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National Museum of African Art - Smithsonian Institution

Global Religions of Africa

Religion touches the lives of all of us, regardless of individual beliefs or practices. Yet, something as deeply personal as religion is often reduced to abstract theological tenets. The National Museum of African Art wants to become a place in which everyone can express their experience in a respectful setting, thereby building community and empathy through knowledge.

The museum is presenting a variety of programs—including scholarly discourse, film, and community reflection—centered on the global religions of Africa. These programs will not only increase awareness but model respectful dialogue as we engage with our communities and their spiritual landscape.

The Global Religions of Africa Initiative at the National Museum of African Art is generously supported by the Lilly Endowment Inc.


Heritage Talks

The African diaspora is a melting pot of cultures, beliefs, and values. Through this series of candid conversations on heritage and faith, we encourage people to share their experiences and journeys of faith as we consider whether one’s faith can thrive in a culture different than that of one’s heritage. Presenters from all walks of life delve into challenges such as navigating interfaith relationships, retaining traditional beliefs while living in a culture with opposing values, or raising children exposed to “Western ideologies” from varying perspectives.

Each program includes a trivia game about the myriad cultures of Africa that incorporates material culture of faith through artworks, objects and other aspects of culture.

Presented in collaboration with HM Entertainment and The Africa Memory Game
Images courtesy HM Entertainment

A Happy Medium or Uncomfortable Compromise?

July 1, 2021
1–2 p.m. EST | 7–8 p.m. GMT
Zoom Webinar
To register, click here, registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to access the webinar

Raashida Kahn
Raashida Khan
Nolan Stevens
Nolan Stevens
Faith + culture + religion + traditions—is there room in your faith to remain in touch with your traditional, cultural, and perhaps, national identity? Raashida Khan and Nolan Stevens examine potential challenges related to this question.

Making Connections or Reconnecting to Something . . .

July 8, 2021
1–2 p.m. EST | 7–8 p.m. GMT
Zoom Webinar
To register, click here, registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to access the webinar

Muvumbi Ndzalama Ngwenya
Muvumbi Ndzalama Ngwenya
Qhamisa Mpayipeli
Qhamisa Mpayipeli
Have you embarked on a journey to discover yourself during the pandemic? Have you sought out God or a higher power? Join Qhamisa Mpayipheli and Muvumbi Ndzalama Ngwenya for a thoughtful discussion.
Pregnancy, Childbirth and Beyond

July 15, 2021
1–2 p.m. EST | 7–8 p.m. GMT
Zoom Webinar
To register, click here, registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to access the webinar

Boitshepo Modipa
Boitshepo Modipa
Boitumelo Setshedi
Boitumelo Setshedi
Boitumelo Tumi Setshedi and Boitshepo Modipa share their experiences as they embarked on parenthood. Has faith impacted their decisions as they’ve maneuvered this pivotal life experience? Have traditional and cultural practices been observed? Has there been a desire to connect to a higher power since becoming parents?
Unpopular Opinion: When Tradition Meets Faith

July 22, 2021
1–2 p.m. EST | 7–8 p.m. GMT
Zoom Webinar
To register, click here, registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to access the webinar

Chief Apostle Mtimandi E Nwenya
Chief Apostle Mtimandi E Nwenya
Tiisetso Makhubedu
Tiisetso Makhubedu
Chief Apostle M. Ngwenya and Tiisetso Makhubedu reflect on difficult, often taboo, practices which no longer make sense in the face of embracing a new faith that denounces such traditions. Among these topics are labia stretching from southern Africa, rites of passage for young Xhosa men, or the West African practice of wearing waist beads that is considered idol worship or witchcraft in other doctrines.
Two Strangers and Cup/Glass of . . .

July 29, 2021
1–2 p.m. EST | 7–8 p.m. GMT
Zoom Webinar
To register, click here, registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to access the webinar

Muhammad Shakeel Garda
Muhammad Shakeel Garda
Pastor Mandla Mbatha
Pastor Mandla Mbatha
Pastor Mandla Mbatha and Muhammad Shakeel Garda explore the similarities and differences in faith and belief systems in this tableside chat.

Speaker series

Panel discussions and talks by religious studies, art history, and museum studies scholars as well as religious leaders and practitioners explore a variety of topics. Questions from the audience will be addressed following the presentation.

Beyond Aesthetics: Reflection on the Art of Okuku Headdress in Benin Religion and Culture
(Video archive)
Itohan Idumwonyi, Ph.D.
Itohan Idumwonyi, Ph.D.
The okuku headdress, most notably associated with the royal women of the Benin kingdom, has in modern days become more popular with nonroyal women. Join Itohan Idumwonyi, Ph.D., professor of religious studies at Gonzaga University, as she explores okuku’s significance in Benin dress culture and as a metaphor of representation, citizenship, and ethnic identification. She further argues that women’s re/creativity of okuku is a conceptual art and should be paralleled with the male-produced artwork such as Igun bronze casting.

Religious Leadership in the Age of Coronavirus (Video archive)

Rev. Tony Lee.
Rev. Tony Lee.
Credit: Bill Lee
Join us for a candid conversation on the role and power of religion in times of crises with Reverend Tony Lee, founder and senior pastor of the Community of Hope A.M.E. Church in Hillcrest Heights, Md. Lee will share his experiences of leading a congregation through the COVID-19 pandemic, the integration of technology into worship, and the significance of maintaining spiritual communities in the advent of social distancing. Lee will also discuss the evolving nature of religious practice and how religion serves as a tool for understanding cultures and communities across time and space.

African-Inspired Spirituality in the African Diaspora (Video archive)

Sheila S. Walker, Ph.D.,
Sheila S. Walker, Ph.D.,
Sheila S. Walker, Ph.D., cultural anthropologist, filmmaker, and executive director of Afrodiaspora, Inc., will discuss the continuity of spirituality of African origin in communities of the African diaspora in the Americas and beyond. Using images of religious practices from her extensive field research and inviting practitioners to speak for themselves, Walker will address topics such as the presence of African spiritual beings in the diaspora as well as how diasporic communities express their Africanity in the context of “world religions” such as Christianity.

Africa in Reel Time

The Global Religions of Africa film series presents short films or film excerpts that explore spirituality, faith, traditions, cultural belief, identity, politics, and values. After each screening, Mwiza Munthali, host and producer of WPFW’s (89.3FM) radio show AfricaNow!, leads a discussion with each director and facilitates an online audience Q&A session.

Sponsored by the Lily Endowment and presented in collaboration with Mansa Colabs LLC.

Circus without Borders
(Video archive)

August 13, 2020
2–3:30 p.m.
Ages 12 and up

Join director Susan Gray, producer Linda Matchan, and acrobats Guillaume Saladin and Yamoussa Bangoura for Q&A before the screening of Circus without Borders, a documentary about world-class acrobats Saladin and Bangoura.

Presented in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting

The Nature of Faith and Issues of Identity, Belonging, and Politics

June 18, 2020
5:30–6:30 p.m.
Zoom Webinar

Join filmmaker Shirikiana Aina as she shares perspectives on a spiritual journey and the role of faith around issues of identity, belonging, and politics. View a 15-minute excerpt from her film Footprints of Panafricanism, which revisits Ghana’s independence and the powerful bonds that were created between Africans on the continent and in the diaspora as they built a liberated territory to recover from the impact of slavery and colonialism.

Sponsored by the Lily Endowment and presented in collaboration with Mansa Colabs LLC.

Spirituality through the Lens of Cultural Continuity and Tradition

June 25, 2020
5:30–6:30 p.m.
Zoom Webinar

Filmmaker Steffan A. Spencer examines the vibrant cultural and spiritual traditions of ancient Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia in his 14-minute documentary short Kissed by the Sun: A Study of Nile Valley Cultural Continuity. The documentary celebrates the cultural continuity and historical importance of the Nile Valley nations once known to the world as Khemet, Nubia, and Axum/Punt (Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia) and explores how the people of Africa have creatively endeavored to understand themselves, and the world, while honoring the vibrant spiritual traditions and cultural achievements that bind theses great Nile Valley civilizations.

Sponsored by the Lily Endowment and presented in collaboration with Mansa Colabs LLC.

A Spiritual Journey on Horseback from Addis Ababa to Lalibela

July 2, 2020
5:30–6:30 p.m.
Zoom Webinar

Join filmmaker Indrias G. Kassaye and subject Ty Christen Joseph as they share Ty’s experience as a young African American English teacher from Brooklyn who goes on a spiritual journey to discover more about his African ancestral heritage.

A Jobiraw Film Production. Courtesy Indrias G. Kassaye

Sponsored by the Lily Endowment and presented in collaboration with Mansa Colabs LLC.

Mimouna Festival

Come celebrate good neighbors with African Art. Mimouna, a festival based on Moroccan narratives of unity, commemoration, goodwill, and friendship, marks the end of Passover and the advent of spring.

Enjoy the rich and diverse influences of Gnawa and Andalusi music performed by Ismail Bouzidoune and Mor Karbasi. Gnawa mixes classical Islamic beats with African traditional rhythms. Andalusi music, originally developed in al-Andalus in the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th century by the native Muslim population, influenced many different styles of music across the Maghreb, including piyyutim (liturgical music of Moroccan Jews), which is sung in Hebrew, Arabic, and Haketía.

Presented in partnership with the Sephardic Heritage International DC (SHIN DC), the Embassy of Israel, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco. Inspired by the exhibition Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa.