Encyclopedia of African Religion

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DAGU The Dagu arean ancientpeople whose origins gobacktotheareaaroundTunis in NorthAfrica. The ancient Phoenic ians,Greeks, and ...

192 Danbala Wedo many Dagu is Islam, they retain the cultural forms of their ancestors in their music, dance, festivals, styles ...

The lwa now embodies or rides the male or female devotee or hounsi. Danbala is verbally uncommu- nicative. He never speaks, but ...

Dance and song call on the benevolent spirits to bring blessings into the community or to restore peace and harmony where chaos ...

name was Mamadi Sefe Dekote, the Silent Sword. He was the owner of a sword that was longer than any sword in the city, and he ho ...

people believe in reincarnation, it can be said that life is born out of death and that death is the pro- longation of life. Den ...

to permanently leave the body and settle in the deceased’s sacred necklace, an important item during the initiation process also ...

Akan Perspectives In the Akan culture, a person is basically composed of several components:okra,mogya, andsunsum. But people ar ...

idea of destiny is well developed. A good destiny is Olori-re, whereas a bad destiny is Olori- burukain Yoruba. Among the Yoruba ...

by force, who now live away from their country and culture of origin. Since the 1950s, the term has been used to describe the wo ...

Impact on Religion Physical contact between Africa and the West increased in frequency in the 19th century. An upsurge in the de ...

decorate themselves with blood from their cattle. The blood could also be used as a tooth cleaner. The cattle hide becomes mats ...

family will be ensured by the sons of the family. A man receives the names of his father and grandfa- ther and ancestors. Initia ...

Earth, rain, storms, sky, and night. When Emit referred to the Sky God, he was often called Ata Emit. This was the creator God, ...

The Dioula minimize, even dissipate, the differences between the two historically contentious groups. One Dioula narrative of th ...

believe that persons devoted to inverting the process of healing (sorcerers) can also induce dis- ease. Africans consistently di ...

irrational practice detrimental to its adherents. Under the influence of Christianity and Western Enlightenment and modern scien ...

Typical Process Although quite often diviners grasp the will of the gods and the ancestors while under spirit posses- sion and i ...

against forces of evil. This is why the Ifa divination recommends not only sacrifices, but also a virtuous life to the afflicted ...