Characteristics of African Religion
Characteristics of African religion
A Supreme being:
Throughout most of Africa there is belief of a supreme being, described by one or more names, either in terms of activities or place of abode. African people relate to or worship God through praying, singing and dancing, making sacrificial offerings, dedications and invoking blessings. In many respects, the attitude given toward the supreme creator resembles the respect given to African rulers. According to African tradition certain procedures have to be observed in order to gain access to a person of authority. For an ordinary person such contact can actually only take place through approved mediators or councillors. While it may occur that there is no cult devoted specifically to the Supreme being, in the African understanding God is above all worshiped through obedience to the specific imperatives and in everyday relationships during the normal course of events.
Although the supreme being is not generally thought of as a judge in personal and ethical matters, he may withhold rain or cause crop failure, which will inevitably lead to hunger. This applies to Batswana Religion since the Zulu people had already established a belief in a Supreme being prior to the arrival of the first missionaries in Natal. The name Modimo is today commonly used for god. In the traditional religious orientation of the Batswana, Madimo was never conceived as a person. Madimo was known as the beginning and the cause of human, animal and even world existence, but not as a human being and even less as a father.
A Realm Of Spirits:
There are Three categories in this feature: Ancestoral spirits : Nature Spirits : Deities
In South and southern Africa this common feature refers only to the ancestors. Often the people believe that only those who have married and have produced offspring to remember them become
A Supreme being:
Throughout most of Africa there is belief of a supreme being, described by one or more names, either in terms of activities or place of abode. African people relate to or worship God through praying, singing and dancing, making sacrificial offerings, dedications and invoking blessings. In many respects, the attitude given toward the supreme creator resembles the respect given to African rulers. According to African tradition certain procedures have to be observed in order to gain access to a person of authority. For an ordinary person such contact can actually only take place through approved mediators or councillors. While it may occur that there is no cult devoted specifically to the Supreme being, in the African understanding God is above all worshiped through obedience to the specific imperatives and in everyday relationships during the normal course of events.
Although the supreme being is not generally thought of as a judge in personal and ethical matters, he may withhold rain or cause crop failure, which will inevitably lead to hunger. This applies to Batswana Religion since the Zulu people had already established a belief in a Supreme being prior to the arrival of the first missionaries in Natal. The name Modimo is today commonly used for god. In the traditional religious orientation of the Batswana, Madimo was never conceived as a person. Madimo was known as the beginning and the cause of human, animal and even world existence, but not as a human being and even less as a father.
A Realm Of Spirits:
There are Three categories in this feature: Ancestoral spirits : Nature Spirits : Deities
In South and southern Africa this common feature refers only to the ancestors. Often the people believe that only those who have married and have produced offspring to remember them become