Our objective has been to bring to the public a
major reference work that would grow as scholars
and laypeople alike use it to advance their own
research and understand the core beliefs and ritu-
als of African culture. Naturally, we have had
to rely on many sources, references, and scholars
who have demonstrated commitment to an
authentic African voice. This is not a compara-
tivist work because this is the first work of this
type; however, comparison is now possible
because of the existence of thisEncyclopedia. It is
to be expected that with the demonstration of the
complexity, texture, and rhythms of the African
religious tradition, future scholars will have a
baseline from which to advance further research.
In editing the encyclopedia, we constantly
reminded ourselves and were reminded by the
authors of these entries that human conscious-
ness is not simply a matter of rational thought,
but something deeply informed by myth and the
mysteries of human life. Furthermore, language
has always been the lever of myth, and our expe-
riences with African languages and African
myths convince us that there are thousands of
ways of expressing the creation or establishing a
proper ritual to recognize an ancestor. One
escapes all mutilation of consciousness by
appealing to these incredibly rich and varied
entries on traditional African religion for a
deeper, more profound understanding of African
culture in general.
Entry writers brought their own styles to the
project. We have dealt with issues of language, for
example, the idea of holocaust of African
Enslavement, where the wordholocausthas been
seen as a word that refers only to the brutal expe-
rience of the Jews in World War II. In addition, we
have had to deal with the issue of negative and
pejorative terminologies such assorcerer,witch,
primitive,cult, andfetish. Given the impractical-
ity of changing the entire reading public’s image
overnight, we have settled for the huge possibility
that this encyclopedia can be used as a back-
ground text for cultural knowledge. Only then
will we have established the key ideas and foun-
dational thinking necessary for moving the dis-
course on African religion forward.
We would like to acknowledge the tremendous
assistance of Rolf Janke, acquisition editor, who
expressed faith in our ability to bring this project
to fruition from the beginning. In addition to
Rolf, we appreciate the work of Yvette Pollastrini,
developmental editor, and Leticia Gutierrez, sys-
tems coordinator, who made possible the smooth
operation of the Sage SRT system and gave us
encouragement and direction precisely when we
needed it. Our work has been facilitated by
Jacqueline Tasch, who has assisted with expert
editing, and the guidance of Diana Axelsen. There
is no way we could have completed this work
without their constant attention to detail.
When we embarked on this project, we were
fortunate to have the blessings of some of the
major scholars in the world of culture and reli-
gion. We thank Chinua Achebe, Africa’s greatest
novelist; Kwame Gyekye, one of Africa’s leading
philosophers; Maulana Karenga, the foremost
African writer on ancient Egyptian religion;
Marta Moreno Vega, scholar of African religion
in the Americas; Isidore Okpewho, the eminent
African scholar of myths and epics; and Kofi
Asare Opoku, author of many books and articles
on African religion and one of the leaders in the
field of African proverbs, for lending their names
and reputations to thisEncyclopedia. They gave
their suggestions, waited for our work patiently,
and have become some of our best supporters.
Each of them accepted our request to serve as
board members of the project without hesitation.
Finally, we dedicate this encyclopedia to our
spouses, Ana and Garvey, and our children,
Muswele, Tamu, Kiyaumuya, M. K., Jr., and Eka.Molefi Kete Asante and Ama Mazamaxxx Introduction