Abstract
This chapter examines the concepts of liturgy, rituals, traditions, sacrifices, and festivals in African Traditional Religion. These concepts act as customary public worship according to African beliefs, customs, and traditions as dictated by the gods or deity of that African territory. These are means of communication with the Supreme Being and ancestors within the context of worship. In West Africa, the adherents of traditional festivals observe the traditional religion to mark important social and cultural events in the lives of the people that culminate in a series of performances, entertainments, rites and rituals, liturgies, and sacrifices. Through these festivals, the people demonstrate their values and beliefs, which give meaning to the social, political, and religious life of the participants celebrating them. Festivals are vital mainsprings in traditional education and the remit of the people’s culture. This chapter utilizes the Social Mobilization theory as a conceptual framework to illustrate the importance of festivals (with examples) in West Africa.
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Osei, M.A. (2022). Liturgy, Rituals, Traditions, Sacrifice, and Festivals. In: Aderibigbe, I.S., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Traditional Religion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89500-6_10
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