4.1 Normativa Nacional
4.1.4 Reglamento para la prevención y control de la contaminación por
CT11I92 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION
3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 Belief in God
Though we may not be able to talk of a monolithic but a multi-sided
concept of God in Africa, you will still see and know that there is the
belief in God in African Traditional Religion. You must also understand
that the multi-sided concept of God in Africa comes from the basic fact
that in each locality, the concept of God derives from the sociological
structure as well as the climate of the area. For example, among the
Yoruba and the Bini where the society is highly graded and hierarchical,
God is thought of as the Supreme King over a theocratic world while
among the Biroin and Tiv such ministerial system is totally absent. Also,
in the matriarchal societies of Africa like the Ewe, God is thought of in
feminine terms whereas the masculine concept is widespread. The
following are however true of the African concept of God:
CTH192 MODULE 1
to be her best only to discover that her father's messenger was dressed up exactly as she was. She went back to change only to discover that the messenger has changed to what she had on again. After several attempts, she gave up admitting that she cannot compete with Osanobwa since she could not beat her messenger who turned out to be the chameleon. This myth is one way of saying that God is unique and incomparable.
Another issue that emphasizes the uniqueness of God is the fact that there are no images either graven or in drawing or painting for God in Africa. This is because in Africa, the issue is that no one can be compared with God. The concept of God as king is also another way to emphasize the uniqueness of God. Among the Lugbara, God (Leza) is
"the one who does what no other can do". Another Ruanda proverb says
"there is none equal to Imana (God)".
God is the Absolute Controller of the Universe
In the African thought, God is the absolute controller of everything. He is the source of every power and authority. All other things exist in consequence of him and all events that come to pass come to be because he permitted them to be. In the attempt to express the fact that God is the controller of all things the Bantu of South Africa has a saying that:
"Shikakunamo (God) sits on the back of every one of us, and we cannot shake him off'. For the Nuer they believe that Kwoth (God) is the very spirit of the universe and that the universe belongs to him. This belief is the determinant of their attitude to life.
Another aspect of this belief is that it is only God that can give humanity the essential personality that makes them human and he is equally the only one that can determine when that part of human beings returns to him. For example according to the Konkomba, "Ungwin is that part of man which God gives". There is a cosmogonic myth of the Yoruba people that also teaches that God gives Obatala (the arch-divinity among the Yoruba) the responsibility of moulding the physical aspect of human beings and never questions him on what he does whet her they are deformed or whole or different shades of colour. However, for the body to live and become human as we know it is God that puts the spirit or the soul into the physical body that has been moulded.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1 What do the Africans believe about God?
3.2 Belief in Divinities
In discussing the issue of divinities in Africa one will have to be very careful and even clear issues that could lead to misunderstanding.
CTHI92 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION
Firstly, the existence of divinities is not common to the whole of Africa.
In fact as Bolaji Idowu has asserted "West Africa may be said to be the home of divinities". It has to be noted that even within West Africa, there are different shades of pantheon from the crowded to the thinly populated ones and to the ones with doubtful existence. For example, the Yoruba and the Dinka has a thickly populated pantheon while the Ugandan situation is not clear.
Secondly, there is the issue of polytheism. The question is that does the pluralism of the pantheon suggest the idea of polytheism in Africa? It has been stated earlier however that to qualify for polytheism there has to be the existence of co-eternal and co-powerful gods that does not describe the African situation. At this point we will go on to examine the relationship between the divinities and God in African thought.
In African theology, the divinities were brought into being as a result of things in regard to the divine ordering of the world. For example, Orisanla also called Obatala in Yoruba pantheon is thought of as partaking in the nature of Olodumare (God). Ile is usually referred to as the son of Olodumare or his deputy. This also goes with Olokun in Edo and all Akan divinities are regarded as Onyame's sons. This is what qualifies them to be called divinities.
Thirdly, the divinities are derivatives from God. In other words, they have no independent existence of their own. They are only in existence due to the being of God. Consequently, they are nothing apart from God.
Fourthly each divinity has its own local name in the local language of the people. The name is usually descriptive of the functions allotted to the divinity or the natural phenomenon to which it is associated. Among the Yoruba the divinity that is representative of God's wrath is Jakuta.
The same divinity among the Nupe is called Sokogba.
Fifthly, the divinities were brought into being as functionaries in the theocratic government of the universe. Consequently, the divinities are like ministers with their own department to look after and thus act as intermediaries between human beings and God with reference to their particular portfolio.
Finally, the divinities in African belief can be said to be made up of the following categories:
The first set is the primordial divinities. These are the principal who are part of the original order of things.
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