Sacred ObjectsSome animistic cultures worship fetishes; items or objects (usually man-made) that they believe possess supernatural powers or house spirits. Sir Edward Burnett Tylor- the founder of cultural anthropology- presented two theories of animism; that all parts of nature have souls that do not require a physical form (which prompted fetishism, the worship of physical objects as powerful beings) and that souls move independent of their physical forms (which gave rise to spiritsm- the worship of unseen souls and spirits).
Adim Yam Festival |
Festivals and Belief
Religions
that incorporate animism often have festivals and/or rituals designed to
appease the gods and spirits of the world around them. Animists believe that
the souls of their ancestors and the spirits of the earth must be appeased and
worshipped. They also believe that we (as humans) are on mostly equal footing
with the world around us, rather than being seen as superior to/dominant over
it; everything in the world has a purpose and spirit and we must therefore
treat everything with respect.
Examples of Animistic Festivals:
The Yam Festival- in some countries of West Africa, the first crop of yams is offered to
Gods and ancestors.
Habye- a Togo festival in which ‘death’ is stuffed into a pot and disposed of in the mountains. Alacita- a three day festival in Bolivia praising Ekeko, the God of prosperity. |