Religion in Africa

In his chapter, "Religion in Africa," Ambrose Moyo describes five central tenets of most African Traditional Religions. Those five central tenets are belief in a supreme being, belief in spirits/divinities, belief in life after death, religious personnel and sacred places and witchcraft and magic practices. In his novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe provides illustrations of each of these tenets. Okonkwo's interactions with various other characters in the novel are indicative of the belief in these five central tenets that are found in most African Traditional Relgions. It's interesting to see how these tenets serve to govern almost every aspect of life or in some cases, death.

The first commonality of most African Traditional Religions is the belief in a supreme being. The belief in a supreme being holds that there is one God who serves as the foundation of all existence. Moyo writes that in traditional societies, God is believed to be the creator and sustainer of the universe. Achebe illustrates this in the form of a conversation between Akunna and Mr. Brown about Chukwu, a God (179, 180). This gives reference to Christianity.

Most African Traditional Religions also share a belief in spirits/divinities. According to Moyo, this belief is based on the notion that the Supreme Being is surrounded by a multitude of supernatural or spiritual powers. Achebe references the evil spirit, Obanje, in context to Enzima (77). Enzima is depicted as being afflicted by the evil spirit to whom she often lost her children to. Achebe also references the Chi, or personal god, to which most hold a firm belief in (131).

Another commonality found in most African Traditional Religions is the belief in life after death. Most hold firm to the belief that God originally intended for humans to live forever through rejuvenation or resurrection (Moyo 323). This leads to the belief that life does extend past death in the form of reincarnation and the ancestral world. Illustrations found in TFA of the belief in life after death come in the form of the ancestral world. Egwugwu and Obanje are forms of the ancestors.

Religious personnel and sacred places comprise another commonality of most African Traditional Religions. Moyo tells us that religious leaders can be several entities. Those entities include men or women (depending on function), Cultic Officials who preside at shrines of divinities, heads of families, spirit mediums,