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Very Short Introductions #377
African Religions: A Very Short Introduction
What are African religions? African Religions: A Very Short Introduction answers this question by examining primarily indigenous religious traditions on the African continent, as well as exploring Christianity and Islam. It focuses on the diversity of ethnic groups, languages, cultures, and worldviews, emphasizing the continent's regional diversity. Olupona examines a wide range of African religious traditions on their own terms and in their social, cultural, and political contexts. For example, the book moves beyond ethnographic descriptions and interpretations of core beliefs and practices to look at how African religion has engaged issues of socioeconomic development and power relations.
Olupona examines the myths and sacred stories about the origins of the universe that define ethnic groups and national identities throughout Africa. He also discusses spiritual agents in the African cosmos such as God, spirits, and ancestors. In addition to myths and deities, Olupona focuses on the people central to African religions, including medicine men and women, rainmakers, witches, magicians, and divine kings, and how they serve as authority figures and intermediaries between the social world and the cosmic realm.
African Religions: A Very Short Introduction discusses a wide variety of religious practices, including music and dance, calendrical rituals and festivals, celebrations for the gods' birthdays, and rituals accompanying stages of life such as birth, puberty, marriage, elderhood, and death. In addition to exploring indigenous religions, Olupona examines the ways Islam and Christianity as outside traditions encountered indigenous African religion. He shows how these incoming faith traditions altered the face and the future of indigenous African religions as well as how indigenous religions shaped two world religions in Africa and the diaspora.
Olupona draws on archaeological and historical sources, as well as ethnographic materials based on fieldwork. He shows that African religions are not static traditions, but have responded to changes within their local communities and to fluxes caused by outside influences, and spread with diaspora and migration.
Olupona examines the myths and sacred stories about the origins of the universe that define ethnic groups and national identities throughout Africa. He also discusses spiritual agents in the African cosmos such as God, spirits, and ancestors. In addition to myths and deities, Olupona focuses on the people central to African religions, including medicine men and women, rainmakers, witches, magicians, and divine kings, and how they serve as authority figures and intermediaries between the social world and the cosmic realm.
African Religions: A Very Short Introduction discusses a wide variety of religious practices, including music and dance, calendrical rituals and festivals, celebrations for the gods' birthdays, and rituals accompanying stages of life such as birth, puberty, marriage, elderhood, and death. In addition to exploring indigenous religions, Olupona examines the ways Islam and Christianity as outside traditions encountered indigenous African religion. He shows how these incoming faith traditions altered the face and the future of indigenous African religions as well as how indigenous religions shaped two world religions in Africa and the diaspora.
Olupona draws on archaeological and historical sources, as well as ethnographic materials based on fieldwork. He shows that African religions are not static traditions, but have responded to changes within their local communities and to fluxes caused by outside influences, and spread with diaspora and migration.
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2013
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June 13, 2022
African Religions In The Very Short Introductions Series
The Very Short Introductions Series of Oxford University Press offers many opportunities to expand one's thinking and experience. For example, I read and reviewed John Parker's and Richard Rathbone's short, challenging "Very Short Introduction" to African History. As a result, I became interested in pursuing a new book in the series about Africa: "African Religions: A Very Short Introduction" (2014) by Jacob Olupona. (While thinking about Olupona's book, I also heard for the first time a song, "Africa" by the rock group Toto which speaks of the fascination Africa exerts on a young man from a different culture. The song helped me understand my interest in the two "Very Short Introductions" to Africa that I have now read.) Born and raised in Nigeria, Jacob Olupona received his advanced degrees in the United States. He has written prolifically on indigenous African religions with a particular emphasis on the transmission of these religions to the African diaspora. Olupona is Professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard Divinity School and also holds an appointment as Professor of African and African American studies at Harvard.
As does the book by Parker and Rathbone, Olupona's study describes the difficulty of making generalizations about Africa and about religions in Africa given the size and diversity of the continent and its peoples and the nature of the historical record. He begins his book with a brief discussion of the historiography of the study of African religions. The goal of his short study is "to provide a fuller picture of what these traditions are and do for their practitioners in order to inspire intellectual curiosity in readers who are encountering these traditions for the first time, while also encouraging scholars and educators to think creatively about how to introduce these traditions to their students."
Olupona proceeds by offering broad observations on the subject of religion, followed by informed generalizations on African religions followed in its turn by specific examples. He notes several differences between how religion is conceived in the West on one hand and in indigenous African religions on the other hand. In the West, with Christianity, religion and politics have been separated with the Enlightenment into separate spheres, the personal, and the secular and public. Indigenous African religions tend not to make this sharp distinction between the religious and the secular. Further, Christianity and Islam, which have come to be predominant in Africa, view religion in universalist terms while indigenous African religions tend to be local and particular Olupona writes: "Religious worldviews, often unique to different ethnic groups, reflect people's identities and lie at the heart of how they relate to one another, to other people, and to the world at large.". African religions tend to be practice oriented rather than oriented to doctrine and belief. Olupona draws other distinctions and parallels between indigenous religions and religions imported to Africa throughout his study.
The successive chapters of the book become increasingly more specific and move from worldview and myth in indigenous religion, to gods, ancestors, and spirits, to the role of figures such as kings, diviners, priests, and witches, to religious ceremonies and rituals, such as rituals for marriage, rites of passage and death, to the use of art, music, and dance in the service of religion. Much of the material is fascinating. It also tends to become difficult to follow in a short book as Olupona offers highly specific examples from a number of separate indigenous religious practices. The individual detail in the book tends to overshadow the broader picture, and probably necessarily so.
The focus of the book is on indigenous religion. Olupona also devotes a short but learned chapter to the histories of Christianity and Islam in Africa, to the manner in which they spread, and the way in which they compete with each other in current Africa. Olupona also explores how various indigenous traditions tended to blend with Christianity or Islam, creating some unique practices in various African versions of both religions.
In a final chapter, Olupona examines the continued influence of African indigenous religions in the African diaspora. He offers discussions of churches and other institutions in the United States, Britain, Ukraine, the Caribbean and elsewhere showing the spread and increasing popularity of these religions, both as practiced by sincere believers and, in some cases, as exploited by charlatans. Olupona concludes: "[I]f in our world of increasingly hyphenated and hybrid identities, it has become more challenging to say what African religion is, it has become perhaps even more challenging to say for certain what it isn't. If we look more carefully, we can find manifestations of it everywhere."
Olupona's book offers a thoughtful, detailed introduction to African religions in the scope of about 120 pages. The book fulfilled its goal of making the subject interesting to a curious reader with little prior knowledge. Readers with an interest in comparative religion will particularly enjoy this "very short introduction" to African religions.
Robin Friedman
The Very Short Introductions Series of Oxford University Press offers many opportunities to expand one's thinking and experience. For example, I read and reviewed John Parker's and Richard Rathbone's short, challenging "Very Short Introduction" to African History. As a result, I became interested in pursuing a new book in the series about Africa: "African Religions: A Very Short Introduction" (2014) by Jacob Olupona. (While thinking about Olupona's book, I also heard for the first time a song, "Africa" by the rock group Toto which speaks of the fascination Africa exerts on a young man from a different culture. The song helped me understand my interest in the two "Very Short Introductions" to Africa that I have now read.) Born and raised in Nigeria, Jacob Olupona received his advanced degrees in the United States. He has written prolifically on indigenous African religions with a particular emphasis on the transmission of these religions to the African diaspora. Olupona is Professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard Divinity School and also holds an appointment as Professor of African and African American studies at Harvard.
As does the book by Parker and Rathbone, Olupona's study describes the difficulty of making generalizations about Africa and about religions in Africa given the size and diversity of the continent and its peoples and the nature of the historical record. He begins his book with a brief discussion of the historiography of the study of African religions. The goal of his short study is "to provide a fuller picture of what these traditions are and do for their practitioners in order to inspire intellectual curiosity in readers who are encountering these traditions for the first time, while also encouraging scholars and educators to think creatively about how to introduce these traditions to their students."
Olupona proceeds by offering broad observations on the subject of religion, followed by informed generalizations on African religions followed in its turn by specific examples. He notes several differences between how religion is conceived in the West on one hand and in indigenous African religions on the other hand. In the West, with Christianity, religion and politics have been separated with the Enlightenment into separate spheres, the personal, and the secular and public. Indigenous African religions tend not to make this sharp distinction between the religious and the secular. Further, Christianity and Islam, which have come to be predominant in Africa, view religion in universalist terms while indigenous African religions tend to be local and particular Olupona writes: "Religious worldviews, often unique to different ethnic groups, reflect people's identities and lie at the heart of how they relate to one another, to other people, and to the world at large.". African religions tend to be practice oriented rather than oriented to doctrine and belief. Olupona draws other distinctions and parallels between indigenous religions and religions imported to Africa throughout his study.
The successive chapters of the book become increasingly more specific and move from worldview and myth in indigenous religion, to gods, ancestors, and spirits, to the role of figures such as kings, diviners, priests, and witches, to religious ceremonies and rituals, such as rituals for marriage, rites of passage and death, to the use of art, music, and dance in the service of religion. Much of the material is fascinating. It also tends to become difficult to follow in a short book as Olupona offers highly specific examples from a number of separate indigenous religious practices. The individual detail in the book tends to overshadow the broader picture, and probably necessarily so.
The focus of the book is on indigenous religion. Olupona also devotes a short but learned chapter to the histories of Christianity and Islam in Africa, to the manner in which they spread, and the way in which they compete with each other in current Africa. Olupona also explores how various indigenous traditions tended to blend with Christianity or Islam, creating some unique practices in various African versions of both religions.
In a final chapter, Olupona examines the continued influence of African indigenous religions in the African diaspora. He offers discussions of churches and other institutions in the United States, Britain, Ukraine, the Caribbean and elsewhere showing the spread and increasing popularity of these religions, both as practiced by sincere believers and, in some cases, as exploited by charlatans. Olupona concludes: "[I]f in our world of increasingly hyphenated and hybrid identities, it has become more challenging to say what African religion is, it has become perhaps even more challenging to say for certain what it isn't. If we look more carefully, we can find manifestations of it everywhere."
Olupona's book offers a thoughtful, detailed introduction to African religions in the scope of about 120 pages. The book fulfilled its goal of making the subject interesting to a curious reader with little prior knowledge. Readers with an interest in comparative religion will particularly enjoy this "very short introduction" to African religions.
Robin Friedman
August 2, 2023
Oxford’s Very Short Introduction on African Religions provides a birds-eye view on the role, mechanics, and history of traditional African religious beliefs and systems. African author and scholar of religious divinity, Jacob K. Olupona, does a very good job describing how traditional African religious systems permeated every aspect of African sociopolitical organization. There was no concept (however farcial) of separation between “church and state.” However, it would be inaccurate and misleading to characterize these traditional societies as “theocratic.” Rather, these societies simply did not recognize any real distinctions between the spiritual, political, economic, social, and cultural world.
I was struck by the commonalities in beliefs and practices across Africa. Africa—the most culturally, ethnically, linguistically, and genetically diverse continent on the planet—also contains a clear common strain when it comes to the fluidity of religious beliefs more generally, and even the specificity of certain beliefs in particular. This can be seen in how different societies conceive of the Supreme Being / Creator, the relationship between the so-called “lesser deities,” ancestor veneration, funeral and burial practices, etc. While Olupona certainly pointed out various differences among African traditions, it is evident that these traditions are rooted in more general beliefs concerning the connectivity of the Supreme Being as the creator of all things, deities and ancestors who play a more active role in the every day lives of human beings, and the ways in which Africans go about expressing and manifesting their beliefs.
I was equally struck by the implications of African religious systems’ ability to adopt to the comings of Christianity and Islam, despite the lacking of any reciprocity or accommodation from Christianity and Islam. While this led to an even more dynamic set of religious beliefs on the continent of Africa, it ultimately resulted in the wholesale attack of traditional religious beliefs, which meant—as Olupona pointed out at the outset—an attack on African societies and culture more generally. Africa is still reeling from this state of affairs to this day.
Finally, the section on the African diaspora in the Western Hemisphere picking up the baton with respect to traditional African religions was fascinating (although, I wish more was said about the differences between diasporic beliefs and traditional continental beliefs). In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who wants a concise introduction on African belief systems.
I was struck by the commonalities in beliefs and practices across Africa. Africa—the most culturally, ethnically, linguistically, and genetically diverse continent on the planet—also contains a clear common strain when it comes to the fluidity of religious beliefs more generally, and even the specificity of certain beliefs in particular. This can be seen in how different societies conceive of the Supreme Being / Creator, the relationship between the so-called “lesser deities,” ancestor veneration, funeral and burial practices, etc. While Olupona certainly pointed out various differences among African traditions, it is evident that these traditions are rooted in more general beliefs concerning the connectivity of the Supreme Being as the creator of all things, deities and ancestors who play a more active role in the every day lives of human beings, and the ways in which Africans go about expressing and manifesting their beliefs.
I was equally struck by the implications of African religious systems’ ability to adopt to the comings of Christianity and Islam, despite the lacking of any reciprocity or accommodation from Christianity and Islam. While this led to an even more dynamic set of religious beliefs on the continent of Africa, it ultimately resulted in the wholesale attack of traditional religious beliefs, which meant—as Olupona pointed out at the outset—an attack on African societies and culture more generally. Africa is still reeling from this state of affairs to this day.
Finally, the section on the African diaspora in the Western Hemisphere picking up the baton with respect to traditional African religions was fascinating (although, I wish more was said about the differences between diasporic beliefs and traditional continental beliefs). In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who wants a concise introduction on African belief systems.
August 4, 2023
Chapter 1: Worldview, cosmology, and myths of origin
Chapter 2: Gods, ancestors, and spirit beings
Chapter 3: Sacred authority: divine kingship, priests, and diviners
Chapter 4: Ceremonies, festivals, and rituals
Chapter 5: Sacred arts and ritual performances
Chapter 6: Christianity and Islam in Africa
Chapter 7: African religions today
Chapter 2: Gods, ancestors, and spirit beings
Chapter 3: Sacred authority: divine kingship, priests, and diviners
Chapter 4: Ceremonies, festivals, and rituals
Chapter 5: Sacred arts and ritual performances
Chapter 6: Christianity and Islam in Africa
Chapter 7: African religions today
June 5, 2024
This book is a fantastic primer: it’s not supposed to be utterly comprehensive, but a taste and understanding of African religions throughout the continent. I especially liked the focus on how indigenous and traditional African beliefs impact Islam and Christianity throughout the continent, and the constant dialogue, pushback, and conflict between these belief systems. 4.75/5 stars
March 22, 2021
What are the main ideas?
* there is no easy and simple way to categorize or classify african religions.
* because of the role of ancestors, there no clear line between monotheism and polytheism in african religions. this "binary remains irrelevant in an african context."
* african art is intimately tied with spirituality. unlike european understandings of art, the most important artworks are pieces that get used in festivals, rituals, etc. so even the idea that art is rare or unique doesn't translate within an african context.
* christianity and islam have been intermixing with african indigenous traditions for centuries. in some ways and places, it is not even possible to pull these three ways of spiritual relating apart.
* (my interpretation of a more neutral point): christianity has had a destructive relationship with
* in many ways, african religions/spiritual is just (if not more) alive outside of the continent, in the diaspora, as inside.
If I implemented one idea from this book right now, which one would it be?
* do not try to compare or understand african religions with a western european lens
How would I describe the book to a friend?
this book is an incredibly dense survey of african religions, spirituality and their interconnection with social and political structures across history and geography. this book is a breadth-first exploration of some major themes in african religions, each time dipping a toe or two into a few specific faiths. he seems to do a good job of highlighting tensions and contradictions where they exist. having read this book, i feel prepared to do deeper dives into more specific geographically or conceptually bound religious/spiritual traditions.
* there is no easy and simple way to categorize or classify african religions.
* because of the role of ancestors, there no clear line between monotheism and polytheism in african religions. this "binary remains irrelevant in an african context."
* african art is intimately tied with spirituality. unlike european understandings of art, the most important artworks are pieces that get used in festivals, rituals, etc. so even the idea that art is rare or unique doesn't translate within an african context.
* christianity and islam have been intermixing with african indigenous traditions for centuries. in some ways and places, it is not even possible to pull these three ways of spiritual relating apart.
* (my interpretation of a more neutral point): christianity has had a destructive relationship with
* in many ways, african religions/spiritual is just (if not more) alive outside of the continent, in the diaspora, as inside.
If I implemented one idea from this book right now, which one would it be?
* do not try to compare or understand african religions with a western european lens
How would I describe the book to a friend?
this book is an incredibly dense survey of african religions, spirituality and their interconnection with social and political structures across history and geography. this book is a breadth-first exploration of some major themes in african religions, each time dipping a toe or two into a few specific faiths. he seems to do a good job of highlighting tensions and contradictions where they exist. having read this book, i feel prepared to do deeper dives into more specific geographically or conceptually bound religious/spiritual traditions.
March 23, 2021
My university library has access to the Oxford VSIs, and when I went looking for interesting texts, I found several about Africa, which I don't know much about. This one had the distinction of being the only one written by a person of color, so I decided to start here.
While this book is full of interesting facts and descriptions of traditional practices and their modernizations, it is also extremely dense and not well-organized, so the reading experience is mostly wading through fact after fact after fact. Only the last two chapters, the ones that deal more with the history of religion in Africa and its modern-day expression, could actually keep my attention for any serious length of time. I did learn some really interesting things, and I appreciated the chance to broaden my knowledge of African religions, but I think it's unlikely that I will retain much of the information given the way it was presented.
Overall, if you want a brief list of lots of different practices, myths, and festivals practiced at some point in African history, this is your book. If you want a deep dive into the various religions of Africa, or a well-organized cursory overview of the major religions, I'd look somewhere else.
While this book is full of interesting facts and descriptions of traditional practices and their modernizations, it is also extremely dense and not well-organized, so the reading experience is mostly wading through fact after fact after fact. Only the last two chapters, the ones that deal more with the history of religion in Africa and its modern-day expression, could actually keep my attention for any serious length of time. I did learn some really interesting things, and I appreciated the chance to broaden my knowledge of African religions, but I think it's unlikely that I will retain much of the information given the way it was presented.
Overall, if you want a brief list of lots of different practices, myths, and festivals practiced at some point in African history, this is your book. If you want a deep dive into the various religions of Africa, or a well-organized cursory overview of the major religions, I'd look somewhere else.
December 28, 2020
A short but thorough overview of African religions. Olupona manages to reach a breadth of sub-topics while not skimping on detail.
This book encouraged me to consider how evangelist motives have shaped the study of religion in Africa, how Western secularism has led to a misunderstanding of religion's pervasive role in Africa, and the complexity of cosmologies and religious traditions indigenous to the continent.
I was particularly struck by the notion of "vital force" and cosmologies which were predicated upon a fundamental unity between all natural entities (often even those which are non-living, such as rocks and rivers). Similarly, I enjoyed reading about the ways such cosmologies are embodied through various religious rituals, myths, and artworks. This book helped me delineate between witchcraft and animism, understand the roles of ancestors in African religion, and understand the influence of colonialism and slavery on Africa, particularly in terms of religion.
This book encouraged me to consider how evangelist motives have shaped the study of religion in Africa, how Western secularism has led to a misunderstanding of religion's pervasive role in Africa, and the complexity of cosmologies and religious traditions indigenous to the continent.
I was particularly struck by the notion of "vital force" and cosmologies which were predicated upon a fundamental unity between all natural entities (often even those which are non-living, such as rocks and rivers). Similarly, I enjoyed reading about the ways such cosmologies are embodied through various religious rituals, myths, and artworks. This book helped me delineate between witchcraft and animism, understand the roles of ancestors in African religion, and understand the influence of colonialism and slavery on Africa, particularly in terms of religion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2025
Jacob K. Olupona is a professor of African Religious Traditions at the Harvard Divinity School in Massachusetts. Jacob K. Olupona wrote African Religions: A Very Short Introduction. The book was published in 2014. The book has illustrations. The book has a section of references and an index. The book has a section entitled “further reading” (Olupona 131-141). Olupona is a personality in the book. For example, Olupona has a slightly different view of female circumcision than other Africanists (Olupona 59-60; Steinberg 111-112). The book covers traditional African religions along with Christianity and Islam in Africa. Olupona stresses that religion changes over time. Olupona also points out that traditional African religions, Islam and Christianity, interact (Olupona 37). Most chapters examine aspects of traditional African Religions and how they interact with Christianity and Islam. Chapter 6 is entitled “Christianity and Islam in Africa” (Olupona 89-104). The last chapter covers “African diaspora religions” and other topics (Olupona 110-112). The previous chapter also discusses the religions of African immigrants (Olupona 112-118). The previous chapter also covers “African religions today” (Olupona 105-122). In 2014, Olupona wrote, “While traditional religions are engaged in a battle for their lives on the African continent, they and their sister African diaspora religions are thriving elsewhere in the world-particularly in the Americas and Europe” (Olupona 107). The book also covers traditional African Olupona’s book, which is a well-done introduction to African religions.
January 4, 2022
Definitely a short introduction, but still a wonderful read. Olupọna covers wide range of topics and groups them in an easily understandable way. I learned a lot, and at the same time learned how little I truly know. Highly highly recommended!!
July 10, 2021
My first in this series.
October 9, 2022
Some fascinating sections with great explanatory value. But I found the book quite unorganized, I think it would have profited from some more care in the editorial process.
December 17, 2022
Required reading for anyone looking to understand ATRs from a compassionate viewpoint.
April 28, 2024
If I were to read this on its own, it would make me steer clear of the subject. Best to be taken for the references
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May 19, 2024How can I read the book
July 22, 2024
This was good, it’s just too much to cram into such a tiny little book. I want to learn more but appreciated this overview.
November 26, 2024
Sometimes I'm disappointed by volumes in Oxford University's A Very Short Introduction series, but African Religions: A Very Short Introduction is concise yet meaty, and easy to digest.
March 6, 2025
Muy buena introducción.
January 7, 2015
This book was exactly what it was supposed to be, a relatively short and accessible introduction to African religious traditions of all sorts, both traditional and modern. I only have a cursory familiarity with the topic from listening to a lecture series on African history and some studies and readings on various forms of religion and spirituality, but it fits well with what I know and adds tantalizing glimpses of specific traditions and practices. Part of my interest in this subject is inspiration of writing or roleplaying games, ways to shift fantasy away from its usual generic pseudo-medieval European form, and there is plenty of inspiration in this book.
One of the interesting ideas from this book is how much syncretism there has been between African religions and the monotheistic religions (the focus almost entirely on Christianity and Islam and therefore overlooking cases I have heard of of communities in East Africa that claim Jewish descent), and the interesting point that given the long history of Christianity on the continent (essentially as long as its history anywhere else) many traditional religions may in fact be younger than world religions which are often viewed as fresh interlopers. Which raises the question of whether it is possible to get a clear understanding of pre-monotheistic religions, or if there has been too much subtle influence.
My only complaint about the book is that the author in attempting to present native African religions in a positive light sometimes overreaches as an apologist. I believe that his assumed audience is people who have grown up Christian or at least in a heavily Christian influenced society ("spiritually" Christian, if not in practice) and so he tries to show that native religions address concerns like more familiar religions do and so are equally legitimate. My own perspective is as an atheist and a humanist; to me all religions are equally likely to be wrong in their ultimate beliefs, though some religions do a better job of fostering positive aspects of human nature like benevolence and charity than others. The two areas that I have problems with are witchcraft and female circumcision. Witchcraft is discussed very much from the native perspective and emphasis is given to value the community gains from persecuting supposed witches. At the same time, it is pointed out that those accused of witchcraft are usually marginal members of the community, orphans, widows, the antisocial or the like and it is obvious that accusations are really scapegoating, since magic isn't real. And yet the author seems more concerned to point out how native African religions are not witchcraft (a charge often leveled by followers of monotheistic religions) than in condemning a barbaric practice. Christianity has had a similar tendency to persecution (though thankfully much reduced in recent times) but such tendencies are usually condemned and viewed as backwards thinking, as they should be. In regards to female circumcision, I am sympathetic to his ultimate point that some of the rituals are probably no worse than male circumcision (fairly commonly accepted in America/the West), but I feel like he pushes the boundary a bit too far. When he cavalierly states that some of the (to his mind) minor rituals "only" remove part of the clitoris, the male equivalent is more likely to be partial removal of the head of the penis rather than the foreskin. But the larger issue is that these rituals, however much physical damage is inflicted or not, are tied up in matters of female purity in an often heavily patriarchal context. Those values probably just aren't reconcilable with those of modern western liberalism.
One of the interesting ideas from this book is how much syncretism there has been between African religions and the monotheistic religions (the focus almost entirely on Christianity and Islam and therefore overlooking cases I have heard of of communities in East Africa that claim Jewish descent), and the interesting point that given the long history of Christianity on the continent (essentially as long as its history anywhere else) many traditional religions may in fact be younger than world religions which are often viewed as fresh interlopers. Which raises the question of whether it is possible to get a clear understanding of pre-monotheistic religions, or if there has been too much subtle influence.
My only complaint about the book is that the author in attempting to present native African religions in a positive light sometimes overreaches as an apologist. I believe that his assumed audience is people who have grown up Christian or at least in a heavily Christian influenced society ("spiritually" Christian, if not in practice) and so he tries to show that native religions address concerns like more familiar religions do and so are equally legitimate. My own perspective is as an atheist and a humanist; to me all religions are equally likely to be wrong in their ultimate beliefs, though some religions do a better job of fostering positive aspects of human nature like benevolence and charity than others. The two areas that I have problems with are witchcraft and female circumcision. Witchcraft is discussed very much from the native perspective and emphasis is given to value the community gains from persecuting supposed witches. At the same time, it is pointed out that those accused of witchcraft are usually marginal members of the community, orphans, widows, the antisocial or the like and it is obvious that accusations are really scapegoating, since magic isn't real. And yet the author seems more concerned to point out how native African religions are not witchcraft (a charge often leveled by followers of monotheistic religions) than in condemning a barbaric practice. Christianity has had a similar tendency to persecution (though thankfully much reduced in recent times) but such tendencies are usually condemned and viewed as backwards thinking, as they should be. In regards to female circumcision, I am sympathetic to his ultimate point that some of the rituals are probably no worse than male circumcision (fairly commonly accepted in America/the West), but I feel like he pushes the boundary a bit too far. When he cavalierly states that some of the (to his mind) minor rituals "only" remove part of the clitoris, the male equivalent is more likely to be partial removal of the head of the penis rather than the foreskin. But the larger issue is that these rituals, however much physical damage is inflicted or not, are tied up in matters of female purity in an often heavily patriarchal context. Those values probably just aren't reconcilable with those of modern western liberalism.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2014
There's a basically insoluble problem facing any of these Very Short Introductions: the more effectively it communicates the complexity and interest of its subject matter, the more obvious it becomes to the reader that the book is giving a basically superficial view. This one, because of the immensity of the topic, runs into even more trouble than most. Olupona is clearly being careful not to simplify or over-generalize, and gives a great range of information about beliefs and practices from all over the continent; but the result tends to be page after page of tantalizing descriptions, without the space to go into the purposes or meanings of particular local practices and beliefs. I don't mean to blame the author for this - in most places, it's hard to see how it could have been done better without making a Very Long Introduction (though I do wish the chapter on Islam and Christianity in Africa had spent less space on history and more on contemporary worship). But it made the book a somewhat frustrating read.
May 12, 2014
I'm a complete novice in this area, so an ideal reader for this type of book, which I think is a very usable overview. It introduces readers to a wide array of African beliefs and practices—sometimes so many and so quickly as to dizzify. I thought its internal organization was a bit more scattered than some of the other VSI's I've read. I was especially interested in the author's explorations of how indigenous religions interact with Islam and Christianity.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews