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Introduction to indigenous African religion
Religion And Society
Religion And Society
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Recommended: Introduction to indigenous African religion
Americans are not good at thinking functionally. Many tribes in Africa are good at using art and ritual to express their religious and cultural beliefs. They think of things functionally instead of materially. Americans have trouble expressing their religions. They see things as something that has to be physical to mean anything. The expression of the relationship between humanity and the divine and the expression of culture in America is greatly diminished when compared to that of African tribes.
Many African tribes still have deep connections to their main deities. Tribes in Africa worship many different deities according to their tribal beliefs. There are tribes that have similar beliefs like the Igbo and the Swahili who believe that their gods sent an animal to tell humans that they could live forever, but another animal reached humans first causing humans to die. Because there are so many different tribes, there are many different ways of respecting the divine in Africa. Sacrifices are a popular way of worship. A tribe will sacrifice an animal as an offering to their gods. These sacrifices show that there is a deep connection to the gods in most tribes. The willingness to kill and animal that could be providing them with food shows that they have great faith in their gods. This faith is an example of their deep connection. They trust their gods and respect them so that they don't bring illness or bad weather. This contrasts with the Western culture’s connection to deities.
Western culture has lost the close connection to deities. People in American culture have such varied beliefs over such a large area that it makes it hard to have one communal way of worship for a specific religion. There are many different belief systems ...
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...ate it so that it shows who they are, they create it so it shows who they want to be known as. This causes their art to lose meaning. When it’s created with the intent of impressing a group of people instead of expressing the artist’s culture, it loses functional meaning and becomes something pretty for people to look at in a museum.
American culture has experienced a disconnect when it comes to artistic and ritualistic expressions of culture. There has been a loss of meaning in the art being created by Western artists. Religious beliefs have been manipulated to fit people’s wants. There are almost no forms of rituals in America. African tribes are much more connected to their religion and expressions of their culture. If Americans could gain the ability to think of things more functionally that materially, they would become a much more creative and diverse culture.
In most religions that are in America, we believe there is only one god which differs from the Igbo culture. The Igbo people believed in many gods. Most of which are manifestations of nature and its elements. The way we pray is also different, in American culture, it is normal to go to church or some other religious setting. In the novel, it is mentioned that Okonkwo “[worships] them with sacrifices of kola nut, food and palm-wine, and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children” (2.14).
“Rituals and Traditions; It Takes a Tribe,” written by David Berreby and “Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History” written by Jane Tompkins, both exemplify a typical controversial topic in the United States of America today. The US prides there self on the basis of freedom, and how Americans are made up of individuals with backgrounds from all around the world. Many consider the US to be a “melting pot”, a society where cultures are just blended together and not recognized fully on their own, where as others consider the US to be a “salad bowl”, where people of international cultures hold fast to their traditions and practices and coexist with the cultures around them. Both authors of the readings propose that generally speaking,
Artists have many motives of (as to) why they create pieces of art. ‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael and ‘Judith Decapitating Holofernes’ by Artemisia Gentileschi shows this. Raphael used a lot of patterns as well as people to show the intellectuality of Athens. Artemisia Gentileschi, on the other hand, depicted a scene from the Old Testament in her artwork.
The first way traditional spirituality is shown is through Legba. Legba is an Igbo American visiting his grandparents in Lagos. He spends his time in a Cyber Café with his cousins participating in Nigerian Internet Fraud, 419. He gave himself the code name “Legba” because Legba is the “Yoruba trickster god of language, communication, and the crossroads” (194). He didn’t think he would be caught because “who would suspect an Igbo guy who was American using the name of a Yoruba god?” (195). He thought he was in the clear from being caught since he was an American man with religious names. However that was soon going to be the least of his worries. The room suddenly shook and everything came tumbling down. As Legba was pinned under rubbish he noticed something massive coming through the hole in the wall where the door used to be. Legba suddenly realized it was Ijele, the Chief of all Masquerades, Igbo royalty. Legba said, “One of the greatest spirits of Nigeria had come. While the alien was speaking, we were focused on our own things, on getting what we could get” (199). Legba is saying there were too caught up in their own world to realize everything that was going on in Lagos. But by the Ijele coming, he was woken up. He said, “I will never practice fraud again. Never. I swear” (199). The traditional spirituality of Legba and the Igbo people came to
People can have many different opinions depending on a topic, but what is truly difficult is getting a complete level of understanding from every opinion, or understanding the point of view of each opinion. Even accepting the points of view can be difficult for some people, who believe that their opinions are right. Luckily, people can learn about the other person’s frame of reference, and at the very least understand the topic or the person a little better. This particular topic is art, which is known for its multiple possible perceptions or its many different messages that it can send a person or group of people. In this way, people can learn more about the thought processes and feelings of others. Unfortunately, with differing opinions,
Africanisms in America are a highly surveyed topic for the black community. Joseph E. Holloway describes Africanisms as “those elements of culture found in the New World that are traceable to an African origin” (Holloway 2). I believe, that africanisms are the traditions and cultural behaviors of African Americans that resemble the some of the same traditions and cultures in Africa. Which makes you ponder about what current elements does our culture use that ties back to Africa. Which in fact there are several africanisms that still exist. African Americans have retained an essence of Africa in their speech, hair care, clothing, preparation of foods, and music by over centuries of separation from the Dark Continent.
When the Europeans came to North America and saw the spiritual practices, ceremonies, and rituals being performed, they thought of the Native Americans as barbarians and their practices pagan, and that’s when the fight to keep their spiritual practices alive began. The Europeans sought to “Christianize the Indians” and sought to suppress indigenous spirituality (Doak).
Many African cultures see life as a cycle we are born, we grow and mature, enter adulthood, and one day we will eventually die but the cycle continues long after death. In Africa art is used as a way to express many things in their society, in this paper I will focus on different ways traditional African art are used to describe the cycle of one’s life. Since Africa is such a large continent it is important to keep in mind that every country and tribe has different rituals and views when it comes to the cycle of life. It is estimated to be well over a thousand different ethnic groups and cultures in Africa today. Thousands of cultures in Africa see the stages of life bound together in a continuous cycle; a cycle of birth, growth, maturity,
The United States is an immense country, with many residents and citizens descending from immigrants who have influenced many customs, traditions, behaviors and ways of life. Unlike many old world nations, the United States does not have a homogenous population or a traditional homeland. However, American culture can be interpreted as being largely based in Western Europe with influences from the Native Indians, Africans, Asians, and elsewhere.
Native Americans show less interest in an afterlife unlike the Christians. They assume the souls of the dead go to another part of the universe where they have a new existence carrying on everyday activities like they were still alive. They are just in a different world. Songs, chants, prayers, and other ceremonies, and sand paintings also form part of the complicated religious rituals, and a large body of mythology exists.
The first understanding of India arrived in America through commercial and missionary activity. The finding of America itself was a mistake, as explorers were searching for a shorter route to India. At the time India was known for its great wealth, kingdoms and exotic mysteries (Charles Lippy & Peter Williams). Based on religious perspective India was thought to have an “ancient wisdom”, which rest upon a philosophy with the oldest religious scriptures. Prior to the twentieth century Americans knew little about Hinduism, therefore conceived it as inferior, pagan, and probably idolatrous (Charles Lippy & Peter Williams). Sadly this will not be the first of or last time America will have made quick and inaccurate decision on a diverse world religion. Even though Hinduism may have had difficulty establishing itself earlier in America, it has grown exponentially over the years.
Many people of color take offense to seeing their culture used as creative inspiration in stereotypical and discourteous ways. Native Americans don't appreciate insensitive Americans using their likeness in a dehumanizing fashion and referring to it as paying homage. In the future, its critical that people in America today realize how wrong it is to use someone's culture as creative inspiration. The cultures of people of color are not trends. We also need to see the dehumanization that occurs when we use the likeness of a person the same way we would use an animal's. In order for us to all get along in this diverse country, we must be compelled to learn respect for each others
When I say “African culture”, what do you think of? Starving children? Elephants, cheetahs and giraffes? Sure. Africa has those things. But those are not what African culture is about. Now, I can’t say what African culture is about because I haven’t personally experienced it myself. But, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells me and millions of others that we should not believe that single story in her speech during a TED Talk of “The Danger of a Single Story”. “My American roommate was shocked by my behavior, and she asked where I had learned to speak english so well.” Most people like Adichie’s roommate, aren’t even aware that English is an official language in some African countries. They assume that people in Africa speak some old tribal language that hasn't evolved from ancient times when it was created. We associate English with intelligence and by assuming that most Africans aren't able to speak it we are inadvertently degrading their intelligence. I’m sure many other cultures view America as “hot
Each drawing. Each painting. Each sculpture. It can give you a glimpse of what is going on in the artist’s head. Take the painting “El Autobus” by Frida Kahlo as an example. It has been said that the painting is in reference of the accident Frida Kahlo had where she got impaled by a metal handrail. The painting is of a bench with people sitting on it just before boarding the bus. This kind of artwork, where the artist puts a little bit of him/her self in it is something I strive for. I want to make art that reflects me, or that means something to me. I don’t want to make something just because, I want it to be where the viewer could possibly see the hard work, the passion, the emotion behind it. Things that most times get
In American Gods, Neil Gaiman plucks various gods from traditional folklore around the world and strategically arranges them in various places around Midwestern America to help Shadow along his journey. Unlike many other countries in the world, America is not a country that faith thrives. This is part of what makes our country unique, because there is no one major religion that stands out in America. There is also the problem that daily activities in our lives consume our thoughts and distract us, such as phones, work, education, and social aspects of life. This can ultimately change perspective on religion. These gods of traditional folklore can begin to lose their meaning and purpose with the people who once worshiped them. America is considered