What Is Not Sacred? African Spirituality

Abstract

T his book addresses the worldview or spirituality of the peoples of Africa south of the Sahara desert, sometimes called black Africa. It is, therefore, important to note from the start that in this work the designation “Africa” is generally used as shorthand for this part of the vast continent, whose peoples are racially black and spiritually guided by a perception of life that is fundamentally neither specifically “Christian” nor exclusively “Muslim.” Thus, Africa, as used in these pages, with only very few occasional references, generally excludes the populations of the northern region of the continent, which is predominantly racially Arab and religiously Muslim. The qualifier “predominantly” in this context, I must insist, is important and crucial for a proper appreciation of the validity of my general geographical option for consideration: in both the south and the north of the continent, people of either race and faith can certainly be found, but in very unequal numbers and influence, specifically in terms of (spiritual) worldview.