Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FRS Notes Form 3
FRS Notes Form 3
DEFINITION OF RELIGION
-It is a belief in a Supreme Being and man’s response through symbols and
actions to the presence of the Supreme being.
Types of religion
1.Indigenous Religion
2. Judaism
3. Christianity
4. Islam
Characteristics of religion
1. Indigenous Religion
i. Everlasting
ii. All powerful- having all authority
iii. All-knowing-full of wisdom
iv. Ever-present- found everywhere
v. Creator- originator of everything
vi. Rainmaker
vii. Healer
2. Judaism
i. Transcendent- he operates from above.
ii. Omnipotent- he is all powerful
iii. Omniscient- he knows everything
iv. Omnipresent- he is everywhere
v. Eternal- he existed before the creation of the universe.
3. Christianity
i. Transcendent- he operates from above.
ii. Omnipotent- he is all powerful
iii. Omniscient- he knows everything
iv. Omnipresent- he is everywhere
v. God is love
vi. God is holy
vii. God is perfect
4. Islam
i. Omniscient
ii. Omnipotent
iii. Omnipresent
iv. Oneness
v. Allah exists without doubt
vi. Allah bears no resemblance to any of his creations.
vii. He has eternity
1. Indigenous Religion.
Name Meaning
Musiki Creator
Musikavanhu Creator of people
Mutangakugara One who pre-exist
Samasimba All-poweful
Mwari One who speaks through
nature
Chirazamauya One who gives blessings
Dzivaguru Great pool
Zame One who is to be respected
2. Judaism
Name Meaning
El-Shaddai God is all sufficient
El’Elyon God is the most high
El’Olam Everlasting
Yahweh Yire’eh God who provides
El-Bethel God who appeared at Bethel
Elohe Abraham
3. Christianity
- Christianity uses the same names to refer to the Supreme Being as
those used in Judaism.
- However, in addition, Christianity has special names to refer to
Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
4. Islam
Name Meaning
Merciful he has mercy
Creator He created the universe
The forgiving He forgives sins
The All-knowing He knows everything
The Holy one He is holy with no sins
1. Indigenous Religion
i. They belief in the existence of God who is not foreign to
Africans.
ii. The belief in God is not contained in any written texts but it
is transmitted as part of tradition orally.
iii. Everything rests with the Supreme Being.
2. Judaism
i.God exists
ii.God is one and unique
iii. God is incorporeal
iv. God is eternal
v. The Messiah will come
vi. The dead will be resurrected
vii. God will reward the righteous and punish the wicked
3. Christianity
i. There is only one God.
ii. Belief in Jesus Christ
iii. Belief in the Holy Spirit
iv. Belief in the baptism for the remission of sins
v. Belief in the second coming of Jesus
vi. Belief in life after death
vii. Belief in resurrection of the body
viii. Belief in eternal life
ix. Belief in angels.
4. Islam
i. Allah exists
ii. Allah is one and unique
iii. Mohammad is the last prophet.
iv. Allah is forgiving
v. Believe that the Quran was written in heaven.
Indigenous Religion
It developed over a long period dating back thousands years of years ago.
- In the present day, indigenous religion is believed to cut across all African
families as represented by totems across Africa.
-The movement of people in large groups has been responsible for spreading
rituals and other religious ideas associated with Indigenous religion.
-Totem praise, poetry, proverbs, folktales, songs, idioms and jokes are all part
of the texts that transmit culture in Indigenous Religion.
Definition of Judaism
Origins
-They are Jews who belong to the religion because they practice the Jewish
way of life like observing certain food laws and many other Jewish customs.
- Followers are Judaism are not converted to the religion but are born into the
religion.
- With Judaism, it is very difficult to separate religion from the culture of the
people and vice versa,
- He is the first patriarch, Isaac his son the second, Jacob , Isaac’s son the
third.
- Some people may want to believe that the History of Judaism began with
Moses, a later ancestor of the Jews.
Definition of Christianity
-It is the religion of all the people (Jews and Gentiles) who consider Jesus of
Nazareth as their savior.
Origins
-The story of the birth of Jesus is recorded in two gospels in the Bible which
are Matthew and Luke.
- Around 533CE, Pope John I, considered it necessary to make a Christian
calendar.
Definition of Islam
Origins.
-Islam insists that God is one and not trinity a Christians believe.
- The Quran, the sacred book for the Muslims contains the teachings revealed
to prophet Muhammad from Allah.
-Muslims portray Jesus as one of the prophets and not the Son of God
-Christians are scattered around towns and they tend to mix with different
denominations.
-The Provincial Distribution of Apostolic Church heads was established as
follows
Rituals in religions
Indigenous religion
Importance of rituals
Types of rituals
1. Birth Rituals.
- Once a person is born, there are many rituals associated with the birth of a
person and they vary from one region to another.
-It is a celebration of the passage which occurs when individual leaves one
group to enter another.
- The rites of passage provide the African with the foundation of his/her
being identity that is sexual identity and the roles of gender identity.
-Males are prepared for their responsibility in the nation and females
prepared for their responsibility in the nation as women with no confusion.
- They are taught the important aspects of how to be a good wife who is able
to satisfy their husband and raise children properly.
- In some cases there is circumcision for boys and female genital mutilation
for girls though this practice is discouraged and has reduced.
Marriage Rites.
-These involve numerous practices that vary from one community to the
other.
Types/Forms of Marriage
1. Kutiza Mukumbo
-In this type of marriage, the girl decides to elope or secretly disappear from
her home and go to the home of her love.
2. Musengabere
- Usually they ambush her when she is on her way to fetch water or when she
is travelling alone and some distance from her home.
3. Kukumbira
-In this type of marriage, the boy follows all the procedures about marriage.
-A Nhume or representative from the boy’s home is send to the girl’s home
usually in the twilight hours and ask for a hand in marriage.
- If the girl confirms knowledge of the boy, the Nhume is given water to
drink as a sign that his request has been granted and the marriage procedures
begins.
-This is whereby a poor boy work for a period of a time at the girl’s home
and be given his wife.
5. Kuzvarira
6. Chimutsamapfihwa
-In this type of marriage, if the wife dies, there is the belief that fire has
stopped burning in the home and the parents of the wife organize a wife
either the sister of the deceased or someone closer to go and rekindle the fire
at the widowed man’s home.
Death Rituals
-In indigenous religion, death is the separation of the spirit or soul from the
body.
- Indigenous believers, believe that death does not just happen but it has an
external cause.
- This means that, death has both natural and unnatural causes.
-however, the ceremony generally is performed during the same season of the
year to serve a common function.
-Some rites may differ here and there but the function of ritual is the same i.e.
to invite the spirit of the deceased into the family.
-The ceremony is directly linked to the burial ceremony due to the fact that
when the burial ceremony is being conducted it is done in anticipation of
performing the kurova guva in the near future.
-The Shona belief that the body will have to completely decompose
.however, there are instances where it can take place immediately after burial.
-When a person dies the Shona be believes that the spirit of the deceased
wonders in the wilderness awaiting the kurova guva ceremony.
-Post -burial period the spirit is considered dangerous and can be manipulated
by evil spirits.
-The ritual can also be held after more than one year in some cases after 30 to
40 years due to several factors.
1. In poor families this was mainly due to lack of livestock especially cattle
or the scarcity of grain to brew beer and food to feed people at the ceremony.
2. Sometimes there were droughts which would force people to post pone the
ceremony.
4 rituals are performed according to spirituality hence they have to wait until
the senior‘s kurova guva has been done.
5. Family conflicts in some of them held to do with the decease's wealth and
widow.
-The ceremony was held during the dry season (August) dry season=religious
and social activities.
-They also wanted to prevent shock to the incoming of new members in the
family.
-You were not supposed to temper with the estate of the deceased since it will
have to wait the inheritance ceremony which is held after the KUROVA
GUVA ceremony and this might include the widow.
-the widow herself was not to marry or indulge in sexual relation s until after
the kurova guva and nhaka ceremony.
- They consult a n'anga to find out the procedure they should take.
- Consulting a n'anga is done to make sure that the ritual will be performed in
a way that is acceptable to the spirit.
-From this stage all the steps will be done with amultation with the
deceased's spirit.
-Millet beer will be brewed by elderly woman who are beyond child
bearing stage with no sexual relations(kupedza ura)
-she will be helped by the small boys and girls (pre -pubescent boys and
girls)
-members of the family are advised not to have conflict when preparing for
the ceremony.
-On the evening before the ceremony the beer is concentrated to the spirit of
the deceased by the eldest member of the family.
-The concentration marks an all- night celebration that involves singing and
dancing in honour of the spirit.
-The next morning involves rite of inviting the spirit from the grave.
-In some areas they remove one or two stones and ------ of porridge and beer
are poured on the front of the grave to invite the spirit.
-The elder member of the family who will be leading will speak to the
deceases asking the spirit to accept the invitation to come home.
- For the Shangwe they tie a black cloth around the neck of a ------on the----
before the ceremony and take the good outside-the homestead and
appropriate functioning will address the spirit that they are bringing home
and sacrificed the following day.
-Among the Shona people of North E. Zimbabwe a branch is cut from a
ceremonial tree and the severed end is covered to avoid the spirit from
escaping.
- The branch is dropped to the homestead making fragment rest to the rest the
spirit.
-The branch is tied to the wall of the house of the family head.
-Among the Korekore a pathway is made between the grave and the
homestead to provide the spirit into a road to travel as it rejoins the family.
-among the Shona there is need to go to the grave early in the morning the
spirit is invited by members of the family by pouring water on the back of a
goat addressing the spirit of the deceased to come home.
- If the spirit accepts the invitation the goat would shake its body
vigorously.
-The goat is slaughtered and the meat is roasted and eaten without salt.
The widow will no longer veil her head with black cloth or wear the
symbolic black dress of mourning - return to mourning.
Rituals in Judaism.
-In Judaism, rituals and religious observances are grounded in Jewish law
(halakhah, lit. "the path one walks.
- Halakhah governs not just religious life, but daily life, from how to dress to
what to eat to how to help the poor.
-While many times the individual is the focus of the festivities, the family,
and in many cases the entire community, participate in the commemoration.
-These special events are some of the most important practices of Judaism.
Birth Rituals
-In the Jewish faith children are a gift and a blessing from God.
- Observant Jews consider a new mother to be unclean, and thus she
must purify herself by immersion in a mikveh (ritual bath) after a prescribed
time.
- For the newborn there are two rituals that take place, the Brit Milah and the
Brit Habat.
- The Brit Milah, or covenant of the cutting, is celebrated with Jewish boys
eight days after their birth.
- During the ceremony the baby boy is circumcised by a highly
trained mohel in the presence of a group of 10 people, a minyan.
- The godmother presents the baby which is then placed on a highly ornate
seat called the Chair of Elijah
- The circumcision is performed by the mohel using a izamel (ritual knife).
- Circumcision is one of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) and is seen as the
physical mark of the covenant between God and Abraham.
- At the completion of the ceremony the Kiddush is recited and the baby is
given his formal Hebrew name.
Marriage Rituals.
-In Judaism, death is not a tragedy, even when it occurs early in life or
through unfortunate circumstances. Death is a natural process.
- Our deaths, like our lives, have meaning and are all part of God's plan.
-Mourning practices in Judaism are extensive, but they are not an expression
of fear or distaste for death.
- Jewish practices relating to death and mourning have two purposes: to show
respect for the dead (kavod ha-met), and to comfort the living (nihum
avelim), who will miss the deceased.
-After a person dies, the eyes are closed, the body is laid on the floor and
covered, and candles are lit next to the body.
-The body is never left alone until after burial, as a sign of respect.
-The people who sit with the dead body are called shomerim, from the root
Shin-Mem-Reish, meaning "guards" or "keepers".
-In preparation for the burial, the body is thoroughly cleaned and wrapped in
a simple, plain linen shroud.
-The Sages decreed that both the dress of the body and the coffin should be
simple, so that a poor person would not receive less honor in death than a rich
person.
- Coffins are not required, but if they are used, they must have holes drilled in
them so the body comes in contact with the earth.
Mourning
- When a close relative (parent, sibling, spouse or child) first hears of the
death of a relative, it is traditional to express the initial grief by tearing one's
clothing.
-The tear is made over the heart if the deceased is a parent, or over the right
side of the chest for other relatives.
-From the time of death to the burial, the mourner's sole responsibility is
caring for the deceased and preparing for the burial. T
-During this time, the mourners are exempt from all positive commandments
("thou shalts"), because the preparations take first priority.
-This period usually lasts a day or two; Judaism requires prompt burial.
-During this aninut period, the family should be left alone and allowed the
full expression of grief. Condolence calls or visits should not be made during
this time.
-After the burial, a close relative, near neighbor or friend prepares the first
meal for the mourners, the se'udat havra'ah (meal of condolence).
-Shiva begins on the day of burial and continues until the morning of the
seventh day after burial.
-Mourners sit on low stools or the floor instead of chairs, do not wear leather
shoes, do not shave or cut their hair, do not wear cosmetics, do not work, and
do not do things for comfort or pleasure, such as bathe, have sex, put on fresh
clothing, or study Torah (except Torah related to mourning and grief).
-Mourners wear the clothes that they tore at the time of learning of the death
or at the funeral. Mirrors in the house are covered.
-Prayer services are held where the shiva is held, with friends, neighbors and
relatives making up the minyan (10 people required for certain prayers).
-The Shabbat that occurs during the shiva period counts toward the seven
days of shiva, and does not end the mourning period.
- Public mourning practices (such as wearing the torn clothes, not wearing
shoes) are suspended during this period, but private mourning continues.
-The final period of formal mourning is avelut, which is observed only for a
parent.
- This period lasts for twelve months after the burial. - During that time,
mourners avoid parties, celebrations, theater and concerts.
- For eleven months of that period, starting at the time of burial, the son of
the deceased recites the mourner's Kaddish every day.
- After the avelut period is complete, the family of the deceased is not
permitted to continue formal mourning; however, there are a few continuing
acknowledgments of the decedent.
-Every year, on the anniversary of the death, family members observe the
deceased's Yahrzeit (Yiddish, lit. "anniversary").
- When visiting a mourner, a guest should not try to express grief with
standard, shallow platitudes.
Rituals in Christianity.
Birth Rituals.
- The first ever ritual or ceremony that a Christian will go through is always
going to be related to birth. - - The celebrations consists of: Naming
Ceremony, Dedication and Infant Baptism.
Naming Ceremony
-When a child is named to become a unique human being.
- The family and relatives of the new-born child will gather into the church
to celebrate the offspring.
- The paster will preach the lord's words to be nourished into the child.
- The parent of the child may choose from a bible verse to be read out loud
to their child.
Exodus 2: 1-10 the birth adoption and naming of Moses; 1 Samuel 1: 19-28
the birth naming and offering of Samuel to God; Mark 10: 13-16 the
blessing of children by Jesus; Luke 1: 59-66 the naming of John the
baptist; Luke 2: 21-28 the naming of Jesus and his presentation in the
Temple.
- The parents will choose a unique name for the child.
- Your family will gather will people who have attended the ceremony and
receive gifts from them.
Dedication
-When a Christian family prays to god, dedicating their child's future under
god.
- They will make dedications that their child will live under god's will.
- The child will then become educated in god's ways and god's words.
- The job of the parents after making their dedication is to educate their child
under god's will and teach their child and demonstrate god's ways.
- The teaching will finish and the responsibility (burden) of the parent's will
pass onto the child. Until then, the parents must earnestly pray for their child
and lead them to the correct way.
- They will then make their vows and the dedication service will be over.
After this ceremony, the child will be under god.
Baptism
- During a Christian christening, the parents of the child will often make their
declarations.
- The significant part of this ceremony/ritual is that the child is baptized with
holy water. This was started many years ago and now is a symbol of christ.
- Then the candle will be passed on, symbolizing that Jesus has lightened this
earth. The parents will be asked to learn the importance of baptism and make
their vows.
- Following that, the Child will be sprinkled with holy water and receive his
Christian name.
- By having holy water sprinkled over their heads, it symbolizes their sins
being washed away.
- They will also make their vows and promise god to lead the child though
god's words. If anything were to happen to the child's parents, the god parents
will come have the responsibility to take care of the child.
Marriage in Christianity
The basic elements of a marriage are: (1) the parties' legal ability to marry
each other, (2) mutual consent of the parties, and (3) a marriage contract as
required by law.
- The Apostle Paul gave a similar directive when he wrote, "Let marriage be
held in honor among all".
- He quoted from both Genesis 1 and 2[Matthew 19:3-5] that God had created
humanity as male and female,[Genesis 1:27] and that in marriage "the two
become one flesh".[Genesis 2:24] Then He added: "So they are no longer
two, but one flesh.
- Single people, who either have chosen to remain unmarried or who have
lost their spouse, are neither incomplete in Christ nor personal failures.
Death in Christianity
Christian funerals
Funeral rites
Funeral rites are very important for two reasons:
They show respect for the dead and, in some religions, they
include various ceremonies which people believe are necessary to
ensure that people go on to whatever their next life will be.
- In the Roman Catholic church, the priest will anoint the person with holy
oil as a preparation for death (the Last Rites ).
- Sometimes this coffin is left open so that relatives can say a final goodbye
to the person.
- Next the coffin is taken from the church, either for burial or cremation.
- In the past many people did not approve of cremation because they felt that
it would mean that the person could not be resurrected on the Day of
Judgement. In the Apostle's Creed it says: I believe in...the resurrection of
the body... However, St Paul said that 'on earth it is a physical body but in
heaven it will be a spiritual body...'(1 Corinthians 15:43)
Rituals in Islam
Birth rituals
-Children are a precious gift from God, and the blessing of a child is a special
time in a person's life.
Baby's Firsts
-The first words a new born baby should hear, according to Islamic tradition,
are the call to prayer, “God is great, there is no God but Allah. Muhammad is
the messenger of Allah.
- Come to prayer.” Fathers whisper these words into their babies' right ear.
- The first thing a newborn child tastes should be something sweet, often this
is a mashed date or date juice.
Naming
- Often parents choose to name their children after pious member of the
Islamic community, like Muhammad or Aisha, wife of the Prophet, or after
admirable qualities, like Karim, meaning “kind,” or Jamilah, meaning
“beautiful.”
-A number of rites are performed on the seventh day of a child's life. Muslim
parents often shave their baby's head on this day.
- The hair is then weighed and an equal weight in silver is given to charity.
- This typically involves the slaughter of an animal, one for the birth of a
daughter and two for a son, with the animal's meat distributed among family
and neighbors, or given to the poor.
Circumcision
- In Europe and North American, Muslim babies are circumcised after birth
before leaving the hospital.
Marriage in Islam
-Muslim marriage and Islamic wedding customs are traditions and practices
that relate to wedding ceremonies and marriage rituals prevailing within the
Muslim world.
- Within this context, both husband and wife are each other's protector and
comforter, just as real garments “show and conceal” the body of human
beings.
a) The bride and the groom accept each other in the presence of
witnesses.
b) The groom hands over a marriage gift to the bride this might be
money, an item, or a commitment to perform some services to
validate the marriage.
c) Most Muslims will have a reading from the Quran.
d) There may be an exchange of vows and rings.
e) Those witnessing the marriage may be asked to pray for the
couple, their family and Islam community.
f) In Islam, the Quran allows a man to practice polygamy and a
woman is only allowed to have one husband.
Death Rituals in Islam
-Islamic tradition tends to present death rituals in a quite univocal way, as the
actual ritual practice shows to be far more diverse and flexible.
- Death is a very painful and emotional time, yet spiritual faith may allow it
to be one that is filled with hope and mercy.
- Muslims believe that death is a departure from the life of this world, but not
the end of a person's existence.
- Rather, they believe that eternal life is yet to come, and pray for God's
mercy to be with the departed in hopes that they may find peace and
happiness in the life that is yet to come.
1. Indigenous Religion
i. Priests
iii. Diviners
v. Rainmakers
vi. Seers
vii. Blacksmiths
viii. Elders
Priests
- They study the sky, stars, moon, clouds and wind movements and
they master their body senses to predict weather.
- They perform special rain making ceremonies.
- They preside over religious functions.
- They advise both community and individuals on religious and
social issues.
- They give blessings to members of the community
- They mediate between God and people
Relevance of Rainmakers
- They often engage during public gatherings and other big events to
delay the rain until the event is over.
- Christianity has eroded people’s belief in rainmakers.
- According to Christianity, God alone is able to bring rain.
- These days, the Meteorological department now gives information
on weather and seasonal changes.
Elders
- Elders today help in settling disputes which are too culturally such
as land disputes
- They help solve ethnic disputes
- They still carry out rites of passage.
- They are useful in maintaining African culture through oral
narratives.
- Elders provide helpful information to researchers in History and
Anthropology
- They give general guidance to individuals, family and community.
How religious practitioners in Indigenous Religion acquire their skills
i. Inheritance
ii. Apprenticeship
iii. Dreams and visions
iv. Being possessed by spirits
v. Received a call from the Supreme Being/God
vi. Observed the work of specialist
2. Sacred Practitioners in Judaism