DOCSLIB.ORG

African Diasporic Or Traditional

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
African Diasporic Or Traditional African Traditional & Diasporic Religion African Traditional Religion , also referred to as African indigenous religions or African tribal religions, is a term referring to a variety of religions indigenous to the continent of Africa. Like tribal religions from other parts of the world, African religious traditions are defined largely along community lines. Traditional African religions involve teachings, practices, and rituals that lend structure to African native societies. These traditional African religions also play a large part in the cultural understanding and awareness of the people of their communities. While each religion differs from the next in many ways, some main similarities exist, including: • A distant "all god" with intermediaries acting between us and it • Spirit or god possession • The gift of offerings and sacrifices to the gods • The use of altars • Ancestor veneration/worship • Community leadership by a divine or semi-divine king or queen One of many examples of an African Traditional Religion would be West African Vodun . Vodun cosmology centers around the vodun, spirits and other elements of divine essence which govern the Earth. Vodun is essentially monotheistic: There is a single divine Creator, called variously Mawu or Nana Buluku, which embodies a dual cosmogenic principle, and of which Mawu, the moon, and Lisa, the sun, are female and male aspects, respectively. (Mawu and Lisa are often portrayed as the twin children of the Creator.) There are a hierarchy of lesser creations, the vodun, which range in power from major deities governing the forces of nature and human society to the spirits of individual streams, trees, and rocks, the more impressive of which may be considered sacred. God does not trifle with the mundane, so the vodun are the center of religious life. (It is often believed that it is these aspects of the religion, similar in many ways to the Trinity and the intercession of saints and angels, which made Vodun so compatible with Christianity, especially Catholicism, in the New World, and produced such strongly syncretistic religions as Haitian Vodou .) Today over 60 million people practice Vodun worldwide. Religions similar to Vodun can be found in South America where they are called Umbanda, Quimbanda or Candomble. Today, there are two virtually unrelated forms of the religion: • An actual religion, Vodun, practiced in Benin, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Togo and various centers in the US - largely where Haitian refugees have settled. • An evil, imaginary religion, which we will call Voodoo. It has been created for Hollywood movies, complete with violence, bizarre rituals, etc. It does not exist in reality. African Diasporic Religions are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas among African slaves and their descendants in various countries of the Caribbean Islands and Latin America, as well as parts of the southern United States. They derive from African traditional religions, especially of West and Central Africa, showing similarities to the Yoruba religion in particular. One of many examples of an African Diasporic Religion is Candomblé . It is a religion based on African beliefs which is particularly popular in Brazil. It is also practiced in other countries, and has as many as two million followers. • The religion is a mixture of traditional Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs which originated from different regions in Africa. It has also incorporated some aspects of the Catholic faith over time. • A religion which combines elements of many religions is called a syncretic religion. • Enslaved Africans brought their beliefs with them when they were shipped to Brazil during the slave trade. • The name Candomblé means 'dance in honour of the gods'. • Practitioners of Candomblé believe in one all powerful God called Oludumaré who is served by lesser deities. These deities are called orixas . (They can also be called voduns and inkices .) • Candomblé practitioners believe that every person has their own individual orixa which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. • Music and dance are important parts of Candomblé ceremonies. Specially choreographed dances are performed by worshippers to enable them to become possessed by the orixas. • There is no concept of good or bad in Candomblé. Each person is only required to fulfill his or her destiny to the fullest, regardless of what that is. • Candomblé is an oral tradition and therefore has no holy scriptures. • The first official temple was founded at the beginning of the 19th century in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. The Veve of Aziyan, a symbol for the legendary first Mambo (Priestess) of Vodun, who is honored at every ritual. References 1) African Traditional Religion - Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_traditional_religion 2) West African Vodun – Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_African_Vodou 3) African Diasporic Religion – Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_diasporic_religions 4) Religious Tolerance – Vodun – http://www.religioustolerance.org/voodoo.htm 5) BBC Religion & Ethics – Candomblé – http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/candomble/ 6) The Real Voodoo - http://altreligion.about.com/od/africanreligions/a/realvoodooo.htm .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Introduction: Introducing Yemoja
    1 2 3 4 5 Introduction 6 7 8 Introducing Yemoja 9 10 11 12 Solimar Otero and Toyin Falola 13 14 15 16 17 18 Mother I need 19 mother I need 20 mother I need your blackness now 21 as the august earth needs rain. 22 —Audre Lorde, “From the House of Yemanjá”1 23 24 “Yemayá es Reina Universal porque es el Agua, la salada y la dul- 25 ce, la Mar, la Madre de todo lo creado / Yemayá is the Universal 26 Queen because she is Water, salty and sweet, the Sea, the Mother 27 of all creation.” 28 —Oba Olo Ocha as quoted in Lydia Cabrera’s Yemayá y Ochún.2 29 30 31 In the above quotes, poet Audre Lorde and folklorist Lydia Cabrera 32 write about Yemoja as an eternal mother whose womb, like water, makes 33 life possible. They also relate in their works the shifting and fluid nature 34 of Yemoja and the divinity in her manifestations and in the lives of her 35 devotees. This book, Yemoja: Gender, Sexuality, and Creativity in the 36 Latina/o and Afro-Atlantic Diasporas, takes these words of supplica- 37 tion and praise as an entry point into an in-depth conversation about 38 the international Yoruba water deity Yemoja. Our work brings together 39 the voices of scholars, practitioners, and artists involved with the inter- 40 sectional religious and cultural practices involving Yemoja from Africa, 41 the Caribbean, North America, and South America. Our exploration 42 of Yemoja is unique because we consciously bridge theory, art, and 43 xvii SP_OTE_INT_xvii-xxxii.indd 17 7/9/13 5:13 PM xviii Solimar Otero and Toyin Falola 1 practice to discuss orisa worship3 within communities of color living in 2 postcolonial contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • Umbanda: Africana Or Esoteric? Open Library of ­Humanities, 6(1): 25, Pp
    ARTICLE How to Cite: Engler, S 2020 Umbanda: Africana or Esoteric? Open Library of Humanities, 6(1): 25, pp. 1–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.469 Published: 30 June 2020 Peer Review: This article has been peer reviewed through the double-blind process of Open Library of Humanities, which is a journal published by the Open Library of Humanities. Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Open Access: Open Library of Humanities is a peer-reviewed open access journal. Digital Preservation: The Open Library of Humanities and all its journals are digitally preserved in the CLOCKSS scholarly archive service. Steven Engler, ‘Umbanda: Africana or Esoteric?’ (2020) 6(1): 25 Open Library of Humanities. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.16995/olh.469 ARTICLE Umbanda: Africana or Esoteric? Steven Engler Mount Royal University, CA [email protected] Umbanda is a dynamic and varied Brazilian spirit-incorporation tradition first recorded in the early twentieth century. This article problematizes the ambiguity of categorizing Umbanda as an ‘Afro-Brazilian’ religion, given the acknowledged centrality of elements of Kardecist Spiritism. It makes a case that Umbanda is best categorized as a hybridizing Brazilian Spiritism. Though most Umbandists belong to groups with strong African influences alongside Kardecist elements, many belong to groups with few or no African elements, reflecting greater Kardecist influence.
    [Show full text]
  • Power and Paradox in the Trickster Figure Jacob D
    Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Honors Theses University Honors Program 12-1999 Power and Paradox in the Trickster Figure Jacob D. Campbell Southern Illinois University Carbondale Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/uhp_theses Recommended Citation Campbell, Jacob D., "Power and Paradox in the Trickster Figure" (1999). Honors Theses. Paper 88. This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the University Honors Program at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Power and Paradox in the Trickster Figure Jacob Campbell Winter 1999 1 Introduction We have only one certainty in this world - that nothing is for certain. The machine of Western science has relentlessly striven to discern patterns and laws which might order reality, yet much of it simply does not conform to rational classification. Of course, the yields of systematic analysis have presented for humans an unprecedented mental grasp on the universe and our place within it. The forces ofchaos, however, continue to manifest in our lived experience, seemingly to check assumptions of omnipotent logic in societies which have come to worship the scientist as a messiah. Massive earthquakes unpredictably wreak devastation upon whole countries, a host of epidemic viruses remain incurable, and the actions of the clinically insane persist as unexplainable phenomena. For many indigenous societies, these mysteries of human experience, both physical and cultural, are dealt with primarily in the realm of myth. One mythic figure in particular frequently emerges to embody the ambiguity and irony of his people's encounter with the world.
    [Show full text]
  • The Journey of Vodou from Haiti to New Orleans: Catholicism
    THE JOURNEY OF VODOU FROM HAITI TO NEW ORLEANS: CATHOLICISM, SLAVERY, THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION IN SAINT- DOMINGUE, AND IT’S TRANSITION TO NEW ORLEANS IN THE NEW WORLD HONORS THESIS Presented to the Honors College of Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation in the Honors College by Tyler Janae Smith San Marcos, Texas December 2015 THE JOURNEY OF VODOU FROM HAITI TO NEW ORLEANS: CATHOLICISM, SLAVERY, THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION IN SAINT- DOMINGUE, AND ITS TRANSITION TO NEW ORLEANS IN THE NEW WORLD by Tyler Janae Smith Thesis Supervisor: _____________________________ Ronald Angelo Johnson, Ph.D. Department of History Approved: _____________________________ Heather C. Galloway, Ph.D. Dean, Honors College Abstract In my thesis, I am going to delve into the origin of the religion we call Vodou, its influences, and its migration from Haiti to New Orleans from the 1700’s to the early 1800’s with a small focus on the current state of Vodou in New Orleans. I will start with referencing West Africa, and the religion that was brought from West Africa, and combined with Catholicism in order to form Vodou. From there I will discuss the effect a high Catholic population, slavery, and the Haitian Revolution had on the creation of Vodou. I also plan to discuss how Vodou has changed with the change of the state of Catholicism, and slavery in New Orleans. As well as pointing out how Vodou has affected the formation of New Orleans culture, politics, and society. Introduction The term Vodou is derived from the word Vodun which means “spirit/god” in the Fon language spoken by the Fon people of West Africa, and brought to Haiti around the sixteenth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Reglas De Congo: Palo Monte Mayombe) a Book by Lydia Cabrera an English Translation from the Spanish
    THE KONGO RULE: THE PALO MONTE MAYOMBE WISDOM SOCIETY (REGLAS DE CONGO: PALO MONTE MAYOMBE) A BOOK BY LYDIA CABRERA AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM THE SPANISH Donato Fhunsu A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature (Comparative Literature). Chapel Hill 2016 Approved by: Inger S. B. Brodey Todd Ramón Ochoa Marsha S. Collins Tanya L. Shields Madeline G. Levine © 2016 Donato Fhunsu ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Donato Fhunsu: The Kongo Rule: The Palo Monte Mayombe Wisdom Society (Reglas de Congo: Palo Monte Mayombe) A Book by Lydia Cabrera An English Translation from the Spanish (Under the direction of Inger S. B. Brodey and Todd Ramón Ochoa) This dissertation is a critical analysis and annotated translation, from Spanish into English, of the book Reglas de Congo: Palo Monte Mayombe, by the Cuban anthropologist, artist, and writer Lydia Cabrera (1899-1991). Cabrera’s text is a hybrid ethnographic book of religion, slave narratives (oral history), and folklore (songs, poetry) that she devoted to a group of Afro-Cubans known as “los Congos de Cuba,” descendants of the Africans who were brought to the Caribbean island of Cuba during the trans-Atlantic Ocean African slave trade from the former Kongo Kingdom, which occupied the present-day southwestern part of Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, and northern Angola. The Kongo Kingdom had formal contact with Christianity through the Kingdom of Portugal as early as the 1490s.
    [Show full text]
  • ********::*********************A:************** Reproductions Supplied by EDRS Are the Best That Can Be Made from the Original Document
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 373 588 FL 800 754 AUTHOR Hinzen, Heribert, Ed. TITLE Literacy. INSTITUTION German Adult Education Association, Bonn (West Germany). PUB DATE Sep 88 NOTE 409p. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT Adult Education and Development; n31 Sep 1988 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC17 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adult Basic Education; Change Strategies; Creoles; Educational Assessment; *Educational Change; Foreign Countries; Instructional Materials; *Literacy Education; Parochial Schools; Politics of Education; Program Descriptions; Reading Instruction; Translation; *Womens Education IDENTIFIERS Germany; Haiti; India; *International Literacy Year 1990; Madagascar; Morocco; Nigeria; Papua New Guinea; Saint Lucia; Senegal; Thailand; Turkey; Zimbabwe ABSTRACT A collection of articles on adult literacy education includes essays, letters, poetry, interviews, research reports, and discussions of issues in literacy and adult basic education in both developing and developed countries. The first section contains brief articles about programs and initiatives in developing countries, including Madagascar, Morocco, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, St. Lucia, Thailand, Senegal, Turkey, Papua New Guinea, and India. Subsequently, articles address general issues concerning development and promotion of literacy education. These include objectives and impact of literacy education, international cooperation, procurement of appropriate instructional materials, concerns unique to adult literacy, classroom techniques, and basic skills instruction. Several
    [Show full text]
  • Vodou, Serving the Spirits
    Afro-Caribbean Vodou, Serving the Spirits Vodou, Serving the Spirits Summary: Vodou (meaning "spirit" or "god" in the Fon and Ewe languages of West Africa) is a blending (syncretism) of African religious traditions and Catholicism. In the United States, Vodou religious ceremonies are often performed in private group settings where spirits manifest in devotees through posession. The term "Vodou" derives from a word meaning “spirit” or “god” in the Fon and Ewe languages of West Africa. It has come to be used as the name for the religious traditions of Haiti, which blend Fon, Kongo, and Yoruba African religions with French Catholicism. However, while Haitians themselves speak more often of “serving the spirits,” today they also use the term Vodou. Since the late 1950s, with the Haitian immigrant and refugee population increasing in the United States, these traditions of “serving the spirits” have become part of the American religious landscape. By the late 18th century, the Caribbean island of St. Domingue, or Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western third, had already received considerably more African captives than Cuba or the United States would receive throughout their participation in the slave trade. Nearly half of the laborers who worked the island’s sugar plantations came from West and Central Africa. After the Haitian revolution made Haiti an independent nation in 1804, the influx of African slaves was cut off, but the large Haitian citizenry of African descent continued to develop elaborate African-inspired traditions. The Vodou gods or spirits, called lwa, are grouped into several “nations,” linked to areas and peoples in Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • The Blood of the Land: Haitian Vodou
    THE BLOOD OF THE LAND: HAITIAN VODOU Michael S. VanHook International Strategic Alliances The Blood of the Land: Haitian Vodou 2 THE BLOOD OF LAND: HAITIAN VODOU Michael S. VanHook, International Strategic Alliances Copyright © 2020 by Michael S. VanHook All rights reserved. This resource is provided to give context and essential background information for those persons with an interest in serving the people of Haiti. It is made available without charge by the publisher, ISA Publishing Group, a division of International Strategic Alliances, Inc. Scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing is permitted. If you would like to use material from this book, please contact the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support. ISA Publishing Group A division of International Strategic Alliances, Inc. P.O. Box 691 West Chester, OH 45071 For more information about the work of International Strategic Alliances, contact us at [email protected]. For more information about the author or for speaking engagements, contact him at [email protected]. The Blood of the Land: Haitian Vodou 3 THE BLOOD OF THE LAND: HAITIAN VODOU Michael S. VanHook, International Strategic Alliances INTRODUCTION 4 HISTORY 6 Transformed by Cruelty 7 Bois Caïman 9 Independent Isolation 11 “A Goat Without Horns” 15 Occupied Vodou 18 “The Principle Slave of Satan” 24 Summoning the Spirits 25 THEOLOGY 31 Haitian Vodou is a polytheistic religion 31 The Loas 31 Haitian Vodou is a syncretic religion 40 Vodou is an animistic religion 44 Haitian Vodou is magic 45 The Blood of the Land: Haitian Vodou 4 PRACTICES 53 The Priesthood 53 Ceremonies and Rituals 55 Black Magic 61 REVERBERATIONS 63 Fatalism 63 Christian Mission 65 Personal Note 70 GLOSSARY 72 BIBLIOGRAPHY 78 Resources 78 Images 80 AUTHOR 84 The Blood of the Land: Haitian Vodou 5 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Tanbou bat nan raje, men se lakay li vin danse – The drum is beaten in the grass, but it is at home that it comes to dance.
    [Show full text]
  • Vodou and the U.S. Counterculture
    VODOU AND THE U.S. COUNTERCULTURE Christian Remse A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2013 Committee: Maisha Wester, Advisor Katerina Ruedi Ray Graduate Faculty Representative Ellen Berry Tori Ekstrand Dalton Jones © 2013 Christian Remse All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Maisha Wester, Advisor Considering the function of Vodou as subversive force against political, economic, social, and cultural injustice throughout the history of Haiti as well as the frequent transcultural exchange between the island nation and the U.S., this project applies an interpretative approach in order to examine how the contextualization of Haiti’s folk religion in the three most widespread forms of American popular culture texts – film, music, and literature – has ideologically informed the U.S. counterculture and its rebellious struggle for change between the turbulent era of the mid-1950s and the early 1970s. This particular period of the twentieth century is not only crucial to study since it presents the continuing conflict between the dominant white heteronormative society and subjugated minority cultures but, more importantly, because the Enlightenment’s libertarian ideal of individual freedom finally encouraged non-conformists of diverse backgrounds such as gender, race, and sexuality to take a collective stance against oppression. At the same time, it is important to stress that the cultural production of these popular texts emerged from and within the conditions of American culture rather than the native context of Haiti. Hence, Vodou in these American popular texts is subject to cultural appropriation, a paradigm that is broadly defined as the use of cultural practices and objects by members of another culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Drapo Vodou: Sacred Standards of Haitian Vodou Continued from Page 1 More Historical and Sociological Approach
    FLAG RESEARCH QUARTERLY REVUE TRIMESTRIELLE DE RECHERCHE EN VEXILLOLOGIE AUGUST / AOÛT 2015 No. 7 ARTICLE A research publication of the North American Vexillological Association / Une publication de recherche de Drapo Vodou: Sacred l‘Association nord-américaine de vexillologie Standards of Haitian Vodou By ANNE M. PLATOFF* Introduction The field of vexillology is, by nature, a multidisciplinary one. It is difficult to understand the significance of an individual flag or group of flags without exam- ining the context within which those objects were created and are used. This paper will present a case study of a multidisciplinary investigation of one type of flags. Haitian Vodou flags (drapo Vodou) are little known to vexillologists, but have been studied by scholars in the fields of art, anthropology, African-American studies, and other disciplines. An investigation of prior scholarship from these areas demon- strates that this category of flags is not only significantly different than the flags usually examined by vexillologists, but they also have much to teach us about the study of flags as a multidisciplinary exercise. There are several books that are focused on Vodou flags. Patrick Arthur Polk, a prolific researcher on the topic, has produced a colorful and informative book titled Haitian Vodou Flags (1999). In his book, Polk summarizes information compiled in the preparation of his Ph.D. dissertation and during his work on exhibits related to the arts of Haiti. He explains the historical background of the flags, the role of the flags in ceremonies, the colors and symbolism, and he also includes colorful photos of a variety of drapo Vodou.
    [Show full text]
  • O Rei Expansionista Do Tambor De Mina Amazônico Taissa Tavernard De
    Dom Manoel (O Venturoso): o rei expansionista do tambor de Mina Amazônico Taissa Tavernard de Luca* Resumo Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar o panteão da Mina, em Belém do Pará, enfocan- do uma categoria de entidades de alto status, denominada de “senhores de toalha”, ou “nobres gentis nagôs”. Trata-se de reis e nobres europeus que possuem ligação com a história luso-brasileira e que foram “divinizados”. Abordarei a trajetória de Dom Manoel, rei português da dinastia de Avis, responsável pelo processo de expansão marítima e descoberta do Brasil. Recupero parte da história de vida desse personagem na tentativa de entender o processo de divinização do homem público, bem como a construção dos mitos ligados a ele. Procuro apontar valores que estão subjacentes às narrativas míticas, entre os quais destaco o simbolismo da branquidade. Palavras-chave: História; Mito; Religião de Matriz Africana; Tambor de Mina. Dom Manoel (The Fortunate): The Expansionary’s King Of The Afro-Amazonian Religion Abstract This work aims to analyze the pantheon of Mina in Belem, focusing on one category of high-status entities, called “towel lords”, or “noble nagôs kind”. It is kings and European nobles that have connection with the Luso-Brazilian history and were “deified”. Among them, discuss the Dom Manoel trajectory, Portuguese king of Avis, responsible for overseas expansion process and discovery of Brazil. Recover part of the life history of this character in an attempt to understand the deification process of the public official and the construction of the myths attached to it. I try to point values ​​underlying the mythical narratives, among which highlight the symbolism of whiteness.
    [Show full text]
  • Candomblé Da Bahia Pdf
    Candomblé da bahia pdf Continue Religion must not be confused with Candombe. Convenient CandombéCandomblées of BahiaTypeSypecresclasificationAfro-Brazilian religionPrithyoraliora or BabaloraAssociationsociationsorder of our Lady of Good DeathRegionBrazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela, Uruguay, United States. PortugalOrigin19th century Salvador, BrazilSeparationsCandomblé BantuCandomblé JejCandomblé KetuMembers167.363 (Brazil, 2010)[1]2]2,000 000 (worldwide) Candomblé (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐ̃ dõmˈblɛ], dancing in the respect of God) is an Afro-Brazilian religion developed in Brazil during the early 19th century. It rises to a process of synchretism between Yoruba's traditional religion in West Australia and the roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of the movement. Candombé is monoteistic, involved in the revered sprit known as oriented berries who work as intermediary for Supreme So-called Oludumaré. These are often identified both as Yoruba Orishas as well as Roman Catholic saints. Several myths and stories are told about what they orishas. As an oral tradition, it does not contain holy scriptures. Practice at Candombé believes in a Supreme Creator named Oludumaré, who is served by smaller deites, called Orishas. Each practitioner believes they have their own orisha, which controls his destiny and acts as a challenger. Music and dance are important parts of Candomblé ritual, since the dance allows worship to come into track with their orishas. At the ripes, participants made offerings such as minerals, vegetables, and cattle. Candomblé does not include the skeptics of good and evil; every man must fulfill their destiny to fulfill their destiny, regardless of what is there. Candomblé developed among the Afro-Brazilian community among Atlantic slaves in the 16th centuries.
    [Show full text]