The Interpretation of Naavgmin- Missionary Ethnography, African Theology, and History Among the Lodagaa

Several years ago Benedict Der argued in the pages of this journal that both the LoDagaa and Kasena of northern Ghana had always worshipped a single and absolute God despite the views of many missionaries and anthropologists to the contrary.1 In particular he singled out the work of Meyer Fortes and Jack Goody, which had focused largely on the veneration of ancestors, claiming that they had failed to mention the fact that God could be approached indirectly... or implicitly' in communications with the noumenal world. Based on an interpretation of selective documentary evidence and limited ethnographic research, he argued that Naangmin, the prime noumenal force among the LoDagaa, was the 'ultimate objective' of sacrifice. This interpretation became the basis for the more dramatic assertion that both societies also sacrificed directly to God. Among the Kasena he argued that God was the main focus of all sacrifice, while among the LoDagaa the ancestors were 'regarded as only mediums or intermediaries.'2 Justin Ukpong responded to Der's article in a subsequent issue of this journal, pointing out that from the general perspective of West African cosmologies the mediumistic interpretations put forward by proponents such as Der were at best problematic, and at worst 'repugnant to these peoples' conception of God.'3 More recently, Roger Some has called into question the very existence, let alone worship, of a supreme god among the LoDagaa. He argued that the word used by Catholics to refer to God, Naangmin, was not an indigenous term or entity, but a neologism, meaning 'head-deity,' which only emerged from the Christianization of LoDagaa thought wrought by missionaries.4 Even so, Der's argument remains significant in two respects. First, it anticipated two highly influential theological arguments by LoDagaa

Appropriation · Epistemology · Ethnography · Indigenous · Interpretation (philosophy) · Meaning (existential) · Pejorative · Sacrifice · Sociology · Theology · Veneration · Worship · African cultural and philosophical studies · Anthropology · Philosophy · Religious studies

• A Pragmatic Tradition

  Del Mar, Sdel Mar del Mar et al.•Africa Today•2012

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• How "Natives" Think

  Marshall Sahlins•How "natives" think•1995

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