African ontology. Every being is characterized by
lifeanddynamism.Beingisnotastaticessence.The
African notion of vital force transcends the
Aristotelian categories of substance and accidents.
Vitalforceisnotamerebiologicallife,butthatfun-
damentalandoriginalvitalimpulsethatconstitutes
existence and is the property that underlies all
things. It is in light of such a conception of being
that African religious traditions see integration
ratherthatoppositionbetweenbodyandsoul,mat-
terandspirit,theworldofthelivingandtheworld
of the Dead, the human world and the nature
world.Thisfundamentalunityofbeingiscaptured
in the often misunderstood notion of animism,
wherebyAfricansconsidernaturenotasdeadmat-
ter, but rather as a living being, in such a way that
water, wind, trees, and animals become our broth-
ersandsisters,fathersormothers.Suchisthefoun-
dation of the fundamental African reverence for
nature.Itstemsfromanontologythatestablishesa
basic kinship between humans and the whole cos-
mos.ItisalsothisontologythatdefinestheAfrican
vision of reincarnation, in which a child, for
instance, becomes the father of his father. African
ontology rejects both monistic and dualistic views
ofreality.Itisanontologyofkinshipandsolidarity
in which “I am because we are,” as John Mbiti
pointedout.
Because the being is not a static essence, to be
is fundamentally to become. To be religious is
not to hold abstract definitions of spirituality,
but to act religiously. According to this ontology
of becoming, a person of bad character is viewed
as somebody who has emptied his humanity to
become a nonhuman (Kintu, a thing). Likewise,
good conduct (good thought, good speech, good
deeds, and “good eye”) restores the lost or
diminished humanity. Because no being stands in
isolation, every act that diminishes the humanity
of an individual ipso facto diminishes that of the
perpetrator;hence,theethicsofpersonalrespon-
sibility. Every negative action carries with it an
ontological break of vital force in the individual
and the community; hence, the notions of for-
giveness and reparation.
This also brings us to the fundamental theory
of being that governs the notions of sacrifices,
magic, witchcraft, and protective devices in the
African world. The notion of vital force means
thateverybeingisaforcethatinteractswithother
forces in the universe. Because forces influence
one another, a powerful being (person, animal,
vegetable, or mineral) can reinforce or diminish
the being of another; hence, the use of amulets to
protect oneself against witches or malevolent
thought and words. This process can be under-
stood only when we grasp the nature of being.
AsKagamehasshown,intheBantuworldview,
there are four major categories of being:- Umuntu or muntu (the category of human being
or force with intelligence). It includes the living
humans, the Dead, and even the spirits. - Ikintu or kintu (the category of thing). It
includes all the forces that do not act on their
own, but that can act under the command of a
force with intelligence. This category includes
beings such as animals, plants, minerals, and
any inanimate thing. - Ahantu (the category of place and time).
- Ukuntu (the mode of existing).
In the world of the interaction of forces, space
andtimedonotconstituteahindrance.Aperson’s
good or malevolent thought or speech can influ-
ence a person miles away.
Itshouldbenoted,however,thatinthishierar-
chy of force, the ultimate power belongs to
Shakahanga (the father of creation). God is
viewed as the ultimate source of being, the Being
of beings. God is omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent, and the supreme judge of human
behavior—in other words, the source of African
morality.
As for the nature of a human being, African
religion does not promote the theory of the resur-
rection of the body. However, a human being is
viewed as a set of concentric layers that include
matter and spirit without any opposition among
them.Itisthisviewofbeingthatexplainstheleg-
endary tales about humans who transform them-
selves into lions or those who fly in the air. The
notion of being as a set of energy in constant
vibration (force vitale, élan vital) remains perhaps
the fundamental hermeneutical device that sheds
lightonAfricanontologyandthespecificityofthe
African mode of being religious.Mutombo Nkulu-N’SenghaOntology 493