The human cycle of birth, growing up, marriage and death is marked all the way with religious observances in Africa. Birth is a time of huge rejoicing. In many cultures there's a period of waiting before the celebrations begin, making sure first that the baby is healthy and strong enough to survive. The Akamba, of West Africa, wait three days before slaughtering a goat, at which point the child is named. The Gikuyu, in Kenya, have a period of four to five days of seclusion for both mother and child, where only close relatives can visit.


Since almost all African names have a clear meaning, naming a child has huge significance. The name chosen may be influenced by circumstances of the birth - if it rained, the child's name will reflect that. The child's features may prompt the name to come from an ancestor or recently deceased member of the family. The name will be given some time after the birth. The Akamba chose a name on the third day: the Wolof, in coastal Senegal, one week after birth.


The move from childhood to adulthood in traditional societies is carefully marked and charted. Most ceremonies involve an element of withdrawal. Boys or girls are taken away from the community for a period of instruction. This will also involve an element of endurance and some physical ordeal.

The Nandi, in Kenya, have their girls circumcised in a long drawn out ceremony. In all cases, there is a much emphasis on bravery and enduring pain without complaint. The Akamba and the Massai, in East Africa, are just two groups where circumcision of the boys is the central rite of passage.

Listen
	The sound of a Massai circumcision ritual

Marriage is another sacred rite of passage, but one involving all the community. Traditionally, a man or woman will marry someone known and approved by both families. If the man is married already, then his first wife, or wives, will be consulted. Traditionally, polygamy was not encouraged unless the man was rich enough to support his wives in a decent fashion. It was seen as a way of reducing infidelity and giving women insecurity. Taking a girl friend in addition to having several wives was very frowned upon.

The Yoruba, of southwestern Nigeria, and Krio, in Sierra Leone, have a pre-wedding ceremony in which the intended bride is kept hidden when her fiancé comes to see her. He calls for her, and her family keep producing different women, who are often very old. The fiancé spots the mistake each time and each time calls for his intended. Eventually she is produced to much excitement.

Bride price or 'lobola' is paid in many parts of Africa. This and the cost of a wedding can be hugely expensive. But usually, the expense is met by contributions from all the family.


There are a huge variety of different customs associated with death. Many of them are concerned with the transition of the soul, and laying the soul of the dead person finally to rest. This may take some years. Considerable thought is devoted to burial places. Some bury their dead underneath the compound or house. For others, it is important to remove the body to a burial ground some distance away. The Baganda, in Uganda, prepare a grave for each individual when they are still children.

There are all sorts of rules governing how the dead are buried, what they should wear, and what food they should take with them. Echoing the funeral rites of ancient Egypt, there is a belief that death is a journey and one must be equipped for that journey.

In Old Calabar, southeastern Nigeria, the funeral of a king was accompanied by the sacrifice of a number of slaves, who would, it was believed, serve him in the after-life. But in 1852 all this changed. King Archibong was seriously taken ill. The slaves of the Duke Town plantations banded together, in protest of the possibility of being buried with their king. When he recovered inhumation or slave burial was forbidden.

Acholi song lamenting someone's death Fire rages at Layima, It rages in the valley of river Cumu, Everthing is utterly destroyed; Oh, my daughter, If I could reach the homestead of Death's mother, I would make a long grass torch; If I could reach the homestead of Death's mother I would utterly destroy everything. Fire rages at Layima.

African religions provide detailed regulations related to daily life. This very practical side of traditional religion protects the community and strengthens its collective sense of identity. There are taboos, some of which involve food. It is taboo, for example, to eat a certain type of mushroom in the Butiko (Mushroom) clan of the Baganda.

Relations between the sexes are governed by a number of rules. For example, there is often a period of withdrawal from public places demanded of women during menstruation. Sexual relations are forbidden while a woman is still breast feeding.

There are also plenty of hints and advice about getting on with fellow humans and the community at large in the form of sayings and proverbs. Indeed your very name may give you a guide to decent living. Names from the Igbo peoples of Nigeria include:

Somaadina - 'let me not exist alone'
Oraka - 'the community is greater'
Adinigwe - 'it is better to be better'

Hospitality and generosity are prized and essential to the well-being of the community. Respect for parents and elders is universal. But lying, stealing and the act of murder are unreservedly condemned. Where a crime is committed the individual rarely stands alone. The crime and the feelings of guilt will be felt collectively by the family or community.

The Odu Onara-Meji oracle on lying Lying does not prevent one from becoming rich. Covenant breaking does not prevent one from reaching old age. But the day of death will bring retribution.

In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe explores many aspects of morality in a pre-colonial setting. At one point, the hero's father is chastised by the priestess for not striving in this world to make the best of what God has given him:

"'Hold your peace,' screamed the priestess, her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. 'You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. And when a man is at peace with his gods and ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm.

You, Unoka, are known in all the clan for the weakness of your matchet and your hoe. When your neighbours go out with their axe to cut down virgin forests, you sow your yams on exhausted farms that take no labour to clear. They cross seven rivers to make their farms; you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. Go home and work like a man.'"