Christianity and Islam were never the only story.
A documentary series following the priests, priestesses, historians, and everyday believers keeping Africa's older spiritual traditions alive — told by journalist Abisola Alawode.
“I made this documentary because sharing these stories is vital to understanding the cultural fabric of Africa.” — Abisola Alawode, creator
Field notes on faith, before it was written down
In much of Nigeria today, spiritual life that isn't rooted in Christianity or Islam is often looked down on, and the people who practice it are pushed to the margins. Exploring African Spirituality goes looking for them anyway — sitting with babaláwo, traditionalists, and diaspora converts to understand why these belief systems have endured for centuries, and why a new generation is returning to them.
Episode by episode, the series moves through the questions that don't get asked in the pulpit or the mosque: why are young Africans choosing traditional religion over the faiths they were raised in? What does an Ògbóni initiation actually have in common with a Freemason's lodge? Why are Americans travelling to Nigeria to be initiated into Ifá?
It's a project built on the belief that Africa's indigenous religions deserve the same seriousness, and the same air time, as any imported faith.
Abisola Alawode
- RoleJournalist & storyteller
- Experience13+ years in media
- FocusMultimedia & documentary
- Based inLagos, Nigeria
- SeriesSelf-produced, independent
Recurring threads across episodes
Each conversation opens a different door, but the same questions keep coming back.
Why a generation raised on Christianity and Islam is turning back toward the indigenous faiths their parents were taught to leave behind.
Inside the Ògbóni fraternity and the ritual, structure, and secrecy it shares with institutions like Freemasonry.
Oshun, Yemoja, Oya, and Mami Wata — and what devotion to these òrìṣà means for healing, feminism, and identity today.
Americans and other members of the diaspora travelling to Nigeria to be initiated into Ifá worship and Ìṣẹ̀ṣe.
How belief, history, and cosmology survive without scripture — carried instead through proverb, ritual, and memory.
Where spiritual practice meets mental and emotional healing for the people who practice it.
Start with these episodes
Video not loading? Watch it directly on YouTube →