or woman will marry someone known and
approved by both families. If the man is married
already, then his first wife or wives will be con-
sulted. Traditionally, polygamy was not encour-
aged unless the man was rich enough to support
his wives in a decent fashion. Taking a girlfriend
in addition to having several wives was frowned
upon by the community.
The Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and Krio
in Sierra Leone have a prewedding ceremony, in
which the intended bride is kept hidden when her
fiancé comes to see her. He calls for her, and her
family keeps producing different women, who are
often old. The fiancé spots the mistake each time
and each time calls for his intended. Eventually,
she is produced with much excitement.
DeathThere are a variety of different customs associated
with death. Many of them are concerned with the
transition of the soul and laying the soul of the
dead person finally to rest. Considerable thought
is devoted to burial places. Some bury their dead
underneath the compound or house. For others, it
is important to remove the body to a burial
ground some distance away.
M.TillotsonSee alsoBirth; Death; Marriage; Puberty
Further Readings
Kenyatta, J. (1962).Facing Mt.Kenya. London:
Heinemann.
Murphy, J. (1988).Santeria:African Spirits in America.
Boston: Beacon.
FANG
Living primarily in the African countries of
Gabon, Guinea, and Cameroon, the Fang ethnic
group is a Bantu-speaking people whose religious
traditions, although monotheistic in form, are
deeply rooted in the honoring and veneration of
the ancestors. The Fang people often keep the
bones and skulls of their ancestors because they
believe that these skeletal remnants still hold
power—power that is viewed as sacred and influ-
ential in the issues faced by the people in daily life.
Additionally, the wooden sculptures, masks,
and carvings created by the Fang and often sold as
exotic art are actually artifacts that are created
to be the guardians of the ancestors’ remains.
They ultimately act as an intermediary between
the people and the ancestors whose protection
they guarantee. These ancestors are believed to
exercise as much or more power in their spiritual
form as they might have in their natural lives, par-
ticularly if they died a “good” death and lived
honorable lives. Although the Fang do not believe
that the masks and sculptures have power them-
selves per se, nonetheless they do use the masks as
both a marker for the ancestors that they honor
and as a form of social control, a symbolic
reminder of the power of their ancestors.
The Fang believe that everyone has a body and
a soul and it is the soul that gives life to the body.
Whereas the body dies, the soul does not, but lives
on. Ancestors are spiritual guides and are highly
influential in the lives of future generations. In
many cases, they are prayed to and given offerings
to secure their blessings. They also set the moral
standard for the Fang community, and it is
believed that the ancestors can communicate to
their descendents through dreams and visions.
Although the ancestors who are honored can be
both male and female, male ancestors are more
likely to be revered because of the patrilineal
structure of Fang society.
By the early 20th century, the Fang had insti-
tuted secret committees within their communi-
ties. The Ngil, a judiciary organization, is the
most prominent of those societies within the Fang
and is responsible for battling witchcraft, includ-
ing performing exorcisms of evil spirits and
exploring the possibility of demonic possessions
in individuals in the community. The Ngil is also
responsible for the initiation of young boys and is
a form of law enforcement in the community.
Because it is believed that the ancestors are often
reincarnated in their descendents, the spirits of
the ancestors are major role players in the rites of
passage of the boys.
The Fang believe in the supreme God,Mebere,
who is viewed as the creator of the known world.
Mebere not only blew life into Earth, but also is260 Fang