[pt] Os conceitos de trindade e ternariedade são fundamentais para refletir sobre o diálogo inter-religioso. A expressão relacional da trindade surge no terceiro artigo do Credo Niceno (381 d.C.). Apesar disso, o Espírito Santo ficou invisibilizado na teologia por séculos, por causa da base binitária na lógica do pensamento ocidental. Isso gerou falsa polarização entre fé e ciência, e monoteísmo e pluralismo. Ao ser revelada a ternariedade, pela filosofia de Peirce (séc. XIX) e a física quântica de Planck (séc. XX), tornou-se categoria da transdisciplinaridade. A teologia seguiu laborando pelo paradigma aristotélico – binitário, misógino e com a potência na coisa visível – e produzindo discursos monológicos eruditos, autodefensivos e solitários, numa contramarcha que provocou atrasos na reflexão teológico-filosófica do mundo ocidental, com impacto nas relações ecumênicas e inter-religiosas. O novo paradigma teológico interpela teólogos/as sobre sua responsabilidade diante da comunidade, por tocar na ética da vida e implicar na salvação. Sua incidência na América Latina é relevante pelo histórico de confronto, dominação militar, submissão cultural e imposição religiosa desta. Sob a influência das teologias da libertação, feminista, negra e indígena, as eclesialidades são chamadas a rever sua relação com a pós-modernidade, base mínima para entrar no diálogo interreligioso. E reelaborar novas bases epistemológicas para pensar o transreligioso, sem sucumbir à tentação monoteísta de constranger a realidade para ceder ao seu propósito. / [en] The concepts of trinity and ternarity are fundamental to think about the inter-religious dialogue. The relational expression of the trinity appears in the Nicene Creed s third article (381 A.D.). In spite of that, the Holy Spirit remained in theology for centuries, because of the binitary base in the western thought s logic. This fact generated a false polarization between faith and science, and monoteism and pluralism. When the ternarity was revealed for the Peirce s philosophy (19th century) and the Planck s quantum physics (20th century), it became the category of the transdisciplinarity. Theology continued working by the Aristotelian paradigm - binitary, misogynistic and with the potency in the visible thing - and producing erudite monological speeches, self defensives and solitarians, in a counter-attack that provoked arrears in the theological-philosophical reflection of the western world, with impact in the ecumenical and interreligious relationships. The new theological paradigm questions theologians about their responsibility in front of the community, because they touch life ethics and imply salvation. Its incidence in Latin America is important because the historic confrontation, military dominance, cultural submission and religious imposition of her. Under the influence of the liberation, feminist, black and indigenous theologies, the eclesialities are called to review its relationship with the postmodernity, minimum base to enter in the inter-religious dialogue. And reconstruct new epistemological bases to think the trans-religious, without succumbing to the monoteist temptation of constraining the reality to according with our purpose. / [es] Los conceptos de trinidad y ternariedad son fundamentales para pensar en el diálogo interreligioso. La expresión relacional de la trinidad aparece en el tercer artículo del Credo Niceno (381 a.C.). A pesar de eso, el espíritu santo permaneció invisible en la teología durante siglos, debido a la base binitaria de la lógica del pensamiento occidental. Este hecho generó una polarización falsa entre la fe y ciencia, y monoteísmo y pluralismo. Cuando la ternariedad se reveló en la filosofía de Peirce (siglo XIX) y en la física quántica de Planck (siglo XX), se volvió una categoría de la transdisciplinaridad. La teología continuó trabajando por el paradigma Aristotélico - binitario, misógino y con la potencia en la cosa visible - y produjo discursos monológicos, autodefensivos y solitarios, en una contramarcha que provocó atrasos en la reflexión teológico-filosófica del mundo occidental, con el impacto en las relaciones ecuménicas e interreligiosas. El nuevo paradigma teológico cuestiona a los teólogos sobre su responsabilidad delante de la comunidad, porque a ellos toca la ética de vida e implica la salvación. Su incidencia en Latinoamérica es importante por la confrontación histórica, dominación militar, sumisión cultural e imposición religiosa de ella. Bajo la influencia de las teologías de la liberación, feminista, negra e indígena, las eclesialidades son llamadas para repasar su relación con la pósmodernidad, base mínima para entrar en el diálogo interreligioso, y reconstruir la nueva base epistemológica para pensar lo transreligioso, sin sucumbir a la tentación monoteísta de constreñir la realidad a ceder a nuestro propósito.

Two prominent historians, David Cannadine and Brad Gregory, have recently contended that history is distorted by overemphasis on human difference and division across time and space. This problem has been acute in studies of Native-Newcomer relations, where exaggeration of Native pre-contact stability and post-contact change further emphasized Native-Newcomer difference. Although questioned in economic, social and political spheres, emphasis on cultural difference persists. To investigate the problem, this study examined the Algonquian wihtiko (windigo), an apparent exemplar of Native-Newcomer difference and division. With a focus on the James Bay Cree, this study first probed the wihtiko phenomenon’s Native origins and meanings. It then examined post-1635 Newcomer encounters with this phenomenon: from the bush to public opinion and law, especially between 1815 and 1914, and in post-1820 academia. Diverse archives, ethnographies, oral traditions, and academic texts were consulted. The cannibal wihtiko evolved from Algonquian attempts to understand and control rare but extreme mental and moral failures in famine contexts. It attained mythical proportions, but fears of wihtiko possession, transformation and violence remained real enough to provoke pre-emptive killings even of family members. Wihtiko beliefs also influenced Algonquian manifestations and interpretations of generic mental and moral failures. Consciously or not, others used it to scapegoat, manipulate, or kill. Newcomers threatened by moral and mental failures attributed to the wihtiko often took Algonquian beliefs and practices seriously, even espousing them. Yet Algonquian wihtiko behaviours, beliefs and practices sometimes presented Newcomers with another layer of questions about mental and moral incompetence. Collisions arose when they discounted, misconstrued or asserted control over Algonquian beliefs and practices. For post-colonial critics, this has raised a third layer of questions about intellectual and moral incompetence. Yet some critics have also misconstrued earlier attempts to understand and control the wihtiko, or attributed an apparent lack of scholarly consensus to Western cultural incompetence or inability to grasp the wihtiko. In contrast, this study of wihtiko phenomena reveals deeper commonalities and continuities. They are obscured by the complex evolution of Natives’ and Newcomers’ struggles to understand and control the wihtiko. Yet hidden in these very struggles and the wihtiko itself is a persistent shared conviction that reducing others to objects of power signals mental and moral failure. The wihtiko reveals cultural differences, changes and divisions, but exemplifies more fundamental commonalities and continuities.

This study which is the product of library research and fieldwork seeks, on account of the persistent marginalisation of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in Sierra Leone by Islam and Christianity, to investigate the place of ATR in inter-religious encounters in the country since the advent of Islam and Christianity. As in most of sub-Saharan Africa, ATR is the indigenous religion of Sierra Leone. When the early forebears and later progenitors of Islam and Christianity arrived, they met Sierra Leone indigenes with a remarkable knowledge of God and a structured religious system. Successive Muslim clerics, traders, and missionaries were respectful of and sensitive to the culture and religion of the indigenes who accommodated them and offered them hospitality. This approach resulted in a syncretistic brand of Islam. In contrast, most Christian missionaries adopted an exclusive and insensitive approach to African culture and religiosity. Christianity, especially Protestantism, demanded a complete abandonment of African culture and religion, and a total dedication to Christianity. This attitude has continued by some indigenous clerics and religious leaders to the extent that Sierra Leone Indigenous Religion (SLIR) and it practitioners continue to be marginalised in Sierra Leone's inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. Although the indigenes of Sierra Leone were and continue to be hospitable to Islam and Christianity, and in spite of the fact that SLIR shares affinity with Islam and Christianity in many theological and practical issues, and even though there are many Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality and culture, Muslim and Christian leaders of these immigrant religions are reluctant to include Traditionalists in interfaith issues in the country. The formation and constitution of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) which has local and international recognition did not include ATR. These considerations, then beg the questions: * Why have Muslim and Christian leaders long marginalised ATR, its practices and practitioners from interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone? * What is lacking in ATR that continues to prevent practitioners of Christianity and Islam from officially involving Traditionalists in the socio-religious development of the country? Muslim and Christians have given several factors that are responsible for this exclusion: * The prejudices that they inherited from their forebears * ATR lacks the hallmarks of a true religion * ATR is primitive and economically weak * The fear that the accommodation of ATR will result in syncretism and nominalism * Muslims see no need to dialogue with ATR practitioners, most of whom they considered to be already Muslims Considering the commonalities ATR shares with Islam and Christianity, and the number of Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality, these factors are not justifiable. Although Islam and Christianity are finding it hard to recognise and include ATR in interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone, ATR continues to play a vital role in Sierra Leone's national politics, in the search and maintenance of employment, and in the judicial sector. ATR played a crucial part during and after the civil war. The national government in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report acknowledged the importance and contribution of traditional culture and spirituality during and after the war. Outside of Sierra Leone, the progress in the place and level of the recognition of ATR continues. At varying degrees, the Sociétié Africaine de Culture (SAC) in France, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the Vatican, and the World Council of Churches, have taken positive steps to recognise and find a place for ATR in their structures. Much about the necessity for dialogue and cooperation with ATR can be learnt in the works and efforts of these secular and religious bodies. If nothing else, there are two main reasons why Islam and Christianity in Sierra Leone must be in dialogue with ATR: * Dialogue of life or in community. People living side-by-side meet and interact personally and communally on a regular basis. They share common resources and communal benefits. These factors compel people to be in dialogue * Dual religiosity. As many Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are still holding on to ATR practices, it is crucial for Muslims and Christians to dialogue with ATR practitioners. If Muslims and Christians are serious about meeting and starting a process of dialogue with Traditionalists, certain practical issues have to be considered: * Islam and Christianity have to validate and accept ATR as a true religion and a viable partner in the socio-religious landscape of Sierra Leone * Muslims and Christians must educate themselves about ATR, and the scriptures and teachings of their respective religious traditions in order to relate well with Traditionalists These are starting points that can produce successful results. Although at present Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are finding it difficult to initiate dialogue and cooperation with Traditionalists, all hope is not lost. It is now the task of the established IRCSL to ensure the inclusion of ATR. Islam and Christianity must remember that when they came as strangers, ATR, played host to them and has played and continues to play a vital role in providing hospitality, and allowing them to blossom on African soil. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

This study which is the product of library research and fieldwork seeks, on account of the persistent marginalisation of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in Sierra Leone by Islam and Christianity, to investigate the place of ATR in inter-religious encounters in the country since the advent of Islam and Christianity. As in most of sub-Saharan Africa, ATR is the indigenous religion of Sierra Leone. When the early forebears and later progenitors of Islam and Christianity arrived, they met Sierra Leone indigenes with a remarkable knowledge of God and a structured religious system. Successive Muslim clerics, traders, and missionaries were respectful of and sensitive to the culture and religion of the indigenes who accommodated them and offered them hospitality. This approach resulted in a syncretistic brand of Islam. In contrast, most Christian missionaries adopted an exclusive and insensitive approach to African culture and religiosity. Christianity, especially Protestantism, demanded a complete abandonment of African culture and religion, and a total dedication to Christianity. This attitude has continued by some indigenous clerics and religious leaders to the extent that Sierra Leone Indigenous Religion (SLIR) and it practitioners continue to be marginalised in Sierra Leone's inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. Although the indigenes of Sierra Leone were and continue to be hospitable to Islam and Christianity, and in spite of the fact that SLIR shares affinity with Islam and Christianity in many theological and practical issues, and even though there are many Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality and culture, Muslim and Christian leaders of these immigrant religions are reluctant to include Traditionalists in interfaith issues in the country. The formation and constitution of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) which has local and international recognition did not include ATR. These considerations, then beg the questions: * Why have Muslim and Christian leaders long marginalised ATR, its practices and practitioners from interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone? * What is lacking in ATR that continues to prevent practitioners of Christianity and Islam from officially involving Traditionalists in the socio-religious development of the country? Muslim and Christians have given several factors that are responsible for this exclusion: * The prejudices that they inherited from their forebears * ATR lacks the hallmarks of a true religion * ATR is primitive and economically weak * The fear that the accommodation of ATR will result in syncretism and nominalism * Muslims see no need to dialogue with ATR practitioners, most of whom they considered to be already Muslims Considering the commonalities ATR shares with Islam and Christianity, and the number of Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality, these factors are not justifiable. Although Islam and Christianity are finding it hard to recognise and include ATR in interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone, ATR continues to play a vital role in Sierra Leone's national politics, in the search and maintenance of employment, and in the judicial sector. ATR played a crucial part during and after the civil war. The national government in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report acknowledged the importance and contribution of traditional culture and spirituality during and after the war. Outside of Sierra Leone, the progress in the place and level of the recognition of ATR continues. At varying degrees, the Sociétié Africaine de Culture (SAC) in France, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the Vatican, and the World Council of Churches, have taken positive steps to recognise and find a place for ATR in their structures. Much about the necessity for dialogue and cooperation with ATR can be learnt in the works and efforts of these secular and religious bodies. If nothing else, there are two main reasons why Islam and Christianity in Sierra Leone must be in dialogue with ATR: * Dialogue of life or in community. People living side-by-side meet and interact personally and communally on a regular basis. They share common resources and communal benefits. These factors compel people to be in dialogue * Dual religiosity. As many Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are still holding on to ATR practices, it is crucial for Muslims and Christians to dialogue with ATR practitioners. If Muslims and Christians are serious about meeting and starting a process of dialogue with Traditionalists, certain practical issues have to be considered: * Islam and Christianity have to validate and accept ATR as a true religion and a viable partner in the socio-religious landscape of Sierra Leone * Muslims and Christians must educate themselves about ATR, and the scriptures and teachings of their respective religious traditions in order to relate well with Traditionalists These are starting points that can produce successful results. Although at present Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are finding it difficult to initiate dialogue and cooperation with Traditionalists, all hope is not lost. It is now the task of the established IRCSL to ensure the inclusion of ATR. Islam and Christianity must remember that when they came as strangers, ATR, played host to them and has played and continues to play a vital role in providing hospitality, and allowing them to blossom on African soil. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)