Encyclopedia of African Religion

offering is made at the Ori ancestor shrines, then food must also be placed within the tali shrine. Another type of shrine is th ...

approaches 5 million. This entry looks at their history and religious beliefs. Historical Background The Luo have a long history ...

assisted in marriage arrangements, and everyone in the traditional community had to be married because to be a spinster or an ol ...

Lwa 393 A table of offerings set up for the Lwa in Haiti in preparation for a wedding ceremony between several Lwa and a Vodu de ...

over agricultural work and life. One must also mention the important Gede, the Lwa of death. Although Lwa are frequently associa ...

Ezili Freda as their mèt tèt will be expected to be a bit frivolous and yet quite generous. The dynamic relationship between the ...

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MAAS AI Th e Maasaipeoplelive in East Africa.The y may havesepa ratedfr om otherNi lotic groupsas early as 1,000yearsago an d mo ...

398 Maat generosity. Through the consumption of meat and the drinking of milk, God and human beings become one again. Thus, meat ...

Nothing came into place by chance with the ancient Egyptians, who understood that the pat- tern and plan of the universe was ord ...

and minds is not limited to males; many of the most powerful operators of this form of magic are women. Each African ethnic grou ...

have suggested that Makandal may have come from the village of Makandal, which is located in the Loango region in what is now th ...

January 20, 1758, but not without drama. Although he had only one wrist, he is said to have broken free at the stake, but was ca ...

washed seven times with a special mixture made with plants, as one cleans oneself spiritually in order to be able to receive the ...

MAMI WATA Mami Watastands for a pantheon of water deities found primarily in the Vodun tradition practiced in Benin and Togo. Ho ...

during the enslavement of African peoples. The transatlantic voyage left a traumatic impression on enslaved Africans, and often ...

Spanish used the word in reference to their stray cattle, with cattle being the root of the wordchat- tel, which is of course th ...

in 1519, led by Henriques against the Spanish in Hispaniola. In Brazil, the Africans set up settle- ments known as Quilombos. Th ...

publicly executed by the French in 1758, he and his army killed up to 6,000 whites during what the Maroons consider his divinely ...

MARRIAGE It is an understatement to say that marriage is of utmost importance in African religion. In effect, marriage is widely ...