basic beliefs of afrocentric faiths
afrocentric - african centered - of african people
basic tenants that verify the Africanity of a religion. without any of these - you are not looking at an african religion
1. Homage to the Ancestors
2. Divination & Posession as a Means of Communication w/ God
3. Character Development
4. Sacrifice & Ritual
5. Priest/Devotees - Guru/Student Relationships
6. Using Multiple Lesser (g)ods as a Means of Understanding One Uncomprehensible God
7. Reincarnation
8. Acknowledgement of a Spiritworld
9. Practice through a specific Lineage traceable to its founder, and then to Africa
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more tidbits:
- Ancestors are real. You can talk to them. They can give you advice on whats going on in your life. They can literally talk to you. They can protect you. They can fight for You. You should offer them sacrifice.
- Living religions maintain a verifible means of authenicating any message received or delivered. Divination and possession are used access directly to the Creator. Any event from the past, present or future can be studied in these two ways.
- You must develop ethics. You must grow. You must challenge yourself.
- You must sacrifice something to get something. You should use the alchemy passed down by past generations if you want to insure your sacrificial success. Just as you must attend medical school if you dont wish to make the mistakes of pasts doctors.
- Everyone has a teacher. Everyone must be willing to submit. Submitting to a teacher or idea is uncomfortable. This is a part of the experience. No one is capable of learning as much alone as they can with a teacher.
- There is ONE God, who is understood through a variety of personalities. We are multiple personalities and attitudes in one body.
- You will back until you learn everything you are sent here to know.
- You are not the only thing that exists. You are not the center of the Universe. There are spirits all around you. Some masquerade as humans, animals etc. We all come from the same place, the Creator - which is the sum total of every reality and dream in one.
- Genuine indigenous faiths of ALL colored people practice through lineage. If someone wishes to introduce to a tradition, they must first introduce to their lineage or they are frauds.
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More Components of The African Spiritual Tradition
http://onepeoples.com/current/africanspiritual.html What I wish to do is pose an obvious and straight-forward question. Is there a specifically African spirituality?
1. Most African ethnic groups believe in one God who created the Universe and all that is contained in it.
2. That there is Divinities-parts of God-who deal with the governing of the Universe in general and the affairs of humanity on earth in particular. There are forces that build up, some that break down and those in equilibrium.
3. That the Souls of humans live on after death and can reincarnate back into the world of humanity.
4. That ancestral souls must be remembered and honored and consulted by the living.
5. Divination is practiced.
6. They believe in the use of offerings and blood sacrifice to elevate their prayers to the Divinities-ultimately to God- and to the ancestors, from a belief in the system of "Nothing for Nothing."
7. There is a belief in magic and in the magical and medicinal use of herbs, minerals and rocks.
8. Ritual song and dance is mandatory in the worship of God.
9. Men and women can commune with God through the vehicle of trance-possession.
10. Religious festivals are community oriented. There is little or no room for individualism. There are roles for community heads at these festivals, different roles for priests and religious leaders and separate roles for members of the community.
"I am because we are and since we are, therefore I am"
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More On Lineage:
All indigenous faiths are practiced, passed down and protected via lineage. That is certain family, blood and extended, study certain rituals, techniques of prayer, ritual, physical movement, spiritual exercises etc and perfect them. they pass these on as their unique stamp on these spiritual systems. everyone that wishes to practice an indigenous faith must submit to a lineage tradition.
we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.
in america, we can trace most lineages to the actual priest that came here in slavery. many of which actually PURPOSEFULLY were caught and sold, so that our religions would make it here! they swallowed sacred objects critical to recreating shrines and found slavers and took the long journey here knowing they may or may not make it alive. of course, many did make it and now in the caribbean, deep south, and south america we have various african spiritual systems (religions)
anyone that says they practice african religion, but has no lineage is simply "playing make belief" lineage is paramount to all african and asian systems.
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re: animal sacrifice
animals are asked if they are willing to act as messengers to God in ritual.
animals, plant life etc may decline and some other substitute may be needed until you find a willing agent.
african spirituality is alchemy. the combination of certain things creates other things. that is - african religions is scientific. certain plants, certain animals, etc mixed together create certain reactions.. bloood contains "ase" or vital essence and is a part of some alchemistic formulas.
sacrifice is based on recriprocity. all living creatures act as sacrifice to one another at some time or another. its just harder to see this in contemporary society.
i hope this provides a minor perspective. i dont have any desire to go into real depth. its a very difficult to help westerners get past. the only way to go beyond it is to experience for yourself.
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