Unsolved:African esotericism
African esotericism refers to the intersection of science, religion, cultural traditions, beliefs, art, and philosophy in both the African continent and the African diaspora.
Particularly in relation to Igbo religious tradition, African esotericism communicates "global ethical values" and "moral keys" to developing a morally sound community of persons.[2]
As of 2010, African diaspora religion such as Haitian Vodou and shamanism have been "aligned and bedeviled",[3] despite the goal of African esotericism being to understand "the universe and our place in it". African esotericism has also received limited scholarly attention.[4] A documentary interviewee states, "These systems have not been given the same mainstream attention or concentrated researched. That is why we don't understand it, and why it's deemed negative. It's just lack of understanding."[3]
In the mid-20th century, Afrofuturism sparked a cultural, philosophical, and artist phenomenon,[5] which continues today. Afrofuturistic philosophy sparked the creation of the Black Panther Party circa 1966 during the American civil rights movement.[6] In the 1930s, the black nationalist movement religion Nation of Islam contained descriptions of extraterrestrial life such as that of Yakub and claiming that black individuals were of cosmic origin.[7][8] Additionally, "some [Nation of Islam] students became master esotericists" to unite science and religion in their interpretations of Elijah Muhammad's "cryptic teachings", which paralleled freemasonry, black supremacy, distinctions in the passage of time, and the cosmic symbolism of the Fez.[7]
Ethiopian-American artist Awol Erizku created a still-life artwork in 2020 titled Origin of Afro-Esotericism. The work pictures a shrink-wrapped bust of Queen Nefertiti, an incense censer, an African mask of unspecified origin, a bottle of Aunt Jemima breakfast syrup, and a photography color matching card.[9]
In 2021, a Louisiana State University History of Religion essay argued that "members of a heterogeneous Africana global community deploy secrecy, concealment, selective disclosure, and other strategies for the purposes of survival and flourishing", and "the exclusionary and centering claims of Western esoteric studies must themselves be understood as part of a larger European colonial enterprise that creates notions of the 'West'".[10]
African religion
Gallery
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A drapo that serves as an intermediary between humans and gods in West African Vodún. The ritual drawings and colors refer to Lwa, and Dambala (rainbow serpent of the water element, associated with the cosmos). The heart and pink color represent Erzulie. -
A Binsa sorcerer from Congo. -
The Akodessawa Fetish Market in Togo, 2008, which sells various items used in vodún religious practice -
2025 footage of an Oroko traditional dance in Cameroon, originating from religious and magical ceremonies. -
1881 illustration of a Kishi dancer mask, from Seven Years in South Africa
See also
- African divination
- African traditional religions
- Haitian Vodou art
References
- ↑ Fennell, Christopher. "Multivalent Symbols of an Enclosing Hand". African Diaspora Archaeology Network. Chris Fennell of the Department of African American Studies, Center for African Studies, and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. http://www.diaspora.illinois.edu/news1207/news1207-2.html. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ↑ Masaeli, Mahmoud; Sneller, Rico (2020-01-02) (in en). Responses of Mysticism to Religious Terrorism: Sufism and Beyond. Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-190-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=p3vGDwAAQBAJ&q=esotericism. ""esotericism is important in communicating global ethical values and the development of a morally sound community of persons. In the contemporary world, judges, police, etc. could be seen as bearers of the Ikenga..." (264). "...esotericism could be an essential moral key to unlocking the pedagogy of ethics of patriotism for the country for community development. Igbo mysticism could be a good starting point for raising moral consciousness among Nigerians" (266)"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ancestral Voices (2016-01-29). Ancestral Voices: Esoteric African Knowledge Trailer. Retrieved 2025-08-19 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-24) (in en). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=BsaVEAAAQBAJ&dq=african+esotericism&pg=PT47.
- ↑ van Veen, Tobias C. (2013). "Vessels of Transfer: Allegories of Afrofuturism in Jeff Mills and Janelle Monáe". Dancecult 5 (2): 7–41. doi:10.12801/1947-5403.2013.05.02.02.
- ↑ Anderson, Reynaldo (2022-07-03). "Afrofuturism 2.0, Africana Esotericism, and the Geopolitics of Black Panther". New Political Science 44 (3): 444–449. doi:10.1080/07393148.2022.2119330. ISSN 0739-3148. https://doi.org/10.1080/07393148.2022.2119330.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-24) (in en). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=BsaVEAAAQBAJ&dq=african+esotericism&pg=PT47.
- ↑ Remnick, David (1998). King of The World. Random House. p. 303. ISBN 9780375500657. https://archive.org/details/kingofworldmuham00remn.
- ↑ "Origin of Afro-Esotericism – KADIST" (in en-CA). https://kadist.org/work/origin-of-afro-esotericism/.
- ↑ Finley, Stephen C.; Gray, Biko Mandela; Page, Hugh R. (2021-02-01). "Africana esoteric studies and western intellectual hegemony: A continuing conversation with western esotericism". History of Religions 60 (3): 163–187. doi:10.1086/711945. https://repository.lsu.edu/aaas_pubs/4.
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