African religions include Islam and Christianity, but also hundreds of diverse and complex indigenous religions. In this episode of Crash Course Religions, we explore those traditions and how, when forced intro adaption-mode as a result of the slave trade, they became a unique blend of cultural influences in the African diaspora.
Introduction: Vodou 00:00
Africa & the African Diaspora 01:01
Orisa-Vodun 02:20
Islam & Christianity 03:51
African Indigenous Cosmology 04:40
Rituals & Festivals 06:31
Creation Stories 08:39
Review & Credits 10:08
***
Support us for $5/month on Patreon to keep Crash Course free for everyone forever!
Or support us directly:
Join our Crash Course email list to get the latest news and highlights:
Get our special Crash Course Educators newsletter:
Thanks to the following patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever:
Reed Spilmann, Brandon Thomas, Emily Beazley, Forrest Langseth, Rie Ohta, oranjeez, juliebear , Jack Hart, UwU, Leah H., David Fanska, Andrew Woods, Ken Davidian, Stephen Akuffo, Toni Miles, Steve Segreto, Kyle & Katherine Callahan, Laurel Stevens, Krystle Young, Perry Joyce, Scott Harrison, Mark & Susan Billian, Alan Bridgeman, Breanna Bosso, Matt Curls, Jennifer Killen, Jon Allen, Sarah & Nathan Catchings, team dorsey, Bernardo Garza, Trevin Beattie, Eric Koslow, Indija-ka Siriwardena, Jason Rostoker, Siobhán, Ken Penttinen, Nathan Taylor, Barrett Nuzum, Les Aker, William McGraw, ClareG, Rizwan Kassim, Constance Urist, Alex Hackman, kelsey warren, Katie Dean, Stephen McCandless, Wai Jack Sin, Ian Dundore, Caleb Weeks
__
Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Instagram –
Facebook –
Twitter –
CC Kids:
source
Pizza John is a religion and it is not for you to deny it.
I would very much like a t shirt with the mustachioed visages of Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Horace, Odin, …all of them.
With mustaches
While Pizza John isn't a religion, I do feel an argument could be made that Pizza John is a symbol to Pizzamas, and that Pizzamas could be seen as a movement with great importance that a large group of people believe does good for humanity. Does that make Pizzamas a religion, and therefore Pizza John a religious symbol?
Just want to say I really appreciate the mini-rant about spiders. John Green gets it
Santería is a religion?! This whole time I thought it was a place. Thank you John for making me slightly less ignorant one video at a time!
Pizza made in Turkey is not actually pizza. We call it that for the tourists 😅
On the complex issue of leaving African Traditional Religion and embracing Christianity, Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart is an excellent place to begin.
Don't be a Stephen king. Spiders are our friends. They bug the bugs that bug us
Off topic somewhat, but I did indeed hang out with spiders for several years of my youth. I had a huge web pop up outside my window when I was growing up, and was fascinated by watching the spider catch prey and then seeing her babies hatch and grow. My mom wanted to go out and break the web down and I threw a fit (I was maybe 12); they weren't doing anything, they weren't coming inside, and I felt protective over them. Mom figured it was better than me doing drugs on the streets, so she let me keep them so long as I took any that got inside back out.
This went on for years, I thinkuntil I left for college. The mom spider would have babies, they would grow and then fly off on the wind using parachutes of web, I am completely serious. The mom would die around winter, and in early spring one of the babies (I'm assuming) would come back, fully grown, and repopulate the web. This was so consistent it became a tradition I looked forward to.
I distinctly remember once hearing a buzzing and thumping, and looking out to see a wasp or something similar picking the babies off the web. Literally just plucking them off. I ran out with a broom and fought it off, getting stung a bunch in the process, but it was worth it. I know that wasp also deserved to eat and live (I don't remember if I killed it or drove it off, this was over 20 years ago), but these were my friends lol.
Anyways, your tangent just made me pleasantly stroll down memory lane. I hope that family of spiders might still be going, or at least the spirit attached to them is at least happy.
I just mentioned the Ghana coffins the other day!
Wow! The Bambara's "Yo" and Hinduism's "Aum"! And kind of the Gospel of John (in the beginning was the word and the word was God).
Honestly I would join a Pizza John religion
I had my order of Pizza John's in eleven minutes and seven seconds. It was rich but not disgusting, too much filling to rush through, and worth having again. Recommended to savor the mouthfuls, gorging will miss a lot. Have it a few times, there's more in there than you might think! One star (there's only one star in the video, John).
yo
Love the liberated language !!!! "enslaved peoples"
Pizza John isn't a religion….yet.
I'm not an expert on it but also it seems like syncretism of Christianity and Western African religions is pretty common in the caribbean. Celia Cruz had songs referencing orishas, etc., and the song Aguanile mentions Yemaya and has "Kyrie eleison" as part of the lyrics, from Ancient Greek prayers.
Wish he could’ve touched on hoodoo, which was developed by enslaved people in america (with west African roots) and was used as a form of resistance against slave masters.
nice video
I grew up like many Haitian Americans with Catholic practitioners but Haitian voodoo also in the background. Always sprinkled in, the prayers and the protection chants and whatnot. Same with my cousins who are Santeria. It was so natural to me
I don’t appreciate John saying Pizza John is not a religion THATS MY FAITH MAN
"You hang out with a brown recluse." 😂 True John, they're not the best room mates. Introverts who lash out, with biting diatribe.