Deck 3: Indigenous Religions of Africa

Question 1

What is the definition of the following term:
-Amma:

Answer 1

(ah'muh; Dogon) The High God of the Dogon people.

Question 2

What is the definition of the following term:
-bori:

Answer 2

(boh-ree; various languages) A term for West African spirits.

Question 3

What is the definition of the following term:
-Candomblé:

Answer 3

New World religion with roots in West Africa-particularly Yoruba culture-which is prominent in Brazil.

Question 4

What is the definition of the following term:
-dama:

Question 5

What is the definition of the following term:
-Ifa:

Question 6

What is the definition of the following term:
-Kinjiketele:

Question 7

What is the definition of the following term:
-Maji Maji:

Question 8

What is the definition of the following term:
-medium:

Question 9

What is the definition of the following term:
-moran:

Question 10

What is the definition of the following term:
-Odu:

Question 11

What is the definition of the following term:
-orisha:

Question 12

What is the definition of the following term:
-Oshun:

Question 13

What is the definition of the following term:
-pantheon:

Question 14

What is the definition of the following term:
-rites of passage:

Question 15

What is the definition of the following term:
-Santería:

Question 16

What is the definition of the following term:
-Vodou:

Question 17

What is the definition of the following term:
-witchcraft:

Question 18

What is the definition of the following term:
-zar:

Question 19

Which of the following statements about African indigenous religions is false?

A) African indigenous religions have all died out.
B) African religions have influenced religions in the Americas.
C) There are many different African indigenous religions.
D) In some cases, African indigenous religions have accommodated the spread of Islam and Christianity.

Question 20

The beliefs and teachings of African religions are found primarily

A) written in ancient written texts.
B) in myths or sacred narratives.
C) inscribed on golden plates.
D) etched on the walls of pyramids.

Question 21

African myths or sacred narratives are concerned primarily with

A) the afterlife.
B) the greater universe.
C) the exploits of ancient gods.
D) humanity and life in the present world.

Question 22

In many African traditions, the High God is

A) believed to be removed from everyday life.
B) believed to have once lived with humans.
C) worshipped daily at temples.
D) Both a and b

Question 23

Some African religions believe that the _______ is flexible in gender and form, as among the Samburu people.

A) High God
B) angels
C) king
D) spirit world

Question 24

Henotheism is a belief system in which

A) no supernatural beings are recognized at all.
B) there is one and only one god, and no belief in other spiritual beings.
C) many supernatural beings are recognized and one is elevated to a higher status.
D) cattle are regarded as sacred.

Question 25

The _______ twins are part of the Dogon religion.

A) Ideal
B) Nummo
C) Wabanje
D) Swahili

Question 26

The Yoruba religion

A) has a large and complex pantheon.
B) has a belief system that recognizes only a few supernatural beings.
C) died out a long time ago.
D) All of the above

Question 27

We would find Dogon religion in which African country?

A) Tanzania
B) Kenya
C) South Africa
D) Mali

Question 28

The orisa are associated with which of the following?

A) Samburu religion
B) Nuer religion
C) All African religions
D) Yoruba religion

Question 29

Who is Oshun?

A) The leader of the Maji Maji rebellion
B) An Orisa in the Yoruba tradition
C) The Dogon High God
D) An important figure in Nuer mythology

Question 30

In many African indigenous religions, spirits are

A) thought to be created by God.
B) believed to live near or with humans.
C) believed to be immortal and invisible.
D) All of the above

Question 31

Which of the following is false about the spirits of the dead?

A) They are believed to be interested in the affairs of their living family members.
B) Only people who have had children will become spirits of the dead.
C) They may be concerned with upholding cultural values and family unity from beyond the grave.
D) They may be intermediaries between the living and the High God.

Question 32

Many African indigenous religions teach that

A) humans can expect to be saved and to go to heaven.
B) the present world is very important.
C) a High God created human beings.
D) Both b and c

Question 33

In many African myths, the High God

A) is separated from humanity.
B) used to live with humans in an earthly paradise.
C) cannot live on earth and survive.
D) Both a and b

Question 34

Among the Dinka, death is explained as the result of

A) the anger of the first woman, who was greedy.
B) a cataclysmic flood.
C) the first humans eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
D) the betrayal of animals.

Question 35

Ancient Axumite religion had which of the following elements?

A) A complex pantheon of gods.
B) One god.
C) No gods.
D) None of the above,

Question 36

African religions originally spread to the Americas through

A) the Atlantic slave trade.
B) twentieth-century immigration.
C) travelers and explorers who converted to African religions.
D) wandering teachers and missionaries.

Question 37

Islam has been present in Africa since

A) the nineteenth century.
B) the seventh century.
C) the twentieth century.
D) None of the above; very few Africans are Muslim.

Question 38

Which of the following is true about the spread of Islam in Africa?

A) Islam spread to West Africa through trades and teachers from North Africa.
B) The spread of Islam eradicated indigenous religions.
C) Islam did not spread extensively in Africa until the twentieth century.
D) Islam was originally brought to Africa by teachers from Saudi Arabia.

Question 39

Which of the following is false about the spread of Christianity in Africa?

A) The colonial powers sent missionaries to convert Africans to Christianity.
B) The Christian Bible was translated into numerous African languages.
C) Christianity completely eradicated indigenous African religions.
D) Often, newly converted African Christians were incorporated in the colonial bureaucracies as government officials.

Question 40

What did Usman dan Fodio do?

A) Started a new Christian church in Nigeria that incorporated local religious practice
B) Waged a campaign in northern Nigeria to rid Islamic practice of what he thought were inappropriate indigenous elements
C) Aimed to eliminate female initiation rites in some Zambian cultures
D) None of the above

Question 41

What was the Maji Maji revolt?

A) A rebellion against British colonizers and missionaries over rights to clean drinking water in Kenya
B) A widespread revolt against the spread of Islam in West Africa
C) Rebellion against the German colonizers in Tanganyika that drew on indigenous religious beliefs in the power of spirits and sacred waters
D) A rebellion against the slave trade

Question 42

Which of the following is one of the African-derived religions in the Americas?

A) Santeria
B) Vodou
C) Candomblé
D) All of the above

Question 43

What is the primary reason African religions thrived and developed in the Americas?

A) Enslaved Africans continued to practice indigenous African religions in the Americas.
B) Recent immigrants have brought religious belief and practice with them.
C) Americans have traveled to Africa to learn about indigenous religions and brought them home.
D) African missionaries have been very active in bringing African religions to the Americas.

Question 44

Where do we find influences of African religion in the Americas?

A) Brazil
B) The Caribbean
C) The United States
D) All of the above

Question 45

The independent Yoruba Christian church, known as the Aladura church, was founded by

A) Usman dan Fodio.
B) Kinjiketele.
C) Joseph Oshitelu.
D) Harvey Middlespark.

Question 46

In most African religions, religious practices focus on

A) preparing for the afterlife.
B) worshipping the High God.
C) improving life in this world.
D) emulating the actions of malicious spirits.

Question 47

Which of the following is a way of communicating with the spirit world?

A) Sacrifice
B) Divination
C) Spirit possession
D) All of the above

Question 48

What is the best general definition of sacrifice in African contexts?

A) The dedication of something valuable to a spiritual being
B) The dedication of a virgin to the High God
C) The killing of an animal for religious reasons
D) Giving money to the poor

Question 49

Divination is

A) sacrificing cattle for material benefit.
B) the attempt to use magic to find water in dry areas.
C) becoming possessed by a spirit.
D) the attempt to predict the future through supernatural agents or powers.

Question 50

What is Ifa?

A) The East African spirit possession complex
B) A divination system among the Yoruba
C) The annual Nuer sacrifice to Kwoth
D) None of the above

Question 51

A person who has become possessed is known as a

A) medium.
B) goddess.
C) priest.
D) helpmeet.

Question 52

Where would we find the Maasai people?

A) Kenya and Tanzania
B) Madagascar
C) Ethiopia and Eritrea
D) Nigeria

Question 53

Which of the following is true about spirit possession?

A) People communicate with spirits through the possessed person.
B) Women are often more likely to become possessed than men.
C) Spirit possession is always viewed as an act of the devil.
D) Both a and b

Question 54

Western scholars have traditionally used the term witchcraft to describe

A) the use of supernatural powers to cause misfortune.
B) fictional witches associated with Halloween.
C) magical practices for good used by Wiccans.
D) the purported ability to communicate with animals.

Question 55

Which of the following is false about Azande ideas of witchcraft?

A) A person may not know that he or she is a witch.
B) Witchcraft is a physical substance inside the body.
C) Witchcraft explains why things happen.
D) Witchcraft is always punishable by death.

Question 56

Which of the following might be understood as important rites of passage in African religions?

A) Birth
B) Death
C) The transition from childhood to adulthood
D) All of the above

Question 57

Religions like Vodou and Santeria derive influence from religions of which part of Africa?

A) North Africa
B) West Africa
C) East Africa
D) None of the above

Question 58

Who receives the title of Ekwe?

A) A wealthy and successful Yoruba woman chosen by a goddess
B) A wealthy and successful Yoruba man chosen by a god.
C) The first born child of a Yoruba priest.
D) A Gikuyu ancestor who has transitioned to the spirit world

Question 59

African indigenous religions are basically all the same.

Question 60

African religions differ significantly from one another.

Question 61

The African continent is very diverse in terms of culture and religion.

Question 62

African indigenous religions died out long ago.

Question 63

In many African religions, including the Dogon, the Ashanti, and the Igbo, the earth is an important female deity.

Question 64

In most African religions, spirits are not considered to be a part of God's creation.

Question 65

Living people may consult with the spirits of the dead for advice or guidance in their own affairs.

Question 66

Most African indigenous religions are anthropocentric, which means that they recognize humanity as the center of the cosmos.

Question 67

Most African indigenous religions have emphatic teachings about salvation and the afterlife.

Question 68

The kings of the Ghana and Mali Empires were thought to have divine powers.

Question 69

Large-scale world religions, especially Christianity and Islam, have been prevalent in Africa for centuries.

Question 70

African Muslims and Christians have always accepted elements of indigenous religious practice in Christianity and Islam.

Question 71

Joseph Oshitelu led the Maji Maji revolt.

Question 72

African influence is widespread in religions of the Caribbean, Brazil and elsewhere in the Americas.

Question 73

African religions influenced religions of the Americas like Vodou.

Question 74

For followers of African religions, religion is something that is reserved for just one day of the week or for certain times of the year.

Question 75

In African religions, a primary way people communicate with supernatural beings is through sacrifice.

Question 76

The influence of African religions has not spread very far beyond the continent.

Question 77

Yoruba diviners use a system called Kwoth to predict the destinies and future of individuals.

Question 78

In African religions, the use of witchcraft is always thought to be intentional.

Question 79

Possession beliefs exist only among followers of indigenous religions in Africa, not among Muslims and Christians in Africa.

Question 80

In African religions, the world of the spirits and the world of humans are believed to be closely intertwined.