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Himba
People
African
Cultures
The Himba people are an African tribe which practices monotheism and
ancestor worship. Many other African tribes practice animism and some
anthropologists consider monotheism a more highly evolved religion than
animism. They call their god Mukuru who and they use an ancestral fire to
communicate with the spirits of their ancestors. According to the religion
of the Himba people, Mukuru created man, woman, and cattle from the same
tree. Unlike most other monotheistic religions, Mukuru does not have
unlimited power and ancestors can also greatly influence the world and
events. One of the duties of the male leader of the family is to maintain
the ancestral fire, where he prays to departed progenitors and asks for
their blessings for his family. Whereas Mukuru controls most physical
elements of the world such as the land, water, and the weather, ancestors
control more local concerns such as sickness or the condition of their
cattle. For example, if someone becomes sick, the Himba people believe that
the ancestral spirits were somehow offended by the family's actions.
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