Introduction![]() The beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse, including various ethnic religions. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and are passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals, and include beliefs in spirits and higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme being, as well as the veneration of the dead, and use of magic and traditional African medicine. Most religions can be described as animistic with various polytheistic and pantheistic aspects. The role of humanity is generally seen as one of harmonizing nature with the supernatural. (Full article...) Selected articleThe Bantu beliefs are the system of beliefs and legends of the Bantu peoples of Africa. Although Bantu peoples account for several hundred different ethnic groups, there is a high degree of homogeneity in Bantu cultures and customs, just as in Bantu languages. The phrase "Bantu mythology" usually refers to the common, recurring themes that are found in all or most Bantu cultures. All Bantus traditionally believe in a supreme God. The nature of God is often only vaguely defined, although he may be associated with the Sun, or the oldest of all ancestors, or have other specifications. Most names of God include the Bantu particle ng (nk), that is related to the sky; some examples are Mulungu (Yao people,Akamba of Kenya and others), Mungu (Swahili people), Kibumba (Basoga people), Imana (Banyarwanda and Barundi people), Unkulunkulu (Zulu people), Ruhanga (Nyoro and others), and Ngai (Akamba, Agikuyu and other groups). In many traditions God is supposed to live in the skies; there are also traditions that locate God on some high mountain, for example the Kirinyaga mountain - Mt. Kenya, for Kikuyu people. Selected imagesFestivalsThere are several religious festivals found in the various Traditional African religions. Some of these are listed below next to their corresponding religion :
Selected biographyLouis Diène Faye (born : 13 February 1936 at Joal) is a Senegalese anthropologist, author and scholar of Serer religion, history and culture. Himself of Serer heritage, he undertook his secondary schooling at Thiès (in Senegal) before proceeding to study religious sciences and audio-visual at the Catholic University of Lyon. Selected quote
Ram Swarup quoted in Koenraad Elst (2002) Source: Swarup, Ram [in] Elst, Koenraad, Who is a Hindu? : Hindu Revivalist Views of Animism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Other Offshoots of Hinduism, Voice of India (2002), p. 72, ISBN 9788185990743
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Related portalsTopicsFor more Traditional African religion topics, see Category:Traditional African religions.
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