Religions of the African Diaspora: Crash Course Religions #11

African religions include Islam and Christianity, but also hundreds of diverse and complex indigenous religions. In this episode of Crash Course Religions, we explore those traditions and how, when forced intro adaption-mode as a result of the slave trade, they became a unique blend of cultural influences in the African diaspora.

Introduction: Vodou 00:00
Africa & the African Diaspora 01:01
Orisa-Vodun 02:20
Islam & Christianity 03:51
African Indigenous Cosmology 04:40
Rituals & Festivals 06:31
Creation Stories 08:39
Review & Credits 10:08

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Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

[oddaceisodd.]

I would just like to say I love John’s phrasing when he talks about religious traditions. He doesn’t say “these people believed that..” he says it as it is, “they welcomed their ancestors with song and dance.” I like how he phrases things in the way the people practicing these things would say it.

[LethargicScientist]

I'm amazed you mentioned spiders in the joke camera without touching on Anansi, god of stories, who is usually depicted as a spider with a human head or mask.

[hshepherd]

This will be awesome to show to my AP African American Studies students! Thank you.

[NinaDmytraczenko]

In Brazil there's Umbanda, a religion that is the sincretism of Yoruba, Catholicism, spiritism, and indigenous religions! Despite being a newish religion (100yo), it has ~400.000 followers

[noble_sword]

Great episode! I think African culture and religion doesn’t feature frequently enough in media, so I learned a lot of new stuff today. Really hope to see a series on African history by CC in the future.

[darrin-moto-]

I wrote my final history seminar paper on Vodou and the Haitian Revolution. This was a pleasant surprise to pop up on my feed this morning.

[bea-tirg]

OMG I NEVER THOUGHT JOHN GREEN WOULD BRING UP MY RELIGION IM LITERALLY CRYING 😭❤❤❤

[AndrewGordonBellPerc]

Loving the series, I can imagine how stressful it must've been to cover some of these topics, but you're doing it with grace

[evan]

8:52 The Universe: YO
Everything suddenly existing: sup?

[nouramouctar]

Thanks for taking the time to mention just how big Africa is and how spread the diaspora is. ❤️

[newbirdknits]

It's been a while since I've watched crash course this consistently. I love this series. Thank you!

[o..o]

Some other facts: there’s Louisiana Voodoo, and Hoodoo/Rootwork/Conjure developed in the southern US. The spiritualities always venerate their ancestors (one way is with an ancestor worship table where they interact with their passed on loved ones at least once a week). Also, according to Santeria and Vudu, everyone has an Orisha or Lwa assigned to them at birth. When getting initiated, it is sometimes called being crowned.

[ebonyblack]

I really appreciate the level of respect that keeps being shown in this series.

[sergion]

Yoruba is also practiced in Miami, Ocala, Tampa and lots of other parts of Florida by many Cubans. Whenever you see a "botanica" you know it's around. Thanks for explaining this topic! Great video John!

[JPBelizaire]

It's amazing to watch this man talking about Haiti. In a good way.

[unicorntamer]

This is where my community college class is taking a different direction. We have three weeks left in the semester. We're talking about new age religions, atheist, agnostics, and then wrapping up with a final essay reflecting on what we've learned in the class. But we were going in the same direction as this crash course series for a very long time. I've been enjoying everything so far. ❤

[Rawi]

Oh my God. Hearing that intro theme after long. I used to ENGULF these videos back in highschool. Straight up INHALE. Soo glad I had this pop up on my home feed. Its also about a particular topic thats been on my mind the longest. Thank you 🩶🫵🏿

[davidalexallen]

You're handling these delicate topics very well, I'm super impressed and proud :)

[tallyprestin]

Is pizza John a religion? No. But is it idolatry? Maybe. Let's turn to the thought bubble ...

[Pookie]

Thank you so much for covering this religion in such a thoughtful and inclusive manner. Thus far the series has been excellent! <3