A METAPHYSICAL UNDERSTANDING OF ANCESTRAL WORSHIP IN YORUBA THOUGHT SYSTEM: A PHILOSOPHICAL EXPOSITION

Abstract

The belief in the existence of ancestors is predominant in African Traditional Thought. This belief further emphasizes the ontological relationship and interconnectedness between the physical and the spiritual worlds within African thought systems. It is held that ancestors, although dead in the physical world, continue to exist in the spiritual realm and possess the power to influence or interfere in the affairs of the living. Hence, John Mbiti refers to ancestors in African spirituality as the “living-dead.” This paper therefore attempts to examine certain conceptual and linguistic clarifications concerning the subject of ancestral worship or veneration. Using the expository and critical methods of philosophizing, the study explores the practices of ancestral worship or veneration (as the case may be) within African traditional thought. The paper also examines not only the requirements for ancestorhood but, more importantly, the categories of ancestors in African ontology. The study concludes that the term ancestral worship is not entirely misleading because, based on the categories of ancestorhood, some ancestors are indeed worshipped while others are venerated.