African Traditional Religion
Encyclopedia : A : AF : AFR : African Traditional Religion
African Traditional Religion is an umbrella encompassing a wide, but remarkably homogenous, variety of traditional beliefs and practices shared by most sub-Saharan African societies. Many of these are technically known as animism. Although African traditionalists almost always acknowledge the existence of a high God who created everything, they perceive this God as distant. In real practice, not much if any reverence is directed to the high God, but most consultation is carried out with nature spirits, warring spirits, sexual spirits, or spirits of departed ancestors. The spirits are honoured through libation and animal sacrifice and in a some cases, through human sacrifice or through living sacrifices known as trokosi. The spirits are consulted through a process called divination.
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