AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION AND LITERATURE

African Philosophy remains a discipline in its own right, sharing in the tradition of world philosophical heritage. Hence, it is adorned with beauty exhuming from the nature of African differential lifestyles, properly expressed in many of her indigenous religions and craftily recorded in oratures as Literature. However, African religion and Literature, two of the oldest human practises, dating back to the chequered history of Africa as the cradle and mother of ancient civilisation, need a philosophy, an African Philosophy as such. The unique African heritage, appreciated in religion and Literature, has given room to many African legacies by properly appreciating her traditional worship of a divine being and literary works or genres. Nevertheless, the exploration that led to the consumptive partitioning of Africa in Berlin in 1884 and later turned into the exploitation of Continental Africa left her deeply wounded as she lost her indigenous languages to the colonial masters as well as her traditional religion to the white man’s supremacy and imperialism, all in the name of colonisation which was nonetheless renewed in all forms of neo colonialism. Using the method of critical analysis, the researchers find out that even though African Literature and religions were so much demonised yet, some of those African literatures, as well as African religious artefacts, not only dot European history but adorn the European literary world and museums in their profound sacrality and awe. However, an attempt at the African philosophy of religion and Literature will help us understand and appreciate this need.

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