Blend of Religions with Domestic Animistic Beliefs
Gretchen Lund
Traditional African Religion
-wide range of languages, societies, and cultural traditions -religious beliefs and practices varied based on location -different names for deities, different stories, and different rituals -certain features were common to most religions -all recognized a single, superior, main creator god, called by different names -all agree that this god created the earth and humankind -the god did not intervene directly with the people of the world -lesser gods and spirits associated with the sun, wind, rain, trees, rivers, etc. -lesser deities participated activity in the workings of the world -souls of the ancestors had the power to intervene in the lives of their descendants -rituals were for honoring of deities, spirits, or ancestors -religion did not concern itself with matters of theology, but rather with explaining the experiences of the world -strongly emphasized morality and proper behavior -believed in evil spirits, and carried protections against them |
Ethiopian Christianity
-Christianity established itself in the kingdom of Axum, modern Ethiopia
-ruling elites of Axum converted to Christianity, therefore introducing Christianity to Africa south of the Sahara
-Ethiopian Christians had little contact with Christians in other lands
-as a result Ethiopian Christianity retained basic Christian theology and rituals, it more reflected the interests of its African devotees
-they still believed that there are evil spirits and continued to carry amulets or charms for protection
-only when Portuguese mariners began to visit Ethiopia did the Ethiopian Christians have relations with other Christians
-however the Ethiopian Christians did not revert from their traditional African ways
-Christianity established itself in the kingdom of Axum, modern Ethiopia
-ruling elites of Axum converted to Christianity, therefore introducing Christianity to Africa south of the Sahara
-Ethiopian Christians had little contact with Christians in other lands
-as a result Ethiopian Christianity retained basic Christian theology and rituals, it more reflected the interests of its African devotees
-they still believed that there are evil spirits and continued to carry amulets or charms for protection
-only when Portuguese mariners began to visit Ethiopia did the Ethiopian Christians have relations with other Christians
-however the Ethiopian Christians did not revert from their traditional African ways
|
African Islam
-Islam appealed strongly to ruling elites and merchants in sub-Saharan west Africa and coastal east Africa because it served as a cultural foundation for their business relations with Muslim merchants -ruling elites did not convert purely for mercenary reasons -the converts took the new faith seriously and display enthusiasm -Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca and his support for Islam inspired converts -Islam in Africa reflected the interests of local converts -inherited traditions and beliefs of previous African religions -continued to take protective measures against evil spirits and in rituals to please nature deities and the spirits of the ancestors -Islam had to accommodate African notions of proper relations between the sexes -Islam supplemented rather than replaced the traditional religions of sub-Saharan Africa |
College Board Themes
Development of Cultures: The syncretism of traditional African religions and Christianity to from Ethiopian Christianity has caused the development of a new culture to from that is very prominent in all of Ethiopia.
Interactions of Cultures: The interaction of the different domestic animistic religions in Africa are very common, and is mostly likely why they all have the same basic beliefs. The trade of sub-Saharan Africa with Muslim merchants and east African coast with Muslim merchants is an important interaction between cultures that then leads to a syncretism of the two culture's religions.
Interactions of Cultures: The interaction of the different domestic animistic religions in Africa are very common, and is mostly likely why they all have the same basic beliefs. The trade of sub-Saharan Africa with Muslim merchants and east African coast with Muslim merchants is an important interaction between cultures that then leads to a syncretism of the two culture's religions.