A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.
(Diane Mariechild)
The most fundamental, perhaps the most important influence in the life of most Africans is religion. Though there is the belief in, and worship of one supreme deity which is universal among all really primitive people, not everyone of them exudes the same form or with the same vigor, but still the high God is embedded prominently enough in all of them to make his dominant position indubitable (Awolalu, 1975). Traditional religions refer to the indigenous or autochthonous beliefs of a people occupying a particular territory. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. Olupona (2014) posits that because religion is a way of life, traditional religions relate to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the people involved. Traditional religions the world over are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences as modernity and technologies advance.
Unlike the portrayal in the representation of women in several literature, women through traditional religions have arisen to the place of commanding worship from males and females alike. Though the Supreme Being often takes masculine attributions in most of the traditional beliefs, there are empirical traces of women being worshipped as supreme beings in some religions, a fit that would have been a herculean task to achieve without religion. For instance, Anti (2018) posits that:
The Supreme gods of the Ewe of Ghana are Mawu-Lisa. They are twins. Mawu, the female is represented by the moon, while Lisa the male is represented by the sun.……the red wooden statue with largebreasts and a crescent in one hand found among the Ewe. This image of Mawu is the only known image of the Supreme Being in Africa(Anti, K.K. 2018. Women in African Traditional Religions).
The worship of Mawu among the Ewe people is an age-long doctrine which dictates the workability of their society hence the influence of religion. Among some people of Western, Eastern and Southern Africa (such as the Igbos of Nigeria), women control the earth fertility and they are renowned rainmakers. This earth goddess is often given feminine attributes as reproduction and bountifulness is inherent thereof. In Africa, women perform the role of a native doctor and healer among many African people and are often revered for such “divine” roles, and older women after menopause perform priestly duties among other religious duties thereof. Zimon (2006) believes that spirit find the body of women more fertile and welcoming than men for possession hence, the importance of women in spirituality and religion. Both men and women are diviners without discriminations among many African people.
The case is similar in the East as Mark (2016) posited that women had stood tall (perhaps taller) among men in Ancient China and had consciously worked their way to the position of worship and reverence by men. For instance, Xiwangmu was the known queen of the spirits and immortal gods, who were occupying the land of Xihua (West Flower). She was given the attribute of the goddess of immortality and occupied a gold-filled castle in the Kunlun Mountains. The Xiwangmu was made most popular during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) when her cult and shrines were built for her by the government. She was also seen to have combined both the natural roles (as a wife) by being married to Mugong, Lord of the Spirits and divine role as a goddess.
In the same vein, Brockway (2015) presented the case as it was (and still is) in the Roman Empire. Among the multitude of men, a woman was adorned with reverence and worship which was believed to be the goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. Venus- a female supernatural being- is one of the most famous Goddesses on earth, with a possession of her own planet - Venus, planet of poetry, music, pleasure and love. Her name is synonymous with all that is feminine, and with love and passion. The same was the case among the Greeks where women were worshipped and reverenced without prejudice to their gender parlance. Athena among many other smaller goddesses was among the Olympians- the great gods/goddesses of Ancient Greece who were worshipped with vim and vigor.
Yemoja, the most prominent of the river divinities among the Yoruba people for example, is not only the mother of numerous river deities, but also the ruler of the Ogun River in Abeokuta. She is also regarded as the mother of fishes and the giver of children. Women therefore pray to her for children, with yams and fowls….There are other prominent river goddesses like Oya the goddess of the Niger River and Orisha Oko, an important farm goddess (Anti, K.K. 2018. Women in African Traditional Religions).
Pertinently, traditional religion has not discriminated between male and female as the latter command worship amidst men. Theoretically, it cannot be said that the traditional fit where women are given reverence and worship through traditional religions was brought about by the New Right i.e. neoliberalism as the origin of traditional worship and religion is owed to the inception of the society and is as old as the pristine society itself whereas, the New Right theory is a recent event which was ushered in by the age of agitation and revolution.
Although it can be inferred that the liberty allowed individuals to greatly participate in religions that protrude their self worth and enhance their personal sense of choice is owed to the agitations of neoliberals, which has invariably yielded more gains to religions- traditional religions inclusive.