Myths of death, after life & eschatology - Essay Example

Mircea Eliade "From Primitives to Zen Ngai, the High God of the Kikuyu Myths, stories and legendaries in religiousconcept are usually regarded important since it is through them that the human beings present the supersensible world. African mythology for instance and their views about religion seeks to utilize any modern means to preserve and transmit cultural beliefs across generations. These religious myths explain universe organization in respect to its existence, the life and human destiny.

This paper attempts to present African thought and myths as important to the understanding of the African being and human being’s connection with the Supreme Being. ‘Ngai’ is the name of the most High God in Kikuyu. This worship does not establish a connection with ancestral spirits. The Kikuyu have always believed in one God whom they have always regarded as creator and provider of all things, he who lives in the sky and temporal homes on earth and designated as mountains which serve as his resting place when he visits the Kikuyu people supposedly to lay his curse or confer his blessings to the people. (Mircea)Drawing from many African cultures, the Kikuyu believe in existence and life after death.

Therefore when a person threatens to die, the community call upon the Ngai, and so it is believed widely among this community that it is only Ngai who decides whoever dies. At every occasion in kikuyu, including birth, marriage, initiation and death a prayer communication is established then between the victim and Ngai. Other studies have suggested that these four events in Kikuyu bear a lot of significance in Kikuyu culture, and as such during other normal happy times no such prayers are offered nor religious ceremonies conducted.

Kikuyu believe in afterlife. Subsequently, it is also argued that the ancestors exist in the community’s descendants. Therefore it is a common cultural practice that children are then named after their grandparents, this assumes that once an someone has been named after an ancestor, then the ancestor exists with these people in their everyday activities, and also other consequences are experienced when naming of an ancestor has been forgotten and thus appears in manners that are not pleasantry. (Mircea)Mircea further says that besides believing in death, Kikuyus also believe in the existence of their ancestors, there are several cultural undertakings that they practice in order to appease the ancestors especially if ancestors have been ignored.

In most occasions, they pour beer on the ground or food in attempts to appease the ancestors, practices that however do not have any religious sense.Due to Ngai’s omnipresence, the Kikuyus do not believe everyday prayers or religious ceremonies and agreed that Ngai is happy with the general behaviors or welfare of the society, and there is no need for prayers, only choosing prayers during public gatherings and occasions to seek for prayers and guidance from Ngai. Work citedMircea, Eliade. Death, Afterlife, and Eschatology: A Source Book of the History of Religions (pt.

3 of From Primitives to Zen. 1. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.