African Religion Defined - 3rd Edition by Anthony Ephirim-Donkor (Paperback)

About the Book

This edition updates the scholarship on ancestor worship-with the addition of three new chapters. The book serves as an invaluable resource for those interested in African religion and symbolic representation and praxis of ancestor worship. The study examines Akan conception o...

Book Synopsis

This edition updates the scholarship on ancestor worship--with the addition of three new chapters. The book serves as an invaluable resource for those interested in African religion and symbolic representation and praxis of ancestor worship. The study examines Akan conception of God, the abosom, religious symbols, and annual festivities.

Review Quotes

Challenging the nation in some quarters that equate African religions with animism, Ephirim-Donkor examines the religious and cultural practices of the Akan...and argues that ancestor worship as practiced by the people is quite similar to other world religions. Influenced by the works of Clifford Geertz and Wallis Budge, Ephirim-Donkor maintains that the souls of the Akan dead are symbolically housed in the ancestors' stool, the very seat and embodiment of temporal and spiritual power among the Akan....This exciting volume, which includes three new chapters, is a must have for those interested in African religions.

Anthony Ephirim-Donkor's African Religion Defined is a masterfully written and insightful study of African religious experience. He offers a richly detailed examination of Akan cosmology and practices laced with engaging personal accounts. The book represents a major contribution to the field of Akan studies and to discussions about the nature and meaning of African religion....The work will be useful in both undergraduate and graduate school courses and will challenge students and scholars to reexamine categories and assumptions about African religions.

About the Author

Dr. Anthony Ephirim-Donkor teaches Africana studies at Binghamton University, State University of New York. He is also the author of African Personality and Spirituality: The Role of Abosom and Human Essence.