importance to studying a body of knowledge
referred to as the Oral Scriptures. They teach that
by this study one’s soul is advanced; the aspirant’s
earthly consciousness, Ori, is raised to the level of
a heavenly consciousness called Iponri. A devo-
tee’s destiny, Ayanmo, is to achieve inner realiza-
tion of divinity and to live on the material plane as
an example of this achievement.
Death is not a finality because the spirit person
is then brought before Olofin, the son of God,
where a recounting of the spirit person’s life on
Earth takes place. The reward for living a righ-
teous life is eternal life granted by the Supreme
Deity. The spirit person is transformed into rain
that falls into bodies of water on Earth. At this
point, a further change takes place in which the
rain is turned into stone. During a ceremony, rela-
tives of the deceased visit a nearby lake or stream
and search for the rain stones by touch and affin-
ity. The stones are then wrapped in the same color
cloth as the protecting deity of the deceased.
Inside the home, these stones are placed in a clay
bowl that becomes a shrine where the family
members conduct rituals and offer prayers.
The Dogon people say humans have one couple
of twin souls of opposite sex and four sex souls.
The Nupe people say humans have two souls.
Upon the death of the individual, one soul returns
to God while the other reincarnates. In contrast,
The Mandari do not recognize an individual soul,
but only a life principal that they say returns to
the creator when an organism dies.
According to the BaManiangas of the Kongo, a
living person has a physical body, an invisible
body, and a soul. At death, both the invisible body
and soul depart for the other world. This combina-
tion is referred to as the life body because it con-
tinues to live. The immortality of the invisible body
is due to its investiture by the soul. After death, the
invisible body may be seen by immediate family,
and it is this body that is recognized by the other
world. Conversely, the soul cannot be seen by the
living, is an independent power, and may leave
the body for short periods during sleep, when its
whereabouts are indicated in the dream state.
In Mende society, humans have souls, and as
ancestors they perform intermediary duties between
the living and the Supreme Being. Although the
ancestors are spiritual beings, they still maintain and
can act out their previous passions and appetites.
This belief is no small reason that the community is
concerned and takes care in their ritual observances.
In the Akan teachings, the soul of human
beings existed with God prior to being born in the
flesh. The soul is regarded as the life force that
animates the body and is immortal. Akan meta-
physics says the soul comes from an individual’s
maternal ancestors and ego from paternal ances-
try. It is also believed that only humans possess
ego and soul. When a person dies, the soul is
replaced by the ghost soul that does not inhabit
the body, but at the same time is not a separate
entity. The nature of the ghost soul is both ethe-
real and corporeal. In the Akan doctrine, two
types of souls are posited. Those individuals who
live a life of merit and achievement are accorded
the title of Nana after death. This acclaim distin-
guishes them as ancestors who are represented in
clan shrines and are entitled to propitiation and
reverence. Souls who are not remembered by the
living are considered extinct.
The Sisala cosmology in some ways is much
like that of the Kongo, Mende, and Akan. Sisala
cosmology purports that every living person has
a soul that originated with God and that this
soul is the life force of the body. The Sisalas
believe the soul can leave the body during sleep,
feinting, or death. They also believe all living
things have souls, and even shrines and medi-
cines are considered to have soul substance and,
therefore, are living things. The Sisalas have two
material objects that symbolize soul. One is an
iron bracelet worn on the right wrist, and the
other is their mud altar. To live in the village of
the ancestors is highly desirable, but one can
only remain there through the sacrifice and pro-
pitiation of the living. When an individual is no
longer remembered, his or her soul joins the
realm of forgotten spirits.
Some African philosophies allow a soul to be in
more than one place at the same time. For exam-
ple, a soul could be at the grave site, in the land
of the dead, and reincarnated on Earth. In much
of African tradition, when a soul is no longer
remembered, it has reached the finality of death. It
is believed that the destiny of all humans is spirit.Zetla K. ElviSee alsoBa; Death; Ka628 Soul