AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

1. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION Ninkubukehia antu baria bakweja kiri mucemanio juju narua. Thaa iji nikaritana iguru ria antu ba Meru nuu bakaraga akui kirimana kia Kenya. Nkaritana iguru ria njira Ameru baturaga. Antu baba ni mugango jwa Meru.

2. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION - ATR Why African Traditional Religion Title • Primitive carries negative and demeaning connotations • Basic implies simple or low on evolutionary scale of religion • Traditional refers to emerging from the cultural development • Religion is rooted in tradition rather than scripture

3. CONTINENT OF AFRICA • AFRICA • Size: 11,608,000 sq. miles; second largest continent • % of Earth’s Land: 20.2% • Population: 855,000,000 • Number of Countries: 53 • World’s Longest River: Nile • World’s Largest Desert: Sahara • 4,900 people die daily of AIDS

4. Map of World Religions

5. ATR World Status • ATR: 190 million • 3% of world population • Seventh largest group • Christianity: 2 billion • Islam: 1.3 billion • Hinduism: 900 million • Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 850 million • Buddhism: 360 million • Chinese traditional religion: 225 million

6. Traditional to Christian Growth of Christianity in Sub-Sahara Africa Population of Africa - 855,000,000 1900 1970 2003 8,756,000 117,069,000 360,059,000 It is estimated that by 2025 there will be 600,000,000 professing Christians

7. MERU COUNTRYSIDE • Mt. Kenya • Height: 5,199 meters • Meru: Along the east side north to the desert • Nyambene Hills • The Nyambene Hills run from the eastern slope of Mt. Kenya northward about 20 miles • The tops of certain hills are the traditional sites of sacred places of worship.

8. MERU COUNTRYSIDE Looking out north from the Nyambene Hills to the open savannahs and desert

9. MERU COUNTRYSIDE Meru at sunset and in the fog of the Nyambene Hills.

10. MERU COUNTRYSIDE Among the Meru, Nyambene Hills where most of the people live on small farms • Crops • The main food crops are corn, beans, potatoes, cabbage, and some fruits. • The main cash crops for export are Tea, Coffee, and Miraa

11. TOWNS & MARKETS Mutendwa (Meru Town) is the center of the Meru District and the largest town. Its population is around 40,000. The town has three main streets and a large market area. Meru Town Market Today there is now cell phone service and even an Internet Café. Downtown Meru Town

12. MERU HOMES & VILLAGES Meru Thatch Roof Huts Meru Mud & Dung Homes

13. African Worldview - Meru • Supreme Being • Murungu – one God • Worship • Spiritual Realm • Evil spirits • Ancestral spirits • Religious Practitioners • -Agwe (Prophet Rulers) • -Diviners/Medicine Men • -Sorcerers • Physical World • -Elders/clans • -Age sets/ceremonies • -Sacrifices God Distant Ancestral Spirits Spiritual Realm Spiritual/Physical Diviner Sorcerer World/Nature

14. ELEMENTS OF ATR • Recognition and worship of one High God • Importance of good relationships with ancestral spirits • Importance of rites of passage and age sets for an organized society • This worldly concerns and present spiritual realities involved daily

15. ATR POWERS • God (Murungu – Meru; Ngai – Kikuyu & Maasai) • Associate with the sky (Yaruba – Olorun, owner of sky) • All-powerful • All-knowing • Eternal spirit • A being • Good but sometimes capricious and/or distant • Creator of the world • Provider • Lesser gods in Yaruba and some others

16. ATR POWERS • Ancestor spirits (living/dead) • Assist living • Need to keep happy by maintaining traditions and family values • Sometimes shrines (Giriama) • Mainly feared • Nature spirits – could be evil ancestral spirits • Evil spirits – could be evil ancestral spirits • Kikuyu say an epidemic is caused by them • Meru generally think God is behind epidemic

17. Meru Practitioners • Medicine man • Shaman or Diviner – medium for the spiritual powers • Sorcerers • Some ATR have good and evil magic • Agwe – Prophet Rulers (no longer active)

18. Meru Medicine Man (Muga)

19. Terms & Traditional Religion • Taboo – something untouchable because of God’s holiness is present or untouchable because it is pervasively evil. • Totem – clan seeing themselves related to a particular animal or some other life form and enjoy the special traits of that animal or life form. • Protect against inbreeding • Food distribution because cannot eat your totem • Some have totem feast where they do eat but rare

20. Meru Culture • Historical Tradition • Red cloths people • The prophet and Exodus • Rights of Passage • Birth • Adulthood • Marriage (bride price, polygamy, family unity, patrilocal) • Death (strength to ancestors, unity of family • Social Structure • Age Sets (circumcision group) • Marriage (gukuraga) • Meru leaders (warrior, marriage, jr. elder, sr. elder) • Njuri Ncheke (council of elders)

21. Meru Physical Realm • Age-sets • Child • Warrior or Marriage for women • New Elder • 2nd Level Elder • High Level Elder • Clans • Organization (Elders) • Sacrifices (Holy places and offerings)

22. Traditional Male CircumciserMutaani

23. Boys Circumcision GroupAt the Gaaru

24. God Distant Ancestral Spirits Spiritual Realm Spiritual/Physical Diviner Sorcerer World/Nature African Worldview – Batutsi, Bahutu, & Batwa

25. Missions, Africa,and the Unreached Sub-Sahara Africa & the 10/40 Window

26. Africa/Asia 4,800,000,000 72% North America 315,000,000 5% Other Continents 1,585,000,000 23% World Population 6,700,000,000 60% of all the people groups are in Africa & Asia There are 12,000 ethno-linguistic groups (nations) Most are in Africa and Asia.

27. 10/40 Window • The term “10/40 Window” describes a rectangular shaped geographical area that is 10 by 40 degrees north of the equator. • It includes 60 countries with more than 2 billion people (over 1/3 of world) • The majority of the unreached people live in this area (less than 2% evangelical) • It is home to the world’s major non-Christian religions – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism • The poorest of the poor live within this window • Only 8% of the missionary personnel work in this area

28. 10/40 Window

29. Unreached Peoples for Which Jesus Also Died Brahman - India Burmese - Myanmar Chamar - India 55,000,000 30,000,000 48,000,000 Jat Muslim - Pakistan Han - China Japanese - Japan 28,000,000 36,000,000 122,000,000

30. Other Unreached Peoples • Shaikh of Bangladesh – 130,000,000 • Shaikh of India – 70,000,000 • Yadava of India – 55,000,000 • Turks of Turkey – 50,000,000 • Rajput of Inda – 40,000,000 • Hakka of China – 34,000,000

31. Unreached Areas 10/40 Window

32. Primary Locations of Muslims

33. Primary Location of Christians

34. Sub-Sahara Africa Why Emphasize Sub-Sahara Africa Missions? God is Giving the Growth in Sub-Sahara Africa

35. Sub-Sahara Africa • The number of churches and Christians continue to grow – 1,400,000 of a population 855,000,000 (1 to 600) • U.S. Membership – 1,300,000 of a population of 300,000,000 (1 to 230)

37. Sub-Sahara Africa Meru, Kenya Togo Tanzania 183 Missionaries Serving in Africa Population of almost 1 Billion in 55 countries & 2,010 languages

38. Sub-Sahara Africa • Christians from Sub-Sahara Africa have the potential to become the evangelistic force for the future to the unreached areas of the world. • Philip Ganta in the Middle East • Kenyan missionaries to Sudan African Christians’ Advantages

39. Work in Sub-Sahara Africa • Continue to plant churches in other people groups • Assist in the training of leaders • Assist in church maturation • Assist in providing self-supporting trades • Provide opportunities for higher education • Assist and partner for mission outreach Purpose: Raise-up missionaries for unreached areas

40. COOKING Meal Preparations Meals: Usually Corn, beans, potatoes, onions and greens boiled together Nkima – Millet cakes and greens

41. TRANSPORTING GOODS