Different Kinds of Movement
The thousands of movements across hundreds of African peoples naturally exhibit many varieties. Among these, five different groups may be distinguished according to their religious content and intention, and the various degrees of syncretism between the African and the Christian or Islamic contributions.
Neo-Primal Movements
These stand closest to the indigenous tradition but have adopted some important new features from one of the other faiths, such as a single universal divinity, God or Allah, the rejection of magic or the adoption of new elements such as preaching or parts of the Mosaic decalogue. Islamic-related examples have taken the form of new voluntary possession cults adding Muslim powers to local spirits, and in east Nigeria a sophisticated religion known as Godianism rejects Christianity and much of local tradition in favour of a new single God of Africa who is derived from ancient Egyptian sources.
Synthetist Movements
These consciously attempt a combination of elements from each tradition to form a new religion for Africans. Although there are few clear examples from the Islamic milieu there are many with a Christian component, such as the extensive Deima religion in the Ivory Coast or those sections of the Bwiti cults in Gabon which are increasingly adopting Christian forms and ideas.
Deviationist Movements
These endeavour to depart from indigenous traditions by the adoption of an Islamic or a Christian content, but in fact so deviate from some of the basic elements of these faiths as to be unacceptable to them. In the Islamic context this may mean neglecting the Qur’an, as with the movement of Yakouba Sylla from the 1930s in the Ivory Coast. He claimed a new revelation from Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, depreciated prayer and made fasting optional. In Nigeria since 1934 the God’s Kingdom Society has claimed to be a Christian movement but has replaced Christmas with a Feast of Tabernacles and would be closer to the classic religion of Israel.
Africanised Movements
These intend to be either Islamic or Christian but are more concerned with practical relevance in Africa than with Christian or Islamic orthodoxies.
In West Africa the reforming and missionary Islamic brotherhood founded by Hamallah in 1925 regarded its own holy city, Nioro, as more important than Mecca, developed a more exuberant form of worship and dealt with social problems by supporting greater freedom for slaves, the lower classes and women. Christian examples of this form are commonly called ‘aladura’ churches in Nigeria, ‘spiritual’ churches in West Africa, Botswana and other areas, and ‘Zionists’ in southern and central Africa. A general term for these would be ‘prophet-healing’ churches.Orthodox Movements
Such movements aim to be fully Islamic or Christian and even to reform or renew their African communities, but do so by adapting to African situations and needs under African leadership and independently of outside influences. In Islam this concern usually leads to mahdist movements which are rather different from those dealt with here; by the nature of Islam strictly independent orthodox movements are rare. Christian examples, however, are numerous since about the 1880s. The largest and best known is the Kimban- guist Church in Zaire and central Africa, dating from 1921; in 1970 it became the first such body to be admitted to the World Council of Churches, after the question of its doctrinal orthodoxy had been dealt with.
It must, however, be remembered that these movements usually lack established traditions and strong institutions and so are free to respond to the rapidly changing African situation. They are also often still in the process of working out their new religious syntheses or forms. There is therefore considerable mobility in beliefs and practice so that a movement seemingly belonging to one of the above groups may within a few years be better understood in terms of a different group.