Palgrave Handbook of African Traditional Religion

Ibigbolade Simon Aderibigbe is Professor of Religion and African studies. He is currently Associate Director of the African Studies Institute at the University of Georgia, USA.Toyin Falola is Professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He is an honorary professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Extraordinary Professor of Human Rights at the University of the Free State, South Africa.

“This impressive book claims to be the “only single volume or Handbook on African Traditional Religion” … . the Handbook’s encyclopedia- level comprehensiveness makes it a substantive and unique contribution with a balance of topical chapters … . The degree to which African religions permeate world culture, via historical dissemination or contemporary diaspora, is a matter to be explored more thoroughly, and volumes such as the Handbook of African Traditional Religion help point the way.” (Blair Alan Gadsby, Nova Religio, Vol. 27 (4), May, 2024)

• 1 Introduction to Handbook of African Traditional Religion.- Part I Basic/Essential Features of African Traditional Religion.- 2 Origin, Nature, and Structureof Beliefs System.- 3 African Traditional Religion and the Sociocultural Environment.- 4 Metaphysical and Ontological Concepts.- 5 The Concept and Worship of the SupremeBeing.- 6 Beliefs and Veneration of Divinities.- 7 Beliefs and Veneration of Ancestors.- 8 Beliefs and Practices of Magic and Medicine.- 9 Cosmological and Ontological Beliefs.- 10 Liturgy, Rituals, Traditions, Sacrifice, and Festivals.- 11 African Circle of Life.- 12 Death, Burial Rites, and After-life.- 13 Reincarnation and Eschatology Beliefs.- 14 Religious Leaders: Priests/Priestesses, Medicine Professionals, and Kings.- 15 Illnesses and Cures.- 16 Secret Societies: Fraternities, Witches, Wizards, and Sorcerers.- 17 The Role of Women in African Traditional Religion.- 18 Arts, Music, and Aesthetics.- 19 Oral and Non-Oral Sources of Knowledge in ATR: Orality and Secrecy Ethos in the Yoruba Traditional Religion within the Latin American Diaspora.- Part II Contemporary Interconnections: Contents and Discontents.- 20 African Traditional Religion and Religious Ethics.- 21 Traditional Religion, and Morality in Society.- 22 African Traditional Religion and African Philosophy.- 23 African Traditional Religion, Gender Equality, and Feminism.- 24 African Traditional Religion, Sexual Orientation, Transgender, and Homosexuality.- 25 African Traditional Religion, Conflict Resolution, and Peaceful Societal Co-existence.- 26 African Traditional Religion and Democratic Governance.- 27 African Traditional Religions and Economic Development.- 28 African Traditional Religion, Social Justice, and Human Rights.- 29 African Traditional Religion and Contemporary Functionalism: Divination.- 30 African Traditional Religion and Contemporary Functionalism: Medicine.- 31 African Traditional Religion and Contemporary Functionalism: Festivals.- 32 African Traditional Religion and Diaspora Transplantations: Nature and Formats.- 33 African Traditional Religion and Sustainable Cultural, Social and Economic Dynamics.- 34 African Traditional Religion and Sustainability: The New Indigenous Religious Movements.- 35 African Traditional Religion and Christianity in Contemporary Global Religious Space.- 36 African Religion and Islam in Contemporary Religious Space.- Part III On Pedagogy, Research, and Foundation Scholars.- 37 ‘Outsider’ and ‘Insider’ Study of African Traditional Religion.- 38 Codification, Documentation, and Transmission of Knowledge in African Traditional Religion.- 39 African Traditional Religion and Indigenous Knowledge System.- 40 Gnostic and Epistemological Themes in African Traditional Religion.- 41 African TraditionalReligion in African and African Diaspora Scholarship.- 42 African Traditional Religion in Global Scholarship.- 43 African Traditional Religion in the Context of World Religions: Challenges to Scholars and Students.- 44 African Traditional Religion Scholarship: E. Bolaji Idowu and John S. Mbiti.- 45 African Traditional Religion and Humanities’ Scholarship: The Contributions of Edward Geoffrey Parrinder and Kofi Asare Opoku.- 46 Scholarship in African Traditional Religion: The Works of Joseph Omosade Awolalu and Peter Ade Dopamu.