IGWEBUIKE: African Journal of Arts and Humanities

The belief in the existence of the ancestors is predominant in African traditional thought. This further stresses the ontological relationship or connectedness between the physical and the spiritual worlds in African thought systems. It is believed that the ancestors, even though they are dead on earth, are also living somewhere beyond the physical world and have the power to influence and interfere in the affairs of the living on earth. Hence, John Mbiti refers to the ancestors in African spirituality as the “living dead.” However, this paper attempts to examine some conceptual and linguistic clarifications on the subject matter of ancestral worship or veneration. Hence, this paper, with an expository and critical method of philosophising, attempts to delve into the details of the practices of ancestral worship or veneration (as the case may be) in African traditional thoughts. The paper will also consider not only the requirements for ancestorhood, but more importantly, the categories of ancestors in African ontology. Hence, this paper concludes that the term ancestral worship is not misleading, because, based on the categories of ancestor-hood, some ancestors are indeed worshipped while some are venerated.

Open Full Text (PDF)