African Traditional Religion

The various definitions of religion point to the concept as the manifestation of the belief in supernatural being; to a power above man. The essence of religion, therefore, lies in the belief in this supernatural being, who, though may not be seen physically, is believed to be existent and imbued with super human qualities. Man by nature is a religious being who consciously or unconsciously walks or works towards actualization and unification with God, the superordinate being. The quest for this unification is essentially due to the nature of man, a unit made up of body and soul and so lives in two worlds – the human, earthly and temporal (mortal) world and the spiritual, heavenly and immortal world.

It may sound paradoxical that man is human and mortal and at the same spiritual and immortal. But this is reality. It is, indeed, at this point of paradox that religion is said to manifest itself in the life of man. Thus, man’s impulse towards the Divine and the ultimate is a pervasive feature of human life and an essential part of man’s endowment.

It is a universal belief that religion is as old as Old Stone Age man who was known to have practiced religion as was evidenced in his ritual interment of the dead. African Traditional Religion and culture are intrinsically anchored on African world view as well as norms and values of the people. African Traditional Religion and culture are embedded in the African world view as well as in the norms and values of people.

African Traditional Religion is also described as essentially ancestor worship. The ancestors are members of a family who have died. They are the closest link which Africans have with the spirit world and with which they maintain communion with the latter. Through that link, too, African communalism is maintained and perpetuated as Africans believe that physical demise and separation of the ancestors cannot cut the latter off from relating with their kith and kin that are living.