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ally, religiously, politically, and economically underdeveloped. They set about the tasks of colonizing

and converting them. With the spread of the Europeans' Christianity, many of the native religions were

lost.  This was also true of the Africans who were brought over to the colonies as servants and, even 

tually, as slaves.  The Europeans began a process of re development, which included becoming Christian.

This conversion from African religions to Christianity was handled differently, depending on

the circumstances that the people were placed in.  Some became fully Christian, not consciously hold 

ing on to any native beliefs.  Others completely rebelled, holding on to all aspects of their native tra 

ditions.  Finally, there was a group that was able to seem as if it was practicing Christianity, while it

secretly practiced its native religion.

By the end of the colonial period, the enslaved people had begun searching for a sense of

meaning and identity.  By this time, many of the third and fourth generations of slaves had lost all ties

to their native lands and traditions. They began to look towards their new religion for answers, hardly

looking back to their homeland traditions.  The situation in the Caribbean was rather different.  The

people there had been able to salvage their native culture, and they were able to look back to their

African traditions for solutions to problems.

By understanding the religions of their ancestors, Caribbean peoples were, and still are, able

to use different ideas and remedies from them to help with their daily lives.  Maybe African Americans

can do the same.  If African Americans were to study and to utilize the ideas found in their ancestral

religions, they may be able to look for new solutions to existing problems.  By learning from African

religions, they would be able to understand both the differences and the similarities in practice, and

they would thus gain a sense of pride and satisfaction in knowing that their ancestors' traditions have

not become void.

Unlike many of the Western European countries and the US, there is no separation of church

and state in African countries.  Religion is the way of life  from birth to death.  Everything from a per 

son's name to objects and creatures in nature to the language of the drums are influenced by religion.

Also, there is no unifying religion that dominates the whole of the continent.  Africa is split into numer 

ous tribal communities, and each tribe has its own religion. These religions have various similarities,

although specific names may be different.  One of these similarities is the specialist, found throughout

the continent.  Specialists include kings, queens, priests, prophets, diviners, mediums, rainmakers, and,

most importantly, medicine men.  Each has a unique and essential function.

One of the civilizations of West Africa, found in present day Nigeria, is the Yoruba people.

Originally, they were a group of nearly ten tribes that all spoke the Yoruba language.  Their religious

practice consists of the worshipping the orishas (also seen spelled orisa or oricha).  Orishas are like

gods, but "spirit" would be a better translation. They can be pre existing beings, deified humans, or

nature spirits.  There is a definite hierarchy within these orishas, beginning with the supreme deity,

Olorun (Odolomare).  Olorun is not an ordinary orisha, and Olorun is not to be worshipped like the oth 

ers, because Olorun, being neither male nor female, is too exalted to be approached in a familiar man 

ner. Olorun, existing outside of time and space, is the owner of heaven and of all of creation.  It is said

that after Olorun created the universe and a select number of orishas, the "key" to the universe was

given to the orisha, Obatala.  He is seen as being responsible for the creation of man and the finishing

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African Religion in the Americas     Terrance Graham