The question of the origins of the concept of God is a complex one, deeply intertwined with the history of human migration, language, and culture. Some researchers suggest that the roots of the word "God" and related concepts may be found in ancient African languages and spiritual systems. This article explores the linguistic evidence, cultural practices, and religious beliefs that support the theory of African origins for the concept of God.
"The names of all the gods have been known in Egypt since the beginning of time." -Herodotus
Linguistic Evidence: Tracing the Roots of "God"
One of the key arguments for the African origins of the word "God" is based on linguistic analysis. African terms followed Africans as they migrated out of Africa and are still recognizable in European languages.
Here are some examples of African terms that may have influenced the development of the word "God" in other languages:
- ngai, engai: "God" in Masai
- godo/gudu: "top, sky" in Proto-Bantu
- kodo: "old person, old age" in Proto-Bantu
- muluku, m-luko, mlungu, mulungu: "God, heaven" in Bantu
- El, Bel: "God" in Canaanite (pre-Jewish)
The Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo consonantal root for sky/heavens/God is -l-, -n-, and -d, often with k- or g- prefixes which gives us the g-d (god) root. These sounds are known throughout world languages to mutate and interchange with each other. /l/ root (ilu) may become a /d/, /r/ or an /n/. k- or g- prefix will become an /s/ or a /z/
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It is our belief that the Germanic word “God” derives from the African word Godo/Gudu where g- is a prefix and the root is du/do. It is this root (du/do) from which we get:
- Olu, Elu, El ― “God”, in Yorùbá, Oluwa ―lord
- Eloah ―God, Hebrew
- Eloh‘iym ―Gods
- El ―God, Canaanite
- Ilu ―God, Babylonian
- il‘ilah (Allah), “God”, Arabic
In Bantu this term is rendered: G-udu, G-ulu, K-ulu, (n)K-ale, K-ule, P-ala/H-ala, Z-ulu, Z-eru, Bw-ena, Mw-ene.
Specific examples of the name God in Africa can be seen in the name:
- Guéno “the Eternal” among the Fulani (l>n)
- Gulu, among the Chagga-Bantu of East Africa (d>l)
- Kulu, among the Bakongo
- Unkulukulu (the oldest of the old) among the Amazulu: kuru ―”God point“ (center of cross), in Bambara
- Hrw, “sky, sun, God, In Ancient Egyptian (from central Africa) wr/ulu, the root of Hrw
- Olu ― ”great, lord, God”, Yorùbá
- enu ―”top, high, up”, Igbo
These terms evoke a sense of eldership, distance, height, an apex, exaltation, the peak of something. Anything that is tall or reaches the heavens can be an ulu (sun, moon, stars, mountains, etc.).
The evidence for an African origins thus far provides a better case for the word God than the PIE *gh ue ―libations, pour‖ or *ǵʰau̯- ―to call, to invoke.
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AFRICANS The First On The Concept Of GOD.
Cultural and Spiritual Beliefs: The Sky as a Symbol of the Creator
In the vast majority of African spiritual systems, the sky is symbolic of the infinite vastness of the Creator and is used as a symbol of distance. Since the sky, its height, and rain are related concepts, the same word is used for all three, often with slight changes in vowels.
Traditional African religions generally hold the beliefs of life after death (a spirit world or realms, in which spirits, but also gods reside), with some also having a concept of reincarnation, in which deceased humans may reincarnate into their family lineage (blood lineage), if they want to, or have something to fulfill.
The Role of Ancestor Veneration
Ancestor veneration has always played a "significant" part in the traditional African cultures and may be considered as central to the African worldview. Ancestors (ancestral ghosts/spirits) are an integral part of reality. Ancestors can offer advice and bestow good fortune and honor to their living descendants, but they can also make demands, such as insisting that their shrines be properly maintained and propitiated.
Followers of traditional African religions pray to various spirits as well as to their ancestors. This includes also nature, elementary, and animal spirits. The difference between powerful spirits and gods is often minimal. Most African societies believe in several “high gods” and a large amount of lower gods and spirits.
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The deities and spirits are honored through libation or sacrifice of animals, vegetables, cooked food, flowers, semi-precious stones, or precious metals. The will of the gods or spirits is sought by the believer also through consultation of divinities or divination.
Nkisi nkondi of the Bakongo
African Supreme Beings in Local Geographical Contexts
The supreme beings selected here for specific discussion do not represent the totality of the conceptions and imaginations of the numerous African groups; instead, they have been chosen because of the popularity that has been accorded them in academic study and scholarly writings and analysis.
The supreme beings that are discussed here are selected from various parts of Africa-East, West, Central, and southern Africa-where indigenous cultures still flourish as regards the notion of indigenous African supreme beings: Amma, Nyame, Ngewo, Olódùmarè, Osanobwa, Chukwu, Kwoth, Mulungu, Nzambi, Nhialic, Ndjambi, Ngai, and uNkulunkulu.
Amma
Amma is the supreme being of the Dogon people of Mali. The Dogon attributed the creation of everything in the world, including human beings, earth, stars and so on to Amma, the supreme being.
Dogon People of Mali
Africa in God's Redemptive Plan
Some scholars believe that Africa plays a key role in God's redemptive plan. Zephaniah, who was likely a black Judean prophet, elevates Cush as his sole example of end-times hope for the world.
What the prophet envisions here is astounding, and how the New Testament sees it fulfilled is breathtaking. Africa’s Cushite empire was centered in modern Sudan and stretched south and eastward into the regions of present-day South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia and across the Red Sea into what was ancient Sheba.
Institutions and practices that characterize Abraham’s people are also distinctively African
These include the practice of circumcision (both male and female). To understand the cultural context of male and female circumcision we must recognize that Africans assign firm structure to males and softness and fluidity to females. It is important that women be less like men and men less like women (one reason that homosex is abhorred in traditional African societies.)
The institution of priest is distinctively African also. Sheba-qo’s son Hori-makhet, was high priest in Thebes. Hori is related to the Egyptian word harwa (priest) and is the linguistic equivalent of Horus and Horite. (Horus represented the power of kingship.) The term Horite can't be taken anachronistically when speaking of Abraham's ancestors, who were devotees of Horus, who they regarded as the “Son of God.”
In African caste systems priests are always in the higher caste. Among the Mande of western Africa the highest caste are called the Horon, although few in this caste are priests. As is evident today in traditional African religion, there are orders of priests, each assigned specific duties at the shrines.
Ancient Nubian pyramids at sunset
