Roots of African-American Religion
- Created by: louisemeller
- Created on: 24-05-17 22:03
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- Roots of African-American Religion
- Places of focus
- Senegambia, Sierra Leone, Windward Coast, Gold Coast, Bight of Biafra, Old Calabar, West Central Africa- Loango and Cabinda
- Points of Focus in W.A. Religion
- Supreme being- created and controlled universe- associated with sky
- Lesser gods- mediators between S.B. and man
- Spirits e.g. Minkisi- small objects containing spirits- could harm or cure
- Ancestor worship- ancestor spirits wielded unlimited power over lives
- Funeral rites- important. Improper rites could interfere with entrance into spirit world
- Magic- related to medicine. Root doctors/ charms
- Priests- conducted ceremonies
- Devotees- initiated after training
- Rituals- dancing, singing, druming
- Rise of Islam
- Takrurs- first W.A.s acceoted Islam c.1067. Sonike people of Ghana and Kingdom of Mali also
- Fulbe Muslims islamise Senegambia. Late C18= principle Islamic centre of Sub-Saharan Africa
- Islam spreads to Nigeria
- Practice of Islam
- Incorporated traditional religion into it e.g. Muslim amulets (gris gris)
- Some W.A. kings accepted for economic/ political reasons
- Islam saw fellow Africans as social equals
- Rise of Christianity
- Spread to W.A after reconquista (of Iberian Peninsula)
- Portuguese missions C16
- Kongo- Catholicism embraced by king Nzinga a Nkuwu 1491- baptised as Joao da Silva
- His son, Afonso, established Christianity in Kongo- construction of churches/ schools. Christian missions
- Syncretism: how thorough was conversion?
- Places of focus
- = similarities with Islam or Christianity
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