African Traditional Religions

Overview

There is no single "African religion". It is a broad family of traditions that share a few principles: a supreme creator God, for example Olodumare among the Yoruba; spirits and intermediary deities, for example the orishas; respect for ancestors; and a central role for ritual, healing and divination. Healers, diviners and elders are religious leaders. Religion is woven into community life, and usually not separate from it.

Origins and History

These traditions are very ancient and passed from generation to generation orally, in song, dance and art. Many African kingdoms integrated them into government, so that the king was also a sacred figure.

Development and Branches

The influence of Christianity and Islam: from the 7th century Islam arrived, mainly in West and East Africa. In the 19th and 20th centuries Christianity spread with colonialism. Many converted, but traditional practices were kept or blended with the new religions. This also produced independent African churches.

The slave trade: the transatlantic slave trade brought these traditions to the Americas. There they developed into Vodou (Haiti), Santería (Cuba) and Candomblé (Brazil).

How It Spread and Grew

🗺️ Maps of how the five largest religions spread →

Within Africa: the traditions did not seek converts. They passed within the family, the tribe and the region.

Outside Africa: they spread to the world mainly in a tragic way, through slavery. In modern times there is a revival and growing interest in them, in Africa and in the diaspora.

Decline: the number of people who identify only with these traditions is falling as people become Christian or Muslim.

Influence on the World

Music and dance: African rhythms and dances, through the diaspora, are among the roots of blues, jazz, samba and pop music.

Heritage and medicine: beyond music, these traditions contributed art, sculpture and masks that influenced modern art, for example Picasso. They also brought knowledge of herbal medicine.

What Draws Believers (Strengths)

• A close bond with the community, the family and the ancestors.
• Harmony with nature and the environment.
• Living rituals: music, dance and drums.
• Identity and cultural roots, especially after colonialism.

Criticism and Challenges

• Witchcraft accusations: critics point to accusations of witchcraft, which in some places lead to abuse, ostracism and even murder, mostly of older women, children and people with albinism.
• Harmful practices: in some traditional settings harmful practices such as female genital cutting continue, although the practice is not unique to any one religion.

Prejudice: for generations, missionaries and colonial rulers portrayed these traditions as "primitive", a prejudice scholars are now correcting.

Human Life, War and Peace – What It Teaches

• The idea of "Ubuntu" from southern Africa: "I am because we are". A person is a person through other people.
• Bloodshed pollutes the land and requires rites of reconciliation and purification.
• Elders and spiritual leaders sometimes act as mediators in disputes.
• Compared with other religions: Sanctity of Life Across Religions

Religion, Power and Violence

No religious wars: African traditional religions did not spread by conquest and did not wage religious wars in the sense of forcing belief. Wars between kingdoms and tribes were mainly political, though they were sometimes accompanied by religious rituals.

Internal persecution: the most prominent religious violence is internal witch hunting. There are also cases of rebels using "invulnerability charms", for example in West Africa's civil wars.

Victims: historically, followers of these traditions were victims of suppression by colonial rule and of religious persecution.

Frequently asked questions

What is "the African religion"?

There is no single African religion. The term describes hundreds of traditions of different peoples in sub-Saharan Africa, such as the Yoruba, Igbo, Akan and Zulu. Each tradition has its own deities, rituals and myths, but they share some principles: a supreme creator God, spirits and intermediary deities, respect for ancestors, and rites of healing and divination. The scholar Jacob Olupona notes that these are not only religions but a worldview and a way of life.

How many people follow African traditional religions?

They are hard to count. According to estimates, more than 100 million people in 43 countries follow them. Hundreds of millions more identify as Christians or Muslims but continue traditional practices. A 2010 Pew survey of 19 African countries found that many people hold several beliefs that come from these traditions.

What are the orishas?

In Yoruba religion (mainly in today's Nigeria), the supreme God is Olodumare, the source of all creation. Between him and human beings act the orishas, intermediary deities each tied to a domain of nature or life, for example Ogun (iron and war) and Shango (thunder and lightning). The Ifá oracle, a Yoruba divination system divided into 256 parts, was proclaimed by UNESCO in 2005 a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

How are they related to Vodou, Santería and Candomblé?

The slave trade brought African traditions to the Americas, where they blended with Catholic Christianity. Yoruba religion is the basis of Santería (Cuba), Candomblé and Umbanda (Brazil) and the Orisha religion of Trinidad. Haitian Vodou is linked mainly to the Vodun tradition of the Fon and Ewe peoples, the Yoruba's western neighbours.

What is Ubuntu?

"Ubuntu" means "humanity" in Bantu languages such as Zulu and Xhosa. The idea is expressed in the Zulu saying "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" – "a person is a person through people". It means that a person is fulfilled through their bond with the community and with others.