the traditional african folk religions or traditional beliefs and practices of
african people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions welcome to
tuna cheeky and in today's video we will look at the top 10 african countries that still practice
traditional african religion and spirituality before we get into the video remember to
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number 10 cameroon while some of the people converted to islam in christianity a section
of the cameroonian people mainly in the rural areas still retained their indigenous religious
practices these people make up 4.3 percent of the population some of their practices include rituals
animal sacrifices ancestors and spirit worship the nyango society is an example of a supposed group
of people who practice traditional spirituality in the country today the belief in this society can
be found from the coast of cameroon to the bakushi and betty people in the interior of the country
it is even found amongst the northern parts of the country with the bamilike and bamenda peoples
number nine tanzania with over 120 tribes in tanzania there's a plethora
of traditional native beliefs coexisting with each other and alongside christianity
and islam although each of the indigenous tribes have their own set of beliefs and
there are many similarities because they draw on similar environmental conditions and have had
social cultural exchanges for centuries indigenous beliefs in tanzania are often animist which is a
belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena
number eight kenya although traditional beliefs and practices vary in detail among kenya's ethnic
group they share many general characteristics almost all involve belief in an eternal
omnipotent creator envisioned as remote from men many indigenous religions also recognize spiritual
forces at work in the world that are closer to the living and more involved in their daily affairs
if men and women please the spirit success is a short if they incur the spirit anger illness
or evil may occur number seven south africa the earliest known religion in south africa
was traditional belief in practices of the kosan people who resided in the region for centuries
today south africa is home to a diversity of traditional african practices with roughly
five percent of the population identifying with a traditional african religion a respect for the
past and present elders plays an important role in most traditional african religions people tend
to maintain a spiritual connection with their ancestors through various activities such as
prayer some traditions may have a spiritual leader who has various responsibilities
number six ghana despite the presence of islam and christianity traditional religions in ghana have
retained their influence because of their intimate relations to families loyalty and local moors
the traditional cosmology expresses belief in a supreme being referred to by the akhan as nyami or
by the e way as mao the supreme being is usually thought of as remote from daily religious life and
is therefore not directly worshiped there are also the lesser gods that take residency in streams
rivers trees and mountains these gods are generally perceived as intermediaries between
the supreme being and society ancestors and numerous other spirits are also recognized
as part of the cosmological order for all ghanian ethnic groups the spirit world is considered to be
as real as a world of the living number five drc though only 11.5 of congolese exclusively follow
indigenous beliefs these traditional belief systems are often intermingled with forms of
christianity and are familiar to the majority of the congolese throughout the drc the beliefs take
on a number of forms but they have a number of things in common a creator spirit is thought to
be sovereign of the spirit world but this god is rarely the direct cause of events a belief
in an essential life force which animates the body the force is thought to leave the body upon death
and become an ancestral spirit nature spirits worshiped mainly in forest regions are often
the embodiments of particular locations such as whirlpools springs and mountains diviners witches
dream interpreters and healers act as concretes for supernatural forces
number four malawi this by the influence from the missionaries and arab traders six percent of the
malawian population still hold to the traditional african beliefs that focuses on belief in a
supreme being spirit variation of the death use of magic as well as traditional witchcraft along with
the major organized religions and a missed belief are still strong in many areas of the country and
these beliefs often influence organized regions as well the gandhi people of malawi expressed their
traditional religions in two cycles of rituals one concerning families the other chief dumbs
and groups of chief dumbs celebrations of these rituals involved acting out dramas that express
the proper relationship among humans and between humanity and divinity in essence
number three republic of the congo while african missionaries try to eradicate traditional
spirituality they fail to eradicate deeply held faith in intermediary deities ancestors veneration
and magic many congolese have faced concurrently in elements of christianity and traditional
religions messianic groups formalize a sinkriti movement combining elements of christianity with
traditional religion and often political ideals founded by africans the continued influence of
traditional african religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life in the country
as most people still consult additional healers when someone in their household is sick
number two nigeria traditional religions still exist and play a part in people's lives
in nigeria today those practicing these indigenous religions only among with those with other beliefs
atheists and non-believers make around 6.3 percent of the total population of the country
traditional religions are often affiliated with the seat of the king of the indigenous nigeria
most people who consider themselves good muslims or good christians often also
follow local religious practices this makes up for perceived shortcomings in their religion
most indigenous religions are based on a form of ancestral worship in which family members
who have passed into the spirit world can influence things in the world of the living
and the number one african country that still practices african traditional religion
and spirituality goes to benin wuduan or vudu is practiced by the ajah and font peoples
of benin togo ghana and nigeria it is distinct from the various traditional african religions
in the interiors of these countries and is the main source of religion with similar names
found amongst the african diaspora in the americas such as haitian voodoo the swanna
louisiana voodoo cuban voodoo dominican voodoo and brazilian voodoo voodoo has none of the
negative connotation it has in the west and many of those who are officially christian or muslim
also incorporate some voodoo elements in their beliefs especially in times of crisis it is also
more than a belief system it is a complete way of life including culture philosophy language art
dance music and medicine voodoo priest asked gods to intervene on behalf of ordinary people
but locals adherents stress that they have nothing to do with sorcery or black magic
do you enjoy our videos is there any african country you think deserve to be on this list
that we left out if so do leave your comments below thank you for watching
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