Traditional African Funeral Celebrations, A Challenge for Mission Today
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Date
2003
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
Traditional African Funeral celebrations, A challenge for mission today: Case
study of Navrongo/ Bolgatanga Diocese (Nav/Bolga Dio,), Upper East Region (HER)
Ghana, West Africa. This is my contribution to the on going discussion on an area that has
for a long time posed a pastoral problem in my area of study and a bid to forge a way
forward in coming up with an acceptable and workable proposal as far as African traditions
and Christian values are concerned.
My purpose in this work as an African, and an indigen of the Nay/ Bolga Dio. [UER
Ghana] , is that, I consider the issue of death related rites to be of great concern to the local
people. It is an area that touches on the very lives of the people, as such a close look at it
may give us a clearer understanding of the phenomenon of death and its effects on the
people. There is an identity crisis here, who are we? Western Christians or African
Christians? Christians of this diocese are first and foremost African, before becoming
Christian, people with a culture that defined their whole world view and perception of life.
This is an area of real concern for the African Christian in that she/he is tom between
tradition, cultural demands and the Christian faith. There is the need to protect one's place
in the African hierarchy which is very important to the elders. This defines one's place too
in the here after, therefore all that is necessary [ Living an exemplary life, good moral and
religious standing] to get to the other side must not be overlooked. Initial perceptions of African Traditional Religion (ATR) by the early Europeans,
missionaries were very much distorted, biased and damaging. ATR was described as evil,
barbaric, primitive, diabolic', thus converts were uprooted completely from what they
believed and knew and introduced to a whole new way of life, religion and culture. Many
lost their identity through this and those who have come after them have since not found
their faith and place in the traditional set up.
With the current of inculturation blowing across the Church today, there is need for
a rethinking on the life of the Church on the continent of Africa.
There is a need for an inner reconciliation of many Christians in Africa, Nav/Bolga
Diocese particularly, who live in deep conflict between their sincere belonging to Christ
and their need to treasure the gifts bestowed on them by God through ATR.
The Churches focus today should be geared towards a progressive development of
authentically African forms of Christian life, celebration and thought. This brings about an
enrichment of the catholicity of the Church as her message is constantly re-expressed in the
Church and religious traditions which show the active presence of God's generous
providence at work in every human context throughout human history.
As Fr Domingues (mcd) rightly puts it [in his course presentation notes for
Tangaza college - Inter-religious dialogue. 2000] ATR is of a great theological value to Christianity. It is the concrete historical way in which God has providentially been,
somehow dialoguing with millions of persons, in their social, cultural and religious lives. Their concrete religious practices, traditions, belief systems are the concrete context
in which God offered them some light on his own mystery. In a special way, God
communicate and dwells with them.
There is a context in which God offers African cultures the Holy Spirit, in such a
way that they have a real possibility of answering to God's invitation of becoming partners
in the paschal mystery of Christ. [(IS 22] .
There is a real possibility of finding in ATR some real revelation of God [in her
rites, art, poetry, proverbs etc] and some genuine human response to it in faith.
This encounter and response however does not exclude that fact that such revelation
and faith be mixed with much human sinfulness, corruption, in the concrete cultural, social
and religious life of the African peoples.
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Keywords
Traditional, African, Funeral, Mission