The covenant is everlasting. The absence of peace is a threat to life, a reduction of life, a destruction of life; it is suffering leading to annihilation. The local community is involved in encouraging the perpetrators to acknowledge what they have done and the victims are involved in determining what reparations need to be made so that the perpetrator can be re-integrated into the community. People are interdependent, and real peace must be comprehensive enough to cover the peoples of the entire earth. For those who believe that clear thinking, accurate and scientific explanation and research are important steps in the pursuit of The following are short comments about this prayer. What do we mean when we refer to building peace? It may be done before any of the divinities, but especially before Ogun. Prayers followed this, in which the respective elders beseeched God to bless the covenant of peace. The difference is this: when Klan members burn crosses or promote their racism, they are opposing the plain teachings of the Bible.Jesus calls us to love our neighbors (Matt. It fostered a sense of separation from one’s culture. A dispute between fellow members of the community is perceived to belong to the community itself. RELIGION AS A PERCENTAGE OF WORLD POPULATION: 1.3 percent OVERVIEW. In 1900 some 58% of the population adhered to “pure” African Religion. Therefore, this prayer appropriately pleads that “every ill word be driven out into the wilderness, into the virgin forest.” That means the words that bring about disagreement, dispute, quarrels, division, and fights should be sent far away, to places where there are no people, and should be abandoned completely. Future generations have to be given the opportunity to learn about these traditions. 1, Hutchison, 1913, p.xll. There have been criticisms of the way that gacaca tribunals have been implemented. Though not necessarily with success religion, provides for ways of bringing about reconciliation and peace where and when such fights ensue. Villa-Vicencio, Charles & Verwoerd, Wilhelm (eds) 2000. In the societies found in these regions of Africa a person who possesses ubuntu is a person who is considered to be generous, hospitable, friendly, caring and compassionate. This is why we need to combine present notions of gender equality with progressive indigenous norms and principles to create something that is uniquely African. The process of ascertaining wrong-doing and finding a resolution included family members related to the victims and perpetrators, including women and the young. Social cohesion is fragmented and the persistence of violence and abductions has thoroughly undermined the levels of social trust and solidarity (Govier 1998). Likewise, peace comes upon the community of human beings and nature first and foremost. Receive latest updates, news and analysis from ACCORD. Second, this prayer seems to petition peace and reconciliation, for leaders of the world: “May their heads agree!” It implies that where there is agreement there is peace. An African proverb describes this well: “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers most.” It is generally the ‘ill word’ which destroys peace, in the family, in the community, in the nation, in the world. Third, this prayer petitions that: “May their heads agree!” When reconciliation is worked out, peace ensues where otherwise conflict has torn people apart. Ubuntu societies place a high value on communal life, and maintaining positive relations within the society is a collective task in which everyone is involved. Aylward Shorter: Prayer in the Religious Traditions of Africa, Oxford University Press, New York and Nairobi, 1975, p. 71. The blood of the animal saves, replaces, and stops further shedding of human blood. The Acholi have maintained their conflict resolution and reconciliation mechanism called the Mato Oput which also served as an institution for maintaining law and order within the society. Through them the warring parties become ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters,’ even if brothers and sisters also fight! Peace has dimensions that stretch into the visible and the invisible worlds. Third, peace is needed for the country, for human relations, for the carrying out of national activities: cultural, economic, social, political, and religious activities. Only ‘the God of peace’ can help us to deepen our practice and experience of peace every day, individually, collectively, and universally. Also, these statistics cannot reveal the cultural, historical, and spiritual depth of African Religion that is alive and lingers on beneath the public surface. This process of reconciliation tended to include the victim and his or her family members and friends as well as the perpetrator and his or her family members and friends. FOUNDED: 200,000–100,000 b.c.e. However, forgiveness, when granted, would generate such a degree of goodwill that the people involved, and the society as a whole, could then move forward even from the most difficult situations. It says rather: ‘I am human because I belong’. 149 f. Ogun is the divinity of iron and steel. The process can also work in the opposite direction: when peace is restored, reconciliation follows. Second, peace is not just for grown ups only. Through internalising and sharing these cultural attitudes and values with their fellow community members, and by handing them down to future generations, societies can – and do – re-construct themselves on the basis of a particular cultural image. I give here the example of a few proverbs that address the issue of peace and reconciliation in society. (Ethiopia), A quiver placed upside down will drop arrows. ), and persons without religion 0.2%. We have to create a framework that is a hybrid between indigenous African traditions and modern principles to ensure the human dignity and inclusion of all members of society – women, men, girls and boys. They also symbolize where life is propagated, nourished, affirmed, sustained, safeguarded, and interrelated in its manifold forms on earth. African Traditional Religion in the singular to refer to the whole African religious phenomena, even if we are, in fact, dealing with multiplicity of theologies. It portrays existence in terms of visible and invisible realities, human and spiritual dimensions. In either case, the gesture signified a curse for those who bore the responsibility for such grave acts. This mechanism pre-dated the colonial period and is still functioning in some areas. Even thoughmorality is the subject matter of ethics, it is most often usedinterchangeably with ‘ethics’. It is mainly in the background of these other religions, generating an ongoing (sometimes silent) dialogue with them. It is not ‘I think therefore I am’. Universal Peace Federation is an NGO in General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations We support and promote the work of the United Nations and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals Copyright ©2006-2020 Universal Peace Federation. Sr. … Religion, after all, is a powerful constituent of cultural norms and values, and because it addresses the most profound existential issues of human life (e.g., freedom and inevitability, fear and faith, security and insecurity, right and wrong, sacred and profane), religion is deeply implicated in individual and social conceptions of peace. In spite of thephilosophical inquiries or analyses undertaken by individualmoralphilosophers regarding morality … In the post-conflict era in Mozambique, traditional healing and reconciliation practices were used to enable combatants, particularly child soldiers, to be re-integrated into their communities. We see a number of important points in it, which are also in other measures that try to restore peace and reconciliation. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. The arch-perpetrator of violence in the Mano River Union, former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, is being tried for war crimes in The Hague, Netherlands. This paper gives a brief outline of concepts and practices on that theme, from the perspectives of African Religion. Followers believe in the guidance of their ancestors spirits. The Mato Oput process therefore allows members of the public to share their views and to generally make their opinions known. 3 And similar to this was the dialogue that took place between Edwin Smith, who had gone out as a missionary to Africa, and Emil Ludwig, an eminent biographer. Fourth, the blood of an innocent animal is shed to serve as the blood of reconciliation and peace. Unfortunately, I have to limit myself to the constitutional position of just two of the many religions in the country, as space and time do not allow for more. Preventive diplomacy is ‘action to prevent disputes from arising between parties, to prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflict and to limit the spread of the latter when they occur’ (Boutros-Ghali 1992: par 20). In Côte d’Ivoire for example, the country has become virtually split in half with government and armed resistance movements on opposite sides. 3 Leo Frobenius, The Voice of Africa, Vol. Therefore, we should also ask and even discuss the role of religion, of religious leaders and communities, and even of the content of religious traditions for our common efforts toward justice and peace. 45-75, for further and detailed discussion on covenants in African Religion. (Lesotho), The one who does not fight is an ass; the one who fought and would not reconcile is a devilish person. Promoting social solidarity in practice means confronting corruption and trying to ensure democratic governance, power sharing, and the equitable distribution of resources among all members of society. Indigenous traditions with regard to governing and resolving disputes in African societies were therefore corrupted by the centralising power of colonialism. 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