West African Traditional Religion

African traditional religion encompasses a variety of non-dogmatic, spiritual practices followed by millions around the world. Some scholars argue it is related to the Nubian religion of Egypt's Dynastic Period. In an expanded second edition, this book examines the nature of African traditional religion and describes common attributes of various cultural belief systems, with an emphasis on West Africa. Principal elements studied include sacrifice, salvation and culture, modes of revelation, divination, and African resilience in the face of invasion and colonization. The religious experiences of black people throughout the Americas are also covered. The author finds the cosmology, symbolism and rituals of the Yoruba culture to be the fundamental bases of African traditional religion, and draws similarities between the oral and written literature of West Africans and that of New World practitioners. The influence of Islam and Christianity is also discussed. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

West African Religious Traditions provides a unique and accessible way for readers to understand the dynamics and structures of traditional African religion, and to see its resonances in African-American religious life today. Focusing on the Akan of Ghana, this book is the result of the author's lifetime of close collaboration with Ghanaians at all levels of that West African nation. West African Religious Traditions is a remarkable entree into a fascinating world of African religion and culture. Fisher has lived and taught in Ghana and brings to his writing both love for Africa and the keen eye of a trained liturgist who knows the importance of grounding his statement of principles in concrete observations of song, dance, ceremonies, and recitations of mythic narratives. Ghanaians have been involved at every stage of the writing and re-writing of this book, helping to clarify the material. The result is an up-to-date, well researched, and student-ready volume, whose study questions and bibliography make it ideal for classroom use.

In the African context, shrines are cultural signposts that help one understand and read the ethnic, territorial, and social lay of the land. The contributions gathered here by Allan Charles Dawson demonstrate how African shrines help to define ethnic boundaries, shape group identity, and symbolically articulate a society's connection with the land it occupies. Shrines are physical manifestations of a group's claim to a particular piece of land and are thus markers of identity--they represent, both figuratively and literally, a community's 'roots' in the land it works and lives on. The shrine is representative of a connection with the land at the cosmological and supernatural level and, in terms of a community's or ethnic group's claim to cultivable territory, serves as a reminder to outsiders of ownership. Shrines in Africa explores how African shrines, in all their variable and diverse forms, are more than just spiritual vessels or points of worship--they are powerful symbols of ethnic solidarity, group cohesion, and knowledge about the landscape. Moreover, in ways subtle and nuanced, shrines represent ideas about legitimacy and authenticity in the context of the post-colonial African state.