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Ancestor Worship in Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

James Thayer Addison
James Thayer Addison
Affiliation:
Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge
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Extract

Evidence for the existence of ancestor worship among the uncivilized peoples of Africa is varied and abundant. Outside the limited range of Mohammedan and Christian influence, there are few tribes whose religion has been reported with any care that do not appear to practice ancestor worship in some form. Without any attempt to provide a complete volume of testimony, and with the purpose only to indicate the wide range and diversity of these practices, we shall review geographically a portion of the facts available, passing across the map somewhat irregularly from northwest to southeast.

Type
Research Article
Information
Harvard Theological Review , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , April 1924 , pp. 155 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College 1924

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References

1 The authorities quoted for the facts which follow include government officials, missionaries, anthropologists, and travellers. Though their testimony is of unequal value, most of them are first-hand observers, and the majority of their works are of fairly recent date. The spelling of tribal names will not satisfy everyone; but there is no method of spelling these names which does satisfy everyone.

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