Encyclopedia of African Religion

habitations were not preserved because of the materials used to build the houses, but materials made of the iron that was used i ...

would go to Oto, never to find its way back onto the Earth, an unenviable fate. This entry looks at the religion’s worship and h ...

FurtherReadings Alleyne, M. (1989).Roots of Jamaican Culture. London: Pluto Press. Bilby, K., & Gupe, F.-K. K. (1983).Kumina ...

KWA BA The Kwa Ba, also referred to asAkua’ba, is the great primal mother of all humans in the Akan construction of the universe ...

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LAK ES Lakesembodyuniquequalitiesofwaterthat are distinc t fromstreams,rivers,waterfalls,se as,an d oceans.Like streamsandrivers ...

376 Laveau, Marie The lack of natural lakes did not stop the ancient Egyptians from creating man-made sacred lakes around temple ...

remained a central theme in their lives. To understand the complex nature of African religious traits and how they developed and ...

oppression associated with enslavement. Vodu was often under scrutiny by public officials and the law. Nevertheless, Vodu held a ...

spirit of a Native American chief named Black Hawk. Her parents, who were black and Mohawk, passed down to her a multicultural a ...

In fact, in addition to controlling fertility and hunting, the spirits are also concerned about social peace because they demand ...

Lightning 381 A staff used by devotees of Shango,theYoruba orisha of thunder and lightning,carried in dances when possessed by t ...

Shango’s colors are red and white, and his sacred number is six. The main symbol of Shango is the oshe, the doubled-headed axe, ...

assoserand may include many prescriptions and restrictions, such as food, hunt, sexual intercourse, or dress taboos. Although Th ...

cluster of people called the Makhuwa who live to the north. According to their traditions, the Lomwe originated in northern Moza ...

her brother, fled out of shame with rain charms and some of her people. In a variant of this story, it is her father, and not he ...

Instead, members of the group are expected to cooperate through mutual and reciprocal exchanges. Rather than engaging in excessi ...

erected for a spirit of an ancestor (an Orijo or spirit house). These are usually pieces of granite formed into a house. Because ...

the congregation, the patient is anointed and blessed, and the matter is regarded as closed. An elder invokes the ancestors agai ...

a man (usually an elder) takes responsibility for causing sickness, whereas in ancestral vengeance, it is the Dead who are belie ...