An Epistemological Analysis of the African Ontology of `Ancestral Reincarnation'

The paper explores the contemporary debate surrounding the idea of ancestral reincarnation in African society and philosophy. It analyzes various problem areas having to do with the physical and spiritual status of ancestors, their relationship with their societies of orientation, the philosophical contexts of their existence, and the interpolation of a traditional epistemological analysis of their being with contemprary Western thought. Essentially, it deploys the critical tool of academic philosophy to the African ontology of `ancestral reincarnation'. (The Journal of Cultural Studies: 2001 3(2): 566-574