West African Religions
WEST AFRICAN RELIGIONS. West Africa lies between 5° to 23° north latitude, 23° east longitude, and 20° west longitude. It covers about one-fifth of the territory of sub-Saharan Africa and has a population of slightly more than 120 million people, about half of the total intertropical population of Africa. West Africa contains about six hundred ethnic groups, a loose designation with no scientific specificity. Throughout West Africa one finds large cultural variety with various local features.
Traditional religions in West Africa are original systems of relations between human beings and the not ordinarily seen—but not wholly invisible—realm of the divine. There is no concept of original sin for either the individual or the group, but there is a central notion of redemption. The idea of humanity is equated with the lineage, especially with the clan, which is perceived as a social entity bearing the spiritual principle that defines the clan's originality and distinguishes it from other clans. In this context redemption is based in the individual; through the individual as intermediary, redemption extends to the level of the entire family or clan. Individuals can be seen, then, as their own redeemers; eschatology is thus a short-term operation, part secular and part religious.
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