Christianity in Angola

We are featuring the nation of Angola in this edition of the magazine. The country, officially known as the Republic of Angola is located on the west coast of Southern Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa with a landmass of 1,246.700 square kilometres. Angola shares borders with Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It has an enclave province, Cabinda which borders the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The capital and largest city is Luanda, while the official language is Portuguese.

         The country’s name derives from the Kimbundu word for king. It was first settled by San hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo. From the 15^th century, Portuguese colonists began trading, and a settlement was established at Luanda during the 16^th century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655.

Angola was incorporated as an overseas province of Portugal in 1951. After the Angolan War of Independence, which ended in 1974 with an army mutiny and leftist coup in Lisbon, Angola attained independence in 1975 through the Alvor Agreement. A few months before independence, Civil War broke out in the country and lasted until 2002.

           Angola has a population of 31,127,674 people spread across numerous ethnic communities, with Ovimbundu as the largest. Others are Kimbundu, Bakongo, Ovikongo, Lwena or Luvale, Chokwe, Nyaneka, Luchazi and Ambo also known as Ovambo. Other minority groups include the Mestizo (mixed Europeans and native Africans), other Africans, Chinese and Europeans.

          Roman Catholicism is the dominant faith in the country, with about 38% of the population identifying with it. About 15% of the population are of Protestant denominations; the largest include Methodist, Baptist, United Church of Christ, and Assemblies of God. There are also a large group of syncretic worshippers under the Kimbanguist Church. They are the followers’ of late Congolese pastor, Joseph Kimbangu who claimed to be a prophet. It is pertinent to note that more than half of the population of the country practice African traditional religion exclusively or in conjunction with other faiths.

God’s Canvass in Angola

         The country is divided into an arid coastal strip stretching from Namibia to Luanda; a wet interior highland; a dry Savana in the interior south and southeast; and rain forest in the north and in Cabinda. The Zambezi River and several tributaries of the Congo River have their sources in Angola. There is a short rainy season lasting from February to April. Summers are hot and dry, while winters are mild. The coastal areas are for the most part flat, with occasional low cliffs and bluffs of sandstone.

There is only one deep inlet of the sea- Great Fish Bay (or Baia dos Tigres). Farther north are Port Alexander, Little Fish Bay and Lobito Bay, while shallower bays are numerous. Water is fairly abundant in the country, though in the dry season obtainable only by digging in the sandy beds of the rivers. Some of the unique flora and fauna of Angola are shown below.

Flora

Fauna

Beaches in Angola

Culture

The culture of Angola is influenced by the Portuguese. Portugal occupied the coastal enclave Luanda, and later Benguela, since the 16^th century. It later expanded into the territory of what is now Angola in the 19^th century, ruling it until 1975. Both countries share cultural aspects: language (Portuguese) and main religion (Roman Catholicism/Christianity). However, the current Angolan culture is mostly native Bantu, mixed with Portuguese culture. Ethnic groups with their own cultural traits, traditions and languages include Ovimbundu, Ambundu, Bakongo, Chokwe and Avambo.

Traditional Attire

           The Angolan people over time have embraced the Western-style clothing. However, some tribes still wear the traditional attires made with animal skin. Angolan women in rural areas decorate themselves with different types of aprons and loincloths usually made with woven vegetable fibre. They put on adornments such as bracelets, necklaces and beads. The men wear tattoos which are symbols of prestige and status. They also put on costumes made from vegetable fibre worn from the shoulder downwards. Some of the traditional attires of native Angolans are presented below.

Cuisine

Angolan cuisine has many dishes popular among nationals and foreigners. One of them is funge, made from cassava or corn flour. Another one is mufete which is a combination of grilled fish, plantain, sweet potato, cassava, and gari. Others are calulu, moamba de galinha, moamba de ginguba, kissaca, and mukua sorbet. Pictures of some delightful Angolan dishes are shown below.

Status of Christianity in Angola

Christianity was introduced to Angolans in 1491 by the Catholic Church. Consequently, the foundation of the faith in the country is rooted in the false doctrines propagated by those reformist Martin Luther described as ‘Popists’.  The first Protestant missionaries, British Baptists arrived in Angola in 1878. The Angolan Evangelical Mission was established in Cabinda in 1897, and the North Angola Mission started in 1925, at Uige.

         Currently, the Bakongo tribe have the largest population of Christians, while about 1.5% of them have embraced traditional religion which is heavily influenced by witchcraft. Ethnic groups that have the least Christian population are Mumuila, Mbwela (Nganguela), Mungambwe, Kwangali, Himba and Nyaneka. On the whole, 41% of Angolan population identify with Roman Catholicism, 38% are Protestants, 21% are either traditionalists, Atheists or practice other faiths.

           It is clear from Scripture that God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), nor has He designed another path to redemption except through the finished work of Jesus Christ. He made His mind known through Old Testament prophets like Isaiah. In Isaiah 49:6, God said to the Messiah, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth”.

        A similar pledge is recorded in Isaiah 42:6, “I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations”. It is clear from these Scriptures that God had us Gentiles in mind before the foundation of the earth. As noted in Acts: 28, “We are His offspring”.

           We are also reminded that Jesus’ death and resurrection made a way for us to access God as His children. We can only receive that resurrected life through repentance; then start walking in the newness of life in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus declared in John 6:53-55, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed”. Jesus clearly presents the true path to eternal and abundance life, not religious pretensions promoted by people who use Christianity to mask their ungodliness.

         The liberating gospel of Jesus Christ is the only path to salvation and a relationship with Almighty God. Let us therefore use the following prayer points to intercede for the people of Angola. They are not exhaustive though. Feel free to pray for the country and its people as you are led by the Holy Spirit.