Hinduism in Africa
Encyclopedia
Christianity in Africa
Christianity is now one of the two most widely practised religions in Africa and is the largest religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most adherents outside Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea are Roman Catholic or Protestant. The presence of Christianity in Africa began in the middle of the 1st century in...
and Islam
Islam in Africa
From its beginning, Islam has been a central feature in Africa. Africa was the first continent into which Islam expanded, and it has become an integral part of many African cultures and histories. According to World Book Encyclopedia, Islam is the largest religion in Africa, followed by Christianity...
in the same continent. Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
is the only African country where Hinduism is the dominant religion, with 52 percent of the population as followers.
History
Hinduism took root in Africa from the late 19th century onwards through the spread of the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, which colonized huge swaths of land throughout Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, including almost the entirety of the Indian subcontinent. Many Indians were recruited as indentured servants throughout the British Empire, settling mainly in the British colonies of Southern and Eastern Africa. The descendants of these settlers often chose to remain in Africa after the end of colonial rule, developing Indo-African communities that remain to this day.
Hinduism is non-proselytizing religion and was usually not propagated to the same lengths or through the same means as Christianity and Islam. As such, it has mostly been confined to practise by the Indo-African communities of these countries. However, in post-colonial Africa, a small-scale movement for Hinduism and its propagation outside the Indo-African community has occurred, spearheaded by such individuals as Swami Ghanananda, the first Hindu swami
Swami
A swami sometimes abbreviated "Sw." is an ascetic or yogi who has been initiated into the religious monastic order founded by Adi Sankara, or to a religious teacher.The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology as...
of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. Today, Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, which did not receive an original influx of Indian migrants as did countries such as South Africa and Uganda, is home to over 25,000 Hindus, mostly local converts and more recent, post-independence Indian immigrants. This was primarily the work of International Society for Krishna Consciousness
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
(ISKCON) missionaries.
While Hinduism has been cited as possessing many parallels to traditional African religions, it has received opposition from the entrenched Christian elites and Muslim minorities of these countries. The Swaminarayan faith
Swaminarayan Faith
Swaminarayan Hinduism, also known as the Swaminarayan faith or the Swaminarayan sect, is a modern tradition in the Vaishnava denomination of Hinduism, in which followers offer devotion to and worship Swaminarayan as the final manifestation of God....
has a sizable following in Africa. Several temples belonging to the faith have been built in Kenya
Hinduism in Kenya
-Introduction:Hinduism in Kenya mainly comes from coastal trade routes between primarily between Gujarat and Marwar in India and East Africa.The origin of the Kenyan Gujarati dates back to the late 1800s , when British colonialists brought laborers from India to build the Uganda-Kenya railway...
, Uganda
Hinduism in Uganda
Hinduism in Uganda appeared with the Hindu immigrants who came to Eastern and Southern Africa. Hindus represent 0.8% of the total Ugandan population.-Hindu temples in Uganda:* Swaminarayan temple in Kampala...
, Tanzania
Hinduism in Tanzania
Hinduism is a minority religion in Tanzania, practiced by some 30,000 people in the mainland and Zanzibar combined. Most practitioners are of Indo-Tanzanian ancestry. Swaminarayan temples have been built in Dar-es-Salaam, Arusha and Moshi.-External links:*...
and Zambia
Hinduism in Zambia
-Hinduism in Zambia:Zambia is home to 25,000 Hindus as reported by Hinduism Today, 2003. Hinduism is the third largest religion in Zambia. Among the Asian-origin citizens Hindus constituted a sizeable percentage as reported in...
.