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COSMOLOGY
Cosmology refers to worldview and myths in gen-
eral or, more specifically, to the cultural and reli-
gious imagery concerning the universe. African
cosmology, which often takes the form of oral
narratives, describes the web of human activities
within the powerful spiritual cosmos; it transmits
the beliefs and values of African peoples. African
cosmology, then, is an attempt to describe and
understand the origin and structure of the uni-
verse, how humans relate to the cosmos, and how
and to what extent their thoughts and actions are
shaped by it.
African religion poses an interesting and com-
plex problem of description and interpretation. In
fact, African languages have no equivalent word
forreligion. Indeed, African social structures and
cultural traditions are infused with a spirituality
that cannot be easily separated from the rest of the
community’s life at any point. To analyze religion
as a separate system of beliefs and ritual practices
apart from subsistence, kinship, language, poli-
tics, and the landscape, for example, is to misun-
derstand African religion in general and African
cosmology in particular. Thus, African culture
could be described as a complex web of religion,
attitudes and behavior, morality, politics, and
economy. The African thought system influences
the African cognitive process and lifestyle.
Owing to the apparent complex diversity of
African societies and their religious systems, it
may seem, at first sight, problematic to homoge-
nize Africa into a single whole or develop overar-
ching generalizations about the religious life of its
people. However, a survey of a great number of
various traditions in Africa allows one to identify
certain common themes and affinities. For exam-
ple, a common and most obvious denominator of
the respective local cosmologies is orality. Indeed,
the beliefs and practices are transmitted from one
generation to another through oral traditions,
myths, legends, art, paintings, sculpture, songs,
and dances. This is not all, however, because
African societies display many common affinities
in their religious worldviews, such as the belief in
spiritual entities, the use of concepts to represent
them, in rituals and similar attitudes toward their
manipulation and control.
To understand the complex spatial and tempo-
ral constructions of African cosmology, and the
values associated with it, one must comprehend a
multiplicity of local cosmologies. These cosmolo-
gies consist of constructed special spaces that pro-
vide the setting for ritual action and an enabling
environment for ritual enactments, special roles
that evince the pertinacity of actors in the reli-
gious activity, and special powers or beings with
which the actors form prescribed relationships
within a ritualized context.Symbols and Myths
Inherent in ritual praxis are religious symbols that
inform the actions that characterize life stages and
patterns. Myths represent one source for under-
standing African cosmologies, creation of the uni-
verse, human origin, death, and societal norms
and ethos. African societies such as the Yoruba,
Akan, Zulu, and Dagomba have their creation
narratives located in religious mythology. Yoruba
perception of the world was the kernel to their
religious beliefs as structured in their creation
myth, praise songs, and sayings. Although there
are variations of the creation myth, the most
widely accepted cosmogonic myth locates Ilé-Ifè
as the cradle of civilization. In Zulu cosmological
tradition, myths connect the human and natural
cosmos. The creation myth relates the gods to the
birth of the first humans. They trace their ances-
try to creation byinkosi yezulu(the God of the
Sky) oruMvelingqangi(that which appeared first)
who lives up above along withinkosazana yezulu
(the Goddess/Princess of the Sky).The first human,
uNkulunkulu, who existed was believed to have178 Cosmology