Humanity and the Human Condition
Most African religions are anthropocentric, which means that they recognize humanity as the center of the cosmos.11 Because of this, African belief systems understand the cosmos and elements within it, like supernatural beings, in terms of their relationship to humanity.
Unlike many other religions, most African religions do not teach about the possibility of salvation or punishment in an afterlife. Rather, teachings generally focus on the importance of the present world.This anthropocentrism is reflected in the many African mythologies that begin with the creation of human beings instead of the creation of the world. As we have seen, a High God is often the creator of human beings. In many African myths, God creates humanity from clay or mud. The Dogon creation narrative tells that after the birth of the Nummo twins, Amma decided to create eight human beings from clay. The Dogon recognize these eight beings as the original human ancestors. In myths from other African traditions, God brings forth humanity from beneath the earth or out of a rock or tree. In still other myths, human beings come to this world from another one. The myths of the Chagga people of Tanzania explain that humanity descended to earth from heaven by the gossamer thread of a spider’s web.
In some creation narratives, lesser gods are responsible for creating human beings. In a Yoruba narrative, the deity Obatala, son of the High God, was assigned by his father to make human beings from clay. Once the beings were formed, the High God breathed life into them. One version of the myth tells that Obatala got very thirsty during his work of making humans. To quench his thirst, he started to drink beer. He became so drunk that he fashioned some people who were missing limbs, had crooked backs, or had other physical problems. When he sobered up, Obatala was so distraught at what he had done that he vowed to watch over the disabled people he had made.
This myth accounts for people who are born with disabilities and for Obatala’s special concern for them.Many African religions teach that humans were created in a male-female pair as either husband and wife or (less often) as brother and sister. Dogon myths explain that the first eight humans each had a dual soul—they were both male and female. As a result, all humans are born with a dual soul. Circumcision reduces this dual soul to one soul—male or female. Other African cultures also regard humans as having a dual nature. Sometimes this is understood to be a physical body and an immaterial essence, like a spirit. The Lugbara people of Uganda believe that human beings have multiple souls. Each soul is associated with a different part of the body, like the heart or the lungs.
As we discussed earlier in this chapter, African religions often teach that the High God is removed from eveiyday human life. However, many teach that the High God was not always distant but originally lived with humans in a time of complete happiness, when God provided people with all they needed. However, God and humanity became separated. In some religions, this separation from God introduced death and toil into the lives of humans. These religions tend to emphasize the past—when humans coexisted with God—as an ideal, paradise-like existence.
In myths, the separation from the High God often was the result of humans breaking one of God’s rules. In a myth of the Dinka people, who are cattle herders in southern Sudan, death is explained as the result of the anger of the first woman. In the beginning, the High God gave one grain of millet to the first woman and her husband. The woman was greedy and decided to plant more than a single grain. In her eagerness to plant, she hit God with her hoe. God was so angry that he withdrew from humanity and severed the rope that connected heaven and earth. Because of her action, the Dinka believe that humans are doomed to work hard throughout life and then die.
The myth also teaches an important moral lesson: humans should avoid being proud and greedy.Sometimes, human mortality results from the actions of animals who deliberately or unintentionally betrayed humans. The religion of the Nuer people teaches that a rope originally connected earth to heaven; this belief is similar to the Dinka myth. If someone climbed the rope to heaven, Kwoth, the High God, would make that person young again. One day, a hyena and a bird climbed the rope. Kwoth said they were not allowed to return to earth because they would cause trouble there. However, they escaped and returned to earth. Then the hyena cut the rope. As a result, humans could no longer get to heaven, and now they grow old and die.
Many African religions also teach that the High God created human social organization, customs, and rules of conduct. Ethical and moral teachings often focus on the importance of maintaining agreeable relationships within human society and the spirit world. Sometimes, this extends to the proper relationship between humanity and the earth. Dogon mythology teaches that after they were created, the Nummo twins taught human beings how to farm. In many African cultures, farming is an important activity not only for subsistence but also in terms of religion. Dogon myths explain that the first child of the unfortunate union between Amma and the earth was a jackal. The jackal defiled its mother, the earth, by attempting to rape her. Humans, however, have the ability to correct this defilement and purify the earth through farming.
Self-Assessment 3.1
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