From a theological point of view, I would refer you to the article by Stan Chu Ilo, “Africa’s Place in World Christianity: Towards a Theology of Intercultural Friendship,” Toronto Journal of Theology Vol.29, no.1 (2013): 125-142. Below are excerpts from p. 138.

“Vital union is the bond that joins the living and the dead in a vertical and horizontal relationship; it is the life-giving principle in all. It is the result of communion, of participation in the one reality, the one vital principle that unites all beings. This unity is willed by God at the very moment of creation, because it is the basis for the fulfilment of the earth and the fullness of being, as creation moves towards abundant life understood as mutual cosmic and human flourishing. Life is not a mere physical existence, but an inseparable and interdependent mode of existing that draws from the ultimate source of all life, Nyamuzinda, or the ultimate source of happiness, the Imana, and from the ancestors. Life is participated existence with family, clan, community, ethnic group, ancestors, the land, earth, and God. To live is to be in the bosom of the community; it means to participate in the sacred life of the ancestors; it is a prolongation or perfection of cosmic and human life through descendants, and the community. Thus, life is understood in two ways: as community in blood, the principal and primordial elements, and as community in possessions, a concomitant element that makes life possible. 

…Anything that decreases vital participation in the community, locally or globally, should be considered evil because it diminishes God and impoverishes the community. Failure to participate in the community or exclusion of the voices of those on the margins or the voices of the ‘‘other’’ is evil for the same reason. In order to increase participation, African theology proposes the removal of sins or evils like prejudice, selfishness, divisions, mutual suspicion, and negative forces, which destroy life and harmony.”