ABSTRACT
Ancestor veneration, as part of African indigenous religion, is common in societies where value is placed on unilineal descent. Ancestor veneration goes hand in hand with the worship of the High God and other minor gods or spirits. By including the ancestor in the religious complex, the motive is to establish a strong linkage between the present and the past, that is, the previous generations and the living. Ancestors must have been respectable and worthy persons in their lifetimes, with contributions that are well known and preserved in the oral traditions of their lineages or communities. It is unusual to venerate people who died young or who had an evil reputation when alive. Both men and women could acquire the prestige of veneration.
