Religion in Sierra Leone West Africa has changed and evolved over the last two to three thousand years in many different ways. Religion can be described as set of beliefs that explain the universe; religion is more than spirituality and is complicated in understanding the world. Religion can be described as belief concerning one or more deities and incorporating ceremonies, ethical guidelines and rituals. When I was young I thought that Religion in Sierra Leone was just Islam and Christianity. But now as I did some reaches and found out that I was wrong. There are also other believes going on in Sierra Leone. I would focus on only the basic religions which are popular in Sierra Leone; they are Christianity, Islam, and indigenous believers. (Indigenous: It’s a term used to describe local custom and belief, usually ancestor worship or animism. Beliefs that weren 't introduced by a foreign culture, specifically none of the major religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, or Buddhism). Sierra Leoneans has a 60 percent Muslim, 10 percent Christian, and 30 percent "indigenous believers." These …show more content…
Members of the indigenous religion believe that after God created them, God taught them how to grow food and perform other tasks, that he provided their first chief, and that he is responsible for all indigenous believers cultural values. For the indigenous believers, religion is combined into all aspects of life. Members believe in ancestor spirits and the supernatural. Sacrifices, rituals and celebrations are important parts of daily life. Witchcraft is something a lot of people practice in Sierra Leone. People uses witchcraft to hurt other people or help people Water is often considered especially important and many religious rituals take place near the edges of lakes, rivers, or
Politics was the factor that caused the Sierra Leone Civil War, while ethnicity and years of oppression fueled the genocide in Rwanda. These two causes are vastly different, and caused for two different results. The Sierra Leone Civil War was caused by political corruption, years before the war started in 1991 Sierra Leone’s government and economy was rapidly declining. In 1968 Siaka Stevens was elected into the presidential position and when he stepped down 17 years later, 1985, the country was completely ...
"In the 1970s and 1980s Sierra Leone had a thriving tourism industry,” says Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of the UK, after his trip to Sierra Leone. Later, however, the economy began staggering to a halt, and a new group rose to power with what many believed were strong and good willed beliefs.
The consequences of Sierra Leone civil war are children like Ishmael and his friends “by pass villages by walking through the nearby bushes” (Beach 37). By hiding behind bushes and sneaking by villages that is how they “would be safe and avoid causing chaos” (Beah 37). This civil war consequences were having people not only to be living in fear but fear of being caught or be in a village that gets under attack. Another consequence was losing loved ones, friends, and neighbors. But the final consequence was turning children and teenagers into child soldiers. (word count
A spiritual ritual would be performed while the ill received medicine. A spiritual ritual would be performed to rid the ill of bad spirits and cleanse the spirit. Native Americans believed that a person became ill when a bad spirit entered the body. It is the shaman’s job to try to purify the ill’s spirit. Every tribe across the nation has a shaman. A shaman or medicine man/woman would perform this ritual. A shaman uses the spiritual world to help heal the sick. Shaman were highly regarded as chiefs and tribal spiritual leaders. Shaman were often born into a family with many generations of shaman. Shamans who were not born into, they had visons that lead them to study medicine. Being the shaman was a full-time job. In return of their services to the tribe, the tribe would provide food, shelter, and any assistance needed to the shaman.
Many African religions have common tenets. They share a belief in a community of deities, the idea that ancestors serve as a way to communicate with these deities. They also share the belief that society as a whole is organized around values and traditions drawn from a common origin, which was created by one Supreme Being.... ... middle of paper ... ...
During the Western Imperialism era there were many changes made in Africa. One of the major changes that took place was that of religion. Most of the African tribes had their own religion and it was most of the time, polytheistic, with many Gods. When the Europeans came to these villages they brought the religi...
2) There are many rituals carried out by the Indigenous people but in particular there is one called
The process of syncretization among the African religions helps to explain why those cults found it relatively easy to accept and integrate parts of Christian religious belief and practice into the local cult activity. Initially this integration was purely functional, providing a cover of legitimacy for religions that were severely proscribed. But after a few generations a real syncretism became part of the duality of beliefs of the slaves themselves, who soon found it possible to accommodate both religious systems.
The common practices within the religious realm can be referred to what is called indigenous religion. There are many regions that are geographically separated along with the cultures and languages that determine how practices are managed. Whether there are specific species or the worship of plants and animals depends upon the country in which indigenous people live. It is very important that the word indigenous is known to be similar with most people would understand as being native.
The rituals and traditions of the Indians evince their beliefs in spirits and afterlife. Indians believed that there would be a better life for them after they die, because many of them did not see a way out, but people were still fighting for their lives.
Their convictions were not comprehended and the intricacy of their religion was not seen. This was somewhat the aftereffect of not having a composed arrangement of rules. In the place of ministers and pastors were shaman and medicine men. These men were sometimes said to speak with the divine beings. They were astute and experienced and they delighted in a larger amount of status among their groups. They had essential parts in choices, functions, and customs. "The culture, values and traditions of native people amount to more than crafts and carvings. Their respect for the wisdom of their elders, their concept of family responsibilities extending beyond the nuclear family to embrace a whole village, their respect for the environment, their willingness to share - all of these values persist within their own culture even though they have been under unremitting pressure to abandon them(Berger, paragraph
There are many different religions in the world but they are all capable of doing similar things. Religion plays a significant role in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In this book religion is important to the people of Umuofia ,which is the village where the protagonist, Okonkwo lives. The people of the village believed there was only one religion ,and when another religion was introduced to them they would not believe in it. This religion was Christianity. During the novel the power of religion both guides and destroys the society of Umuofia.
Indigenous religions exist in every climate around the world and exhibit a wide range of differences in their stories, language, customs, and views of the afterlife. Within indigenous communities, religion, social behavior, art, and music are so intertwined that their religion is a significant part of their culture and virtually inseparable from it. These religions originally developed and thrived in isolation from one another and are some of the earliest examples of religious practice and belief. The modern world; however, has taken its toll on these groups and many of their stories, customs, and beliefs have been lost to, or replaced by, those brought in as a result of popular culture and the missionary work of Christians and Muslims.
Like a fairy tale at the top of a railroad, Uganda is a land of pristine beauty and astonishing ecosystems. From tall volcanic peeks in the East and Western borders, to the wetlands of the Albert Nile River, and the densely growth of rainforests of the North; Uganda has a rich soil that combined with its geographical location of central Africa has the ability to have coffee that has become both a mainstay of the agricultural economy and a favorite of connoisseurs around the world. The languages of English and Swahili, combined with mixtures of cultural dialects that exist throughout the nation, the religions of traditional African belief structures and Christianity are the main two of the region. I have chosen this country due to its economic solidarity and independence from outside requirements being self-sufficient for goods for one of the longest periods of African history.
In conclusion, religious beliefs and practices come in many customs and methods; however no matter what or who you decide to worship, it all inspires a connection or association with the divine. The divine can be a person, a space or place, an object as well as any part of nature. Not only does religious beliefs stimulate a relationship with the divine, it also promotes a connection with sacred time, an association with sacred space and the natural world and more importantly it encourages a relationship with each other.