Ritual Practices as an Ontological Foundation of Life Skills in the African Context

Abstract

African rituals are often criticized and dismissed as either superstitious or irrational. These criticisms, often based on Eurocentric prism, fail to appreciate the African mode of thinking that fuses the epistemological into the metaphysical. One of the consequences of such dismissal has been the unprecedented neglect and isolation of the indigenous life skills that shaped the life and practices of African individuals, families and communities for centuries. This paper examines the African ritual in order to establish its reasonableness by interrogating its ontology and tracing how life skills evolve out it. The paper argues that there is variation in worldviews among cultures. Therefore, the form, content and meaning of social actions and behaviors in the African cultural context cannot be judged on the principles of Western scientific rationality. They should instead be seen in light of Africa’s holistic understanding of health, communal lifestyle and the central place of spirituality. The paper further argues that based on African ontology, African rituals with their deep-rooted cultural, spiritual, and communal significance, form a vital foundation for indigenous life skills.