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RELIGION IN AFRICA
RELG/INTS 285Prof. Leslie G. Desmangles
Email: cCook 211
DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE
A study of the indigenous African religious traditions with consideration of their interaction with Western traditions. Topics include among others the African concepts, mankind, ancestor reverence, sacrifice, the rites of passage, witchcraft, magic and sorcery.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE
You will read the assignments in their entirety before class.Readings will be assigned as the course progresses.
In this course no Incomplete will be givenas a final course grade. You will submit all written
assignments, take all examinations and quizzes on the due date, and during the semester in which
you take the course.
Class time is important and essential to the learning process therefore we will follow these simple
rules of courtesy:
1.Refrain from walking in and out of the room during class time.
2.Turn off all cell phones, blackberries, palm pilots, beeping watches and all other
electronic noise producing devices before class.
3.“Texting” during class is prohibited.
4.The use of the Internet including the typing and receiving of e-mails during class time is
prohibited.
You are expectedto attend all the classes during the term. You may only miss three classes, and more
than three absences will result in the lowering of your course grade by one letter.
Three major "inclass" examinations (including the final) will be given during the semester. These will
count as 50 percent of your final course grade. Each member of the class will make an oral presentation
and lead a discussion on an assigned topic. As a presenter, you are expected to raise questions to the
class and lead a discussion on the subject of the presentation. You will then summarize your presentation
by submitting a paper of 7 pages in length oneweek after the day of the presentation, a time that will allow
you to incorporate into your paper various suggestions or ideas that emerge from the class discussion.
Your report and paper will count as 25 percent of your final course grade. Papers will due on the day on
which they are due. Late papers will be graded down by one letter.
In addition, three periodic quizzes will be given during the semester; these will count as the remaining 25
percent of your course grade. Rest assured that you cannot receive a passing grade in this
course unless you complete all the assignments during the semester.
Many of you will plan to fly home at the end of the semester, or shortly before or after spring break,
or again before or after weekends. Plan accordingly; make your reservations early during the semester,
and plan to travel on days other than those on which the college is officially in session. Hence, if you
plan to fly home at the end of the semester, make your plane reservation long before final examination
week. The Registrar's Office sets the date for the final examination and publishes it sometime during
the previous academic year for the following year. You should be able to plan your schedule
accordingly. Be assured that the instructor will not give the final examination on anyday other than
the one assigned by the college's Registrar's Office. You are expected to take your final
examination on that day.
TEXTS AND ARTICLES
Desmangles, L.The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman
Catholicism in Haiti
Eliade, M.Myth and Reality
Magesa, L.African Religion: the Moral Traditions of Abundant
Life
Ray, B.African Traditional Religions
Turner, V.The Forest of Symbol
Zuesse, E.Ritual Cosmos
*ARTICLES AND SELECTIONS FROM BOOKS
Busia"The Ashanti" in African Worlds. Daryll Forde, ed.
Forde, D.African Worlds
Geertz"Religion as a Cultural System"
Griaule.“The Dogon” in African Worlds. Daryll Forde ed.
Jahn Muntu
Lienhardt"The Shilluk" in African Worlds. Daryll Forde, ed.
Linton"Nativistic Movements"
MbitiAfrican Religion and Philosophy
Middleton"Theories of Magic"
Mugambi, J.N.K.African Heritage and Contemporary Christianity
TempelsBantu Philosophy
TurnbullThe Forest People
READING LIST & COURSE OUTLINE
I. Introduction
- The Meaning of traditional in African Traditional Religions
Read: Magesa African Religion - Chapter 1
B. Approaches to the study of African Traditional Religions
Read: RayIntroduction- African religions: some basic concepts
Magesa African Religion Chapter 1 – Defining African Religion
ZuesseRitual Cosmos–Introduction
*Geertz"Religion as a Cultural System"
- African Religions and Morality
Read: Magesa African Religion Chapter 2
II. Myth and Worldview
Read: RayAfrican Religion Part I
*MbitiAfrican Religion and Philosophy" -Concepts of Space and Time"
EliadeMyth and Reality
EXAM
A. The Hunting Religion and Ritual
Read: *TurnbullThe Forest People- “The song of the Forest, Chapter 4
ZuesseRitual Cosmos Chapters 1 and 2
B.Agricultural Religions
Read: *Griaule"The Dogon" (Forde)
ZuesseRitual Cosmos Chapter4–“Maiden and Serpent: Rituals of Space Among the Ila”
Zuesse Ritual Cosmos Chapter 5 – “Primordial Madness”
*Mercier“The Fon” (Forde)
*DesmanglesThe Faces of the Gods - “Vodou Cosmology”
*Lienhardt"The Shilluk" (Forde)
EXAM
III. Divinity and Experience
A. The Concept of God in African Traditional Religions
Read: TempelsBantu Philosophy Chapters I & II
RayAfrican Religions,Chapter 2 - Concepts of God among the Yoruba and the Dinka”
ZuesseRitual Cosmos, chapter 10 – “The Experience of Trance Possession”
B. African Concept of Self, Ancestral Reverence & Spirit Possessions
Read: RayAfrican Religions “Man, Ancestors and Ethics” - Chapter 5
*TempelsChapters 2 and 4
*BusiaAfrican Worlds - "The Ashanti"
*JahnMuntu - "Ntu"
II. Ritual Structures.
A. Religious Specialists
Read: RayAfrican Religions, Chapter 3, 4-“Religious Authorities”
*Evans-PritchardThe Nuer ,Chapter 12
- Animal Sacrifice
- Rite of Passage
Read: RayAfrican Religions, review Chapter 3
TurnerForest of Symbols, Chapters 1-3
TurnerForest of Symbol, Chapters 4-7
Zuesse Chapter 6- “Esoterism and Bodily Knowledge”
Zuesse Chapter 7- “Initiation and the Meaning of
Knowledge”
MagesaChapter 3 - Conception, Birth and Initiation
MagesaChapter 4 - Marriage
EXAM
A. Magic, Witchcraft and Sorcery, Divination, Sacrifices and Offerings
Read: *Middleton"Theories of Magic"
MagesaAfrican Religion, Chapters 5 –“The Enemies of Life”
MagesaAfrican Religion, Chapter 6 – “Restoring the Force of Life”
ZuesseRitual Cosmos, Chapter 11 – “Divination and
Transcendental Wisdom”
III. New Religious expressions in African and African American religions.
A. General theory of culture change and culture contact.
Read: *Linton "Nativistic Movements"
RayAfrican Religions, Chapters 6 and 8- “
ZuesseRitual Cosmos,Chapter 6 - “World Out of Joint,Millenary Cults and Conflict of Experience and Knowledge”
B. African Christianity
Read: RayChapter 8
MugambiAfrican Heritage and … Chapter II-VI
*Desmangles The Faces of the Gods
FINAL EXAM
*Hard copies of these readings are posted on Blackboard.
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