THE CONCEPTS OF GOD AMONG THE SAN (NARO) OF BOTSWANA

Abstract

The paper discusses the concept of God among the San (Naro) of Botswana laying down clearly the theoretical framework adapted in the analysis and arguments presented. The concepts of power and ideology tied to human understanding of God become the ground on which the paper is based. The article begins by giving a summary of the concepts of God in the Western world and then moves to the concepts of God in Africa. Problems of interpretation begin to emerge at this level. Basically it is argued that for the San, the God they believe in, is the foundation of all the rituals performed in their society as they dance around the fire which is the light impossible to extinguish. The paper also looks at their rock art as the basis of human will propagated by the ideological effect embedded in the eland’s spiritual potency. It concludes that among the San (Naro) God is the omnipresence of power that can be experienced through nature and human will. Keywords: God, trance dance, ideology, rock art, spiritual potency, interpellation, hegemony, human will