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Ancestors as Elders in Africa1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

Igor Kopytoff
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Extract

Ancestor cults and ancestor worship loom large in the anthropological image of sub-Saharan Africa and few would disagree with Fortes that ‘comparatively viewed, African ancestor worship has a remarkably uniform structural framework’ (Fortes, 1965: 122). The general pattern may be quickly summarized. Ancestors are vested with mystical powers and authority. They retain a functional role in the world of the living, specifically in the life of their living kinsmen; indeed, African kin-groups are often described as communities of both the living and the dead. The relation of the ancestors to their living kinsmen has been described as ambivalent, as both punitive and benevolent and sometimes even as capricious, In general, ancestral benevolence is assured through propitiation and sacrifice; neglect is believed to bring about punishment. Ancestors are intimately involved with the welfare of their kin-group but they are not linked in the same way to every member of that group. The linkage is structured through the elders of the kin-group, and the elders' authority is related to their close link to the ancestors. In some sense the elders are the representatives of the ancestors and the mediators between them and the kin-group.

Résumé

CONCEPTS D'‘ANCÊTRES’ ET D'‘AÎNÉS’ EN AFRIQUE

Les ‘cultes des ancêtres’, de structures remarquablement uniformes, sont considérés comme un des traits les plus spécifiques des cultures africaines. Cet article examine d'abord chez les Suku du Congo le phénomène qui, selon certains critères, serait considéré sans hésitation comme un ‘culte des ancêtres typique’. Cependant l'analyse des concepts Suku montre que les relations avec les ancêtres font partie intégrante d'une structure plus large de séniorité, dans laquelle le fait qu'un aîné soit vivant ou mort est d'importance secondaire. Sur le plan sémantique, ceci est réédité par l'absence d'un terme Suku distinct pour désigner ‘l'ancêtre’, un seul terme étant employé pour les aînés, vivants et morts.

Il n'en est pas seulement ainsi dans la sémantique Suku. Il y a d'autres langues bantou qui ne distinguent pas les ‘ancêtres’ et les ‘aînés’, un seul terme englobant ces deux concepts. D'autres langues encore, bien qu'employant des termes différents, les construisent à partir d'un même radical.

Finalement, les langues bantou semblent faire appel au même fonds commun de radicaux pour exprimer l'idée d' ‘aîné’ ou d' ‘ancêtre’ ou d' ‘aîne/ancêtre’, lesquels expriment des dimensions sémantiques tout à fait différentes.

Le terme ‘ancêtre’ draine avec lui certaines connotations des cultures occidentales qui ont subtilement influencé les théories anthropologiques sur les phénomènes africains. L'article suggère qu'en englobant le concept d' ‘ancêtres’ dans la catégorie conceptuelle d' ‘aînés (vivants et morts)’, les analyses théoriques des ‘cultes des ancêtres’ se clarifient et que certains points embarrassants peuvent être résolus.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , April 1971 , pp. 129 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1971

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