MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Ivory Coast
Index
Northern religions contain the notion of dual deities
found in
the southwest, although the two often complement rather
than oppose
each other. Ancestral spirits are especially important,
because it
is believed that they can directly influence an
individual's
fortunes in this life.
The cosmology of the Mandé peoples of the northwest is
described in their myth of origin, variants of which are
retold
throughout the region. The myth recounts God's creation of
the
universe and of four sets of twins from seeds. They were
commanded
to populate the earth and teach their offspring how to
grow crops.
They used the first music to plead for rain, and the Niger
River
was formed from the resulting series of floods. Each area
along the
river is associated with a wild animal that either
prevented the
sowing of seeds or protected the fields. Features of the
river and
surrounding terrain are also associated with activities of
the
first ancestors, reinforcing the bond between the group's
spiritual
existence and the land--a bond that has confused foreign
missionaries, government officials, and development
workers in
recent decades.
In Lobi society in the northeast, divination is
important as a
means of determining the cause of death, disease, or other
misfortune. Diviners do not predict the future; rather,
they
prescribe a course of action that emphasizes accepted
social values
in an effort to help people cope with present-day
dilemmas. The
diviner's role is similar to that of a counselor or
confessor, who
reminds people of the need to maintain proper
relationships with
all beings and provides them with a new perspective on
relationships that have gone wrong.
Secret societies are found in several areas of northern
Côte
d'Ivoire
(see Voltaic Cultures
, this ch.). They serve
important
functions in the initiation and education of the young,
and they
provide vehicles for preserving beliefs about the past.
Senior
members are responsible for ritual instruction of new
members and
for the observance of funerals and ceremonies to ensure
agricultural prosperity. Blacksmiths have secret societies
of their
own, and in some areas this occupational group is believed
to have
special spiritual powers. Medical and ritual specialists
also
undergo apprenticeships with established practitioners,
thereby
reinforcing their status.
Data as of November 1988
|
|