Religion and Origins
In a recent survey,
from the US government 2013, Religion in Rwanda is broken up into percentages. Approximations
of these numbers are here as they are close as they can get for current census. 57% of
the population is Catholic, 26% is Protestant, 11% is Seventh-day Adventist, 4%
is Muslim,1% is non practicing and the other is traditional indigenous traditional
beliefs. [1]
Rwandans can both
practice traditional religion as well as Christianity. The core of traditional religion is a supreme
being or spirit called Imana. This god has the ability to grant wealth and
fertility. They can only address this spirit with intermediaries. There are ancestral deities that can intercede
on the behalf of the person but they are deceased family members referred to as
abazima. [2]
Rwandans believe that
Imana is very similar to Christian God.
His is the creator, he is everywhere and he knows all. They also believe in three different worlds,
the underworld, the world and the sky.
Sky is ruled by thunder, Inkuba , the underworld by death, Urupfu, and
the world by the King, Umwami. [3]
According to African Myths of Origin, Imana was the
creator of two worlds, one above and one below.
In the above world everyone was happy and lived great lives. There was one couple that were childless and
the woman asked Imana for a child, Imana granted this woman her wish but she
was to keep it a secret. She had three
children this way. Her sister was
jealous and wanted to know how she had her children so when she was drunk on
banana beer, she told her sister. Well
the secret was out and Imana was not happy.
He sent the woman’s three children into the world below. (Belcher,2005,p
188-191) [4]
[5]
References
[4]Belcher, S. (2005).
African Myths of Origin. New York, NY: Penguin Group Inc.
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