Wierzenia o ziemi. Analiza religioznawcza i afrykanistyczna

Abstract

Among the elements of nature the Earth occupies a special place in the beliefs nad the cult of many peoples. The Earth is the basis of a number of hieropfanic manifestations which form a whole and constitute a living cosmic unity. The peoples and nations of all times considered the Earth as a foundation of life and an infinite source of different kinds of existence. Their beliefs point at an inexhaustible ability to create and at the Earth’s vital power, which is shown in fertility and abundance. The Earth as a fertile mother and feeder is sourrounded by worship and respect. The cyclically revived nature and the very mystery of life contributed to sacralisation and mythologisation of the Earth and its vital power, which is testified to in the beliefs and rituals of many peoples and nations. The Earth plays an extremely important role in the economic, social and religious life of the Konkomba people and other Voltaic peoples from West Africa. Summing up the complex of Earth beliefs among the Konkomba people one can observe their multi-layer and varied character. Earth deity Kiting is the mother of god Uwumbor, who is at times also identified with the sky. The personified deity of Earth Kiting is a universal deity of all the Konkomba. It is manifested in the multitude of local Earth spirits, protectors of particular Konkomba clans. The Earth spirit is the source of life, fertility and food, securing the safety, peace and the observance of the moral code and the social order. Pouring down blood on the earth and adultery as well as any sexual intercourse in the bush or on the cultivated land (therefore outside the homestead) stain and insult the Earth. The importance of the ancestors and local spirits of the Earth in the social and religious life of the Konkomba follows from the fact that the former guarantee the continuity of patrilineal social structure expressing the unity of the dead with the living members of the lineage and clan community. On the other hand, the Earth spirits unite the members of particular clans with a given territory and justify their inherited right to inhabit and use the land.