Animism


The ethical challenge of traditional african religions


Possible relations between animism, modernity, development and the diaspora

Lewis, Herbert S. "Crowd at Festivities Following Observance of Mask'ali" University of Wisconsin- Madison Libraries.Africa Focus 2000 Lewis, Herbert S.

Firstly, as is known, many of the conflicts that have broken out recently in virtually every area of the continent have roots, or at least find their justification, in religion.

This is a negative and dangerous outlet for that enormous potential of social energy that religions are able to mobilise; energy that persists in the contemporary world and which indeed continues to grow as a side effect of modernisation, despite the prophesies of secularisation theorists.

As scholars like Neil Smelser1 maintain, this is a phenomenon which belongs to a generalised resumption of those "mechanical solidarities" that Emile Durkheim spoke of and that comes about as a recovery and strengthening - in modern contexts - of "traditional" aggregating forms, such as ethnicity, racial ideology, in some respects the nation, and religion itself.

At the same time, however, there is an almost universally held view of the positive role that religions and/or faiths play, or could play, as an instrument or driving force for the peace and development of peoples, when they are embodied in specific organisations of civil society.

Of course, one should not forget the secular contribution made by various Christian denominations with their social activities - which, if conducted in a missionary context, have had non-secondary "westernising" effects - or the contribution linked to the action of Islamic religious organisations. Finally, we should emphasise the reflections underway in international organisations on the role of so-called Faith-Based Organisations (FBO). In March 2000, for example, a World Bank initiative on the relationship between FBOs and development took place in Nairobi2 . Moreover, a great many FBOs have obtained an advisory status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and have played an active role in the various summit meetings promoted over the last decade by the U.N. Secretariat. One must also recall the Millennium World Peace Summit for Religious and Spiritual Leaders, held at the United Nations in New York in August 2000.

This is a significant change in direction: where, until a few years ago, we were witnessing a strong resistance of these organisations to getting involved, today their peculiar contribution is increasingly being acknowledged ("actually because", and not "despite the fact that", they are religious actors) in development initiatives, particularly the ones aimed at the poorest and most emarginated sectors of the population. In any case, there is an increasingly widespread tendency to see FBOs as an added value that lies in their spirituality and capacity to mobilise the community at a local level.

Mendonsa " Sacrifice to an ancestor of Earth Shirine at Tumu"University of Wisconsin- Madison Libraries.Africa Focus 2000 Mendonsa

But religions can have a very different valence, even from a completely novel perspective, in the sense that they can condition current representations - particularly (but not only) the ones offered by the media - of Sub-Saharan Africa. A particularly interesting case concerns the so-called traditional African religions, which some circles - by taking a term used in "classical" religious and anthropological-cultural studies - still refer to as animism.

For the editors of this magazine, therefore, there is a knotty problem to unravel, which concerns that very relationship between what is commonly called animism and the modernity of the African continent. In particular, we ask ourselves whether an animist faith and practice may be compatible with aspects such as technological development, urban culture, democratic dynamics and the typical professional profiles of contemporary society.

This kind of compatibility must, above all, deal with the low status of animism in the context of world religions, even if there are recent signs of an inversion in this trend. In this regard, we may recall the official presence of the Beninese high priest, Amadou Gasseto, of the Vodun Avélékété community, among the representatives of the world's religions in the Day of prayer for world peace, held in Assisi on 24 January 2002.

"African Societies" has a specific research programme in this regard and the specific problems will be dealt with starting from the next issue of the e-magazine.

In any case, it is essential to clarify some preliminary aspects that will be taken up in more detail later.

Lewis Herbert "Oromo Woman telling her truble with the Spirit Medium" University of Wisconsin- Madison Libraries.Africa Focus 2000

Moreover, one should make a second distinction, and namely between the realm of "faith" and the realm of "religion"; where the former term concerns God and His relationship with man, while the latter term has to do with the organisation of the forces regulating the life of a society according to the prospect of the final goals and of the transcending of man's biological ego. In this sense, the sphere of religion tends to coincide with culture, or rather, with the various cultures in which the same faith may be expressed5 .

Having said this, it is possible to identify at least four forms that the phenomenology of animism can take; four forms, it is worth underlining here, of an animism rooted in the modern African reality, and not simply linked to the Africa of the past.

The first is that of a widespread spirituality in all African communities, an expression of a certain - even sophisticated and articulate - approach to life and to the universe which tends to produce specific effects as regards ethics. In this regard, we should examine to what extent this spirituality expresses an ethic that is "compatible" with modernity. On this level, we should stress that animism may be considered as a "religion" which is compatible with any faith (Christian, Islamic or other)6 .

The second is instead that of a "positive" religion, or of a system of positive religions in the narrowest sense, called animism or even "traditional African religions", "ancestral African religions" and so on. On this level, too, there is an actual statistical controversy concerning the real extent of animist practices in various countries, and it is no mystery that, in some cases, there is an actual stigmatising of those countries where the majority of the population is animist.

The third consists of forms of animism which, we can syncretically say, survive even in the context of religious practices linked to Christianity or Islam, and coexist with them.

The fourth form could be linked to the dynamics of the African diaspora, in the

Lewis, Herbert " A Spirit Medium(K'allu) of the Oromo of Western Shoa University of Wisconsin- Madison Libraries.Africa Focus 2000

sense that animism - due to the aforesaid stigmatisation - seems to be a problem for emigrant Africans, so much so that it is concealed (if not actually rejected). The problematic nature of animism, however, cannot but have consequences on diaspora members' identity.

As we can see, the problem cannot be reduced to easy schematics. The question of the relationship between so-called "animism" and modernity is a crucial one for the fate of African societies, because it touches upon profound aspects of the continent's overall representation and of African men and women's existence.

Notes:
1Smelser N.,"La sorprendente vitalità delle solidarietà meccaniche", in Democrazia diretta, a. IX, no. 1, January-April 1995.

2Belshaw D., Calderisi R., Sugden C. (eds), Faith in development. Partnership Between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, World Bank Publications and Regnum Press, 2001.

3Glenn C.L., The Ambiguous Embrace. Government and Faith-Based Schools and Social Agencies, Princeton University Press, Princeton 2000.

4Heffner G., Faith-Based Organizations & Social Capital, at: www.msu.edu/course/aec/891/Heffner.htm

5Quaranta G., L'associazione invisibile, Sansoni, Firenze 1982.

6This is by now a consolidated fact, at least for Christian religions, which have also experienced bitter controversies such as the famous one on Chinese rites; this dispute, at the turn of the 17th century, pitted the Jesuits (supported by the Chinese emperor) against the Franciscans and Dominicans.

The question of the relationship between African Traditional Religions (this expression is preferred because the term animism has always carried a negative connotation, an attribute to the so-called primitive religions) and ethics is indeed a serious consideration.

The question of ethics has always been at the foundation and heart of human existence. Whether we are talking here about the most "primitive" or the most urbanised civilisations of the world, man has always sought to distinguish that which is good, and thus worthy of emulation, from that which bad or evil, an impediment to the health of the entire society.

Forrest, Joshua "Mistic of the Village of Simbandi"University of Wisconsin- Madison Libraries.Africa Focus 2000

Man has always been torn between good and evil, two elements that constitute his nature, which some describe as the eternal conflict that is vanquished only with the cessation of the life. Ethics basically concerns itself with this question and someone might wonder whether this question of right and wrong does not belong to the sphere of morality. It certainly does, and that is precisely why we affirm that ethics and morality are inseparable. One cannot speak of ethics without her sister companion, morality. They are, so to speak, in an indissoluble marriage pact.

The question that we are trying to confront at this stage is not different from the above exposition. If it has already been affirmed that good and evil are components of the human person, the first consideration is how African Traditional Religions affront the question of ethics? Is this system of beliefs compatible with ethics? If so, what relationship exists between the two?

Lewis Herbert "The Spirit Medium (K'allu) Mounted on Horse in front of one of his temples University of Wisconsin- Madison Libraries.Africa Focus 2000

In "organised" religions it is not uncommon to find a written code of conduct which stipulates they way and manner adherents of these faiths are expected to behave if they are to be considered and remain members. This is true of the three monotheistic religions-Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and many great religions of the East, but when it comes to ATR, this question takes on an all together new dimension. This is so because the code of ethics or conduct of African Traditional Religions has always maintained an oral characteristic. The African by nature is religious, he is born in a religious contest, lives a life surrounded by religious practices and significance, narration and myths. The laws of his religion, as it were, are "written on his heart" and there is no need of written reminders of how to act in society.

The question of the relationship between ethics and African Traditional Religions bears very little significance in this context because at the very heart of the African's existence is an indelible sense of right and wrong. This is further strengthened by the society through taboos and norms. This does not mean that laws against wrong doing do not exist, but simply reinforces the fact that the traditional methods of rewards and punishments handed down from generation to generation still holds a very significant position in African societies.

This leads us to the next consideration: the role of religion in the African context, with regard to its possible contribution to development and modernity. Western civilisation, for example, is forever indebted to its Christian roots. That which has shaped its key principles, its traditions, laws, outlook and expression has a fundamental Christian foundation, though with the advent of technology and urbanisation, a new series of challenges have presented themselves and require a somewhat new approach, not completely faithful to this cultural patrimony. However, the foundations remain the same. If the West is considered today the great civilisation, it is largely due to its long adherence to the Christian religion. This is the analogy that we try to highlight in the African context. It is not by any means a profound analysis of the situation, but only provocation geared towards a deeper reflection on such an important issue.

Lewis, Herbert "Woman who wear Cristian Cross but also belives in powers of Spirit Medium"University of Wisconsin- Madison Libraries.Africa Focus 2000

However, the situation becomes very complex when one considers that Africa has suffered decades of colonisation by Europeans, who not only transported their civilisation, but also their religion. They written history, a history in which the colonised peoples were nothing more than heathens, savages and barbarians. This has, for decades, fuelled stereotypes in the West that unfortunately persist to this day. The fact is that today Africa finds itself divided in its search for identity. It is enough to think of the strong influence of the West in the political, economic, religious and educational fields of Africa, to have an idea of the seriousness of the problem. This influence has tended to create a paradigm of development for African societies, as "structural adjustment" programmes demonstrate.

However, departing from the fact that the African is naturally religious, and that society has established norms of rewards and punishments, one can convincingly say that African religions contribute to the process of modernisation. What remains to be clarified however is whether the term is considered from the Western point of view, with its accent on technology and bureaucracy or a more holistic approach that involves the entirety of the African experience.

These issues are presented here in their barest forms in the hope of returning to them for a more profound analysis. We are of the conviction that African Traditional Religions can positively contribute to the process of modernisation.

by Stephen Moseray

- Blakley T. D. (ed.), Religion in Africa, London 1914

- Idowu E. B., African Traditional Religions, New York 1973

- Mbiti S. J., Concepts of God in Africa, London 1970