Chapter 2 - Religions of Africa

abathakati

In Zulu society, a person who uses spiritual forces for evil ends. A witch or wizard.

Akh

A part of the soul; the ghost that went to the land of the blessed.

Amon-Re

A sun god of Egypt. His symbol was the obelisk, a ray of the sun. Amon, originally the god of Thebes, became highest god in 2000 B.C.E. when Thebes dominated all Egypt.

Ankh

In Egypt, the circle-topped cross representing life. Some forms incorporate a cat on top of the circle.

Ase

Spiritual forces of the Yoruba; divine energy.

Aton

In Egypt, this god’s symbol was a disc, representing the sun. After Akhenaton established his throne in Akhetaton, Aton was the only god worshiped.

Awon Iya Wa

Yoruba term for “the mothers.”

Aworo

A priest of the yoruba

Ba

In Egypt, a kind of human consciousness. Sometimes described as the soul.

Babalawo

A Yoruba diviner.

Diviners

Women who are spirit possessed and know how to discover people’s destinies.

Efile Mukulu

Among the Congolese Basongye, the chief god of good. His counterpart is the evil god, Kafilefile

Esu

A Yoruba god who is amoral; he is a trickster deity and a messenger

Hathor

The Egyptian goddess who created the world. Her symbol was a woman’s body with the head of a cow.

Herbalist

Men who prescribe medicine for healing.

Horus

In Egypt, the son of Isis and Osiris who opposed his uncle, Seth. Horus was also the sun, symbolized by a falcon.

Ife

The most sacred city of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria.

Ihlambo

The ceremony of washing spears after mourning the death of a Zulu chief

Inkosazana

The Zulu Princess of Heaven, who assists women and girls.

Inkosi Yezulu

In Zulu religion, one name for the god of the sky.

isangoma

A Zulu woman diviner.

Isis

In Egypt, the wife of Osiris, god of the dead, and the mother of their son, Horus. She was the giver of life.

izinyanga zezulu

The deity in Zulu religion who herds weather or sky as boys herd cattle.

Ka

In Egypt, divine breath that supported life. Sometimes referred to as the soul.

Kafilefile

Among the Congolese Basongye, the god of evil. His counterpart is the good god, Efile Mukulu.

kikudu

The soul of a human being that may live after the death of the body.

mankishi

Among the Congolese Basongye, a small carved figure used to represent a child desired by a couple. The figure can also be used to bring success in fishing and to protect homes and people from bad magic.

Mayet

The Egyptian goddess of order and truth, who prompted the deceased at the time of judgment

mikishi

Among the Congolese Basongye, human spirits bent on doing harm. Sorcerers can control them.

Mut

In Egypt, a goddess whose symbol was the cat.

Nubians

People of the southern Nile valley; neighbors of the ancient Egyptians. Their leaders formed the twenty-fifth dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs.

Oba

A chief or king of the Yoruba

Obatala

Creator of earth, according to the Yoruba, who brought to it sixteen people created by Olorun.

Odudwa

A Yoruba creation god associated with the city of Ife

Olodumare

In Yoruba religion, supreme deity of the sky. Also called Olorun.

Olorun

Supreme deity of the sky in Yoruba religion.

Orisha

Various Yoruba spirits

Orisha-nla

A Yoruba creation god.

Orun

In Yoruba religion, the supreme king; the sky. Also known as Olodumare

Oshun

Yoruba mother goddess.

Osiris

In Egyptian myth, a king who became lord of the underworld. With his wife, Isis, he fathered Horus, the king of Egypt

Seth

In Egyptian myths, the wicked brother of Osiris. He stole the third eye from Osiris. Horus, the son of Osiris, fought Seth and recovered the third eye, symbol of kingship in Egypt

ubuthongo

Zulu term for deep sleep in which ancestors can appear.

ukubuyisa idlozi rite

The Zulu ritual of bringing home the ancestor after a period of mourning.

u mueling angi

In the creation story of Zulus, the first “comer out,” followed by humans, animals, and nature.

umnayama

Zulu term for a weakened state that makes a person vulnerable to environmental influences.

umnumzane

The head of the kraal in Zulu society.

umsamo

In Zulu religion, the place where people communicate with ancestors.

Zulu

A member of the Bantu peoples of southeast Africa. Inhabitants of South Africa.

Ancient Egyptians

Who had the absolute belief that sky, earth, river and sun are forms of life?

Ancient Egyptians

Who had the symbol of the temple representing a mansion of the gods home on earth?