Women

Women occupy a paradoxical status in traditional African communities. They possess power and authority in their own right, but also live in some societies that have been reluctant to value the role of women equally alongside that of men. Africa may have started with matriarchal societies, but these were replaced with the intervention of both [Page 724]Arab and European religions and customs. Now the overwhelming majority of African societies are patriarchal. As in all patriarchal societies, women are generally viewed as being second to men. However, they are not considered inferior. In myths, legends, proverbs, and day-to-day life, women are portrayed as partners with God in the creation of human life and, at the same time, the cause of the estrangement between humanity and God; as powerful and weak at the same time; and as helpful companions to men, yet possible wreckers of men's lives.

African traditional religious thought and belief generally recognizes females and males as onto-logically similar. A number of creation stories told among many African peoples show that the two genders were created by the same God with the same substance. A myth among the Tutsi of Rwanda, for instance, indicates that the original man and woman were created and kept in paradise. Other myths such as those of the Akamba, Luo, Turkana, and Luhyia people of Kenya; the Baganda and Banyoro people of Uganda; and the Yoruba and Ibo of Nigeria indicate that the original humans were male and female and were lowered by God unto the Earth.

Some myths also illustrate the fact that it was through a woman that God created the rest of humanity. The Akposso people of Togo, for instance, have a myth that suggests that the first human being was a woman, who brought forth other humans. The same is true of the Ijaw of Nigeria, who believe that the female Woyengi is the Great Creator.

Despite the fact that these myths portray the original woman as the direct link between humanity and God, other myths portray women as the cause of human separation from God. The Akans of Ghana, for instance, have a myth that attributes the retreat of Onyame (God) far into the heavens to a woman's notoriety at pounding fufu (Ghanaian food) at the wrong time and always hitting God with the pestle in the process.

Many African proverbs portray women as valuable and indispensable in society largely due to their procreative and nurturing abilities. Yet women are also presented as potential trouble causers who disrupt the peace of family and community life through jealousy, gossip, hatred, and so on. A Ghanaian proverb says, “A wife is like a woolen blanket: If you cover yourself with it, it irritates you; and yet if you take it away, you feel cold.”

The paradoxical status of women is reflected in the roles they play and the attitudes toward them in both religious circles and the larger society. Their power is manifested in their roles as priestesses, queen mothers, and ritual specialists. Yet they are also considered to be susceptible to witchcraft and other bad spirits with which they can harm others. They are often extolled for their roles as mothers and wives, but they are also to be feared for their ability to ruin men and sometimes their own children.

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