The question of monotheism or
polytheism is not an African question. It is profoundly a Western question.
Most Africans believe in a Supreme God who creates the universe or causes it to
be created, although it is believed that this entity may remain distant because
the Supreme Deity is not a manager, but a creator.
Although there is a unity to
African religion, there are many variations to the characteristics, rituals and
ceremonies, and details of practice related to the Deity. For example, the
Asante, an Akan-speaking people of Ghana, and the Yoruba people of Nigeria
believe in one great God and are politically monarchical but have no regular
worship of the Almighty. Yet both the Gikuyu people of Kenya and the Ibo people
of Nigeria are individualistic and believe in one great God, but the Gikuyu
make sacrifices to Ngai, who remains distant but respected, where the Ibo’s
Supreme God, Chukwu, is not regularly worshipped in any sense.
Using the African system of
understanding, the nature of being one cannot conclude that there is only one
divinity. Neither can one conclude that there are many creator deities. At
best, one must accept that the nature of the divinity is one, but the
attributes of the one is found in the numerous manifestations of the one as the
many. To say that the nature of the divinity is one is different from claiming
that there is only one divinity, although in most African societies, there is
only one aspect of the divinity that is responsible for creation. However,
polytheism in the sense of several super deities responsible for human society
does not exist. Yet there is every reason to believe that there is a divinity,
spirit, or ancestor that can relate to every human activity.
Even among the Gikuyu, when a taboo
is broken or an injury is caused to someone by another person, one may appeal
to the ancestors for the proper remedy. Ngai does not bother with the affairs
of one person, but rather with the entire people, the whole ethnic group, and
the entire nation. Thus, the Gikuyu are similar to other African people in
terms of communion with the ancestors and ritual sacrifices. Nevertheless, the
Gikuyu are not polytheistic. The names of the Supreme God are many. Among the
Masai, like the Gikuyu, their neighbors, God is called Ngai. Among the Mende,
the name Ngewo, which means existing from the beginning, also means Almighty.
The Asante believe in Nyankopon, who may be female or male. The Ga people of
Ghana use the name Nyonmo, who is the god of rain, but is also Almighty. The
Yoruba of Nigeria speak of God as Olorun, owner of the sky. The Ngombe believe
in a supreme spirit called Akongo, the beginner and the unending, Almighty and
inexplicable. The Baganda use the name Katonda for Almighty God. Among the
Kikuyu, God is referred to as Ngai, the creator. The Kikuyu also use the name
Murungu, which means the one who lives in the four sacred mountains and is the
possessor of the sky. About 25 other ethnic groups use the name Mulungu or
Murungu for Almighty God. The Baila people call God Leza. In Tanzania and
Congo, the name Leza is often used for the divinity, the supreme. The Sotho say
that the Supreme God is Molimo, protector and father. To the Zulu, the Almighty
is Nkulunkulu. The Efik or Ibibio people of Nigeria call the name of the
Supreme God Abasi. But the Ijaw speak of Woyengi, the Mother Goddess, who
created the universe and everything in it.
What are your thoughts?
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