IntroductionThere are two ways of approaching the data on African ancestor worship. They can be dealt with as a system of beliefs viz., as a body of thought, or they may be handled as a reflection of social relations. African ancestor worship has most commonly been dealt with in the latter fashion, e.g. Fortes (1959: 30) says:the ancestor cult is the transportation to the religious plane of the relationships of parents and children; and that is what I mean by describing it as the ritualisation of filial piety.
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