft.
According to Biyi Bandele in a Guardian article titled, “Welcome to Nollywood,” “Living in Bondage was a morality tale that resonated with many Nigerians, articulating and validating their fondest and darkest suspicions. It proved, for instance, that most of those ‘big men’ driving about in fancy cars with their trophy girlfriends, living in obscenely big mansions, eating lots of chicken and drinking nothing but foreign wine came into their wealth by drinking their wives’ blood – not before killing them in gory sacrifices to the devil, of course.”
While many Nollywood films focus heavily on witchcraft and themes of the “dark side,” many Nollywood films don’t and speak instead to such themes as the need to retain tradition, the importance of the family and the elders, and the like. This is true not only of Nollywood but films across the continent. Some films even challenge notions surrounding witches. The 1989 film “Yaaba,” shot in Burkina Faso, follows the story of Bila, a young boy who befriends an elder named Sana. While everyone in the village refers to her as a witch, Bila refers to her as grandmother. When a young girl in the village falls ill Sana’s medicine saves her.
Those such as Helen Ukpabio, founder of the Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, should be questioned about their statements regarding so-called child witches. It should be noted that Ukpabio has funded several Nollywood films and produces films through her production company, Liberty Films, to further exploit and twist African traditions. A look at the number of children and women accused of witchcraft (tens of thousands according to some reports) exposes a serious problem and challenge to the authentic practice of African traditional religion.
In Nigeria, where Ukpabio is able to evangelize and distribute her propaganda, traditional beliefs and practices such as ancestor veneration and divination are often labeled demonic. It’s not uncommon to hear a non-traditionalist demean the practices of their foreparents as “wicked” or “useless.” This happens all over Africa and outside of the continent as well. It’s reminiscent of the 19th century efforts by the Royal Niger Company and the Church Missionary Society (CMS) to set up commercial and religious bases in Nigeria. Africans would be employed as intermediaries between priests and priestesses and European missionaries. These middle persons would assist these missionaries in “spreading the gospel”, in order to deter traditional beliefs.
Deterring these traditions often included force on the part of Europeans and the destruction of shrines in many villages. Other effects of these efforts were that important traditional customs such as birthing and naming customs, marriage, and funeral customs became “Christianized”. Many Africans took biblical names for themselves and their children as opposed to names in their own languages, newborns were baptized in churches, people wedded in churches as well, and funeral customs took on a non-traditional approach. Speaking about the effects of missionary practices in Nigeria, in particular western Igboland, Victoria Ibewuike states, “Since the introduction of Christianity in Igbo society, some significant changes have taken place, especially in connection with burial ceremonies. Christian rituals have replaced the traditional burial ceremonies, in which the Igbo women played a significant role.” These traditional life cycle rituals incorporate the family and the ancestors and at times speak specifically to events that occurred in the lineage. Thus, to negate these things and remove the role of women, elders, and other members of the lineage from these practices is to suppress tradition.
To be very clear, charlatans outside of and within African Traditional Religion (ATR) attempt to sully the name of ATR. Their twisting of these traditions to suit their own agendas is not reflective of the beauty, usefulness, and importance of spiritual systems within African cultures.
Source: Atlanta Post, Ezinne Adibe
Posts: 3446 | From: U.S. by way of JA by way of Africa | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
Christianity, African Religion and African Medicine
Gordon L. Chavunduka
Early European Christian missionaries tried to destroy African religion and African medicine. Many African traditional religious rites and rituals were regarded as against the Christian faith and morals. It was also believed that African religion promoted the belief in witchcraft and encouraged people to worship their ancestors instead of worshiping God. African medicine was regarded as unscientific and some of its treatment methods were considered anti-Christian. Traditional healers were regarded as heathens because of their participation in African Traditional Religion. Thus, Africans who became Christians were discouraged by the church from taking part in African traditional religious rituals and from consulting traditional healers. This attempt to destroy African religion and medicine has not succeeded. Many African Christians have continued to participate in traditional religious rituals; they have also continued to consult traditional healers. In other words, many African Christians have dual membershipCmembership in the Christian church and membership in African religion.
It is difficult to separate African medicine from African religion. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the African general theory of illness is very broad; it includes African theology. In other words, the theory not only attempts to explain illness and disease but also the relations between God and the niverse. The second reason, related to the previous one, is that many traditional healers are also religious leaders and vice versa.
The traditional medical sector has continued to grow despite the attempts by early Christian missionaries and others to suppress it; and it has continued to grow because traditional healers are successful in curing a large number of illnesses. Traditional healers use both scientific and non-scientific or subjective knowledge. Scientific medicines are obtained mainly from plants. Many plant medicines recommended by traditional healers are correct even when judged by modern scientific methods. This empirical knowledge has been developed through trial and error, experimentation and systematic observation over a long period of time. The major sources of non-scientific or subjective knowledge are the various spirits believed to play a part in health. The social and psychological methods of treatment developed from this unscientific base often bring good results.
Participation in traditional religions is increasing. The point that was often made by early Christian leaders that many African religious rites and rituals and many of their cultural practices are against Christian faith and morals is, in fact, not correct. In recent years a number of African scholars have shown that many traditional practices that Christian churches eliminated or tried to eliminate were not, in fact, against Christian faith and morals. African religion does not encourage belief in witchcraft; it merely accepts the fact that witches exist in Africa. Witches are regarded as sinners and it is the duty of religious leaders to talk about witchcraft and to attempt to discourage its practice. African religion does not encourage people to venerate their ancestors instead of worshiping; members of African religion talk to their ancestors but worship God. African religion says, God is for everyone everywhere. God takes very little interest in the day-to-day affairs of individuals. God is not concerned with purely personal affairs but with matters of national and international importance. The ancestral spirits, on the other hand, are concerned with the day-to-day affairs of their descendants. They are the intermediaries between the living and God. People pray to God through their ancestors.
Many Africans who became Christians found it difficult to abandon their religion and medicine completely. Christian conversion was, therefore, shallow; it did not always change the African people’s understanding of life and their relationship to their ancestral spirits and God.
The way forward for the Christian church is to examine carefully African religion and medicine and other cultural aspects, with a view to identifying clearly those practices that are not against Christian faith and morals and incorporate them into modern medicine and Christian worship; if possible, the should also try to find a way out of what are considered non-Christian rites and other cultural practices. A few Christian churches are already doing this.
There is a need for dialogue between the leaders of Christian churches and the leaders of African religion and medicine. Unplanned interaction might continue to create new problems, misunderstandings and conflict. The need is for sound and genuine dialogue, involving negotiations whenever necessary.
Prof. Gordon L. Chavunduka is president of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’ Association.
Posts: 3446 | From: U.S. by way of JA by way of Africa | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
What are the Orisha? The Orisha are COMPLEX MULTIVALENT BEINGS.
The Orisha are ASPECTS OF GOD. Can we know God? No we cannot, nor really can we TOTALLY KNOW the Orisha. The Orisha are a little easier to grasp in our understanding but only a little and never totally.
They are FORCES OF NATURE. As such they exist everywhere. Are we always aware of them? No, especially when we are not in the environment where their force is manifest. Are they constained by our awareness of them? I don’t think so. Do the names that different cultures give to them affect their being? I don’t think so. Are Olokun and Sedna the same. Perhaps. Perhaps not. Olokun lives at the bottom of the sea and Sedna lives at the bottom of the sea. How I resolve this for myself is the Orisha are a theme with variations. The Inuit conceive of Sedna in one way. The Yoruba conceive of Olokun in another (which by the way is different from the way that the Beni conceive of him – or is it her?) Yet Sedna and Olokun could possibly be the same or different. How is that for definiteness? Or is all this a way that different peoples attempt to explain the different forces to themselves? Since environments, circumstances and cultures are different, are not awarenesses different? Is any awareness (with the exception of Olodumare) total? I don’t think so.
Are Orisha only forces of nature? No they are not. They are also FORCES IN THE HUMAN MIND. Ogun is will. Yemonja is compassion. Obatala is reaon. Oshun is self esteem.
The Orisha also EMBODY VALUES. They are also PRINCIPLES OF LIFE. Yemonja, nurturance; Shango, truth; Obatala, ethics, Oshun connectiveness; Oya, change.
Some consider the Orisha LAWS by which we must live our lives. Oshun’s law is love yourself while Shango’s is use your head.
The Orisha also have reincarnated on the earth and achieved Orishahood. There are stories about the apotheosis of Yemonja, Shango, Oya and Orisha Oko, to name a few. Therefore the Orisha are also ANCESTORS, however, a special categories of ancestors.
The Orisha are all this and more.
The following pataki explains how there are Orisha all over the world.
Obatala went to the market and bought a slave. He put him to work on his farm on a hillside. The slave worked very hard and the farm thrived. Obatala was pleased. One day Obatala was walking up the path to the farm and the slave rolled a huge boulder down on him and crushed him into numerous pieces. Orumila gathered up as many of othe pieces as he could find but he could not find them all. It is said that the pieces of Obatala were spread all over the world.
So the Orisha are everywhere, whether we know it or not or whether we recognize them or not.
Olamide
Iya Olamide is a priestess of Yemoja with nearly two decades of ocha. The vitality and wisdom that is always evident in her writing has made her a favorite contributor to the Orisha Mailing List. She currently resides in Houston, Texas.
Posts: 3446 | From: U.S. by way of JA by way of Africa | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by rahotep101: Pat Robertaon is a bigoeded buffoon. Who cares about anything he says?
If the recent natural disasters in the world are the work of the Christian god then he's picking some odd targets:
Haiti Cathedral:
Christchurch, New Zealand:
L'Aquila, Italy:
This thread is about African Spirituality, not about him or his opinion(s)...your post has no relevance in this thread
Posts: 3446 | From: U.S. by way of JA by way of Africa | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic