LECTURE NOTES- ATR(S)
INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION(S)
OVERVIEW
ATR is a familiar term in African Universities, Colleges, Schools; primary and Secondary, seminaries, Theological Colleges, Bible Schools etc. In Europe and the USA there are separate institutes for the study of ATR and culture. This shows that there is a WHO IS AN AFRICAN?
Scholars say an African is one who is indigenous: born and bred in Africa; one who inhabits the continent of Africa. However, some are not necessarily born and bred in Africa, for example, those who are born in the Diaspora (UK, USA, etc). For example the issue of the whites born and bred in Africa. Are they Africans? They came through colonialism, but born and bred here. Should they be classified as Africans? For example, Ian Douglas Smith was born in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe. The most important issue is that there should be a reference to ancestry, physical location may not matter.
Samkange: generally, an African is one who is black (munhu). Africans did not regard whites as normal, but as Other beings, another form of some unknown entities who interrupted their space (intruders).
Indigenous: refers to traditional which itself refers to something that is foundational; right at the bottom. It refers to the base; that which is aboriginal. It is something that belongs to the past, but dynamic. It is therefore the past which progresses into the present. It is the past that goes the process of dynamism. This means that it is subject to change. It is versatile. It is the past being felt in the present. It is a heritage; an inheritance from the past. In the past has been misconstrued to mean something that is backward, old fashioned and archaic.
Mercy Amba Oduyoye, (1986:57): the term traditional connotes, a religion that is dying, being replaced by the new with which it is fruitlessly competing, a conservative and conserving religion bearing little relationship to the time. These are judgemental perspectives. However, African Indigenous Religions remain vibrant and consequential. Their view of the world continues to influence the lives of millions of Africans including those who have converted to missionary religions. Biras have been held since time immemorial. Biras: Cleansing ceremonies (2000: National Sports Stadium after the death of Zimbabwean fans at a match pitting Zimbabwe & South Africa).
interest in ATR today. As a result, there is a volume of literature available in the subject. Many people however, view or treat ATR with disdain. The people include the educated Africans. This disdainful attitude stems from:
The peoples perceived ideas about ATR,
Complete ignorance of ATR,
Faulty understanding of ATR.
The source of faulty understanding is inherited from earlier Euo
Biased comparison.
Examples:
The Explorer Sir Samuel Baker referring to people in Southern Sudan says:
Africans have no belief in a Supreme Being. They have no form of worship. The darkness of their mind is not enlightened by even a ray of superstition. Their mind is stagnant.
Sir Richard Burton on West Africa:
The Negro is still at that rude dawn of faith called fetishism. He has barely advanced to idolatry. He has never grasped the ideas of a personal Deity, a duty in life, a moral code, or a shame of lying. He does not believe in a future state of reward and punishment. The African brain was too small for civilized development.
As a result, despite efforts by both African and Western Scholars to correct the wrong impression people have about Africa, Westerners as well as African continue to regard ATR as worthless and devoid of spiritual value. Owing to this scenario, Rosalind Shaw argues for the Invention of African Traditional Religion; images of Africa have been created. The images have been created and maintained through the academic study of religion. In the case of ATR, the term religion itself is absent from the languages of many people whose practices we describe as their religion.
AFRICAN RELIGIONS AND CHRISTIAN TRANSLATIONS
Serious ATR studies were made in the course of Christian missionary works. Missionary expansion was based on the translatability of Christianity into different cultural and linguistic forms. Some aspects of ATR were perceived as more translatable than others. Certain features were baptized into Christianity, for example, God, prayer, concept of mediator. Other features could be replaced, for example, communion for blood sacrifice. Other practices were defined as magic were assimilated into ideas of Satan and Satanism and therefore rejected. In this regard, images of ATR are based upon a Judeo-Christian template.
WHAT IS AFRICAN TRADITITIONAL RELIGION(S)?
It has been defined as INDIGENOUS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF THE AFRICANS. (RELIGION refers to a system of beliefs, practices, institutions, and relationships based on a particular vision of ultimate reality that is used by a community of believers to identify and distinguish itself from other communities.)
WHO IS AN AFRICAN?
Scholars say an African is one who is indigenous: born and bred in Africa; one who inhabits the continent of Africa. However, some are not necessarily born and bred in Africa, for example, those who are born in the Diaspora (UK, USA, etc). For example the issue of the whites born and bred in Africa. Are they Africans? They came through colonialism, but born and bred here. Should they be classified as Africans? For example, Ian Douglas Smith was born in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe. The most important issue is that there should be a reference to ancestry, physical location may not matter.
Samkange: generally, an African is one who is black (munhu). Africans did not regard whites as normal, but as Other beings, another form of some unknown entities who interrupted their space (intruders).
Indigenous: refers to traditional which itself refers to something that is foundational; right at the bottom. It refers to the base; that which is aboriginal. It is something that belongs to the past, but dynamic. It is therefore the past which progresses into the present. It is the past that goes the process of dynamism. This means that it is subject to change. It is versatile. It is the past being felt in the present. It is a heritage; an inheritance from the past. In the past has been misconstrued to mean something that is backward, old fashioned and archaic.
Mercy Amba Oduyoye, (1986:57): the term traditional connotes, a religion that is dying, being replaced by the new with which it is fruitlessly competing, a conservative and conserving religion bearing little relationship to the time. These are judgemental perspectives. However, African Indigenous Religions remain vibrant and consequential. Their view of the world continues to influence the lives of millions of Africans including those who have converted to missionary religions. Biras have been held since time immemorial. Biras: Cleansing ceremonies (2000: National Sports Stadium after the death of Zimbabwean fans at a match pitting Zimbabwe & South Africa).
Religion: (The nature of ATR): What is religion?
This is difficult to define. The very first problem that we battle with is the question of the term religion itself. Africans have no separate field regarded as religion in the strictest sense of other societies. It is an imposition on the Africans. All of life is religious in some way. Items that comprise the definition of ATR include Beliefs and Practices, but we can also include religious objects and places, values and morals and religious officials and /or Leaders. No part by itself constitutes the entire meaning of religion. The parts work together to give a complete picture.
Beliefs:- Beliefs show the way people think about the universe and their attitudes towards life itself. There are plenty of belief systems; different categories of belief systems:
Anthropological beliefs- these are beliefs that focus on the human beings; their status in the universe and how they regard each other /perceptions of one another, how we regard the superiority of other.
Soteriological beliefs- these are beliefs that have to do with salvation. How human beings grope for survival in the case of predicaments like sicknesses and death. How can one be delivered from the pain of this world.
Cosmological beliefs- how the world built can be explained. How is the universe structured? The ingredients comprising the world we live in. How did the world come to be what it is today?
Numinological beliefs- these are beliefs about the core of existence. There must be a force/causer of whatever we see in the world. This has to do with the superior incomprehensible forces that give direction to the lives of the people.
Practices:- The practices show how people express their beliefs in practical terms. They are symbolic actions/behaviour. These involve African Ritual Practices. They include praying, making sacrifices and offerings, performing ceremonies and rituals, observing various rituals etc. Festivals are also part of the practices. These are occasions when people sing, dance, eat and celebrate a particular occasion or event. Examples of festivals are those that are conducted to:
Mark harvest time,
Mark the start of the rain season,
The birth of a child,
Victories over enemies (National Biras to celebrate the success of the land reform programmes)
Religious Objects and Places:
These cover places and things that are set apart as being holy or sacred. These are not commonly used except for a particular religious purpose. Some are made by people; others are taken in their natural form and set apart for religious purpose. Some belong to private individuals and families while others belong to whole community in a given region. They include places like shrines, sacred hills and mountains, rivers, charms, amulets, masks etc.
Values and Morals:
These deal with the ideas that uphold the life of people in their relationship with one another and the world around them. They cover topics like truth, justice, love, right and wrong, good and evil, beauty, decency, respect for people and property, the keeping of promises and agreements, praise and blame, crime and punishment, the rights and responsibilities of the individual and their community, character, integrity etc. They help people to live with one another, to settle their differences, to maintain peace and harmony, to have a relationship with their environment. There are differences in the values and morals followed by different people in Africa, but many of them are similar. They change as the living conditions of people change, but they always remain a necessity in human life.
Religious Officials and/or Leaders
These are people who conduct religious matters such as ceremonies, sacrifices, formal prayers and divination. They are men and women who know more about religious affairs than other people and are respected by their community. Example: ritual leaders, diviners, medicine men and women, kings/chiefs and rulers, rainmakers etc. They may or may not be paid for their services, but in most cases people give them presents and gifts to show their gratitude. Without these figures religious activities would neither survive nor function properly; much of the religious wisdom of the people will be forgotten. They are specialists in religious matters. They are the human keepers of the religious heritage. They are the essential part of the African Traditional Religion without which it will grind to a halt.
SOURCES OF ATRS (Mbiti, p69):
Rituals, Ceremonies, festivals of the people,
Shrines, Sacred places, religious objects,
Art and symbols,
Music and dance,
Proverbs, riddles and wise sayings,
Names of people and places,
Myths and legends,
Beliefs and customs,
All aspects of life.
ATR(s): SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
What term to use?
Kato, B.H, talks of ATRs in plural because there are numerous types of religious beliefs and practices among different tribes. For example, there are about 1 000 African tribes each with its own religious system.
Booth, Newell observed that ATR phenomena consist of supreme gods, nature spirits, ancestor rituals, initiation practices, divine kings, secret societies, sorcerers and demons. These vary from place to place. There is therefore no such thing as ATR. This raises the question of HOMOGENEITY (uniformity) or MULTIPLICITY of indigenous religious beliefs in Africa.
ANTHROPOLOGISTS, MISSIONARIES: There is no existence of one basic, universal African religion. If there was such a thing close to religion it was animism, fetishism; a multiplicity of ritual actions with natural objects as deities. African scholars trained by western anthropologists and missionaries in the 1960s and 1970s also exhibited the same mindset. For example, Mbiti explores the oneness or plurality of ATR. He argues for the authenticity of ATRs (African Religions and philosophy, 1969). Thesis: The phenomenon of religion in Africa has to be considered multiple because:
There are different peoples in Africa,
They have different religious belief systems, ceremonies, rituals, and religious leaders.
Mbiti then mounts an argument about African philosophy. Religious expressions are concrete and observable, but we cannot say the same about the thinking behind them; the philosophy behind them. Therefore we speak about ATRs in the plural. But most crucial is the thinking behind them; that is the philosophy/thinking underlying the religious expressions of African people is a philosophy in the singular. There is therefore a single philosophy underlying African religious beliefs and practices. For example, rituals, sacrifices, ancestor veneration/worship, etc though different proceed from a common mental structure. African diversity is seen on quite a number of levels:
Geographically,
Linguistically,
Physical appearance etc.
However, despite this diversity there is an essential unity among Africans leading to the observation that Africa is a unity in diversity. But there is a danger of minimizing differences, for example, there are the Shona, Ndebele, Dinka, Zulu, Akan, Yoruba, Massai and many others. However, differences are one of emphasis not of any essence. ATR is one in its ESSENCE. There are varieties yes, but ATR has a basic worldview. This worldview fundamentally is everywhere the same; varieties are of EXPRESSION than basic belief.
Magesa, L: It is like in the major religions for example, Christian denominations and Islam. There are Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian and many others. In Islam there are the Shia, Sunni, Sufi. All these remain Christian and Muslim respectively.
We study ATR in a specific place among a specific ethnic group for the sake of depth. This does not mean that ATR is not one.
ATR AND THE WORLD RELIGION FALLACY: THE STATUS OF ATR AS A WORLD RELIGION.
IS ATR A WORLD RELIGION?
What is the status of ATR as a world Religion? The status of ATR as a world religion has not yet been accepted comfortably. For example, in University departments there are courses on ATRs and courses on World Religions. ATR is considered as basic, primal, ethnic, primitive, tribal, traditional, magic, animism etc. ATR has no UNIVERSAL character:
ATR has no capacity to interact with other religions,
Does not influence and change the world,
The role of ATR in contemporary society is minimized,
ATR becomes a subordinate and not an equal.
The study of ATR becomes merely a description of appearances instead of a portrayal of a phenomenon with the moral power that shapes and dictates the lives of millions of people in relation to other human beings, the created order and the divine.
Reasons for this attitude
Prejudice of the 19th century scholarship, tainted by the evolutionary theory borrowed from Darwin, slave trade, colonial mentality. For example, H.M, Stanleys description of African mentality:
Barbarous, materialists, childish, inarticulate creature, stupefied with brutish ignorance, with instincts of men in him, yet living the life of a beast.
Okot pBitek (African Religion in African Scholarship, 1970) responded:
Western scholars studied African societies, institutions, religions, not in their own right, but so as to compare them with their own in order to demonstrate to themselves the superiority of the latter. Social anthropology was the handmaiden of colonialism. They gave information about African institutions to ensure efficient and effective control and exploitation. It also perpetuated the myth of the PRIMITIVE which justified the colonial enterprise.
OBJECTIONS TO CHARACTERISING ATR AS A WORLD RELIGION
How to be a world religion: R. Shaw
No written scriptures as in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism etc. Western scholars maintain that a religion based on oral tradition cannot be regarded as equal to the above. This argument is based on a parochial understanding of SCRIPTURE. Coward, H, argues that scripture can be either ORAL or WRITTEN. According to him Literacy post-dated illiteracy in world history. Many religions were orally based for centuries before the oral stories were codified in writing. ATR cannot be disqualified on the basis of orality alone.
The religion has to be revealed. However, consider AICs. These do not claim scripture as the central element of religious system; they do not possess a sacred book. (They have a direct experience of the spirit). They see their faith revealed through dreams, prophets and divination.
Lack of aggressive proselytizers as in Christianity and Islam. These have sought converts through cunning and deceit, violence, war CRUSADES. Hinduism and Confucianism do not actively proselytize. They are tribal; they do not engage in converting people.
Universality- membership is not restricted to a single ethnic identity. It has an all encompassing cosmology and boasts of statistical weight,
Have an explicit doctrine. They have centres /centre of authority.
Is World Religions a valid classificatory category?
The term world is an adjective that denotes the idea of existing in and affecting the whole world. A world religion is a religion that exists in and affects the whole world. Examples of religions that have been termed so are:
Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Bahai Faith, Hinduism, Christianity etc.
Fitzgerald Timothy, Hinduism and the World Religion Fallacy in Journal of Religion Vol.20 argues that The very notion of a World Religion seems confused and dubious /suspicious. The concept is highly artificial, it distorts as a general category.
Features that qualify a Religion as a World Religion:
A World Religion is not confined to one socio-cultural matrix. It takes root in different cultures. F. Timothy: A World Religion flies off from its nest and lays its eggs in foreign climates through missionary activities/emigration. It transcends cultural boundaries and social groups,
It develops a universal message, that is, it proclaims a message that is not bound by one socio-cultural unit. It has a potential universal relevance and appeals to a large number of people,
It develops a clear doctrine of salvation, capable of being available to adherents in a variety of cultural contexts,
It has scriptures that can be translated into different languages. It is a religion of literacy with basic sacred texts, for example, the Bible translated into many languages. It desires to appeal to a wider audience,
It has a class of special interpreters who can act as missionaries, for example, Pastors, Priests, and Reverends in Christianity. It has missionaries to propagate to all corners of the world,
It has elaborate places of worship, for example, Cathedrals, Temples, Mosques etc,
Membership is not restricted to a single ethnic identity. It is open to anyone regardless of Nationality,
The origins of a World Religion can be traced to a specific individual. It has got a founder,
It is regarded as a religion of progress; it is dynamic and not static.
Rosalind Shaw identified three categories of religions regarded as World Religions:
Religions of Indian origins: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism etc,
Religions of Chinese origins: Confucianism, Taoism,
Religions of Semitic origin (Jews, Assyrians, Arabs, Babylonians,): Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Bahai Faith.
CRITIQUE
Some religions labelled as World Religions lack some characteristics laid above, for example, Hinduism is confined to India, has no founder and does not grope for converts. There is a great deal of bias. ATR is left out yet it is a continental religion, so the term is problematic.
Differences should be understood on the grounds of developmental stages. ATR is still in the stages of development. Most religions started in oral form and written scriptures came at a later stage. H. Turner: Literacy post-dated illiteracy in world History. World religion classificatory category is therefore a theological construct. It was created to universalize Christian theology for some theological needs. World Religion is exclusive and denigrating. Africans are ignored and excluded and is not regarded as a world religion. ATRs have been viewed pejoratively as traditional/tribal/primal religion/ archaic religions/ancient/non-literate/pre-historic/oral religions/group-tied religions/animistic/polytheistic etc. Preference is given to text-based traditions.
A higher value is ascribed to the universal religion and ATRs are subjected to negative stereotypes. It is negatively portrayed and therefore misrepresented and misunderstood. However, ATRs should be given respect. They are equal to other religions. Some scholars propose a view to drop the category World Religion and use alternatives for example, Religions of the world, Mans Religions (Noss, D.S.), but feminists saw this as gender insensitive. Religions, Religions found in the world are some alternatives.
MISLEADING TERMS (Characteristics in a negative way)
ATR is characterised as:
Primitive, meaning that which is old-fashioned, simple, not contemporary, non-conformity. It is seen as so by some religions that prioritise themselves over others. Even among these religions, divisions are also found; some distaste of certain doctrines held by others.
Savage: this means that which is wild/uncultured/untamed/barbaric/inhuman (inf. Hooliganism).
Fetishism: this is a term used to refer to charms/armlets. The word fetish derives from a Portuguese term feticho which refers to natural or artificial objects. In some cases inanimate objects, but they can also be animate (with or without life) with mysterious powers. They are believed to breath and are found on bodies or anywhere in the home.
Juju Has an element of spiritual power, especial to kill, to steal (incomprehensible tactics employed). It is used to enhance success in sporting activities and even in terms of sexuality, for example, mubobobo-used to lure women into sexual contact knowingly or unknowingly. Women also apply juju when jilted by men or when a client defaults payment for sexual services through the transplanting of the male organ. The term is originally from a French word: doll or toy.
Paganism- assumes a peasantry mentality; belonging to the country or countryside. The peasants are regarded as retrogressive. Paganism and heathenism are synonymous. From a Christian point of view, paganism involves the worship of false gods (strong peasantry mentality).
Animism: refers to belief in inanimate objects. Anima-soul. Scholars maintain that every object has a soul.
Idolatry: worship of false gods. ATRs have been accused of being idolatrous, that is, having a belief in these false idols.
Polytheism- carries the idea of worshipping many gods. Poly- many and theist has an element of spirituality-god.
Superstition: portraying that which is evil /satanic.
The shone have been described as ancestor worshippers, meaning that they take the ancestors to be the end in themselves: Is this wrong?
Witchdoctor: denotes an element to kill and an element of saving life.
These words have a lot of bias and prejudices. Most of the terms are misleading and must be dropped in the academic study of ATR. Scholars propose that there should be devised acceptable substitutes.
African Religious Worldview / Cosmology
Dualistic and Tripartite Worldviews
Dualistic- Africans believe there is a spiritual realm (the abode of the spirits). The exact location of this realm is not clear. They are regarded as Varikumhepo. The Shona and Ndebele believe in the existence of the physical realm, that is, the earth with tree animals etc. When one dies, they go to the spirit world.
The Tripartite worldview
It comprises belief in human world, the natural world and the spiritual world. These three worlds are linked. The natural world provides the habitat for the spirits and sends message from the spiritual world to the human world (as hierophanies). The spirit world provides guidance, punishment and blessing to the human world (Haverkort, et al). For the African every plant, animal and natural phenomena are a carrier of the divine. In order to appease the spirit world, people have to perform rituals and make sacrifices. The human world has to relate to both the natural and the spirit world.
The diagram below illustrates the African Tripartite Worldview:
Diagram adapted from Haverkort et al
The African worldview does not include the idea of the natural cause of misfortunes, death and diseases. There are always some spiritual causes for misfortunes that is why the sacred practitioners are sought to ascertain the cause of illness.
NUMINOLOGICAL BELIEFS IN ATR
These are beliefs about God and various types of spirits. These are ancestral, alien, and avenging spirits. There is a debate whether Africans had a belief in God before the advent of Christian missionaries. There are two schools of thought regarding this debate:
One advocates the non-existence of God in ATR; ancestors are the unrestricted value in themselves. Belief in God is a very recent development. The Africans did not have this notion before the advent of missionaries/Christianity. Vatisingazivi does not translate to God, but remote ancestors.
One missionary had this to say, How can an untutored African conceive of God?
Another one C, Bullock says, I would be the last one to advocate the translation of our word God by Chishona word Mwari.”
H. Stacy says, Shona people are uncivilised and need to be introduced and taught of the living God and the name Jesus. They believe ancestors were an end in themselves; the Supreme Being of unrestricted value.
What underlines this early perspective is the view of Africa. It was viewed as a primitive and dark continent. Africa was conceived of as the reverse of Europe; Europe turned upside down, lacking in civilisation. Nothing was thought to ever come from this Dark Continent. Preconceived idea about Africa? This has been criticised of being too Christian and academic.
A second school argues for the existence of God in before the advent of Christian Missionaries. It takes an apologetic stance. It comprises the African Christian theologians. They maintain that Africans had a belief in god from antiquity/time immemorial. Knowledge of God preceded the coming of the missionaries.
Mbiti: Missionaries did not bring God to Africa, but it was God who brought them to Africa. One for real is that they brought Christ. Africans do not worship their ancestors- they are not the supreme Beings; the end in themselves, but God is the final authority above and beyond the ancestors. Ancestors are just the intermediaries between people and the Supreme-Being.
The proponents of this school are proselytes to Christianity. The basis of this argument is that the knowledge of God is innate and humankind has a natural inclination to know and profess about God. Religion is part and parcel of human life.
Scholars in History have objected to the indigenous terms attached to the concept of God.
D.N Beach argues that the concept was borrowed from the Swahili who had in turn borrowed it from the Muslims. Allah (Al) a concept from Mecca later became Ari through acculturation (Assimilation). His dwelling places are mountains, caves etc. Mu + ari describes where he stays.
Mwari can also refer to his attribute of omnipresence. He is found everywhere, Kumwararika, splashing all over. Do the Ndebele and Shona acknowledge the concept of Mwari? Is it a product of inheritance or colonialism?
Shona / Ndebele concept of God / Supreme Being
Shona call him Mwari and the Ndebele call him Unkulunkulu. Various attributes are ascribed to this Supreme Being. This is taken to support the view that
Africans were familiar with God and had formulated certain ideas about God.
Belief in God was part and parcel of African thinking and life.
The Supreme Being is believed to be the originator of everything; it is the original source, the beginning of all things. He is the first one to exist. The Shona people refer to God as:
Muwanikwa, Mutangakugara, Musiki- Creator of all there is in the world: People, vegetation, animals and the earth itself.
Musikavanhu- creator of humanity. Some refer to him as Muumbi which is an attribute of creation. It is also expressed in African myths of origins (Cosmogonic myths).
These names are used to argue for the existence of God before the coming of the missionaries. The Shona and the Ndebele had a belief in God that has been passed from one generation to another even before the advent of missionaries.
Dzivaguru refers to a big perennial pool. Supreme Being is believed to sustain his creation through his providence. He provides rains, fertility (land and people) other necessities needed. It underwrites Gods ability to provide rain and is used to argue for the feminine nature of God. (Imagery for a womb- gives rationale for talking about god in feminine terms). Women are the ones who are closely associated with the earth and other sources of livelihood.
Samasimba- He is omnipotent, Omnipresent (ubiquitous, found everywhere) and omniscient (all-knowing).
Some refer to him as King. Shona and Ndebele had traditional leaders/rulers. God rules the universe just as their rulers rules their territories. They equated this title to God. He has invincible powers over the universe.
Some ethnic groups also refer to God as grandmother/Mbuya. This is done to express his benevolence/generosity to his creatures. Just like a grandmother is looked at as someone who has had many siblings although some scholars argue that it can be seen as a conceptual premise used to advance feminist interests; that God is female rather than exclusively male.
Chidzachepo- existed from eternity.
Chirozvamauya / mavi- he gives and takes. Chikara- sovereign and malevolent nature of God.
Critique
Some scholars regard this notion of attributes as not a strong enough base to argue for the existence of God among the Shona and the Ndebele. In fact, they look at them as signs of inferiority complex among the Shona and the Ndebele. Why should we look for similarities between ATR and Christianity? Why taking Christianity as a yard stick as if to suggest that ATR cannot stand on its own with unique features to itself?
DAVID WESTERLUND (Swedish) looked at how African religion is viewed by African scholarship. In African Religion in African Scholarship, he attacks the African scholars, but did not exclude the westerners. He attacked both and his thesis is that both are biased.
He argues that Africans are biased. They are haunted by inferiority complex. They want to showcase in order to demonstrate their position. Africans want to strike a balance; they do not want to fall short. If in Europe there is a God, in Africa there is also a God! Mbiti and Idowus desire to equate ATR to Christianity assumes inferiority.
The Westerners are characterised by a superiority complex; the mine-is-right-feeling. The Whitemans culture is superior. This demonstrated by the labels given to Africans. They are described as Natives, Kaffirs etc. Both groups exhibit bias whether inferiority or superiority.
On the RELIGIOUS plane, the westerners want to show that their religion was superior. The Africans also want to show that theirs is also close / at par. Africans became reactionary. They defend their stance and this is why Okot is accused of practising racism in the reverse. Westerlund posits that the Africans are better positioned to study their own religion regardless of biases because it is within the language and culture within which phenomena are found.
African Scholars are problematic.
- They show western influence that compliments their their lack of financial muscles. Some are ordained, for example, Mbiti, Idowu etc have Degrees in Theology. This education impacts on their writings; they see things through western goggles. Their theological orientation is western conceptualised. In such a scenario, it is difficult to study ATR because one cannot be truly African and truly Christian at the same time.
-Lack of financial resources is also a major hamstring. Their education was funded by the west and their works on ATR were donor-funded. As a result, they wrote in the way that pleases the donors and not the African
-ATR scholars have a western orientation. Their publications are Christian flavoured, for example, J.S, Mbiti tried to equate the African concept of God to that of the Western. African scholars are rather linguistically, cosmologically and psychologically colonised.
Most of these scholars are at pains to explain that ATR is not inferior, but equal to Christianity. ATR should be studied in its own right. Christianity should not be the paradigm for the study of ATR. IDOWU says Western scholars consciously suppress information that is positive about ATR and exposes the negative. Western Scholars studied ATR not to understand them in their own right, but to pave way for the colonialism. Africa was primitive so it warranted colonisation. It was done to justify colonisation.
The Shona and Ndebele also believe in a plethora of spirits:
Ancestors (Midzimu),
Alien Spirits (Mashavi),
Avenging spirits (Ngozi).
Ancestral Spirits (Midzimu)
These are the spirits of the deceased members of the family who were decently buried and now exist in spiritual form. Death marks a transformation of the African person from the physical to the spiritual form. Mbiti (1969) calls them the living-dead; whilst they are dead physically, they are alive spiritually. The dead are still part of the family and the living still have memories of them. However, not everyone who dies can achieve ancestor-hood status. There are certain prerequisites/requirements for one to become an ancestral spirit. These are:
One should be a married person with children. This is done for purposes of continuity; such people had parental responsibility so they have to look after the living using the experience of parental responsibility they gathered in the previous life
Necessary rituals should be conducted for a person to become an ancestral spirit (kurova guva/umbuyiso). Before these rituals are conducted the spirit is believed to be dangerous to the living. The ritual inaugurates the dead into the spiritual realm,
Moral uprightness. Anti-social behaviour, for example, witchcraft, sorcery, stealing, social outcasts, mentally deranged, lepers etc cannot become ancestral spirits. In some cases even the immoral become ancestral spirits, but the spirit is believed to have less impact because of the failure to be exemplary in the previous life.
Hierarchy of spirits
National Spirits-Debatable. It is a political construct.
Territorial/Tribal/Clan Spirits- spirits of departed rulers/chiefs.
Family Ancestral Spirits.
Functions of Ancestral spirits
They are intermediators /mediators between the people and the Supreme Being. M.F.C, Bourdillon argues that ancestors are bilingual.
-They speak the language that God hears and the language the living can understand. --They know what the people are after since they had been there, and since they are now in the spiritual world, they know best how to approach God,
-Africans feel small to approach God directly so the need to use the ancestral spirits as a way to show respect and courtesy towards God who must be approached with humility and reverence.
-An African person does not approach an elder directly, but does so through his junior.
-Ancestral Spirits are always appeased with some ceremonies so as to perform their intermediary role satisfactorily.
They are protectors and guardians of the people. Africans believe the world has mysterious forces which beyond humanity conception, for example, evil spirits, natural disasters, sorcerers etc.
- Humanity can only cope with these forces only with the guardianship and security proffered by the ancestral spirits that can wade off these forces that threaten the wellbeing of the living.
They do not cause harm, but misfortunes happen when they withdraw their protection in protest or as a sign of their anger and the family becomes vulnerable to these forces.
-Rituals are conducted to placate them so that they wont withdraw their protection. They also maintain peace and harmony in the family.
They fight evil spirits and drive them away from their family descendants where they once belonged. People are united through ceremonies held in their honour. People gather in friendly, peaceful and happy ceremonies to venerate ancestors.
They influence proper moral behaviour on people; they shape the morality of the people. This is done through the issue of reward and punishment. Those who abide by the restrictions are rewarded and those who break taboos are punished.
They meet the expectations of people in their everyday life. They ensure fertility both of the land and of the people. When a woman begets child, the ancestors are thanked.
They protect people at dangerous working places, academic endeavours, good yields/bumper harvests, and marriages (etc) in various enterprises.
Some are guardians and protectors of the land, for example, territorial spirits. They are believed to guard against foreign invasion/enemies.
Alien Spirits
These are spirits of strangers/aliens who died away from home and usually are the spirits of the young and the unmarried. The spirits of these people would not have received proper funeral ceremonies; hence they seek to express themselves through taking possession of unrelated people. They are unknown to the communities from which they choose hosts.
Some of these spirits are spirits of social outcasts/deviances, for example, witches, sorcerers, suicide victims, the mentally deranged etc. They cannot be adopted into the world of ancestral spirits and so end up possessing unrelated people. They can also be spirits of animals, for example, baboons, snakes etc. The hosts behave in the way the animal does. The shavi cult is a quest for recognition. It is a struggle against oblivion caused by death. Since they cannot be ancestral spirits, they have to be somewhere.
Example:
Mazungu spirit- these are spirits African people from Portuguese east Africa. They came many years ago in search of some minerals and game and many died in these strange lands and their spirits wandered until they settled on some alien hosts. The spirit is associated with cleanliness and hygiene. Many reflect a bias picture of white people. The host behaves in the way the whites do. A woman host washes her body and clothes regularly. The person is always spotlessly clean. The spirit demands western food staff such as eggs, rice spaghetti etc. The possessed speaks English and any other European languages even if the person has never been to School.
The significance
They confer particular talents/skills to their hosts either negative or positive.
Positive Skills/Talents
They can confer hunting talents to their host. One can become an expert in hunting. The host is known as Mudzimba. Such type of spirits possesses men for example, Khumalo Shavi.
They bestow healing talents, for example, Sivinda Shavi. This type is popular with women. The host is able to treat various diseases, convulsions, difficult labour etc. They impart this expertise to their host.
Madzukwa Shavi expert in treating many diseases some of the western medicine cannot treat, for example, leprosy, epilepsy etc.
Chipunha favours young and unmarried women as its host. It confers curative skills on its host. It cures diseases that attack small children.
Nyamande Shavi- Confers divinatory talents. The host can foresee into the future and may warn a person of an impending disaster and advises the person of the diviner to consult to avert the disaster. The Baboon spirit can divine illness. It can also help find lost property, something hidden (Seership).
Masangano Spirit specialises in dancing. It can confer dancing skills on the host and the person can entertain people at ceremonies (for example, Chakandiwana in Garandichauya).
Zvipenzi Shavi enables host to perform duties regarded arduous to perform under normal circumstances. The person is industrious / hardworking.
Shavi reMhondoro is known to possess lions. The lion guards the chiefdom by moving around at night.
Sangoma produces warriors strong and brave in battles. It confers the ability to kill in battle and protects the whole territory from invaders or enemies. The spirit can also provide entertainment.
Possession by alien spirits enhances the social status of the host in the society. I.M Lewis posits that the favourite victims of possession cults are women who are deprived of power in male dominated societies (patriarchy) or down-trodden categories of men. These two groups are subject to strong discrimination in rigidly stratified societies. Possession avails the chance for them to express the inclination they may not under normal circumstances.
Negative Qualities/Attributes
Shavi rouroyi- Witchcraft: for example, Mzilikazi Shavi,
Shavi rechipfambi- Prostitution,
Shavi reumbavha- Stealing,
Shavi reusimbe- laziness,
Shavi reurombe- Vagrance / poverty.
Avenging Spirit
This is a spirit of someone who dies with a grievance and comes back to seek revenge against those who wronged it. It is the most feared type of spirit among the Shona/Ndebele because it causes illness, misfortunes, suffering and even death to the offenders family. The etymology of the word ngozi is a Karanga term njodzi which means accidents, sorrows, danger to human life, misfortune etc. The term is characteristic of the actions of the spirit. It attacks the members of the family of the offender because in the African society in general sin is seen as a collective social error and the whole family is susceptible to punishment.
Various types of avenging spirits
Murdered persons, especially a foreigner/mutorwa. The spirit comes back to seek revenge,
Parental spirit against its offspring. This could be due to ill treatment during life-time. If a child beats up or scolds one of her parents and takes no steps to remedy the situation through striking reconciliation, the spirit of the parent comes back as an avenging spirit. It is not necessarily a ngozi, but kupfuka. The misfortunes are directed to the specific child who wronged the parent. She may come back as result of tampering with her cooking utensils. These should be replaced while she is still alive otherwise she may die with a grievance. Non-payment of mombe youmai by the son-in-law can court the spirit of the deceased mother. The mothers spirit is more dangerous than that of the father because the mother is not of ones relations; not of the same totem. Children can perform rituals to placate her. The victim goes through a humiliating life that includes withdrawing into the outside world (Kutanda botso). May cause fertility problems in the girl children.
The most dreaded one is the avenging spirit of a deceased pregnant woman or a woman who dies soon after giving birth as a result of the in-law or husband. It has a tendency of quantifying itself by causing or calling other ngozi into the family of the offender.
Spirit of a servant (Mushandi) / slave (Nhapwa) can also come back to seek compensation, especially when they died without being paid their dues. If the person was ill-treated, they may come seeking revenge. It demands a wife/virgin girl as a form of compensation.
A spirit of a spouse/ partner who died through negligence of or ill-treatment or unfaithfulness of the other partner.
An avenging spirit can be self-generative. This means that it can come without being provoked. But it can also be initiated. The relatives of the deceased can invoke the deceaseds spirit. They can use herbs at the deceaseds grave to make the person wreak havoc in the family of the offender. Some people take medicine while still alive to be able to take revenge if their death is caused by people.
People take steps to get rid of the avenging spirit, for example,
Kurasira. A black animal or fowl dedicated to an avenging spirit (ngozi) is left to wander in the bush. One who takes away the animal automatically takes the ngozi,
Kutsipika This is a ritual that is meant to drive away the spirit with the help of a nanga without propitiatory rites being done. The step may threaten even the life of the nanga because it incurs the anger of the spirit. This is not a permanent solution to counter ngozi. The only solution is reparation/compensation. This is aptly described in the Shona adage that Mushonga wengozi kuripa. The victim family consult a nanga for appropriate measures to take to appease the avenging spirit. The spirit may require beer, wife, cattle etc.
Some scholars, for example, M. Gelfand, noted that these spirits are significant because it acts as an ethical code of conduct. It is a strong deterrent to crime. A person should desist from engaging in life threatening action. The fear compels people to respect human value. Stern punishment for taking ones life: there is justice even beyond the grave. The avenging spirits are agents of social justice. Even ancestral spirits cannot protect their own; they turn their backs because they are keen to see justice done. However, these avenging spirits also militate against the rights of other people. For example, the use of a girl as a wife for the spirit as compensation/propitiatory fine to placate the spirit infringes on the rights of the girl child. The individual is denied the right to choose their partner. Marriage rights are violated. This causes animosity, disunity etc.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL BELIEFS IN ATR(S)
Three issues need to be considered:
Origin of the African person,
Nature of the African person,
Destiny of the African person.
Origin
The issue of the community is very important in understanding the nature of the African on these three levels. The first major observation is that a person cannot exist apart from the community. The community can be an ethnic community. It can also be a family. The community is a sacred phenomenon in the African context. It begins with ancestors; the founding figures (fathers and mothers) of a particular ethnic group in a particular geographical area and is later governed by ancestral spirits. The word mudzimu in Shona does not mean an ancestor, but the spirit of a dead ancestor. An ancestor is anybody who has a child. Owing to this understanding, there is nothing wrong with the veneration of the ancestors. We venerate our mothers and fathers.
A Shona is a person through birth. Shona people do not come from the same source, but from different ancestors. Not all Shona associate themselves with Mwari. Mwari is a great ancestral spirit for a particular sub-group of the Shona- the Karanga. Associating God and Mwari is a distortion. Africans are born and not every birth is good. There is a distinction between good and bad births. Africans monitor closely the circumstances leading to the birth and decide whether to celebrate or not. Each birth has to satisfy the people. Good birth comes through normal delivery-no premature birth, no Caesarean birth! These are regarded as bad omen. Bad births warrant consultation with the diviner.
Nature
The Shona person carries a name. They only become a real person after the naming ritual is conducted, can even stretch to the teething stage. Not anybody can give names and is not just given anyhow to the extent of even carrying a name at the stage of pregnancy! The appropriate elders in the family have the prerogative to confer a name. Names are associated with a certain idea of reincarnation. Name tells the nature of personality and the destiny of the people (e.g, dead aunt, uncle). Some may die for refusing to accept the name. A person is associated with a name; can get well or die through a name. Names have stories; sometimes they go to metaphysical realities. This is why sometimes new converts to Christianity are forced to be baptized and asked to adopt a Christian name. Christians win psychological and social war by asking person to renounce their name.
Name carries a whole package about ones ethnic group or about an entire worldview. It tells a story. Shona names are private. An African person is supposed to express the order in which they are born. Two clear things: One is an individual on one hand and one expresses the order in which they are born on the other hand. We understand this through referring to the institution of the family/ethnic group etc. The Zezuru expresses Zezuru in all aspects. An African person does not live the life that they want, but the life that the community wants. Community aspect: the business is to express the order in which one is born, if you do not, you are labelled a deviant. The individual has to participate in the community. The Shona / Ndebele express the person in social terms (no autonomy). A Shona person is never regarded as a loose entity to be dealt with strictly individually. Not easy to talk to Shona about human rights. The human rights issue is autonomous, but the Shona is not autonomous. They belong to the institution of the family which is sacred. It has the guidance of the ancestors and the ancestral spirits (metaphysical issue).
Destiny
In connection with destiny, ancestors and ancestral spirits become very important because they may be responsible for a persons actions and also for a persons achievements. A life free of misfortunes suggests that the individual is relating well with their ancestral spirits. Misfortunes are conceived of as a violation of the relationship.
A person is part of the entire spiritual family which includes the natural environment which itself includes land, plant life, biological life in form of animals, water bodies/sources. The person can communicate with these (cosmic totality). However, not every animal is a relative of one.
A Shona person does not die; they continue to live in spiritual form. An African yearns for a good death that comes at very old age when people are afraid of looking at them; they are the believed to take a rest. It is difficult for a Shona to accept cremation. Africans want to live here. Time is not lineal (from point A to B; it is not moving towards an end, but is always there.
SOTERIOLOGICAL BELIEFS IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION(S)
The term salvation comes from two secular Soteria (Greek) and Shalom (Hebrew). The terms imply the transformation of a situation of danger and need into a situation of safety and well-being (Nurnberger Klaus, (?). Salvation/Liberation? The Soteriological Roots of a Missionary Theology, p206). Genuine well-being is comprehensive, for example when there is drought farmers are not well. Any specific need is a specific deficiency in overall well-being.
However, ATRs have often been negatively portrayed in academic realm. Early European writers regarded African religions as backward resulting in a number of misleading/negative terms being used to describe African religious activity. The application of salvation in ATR(s) was denied by early European writers. ATR(s) were seen as the work of Satan with no salvific value at all. Africans were regarded as mere ancestor worshippers with no belief in God who is believed to bring salvation. Salvation was a term that was largely used in Christian terms/realm. The Christian Church taught that there was no salvation outside the church (Extra ecclesia nulla sulus) Acts 4:12. Christianity usually claimed a monopoly of salvation. Salvation has been understood in terms of Christs death on the cross which redeemed humanity from the curse of sin. To talk of salvation ATR was regarded as useless/meaningless.
However, people should appreciate that salvation means different things to different people. Africans have their own notion of salvation different from any other people. Salvation in ATR is largely material and not mystical/spiritual. Africans are mainly concerned with the here and now life rather than the here after. Belief in life after death is found in ATR, but to live here and now is considered more important. ATR is this worldly; it is world affirming. Africans seek a state whereby an individual enjoys prosperity and enjoys the maximum welfare which has been regarded by T. Shoko (Health and Wellbeing) as Ugaro hwakanaka. They seek success in worldly ventures such as agriculture, marriage, reproduction, business, hunting and any other necessities needed for success. The underlying conviction is that life should be experienced in its wholeness as replete with health and well-being. The African is stubbornly earth-bound. The African does not want to go anywhere else besides this earth (Josiah, U, Young in Dahn Cohn-Sheirbox (ed), World Religion and Human Liberation).
ATRs do not seek for abstract spiritual goods/ personal relationship with God, but tangible salvific goods for their well-being. They are not keen on seeking God for the sake of seeking him or for human satisfaction of the spirit, but what is tangible. In ATR there exist areas in life that are problematic /oppressive from which Africans seek /salvation. Africans meet hostile experiences, death, illness, witchcraft, drought, poor crops, evil spirits and any other misfortunes.
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN PROBLEM(S)
These involve enemies of life / anti-life forces that threaten the well-being of the people. Wrong-doing that includes breaking of taboos and prohibitions result in serious consequences not only for the offender, but also for the whole community. Death is the greatest fundamental problem that needs to be resisted at all costs and explained if someone dies young. This calls for consultation with the nanga. Africans do not believe in the natural cause of death. They always engage in rituals to wade off possible threats to their well-being. For example, in the event of drought a rain asking/rain inducing ceremony is conducted to placate the spirits to bring rains. Certain death rituals are conducted for the deceased to bring back their spirits. Before this ceremony the spirit is dangerous to the family. After the ceremony, the spirit assumes the role of protecting the family thus ensuring the well-being of the family. Africans hold annual or regular rituals to honour ancestors so that they do not withdraw their protection from the people. If they withdraw their attention, people become vulnerable to attack from evil forces, witchcraft etc.
There are also purificatory rituals that are done to purify those who are defiled to avoid impending destruction to the individuals as well as the community. A number of sacrificial offerings are done to atone for whatever wrong / sin a person or community have committed to maintain harmony. Life cycle rituals are done at each stage of life to mark ease transition from one stage to another. ATRs have adequate media for salvation to the Africans. They are able to meet the real needs of people by procuring relief/means of salvation from their problems. Sin in the African context is the destruction of the stability of the community. To be saved in ATR is to be socially and culturally accepted by not committing misbehaviours which threaten the well-being of the people, for example, witchcraft and sorcery. Anti-social acts are deplorable in society.
Sacred practitioners play a critical role in facilitating salvation to the people. These figures connect the community with the sacred to ensure its well-being. Examples of these practitioners are rain messengers that are consulted to invoke the spirit to bring rains. Traditional healers ensure well-being of the people. Africans do not want to break links with their traditional religions even if they converted to other religions like Christianity. Those who have accepted Christianity find it relevant and good in many ways, but are prohibited from consulting the sacred practitioners. A large number of African Christians find the church not a very comfortable place leading to syncretic tendencies. ATR is meaningful to its adherents. They cannot totally renounce it. Some Christians in very prominent positions resort to ATR secretly. But has ATR remained intact in the changing times?
SACRED PRACTITIONERS IN ATRS/AIRS
Sources:
Anderson, A, (2001). African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity in the Twentieth
Century
Chavunduka, G. L, (2001), Shona Religion,
.(1977), Traditional Medicine and Christian Beliefs,
Cox, J.L,(1996). Expressing the Sacred,
Cox, J.L,(ed) Rites of Passage in Contemporary Africa,
Gunda, R. M,(2007) Christianity, Traditional Religion and Healing in Zimbabwe
M. Gelfand,(1960). Shona Ritual,
Mbiti, J.S, (1969). African Religions and Philosophy,
.................(1975). Introduction to African Religion,
Who are the Sacred Practitioners in ATR?
Working Definition:
A sacred practitioner is a human agent with the task of linking (a conduit) the community of the living and the unseen beings. They can be permanent (task executed throughout life) or it could be temporary (those presiding over the burial are also sacred practitioners). They assume the status by virtue of calling, especially the permanent sacred practitioners.
Various Categories
Midwife (Mbuya Nyamukuta)
This is the indigenous birth attendant. Her role is to ensure safe delivery of a child from the realm of the ancestral spirits to the world of the living. She does this by offering guidance to the expecting women inculcating into them the dos and donts regarding pregnancy Expecting women should not look at a stranger for a long time for fear of the concept of nhodzerwa: fear of anti-social behaviour, physical disability etc.
She communicates with the ancestors (kudetembera) in order to ensure safe delivery. Very critical: she also encourages confession of sexual offences particularly in the event of complicated delivery that is believed to be indicative of sexual offences (lessened by modern health facilities).
She also prescribes pre-emptive charms to protect the child from the effects of evil charms that were possessed by some members of the community: a danger always present when the child was taken to public places (Gunda).
Traditional Healer (nanga)
Christian / Colonial Condemnation:
The office of traditional healers is heavily misunderstood and criticised by the colonialists and churches particularly dubbing them tricksters, for fraudulent behaviour and devilish connections.
The traditional healer is pivotal in the Shona / Ndebele spirit world. There are various terms that are used interchangeably to refer to the traditional healer. These are: Nanga, godobori, sekuru, mbuya, Inyanga etc. It is the nanga who executes a critical role of linking the two worlds.
How one accesses this office:
Apprenticeship: one serves as an assistant to an established healer (Makumbi-offfice assistant). Knowledge is acquires through training. (Reynold, P, Childhood & Traditional Medicine in Zimbabwe)
(Prophetic?) Call: it is in three forms:
Incessant dreams,
Rites of affliction/complicated illness,
Dreams-the person dreams in gathering herbs in different places,
-parternal grandfather calling upon the individual to become a nanga,
Captured by a mermaid/Mermen (njuzu)- Sunday Mail
-the victim captured should not be mourned.
Functions of Traditional Healers as sacred Practitioners
They are spiritual consultants endowed with extra ordinary knowledge; they are guardians of esoteric knowledge (beyond the ordinary). They preside over most traditional rituals offering guidance for the proper execution of rituals.
Because ATRs do not have written scripture of their own they are not concerned about orthodoxy (RIGHT BELIEF), they put more emphasis on orthopraxis (RIGHT ACTION). Knowledge is collected and stored in the memory of Africans. Traditional healers are the Reserve section of ATR. They are the intellectual hub; champions of orthopraxis: Burial- time of taking the body to the grave, and that of cutting the Rupasa etc. During kurova guva ceremony consultancy services are sought from the nanga
Chavunduka says that the Traditional healers do detective work particularly recovery of stolen property. They also establish the cause of death / post mortem : a person does not die, they are killed,
He also regards them as marriage advisors: they can prescribe love portions/husband taming herbs (mupfuhwira). For men they prescribe mishonga yemisana to enhance sexual potency/ to enhance sexual perfection,
They can cleanse misfortunes (kugeza minyama) thereby enhancing chances of getting a marriage partner,
They are political advisors to the chiefs. They can prescribe chivhuno (mafuta eshumba). This enhances ones capacity to instil fear and respect in their enemies.
Aunt / Tete
She is concerned with the girls at puberty. They consult tete to be inducted into adulthood (menstrual period). At marriage the girl introduces her partner to tete and nduma is exchanged. Sekuru does the same role for boys: teaching of skills about hunting, farming and also in marriage issues. At puberty the boys keep in close touch with the uncles.
Sahwira/Family friend
Participate at family events, for example, celebrations are conducted in the presence of the Sahwira.The last bath and the dressing part of it is done by the Sahwira (kunemera/kutukira). Kurova guva ceremony is done with the aid of the Sahwira.
Elder/Mbuya/Sekuru (Vasharukwa Vemumusha)
These are custodians of traditions and they are consultants. Baba ava ipwere chaiyo- the person will be lacking great deal of responsibility that should go with maturity.
Spirit Mediums (Masvikiro)
They are possessed by the spirit of those who died long back. Hey are induced by ecstacy and could speak in the accent of the deceased.
Chiefs (Read Financial Gazette Comment : Nov 4-10 2010)
Chieftainship is associated with manhood. News of death is delayed because they are believed to be immortal. They are not born of woman, but believed to have fallen from the sky. They are regarded as Gomo- image of majesty, power and authority. They have many roles to play. They are guardians of morals.
They solve disputes within their communities ,
Intervenes in social conflicts (e.g, marriage, field boundaries etc),
Politically: long ago they could sanction wars,
Culturally, they preserve Chisi holy. First fruits are brought and presented to the ancestors of the spirit world,
Preside over mukwerere at the onset of the rain season.
Muzukuru (mwana watete/mwana wehanzvadzi)
Presides over the rituals at his sekuru., for example, birth , marriage and death rituals-Kugova nhaka (competing with the Sahwira where the later office are recognized). Takes over sekurus tsvimbo. Mature people should have knobkerries and zviyo (doro rasekuru) because they are expected to become a mudzimu.
Modernity and Urbanisation are factors causing the diminishing roles of these sacred practitioners. Economic hardships are also responsible. People can no longer manage to attend all the important occasions.
SACRED PLACES IN AFRIRCAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION(S)
Sacred Places
They are defined by Eliade as places that are sanctified and are believed to be of religious and historical importance. A sacred place is defined as the opposite of the profane. The word sacred comes from the Latin word sacer which means holy. They are regarded as holy because they are places where manifestation of the divine takes place which Eliade calls the hierophany. The object ceases to be ordinary. They are places where miracles take place. According to Eliade, for a religious person, that is, a homo-religiosus space is not homogeneous which means that it is not uniform. When the Sacred manifests itself in any hierophany, there is a break in the homogeneous space as well as a revelation of the absolute/ ultimate reality.
Sacred Places and Objects in African Traditional Religion(s)
Problem: There is no concept of profane in ATR; the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane does not exist. It is not applicable to ATR because almost everything is religious in some way. However, there are many places that are regarded as more sacred than others. For example, hills, mountains (eg Buchwa Mts, Nyanga Mts, Matopos Mts, Mt Selinda in Chipinge). Some people who are regarded as powerful such as traditional healers and chiefs can be buried in such mountains. These places are surrounded by taboos. For example, the cutting down of trees is prohibited. Some places like Matopos and Matonjeni have become centres of pilgrimage. Some wells and pools are regarded as sacred and these are perennial and most of them are associated with mermaids. Examples of sacred pools and wells include Mana pools, Chinhoyi pool (Chirorodziva), and Hotsprings in Nyanyadzi.
Water that is found in such places is associated as curative. Some code of conduct is given to such places. For example, people are not supposed to wear black and lewid /vulgar are prohibited. Some objects like trees, plants and stones are also regarded as sacred. For example trees such as Mutiusinazita which provides food in times of need, the Muhacha tree under which people rituals are very sacred. Domboramwari in Epworth is also a sacred feature.
Natural things have religious significance. Graves and graveyards are also regarded sacred. People can consult ancestral spirits in the graveyard. The grave is the meeting point between the living and the dead. For example, the umbuyiso/ Kurova guva ceremony makes the grave central in the whole process. Some forests are also regarded as sacred. They can be used in rainmaking ceremonies. Among the Lele the forest has immense sacred significance. It provides food, and is the source of medicine. In most African societies they harbour the burial places for chiefs.
The traditional kitchen, the hut constitutes a sacred place. The Chikuva constitutes the most sacred part in the kitchen. Its raised position symbolizes the dignity of ancestral spirits. It is the place where dialogue with the ancestral spirits takes place.
N.B See J.S, Mbiti for a detailed discussion of the topic.
Ritual Activities
RITE
It is a religious performance such as sacrifice, worship service, baptism, circumcision, etc. Rites use symbols, words, music, and visual symbols. It is a ceremony. They include ceremonies associated with birth, puberty, marriage and death. Rites of passage mark or ensure transition from one status to another within a society.
RITUAL
It is a pattern of words and actions through which a rite is carried out. It is something done in a set and determined way. It is a set form of carrying out a religious activity or ceremony; a means of acting out something religiously through words and actions (J.S, Mbiti, 1975:131). It embodies what a society believes in and values as important to its life. It refers to symbolic actions, deeds for which one can predicate consequences and meanings.
Religious Rituals
Ritual- comes from a Latin word ritus-riter. It is a prescribed, by tradition, form of activities. They are regular, repeated, patterned performance: symbolic fashion that utilizes language, personification, characteristics and the use of specific objects. They regularised communal life to make it manageable. They are a practical side of myths/sacred stories. They link passage of person from one stage to another. They can be divided into communal and individual rituals. Communal: rain-inducing ceremony, agricultural festivities and purification rituals. Examples of individual rituals include rites of passage, for example, at birth, adulthood and death.
They are hierophanies. They assume the reality and presence of the sacred or ultimate reality, gods, spirits, ancestral spirits etc. They are the drama through which the sacred is made present. This includes words, gestures, material objects etc. Religious rituals presuppose the influence and existence of the sacred. The action is related to what one regards as the ultimate reality, particularly the ultimate reality as depicted in myths.
A myth is a story that is sacred to and shared by a group of people who find their most important meanings in it. It is a narrative concerning sacred reality and its relation to humanity. We do not understand the way the world actually works, so we use stories to come to rescue where knowledge fails. Rituals are related to myths; rituals re-enact myths. In rituals religious people are able to LIVE and ACT out mythical realities. For example, the acting out of the bringing home of the ancestral spirit of the deceased-dragging the branch etc, the extermination of pests by symbolically dumping them into a flowing river. They affirm continuity between past and present. It carries meaning that believers wish to reaffirm.
Rites of passage(Ceremonies of passage)
These are rituals of human cycle celebrating events in an individuals life. They represent periods of transition.
Victor Turner- The Ritual Process and Arnold van Gennep: Rites of Passage identify three phases in ritual passage. These are Separation, Transition and Incorporation. The transitional period is important. It involves teaching and de-teaching of the initiates in initiation rituals that is rituals related to puberty. This is passage from childhood to adulthood.
Types and Functions of Rituals
Rituals of life cycle/Transitional Rituals (Personal Rituals)
These are rituals performed to bridge the transition in life such as at birth, adolescence, marriage and death. It is especially at times of crisis when the necessities of life, physical or spiritual, demand supernatural intervention that the individual or group endeavours to establish ritual relations with the sacred order to safeguard or consecrate birth, adolescence, marriage and death.
Birth Rites
African peoples are very much concerned about, and concentrate their attention on, lifes journey from before birth to after death. They want that journey to be meaningful, happy, safe and satisfactory. African religion tries to make the journey of life worthwhile for both the individual and the community of which he is an integral part.Prenatal rituals are conducted for a pregnant woman to ensure the growth of the foetus and subsequently, safe delivery. The pregnant woman has to observe certain regulations and taboos in order that all may go well with her and the baby.
Childbirth is held to be an impurity in some sense. After childbirth the mother and the child are subjected to rituals because they are undergoing the same process of initiation into the society after some isolation for the mother and the child will be undergoing the initial rite of passage into this life. The mother also undertakes some ritual purification that prepares her for the birth of the next child. The child wears some charms believed to protect it from supernatural dangers. Other rituals are performed to give protection to the baby as it begins long journey in life, to bring good fortune to it and to commit it to the spirit world. The babys hair is cut at the occasion of introducing it to the society. This is a sign of purification, separation and newness; anything bad is cut off since it is shaved away with the old hairs. It also shows that it is now separated from the mother and now belongs to the whole family and the whole community. the shaving is a sign of newness since the baby will grow new hair as it enters a new phase of life. Symbolic washing also accompanies the ceremony, emphasizing purification.
The naming ritual is attended by members of the family, relatives, neighbours and friends. The name is considered to be very much part of the personality of the person. It is therefore chosen with care and consideration. Names of people have a meaning and it is this meaning which should be given consideration. It is a period that establishes a communion with the transcendent order. It is the period of dedication of the baby to the spirit world. In some places the baby is given the name of a departed relative whom the baby is considered to resemble closely underwriting the notion of reincarnation.
The Initiation Rites / Pubertal rituals (Childhood to adulthood)
This marks the attainment of adulthood from adolescence marked by solemn induction into the full privileges and responsibilities of the community that includes religious, social and administrative ones. This involves a process of rebirth or transition from the family circle to active membership in the tribal fellowship. One of the main initiation rites is that of circumcision for boys and excision /clitoridectomy (cutting of a portion of the girls female organ) for girls. Without circumcision the person is considered to be a child, no matter how old he or she might be. It is also shameful to be isolated from ones age-mates through lack of this experience. Childish things have to be put away by a series of separation rites which usually includes fasting, tests of endurance, perseverance, courage and obedience. This education experience equips them mentally, bodily, emotionally and morally for adolescence and adulthood. The proceedings are strictly secretive and during the ceremonies detailed explanations are usually given of the esoteric tradition as well as long exhortations on correct social behaviour and religious practice. To reveal to the uninitiated anything said and done in the course of the mysteries involves instant death by natural or supernatural agencies. However, the ritual is now under spotlight because of the scientific discovery that it reduces chances of contracting the virus by 60%.
MEANING- The blood which is shed during the operation binds the person to the land and the departed members of their society (a mark of identity). It shows that the individual is alive and that they now wish to be tied to the community and people among whom they have been born. Until the operation is done they are still considered to be outsiders. It is a public recognition that the individual is now passing from childhood to adulthood. The cutting of the flesh is a symbol of getting rid of childhood and getting ready for the adulthood. No full responsibilities in the home and community are conferred on the uninitiated for they are still considered children.
Initiation is also a gateway to marriage. In the period of seclusion they are taught many things concerning the life of their people, its history, traditions and beliefs and to raise a family. It is the initiation which also bridges the male with the female, fatherhood with motherhood since it signals the official permission for one to get married and bear children. It also joins the living with the departed; the visible with the invisible for a person may perform religious rituals only after initiation. Where circumcision is not practised, there are other forms of initiation. This may be done on family basis or by the community at large. This may involve, for example, brewing some beer and slaughtering a goat for the older men, who then ceremoniously welcome the young adolescents to their status (J.S, Mbiti, 1975:103).
Circumcision and clitoridectomy, where they are practised, have a practical as well as a magico-religious significance. They symbolically represent the flow of life through the shedding of blood from the organs of reproduction. This is a profound act by means of which the young people accept that they have to become bearers of children (Is there any age restriction for partaking of this ritual? What fatherhood role can a four year play?).
Marriage / Betrothal Rituals
Initiation is a preparation for marriage. Marriage is viewed as a sacred duty which every normal person must perform. Failure to do so means stopping the flow of life through the individual resulting in the diminishing of mankind upon the earth. Those who seek to evade the duty commit a major offence against society and people will be against them. Some rituals are done to combat the evil spirits suspected of standing in the way of the evader marriage is the meeting point for the three layers of human life in African religion: these are the departed, the living and unborn. The departed are the roots on whom the living stand. The living are the link between death and life and the unborn are the buds in the loins of the living and marriage ensures their germination. Failure to get married means that one is cutting off the vital link between death and life. Through marriage the effects of death are reduced and neutralized. Marriage and childbearing are medicine against death. It is the only means of human survival and that being the case, marriage is a religious obligation. Marriage is at the very centre of human of human existence.
It is the custom in some areas for the wife or both wife and husband to be secluded for several days after the initial wedding. The seclusion in the house, followed by exposure to the public afterwards, is a symbolic way of showing that the couple is being born into a new life; that they are coming out of the womb (of the house). Their birth into married status is greeted with jubilation. Rituals and ceremonies accompany or follow the occasion of the wedding. The aim is to pray for welfare of the new couple, to bless them so that they will bear children and to give them instructions and rules on how to conduct themselves as married people. At these rituals the living dead of the family are called upon to witness the occasion and to give their blessings to the new husband and wife.
Death Rituals
Death is sorrowful and is also important. There are many rituals and ceremonies associated with death. People are very much sensitive to what is done when there is death in the family. It marks a physical separation of the individual from the other human beings. Funeral rites and ceremonies are intended to draw attention to that separation and to avoid causing offence to the deceased. This is not done to unknown strangers, thieves, murderers, witches and other troublemakers in the community, or for those who have died abnormal deaths.
Disposal of body
There are rituals concerning the preparation of the corpse for disposal. It is washed with water or with water and traditional medicines. In other areas it is shaved and the nails are cut off. Skins, leather, cotton, clothes or leaves are used to cover the corpse and the whole body is covered with oil in some places. Ritual leaders and elders in the village preside over these rituals. In some places some individuals are not allowed to touch or come near the corpse in case misfortune will befall them or their family. These are usually the children, pregnant women or suspected witches. Burial takes place in the backyard of one of the houses in the village, in a family burial place or at the original place of birth. It is the custom in many parts of Africa to bury some belongings with the body, such as spears, bows and arrows, stools, snuff, foodstuffs, beads, ornaments, money, tools and domestic utensils. In some instances wives and servants, for the rich were also buried with the dead (Mbiti). The belief was that the departed needs weapons to defend himself along the way to the next world and food to eat on the journey and people to keep him company when he reaches there and other property to use so that he would not arrive there empty-handed. Various rites are performed at the burial of the body. They are intended to send off the departed peacefully, to sever his links with the living and to ensure that normal life continues among the survivors.
Feasting follows the funeral rites. This is meant to comfort the bereaved and to bring life back to normal and thank those who have officiated in the funeral rites. It is also the custom to stop work for a while as a sign of respect for the dead person. In many places members of the family have their hair shaved off and some of their normal activities are suspended until all the funeral rites have been performed. the shaving of the hair is a symbol of separation, showing that one of the members of the family has been separated from them. it is also an indication of peoples belief that death does not destroy life, since the growth of the new hair indicates that life continues to spring up-underlines the resilience of the Africans in the face of death. In some places people smear themselves with white clay as a sign of death and mourning, in others they refrain from washing their bodies and clothes for several days or months. certain bulls or goats may be killed to mark the death of someone. Sometimes people suspend sleeping with their marriage partners for some weeks, pots are broken up in the houses and certain houses in the homestead are abandoned for good as an indication that someone has died. By doing these things people are able to come to terms with the agonies, sorrows, and disruption caused by death. by ritualizing death people dance it away, drive it away and renew their own life after it has taken away one of their members. Death rituals are also meant to make the deceased members of the family to safely enter into the spirit world and look after the living.
Installation/coronation Ritual
These are rituals meant to elevate individuals to high positions/posts. They are done for chiefs by the territorial spirit mediums.
Crisis Rituals/Impromptu Rituals
These are rituals intended to rectify misfortune such as barrenness, illness, war etc which are believed to disrupt the social order. They renew the peoples lives, bringing the picture of the sacred to life. For example, rainmaking ceremony is conducted in the event of drought. There are also rituals to deliver a person from evil spirits. There are also rituals intended to ensure success in battle, hunting and academic sphere. There are also rituals conducted to appease/ compensate avenging spirits. They are done to ameliorate the problem and restore harmony on the cosmos.
Agricultural rituals and Health rituals are some of the rituals undertaken to ensure harmony in those spheres.
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION(S) AND POLITICS
SOURCES:
Bourdillon, M.F.C, Religion and Society
..............................Where are the Ancestors?
Lan, D, (1985), Guns and rain
Olupona, J, (ed), (1991), ATRs in Contemporary Society
Mbiti- religion permeates all aspects of life (an African is notoriously religious). An African takes his religion to Parliament. In traditional society, religion is politics and politics is religion.
Afe Adogame (Nigeria): In Africa we see the religionization of politics and the politicization of religion. In traditional Society, religious functionaries were Kingmakers. The onus was upon the sacred practitioners (particularly Masvikiro) to make kings in terms of promoting a religious ideology. Their sole mandate was to identify the King or Chief with ancestral revelations. Ancestral revelations are sacred oracles. Thus say the ancestors...A or B should inherit power. Politics: Art of claiming and maintaining power; the craft of making impossible possible. In cases of rivalry for power the sacred oracle is consulted to solve the situation. It consulted through dreams or possession (trance) and make proclamation: for example, they may say-the ancestors have chosen X to be the leader. Most people are not able to confirm or deny what the oracle has said.
The colonial state always sought to co-opt the traditional religious and political leaders to its side; in particular chiefs became salaried officials of the state. Some, however, resisted, for example, Chief Rekai Tangwena (conferred with hero status). Nationalists and their armed wings (ZANU and ZANLA and ZAPU and ZIPRA) often condemned chiefs as sell-outs. ZANLA forces executed many chiefs for allegations of having sold out the struggle (Guns and Rain).
From 1980 there was the rehabilitation of chiefs in Zimbabwe and were co-opted into structures of the ruling nationalists and they became agents for the preservation of culture, particular through the instrument of the Chiefs Council (2000 to the third Chimurenga) under the leadership of Chief Jonathan Mangwende). On 2002 Presidential elections the chiefs unambiguously, articulately and with verve declared Mugabe as having been chosen by the ancestral revelations to continue to be the president of Zimbabwe. In 2010 Chiefs at Kariba retreat unanimously agreed to confer Mugabe with a life president status- they had a traditional understanding of leadership. Traditionally a chief is not removable from power till death, a situation associated with President Robert Mugabe, hailed by his supporters as 'King', 'Moses' or 'Messiah' (T. Shoko).
The Land question was packaged in religious terms. African Traditional Religion resurged when land reform was gathering momentum. There was a national retreat from Christianity; the period experienced the repackaging of ATR. The survival of ATR to larger extent depends on African politicians. They are willing to re-appropriate ATRs. In 2003 there was the emergence of urban resistance to nationalist politics. From the1990s there was a massive shift of support from ZANU PF to opposition politics, MDC in particular. The ruling partys response was to close off all the rural areas as prestine sacred space (Mugabe, Inside the Third Chimurenga). He called the Mbare residents totemless people bought with grains of sugar by Blair. Chiefs became approved allies of the state/ /ruling party/government (difficult to separate in Zimbabwe). This was to ensure that opposition parties would not hold their rallies in rural areas.
Three things happened:
Chiefs began to be paid salaries (guardians of ancestral revelations) higher than those of the war veterans and other professionals.
Electrification of homes: The programmes began at the Chiefs home,
Parcelling out of Vehicles: B1800.
State authorities preside over the enthronement ceremonies (Dr Chombos Ministry). There is the involvement of the D.A in choosing chiefs- this is intended to ensure that the state has its stake in the operations of these figures. The Chiefs were to endorse the agenda of the state.
National Biras: Religious Innovation?
Bira- ceremony: Usually for household/domestic level. Bira concept- heritage from the past. (Bira-kuyambuka; moving from the world of physical objects to a spiritual world). However, September 2005 marked the magnification of the Bira for the national agenda-consolidation of the land reform programme (Chikowore: Chronicle 31. 10.2005 As it was, we will always be.
Purpose?
Thanksgiving for success stories in different spheres of life (2005-2006 agricultural season bumper harvest in most parts of Zimbabwe was attributed to the national Bira).
The current exhumation of the bodies in Mashonaland Central, that are purported to be the remains of the fallen heroes of the liberation struggle of the late 1970s for decent burial according to the religious beliefs of the Africans, is another area where the appropriation of ATR to national level is witnessed. However, critics of the programme dismiss this as cheap politicking; politics of the dead body.
Ritual visits to countries that harbour the remains of the fallen heroes, for example to sites in Mozambique such as Chimoio, Nyadzonya, Chibawawa etc and to Zambia to sites such as Freedom Camp, Nampundwe, Mkushi, Mulungushi, Kabanga, Kavalamanja, Sinde, Solwezi etc.
Problem:
Who presides over these ceremonies and what words are uttered and to which ancestors are they addressed? Do we have a single ancestor? Is it the appropriation of ATR to the national level? ATR and ethnicity-are the spirits of Mbuya Nehanda and Chaminuka influential outside their territories of origin?
FUTURE OF ATR(S)?
J.K, Olupona (ed) ATRs in Contemporary Society.
Future of religion is always unpredictable. Koffi Asare Opoku (Ghana): ATR is an enduring heritage. ATRs have been able to withstand Christianity, Islam, other religions and resist and adapt to colonialism and modernity. Both hold the view that ATRs have the capacity to or adapt to the various situations they find themselves in.
Chitando: ATRs can be modified, for example the emerging phenomenon of female Chiefs; without this modification, they will face extinction. They have also been able to exist in other religions particularly Christianity and Islam. Very few religions have been known to extinct, especially if politicians continue to appropriate them.
Three Issues to consider:
Christianity is embedded in African identity; it has become part of African identity, it has become an African religion (Kwame Bediako, Christianity in Africa). They have much more in common than apart. Evidence: African Christian names. The 1990s saw the emergence of an avalanche of Christian names examples being Rutendo, Panashe, Anesu, Tatenda etc (Pedzisai Mashiri, 2003). This is a movement from ancestral names/cultural names.
Co-operation and Accommodation
There is a great deal of co-operation and accommodation between Christianity and ATRs witnessed, for example, the observance of Chisi and some rituals in rural areas. Christians are invited for the kurova guva ritual-honour thy father and mother. Traditionalists are very sensitive and do some of the ritual practically on behalf of a brother, for example, seeping from the gourd on behalf of the brother, night virgils (church hymns throughout the night). Chiefs: Some are both Christians and traditionalists.
African Traditional Religion(s) and HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS- a new disease that is not tested by the magico-pharmacology of traditional society. Chief symptom is leanness that suggests that HIV/AIDS is a spiritual disease subject only to spiritual treatment.
No accurate means of diagnosis in ATR, therefore the symptom is the diagnosis. For example, stomach-ache, diarrhoea etc. The remedy is the same whether it is cancer, ulcer, intestine disorder/obstruction
Traditional causes/explanations of disease are also extended to HIV/AIDS;
Anger of the supreme Being,
lesser spirits-gods, divinities etc,
Ancestral spirits,
Witches,
Sorcerers,
The machinations of evil men and women cause diseases,
Destiny- what we have been asked to do by the Supreme Being,
Ones own EVIL MORAL BEHAVIOUR:
HIV/AIDS attributed to witches, our sinfulness invokes Mwaris anger.
, the breaking of the taboos of society invites disease. The idea of sexual infection is not emphasised. Some mix ideas with Biblical retribution, for example, the Floods of Noah,
Disease considered UNCLEAN and SHAMEFUL:
Relatives hide people infected with HIV/AIDS- stigmatisation and denial,
ATRs- Diseases are not contagious. Even if it is, they do not abandon the sick. Close relatives are always near them, sleep with them and eat with them. They treat them as if they do not have HIV/AIDS. ISSUE: Do these ideas and practices help much in the effort to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS?
Shona proverb: It is better to die than to be disgraced, Nyadzi dzinokunda rufu- fuels discrimination and denial. People have the impetus to spread HIV/AIDS. People may revenge by infecting as many people as possible, for example, HIV positive men are often angry against women and may go from place to place seducing women to sleep with them.
ATRs are very pragmatic/practical- deal with existing problems, do not go further into the future; no speculation-pragmatism. As a result, may not think about the incubation period of HIV virus. Therefore they may engage in illicit promiscuity. A person we think is healthy may not be healthy.
Obsession for PROCREATION-to be an ancestral spirit there is need for procreation. It is a crime for a woman not to have a child- a male child? It is a curse for a male/man not to have a child, at least one male child. They go outside marriage to experiment with sex looking for luck. The person tries many people including strangers. It becomes difficult to talk about the danger of promiscuity in the wake of HIV/AIDS and therefore difficult to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
ATR adherents are poverty spoken and they are therefore the worst victims of HIV/AIDS. For example, long distance truck drivers stop for rests in rural communities and engage in sex with local women who are economically powerless.
ATRs are adaptive and tolerant and accept some new developments that come from other cultures, for example the use of condoms. Condoms can fuel promiscuity. ATR emphasises FAITHFULNESS on the part of the female/wife.
ATRs practices such as incisions (nyora) can transmit HIV through blood. Rite of circumcision can also be dangerous in cultures that still follow the more ritualised ways that are highly risky.
ATRs have some myths regarding the cure of the pandemic. Some cultures condone ritual sex. Ironically, the cause of the disease is considered the remedy of the same disease.
The problem of ignorance. No knowledge of the connection between some types of diseases such as T.B and HIV/AIDS.
Some traditionalists claim to have a cure for the disease. It is not easy to convince others that this is not the case leading to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The notion of communal existence (ubuntu) promotes care, respect, hospitality, honest may help in the notion of caring for PLWHA.
Other traditional practices also fuel HIV/AIDS, for example, child marriage.
ATR is patriarchal. It fosters certain masculinities that make women vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Women are les powerful to negotiate their sexual engagements.
Are there INITIATIVES carried out by ATR organisations such as ZINATHA for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the care of people with HIV/AIDS? Success of religions depends on the extent to which they bring about change in peoples behaviour.
Upholding of virginity is compulsory on girl-children. They praise the bride for remaining virgo-intacto and the bridegroom for not infringing virginity. In the event of the infringement of virginity, the bridegroom pays damage. There is gender imbalance in this practice. ATRs appear to emphasise female virginity and males are not compelled to be virgins. Otherwise virginity if equally applied discourages pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex.
Sexual morality: but how do we explain the barika concept-good or bad? How about the new Small House phenomenon?
Medicine-treatment of opportunistic diseases.
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS: ATTITUDES TO NATURE
RATIONALE FOR THE SURVEY:
It is recognised by many of the world's eminent scientists that environmental problems have at their roots spiritual problems, and therefore require a response grounded in faith.
RULES THE SHONA HOLD CONCERNING THE NATURAL WORLD
TRADITIONAL SHONA COSMOLOGY
The following questions are raised: Is there a Shona religious basis for conservation? What does the Shona religion offer the search for environmental protection? Is a dialogue possible between traditional religious leaders and modern conservationists? Do modern paradigms for conservation and Shona religion conflict, complement or criticise one another?
There are mainly three aspects to consider:
The Transcendent- Consists of Mwari, Ancestral Spirits, and the Alien Spirits,
Humanity-embraces those who are alive, those about to be born and the dead,
Nature-biological, that is, the animal and plant life and the phenomena and objects without biological life, that is, sacred places, stones etc.
Many Shona acknowledge the influence of the ancestral spirits. As a result there is a central belief that ancestral spirits are the owners of the cosmos. We are not sure whether they believe that the ancestral Spirits are the creators of the cosmos (natural environment).The Shona believe that all things are the work of great ancestral spirits. The ancestral spirits are regarded to be in all things i.e in trees, stones, grass, rivers, mountains, animals (four legged) and in the winged community (birds). It is believed that ancestral spirits are above everything. Everything is experienced as a family. We are part of the cosmos and the cosmos is part of us. The land one lives is respected and known. The Shona do not believe that the natural environment is to be used and dominated. They have been taught t be caretakers of their environment. They are distressed by the destruction of the natural environment. Inanimate objects are personified as living things by indigenous people. Before one can successfully climb a mountain, one must ask for permission (Nyanga Mountains). All creatures are perceived as kin. The assumption is that they are endowed with consciousness and the powers of the ancestral spirits. Some animals convey certain messages, for example, snakes, hyena, birds, owl are associated with some mystery (mashura).
Traditional people are conscious of the interdependence of all things; that all things depend on each. They therefore have a reciprocal rather than a dominating with all beings. Trees, animals, insects etc are all to be approached with caution and consideration. If one must cut down a tree or kill an animal they must first explain their intentions. There is need to be a justification and ask for forgiveness from the ancestral spirits. The Shona relationship with the environment is a caretaker relationship. In certain places and beings the power of ancestral spirits is believed to be highly concentrated. As a result, there are sacred sites recognised by the power that believer feel there. Certain areas are kept intact because they are regarded as sacred; they remain virgin.
When the Shona are forced off their ancestral lands they feel the loss of access to their sacred power sites as a great tragedy. Special stone and animal artefacts may also carry power, for example, leopard or python skin. These are usually put on by nangas and chiefs. Not everybody goes out to look for a leopard or snake; there is a limited community which has access to these animals.
For the Shona there is need for responsibility for both the individual and the community. Land and natural resources are considered a communal property belonging to the living and the dead. Chiefs, sub-chiefs and spirit mediums oversee matters related to land and natural resources proper use. It is morally wrong to cut down trees in sacred places. It is also forbidden to gather fruits in grave sites. Reverence towards nature and natural places is a religious attitude and practice. Taboos are developed around the destruction of trees. They are also developed around certain shrubs, sacred places, forests, rivers and wells (metal objects are not allowed at some wells). Some taboos are developed around particular animals, for example, an owl is a bad omen. There is also the idea of totems. Most animals are preserved because they are totemic animals. Religious taboos and restriction take the place of aforestation campaigns undertaken by the government of Zimbabwe in partnership with non-governmental organizations.
Animal species were preserved for generations as a result of the systems of religious values and beliefs. Shona religious beliefs seem to teach stewardship and responsibility towards natural resources. However, Shona societies are undergoing great changes due to the impact of the western value systems particularly the western economic system. The money economy has altered social relations among the Shona. It has also affected the Shona peoples attitude to nature and natural resources. Natural resources are now seen as objects for exploitation and profit making. Economic activities which seem to threaten Shona economy are done in the name of development. The introduction of state control over natural resources has destroyed indigenous belief system.
The Romantic school tend to celebrate the Shona religious beliefs and values as a rallying point for environmental ethic. There is need for caution since the attitudes of traditional religion to nature is ambivalent. For example, everything connected to totemism is puzzling. Extreme opposites coincide: good and evil, accepted and forbidden practices. Some animal species can be preserved for generations as a result of totemism while others will not. The situation is worse for those species that seem to fall outside the Shona system of religious values and beliefs. This amounts to discriminative attitude to nature. Attitudes to a particular aspect may lead to a privileged access to natural resources. For example, there is a taboo that forbids commoners to eat the flesh of an antbear because it burrows the land. But the antbear is a delicacy for the chief. The chiefs family may protect even some animals of religious significance for consumption only. So the chief and his family may have a privileged access to natural resources. Worse still, totemic animals by virtue of taboos attached to their parts are open to killing. The Shona kill them for special rituals or for using their skins for ceremonial dress for chiefs or when diviners perform rituals for public interest. Regarding the land, the land outside a particular chiefdom may not be sacred to people of another kingdom same applies to water bodies. This means that trees and water bodies are prone to falling victim to exploitation by people who do not attach any sacrality on these things.
There is a different understanding of nature in terms of its sacredness. Some aspects are disregarded and treated with the least fear/care and reverence because they are not hierophanic in any sense. Those treated as hierophanies or as ends in themselves suffer the least. This means that Shona attitudes to nature are ambivalent. Extreme attitudes coincide: ecologically responsible and ecologically harmful.
