Historian of religions Mircea Eliade has written about the spiritual values of the Bantu people of Africa in several of his books. In his famous work The Sacred and the Profane, Eliade explains that the Bantu believe that when God finished the creation of humanity, He stopped taking part in their affairs on earth. He writes:

“The Bantu say: ‘God, after creating man, no longer cares about him’” (Eliade, 1957, p. 124-5).

This implies that human autonomy is an important value for the Bantu. In other words, the choices people make in their everyday lives matter, and they cannot turn to God for assistance because He “no longer cares.”

Eliade also tells us that the Bantu engage in rituals of mystical rebirth (Eliade, 1957, p. 191). This suggests that personal transformation is another important value for the Bantu. Eliade expands on this idea in his book Rites and Symbols of Initiation (year). He explains that these rituals, as well as the Bantu burial customs, enable a person to return to the “embryonic state” (Eliade, 1958, p. 53).

Based on this evidence, two important values to Bantu people are human autonomy and personal transformation.

References

Eliade, M. (1957). The Sacred and the Profane. Harcourt, Inc.

Eliade, M. (1958). Rites and Symbols of Initiation. Spring Publications.

What kind of values are most important to Bantu people in Mircea Eliade's From Primitives to Zen?

People designated as “Bantu” are members of a number of Southern African societies, which Eliade—following early 20th-century anthropological conventions—calls tribes. They speak a number of languages classified into the Bantu language family. Eliade provides excerpts from several other scholars that explain the religious beliefs and practices of the Kikuyu, Herero, and Venda tribes. The emphasis is on belief in creator gods.

Eliade includes an excerpt from Jomo Kenyattta’s writings about Kikuyu religion. Ngai is identified as the “high god” of the Kikuyu people. Kenyatta identifies Kikuyu practices as “deity worship” in contrast to “ancestor worship.” Ngai is a creator god who gave mankind all things. He (the pronoun Kenyatta uses) has no parents or partner and inhabits the sky. Human behavior earns the love or hate of Ngai who, although he lacks mortal form, descends to reside temporarily on mountaintops.

Kikuyu people appeal to Ngai at times of crisis, especially childbirth, initiation, marriage, and death—the four events marked with special ceremonies. In normal daily life, humans assume that Ngai is pleased and rarely offer prayers or bother the deity. Public occasions such as political meetings and dances, however, are accompanied by prayers.

Another Bantu tribe are the Herero, who live in South-West Africa. According to H. Vedder, whose work is cited, their supreme being is Njambi Karumba, who includes two aspects of divine beings. Karumba is an older traditional deity, while Njambi is the Heavenly God. Njambi has the power over life and death and bestows all blessings. Living in the clouds, he is so powerful that he generally should not be named except in prayers concerning resolution of an extreme situation.

The Venda people of the Transvaal worship the deity Raluvhimba. The excerpts provided are by H. A. Stayt and Edwin Smith. He is a creator deity also associated with the heavens and, by extension, astronomical phenomena. He expresses his commands to the chief through thunder, and if angry with the people, can send drought or floods. He also may manifest as fire. Prayers to this deity are led by the chief, but the people may greet him directly. They consider him the rain-maker and pray to him when rain is scarce.