“He should stay in the grave”: Cultural patterns in the interpretation of near-death experiences in African traditional religions.

Historical accounts of near-death experiences are rare in indigenous African societies, according to a survey of ethnographic, explorer, and missionary literature. Correspondingly, mythological narratives of journeys to afterlife realms are scarce, and there is little concern with afterlife speculation. Instead, many African peoples focused on ancestral spirits, spirit possession, sorcery, and precipitous burial practices that limited NDE occurrences. NDEs were sometimes viewed as aberrational, making individuals reluctant to report them. In such cultural contexts, NDEs could not have significantly shaped afterlife beliefs.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A wide-ranging survey of ethnographic, explorer, and missionary literature demonstrates that although historical accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs) are attested in indigenous African societies, they are comparatively rare. Correspondingly, there is also a scarcity of mythological narratives of journeys to afterlife realms and a comparative lack of concern with afterlife speculation per se. Instead the literature reveals that many African peoples had marked concerns about potentially malevolent influences of ancestral spirits, shamanistic focus on spirit possession and sorcery, and precipitous burial practices limiting the occurrence of NDEs. NDEs were sometimes seen as aberrational, suggesting that individuals would have been reluctant to relate them. In such cultural environments, NDEs could scarcely have played a significant role in contributing to afterlife conceptions.