The Spirits of Africa

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Fat chance!

[nerdanel]

All these lovely goodbyes, and then I'll still be lurking around here for another week plus.

I don't waste goodbyes, so have no fear, I have no intention of saying goodbye to you until the very last day.

That said, I always like to cooperate with Prim's plans. So with that said, Voronwë, are you still here?

[Primula Baggins]

Wise, nel.

Very wise.

[Teremia]

Ooh! Ooh! Remind me what Prim's nefarious plans are so that I can "cooperate," too.

[baby tuckoo]

My only experience with African religions has been in their Brazilian manifestations. Voodoo is very popular and respected there - it's been successfully wedded to Catholicism so that the 'saints' are revered under both their African and European names.

I must say that walking seaside at night when the beaches are dotted with votive fires, one gets a very strong sense of 'presence.'

Jn

[Primula Baggins]

bt?

bt, is that you?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

One of the amazing experiences that we had on our trip to the village was that Mamady brought us to the place on the outskirts of the village where he said that the spirits that protect Balandugu reside. He said that it was his grandmother's responsibility to look after that place, and then when she died, the responsibility passed to Mamady's uncle (the village of Balandugu was founded by Mamady's Great-Great-Great-etc.-Grandfather Nankababa Keita in the thirteenth century). Since Mamady's uncle's passing, the place has gone untended, and one of the things that Mamady wants to do is to renew that tradition. But he was very clear that the spirits still lived in that place, and that no matter where he goes, he is in contact with them, and when he has a problem or a dilemna he turns to them for help.

And before you ask, yes, I could clearly feel their presence, more strongly than in any other place that I have been. He showed us how to make use of the plants and stones in the spot to contact them directly. What they said to me, I will have to keep to myself.

He also told us that there was another place on the other side of the hill that we must absolutely not go to. He said that whenever someone who was not born in Balandugu goes to this place, they become lost, in the sense that all of their knowledge and memories are wiped out. Many people have gone to this place and have never been seen again. I can not tell you what a strong pull I had to that place. It took a huge effort of will to keep my feet from leading me that way. But I have no doubt of what my fate would have been had I given in.

[MithLuin]

It is part of the perversity of humans that we have an overwhelming urge to break taboos, just to see if the consequences are really as bad as purported. When my little brother got into a bad mood as a small child, we'd say one of two things to him. "Tickle, tickle, Mr. Pickle" or "Whatever you do, don't smile." They both worked equally well.


Glad you didn't give in to temptation.

[Sassafras]

I am reading your fascinating story in Bag End, Voronwë, and wanted to ask.... what is your perception of the mingling of Islam and indigenous Animist religions? Is there any contradiction there, (many spirits vs. one deity) or are the faiths complimentary? Do the majority of the Malinke people formally identify themselves as Muslim and yet continue to integrate the ancestral traditions into their daily spiritual lives?

Cursory google search reveals that the population of Guinea breaks down to
85% Muslim and only about 7% Animist, 8% Roman Catholic.

From reading the tales of your adventure into the various villages, it does seem that Animism is prevalent, at least in the villages you visited. Did you ever discuss religion with Mamady?

One of the reasons I am so curious is because, as you know, I lived in Zimbabwe and there the mingling of faiths was less successful. The Ndebele (or Matabele as we pronounced it) and the Shona were only nominally Christian ... that is, they paid lip service to it, but held their true beliefs to be those of the ancestors.

I wondered if the same might be true for the peoples of West Africa.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Sassy, that is a really great question. It's going to take some time for me to compose an answer, though, and I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you.

I'll be back!

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

I have read that Christianity is growing rapidly in parts of Africa, and in particular that the type of Christianity that is growing is very fundamentalist and traditional. (Witness the strains between the various Anglican denominations over the acceptance of gay bishops. The African denominations are strongly opposed to this.)

In addition, I read something in First Things, a periodical that my Dad subscribes to, that said that one of the reasons for this is the different perception that African peoples have of the words of the Bible.

One of the examples used went along the following lines:

When a modern Westerner reads about plagues of locusts, for example, it is perceived as strange, and far from his experience, but it is real to many in Africa. And so it is with many of the other things in the Bible (especially with regard to the Old Testament).; hunger, famine, flood, plagues, acts of nature as the will of an angry God, orphans, widows, dislocation of peoples, the continuation in some places of slavery, which is accepted in the Bible as a not uncommon thing.

What many in the West see as allegory and metaphor, as ancient tales, is seen as "real life". This has nothing to do with fundamentalism, or literalism as they exist in the West, but it is predicated on comparing life experience to the words of the Bible.

Sorry if this diverts things a bit.

BrianIs AtYou

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I am reading your fascinating story in Bag End, Voronwë, and wanted to ask.... what is your perception of the mingling of Islam and indigenous Animist religions? Is there any contradiction there, (many spirits vs. one deity) or are the faiths complimentary? Do the majority of the Malinke people formally identify themselves as Muslim and yet continue to integrate the ancestral traditions into their daily spiritual lives?

Cursory google search reveals that the population of Guinea breaks down to
85% Muslim and only about 7% Animist, 8% Roman Catholic.

From reading the tales of your adventure into the various villages, it does seem that Animism is prevalent, at least in the villages you visited. Did you ever discuss religion with Mamady?

This is a really interesting question, Sass, and one that I can only give partial responses.

There is no question that Islam is the dominant religion in Guinea. The majority of the people there take it very seriously, praying at the appropriate times, honoring the fast of Ramadan, and striving to make the Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca. However, it does appear that these beliefs continue to be mingled with the traditional animist beliefs. My understanding is that they continue to have secret societies in which practitioners make use of not only plants but also fetishes and other objects that help to communicate with the spirit world. There really does not seem to be a contradition to them.

Mamady himself is not a practicing Muslim. When I have discussed religion with him, he has said that he believes in two things. He says he believes in nature, and he believes in being good to people. He also has described to me on several different occasions the guidance that he has received from spirits that he communicates with directly. And truly on this trip I was able to witness his ability to tap into the power of those spirits, particularly while he was playing.

All that having been said, the dominence of Islam in Guinea has been one of the factors involved in the demystification of many of the different ethnic group's most sacred traditions. Another strong factor in that process, however, was the advent of nationalism. Sekou Toure, the first President of Guinea (more a socialist dictator in the mold of someone like Fidel Castro than anything else) promoted demystification as a way of bringing the whole country together, rather than remaining fragmented in different ethnic groups with their own particular spiritual beliefs.

[MithLuin]

It probably is a difficult question to answer, because everyone's experiences are so varied. There is no 'West Africa,' not in the sense of there being a predominant experience of faith over the whole area. Though that is not to say that West Africa doesn't have some things in common that are distinct from other areas of Africa. Guinea is not Ghana, etc.

One of my coworkers is from Nigeria, if I am not mistaken, and he holds very strongly that to be a Christian, he must reject the ways of his ancestors. This extends not just to religious practices, but also to his last name - the meaning was not something he felt was compatible with his beliefs, so he had it legally changed to mean something else.

I don't know where he got these ideas, but I do know that he feels very strongly about it. He honestly thinks that how things were done in the past were bad, and that the missionaries brought something better with them. For him, it is an either/or, and a choice has to be made. So, no, he would not support the blending of animism with Christianity. He is very grateful for the opportunity he has had to learn something that his ancestors did not know.

He teaches math. I haven't asked him what denomination he is, and I don't know where he goes to church. He is a very friendly person, outgoing, and forgiving. I have not heard him hold anything against anyone, ever.

And, rather amusingly, he thought I was a nun! It is true that it's a Catholic school, and I'm a single young woman. But....I've never had anyone make that mistake before. It was disconcerting.