THE PLACE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION IN

264 Pages·2008·1.02 MB·English

THE PLACE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION IN INTERRELIGIOUS
ENCOUNTERS IN SIERRA LEONE SINCE THE ADVENT OF ISLAM AND
CHRISTIANITY

by

PRINCE SORIE CONTEH

submitted in accordance with the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY

In the subject

RELIGIOUS STUDIES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

PROMOTER: PROF G J A LUBBE

APRIL 2008
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

SIGNED DECLARATION ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x
SUMMARY xi
KEY WORDS AND PHRASES xv

CHAPTER 1
Introduction 1

1.1 Objectives 3
1.2 Methodological Approach 4
1.2.1 Field work 6
1.3 Past and Present Academic Context 9
1.4 Literature Review 10
1.5 Socio-History of Sierra Leone 20
1.6 Outline 21

CHAPTER 2
Fundamental Tenets and Practices of Sierra Leone Indigenous
Religion (SLIR) and Culture 25

2.1 Introduction 25
2.2 Meeting our Subjects 26
2.2.1 The Mende 26
2.2.2 The Temne 27
2.2.3 The Limba 28
2.2.4 The Kono 29
2.2.5 The Krio 30
2.2.6 Common Cultural Straits 31
ii
2.3 Sources of SLIR 34
2.3.1 Oral Tradition 34
2.3.2 Forms of Art 35
2.4 Components of SLIR 37
2.3.1 The Supreme Being 37
2.3.1.1 Names of God 38
2.3.1.2 God Lives Above 41
2.3.1.3 God’s Intrinsic Attributes 43
2.3.1.3.1 Omnipotence 43
2.3.1.3.2 Omnipresence 45
2.3.1.3.3 Omniscience 45
2.3.1.3.4 All-seeing God 46
2.3.1.4 Activities of God 46
2.3.1.4.1 Creator 46
2.3.1.4.2 God as Ruler 48
2.3.1.5 The Worship of God 49
2.3.2 Lesser Gods/Deities 50
2.3.3 Angels 52
2.3.4 Ancestral Spirits 53
2.3.4.1 Who are the Ancestors? 53
2.3.4.2 The Abode of the Ancestors 55
2.3.4.3 Categories of Ancestors 56
2.3.4.4 The Role of the Ancestors 57
2.3.4.5 Ancestor Worship or Veneration? 58
2.3.4.6 Ancestral Veneration 60
2.3.5 Non-Ancestral Spirits 63
2.3.5.1 Nature Spirits 63
2.3.5.2 Human Spirits 64
2.3.5.2.1 Witchcraft 64
2.3.5.2.2 Ghosts 68
2.3.5.2.3 Offering/Sacrifice to Nature Spirits 69
iii
2.3.6 Human Beings 69
2.3.6.1 Lifecycle/Rites of Passage 72
2.3.6.1.1 Pregnancy and Childbirth 73
2.3.6.1.2 Initiation – Secret Societies 74
2.3.6.1.3 Marriage 76
2.3.6.1.4 Death and the Afterlife/Next World 76
2.3.7 Sin and Salvation 77
2.3.7.1 Sin 77
2.3.7.1.1 Homosexuality 78
2.3.7.2 Salvation 79
2.3.8 Sacred Specialists 80
2.3.9 Conclusion 82

CHAPTER 3
Islam and Christianity in Sierra Leone 91

3.1 Introduction 91
3.2 Islam 92
3.2.1 The Advent and Expansion of Islam 92
3.2.2 Basics Tenets and Practices of Islam 97
3.2.2.1 Sources of Islamic Teachings and Practices 97
3.2.2.2 Islamic Tenets and Teachings 100
3.2.2.2.1 The Supreme Being 101
3.2.2.2.2 Angels 103
3.2.2.2.3 Prophets and Messengers of Allah 103
3.2.2.2.4 Books of God -- Holy Scriptures 104
3.2.2.2.5 Afterlife 105
3.2.2.3 Practices 105
3.2.2.3.1 Shahadah 106
3.2.2.3.2 Salat 106
3.2.2.3.3 Sawm 107
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3.2.2.3.4 Zakat 108
3.2.2.3.5 Hajj 108
3.2.3 Islam’s Encounter with Traditional Beliefs and Practices 109
3.3 Christianity 113
3.3.1 Advent and Expansion of Christianity 113
3.3.2 Basic Beliefs and Practices of Christianity 121
3.3.2.1 Sources 121
3.3.2.2 Beliefs 124
3.3.2.2.1 Belief in One God -- Theology 124
3.3.2.2.2 Belief in Jesus -- Christology 125
3.3.2.2.2.1 Jesus is Lord 126
3.3.2.2.2.2 Jesus is the Son of God 126
3.3.2.2.2.3 Jesus the Incarnate 127
3.3.2.2.2.4 Jesus Died for humanity 127
3.3.2.2.2.5 Jesus is the Source of Salvation 127
3.3.2.2.2.6 Jesus Rose from the Dead 128
3.3.2.2.2.7 Jesus Ascended to Heaven to be at
God’s Right Hand 128
3.3.2.2.2.8 Jesus Will Return to Judge 129
3.3.2.2.3 Belief in the Holy Spirit -- Pneumatology 129
3.3.2.2.4 The Doctrine of the Trinity 130
3.3.2.2.5 Afterlife 131
3.3.2.3 Practices 132
3.3.2.3.1 Worship 132
3.3.2.3.1.2 The Sacraments 132
3.3.2.3.1.3 Additional Sacraments of the
Catholic Church 137
3.3.3 Christianity’s Encounter with Traditional Beliefs and
Practices 140
3.4 Conclusion 145
v
CHAPTER 4
Comparative Analysis of ATR with Islam, and with Christianity 148

4.1 Introduction 148
4.2 The Supreme Being 149
4.2.1 Which God do Traditionalists Serve? 149
4.2.2 God above 150
4.2.3 Names of God 151
4.2.4 God is Omnipotent 153
4.2.5 God is Omnipresent 154
4.2.6 God is Omniscient 154
4.2.7 God is the Creator 155
4.3 Worship/Veneration -- Sacrifice 155
4.4 Angels 157
4.5 Ancestor Veneration or Veneration of the Dead 159
4.6 Spirits 161
4.6.1 Witchcraft 163
4.6.2 Ghosts 164
4.7 Charms and Medicines 165
4.8 Sacred Places and Objects 166
4.9 Sin and Salvation 168
4.10 Afterlife 170
4.11 Conclusion 170

CHAPTER 5
Historical and Contemporary Interreligious Dialogue and
Cooperation, and Reasons for the Exclusion of ATR 173

5.1 Introduction 173
5.2 Historical interfaith encounter, debate/dialogue, and cooperation 174
5.2.1 Samuel Ajayi Crowther 174
vi
5.2.2 The Freetown Debate of 1888 175
5.3 Contemporary Interreligious Cooperation and Dialogue 177
5.3.1 Social Factors 177
5.3.1.1 Religious Cooperation in War Camps 178
5.3.2 The Project of Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa
(PROCMURA) 179
5.3.3 IRCSL 181
5.3.4 Inter-Religious Publications (IRP) series 184
5.3.5 Challenges 185
5.4 Reasons for the Exclusion of ATR 186
5.4.1 Inherited Prejudices 186
5.4.2 ATR Lacks the Hallmarks of a True Religion 187
5.4.2.1 ATR lacks Scriptures 187
5.4.2.2 ATR has no Founder or Leader 188
5.4.2.3 ATR is not Organised or Institutionalised like Islam
and Christianity 189
5.4.3 ATR is Primitive and Economically Weak 190
5.4.4 Fear of Syncretism and Nominalism 191
5.4.5 ATR Practitioners are Already Muslims 191
5.5 Conclusion 193

CHAPTER 6
The Place and Recognition of ATR in Inter-religious Cooperation 195

6.1 Introduction 195
6.2 The Place and Recognition of ATR in Sierra Leone 195
6.2.1 The Place of ATR in Sierra Leone’s National Politics 195
6.2.2 The Place of ATR in Finding and Maintaining Employment
197
vii
6.2.3 The Place of ATR in the Judicial System 197
6.2.4 The Role of Indigenous Religion in Sierra Leone’s Civil War
198
6.2.5 The Testimony of the TRC on the Traditional Contributions
and Values 200
6.3. The Progress and Level of the Recognition and Place of ATR Outside
Sierra Leone 203
6.4 Necessity of Dialogue with, and the Inclusion of ATR in Interfaith
Cooperation in Sierra Leone 208
6.4.1 The Necessity for Dialogue with ATR 208
6.4.1.1 Dialogue of life or in Community 211
6.4.1.2 Dual Religiosity 212
6.4.2 Some Practical Considerations 214
6.4.2.1 Respect and Tolerance 214
6.4.2.2 Education 215
6.5 Conclusion 216

CHAPTER 7
Concluding Remarks 219

7.1 Introduction 219
7.2 Recapitulation 219
7.3 Final Thoughts 225

FIGURES
1. Sierra Leone in its settings in West Africa 22
2. Ethnic traditional homelands in Sierra Leone 23

APPENDICES
A. Names and Profiles of Interviewees and Consultants 227
viii
B. IRCSL Statement of Shared Moral Concerns 229
C. IRCSL Statement of Shared Values and Common Purpose 232

BIBLIOGRAPHY 234
ix
Student number: 3318-245-0

I declare that
The Place of African Traditional Religion in Interreligious
Encounters in Sierra Leone since the Advent of Islam and
Christianity is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or
quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete
references.

…………………….. ………………………
SIGNATURE Date
(Rev. PS Conteh)