An African Christian Perspective on the Veneration of the Saints or the Ancestors

Almost all religions believe in life after death. Christians believe that their deceased relatives and Church members who were baptised before they died would rise to new life in Christ after death. However, some Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians find it difficult to accept the fact that our deceased brothers and sisters (who are called by different names, saints or ancestors) are alive and deserve honour or recognition from the living. Africans venerate their deceased brothers and sisters who lived impeccable and irreproachable lives while they lived on this earth. In the same way some Christians, especially Catholics, Anglicans and others in public ceremonies canonize their deceased brothers and sisters who lived lives worthy of emulation and call them saints. They set aside some days in the year when they are publicly venerated in their liturgies and celebrate their entrance into eternity with God. In this article the writer argues that both Catholics and Africans are doing nothing wrong when they venerate their brothers and sisters as heroes in this way. They are only giving them honour like we do to our national heroes and ask for their intercession in prayer. Although Christians and Africans call their deceased members who lived exemplary lives by different names (Saints and Ancestors respectively), they venerate them in similar ways and the Saints or Ancestors play similar roles in the lives of their living members, notwithstanding some dissimilarities. Keywords: Veneration, Worship, Saints, Ancestors. DOI : 10.7176/JPCR/45-02 Publication date :October 31 st 2019


Ancestral Worship?
argues that Africans do not worship the Ancestors. He said, The ancestors are not worshipped. They are no deified. The ancestors remain human beings, relatives of the living and they are referred to as such…no African will consider an ancestor as a god, although there are cases of exceptional nature where an ancestor has come to be regarded as a god. Sarpong (2001, 152) observed, Let it be stressed from the beginning that the Asante do not think of their ancestors as gods. They were human beings on earth and remain human in incorporeal existence where they are now. 'They are therefore considered, not as gods, but as relatives' who see us and have sympathy for their relatives on earth. Only their form as mundane creatures has changed. To qualify to be an ancestor, certain conditions must be fulfilled, including a person's conduct while alive and the manner of death of that person. According to Asare Opoku (1978, 36), "the Akans of Ghana believe that to become an ancestor one must have lived a life worthy of emulation, an exemplary life; one must also have lived to a ripe old age and have had children." Thus, a person who dies childless cannot be considered as an ancestor. The person must also have died a good death. A death is not good if it occurs as a result of suicide, an accident, any form of violence, or an unclean disease such as lunacy, dropsy, leprosy and epilepsy. Persons who die in such situations do not qualify to be ancestors (Asare Opoku, 1978, 36).

The Belief in Ancestors
R. S. Rattray in his emphatic study of Asante religion and culture portrayed the Asantes' cosmology as an active universe, meaning that, notwithstanding missionary attitudes, Asantes had a viable cosmology that maintained an effective social order (Kalu, 1979, 14). Human beings are at the centre of this universe. They move from birth through various roles in the human world to death. Death is not the end of life. People consort with those in the spirit world while still alive until they are called to join them (Kalu, 1979, 14). The ancestors are actively involved in the affairs of the family on earth. They help them in their struggles and provide support in times of difficulties. The only difference is the kind of involvement. They are invisible and possess spiritual powers that they can use on behalf of their human families for good or evil, depending on the type of relationship that exists between the living and the dead members of their family (Kalu, 1979, 14). There are also evil spirits who move around the human world. They are those who did not live good lives on earth, died bad deaths, had their corpses mutilated, did not have proper burials, or are generic evil spirits. The presence of evil spirits in the world challenges human life and existence, therefore, ancestral veneration is a series of rituals designed to harness the resources of the good deities in order to ward off the actions and control of the evil spirits (Kalu, 1979, 14-15). The ancestors are the intermediaries between men and God. The ancestors know the needs of their family members whom they have recently been with. They also have full access to the channels of direct communication with God or indirectly through their own forefathers. Therefore, relatives approach them more often for minor needs of life than they approach God. Even if the ancestors cannot perform miracles or extraordinary deeds to help their relatives in need, people still have a sense of psychological relief when they pour out their troubles before their seniors who have a share in both worlds (Mbiti, 2016, 108).
In Asante religious beliefs, death is not a barrier between the living and the dead. The dead and the living form one community and the means of communication between them are natural and well developed. The living and the dead are mutually dependent, and a certain amount of goodwill exists between them. What the dead cannot do for themselves, the living must do for them. And what the living must know, but do not, the dead can tell them if properly interrogated (Duncan, 2016(Duncan, , 1925. The ancestors form an integral part in the community. They are intermediaries between the physical and the spiritual world. The living ensures that the ancestral spirits are happy at all times, failure to do so could lead to disaster. The ancestral spirits have power to bring calamities to the living if they are not pleased. When things go wrong, people resort to the ancestors to find the cause. Asare Opoku (1978, 39) puts it this way, The dead do not severe their links with their kinsmen but continue to be members of their individual families, fulfilling their obligations as elders. Thus, they are considered active members of the families. The relationship between the dead and the living is symbiotic as each group has a part to play for mutual benefit. The dead still show a keen interest in the affairs of the living and the living in turn have a duty towards the dead. From the above analyses, it is evident that communities appeal to ancestors for their intercession in times of need. Similarly, individuals resort to veneration of ancestors, and the aid of their extended family circle for help when they need them. There is extensive room for appropriating more gods if they prove effective in controlling space-time events (Kalu, 1979, 16).
In traditional African societies the cosmology is tightly constructed because of the precariousness combatting evil forces, thereby creating openings for religious change (Kalu, 1979, 17).
The African family comprises the unborn, the living and the dead. This idea is similar to the Catholic doctrine of "the communion of saints" comprising the Church Suffering (the dead), the Church Militant (the living) and the Church Triumphant (the saints). John Paul II (1995, 43) in his Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa, affirmed that "ancestral veneration is the preparation for belief in the Communion of the Saints." Africans believe intuitively that the dead continue to live and remain in communion with the living (John Paul II, 1995, 43). Therefore, Africans are not doing anything strange when they place importance on the veneration of their ancestors. The veneration of ancestors is in line with Christian teachings. According to Conteh, ancestors are the spirits of deceased males and females who have been recognised after death as having lived good lives and have been included in the community of the venerated dead (Conteh, 2012, 23). They are spirits in the sense that they are no longer visible. However, they are not spirits in the sense that they are like Divinities or God.
Sarpong argued that the belief in the existence of the spirits of the dead and the influence they have over the living is found among all people, and in every conceivable religion and culture. Christians believe in saints who are only good Christians who are dead and are believed to be in heaven enjoying eternal bliss with their Creator and Father. Just as Catholics venerate Saints, Africans also venerate their ancestors. The belief in ancestors and their veneration therefore, are not peculiar to any age, religion or society. Death is a necessary condition for one to be considered an ancestor but does not automatically qualify someone to be an ancestor. Certain conditions were expected to have been fulfilled while the deceased was alive to qualify him/her to be an ancestor.
The first condition for one to be an ancestor is to be dead (Sarpong, 2002, 98). You cannot have a living ancestor. There is no living ancestor and there cannot be one. One can be an ancestor to a particular lineage, clan, town, chiefdom or tribe as the case may be. However, there is no such thing as the ancestors of a religion, corresponding to the saints of the Christian religion.
The second condition is that one must die a "good death." As indicated earlier, one who dies through certain diseases such as leprosy, epilepsy and small pox; a tragic death such as drowning, accidentally shot, killed by a falling tree, dying in child-birth, accused of being a witch cannot be an ancestor. On the contrary, Sarpong (2002, 33) argued that the way one dies, does not necessarily influence one's status as a Saint. It does not matter whether one is killed by the most dreaded or "unclean" disease or dies suddenly or tragically through an accident or not, one could be numbered among the greatest Saints (Sarpong, 2001, 33). In this regard, the requirements or qualification for being an ancestor is even more stringent than those of saints.
Thirdly, one must have led a good irreproachable life (Sarpong, 2002, 98). A thief, a murderer, a rapist cannot be an ancestor. No one wants him/her in his/her company. His/her spirit is unreliable. This principle agrees with the Christian practice of naming a Saint.

Similarities Between the Veneration of Saints and the Veneration of Ancestors
In the light of the above, I agree with Sarpong in the sense that there is a similarity between the Asantes' conception of the ancestor and the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine about Saints. The ancestors were once human beings on earth. They are now spiritual but remain human. They take interest in the affairs of the living. The living prays through them as intercessors (intermediaries) as they do through the saints, so that they may assist them in their own way. The ancestors are now in a position to help the living because of the "good" life they had lived while on earth (Sarpong, 2001, 32). These are exactly the same role(s) played by the Saints when Christians venerate them.
Therefore, according to Sarpong (1974, 33) when Christians call their dead members Saints and refer to those of Africans as ancestors, they are not expressing different ideas. Both words express ideas about people who once belonged to their religious groups, are now dead, and are supposed to be in a position of influence over the living. Just as the Saints are presented as models to Catholics to imitate, so do the Asantes present their ancestors to the living Asantes to imitate them as far as it is possible.
The Asantes believe that an ancestor must have been an adult who had lived up to a mature age. Therefore, s/he who dies a baby or infant, unless in a strictly exceptional case cannot be an ancestor. However, unlike the ancestor, anybody can be proclaimed a Saint irrespective of whether s/he is an adult, adolescent, an infant or a baby. Neither marriage nor celibacy disqualifies one from canonisation. Conteh (2012, 23) argued that the graves of the ancestors and their appearances in dreams remind us that the ancestors are in our midst. They are accessible and do not constitute a threat to the living in any way.
In a doctoral research conducted in Ejisu Juaben Municipality in 2017, I asked respondents about what Christianity shares in common with Asante Traditional Religion and whether Veneration of Saints and Veneration of Ancestors have anything in common. Table 1 and Table 2 show the responses given by the respondents.  Table 1 shows that out of 374 respondents, 214 (59.9%) agreed that Christianity and Asante Religion share in common the belief in ancestral veneration (i.e. the Roman Catholic Church doctrine of veneration of saints) while 105 (28%) disagreed. Three (3) respondents did not answer the question. The analysis of the denominations shows that there were some differences in beliefs between Roman Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians. Whereas 110 (75.3%) Roman Catholics agreed that ancestral veneration and veneration of saints have things in common, 75 (56%) Methodists and 39 (59.9%) Pentecostals disagreed that they share things in common. However, Roman Catholics believe that both saints and ancestors refer to dead people who lived holy lives while they were alive and are given to Christians or Asantes as models of emulation. While Christians call them Saints, Asantes call them Ancestors but they perform similar role and relate with the living in a similar manner. Both saints and ancestors are interested in the wellbeing of the living. The way this role is described is a matter of semantics or terminology.  Table 2 indicates that out of the 354 respondents, the majority of them, 247 (69.8%) disagreed that ancestral veneration is the same as the veneration of saints while 107 (30.2%) agreed. Twenty-three (23) respondents did not answer the question. When these numbers were analysed according to religious denominations, 89 (64%) Roman Catholics, 97 (74.6%) Methodists and 50 (58.8%) Pentecostals disagreed that they are the same.
In a related questionnaire, the results indicated that 25.1% versus 13.3% Roman Catholics, 27.4% versus 9.3% Methodists and 14.1% versus 7.6% Pentecostals disagreed that ancestral veneration and veneration of saints are the same.
When I asked respondents whether it is against Christianity to venerate ancestors or whether the veneration of saints is syncretic, there were divergent views from interviewees depending on whether they were Roman Catholics or Protestants. A female Methodist pastor responded that "veneration of ancestors is against Christianity; it is superstitious and syncretic." However, majority of Roman Catholic respondents agreed that the veneration of ancestors is not against Christianity. Rather, it is the same as the veneration of saints in the Roman Catholic Church. A Roman Catholic interviewee responded that Roman Catholics believe "ancestral veneration is not against Christianity. Ancestral veneration in itself is not superstitious. It depends on how it is done." He further explained, It depends upon one's idea of the identity of the ancestors. Ancestors, in the context of the Roman Catholic understanding, are worth venerating. However, the traditional idea of ancestors which is nebulous will call for a real discernment in embarking upon their veneration (Interview, 2017). Another interviewee answered, "No. Ancestral veneration is a remembrance of our departed ones who are recognized as worthy of emulation like the saints. It is a sign that we are still in communion with them" (Interview, 2017).
Moreover, "For the traditional Asante, ancestral veneration is not superstitious, nor is it syncretic. It is the Christian who sees it as such. It is not a belief in omens. It is an acknowledgement that we are still united. The Asante (African) concept of socialism is based on familyhood which comprises the living, the dead, and those yet to be born" (Interview, 2017).
The writer recommends that in order to make African Christians feel at home, they should be encouraged to use the names of local Saints (Ancestors) which are meaningful to them at baptism instead of adopting Euro-American names.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is plausible to say from the foregoing analyses that the term "Ancestor" as used by Africans for their exemplary deceased members who are found to be worthy of emulation and veneration is similar to the term "Saint" used in the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian denominations. Moreover, the roles played by the Ancestors in African societies are similar to the roles played by the Saints in the Roman Catholic Church; and the veneration given to the Ancestors and the Saints are both legitimate. Therefore, the African is not doing anything wrong if s/he venerates his/her Ancestors and ask for their intercession in prayers when s/he pours libation. In the same way, the Catholic who venerates the Saints is not doing anything contrary to the Scriptures barring any excesses and abuses. Both the Ancestors and the Saints are proposed to Africans and Catholics as people worthy of emulation. Moreover, because of they are spirits and are believed to be closer to God, they are in positions to intercede for the living in their needs.