Culture/Religion: Possible Roles in Black Underdevelopment

Jonathan Lawoyin D.D.S, M.Div

What is Religion

• a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs

RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS

• WHERE DID WE COME FROM?• WHY ARE WE HERE?• THE ANSWERS TO THESE MYSTERIES LED

TO THE FORMATION OF RELIGIONS WHICH PROVIDE A WAY OF LIVING AND DYING MEANINGFULLY

Primal religions originated first

They are generally the traditions of non-literate people-which means they do not depend on scriptures or written teachings as do most other religions.

Primal religions tend to be the traditions of tribal peoples, organized in small groups that dwell in villages as opposed to large cities - exceptions are the Yoruba of Africa and theAztecs of Mesoamerica.

Primal religion World View

• Nothing happens by accident• Everything is linked to everything

else• Everything is the work of some self-

aware being, human, animal, spirit, god, or spirit of a dead ancestor.

Four Examples of Primal religion

• The Aborigines of Australia

•The Yorubas of Africa• The Plain Indians of North America• The Aztecs of South America and

Mexico

PURPOSE OF YORUBA RELIGION

• MAINTAIN THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE HUMAN BEINGS OF EARTH AND THE GODS AND ANCESTORS OF HEAVEN, WHILE GUARDING AGAINST THE EVIL DEEDS OF THE SORCERERS AND WITCHES

THE ANCESTORS OF THE LIVING

• DECEASED HUMANS WHO ARE ACCORDED SUPERNATURAL STATUS

• CAN HELP OR HARM HUMANS• TWO TYPES OF ANCESTORS

• FAMILY ANCESTORS• DEIFIED ANCESTORS

• KNOWN THROUGHOUT YORUBA SOCIETY AND NOW WORSHIPED BY LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE

Ancestors• Most commonly recognized spiritual forces in Africa• Continue to live on in the spirit world and unlike the

High God take an active interest in the well-being of those who live in the world.

• Ancestors are consulted before the birth of a child, beginning of an agricultural season, prior to battle, or political conflicts.

• In some tribes, no one may eat the first fruit of the harvest until it has been offered to the ancestors.

Ancestors Continued• While in China and Japan ancestors are loved and

respected, in Africa they are feared. • They can be capricious (do whatever they want,

fickle) and unpredictable.• Ancestors can do whatever they want. • Despite many offerings, they can turn on you or the

community.• May cause sickness, death, childlessness (a major

curse)• Ancestors more than the gods are the enforcers of

the moral codes of the tribe.

Ancestors Continued

• Gifts and sacrifices offered to them• Belief that ancestors own the land and its

products• Portion of harvest must be offered to them• When animals are born, some must be

slaughtered and offered to ancestors to ensure their blessings.

• Modern Africans living in cities, return to their native villages to offer sacrifices

Communication with Ancestors• They can speak to you in dreams• They can send signs to you in nature that

can be interpreted with the help of diviners, spiritual specialists

• Signs are sometimes interpreted by looking at the organs of sacrificed animals

• Diviners can also contact ancestors for help with knowing the future.

ORISHAS

• SOURCES OF ALL SACRED POWER WHICH CAN HELP OR HARM HUMAN BEINGS, DEPENDING HOW WELL RITUALS, DESIGNED TO APPEASE THEM ARE CARRIED OUT

• HUNDREDS EXIST• SOME ARE WORSHIPPED BY ALL YORUBA• SOME WORSHIPPED ONLY BY ONE FAMILY

GROUP

OLORUN, THE HIGH GOD

• CHARACTERISTICS• ORIGINAL SOURCE OF POWER IN THE

UNIVERSE• DISTANT AND REMOTE• NOT INVOLVED IN HUMAN AFFAIRS• OTHER GODS, ORISHAS, FUNCTION AS

MEDIATORS BETWEEN OLORUN AND HUMAN BEINGS

Global spread of African religion (Santeria)

Yemoja worship (osun Oshogbo)

Yemanja (Yemoja) worship in Brazil

Santeria- Voodoo Haiti

Iemonja worship (Brazil) 2

Santeria (Babalawo) little Havana Miami

Superstructure: A culture’s worldview, including morals and values, oftentimes grounded in religion

Social structure: The rule-governed relationships—with all their rights and obligations—that hold members of a society together. This includes households, families, associations, and power relations, including politics.

Infrastructure: The economic foundation of a society, including its subsistence practices and the tools and other material equipment used to make a living. The Barrel Model

of Culture

What is Culture?

What is Culture?

• The beliefs and behaviors of a society• Culture consists of abstract ideas, values, and

perceptions of the world that inform and are reflected in people’s behavior

• Culture is the lens through which we view our world, it “invents” our reality

• The man is his culture

Characteristics of Culture

• The Concept of Culture• Culture is Learned• Culture is Shared• Culture is Based on Symbols• Culture Gives Meaning to Reality• Functions of Culture• Culture and Change• Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

Definitions

• Tribe- group of people that share language, customs, traditions, geographic location

• Clan- group of related families • Extended family- parents, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents (common in Africa)

• Nuclear family- parents and children (not common in Africa )

TRIBE

CLAN A CLAN B CLAN C

FamilyFamilyFamilyFamily

Family Family

Family Family Family

Family Family

You!

You!

Family

You

Nuclear vs. extended

Clanyou

Family

Clan

Share common ancestor

Common property/land

Vary in size

Share customs & language

Know everyone

Has symbols

Age set

Support system/Work together

Communal living

Clanyou

Family

Clan

Tribe

Vary in size

Common customs &language

Thousands inAfrica

Share land

Live in 1 region

Little movement/Protect area

Won’t know everyone

Symbols to identify

Loyalty to tribeNOT country

Causing conflict in Modern dayAfrica

polygamous

animism

Hunter-gather

Negative effects of culture and religion on black society

• 1. Kills initiative• 2.Breeds lack of trust• 3. Breeds suspicion• 4. Throws up incompetence and,

substitutes excellence with mediocrity.

• Makes urbanization almost impossible

Problems of Tribalism Today

1. The tribe is more important than the nation.2. Communication problems.

3. Inter-tribal warfare --> civil wars.

4. Tribal favorites for government jobs:

Urbanization:

Breaks down tribal traditions.Tribal intermingling on the job.

Ethnocentrism

• The belief that one’s own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures.

• The tendency of most people to use their own way of life as a standard for judging others; now also indicates the belief, on the part of most individuals, that their race, culture, society, etc., are superior to all others

Info taken from: nku.edu website

THE WAY OUT OF THE PROBLEM OF BLACK UNDERDEVELOPMENT

• NOBODY KNOWS, but:

1. EDUCATION WILL GO A LONG WAY, Starting from different homes 2. THE PROBLEM OF SYNCRETICISM HAS TO BE TACKLED by religious bodies.3. POLITICAL WILL TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT: enlightened and selfless leadership

Ethnic Group or Culture Group

•The cultural heritage, or aspects of culture, that a group shares and attempts to hand down from one generation to the next through learning.

Info taken from: The Four Skills of Cultural Diversity Competence, by Mikel Hogan-Garcia

THANKS