Encyclopedia of African Religion

Women, produced jointly by Alice Walker and Indian filmmaker Pratibha Parmar in 1992–1993, belongs to the latter group of litera ...

Given the value attached to fertility in general, and women’s fertility in particular, clay pots also participate in defining a ...

sex; without it, people could not marry or have socially sanctioned sexual activities, nor could they have access to the secret ...

forefront in calling for its ban. It is often inter- preted as a consequence of unequal male–female relationships and women’s st ...

Obatala, the oldest of the orisa responsible for liter- ally shaping human form, is considered the “King of White Cloth.” Obatal ...

shades of brown. Thus, the colors red, white, and black should be understood as representative of themselves as well as the rang ...

By 1822, almost all the slaves in the plantations surrounding Charleston had joined the revolt. The plan was brilliantly simple. ...

including Caribbean, history, no one made this negotiation easier and more natural than the con- jurer man. Molefi Kete Asante S ...

McDaniel, L. (1998).The Big Drum Ritual of Carriacou: Praisesongs in Rememory of Flight. Gainesville: University of Florida Pres ...

creative power. Although there are mythical vari- ations, they provide images of the cosmos and pantheons of supersensible entit ...

The conceptagbara(spiritual power) is evident in Yoruba religious thought. Words ofagbaraare legitimated byase(charm of command, ...

sea, as currency, decoration, adornment, signaling horns, protective amulets, and tools for spiritual divination. Cowrie shells, ...

two combined equal over two thirds of the ocean water) are unique mollusks that produce mostly smooth egg-shaped, colorful shell ...

belief in cowrie shells as amulets moved them from a unique-shelled animal from the tropical ocean water to be sacred and spirit ...

warn their clients who seek personal information and spiritual knowledge. The divination ritual can bring knowledge of a person’ ...

precolonial Africa. Further, the influence of Islam and Christianity has impacted African cre- ation myths as well as traditiona ...

Creation myths in Africa are almost always linked to traditional activities of agriculture, tech- nology, or the primacy of natu ...

There is a belief that one can dispose of rem- nants, things left over from disputes and contests, such as anger and jealousy, a ...

agency; they possessed the means to center them- selves within the expansive legacy of black history and culture. Using the writ ...

Those who believed they had been cursed, partic- ularly if they looked around and saw that others were prospering and they were ...