The Economic Impact of African Spirituality

“What can these backward practices do for Africa? “

“Can it even contribute to the economy?”

These are comments by some who want to discredit African spirituality, like my practice of Vodu. Let me, therefore, break down how African spirituality and its concomitant herbal practices have politically, economically, and socially impacted Africa and the larger African Diaspora.

Politically and historically, many traditional practitioners inspired or directly fought for the freedom of the black man. For example, the Haitian Revolution, which led to the first free black nation in the Western Hemisphere, was led by a Vodu priest, Dutty Bukman, in 1791. Renowned American abolitionist Fredrick Douglas, on January 2, 1893, said:

“We should not forget that the freedom you and I enjoy today is largely due to the brave stand taken by the black sons of Haiti ninety years ago . . .striving for their freedom, they struck for the freedom of every black man in the world.”

There were many others like Bukman who fought against slavery and African oppression, such as Yaa Asantewaa in 1900 (Ghana), Mbuya Nehanda in 1896 (Zimbabwe), Nanny of the Maroons in 1740 (Jamaica), and more.

To understand African spiritual practitioners’ modern impact, we must first contextualize their socio-economic status in contemporary African society. Traditional practitioners in “ethnic religions” are just a fraction of the total African religious population. According to the World Christian Database 2020, traditionalists are merely 8 percent of the total, compared to Christians (49%), Muslims (42%), and Agnostics (1%). In my home country, Ghana, self-identified traditionalists are just 5%. (CIA Factbook). In a world dominated by western thought that prioritizes academic achievement over indigenous wisdom, traditional practitioners often don’t have a voice or access to society’s opportunities. Not to mention, the majority of Africans who are Christians often say we are “devil” worshippers. Thus, traditional practitioners are a small, often marginalized group of people with limited social support, acceptance, or privileges in today’s Africa. Despite these impediments, Africans who benefit from African spirituality and its tenets are in the millions.

Firstly, African spirituality and its philosophies contribute to the economy by attracting religious or cultural tourists to Africa in ways imported religions cannot. The recently held annual Ouiddah Vodun Festival in Benin on January 10 attracted thousands of tourists wanting to experience Vodun at its birthplace. Ghana’s 2019 Year of Return generated $1.9 billion when approximately 900,000 Diaspora Africans visited Ghana. These Diasporans went to Elmina Slave Castle to pour libations to their African ancestors, not a Church to seek salvation from white Jesus or Mohammed (The concept of going back to one’s ancestral roots, Sankofa, is from African (Akan) spirituality). Nigeria attracts thousands of active Santeria, Ifa, Candomble practitioners from the US, Cuba, and Brazil every year. These spiritual tourists contribute directly to the local economy by hiring local guides/translators, booking hotel reservations, buying local arts and crafts, consulting priests or healers, and much more. If given the same rights, privileges, and social acceptance of other religions, African spirituality, and its practitioners can boost the economy.

Some African governments might falsely believe that building Churches and Mosques will attract international tourists. An African “Cathedral” is unlikely to draw international tourism because it can never be the original. Why would a Diasporan in Europe or America travel to Africa to see a second-class, Africanized church when they can go to Europe and see the original at a much lower price? The irony in Ghana’s National Cathedral is that Israel donated a sacred stone from Jerusalem to be buried under the building, indicating its spiritual superiority as the true “motherland.” While Africa can never be the logical destination for global tourism in Christianity and Islam, our holy sites are the benchmarks for authenticity in African spirituality. So in terms of the potential contribution to tourism, African spirituality can do more than the rest.

Medically, thousands of African healers contribute to public health through herbal remedies and public health sensitization. According to WHO, about 70–80% of Africans use herbal medicine as their primary healthcare source. More often than not, these remedies come from traditional healers like Vodu practitioners. In other words, practitioners of African spirituality provide an essential service that medical practitioners cannot do due to their limited numbers. If they were not there, millions of Africans would have absolutely no access to herbal medicine. By contrast, most pastors’ only “care” is anointing oil and Biblical lyrics.

Even in terms of public health, practitioners played a critical role in ending the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. According to this 2015 Al Jazeera article, traditional healers sensitized their communities and influenced them to abide by medical protocols. This occurred because traditional healers can significantly shape the community’s health behavior since they are trusted, local community leaders. As custodians of the day-to-day cultural values, traditional and spiritual leaders sometimes command more respect and authority in their communities than unfamiliar trained health personnel, who can be easily viewed as having suspicious agendas, according to WHO Africa.

Traditional healers played a critical role to sensitize their local communities about the dangers of Ebola according to the WHO.

Socially, it is well-known that millions of Africans at home and abroad still consult traditional shrines when they encounter economic, social, marital, political, or mental health problems they can’t solve. Healers like Vodu practitioners are often the last resort help they get. This is even the case at my father’s shrine, Afrikan Magick Temple. Hundreds of lawyers, doctors, scholars, and people from all walks of life come daily to consult. Official or academic journals may not record this data, but, in reality, millions of Africans benefit from such services. Just ask someone whose life has been saved by going to a shrine even when doctors, lawyers, or psychologists couldn’t save them.

So, in a nutshell, that’s the socio-economic and political impact of African spirituality on Africa. Next time you see those pseudo-intellectuals just trying to sound smart and discredit African spirituality, send them this write up. Let them bring their facts, not opinions.

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