ABSTRACT
Ancestor worship provides the medium through which this end is attained. It represents not only the apotheosis of parental authority but its immortalization by incorporation in the universal and everlasting dominion of the lineage and clan ancestors. Ancestor worship is primarily the religious cult of deceased parents; but not only that. The social structure and economy of the Tallensi rules out the possibility of sending a child away to be brought up by maternal kin, as is done among the Dagomba, for instance, nor are the age-villages exploited by the Nyakyusa to segregate successive generations feasible. With their nebulous ideas of the mode of existence of ancestors, Tallensi do not have beliefs that it can be influenced by the conduct of offspring and descendants. In the son’s youth it does not stand in the way of their daily association and their amicable co-operation in farming and other household concerns.
