Concept of time in african worldview pdf

Worldview is the set of assumptions and presumptions that a person holds consciously or unconsciously about how they perceive reality kurka 2004. The worldview and ethos of africans not only demand and reinforce their. Let us consider a typical myth about the origin of death, which can help us understand the african concept of death. Some african peoples concepts will be more like those of the west than some others. African time zones at any given time, the difference between the time in santo antao, cape verde africa s most westerly point and coetivy in the seychelles africa s most easterly point is five hours, with the seychelles being five hours ahead. Cherly, 2006 the root of this framework is rooted in a worldview ie. African intellectuals should help africa close the gap created by over four hundred years of domination and marginalisation of african peoples knowledge systems, by rejecting the utilisation of dominant western world view of knowing and knowledge production as the only way of knowing. However, his books primary focus is to debunk mbiti s thesis that for africans, time is a twodimensional phenomenon, with a long past, a present and virtually no future. The two concepts philosophy and worldview are closely related. When we speak of african traditional religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs.

Having highlighted the broad canvas lens of the african worldview, the time is now ripe to further specify the assumptions, teachings, and beliefs which. The afrocentric paradigm is a social science paradigm premised on the philosophical concepts of traditional africa. The african worldview does not accommodate the western tendency to separate physical and spiritual, natural or supernatural, personal and socialtheir interpenetration is presumed. African time or africa time is the perceived cultural tendency, in parts of africa and the caribbean toward a more relaxed attitude to time. African traditional religion and concepts of development. Pdf african vs western psychology macmillan zikalala. Factor analysis was used to compare belief structures. No society can advance beyond the limits of the dominant perception of social reality. More than half of the worlds population live and earn their living out of tilling the land as farmers. Attention will be paid to the african religious worldviews and culture. Your worldview is like the eyeglasses through which you view and interpret your experiences. The routledge companion to philosophy of religion african religions. The terms afrocentrism, afrocology, and afrocentricity were coined in the 1980s by the african american scholar and activist molefi asante.

Bad people, who know how to tap this power, use it to harm other people. Pdf on jan 1, 2016, obiorah ekwueme and others published the wheel of. Before we can have an appraisal of african culture and values, it is necessary for us to have an understanding of the concept of culture and its meaning. Other phrases that capture the idea are mental grid, frame of reference, and shared perceptions of what is real, true, and good. According to torrey 1972, people do not see things in the same way, and. Mar 15, 2011 the concept of vital force and its continuation is more explicit in the african concept of death and afterlife. Eurocentrism also eurocentricity or westerncentrism is a worldview that is centered on western civilization or a biased view that favors it over nonwestern civilizations. The cold war may be over, but hot wars and hatred still rage with ever new instances of tribal, ethnic, and religious barbarism. A critical observation and one making us very vulnerable should the aliens pursue conquest, colonization. It is within this context that the african predicament of backwardness was. The authors investigated the extent to which racial factors, cultural factors, or both influence a persons beliefs about physical time, personal time, and experienced and remembered duration. Extensive contact in many african countries and several african cultures and languages provide a comparative reference base for this topic. Introduction philosophy as a discipline is the reflection of mankind on the ideas and institutions guiding their existence.

African worldview, which was in its essence, a religious worldview whereby physical and spiritual world are one and the same, developed as a result of reflective thinking about various elements of nature, such as water, thunder, sky. Lets compare the european and the african concept of time. African initiated churches of the spirit and pneumatology. Christianity and african religious beliefs and cultural values at that time. A total of 750 black american, black african, and white american students responded to a questionnaire on t. Doc african concept of time hendrik barnard academia. Its study has to go handinhand with the study of the people who practise the religion. The broad outline of worldview contrasts will apply. Pdf this paper aims to discuss the impact of the paradigm of global culture on african tradition particularly on the role of african traditional women. An african centred paradigm for social work 253 of the eurocentric worldview over the psyche of african peoples, and open the way for the transformation, creativity and unlimited potential that is embedded within authenticity. Dec 04, 2019 for more detailed information about african time zones and the concept of time in africa, read on. Let us now look at the concept and meaning of culture, as this is fundamental to our understanding of. The africentric framework is a genre of thought and praxis based in the cultural picture and interest of people of african descent. This piece further argued that the african idea of time as backward very much explains why africans are more concerned with how europe underdeveloped africa.

African concept of time in the pre colonial era in things fall apart, achebe, 1958. Corliss lamont believed passionately that it was within our power to create peace on earth. It is described as the product of thinking and experience of african forefathers and mothers of. Bert hamminga the western versus the african time concept version date 000309 goto. Pdf jesus christ, the son of god, son of man, son of david, lord kyrios, rabbi and messiah. African traditional religion has grown out of the african soil. Questions future is a word that both westerners and africans know. Keywords africa, politics, time, metaphysics, conflicts, temporality, sasa, zamani, personhood. Conflicts between african traditional religion and. Time as an abstract concept is foreign to the traditional african. Mystical powers and the traditional african worldview. Most of the observations and comparisons with european culture will apply to africa as a whole.

The most disturbing element of the african traditional worldview can be identified as the fear of power that may be harmfully used, as evil magic, witchcraft, and sorcery are considered to be at work all the time. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and. For example, being late for an appointment, or taking a long time to get down to business, is the accepted norm in most mediterranean and arab countries, as well as in much of lessdeveloped asia. Attitudes to time may differ between different cultures in often quite significant ways. The world is differently defined in different places. African indigenous knowledge systems and relevance of.

African that we understand the african worldview if we are to be strategic and effective in communicating the gospel. A total of 750 black american, black african, and white american students responded to a questionnaire on these beliefs about time. In general, the concept of time in africa has been researched on in a number of perspectives. This understanding of the pervasive influence of religion on humanity. In terms of the value orientation method, mainstream psychologists believe that human nature echoes the notion that people are complicated species, in that some are good and some are bad. It is the case for example when we speak about the philosophy of the inuit or the maya. That reflection spread among people and was expressed in art. How different cultures understand time business insider.

Sasa is what is now, what are the needs now, and what to do now. A comparision of the western and african concepts of time from a web page by bert hamminga for the westerner, there is past, present and future. For the african, the universe is filled with various levels and sources of power and energy. Pdf the african metaphysical worldview and its prostrate. Land has been used from time immemorial to promote economic growth and human development. Atr african traditional religion introduction three religions dominates african continent. Graham is a freelance social workerconsultant and holds a masters degree in social. What is often seen as conflict between liberal and conservative forces in society can be frequently traced to disagreements about the nature of sin.

The enlightenment, presents us with a linear conception of time and a three. Heinemann 1969 how the african future differs from the western one. The african worldview as the basis of practice in the helping professions dumisani thabede. Even more, without a clear delineation of what the empirical consequences may be for ones community they would be disinclined to seek or advocate for such intervention. African concept of time, a sociocultural reality in the. The exact scope of eurocentrism varies from the entire western world to just the continent of europe or even more narrowly, to western europe especially during the cold w. African studies quarterly sites university of florida. Critique of mbiti the ontological thesis that this paper focuses on is the claim of mbiti that africans lack the concept of future time.

The metaphorical concept of african time is one in which tardiness, lousiness and a total. One of the areas where time is of importance is when analyzing peoples perceptions on death and afterlife. Abstract the authors investigated the extent to which racial factors, cultural factors, or both influence a persons beliefs about physical time, personal time, and experienced and remembered duration. For the african, zamani is the ordered sequence of the events that took place in the life of the world. This is sometimes used in a pejorative sense, about tardiness in appointments, meetings and events.

Shaw it was decided long ago that african christian theology s. They change with time, but there are elements within those cultures that have. The former is composed of all the events which in western or linear concept of time would be considered as the future. The african worldview theory is essentially a combination of the classical and contemporary, continental and diasporic african overarching outlook on human experience and the natural and phenomenal world. African philosophy on the concept of time and its influence. A comparision of the western and african concepts of time. In the opening chapter he provides a brief account of the history of western philosophy from the presocratics, through hegel s and marx s dialectics, to such 20th century thinkers as. Africans have a twodimensional conception of time, namely a long past, a present and virtually no future. The exact scope of eurocentrism varies from the entire western world to just the continent of europe or even more narrowly, to western europe especially during the cold war.

In considering the african view of time, we must note that there are different cultures in africa. By the colonization of africa, the concept of putting a knife on the. Every wv contains an irreducible narrative component at a minimum or even more, it constitutes the heart and core, the very matrix of a worldview, its very essence, content, structure and implications. This means that in africa there is a firm belief in the existence and operation of the power of unforeseen circumstances or unpredictable life events in influencing peoples destiny in the world. At least it should give a basis for critical comparison. African that we understand the african worldview if we are to be strategic and effective. In african psychotherapy, it is believed that africans have a tragic sense of life madu et al. A total of 750 black american, black african, and white. The essays in this section describe some of the most important topics in the field of religion. Boykin 1986, 1994 argued that the african american culture is distinct from the white american culture, especially in its emphasis on spirituality, movement, affect, communalism, orality, and a socially defined time perspective. Let us begin with the american concept of time, for theirs is the most expensive, as anyone who has had to deal with american doctors, dentists or lawyers will tell you.

Myths, communalistic, african philosophy, earth and god. In africa, even in countries such as egypt which are more than 90% desert, agriculture is the mainstay of economic activity for the majority of people. African indigenous knowledge systems and relevance of higher. The traditional african worldview views the church in one of two ways.

This also includes the more leisurely, relaxed, and less rigorously scheduled lifestyle found in african countries, especially as opposed to the more clock. Themes, issues and problems in african philosophy springerlink. For many africans and ghanaians, in particular, it is religion more than anything else that shapes their worldview and participation in social life6. For african christians, the spirit pervades all of life, and not just the spiritual part of it. For many authors, a common african personality derives from a common african worldview according to khoapa 1980, an african s existential reality is one of collective being, they seek to understand the world through their intersection with all aspects of the world and other people. Time moves backward rather than forward and it is against this background that the concept of life and death becomes problematic in trying to understand the time frames in which they fit in the african philosophical perspective of potential time and actual time. The implications of africacentered conceptions of time and. Afrocentrism definition, examples, history, beliefs.

In page 11, he wrote that during the planting season, okonkwo worked daily on his farm from cock crow until chicken went to roost. The african centered worldview challenges social work to expand its philosophical and intellectual base to embrace humanity. The implications of africacentered conceptions of time and space. Talking about a philosophy in its broadest sense refers in fact to a worldview.

Whitrow, the natural philosophy of time, london and edinburgh 1961, pp. But this verdict is one which was born of ignorance of the african worldview. Available literature and academic practice in african philosophy since the 1960s have. Religion enters into every aspect of the life of the africans and it cannot be studied in isolation. Sep 01, 1977 horton, african traditional thought and western science in africa, vol. The concept of time plays a pivotal role in the way a society derives its values, beliefs and conceptions. The linear concept of time in western thought, with an indefinite past, present and infinite future, is practically foreign to african thinking. Pdf impact of globalization on traditional african religion. Instead, the african worldview observes a broader context of collective social and political based realities that contribute to mental illness kwate, 2005. This document pdf may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Interreligious relations, especially, among african traditional religion atr worshippers, muslims and christians are becoming sources of social tension and violence. John mbiti and the african concept of time john mbiti wrote from a theological. According to mbiti, the african concept of time is a two. Afrocentrism, also called africentrism, cultural and political movement whose mainly african american adherents regard themselves and all other blacks as syncretic africans and believe that their worldview should positively reflect traditional african values.