Religion and Culture in Africa - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Religion and Culture in Africa

6

th Grade UBD - Unit 8 - Religion and Culture in AfricaSlide2

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Traditional Religion in Africa

-

For thousands of years, the native-born people of Africa have practiced traditional religions.

The Influence of Christianity and Islam

-

Christianity reached Egypt before 100 CE. Islam began to spread through northern Africa during the 600s CE.Slide3

Reach Into Your Background

Religion is an important part of culture. What role does religion play in the United States? Explain your answer.

( 5 minutes)Slide4

Partner Activity

Work with a neighbor and compare your answer with theirs. What things are the same and what things are different?

(3 minutes)Slide5

Religion and Rituals

Video- Religion and RitualsSlide6

Key Ideas- Traditional Religion in Africa

Most traditional religions are indigenous to Africa and are polytheistic.

The traditional religions all recognize the existence of a supreme god.

Most Africans who follow traditional religions seek guidance and help from lesser gods and dead ancestors.

Followers believe their ancestors act as go-betweens for the physical world and the spiritual world.

Africa’s traditional religions have not spread far beyond the specific regions where they arose.Slide7

Key Term

Indigenous

- Native

to or coming from a particular region

. (Members

of the

Masai

ethnic group in Africa perform a traditional dance that involves jumping for a ceremony

.)Slide8

Traditional Religion in Africa

The traditional religions of Africa are polytheistic.

They generally recognize that a supreme being exists, whom they worship, but they usually stress that people should also seek guidance from lesser gods and from their own ancestors.Slide9

Key Term

Ancestor

-

One, such as a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, who precedes another in lineage.Slide10

Traditional Religion in Africa

The African people who practice traditional religions today often offer daily prayers and sacrifices, and they celebrate ceremonies that mark the passage of a person from childhood to adulthood. Slide11

Traditional Religion in Africa

Africans often

use masks representing cultural heroes, gods, and ancestors in their worship ceremonies.Slide12

Talking to the Gods

In some traditions, dancing, chanting, or drumming are used to connect with gods or spirits. This is very common in groups that practice

vodun

.Slide13

Talking to the Gods

Vodun

followers believe that people who practice these rhythmic arts can become possessed.

Gods

or spirits are believed to take over their bodies.

The

spirits then communicate with the group through the possessed people. Slide14

Traditional Religion in Africa

In addition, many African traditional religions use

statuettes.

Believers

think these objects to serve as mediators between the human and spiritual worlds.Slide15

Traditional Religion in Africa

African traditional religions have not spread far outside of Africa.

Each

religion remains relatively limited to the specific region of the ethnic group practicing it.Slide16

Why Does It Matter?

Traditional

religions continue to be practiced throughout Africa today. In Africa, the Christian and Muslim religions often mix in some of the beliefs and rituals of the traditional religions.Slide17

How Religion Changed Africa

Reading Handout- How Religion Changed AfricaSlide18

Key Ideas- The Influence of Christianity

and

Islam

Christians in Egypt formed the Coptic

Church. During

the early 300s, many people in Aksum began to convert to Christianity.

The

Muslims had a large impact on North African culture. This is seen especially in math, science, literature, and architecture.

During the 800s, Muslim merchants from North Africa began to convert people in West Africa.

The

pilgrimage of Mansa Musa spread news of the great wealth of Mali. As a result, many countries wanted to find the source of this wealth.Slide19

Key Term

Coptic

Christianity

-

A

branch of Christianity that developed in Egypt in the first century.Slide20

Coptic Christianity

Video- Coptic ChristianitySlide21

Christianity Enters Africa

Christians entered Egypt around 100 and developed a type of Christianity called Coptic Christianity.

During

the 300s and 400s, a conflict arose between the native Christian Copts of Egypt and Christian Romans living in Egypt. Slide22

Christianity Enters Africa

Copts believed Jesus had one nature that combined the human and divine.

Many

Romans, though, claimed Jesus had two natures: one divine and the other human.Slide23

Christianity Enters Africa

Eventually, at the Council of Chalcedon, Christian theologians confirmed the two-nature view of Jesus.

The

Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church agreed with the decision of the council.

The

Coptic Christian Church, however, rejected the decision and broke away from Rome, creating its own independent church.Slide24

Mesquel

Festival

Video-

Mesquel

FestivalSlide25

Ethiopia

Reading Handout- EthiopiaSlide26

Christianity Spreads to Aksum

During the early 300s, Roman Christians entered the kingdom of Aksum in today’s northern Ethiopia and

Eritrea and

began to evangelize the region.

Around

333, the king of Aksum,

Ezana

, converted to Christianity and then made it the state religion. Slide27

Christianity Spreads to Aksum

The Christian Church in Aksum followed the leadership of the Coptic Church in Egypt.

During

the 600s, Muslims entered the region, evangelizing for their religion, but the people of Aksum remained Christian, and the kingdom was an isolated outpost of Christianity in Muslim East Africa.Slide28

Christianity and Islam

While Christianity remained a minority religion on the continent, practiced mostly in small, coastal regions where European traders lived, Islam became a powerful force in

Africa.Slide29

Islam Spreads to Africa

Muslim Arabs conquered Egypt during the 600s, and quickly moved west to the sea, bringing North Africa into the Muslim

empire.

The

Muslims encouraged people they conquered to convert to Islam but usually did not force them to convert. Slide30

Islam Spreads to Africa

Muslim Arabs formed the ruling class of the areas they conquered. Below them were non-Arabs—native Africans—who converted to Islam. Non-Arabs who decided to practice another religion formed the next social class, and the lowest class consisted of enslaved people.Slide31

Islam Spreads to Africa

Muslim Arabs brought Muslim culture and learning to North Africa, which included advances in math, science, medicine, literature, and architecture. Slide32

Islam Spreads to Africa

During the 800s, Muslim merchants began to trade on a regular basis with parts of West Africa.

Because

of this trade, many of the merchants and rulers of West Africa converted to Islam.Slide33

Mansa Musa

In West Africa, the Mali Empire formed around 1240 and gained considerable wealth and influence through the gold and salt trade.

In

1312, Mansa Musa became the emperor of Mali and converted to Islam.Slide34

Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa

established

Islam as the official religion of his empire.

Soon

Mansa Musa made an elaborate pilgrimage to Mecca via Egypt. Slide35

Key Term

Mecca

-

The

holiest city in all of Islam. Originally, the city was just an oasis along a caravan trade route linking South Arabia, East Africa, and South Asia to the Mediterranean countries. Slide36

Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa

pilgrimage

included about 60,000 of his followers carrying huge amounts of gold on camels

.

The pilgrimage spread news of the great wealth in Mali throughout all the Muslim lands and even into Europe. Because of this, many countries sought to find the source of this amazing wealth.Slide37

Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa established the city of Timbuktu in Mali as an important center of trade and learning.

He

made the mosque of

Sankore

a school for the teaching of history, law, and theology.Slide38

Why Does It Matter?

Christianity

continues to be practiced in Ethiopia (formerly Aksum). Also, European countries took control of most of Africa during the 1800s. During this time, a large number of Christian missionaries entered Africa. They converted many of the local people. Despite this, Islam remains the main religion in many African countries.Slide39

The People of Africa

Video- The People of AfricaSlide40

Independent Activity

What has been the “muddiest” point so far in this lesson? That is, what topic remains the least clear to you? (4 minutes)Slide41

Partner Activity

Work with a neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)