A Collection of African Prayers

I. General African Prayers

A. An African adaptation of the prayer Glory Be To the Father (based on African names for God):

"Glory be to the Father, the Creator and Source,
To the Nursing Mother,
To Jesus, the Healer and Eldest Brother
And to the Unsurpassed Great Spirit. Amen."

B. An African Canticle adapted from a prayer of Kilakala Girls School (formerly Marian College), Morogoro, Tanzania.

AFRICA..........................................…………………………….BLESS THE LORD
And all you people and places,
From Cairo to Cape Town all,
From Dar es Salaam to Lagos all.
Here let all the works of the Lord.……………………..BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you BIG things..............................………………………....BLESS THE LORD
Mount Kilimanjaro and the River Nile,
The Rift Valley and the Serengeti Plain,
Fat baobabs and shady mango trees,
All eucalyptus and tamarind trees,
You hippos and giraffes and elephants...……………....BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you TINY things ............................………………………...BLESS THE LORD
Busy black ants and hopping fleas,
Wriggling tadpoles and mosquito larvae,
Flying locusts and water drops,
Pollen dust and tsetse flies,
Millet seeds and dried dagaa............…………………...BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you SHARP things.........................………………………...BLESS THE LORD
Sisal plant tips and tall lake reeds,
Maasai spears and Turkana hunting arrows,
A rhino's horn and crocodile teeth. ......………………..BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you SOFT things............................………………………...BLESS THE LORD
Sawdust and ashes and kapok wool,
Sponges and porridge and golden ripe mangoes………BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you SWEET things...........................……………………….BLESS THE LORD
Wild honey and papaws and coconut milk,
Pineapples and sugar cane and sun-dried dates,
Slow roasted yams and banana juice.....…………….....BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you BITTER things.......................………………………....BLESS THE LORD
Quinine and blue soap,
Sour milk and maize beer..................………………….BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you SWIFT things...........................………………………..BLESS THE LORD
Wild goats and honking matatus,
Frightened centipedes and lightning flashes…………...BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you SLOW things..........................………………...……….BLESS THE LORD
Curious giraffes and old bony cows,
Brown humped camels, grass munching sheep………..BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you LOUD things............................………………………..BLESS THE LORD
Monsoon rains on aluminum roofs,
Midnight hyenas and feast day drums,
Train stations and busy bus stops.........……….……….BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you QUIET things.....................…….………….……….…BLESS THE LORD
Candle flames and just sown furrow,
Heaps of clouds and sunny libraries,
The Pyramids and Sahara Desert,
Land snails and crawling turtles,
Grazing zebras and stalking lions........………………...BLESS THE LORD
Praise and extol Him forever and ever.

All you creatures that never talk,
STILL BLESS YOU THE LORD.
PRAISE AND EXTOL HIM FOREVER AND EVER.

II. African Prayers of Blessing, Sending Forth and Healing

A. One adapted African Christian prayer of blessing instructs the person officiating to sprinkle water or another substance such as flour or incense in the four directions of the universe while saying:

Facing east: "For our ancestors of the distant past."
Facing west: "For our recent living dead."
Facing north: "For our living."
Facing south: "For our yet unborn."

B. Among the Sukuma Ethnic Group in Western Tanzania there are a variety of traditional prayers that are used in various Christian ways:

1. Blessing For A Person Going on a Safari -- a Sukuma prayer of blessing.

This blessing is usually given by the grandfather or grandmother of the family. On the day of the safari the one to be blessed, the one to give the blessing, and the rest of the family get up early in the morning. White sorghum is mixed with water. The one giving the blessing puts his/her mouth on the porridge substance and blows on the one being blessed while invoking the ancestors: "Your child is going on a safari. May you be with him/her. Give him/her your blessing and may he/she have a safe journey." The purpose of this prayer is that you may be joyfully welcomed by your hosts.

Then the one receiving the blessing is told: "Walk like the wild pig walks. When you step on ants may they cry out." The noise that ants make when stepped on -- a kind of "yeah" sound -- is similar to the expression of joy that people make when visitors arrive. People are always happy to see visitors. So when guests arrive the host or hostess replies with a joyful "yeah" sound. From this custom comes the Sukuma proverb Walk like the wild pig walks.

2. Request to the Sun - a Sukuma prayer to the "Sun," one of the many Sukuma names for God. When coming outdoors for the first time in the early morning, the local dance leader spits a thin porridge made of millet toward the still red sun and says: "God who turns, the major divinity Sita is getting up. You, O Sun, go nicely and leave me in peace, give me a blessing."

3. Sukuma Prayer to Ask for Rain - an African Christian Prayer adapted to the Sukuma language and context. Drawing on local images from the life of the Sukuma people, the prayer says in part: "We ask you, Father, send us rain that provides food for ourselves and grass and water for our cattle."

4. Look On Your Child and Heal Him/Her -- a Sukuma prayer for healing. A Sukuma proverb says The guest brings benefits to the family of the host. When a child is born the Sukuma say "A guest has come." "She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). The Hebrew and Aramaic forms of "Jesus" and "he will save" are similar. Jesus as guest comes to heal here and now. For Africans a God who saves tomorrow is not a saving God. In the following Sukuma prayer for healing, Look On Your Child and Heal Him/Her, the here and now is stressed:

"So and so (name of deceased ancestor), look on your child and heal him/her. When? Today. May your child give birth. When? Today. May the rain come. When? Today. May our cows give birth? When? Today. May we have well-being both in body and soul. When? Today. May all that is bad in our lives be thrown into the lake and be eaten by the crocodiles. May we live in peace. And may you God please help us."

A Christian version of this prayer is: "May Jesus Christ our ancestor and healing guest who 'is able for all time to save those who approach God through him' (Hebrews 7:25) heal us soul and body. When? Today."

5. Prayer Service To Drive Away Evil Spirits -- Sukuma prayer service. Some parishes in Sukumaland in Western Tanzania have developed local ceremonies. This service includes the laying on of hands by the presider and members of the sick person's family or close friends and church leaders. Holy waters and blessings are used. Here is where the Christian churches can touch the felt needs and desires of the people on the local level.

III. African Eucharistic Prayers

NOTE: A large number of African Eucharistic Prayers have been composed over the years. The full texts are available. Here are some samples.

A. Sections of the All-Africa Eucharistic Prayer by Aylward Shorter, M.Afr.:

1. First part of the "Prayer over the Gifts":

"Father, send the Spirit of Life.
The Spirit of power and fruitfulness.
With His breath, speak your Word into these things."

2. Ending of the "Eucharistic Prayer":

"Give us kinship and brotherhood...
With the living,
and the living dead
With children yet unborn,
In Jesus, who was anointed with the Medicine of Life."

B. The Tanzanian Eucharistic Prayer based on a prayer of the Luguru Ethnic Group in Tanzania says in part:

"All ancestors, men and women, great and small.
Help us, have compassion on us.
So that we can also sleep peacefully."

IV. African Ways of the Cross

A. AIDS Way of the Cross (Kitovu Hospital, Masaka, Uganda) by Sister Kay Lawlor, M.M.M.

Opening Prayer: "We adore you, o Christ, as you carry your cross along the dusty roads of Masaka, Uganda. We make the way of the cross in the homes and at the bedsides of those with AIDS. We bless you because through this suffering you have redeemed the world.

1st Station: "Jesus is Condemned to Death." He sits shocked, unable to speak. His hands tremble. Marko has just been told he has AIDS. 'I'm going to die,' he says.

2nd Station: "Jesus Takes Up His Cross." He is weighed down with the knowledge that he has AIDS. How will he tell his family? What will happen to his children? He tells his brother, sells some land, arranges for his children. It's hard. It's a heavy cross Vincent carries.

3rd Station: "Jesus Fall For the First Time." He cannot stand alone. The abscesses are too painful. Peter is too weak. With help he makes it home and to bed where he begins the difficult task of regaining strength, so he can pick up the cross of living with AIDS and continue his journey.

4th Station: "Jesus Meets His Mother." She lies there waiting for her mother to return. Regina has just learned that she has AIDS and is dying. She wants to tell her mother. As they meet, a look of pain and love passes between them. 'I have slim.' Her mother takes her in her arms and they weep.

5th Station: "Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross." Richard has so many decisions to make. How can he go on? When his brothers come, he tells them he is too scared to go on. They comfort him, arrange to take him home, plan transport so he can return for treatment.

6th Station: "Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus." She lies there, too weak to clean herself. Her clothes dirty and soiled because the diarrhea is almost constant now. She's alone. Pushed into a corridor so the smell won't disturb others. A young nurse comes, washes her and changes her clothes. Rose smiles.

7th Station: "Jesus Falls the Second Time." He has begun to have diarrhea and no longer wants to eat. Sleep doesn't come and he's afraid. The illness is getting worse. Peter has to stop work. It's hard to keep living with AIDS.

8th Station: "Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem." Jane has no land. Mary has no milk for her baby. Scovia's husband sent her away when he learned she has AIDS. Juliet was put out of her rented room. Betty works in a bar to support her children, providing favors for men to get food for them. The plight of poor women and AIDS. Jesus weeps.

9th Station: "Jesus Falls the Third Time." His head feels as if it's bursting. Nothing brings relief. Peter lies in bed unable even to open his eyes. As the end nears, relatives arrive to move him from his rented room where he suffered alone for many months. One more step along the way.

10th Station: "Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments." They put her out of the house and kept her clothes saying they wouldn't fit her wasted body. They told her to go to her grandmother's to die. Once there, she was again rejected -- stripped of all, even her right to belong. Juliet was returned to the hospital like an unwanted commodity.

11th Station: "Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross." He cannot move. Finds it hard to breathe. Must wait for someone to care for him totally. An AIDS-related brain tumor has nailed James to his bed. His mother keeps watch.

12th Station: "Jesus Dies on the Cross." Rose, Peter, John, Alecha, Kakande, Joseph, William, George, Grace, Paulo, Goretti...Jesus' body dying of AIDS.

13th Station: "Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross." The wailing begins. The car reaches the homestead. As men rush forward to carry Paulo's shrouded body, a woman comes from the house. She reaches out to touch the body of her son.

14th Station: "Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb." A grave is dug on hospital land -- only staff for mourners. Her nine-month-old child cries not understanding. The grave is filled. All go away. Rose is dead.

15th Station: "The Resurrection." We wait!

B. African Way of the Cross Following Our Local African Situation Especially the Sufferings, Crosses, and Problems of Our Everyday Life. Composed in consultation with Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in East Africa.

1st Station: "Jesus is Condemned to Death."
Theme: Apartheid, Detention without Trial, Discrimination, Favoritism, Violations of Human Rights, Hypocrisy, Injustice, Torture, Tribalism, Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, and Unfair Trials.

2nd Station: "Jesus Takes Up His Cross."
Theme: Hunger, Famine, Drought, Dirty Water, and Floods.

3rd Station: "Jesus Falls the First Time."
Theme: Sin Especially Breaking the Ten Commandments.

4th Station: "Jesus Meets His Mother."
Theme: Family Problems, Wife?beating, Polygamy, Unwanted Pregnancies, Unwanted Orphans, Discord, Hatred, Holding Grudges, In?fighting, and Jealousy.

5th Station: "Simon of Cyrene Takes up the Cross of Jesus."
Theme: Laziness, Selfishness, Difficulties in Traveling, and Dangerous Driving.

6th Station: "Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus."
Theme: Sickness (especially AIDS, Dehydration, Malaria, Malnutrition, and Tuberculosis), Ignorance About Health, and Scarcity of Medicine and Health Care.

7th Station: "Jesus Falls the Second Time."
Theme: Drunkenness and Witchcraft.

8th Station: "The Women of Jerusalem Weep for Jesus."
Theme: Lying and Deceit.

9th Station: "Jesus Falls the Third Time."
Theme: Blackmail, Bribery, Corruption, Fraud, Graft, Smuggling, Inflated Prices, High Rent, Low Wages, Lack of Jobs, IMF and SAP Regulations, and the External Debt Crisis.

10th Station: "Jesus is Stripped of His Garments."
Theme: Poverty, Nakedness, and the Plight of Refugees, Displaced People, and Street Children.

11th Station: "Jesus is Nailed to the Cross."
Theme: Political Dictatorships, Military Oppression, Civil War, and Nuclear Weapons.

12th Station: "Jesus Dies on the Cross."
Theme: Accidental Deaths and High Children Mortality.

13th Station: "Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross."
Theme: Backbiting, Calumny, Contempt, False Rumors, Gossip, and Insults.

14th Station: "Jesus is Laid in the Tomb."
Theme: Sadness, Despair, Inadequate Housing, and Unjust Land Distribution.

15th Station: "The Resurrection of Jesus Christ."
Theme: Jesus Christ (called "Victor Over Death" in African Languages) Overcomes Death and Brings the Joy and Hope of Everlasting Life.

NOTE: For all the African Prayers and Prayer Services above the use of authentic African symbols of blessings is suggested. Here are some examples/options:

1. Small leafy branch to sprinkle water (rather than an asperges instrument).
2. Local pot for incense (rather than a censor).
3. Sprinkle with flour (rather than, or together with, using water).
4. Blowing is a key part of many African blessings.
5. The laying on of hands is very important. Africans are very physical, down to earth in their rituals.

NOTE: In Bantu languages in Africa such as Swahili and Sukuma there are no distinctions in the subject and object pronouns in the third person singular. So these languages automatically use inclusive language.

NOTE: Most of the above material is taken from the following book: Joseph G. Healey, M.M. and Donald Sybertz, M.M. Towards An African Narrative Theology. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 1996. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997. 400 pages.

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Maryknollers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania