In fact, in addition to controlling fertility and
hunting, the spirits are also concerned about
social peace because they demand that peaceful
relationships be maintained among the members
of the village. Only when internal harmony and
balance prevail, which in turn yields solidarity,
can the whole community expect to prosper.
Ama MazamaSeealsoRivers and Streams; Taboo
Further Readings
Douglas, M. (1954). The Lele of Kasai. In D. Forde (Ed.),
African Worlds.Studies in the Cosmological Ideas and
Social Values of African Peoples(pp. 1–26). London
& New York: The International African Institute and
Oxford University Press.
Gourou, P. (1973).The Tropical World:Its Social and
Economic Conditions and Future Status. London:
Longman.
Middleton, J. (Ed.). (1997).Encyclopedia of Africa South
of the Sahara. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
LIGHTNING
In Africa, lightning carries an important symbolism
and is often associated with the workings of the
divine. Because much of Africa is covered by rain
forests that depend on clouds and rain, the pres-
ence of lightning is not unexpected. However, in
more arid regions of the continent, such as the
Nile Valley or the southern tip of the continent,
lightning is also respected. This entry discusses
the natural phenomenon and then its religious
significance in Africa.
A Natural ForceLightning is ubiquitous. Each second, there are
approximately 65 cloud-to-ground lightning
strikes to the Earth throughout the world so that
astronauts in space could see an ongoing display
of the electrical energy hitting the Earth. As a phe-
nomenon, lightning is a worldwide occurrence
because there are no parts of the Earth where
lightning cannot be found. Most strikes are about
2 to 3 miles long and carry a current of 10,000
amps at 100 million volts.
Africa experiences a substantial amount of
lightning strikes. Many of them are of the “bolt
from the blue” variation that hit the ground 10 to
20 miles away from a storm. These flashes are
quite destructive and carry several times the elec-
trical energy of the regular strikes. Most lightning
is associated with thunder that can be heard up to
12 miles away from a storm.
There are other forms of lightning such as spi-
der crawler lightning, which moves at the bottom
of rain squalls sometimes as long as 35 miles away
from the starting point. These crawlers are dan-
gerous. Africans have known all forms of the
lightning and therefore have managed to explain it
in mythological or philosophical terms that make
sense to their societies.
Africa has the greatest amount of lightning
flashes on the Earth. Indeed, it is believed that the
small town of Kifuka, Democratic Republic of
Congo, in the Eastern region near the borders
with Rwanda and Burundi, has the highest density
of lightning flashes in the world. For example, out
of the 1.4 billion times that lightning flashes over
the Earth, a great amount of that energy is spent
in the continent of Africa, where Kifuka receives
158 lightning bolts per kilometer per year. This
compares with a European average of about 28
lightning bolts per kilometer per year. In
Colombia, South America, one can have 110
lightning bolts per kilometer per year, making it
the second most active place for lightning. North
America, in Florida, is only about 59 bolts per
kilometer in a year.A Religious Explanation
What this means for Africa is that the people have
had to develop ways of explaining the phenome-
non within their religious frame of reference.
Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, Shango is seen as
the deity who controls thunder and lightning, and,
as such, he is the Sky Father, a royal ancestor of the
Yoruba, with strong presence among the African
diaspora in South America and the Caribbean.
The energy of Shango has often been cited for
its symbol of resistance to enslavement and perse-
cution of the African by European enslavers.380 Lightning