From Wikipedia:
“African indigenous religion refers to cultural, religious or spiritual manifestations specific to the continent of Africa and Africans.”African indigenous beliefs and practices are sometimes referred to as animism by western anthropologists, a term sometimes considered non-descriptive and prejorative. Africans use terms that refer to the ancestral names of their specific religious traditions i.e., Vodou, Akhan, Palo Mayombe, Mami Wata, etc.,. Many of these traditions date back hundreds (if not thousands) of years, and are considered by their adherents to be of the same cosmologcial, ritual and theological complexity as the so-called major Western and Eastern religious spiritual systems. For example, although African traditionalists almost always acknowledge the existence of a high God or Goddess who created the universe, they perceive this God as distant. In real practice, African traditional religion is not unlike traditional religions in most cultures (e.g., Indian, Greek, or Roman): God is worshipped through consultation or communion with lesser deities and ancestral spirits. The deities and spirits are honoured through libation, sacrifice (of animals, vegetables, or precious metals) and, in some cases, trokosi. The will of God is sought by the believer also through consultation of oracular deities, or divination….”
Deities:
“Many indigenous African societies worship one God (Chukwu Nyame, Olodumare, etc.), and some recognize a dual or complementary twin God such as Mawu-Lisa. This they do by paying obeissance to the God through lesser deities (Ogoun, Da,Agwu, Esu, Mbari, Da, etc.). Some societies also deify entities like the earth, the sun, the sea, lightening, or Nature. Each deity has its own priest or priestess.”
Virtue:
“Virtue in African traditional religion is often connected with the communal aspect of life. Examples includes such social behaviors as respect for parents and elders, appropriately raising children, providing hospitality, and being honest, trustworthy and courageous….”
Posession:
“Some spirits and deities are believed to “mount” some of their priests during special rituals. The possessed goes into a trance-like state, sometimes accompanied by speaking in “tongues” (i.e., uttering messages from the spirit that need to be interpreted to the audience). Possession is usually induced by drumming and dancing.”
See also Zoroastrianism.
