Veneration of The Dead - Africa

Africa

Ancestor veneration is very prevalent throughout Africa and serves as the basis of many religions. It is often augmented by a belief in a supreme being, but prayers and/or sacrifices are usually offered to the ancestors who may ascend to becoming minor deities themselves. Ancestor veneration remains among many Africans, sometimes practiced alongside the later adopted religions of Christianity (as in Nigeria among the Igbo people) and Islam (among the different Mandé peoples and the Bamum) in much of the continent.

Read more about this topic:  Veneration Of The Dead

Famous quotes containing the word africa:

    ““I’ll love you dear, I’ll love you
    Till China and Africa meet,
    And the river jumps over the mountain
    And the salmon sing in the street.”
    —W.H. (Wystan Hugh)

    “I who have cursed
    The drunken officer of British rule, how choose
    Between this Africa and the English tongue I love?
    Betray them both, or give back what they give?
    How can I face such slaughter and be cool?
    How can I turn from Africa and live?”
    —Derek Walcott (b. 1930)