A rationalization of an African concept of life, death and the hereafter

Abstract

The Africans generally seem to have a common concept of life, death and the hereafter, which influences their lives and character greatly. An understanding of this African concept will enable the rest of the World (Non Africans), to improve relationship with Africans and vice versa. This is necessary because both camps have been involved in various forms of interactions, communications and commerce, and diplomatic contacts among others. This work attempts to construct, explain, critique and justify the African concept of life, death and the hereafter, in order to enhance this understanding, and consequently improve this relationship for the mutual benefits of both camps.

Death and morality: perspectives on the moral function of death among the basoga of Uganda

“…These findings differ from orthodox African philosophy of death, championed by African scholars like John Mbiti, who interpreted death from spiritual perspectives, known to differ from one African society to another [6,[14][15][16]. Whereas previous studies from psychology, sociology and anthropology looked at mourning and grieving practices as psychological processes that help societies to cope with the misfortune of death, this study has on the contrary established that such practices help society to determine appropriate behaviours and whether or not the dead are worthy celebrating [7].…”

Understanding Wildlife Crime from Eco-Existential and African Perspectives: A Psycho-Philosophical Investigation

“…In African philosophy, life, death and the afterlife are relative similarly defined across different African cultural and ethnic groups [ 80 ]. The concept of life includes the ideas that God is the creator of life and the universe; ancestors have an influence in life; and life is “a communal affair” that is defined through interrelationships with God, other humans, ancestors and land [ 80 ]. Okolie [ 81 ] points out that life in the African perspective is strongly connected to the construction of meaning in life, which again is bound to the idea of living to become a person.…”

Living but Leaving: Therapy in Light and Right of Life and Death in Traditional-Cum-Contemporary Societies

“…In general, life is considered important while death is not considered as a natural event but tends to be seen as, or 'caused' by some external forces such as witches, spirits or curse. The concept of life and time in traditional societies, including Africa has been researched on in a number of perspectives (Asuquo, 2011). The concept of time plays a pivotal role in the way a society derives its values, beliefs and conceptions.…”

“…The concept of time plays a pivotal role in the way a society derives its values, beliefs and conceptions. One of the areas where time is of importance is when analyzing people's perceptions on death and afterlife (Asuquo, 2011;Mbiti, 1969;Wango, 2013Wango, , 2015. This is because time and timeliness merges with religion (faith, beliefs and the supernatural power of God), communal living (the us-ness, that is, one-ness), life and hereafter (children, ancestors and the spirit world).…”

“…This is aligned to Mbiti (1969) who notes that to be human is to belong to the society, and the whole community, and thus involved through effective participation in the beliefs, ceremonies, rituals and festivals of that community. It is possible to argue that there is a hierarchical order in supremacy (Asuquo, 2011;Njoku, 2002;Mbiti, 1969). This can be demonstrated as follows: While God is the Supreme Being, spirits and ancestor have an influence as were the spiritual leaders though with varied (lowered) influence.…”