ZIMSEC O-Level Family and Religious Studies (4047)

African Traditional Religion: notes

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Beliefs

Supreme Being: followers believe in one high God who created everything. Among the Shona he is called Mwari; among the Ndebele, uMlimu or uNkulunkulu.
Ancestral spirits: followers believe the spirits of the dead (vadzimu) stay close to the family and guide and protect it. A family may ask its ancestors for help at a ceremony.
Spirit mediums: a person believed to speak for an ancestral spirit, such as at a family gathering or a shrine.
Sacred places: hills, pools and groves, such as the Matopos hills, are respected as places of prayer.

Rain ceremonies: communities gather to ask Mwari for rain through elders and mediums.
Libation: pouring out traditional beer or water to honour ancestors, with words of thanks or request.
Totems (mutupo): an animal that identifies a clan, such as Moyo (heart) or Shumba (lion). Followers respect their totem and do not marry within the same totem.
Taboos: forbidden acts such as disrespect to elders or to sacred places.

Hunhu or ubuntu: the idea that a person is a person through other people. It means sharing, respect and hospitality.
Oral teaching: proverbs and stories pass on morals from elders to the young.