Agricultural Rites

The manner in which different African cultural groups perceive and use land influences their agricultural rituals. In those societies that rely heavily on agriculture for both their sustenance and economy, compared with herding peoples, the rituals surrounding agriculture are central to the people and the most elaborate. They are sacred rites that secure the communities' continued survival.

In many cultures, the agricultural cycle, along with its accompanying weather, mark time and define the year: planting, harvesting, the dry season, the rainy season, followed by planting again. The names of months found among the Latuka people—“Let them dig!” “Grain in the Ear,” “Dirty Mouth,” and “Sweet grain”—show how agricultural cycles influence everyday time reckoning. People traditionally keep track of their ages in terms of how many agricultural cycles they have lived through. Children are named according to these cycles, such as Azmera, a female name from Ethiopia meaning harvest, and Wekesa, a male name from the Luya of Kenya meaning born during harvest time.

Agricultural rites can be divided into three general categories: those for the planting, maturation, and harvesting of crops. Planting rituals prepare the ground, seeds, tools, and people for the upcoming growing season to ensure the crop's success. Maturation rituals occur once the crops begin growing and address factors that can keep crops from ripening properly, such as not enough, [Page 17]or too much water, insects, or animals. Harvest rituals give thanks for the crop and are the most festive occasions. All of the rituals in the agricultural cycle acknowledge and propitiate various spiritual forces involved in the producing of food. This entry describes rites in each cycle and looks at related mythology.