Religion
e-Mail on 10/31/2003 Return to List
Religion in Burkina Faso
is a much more fluid and accepting than other places. The two principal
religions are Islam and Christianity, with the higher percentage going to
Islam. Christianity divides between Catholicism and Protestant. However, people are very accepting of
each otherŐs beliefs, and religion rarely serves to divide people here.
Then there is also
animism, which is the rather crude term referring to all the traditional tribal
beliefs. There are quite a number
of variations here, and each ethnic group has somewhat different beliefs,
practices, and ceremonies. There might as well be further differences between
different groups or villages of the same ethnic group. The larger and more
developed the place, the more the people tend to focus on Christianity or
Islam. The smaller and less developed a place, the more they lean toward
animism, though itŐs often a mixture of the two poles. For instance, the family I live with are
Muslim yet still practice all their older tribal beliefs.
I'll be heading back to
Banfora either tomorrow or the day after. I have to close down the house we've
been renting there as the Peace Corps now views them as security risks. Wish I
had known that a few months ago when I was going through all the hassle of
switching to a cheaper house. So this leaves me with the question of how to
power up my laptop. I have the converter for the car battery, so I think I'll invest
in a solar panel to charge it back up each day since carting it between village
and Banfora is a bit of a pain.
Well, love you guys a
lot. Looks like I'll be in Banfora for my birthday and Benin for Christmas.
I'll try to write
soon.
Shaffer
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