Religious Concepts in West African Cosmogonies

Cosmogonies in a broad sense, are theories about the origin of the universe. Here they are taken to refer to which explain the origin and organization of the universe from the fewest possible elements, or to creation properly so called which attribute the origin of the universe to the activity of some pre-existing divine being.1 Contrary to the suggestion of Okot p'Bitek that myths of origin in African religions ... have no religious significance,2 cosmogonic are very fertile sources of traditional African religious beliefs, as will be abundantly illustrated by the analysis below. In fact, African cosmogonies not only provide the symbolic categories by which Africans understand the organization of their universe, but also suggest patterns by which they try to maintain the balance and the harmony of the world through ritual.3 For they define the nature and power of being in the universe and their relationships, and thus suggest rituals by which man tries to relate with them and the universe as a whole

Epistemology · Harmony (color) · Mythology · Physics · Sociology · Theology · Universe · African cultural and philosophical studies · African history and culture analysis · Philosophy