Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- Uganda and British East Africa
- PART I THE BANYORO A PASTORAL PEOPLE
- PART II THE BANYANKOLE A PASTORAL TRIBE OF ANKOLE
- PART III THE BAKENE, LAKE DWELLERS
- PART IV THE BAGESU A CANNIBAL TRIBE
- PART V THE BASOGA
- CHAP. XIX NORTH-WESTERN DISTRICT, CENTRAL DISTRICT AND SOUTHERN DISTRICT
- CHAP. XX MARRIAGE AND BIRTH CUSTOMS
- CHAP. XXI SICKNESS, DEATH AND BURIAL
- CHAP. XXII GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRIES, PLEASURES, BUILDING AND WARFARE
- CHAP. XXIII RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
- PART VI NILOTIC TRIBES. THE BATESO AND THE KAVIRONDO
- INDEX
- PUBLICATIONS OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS RELATING TO AFRICA
- Plate section
CHAP. XXIII - RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- Uganda and British East Africa
- PART I THE BANYORO A PASTORAL PEOPLE
- PART II THE BANYANKOLE A PASTORAL TRIBE OF ANKOLE
- PART III THE BAKENE, LAKE DWELLERS
- PART IV THE BAGESU A CANNIBAL TRIBE
- PART V THE BASOGA
- CHAP. XIX NORTH-WESTERN DISTRICT, CENTRAL DISTRICT AND SOUTHERN DISTRICT
- CHAP. XX MARRIAGE AND BIRTH CUSTOMS
- CHAP. XXI SICKNESS, DEATH AND BURIAL
- CHAP. XXII GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRIES, PLEASURES, BUILDING AND WARFARE
- CHAP. XXIII RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
- PART VI NILOTIC TRIBES. THE BATESO AND THE KAVIRONDO
- INDEX
- PUBLICATIONS OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS RELATING TO AFRICA
- Plate section
Summary
Worship of the dead and worship of the gods. In all parts of Busoga worship of the dead forms a most important part of the religion of the people, and the belief in ghosts and the propitiation of them are the chief features of their most constant and regular acts of worship. The gods, with fetishes and amulets, are able to do great things for the living; but, after all, it is the ghost that is most feared and obtains the most marked attention In childbirth, in sickness, in prosperity, and in death, ghosts materially help or hinder matters; hence it behoves the living to keep on good terms with them. It is because of this belief that people frequently make sacrifices of fowls and other animals to the dead and constantly seek their help. First and foremost, it is because of the firm conviction of the presence of ghosts that the elaborate funeral ceremonies are performed which have been noted above. In the beliefs of these primitive people we must relegate gods to a secondary place after the worship of the dead. It will be noticed that no god is believed to influence the future life of man nor do they think of ghosts as dwelling with the gods.
There are a few temples in which are priests and mediums, but the worship is not developed to any great extent; the chief gods are given below with brief accounts of their worship and their special functions.
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- The Northern BantuAn Account of Some Central African Tribes of the Uganda Protectorate, pp. 245 - 256Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1915