Chapter 12 — Indigenous Traditions of Africa and Asia
Introduction
Africa and Asia contain vast numbers of Indigenous and traditional religions.
The diversity is so great that any single chapter can provide only a broad introduction.
African traditional religions differ from one another.
So do the traditions of:
- Siberian peoples;
- Ainu;
- hill peoples of South and Southeast Asia;
- Indigenous peoples of Taiwan;
- and numerous other communities.
The purpose here is not to merge them into one system but to identify selected themes.
African Traditional Religions
Many African religious systems include combinations of:
- a supreme being;
- lesser spiritual beings;
- ancestors;
- divination;
- healing;
- sacred kingship;
- and communal ritual.
The precise structure varies greatly among peoples.
Supreme Beings
Older Western scholarship sometimes assumed that African religions were purely polytheistic.
In reality, many traditions recognize a supreme creator.
However, everyday religious practice may focus heavily on:
- ancestors;
- local spirits;
- or intermediaries.
Ancestors
Ancestors frequently occupy an important place in African traditional religions.
They may be regarded as continuing members of the community whose moral concern extends to descendants.
Funeral rites can help integrate the deceased into ancestral status.
Divination
Some African societies developed highly elaborate systems of divination.
Diviners may diagnose:
- illness;
- social conflict;
- spiritual imbalance;
- or the causes of misfortune.
From a Christian perspective, the use of divination creates a direct conflict with biblical prohibitions.
Sacred Kingship
In some societies, political authority carries sacred significance.
Kings may be associated with:
- fertility;
- rain;
- ancestors;
- or cosmic order.
Political and religious leadership therefore overlap.
Yoruba Traditions
Yoruba religion developed a rich theological and ritual world involving a supreme deity and numerous orisa.
The orisa are associated with different powers, histories, and areas of life.
Yoruba traditions later influenced religions in the Americas through the Atlantic slave trade.
African Diaspora Religions
Religions such as Santería, Candomblé, and Vodou developed through the interaction of African traditions, colonial circumstances, and Christianity.
They are not simply unchanged African religions.
They are historically new religious formations created under conditions of displacement and slavery.
Indigenous Asian Traditions
Asia contains numerous traditions outside the large religions normally associated with the continent.
Indigenous peoples may maintain religious systems centered upon:
- ancestors;
- local spirits;
- mountains;
- forests;
- hunting;
- shamanic practices;
- and sacred landscapes.
Siberian Traditions
Some Siberian peoples developed the religious practices from which the term shaman entered Western scholarship.
Religious specialists may enter trance and be understood as communicating with spirits or traveling spiritually between cosmic realms.
The Ainu
The Ainu, Indigenous to northern Japan and neighboring regions, traditionally understood the world as populated by spiritual beings commonly called kamuy.
Animals and natural phenomena could be associated with these beings.
Bear ceremonies became particularly well known.
Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan
Taiwan is home to multiple Indigenous peoples with distinct languages and religious traditions.
Traditional practices include combinations of:
- ancestors;
- hunting rituals;
- agricultural ceremonies;
- spiritual specialists;
- and clan traditions.
Christianity has become influential among a number of these communities.
South and Southeast Asia
Numerous Indigenous and tribal communities live across India and Southeast Asia.
Their religions may include:
- ancestor traditions;
- village spirits;
- sacred groves;
- agricultural rituals;
- and healing practices.
Long contact with Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity has produced complex religious interactions.
Sacred Groves
In parts of Africa and Asia, forests or groves may be protected because of religious significance.
Such sites may be associated with:
- ancestors;
- spirits;
- ritual;
- or community identity.
Religious restrictions can sometimes have the practical effect of preserving biodiversity.
Christianity in Africa
Christianity has ancient roots in Africa, long predating modern European colonialism.
African Christianity therefore should not be described simply as a European import.
Egypt, Ethiopia, and North Africa were major centers of early Christianity.
Modern African Christianity has also grown through Indigenous evangelism and leadership.
Christianity in Indigenous Asian Communities
In some Indigenous Asian communities, Christianity has provided:
- education;
- literacy;
- new forms of community;
- or political identity.
In others, conversion has created conflict with ancestral traditions.
The experience varies by people and region.
Berean Reflection
This chapter demonstrates the danger of treating “Indigenous religion” as a single global system.
Africa and Asia contain religious traditions of enormous sophistication and diversity.
A Christian approach must therefore evaluate actual beliefs rather than stereotypes.
The Berean principle remains:
“Test everything; hold fast what is good.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Questions for Further Study
- Why is it misleading to describe African traditional religion as one religion?
- How can belief in a supreme creator coexist with extensive ancestor practices?
- Why did the word shaman become globally generalized?
- How did displacement create new African diaspora religions?
- How have Indigenous Asian religions interacted with larger neighboring religions?
- Why must Christian comparison be conducted tradition by tradition?
Next Chapter: Chapter 13 — Colonialism, Missionaries, and Religious Suppression