INFECTIOUS DISEASES - Blackherbals.com

AFRIKAN SPIRITUALITYThe Meaning of Peace inAfrican Traditional Religionand Culture – Part IIGodfrey Igwebuike OnahPontifical Urban University, RomeThe traditional shrine as a symbol of our cultural historyThe Essential Features of AfricanTraditional ReligionI would like to group the essential features of ATR underthree headings, which may be regarded as the threeprincipal dimensions of religion: belief, worship andmorality.a) BeliefConsidering Africa as a whole, the main objects oftraditional religious belief are: God, the divinities, spiritsand the ancestors. Belief in God, conceived as one SupremePersonal Being seems to be shared by the majority ofAfrican cultures. Nevertheless, there are a few cultureswhere the situation is not very clear. Whereas inmonarchical cultures, like among the Yoruba of Nigeria,the Zulu of South Africa and the Ashanti of Ghana, Deity isclearly conceived as one and supreme, in some republicancultures, like among the Igbo of Nigeria and the San ofBotswana, language and practice have left some scholars indoubt about whether the people traditionally believe in oneSupreme Being, or whether there are several SupremeBeings one of which emerges as the primus inter pares. Ihasten to add, however, that in the case of the Igbo, only ahandful of scholars doubt the belief in God as one SupremeBeing in the traditional religion. The Supreme Being inATR is personal, not an impersonal absolute principle. Godhas a will, emotions and, of course intelligence. Among themajor divine attributes in ATR are omnipotence,omniscience, goodness and justice, although these attributesare not expressed in mere abstract concepts. Sometimes heis thought of in masculine terms and even as a Father, atother times she is conceived in feminine terms and as aMother. But in most cases African languages do not specifyand gender categories are totally absent.Each local community has its name for God, but the peoplebelieve that it is the one and same God who is givendifferent names and who is the ultimate source of all the the____________________Managing Editor: Nakato LewisPUBLISHER: KIWANUKA LEWISPublished monthly by BHSN for the African Traditional HerbalResearch Clinic-3- Traditional African Clinic December 2006universe and all that it contains. One can say that inATR God is the creator and sustainer of all that is,provided one allows that creation can have othermeanings in religion than the one that Scholastictheology has given to it. God is manifested in some wayin everything that exists and in every event in life.There is, however, no risk of pantheism since theSupreme Being is thought of and approached as aPerson. Most traditional Africans are so overwhelmedby the uniqueness, majesty and supremacy of God thatthey lack images for the Source-Being. Daily prayersare addressed to God in most parts of Africa and somepeoples (like the Wachaga, the Lugbara, the Gogo, theDinka) have direct cult of the Supreme Being. In ATRGod is at the same time transcendent and immanent, butdefinitely neither absent nor even too distant.Next to God are what one may call divinities, for lackof a better expression. These are spiritual beings, whoowe their origin to and are dependent on God. Some ofthem are personified attributes of the Supreme Being,like the thunder divinity, which usually representsGod’s wrath. Others are God’s manifestation in somenatural phenomena like the sun (regarded in manyAfrican cultures as the God’s son), and the earth (whichalso represents the maternal aspects of Deity),mountains, seas, and so on. Among the divinities onealso sometimes finds a few heroes and outstandingancestors. It would be improper to call the divinities“gods,” thus giving the false impression of polytheism.The divinities are messengers or ministers of God andsome of them may be very prominent in some localitiesbut totally unknown in others. While God, as we havealready mentioned, is believed to be known by all,albeit by different local names. The divinities, althoughusually dreaded for their uncompromising stance insome moral issues, are, nevertheless, in themselvesContinued on page 20This is part II of five part series.