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Early Spirituality in the Continent of AfricaWe all agree by now that no single race or tribes of any land were devoid of any spiritual awareness. Africa did not sprout and sustain itself away from its spiritual sphere which occupied a centre stage in their daily lives and traditions.Today we focus more on Africa’s early spirituality within Western Africa. Of course, this is still a wide ground to cover, so we may pick a few countries like Nigeria and Ghana to better focus our attention to. The Early Spirituality of Western AfricaWestern Africa has best explained their connection to their ancestors and gods through their traditional Nollywood films. This way, they have preserved certain aspects of their early lives by how much they revered spirituality. Beyond that, Nigeria's rich culture is highly spiritual. From the conception, birth, growth and death an individual, more than once does the spiritual connection loudly stands out. Even today, despite modernization and invasion of Christianity and Islam, most people, who profess to either of the mentioned faith still partakes of the indigenous rituals of African religion. A woman whose husband died would have her hair shaven clean as a sign of mourning and paying tribute to her late husband. There was a predominant tradition where immediate male relatives of the departed man had the duty to inherit his late brothers’ family, his wife included. This way, the family did not get neglected and destitute. It was also expected that the one inheriting such a family had to sire children; male children especially; for the departed to ensure the lineage of such family continued. Especially if he died without children of his own. Traditionally, there are different myths about how each community came into being with the spirituality that they venerate. It's common however to note that this informs the reason behind how different communities worshipped their gods, believed in different spirits, performed magic as well as undertook healing of the sick through herbal medicine. Most African communities had designated sacred places. This could be along a riverbank, a forest or a shrine put together with sacred objects that were used for worship and believed to be potent with a strong connection to the gods and ancestors. A witch doctor (a seer or a prophet) was usually in charge of such sacred places and other community members only presented themselves in such places through the authorization of these selected individuals.Sometimes, the gods were believed to choose whoever they wanted to serve them, though it was common practice to have the lineage of a specific family dedicated to the service of the gods, the role being inheritable.These individuals’ role was to keep in harmony, the natural and the supreme in perfect balance. Through these witchdoctors, its believed that the gods, spirits or ancestors would bestow the power of healing for the sick. Through elaborate veneration and a cultural event like bonfire and dancing, the sick would get healed. At times, healers would be given the gift to know which plants had medicinal value to handle certain malady that was ailing the people. The sick or their relatives would sometimes be expected to show a level of faith by providing certain ingredients or objects that would be used to facilitate their treatment. It was a bad omen for a woman to give birth to twins in early Nigerian culture. It was so bad that it attracted punishment for the new-borns who were abandoned in forests and dry areas to die and the woman either burnt to death of banned from a community.Leaders like kings were chosen by gods, and it would mostly run in a particular family lineage. However, for the successful reign of such leaders, there were spiritual advisers, elders who were custodians of a tradition whose opinions were highly respected whose roles were to advise the king. They moulded and determined the success of the community and its people.When elders met, or a family was visited by an elder in the community, there was a traditional nut that was shared. “Kola nuts" among the Nigerians were shared to signify friendship, hospitality and respect. It was also a worship object, offered for ancestor veneration, during important life events like marriage, death and birth ceremonies Ancestors and deities were pleased through libation where food and sacrifices were offered, in goodwill, thanks giving and for exchange of favours. While natural occurrences like rain and drought, thunder and lightning were infused together with the supernatural, it was common practice to consult the god at play for direction and help. When drought lasted more than normal for instance, a deity believed to be responsible for such phenomenon was consulted and appeased in whichever manner deemed appropriate to bring relief to the people. Most African and central Africa practised a tradition where on the death of a highly respected leader like a king, virgin girls were slain before the burial would be considered complete. This was believed to appease the spirit of the dead king and set him on his journey to the land of the ancestors.Days were set aside to celebrate and thank the ancestors, gods and spirits for a bumper harvest for example in most West African countries. Members of the community would converge at a central place and offer the first of their harvest to the custodians of the sacred places like the chief priests. The food offered to the gods could only be eaten by custodians of the gods themselves and no one else. Any breach to such would be met by severe punishment to the offender such as death. Looking at such practice, it’s obvious that since the people dedicated to the gods had no time to farm for themselves or engage in businesses that could generate money; the food offering ensured that they were taken care of while not distracting them from their role to the community. It can be compared to the biblical royal priesthood community who were taken care of by the community, freeing them to dedicate their time to service to God. Communities in Africa had gifted musicians who would be exceptionally good in an instrument, believed to be an important part in veneration of a deity, ancestor or spirit. The rhythm of the drumming or flute would cause the people present to dance and sing to a point that they attained a spiritual consciousness where then, the spirit or ancestors would make known their demands, expectations or wishes. These special occasions would involve the whole community and often occurred during specific cultural celebrations.The everyday lifestyle of early West and central African has spiritually in its fabric that it was hard to set aside religion from other everyday activities. When a marriage ceremony was done in early African societies, spiritual leaders would be involved. These leaders would invoke the presence of ancestors and other well-meaning spirits to take part in the ceremony. There would be sharing of meals and libation, indication a connection and continuity between the living and the afterlife. Not all spirits were used for good though. Spirits could be used to cause havoc through the skilful manipulation of witchcraft and result in dire consequences to targeted people. Black magic has been used since time immemorial to alter situations and harm people. Thankfully, for every poison there usually is an anecdote. Once such has been figured out, the Orchestre of such evils were severely punished for their misdeed. In case they remained anonymous, it was up to the affected victim to visit their own deity and seek reprieve or revenge from them.It’s undeniable how much the Africas society indulged in Spirituality at different levels. Rules of the land were made and designed in a manner that ensured that the balance between the living, the dead and the spirits were maintained. Members of a particular culture were expected to adhere to their laws or traditions and any breach would incur not only the wrath of the gods but that of the whole community. This could have been because a major mistake done on the land could incur the wrath of the gods against all the members of that given community. Belief in blessings and curses cannot be overemphasized. It was a way to reward good deeds and condemn bad deeds respectively. Blessings were more sought after as it brought good tidings and prosperity among the people. For individuals who were wayward and refused to be corrected, curses ensured that their fate was left to the gods to met judgment to them. It non-brainer that no right-thinking person dared to follow the forbidden path. ***************************************************************************************************Early African beliefs have been noted to be flexible and accommodating, often, adopting other faiths with the notion that it will make potent its own original faith. This has been necessitated by the fact that African spirituality was never really written into the text to form a permanent unchangeable bond. While this did not occur overnight, intermarriage between communities and even invasion of other faith brought forth a cultural mix where what was seen as important was adopted and retrogressive ones abandoned.Author, Opondo Maureen ................
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