respect of human dignity. Shakapanga the creator is
largely celebrated as the king of justice and is viewed
as good and pure (Vidye kadi katonye: “God is spot-
less,” say the Baluba). Life, which is his supreme gift,
is to be honored, protected, and promoted in every
creature. Hence, theKishila-kya-Bankambo(the will
of the ancestors) commends a virtuous life, an ethical
conduct that prohibits all forms of dehumanization.
Enslavement therefore stands as radically antithetical
to fundamental religious values. Although the practice
of slavery is overwhelmingly attested in African his-
tory, there is no evidence that such a practice was
indigenous to Africa and was sanctioned by African
religion as a virtue. Its endurance therefore is to be
viewed in terms of what people refer to asmucima
mubi. It is “evil heart” that leads people to enslave
others. Initially, slavery was conceived of as a punish-
ment and was largely applied to prisoners of war.
African religion, with its emphasis onBumuntu(gen-
uine personhood), generated two fundamental atti-
tudes vis-à-vis the slavery phenomenon. First, it
commanded that the humanity of enslaved people be
acknowledged and honored by a humane treatment.
Hence, although slavery has always been an unjust
and cruel reality, African history is replete with
instances of enslaved individuals who were inte-
grated in the family of their masters and regarded as
sons or daughters, some even becoming figures of
authority by virtue of their excellent character and
competence. Second, traditional religion triggered a
massive resistance movement to the European slave
trade and colonial oppression. This same ancestral
spirit of dignity and liberty exploded again in the
1980s and 1990s to stimulate struggles against dicta-
tors and promote collective liberty. In this era of
ambiguous globalization, African traditional spiritual-
ity is likely to stimulate a new path of “liberation the-
ology” against modern forms of enslavement.
Mutombo Nkulu-N’SenghaSeealsoDestiny; Justice
Further Readings
Boahen, A. (1987).African Perspectives on Colonialism.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Edgerton, R. (1995).The Fall of the Asante Empire:The
Hundred-Year War for Africa’s Gold Coast. New
York: The Free Press.
Hoschild, A. (1998).King Leopold’s Ghost. New York:
Houghton Mifflin.
Isichei, E. (1978). The Quest for Social Reform in the
Context of Traditional Religion: A Neglected Theme
of West African History.African Affairs, 77,
463–478.
Obichere, B. (1971).West African States and European
Expansion:The Dahomey Niger Hinterland, 1898.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.RITES OFPASSAGE
According to African religion, as one journeys
through life, carrying out a particular destiny and
asserting one’s humanity, one should become
more complete and perfect. This perfection, in
turn, allows a person to become an ancestor,
which is the ultimate purpose of life. Through
rites of passage, set up by the community, people
undergo a series of transformative processes that
will assist them in their development as human
beings. Rites of passage have played a major role
in African communities for hundreds of years.
They are well-thought-out and effective programs
designed to allow people to move with little stress
to the next phase of their existence. It is also
important to remember that Africans only exist in
community and that any personal development
necessarily takes place within a collective space,
rather than being an individual affair. Indeed, the
expected and desired outcome is that the commu-
nity will be enhanced as its individual members
gain in knowledge, consciousness, and wisdom.
Their new insights will allow them to contribute
to the maintenance and reinforcement of the tra-
ditions and social order on which their commu-
nity was established.
Life in the African religious context is a cycle
marked by four critical moments: birth, puberty,
marriage, and death. Those four moments are
moments of transition, and each one is character-
ized by specific religious observances, its own set
of rituals and rites.Birth: Naming Ceremony
The birth of a child is always a time of great
rejoicing. It means that a couple was blessed with570 Rites of Passage