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The impact of African traditional religion on other religions in Africa
The Influence Of African Religion
The influence of other religions on African traditional religion
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1: In the piece “Cannibals, Witches, and Slave Traders in the Atlantic World” by John Thornton, Thornton explains the mentality of the native Africans during the slave trade. The mentality of these people is something that Americans and British people have misconceived “The beliefs of slaves from the Kikongo- and Kimbundu-speaking regions of West Central Africa (see Figure I), discernable in a variety of documents from the African side”(Thornton 275). The African people had beliefs of cannibalism and witchcraft. These ideas were instilled into their culture by the way of their religions. The people that were “witches” were those who were very greedy people. Africa was a very community based area and because of this the people all attempted to contribute positively towards the …show more content…
This created an interesting divide between the people and the government. Another issue that the African people has issues with were the Warlords that would create their own armies and conquer others to sell to Europeans as slaves. Instead of dealing with the prisoners the Warlords created a business of trading African slaves and making a lot of money doing it. Because of this hatred of witchcraft the African people did not think that the Europeans were the bad guys because from the view of the Africans the greedy government and Warlords were the ones that were taking advantage of the little communities and selling them as slaves. This idea of witchcraft was alongside the idea of cannibalism. This was the idea that the whites that were taking the slaves from Africa were eating them. The Africans thought that their red colors that they had on their sails were from different people that were being killed for the point of eating other humans. The ideas that were looked at throughout this piece of writing do a very good job at showing a more accurate view as to what the African mentality was during the times of the slave
Every society has it’s own cultural traditions and norms. Many of the traditions are passed down from generation to generation for so long that they become the norms of the culture. The Wari’ are no different than anyone else in that their traditions become cultural norms. In Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society, Beth A. Conklin travels to the Wari’ people in order to study illness and death from both before and after they had foreign contact. While there she finds herself going into depth on the lifestyle of the Wari’ people and how their norm of cannibalism came about and how it was phased out by the outside world.
One of the major questions asked about the slave trade is ‘how could so Europeans enslave so many millions of Africans?” Many documents exist and show historians what the slave trade was like. We use these stories to piece together what it must have been to be a slave or a slaver. John Barbot told the story of the slave trade from the perspective of a slaver in his “A Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea.” Barbot describes the life of African slaves before they entered the slave trade.
The book begins with a brief history of the colonial witchcraft. Each Chapter is structured with an orientation, presentation of evidence, and her conclusion. A good example of her structure is in chapter two on the demographics of witchcraft; here she summarizes the importance of age and marital status in witchcraft accusations. Following this she provides a good transition into chapter three in the final sentence of chapter two, “A closer look of the material conditions and behavior of acc...
The first aspects we can analyze is the level of difference between the slavery of Africa compared to the European form of slavery. As these sources illustrate traditional African slavery was quite different on several levels compared to the European form of slavery many are familiar with. Slavery in Africa as stated before can be more closely associated with indentured servitude where the slaves were often treated as a member of the family rather than treated with brutality. According to the multiple sources discussed earlier, a prominent aspect of European slavery in Africa was to the harsh treatment and dehumanizing of its slave it order to keep them subordinate to their European captures. Historians might beg the question why was European slavery different than traditional African
In the first segment of his film series, Different but Equal, Basil Davidson sets out to disprove the fictitious and degrading assumptions about African civilization made by various Western scholars and explorers. Whether it is the notion that Africans are “savage and crude in nature” or the presumed inability of Africans to advance technologically, these stereotypes are damaging to the image and history of Africa. Although European Renaissance art depicts the races of white and black in equal dignity, there was a drastic shift of European attitudes toward Africa that placed Africans in a much lower standing than people of any other culture. The continent of Africa quickly became ravished by the inhuman slave trade and any traditional civilization
Slavery is a sensitive topic that most would say evil and bad. Martin states that “some African-Americans claimed that Jews were the dominant figures in the trading of black slaves. (Martin 1993). Research by Mintz and McNeil support that “After making contact with the West Africans, the Portuguese est...
The first chapter focuses on the first impressions between the people of different color also the reasons Africans had evolved or changed into what they now appeared to be. The section on causes of complexion was both fascinating and entertaining. Many of the theories were of the wall and far fetched. One such opinion of how Africans gained their complexion that the book gave includes an ancient Greek myth of Phaeton. This character drove a chariot into the heavens and thus altered in his appearance (p11). Though this Greek myth, probably not the truth of how Africans gained their color many did believe it probably had something to do with the sun. The theory of equatorial dwellers of Africa, this being the reason for the skin pigmentation, became illogical once Africans were compared to the Indians living in the hottest parts of the New World (p14). Some believed that the African was merely dark because they had left their colder northern climate. Experiments quickly ruled this out as a possible answer (p15). The most far-fetched and humorous theory came through the biblical illustration involving Noah. Many believed it the curse given upon Noah’s son Ham for “looking upon his father’s nakedness” (p17). Each of these contrasting views on color needed to be used in this book. For no better reason in that it showed from an initial point that the English viewed the color of the Africans as a plague. Instead of excepting that Africans may in fact be different, the English consistently made attempts to explain the dif...
Religious influence, the manipulation of fear, and the frightening aspects of witchcraft all are very influential to the popular belief of witchcraft during this time period. The popularity of witchcraft in this time period is important because it has shown how in the past when there is no logical explanation they would automatically blame Satan and say it was Satan’s doing. It also shows that history repeats itself because during the Cold War many individuals were accused of being communist even though there was no hard evidence proving this accusation; however, out of fear people will still be convicted, just like during the witch trials. Moreover, witch trials were not only influenced by many things but they have been influential; therefore, showing that they influenced things in our time
...nd contrasting points of African kings. While they both approved the use of slaves, Mbemba despised the slave trade and coaxed Portugal’s royalty into ending the entire business for the benefit of his nation. The king of Ouidah however seemed adamant about getting rid of his slaves in the trade without regard to how the slaves were being treated or how it affected his country. The mixed opinions on the slave trade and the identical thoughts of slavery during the 17th century allows one to see the varying notions the two issues had on the kings in Africa.
In the early years of America, people were mostly unaware of certain things. Sickness, for instance, was an important issue for people didn't know how to manage or cure such complex illnesses. The Puritans, during the colonial times, didn't have much information about certain things. They came to believe that certain unexplainable events were done by a powerful source of evil thus brought about superstitions. The infamous Witch Trials done at Salem, Massachusetts, which spread across the continent, was an example of people's injustice acts in response to superstitions. One of the major cause of the Salem Witchcraft trials was superstition, an "irrational belief or practice resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown" (www.encyclopedia.com). A lack of scientific knowledge led many people to be convinced that, witches were responsible to the death of an animal or a livestock: John Rogger "testified that upon the threatening words " of Martha Carrier " his cattle would be strangely bewitched."(Mather, p55) John Roger believed on superstitions; thus he proposed that Martha was a witch who was killing his cows. It is easy to see how the people of Salem were so vulnerable to the notion of witches taking over their town. Furthermore Tituba, Reverend Parris's slave, practiced ritual dance and "black magic" in her early years in Africa. She influenced most of the girls in town through her stories. The girls believed on superstitions which overall started the Salem Witch Trials and made it possible for the witch trials to occur for a long duration.
The terms voodoo, hoodoo, black magic and conjure arouse different ideas and interpretations such as fear, fascination, or repugnance. For some, the image of voodoo dolls, which are used to bring pain to the one’s enemy are associated with these words. Others might consider curses and spells used for evil intentions to be at the heart of voodoo. A more innocent notion of voodoo encompasses the idea that it is to be used for the communal good. All of these ideas came together and merged with Christian and Catholic beliefs after Africans were transported to the Americas and subjected to unimaginable horrors as slaves. Many historians define voodoo as “a syncretism between the African religion Vodu and Catholicism.” Voodoo is an entirely new creation, which was born as the African slaves were confronted with New World religions. These new ideas were “camouflaged as European saints, the Orisha divinities continued to be invoked, fed, and celebrated by their transplanted New World devotees, who in turn expected protection and assistance from their ancient spiritual guardian.” In some cases, slaves used the culturally accepted Catholic saints as a cover for their ancestral beliefs which were often seen as foolish and heretical by their masters. This new belief system “met new world needs that the settled and passive African modes could not match.” Voodoo held an important part in many slaves’ lives as remnants of their African beliefs evolved into a meaningful and powerful force. Voodoo was an essential element of survival for many slaves because it helped them cope psychologically with the physical torment they endured, it gave them a sense of power in impossibly difficult situations, and it served as a unifying force.
European slavers altered the way that different African people viewed one another and themselves. The book by Miguel Barnet, Biography of a Runaway Slave is a strong account that can be used to explore how Africans changed their perception of each other, and how this change influenced the lives of Africans in the Americas.
The study of witchcraft and its presence in the high middle ages of Europe and Central America is the fundamental significance in the understanding of mankind. It not only explores notions of theology, spirituality, social psychology, history of social protest but also highlights the issue that is the female position. This essay attempts to deal with the epidemic of Witch persecutions, how the phenomenon came about and to what degree and whom was it accepted. It will attempt to understand the context by which these measures were taken, and the societal pressure of the Catholic Church, the hand by which many woman and very few men were subject to emotional and physical torture and ultimately condemned to death.
associated blackness as a curse by god that justifies their lifetime servitude. The black Africans
It was the essence of removing people from their homelands, and taking them across oceans to “work” and live in “better” conditions than their current state. However, it is vital to note that slavery existed in Africa long before Europeans arrived. Although in the 1400s, Europeans introduced a form of slavery that shook the African life and society. The slaves had no way of buying their freedom, families were separated, and the Europeans did not enslave the natives in their homeland, where they could still preserve their culture and identity, but were instead transported to the Western World. To advance this argument, we will be looking at Nzinga Mbemba, Letters to the King of Portugal (1526). Slavery greatly expanded its grip on many African societies, and in many cases, dismantled the social and political order. Kongo was under the rule of Nzinga Mbemba when he realized how detrimental the situation was to his nation, he began to voice his sentiment with the pursuit of the slaves in his