Rituals

Rituals Connect Communities to God and Ancestors

The African worldview is holistic, and its spiritual philosophy does not distinguish sharply between sacred and mundane experience. Everything is connected. A Supreme Being exists who resides in everything that exists and is therefore part of everything that exists. African rituals are the ultimate expression of this worldview. This can be demonstrated using the Akan concept of God as an example.

Among the Akan, Odomankoma (also known as Nyankopon, Nyame, Onyame, and other names) is, first and foremost, the Great Ancestor. Every head of a family or community is understood to be descended from and must live according to the dignity of the first ancestor. It follows as well that there is connectedness in all life, including human life, that is realized through the continuous flow of blood from the Great Source who is Odomankoma. Throughout the African world, it is understood that to be human means to belong to a community. The purpose of community for the Akan is to ensure the continuity of the connection with Odomankoma, who is the source of all life.

Belonging to a community obligates one to participate in the rituals and rites attendant to the community's beliefs, ceremonies, and festivals. Furthermore, it is believed that the Dead form a community of their own, which exists alongside the community of the living, and the two are assumed to be united in a partnership beneficial to both communities. Through communities, the collective responsibility of humanity is reflected in efforts to affirm the value of life and endeavors to create and maintain a quality of living that lives up to the dignity of the original ancestor. For the descendants of the first ancestor to fall short of the ideal is a contradiction of the responsibility that befalls humanity and that should serve as its inspiration. Through rituals, new life is given to the African spirit.

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