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Zaire Traditional African Religions
The wide variety of African indigenous beliefs and
practices
makes generalizations difficult, but some commonalities
may
nonetheless be noted. In general, Zairians believe
themselves to be
subject to a number of unseen agents and forces. Most
indigenous
communities recognize a high god, and many attribute to
him the
role of creator; otherwise, he has few specific
characteristics
beyond that of ultimate cause.
Far more significant are ancestors, who are believed to
continue to play a part in community life long after their
death.
In general, the living are required to speak respectfully
of
ancestors and to observe certain rites of respect so that
the dead
will look favorably on their descendants' activities.
Africans do
not engage in ancestor "worship;" rather, the living
address and
relate to their deceased elders in much the same way that
they
relate to their living ones. Often the terms of address
and the
gifts given to placate a dead elder are identical to those
accorded
a living one.
Nature spirits live in particular places, such as
rivers,
rocks, trees, or pools, or in natural forces such as wind
and
lightning. A typical practice involving a nature spirit in
much of
northern Zaire is the commonplace tossing of a red item
(palm nut,
cloth, matches, etc.) in a river before crossing it,
particularly
in places where the water is rough or turbulent. Thus
placated, the
spirit will refrain from stirring up the waters or
overturning the
boat.
Nature spirits play a minor role in negotiating
everyday life
compared with that played by witches and sorcerers.
Witches are
individuals who possess an internal organ giving them
extraordinary
power, generally malevolent power. The organ and its
powers are
hereditary. Witches can bring death and illness to crops,
animals,
and people, and their actions can be voluntary or
involuntary. A
witch might dream an angry dream about a friend or
relative, for
example, and awake to find that person struck ill or dead
by the
agency of his or her dream. Sorcerers are the possessors
of
nonhereditary powers that can be bought or acquired. A
sorcerer
might be consulted and paid to provide a medicine or
object that
strengthens the client in the hunt (or, in contemporary
life, in
taking an exam) or that brings misfortune on an enemy.
In the event of illness, or of crop failure, or of
misfortune
in some other sphere of life, the stricken party may
consult a
diviner in order to identify the agent responsible for his
or her
affliction. The diviner is a specialist skilled in
identifying the
social tensions present in the community of the afflicted,
and, for
a fee, will identify the agent responsible for the
individual's
misfortune. By obtaining details of the afflicted person's
life and
social situation, the diviner will diagnose the misfortune
by
citing the agency of angry ancestors, nature spirits,
sorcerers, or
witches. Different ethnic groups add or subtract from the
set of
agents of affliction, but these are the most common. Once
a
diagnosis has been made, the diviner will then prescribe
the
appropriate cure. Diviners' powers are beneficent and
their role
highly valued.
From an outsider's perspective, the most striking
aspect of
indigenous belief and practice is its determinism;
accidents are
virtually unheard of, and there is always a cause behind
any
misfortune. In many indigenous societies, for example, a
death is
always followed by an inquest at which the cause of death
and the
identity of the killer are determined. Measures are then
taken
against the alleged miscreant, even when someone dies of
disease in
bed at an advanced age.
Data as of December 1993
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