Pages: (109-118 )
Abstract
The introduction of Christianity and Islam in West Africa between the 14th and 20th centuries sparked controversy over the right and wrong within the tenets of African Traditional Religion. A segregation of thoughts occurred within the African communities, with many of the new religion's converts adopting fully the principles of their new faith. In contrast, others would syncretize elements of Islamic, Christian and ancestral traditions together. The encounters between the Islamic and Christian religions in West Africa led to significant cultural and theological reconfigurations. For instance, ancestral veneration in West Africa was outrightly condemned by European Christian missionaries. The study observed that while Christianity condemned Africa's ancestral practices as being polytheistic, Islam was subtler in theological submissions, given the connection between certain practices of the religion and ancestral traditions. Based on theological and ethnographic discourses, the study argues that ancestral veneration is fellowship, a form of honour or encouragement to ancestors to continue playing their good parts in the earthly realm, and thus, room should be left for each religion to understand their principles and debate the need for syncretism or separation of practice.
Keywords: Ancestral Veneration, Islamic, Christianity, West Africa, Ancestral Condemnation, Religious Syncretism,