Encyclopedia of African Religion

claimed that these may be used as charms or
votive objects by Sango worshippers.

Deji Ayegboyin and S.K.Olajide

SeealsoShango

Further Readings

Awolalu, J. O. (1979).Yoruba Beliefs,Sacrificial Rites.
London: Longman.
Courlander, H. (1973).Tales of Yoruba Gods and
Heroes. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett.
Daramola, O., & Jeje, A. (1970).Awon Asa ati Orisa Ile
Yoruba. Ibadan, Nigeria: Onibonoje Press.
Mbiti, J. S. (1969).African Religions and Philosophy.
London: Heinemann.
Mbiti, J. S. (1970).Concepts of God in Africa. London:
S.P.C.K.

TIBONANJ

Within the Vodu ontological structure in Haiti,
the human being is conceived of as being made of
three parts: Although the most obvious one is the
physical body, the human being also has a bipar-
tite spiritual component, the tibonanj and the
gwobonanj. Whereas the gwobonanj is the mani-
festation in human life of the immortal and divine
spirit, God itself, the tibonanj represents the more
personal side of an individual. This ontological
structure is reminiscent of and derives from origi-
nal African ontological models, such as the
ancient Egyptian spiritual dualityka/baor the Fon
semedo/selido.
The tibonanj has essentially two functions.
First, it plays an identifying role because it repre-
sents one’s unique qualities and one’s personality.
In that respect, the tibonanj can be controlled by
another person through spells. The second impor-
tant function of the tibonanj is moral because it
represents one’s conscience and one’s morality, as
revealed in one’s actions. The tibonanj ultimately
allows one to distinguish between what is right
and what is wrong and hopefully make the
morally correct decisions.
Haitian Voduists do not necessarily think of the
gwobonanj and the tibonanj as separate entities.

Much to the contrary, they believe that both are

tied into an organic relationship on which the

well-being of the person is predicated. The tibo-

nanj and the gwobonanj must function in har-

mony because they ultimately mirror one another.

Only at the time of death will the gwobonanj and

the tibonanj separate. The tibonanj will not leave

the Earth until the ninth day after death has

occurred. Although much attention is paid to the

gwobonanj at the time of death, this is not the

case with the tibonanj, which, on being expelled

from the body with the last breath, assumes an

anonymous status, and becomes of little, if any,

use to the living.

Ama Mazama

SeealsoBa; Ka

Further Readings

Crosley, R. (2000). TheVodou Quantum Leap:

Alternative Realities,Power and Mysticism. St. Paul,

MN: Llewellyn.

Deren, M. (1972).The Divine Horsemen:The Voodoo

Gods of Haiti. New York: Delta.

Desmangles, L. (1994).Faces of the Gods:Vodou and

Roman Catholicism in Haiti. Chapel Hill: University

of North Carolina Press.

McCarthy Brown, K. (1991).Mama Lola:A Vodou

Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University of

California Press.

Métraux, A. (1958).Le Vaudou Haitien. Paris:

Gallimard.

TIME

Perhaps one of the most discussed concepts in

relation to religion and philosophy in Africa is

time. Time has been postulated as the distinctive

element in defining the religious reality and philo-

sophical thought of the African peoples. This was

originally formulated by the famed African

theologian and philosopher John S. Mbiti, who

argued that the African concept of time is distinct

from the Western mode of formulating time.

Although critiqued by subsequent African scholars,

the basic premise of the theory still holds.

664 Tibonanj