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, West Africa, 2006.]] ''African indigenous religion'' refers to cultural, religious or spiritual manifestations indigeneous to the continent of Africa and Africans. Africans at times use terms that refer to the ancestral names of their specific religious traditions i.e., Vodou , Akhan , Mmami Wata , etc. African traditionalists almost always acknowledge the existence of a high God or Goddess who created the universe. However, they perceive this God as distant. In practice, African traditional religions is not unlike traditional religions in most cultures (e.g., Indian , Greek , etc.). Oftentimes, God is worshipped through consultation or communion with lesser deities and ancestral spirits. The deities and spirits are honoured through Libation , sacrifice (of animals, vegetables, or precious metals) and, in some cases, Trokosi . The will of God is sought by the believer also through consultation of oracular deities, or Divination . In many African traditional religions, there is a belief in a cyclical nature of reality. The living stand between their ancestors and the unborn. Like other traditional pagan religions, it embraces natural phenomenas as ebb and tide, waxing and waning moon, rain and drought and the rhythmic pattern of agriculture. African traditional religions are not static, not even within their consciousness of natural rhythms. they incorporate the ever changing actual experience, as, for example, Sango, the Yoruba god of lightning assumes responsibility for modern electrical processes. DEITIES Many indigenous African societies worship one God ( Chukwu , Nyame , Olodumare , etc.), and some recognize a dual or complementary twin God such as Mawu-Lisa . This they do by paying obeisance to the God through lesser deities ( Ogoun , Da , Agwu, Esu , Mbari, etc.). Some societies also deify entities like the earth, the sun, the sea, lightening, or Nature . Each deity has its own Priest or Priestess . In fact, In many places in Africa, Catholic Christians ' use of Saints and Rosary beads are believed to have a close relationship with deities of Traditional African Religion . DUALITY OF SELF AND GODS Most indigenous African religions have a " or an Ori , an independent entity that mediates or otherwise interacts between the body and the soul. Some religious systems have a specific devil-like figure (for example, Ekwensu ) who is believed to be the opposite of God. VIRTUE AND VICE Virtue in African traditional religion is often connected with the communal aspect of life. Examples includes such social behaviors as respect for parents and elders, appropriately raising children, providing hospitality, and being honest, trustworthy and courageous. In some ATRs, morality is associated with obedience or disobedience to God regarding the way a person or a community lives. For the Kikuyu, according to Mbiti, God, acting through the lesser deities, is believed to speak to and be capable of guiding the virtuous person as one's "conscience." But so could the Devil and the messengers. In indigenous African religions, such as the Azande religion, a person is said to have a good or bad conscience depending on whether he does the bidding of the God or the Devil. RELIGIOUS OFFICES African indigeneous religions, like most indigeneous religions, do not have a named and known founder, nor a sacred scripture. Oftentimes, such religions are oral traditions. Priest In some societies, these are intermediaries between individuals or whole communities and specific deities. Variously called Dibia, Babalawo , etc., the priest is usually presider at the altar of a particular deity. Healer Practice of medicine is an important part of indigenous religion. Priests are reputed to have professional knowledge of illness (pathology), surgery, and pharmacology (roots, barks, leaves and herbs). Some of them are also reputed to diagnose and treat mental and psychological problems. Rainmaker They are believed to be capable of bringing about or stopping rain, by manipulating the environment Meteorologically (e.g., by burning particular kinds of woods or otherwise attempting to influence movement of clouds). HOLY PLACES AND HEADQUARTERS OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES While there are human made places (altars, shrines, temples, tombs), very often sacred space is located in nature (trees, groves, rocks, hills, mountains, caves, etc.). These are some of the important centers of religious life: Nri-Igbo , Ile-Ife , Oyo , Dahomey , Benin , Uida , Nsukka , Akan, Kanem-Bornu, Mali , and Igbo-Ukwu . LITURGY AND RITUALS Rituals often occur according to the life cycle of the year. There are herding and hunting rituals as well as those marking the rhythm of agriculture and of human life. There are craft rituals, such as in smithing. There are rituals on building new homes, on the assumption of leadership, etc. Individuality Each deity has an its own rituals, including choice objects of sacrifice; preference for male or female priest-officer; time of day, week, month, or year to make required sacrifice; or specific costumes for priest and supplicant on ritual occasions. Patronage Some deities are perpetual patrons of specific trades and guilds. For example, in Haitian Vodou , Ogoun , the deity of metal, is patron of all professions that use metals as primary material of craft. Libation The living honour ancestors by pouring a libation (paying homage) by giving them first "taste" of drink before the living consume it. Magic, witchcraft, and sorcery These are important, different but related, parts of beliefs about interactions between the natural and the supernatural, seen and unseen, worlds. Magicians , Witches , and Sorcerers are said to have the skills to bring about or manipulate the relations between the two worlds. Abuse of this ability is widely condemned. Keep in mind magic, witchcraft, and sorcery are only part of many indigeneous religions. Secret societies They are important part of indigenous religion. Among traditional secret societies are hunting societies whose members are taught not only the physical methods, but also respect for the spiritual aspect of the hunt and use of honourable magical means to obtain important co-operation from the animal hunted. Members are supposed to have been initiated into, and thus have access to, occultic powers hidden to non-members. Well known secret societies are Egbo, Nsibidi , Mau Mau , etc. Possession Some spirits and deities are believed to "mount" some of their priests during special rituals. The Possessed goes into a trance-like state, sometimes accompanied by speaking in "tongues" (i.e., uttering messages from the spirit that need to be interpreted to the audience). Possession is usually induced by Drumming and Dancing . RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION Adherents of African Traditional Religion s had been persecuted, e.g. practitioners of the Bwiti religion by missionaries and Gabon authorities prior to 1960. MYTHOLOGY Many indigenous religions, like most religions, have elaborate stories that explain how the world was created, how culture and civilization came about, or what happens when a person dies. Other . The Ancient Egyptian Religion is considered to be an African traditional religion and the native religion of Egypt. However, adherence to the native religion had long since disappeared among Egyptians, the vast majority of whom if not all, adhere to monotheistic religions such as Islam and Christianity. SOURCES
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