ISSN: 0030-5596
ORITA
IBADAN JOURNNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION
UNDER A CHRISTIAN SCRUTINY
Pius O Abioje
This paper is written as a reaction to the document from Rome, titled:
"Some Reservations About African Traditional Religion", which was
sent for the purpose of study and reaction The concern of the document is
that it is the evil aspects of African Traditional Religion (ATR) that
many nonbelievers see, as if the religion has nothing positive to it. One's
reaction is expected to show how a friendly Christian dialogue with ATR
is reasonable and necessary
Whoever wrote the document clearly knows the answers to the questions
raised in the document, to a very large extent. The preoccupation
expressed is that not many persons, particularly not many Christians,
understand that the vices associated with ATR "are the inevitable evil
results that can come from any religion." (Page 2 of the document).
This paper aims at throwing some light on issues related to vices in
ATR The argument, in a nutshell, is that ATR has no monopoly of evil
men and women, neither is the religion demonic in itself, as this research
reveals Besides. Christianity has the mission to dialogue for love and
peace. This discussion opens with some insight into the projected image of
African personality.
The projected image of ATR
A Yoruba adage has it that when you are told that a man was burnt, you
do not need to ask about his beard (since that will be the first to get
consumed) If the Africans personality is painted black, so is the ATR.
Indeed, traditional Africans were, and arc still in some quarters, rated
terribly low, such that they are not supposed to be capable of having an
authentic concept of God Bolaji Idowu quotes Emil Ludwig as asking,
for instance: "How can the untutored Africans conceive God? ... How
can this be? …Deity is a philosophical concept which savages are
incapable of framing."1 Unfortunately, this type of teaching has
convinced many Africans who will never see anything good in whatever is
indigenous to Africa. Any good thing found in Africa, whether a material
object or an idea, must have, according to such Africans, come from the
Western world.
Some of the reasons for the ignorance of many modern Africans about their
traditional culture can be traced to some historical antecedents, principal
among which were the advent of colonialism and the introduction of
both Christianity and Islam. Susanne Wenger, an Austrian woman who
has devoted herself to Yoruba traditional culture and religion since 1950,
and is called by the Yoruba name of Adunni Olorisa, observes that, "The
literate Africans, Nigerians were educated to hate and despise their own
culture," whereas, "In Muslim way or Christian or traditional way, there is
no difference for the real African, because religiosity and belief and
acceptance of the fact of God is the same."2
The man, Ulli Beier, who brought Susanne to Nigeria as wife, in the first
instance, reminded Wole Soyinka, in an interview which the latter granted
him:
You were living in the Christian school compound, that was
surrounded by a high wall and when the Egungun masqueraders were
passing by outside, you had to ask somebody to lift you unto the ladder,
so that you could watch the procession going on outside. Your
upbringing was designed to shield you from the realities of Yoruba
life.3
_______________________________
1Op.cit.,p.88.
2In
the interview she granted Soji Adeniyi, Nigerian Tribune, Tuesday 24, Novemhi 1998,
p.6.
3 Tempo (a Nigerian weekly), November 6,1997, p. 8.
The reality is that many Christians have not liberated themselves from
narrow forms of Christianity. They therefore, see life as either white or
black, rather than seeing life holistically. as being both black and white,
body and soul, as Soyinka observes in the interview.
When one mentions Yoruba divinities, some people's mind will not only
think of mysterious beings, but also of evil and devilish beings. For
Yoruba traditionalists, however, every being and everybody comes from
God, even a deified person comes from, and received his/her talents from
God, in Yoruba understanding. The Yoruba traditionalists may not have
conspicuous shrines dedicated to God. but that is not to say thev do not
acknowledge Him as their Creator and as the Creator and Lord of every
other being. As Bolaji Idowu alreadv notes, the divinities (or Orisa) are
conceived as God's ministers.4 Ogun is the minister for iron and steel;
Onsa-Nla is in charge of moulding physical bodies; Sango is the minister for
justice through lightning and thunder, and represents God's anger;
Orunmila is the counselor appointed by God for the other divinities and
human beings, etc.
In a culture where kings, such as the Alaafin of Oyo could not be
directly approached, except through his chiefs, it should not be
difficult to understand why God is not worshipped. but through the
divinities as ldowu explains.5 I n other words the Yoruba cultural
background affects then approach to God, fort whom they have a
very deep regard. In the Bible Muses had to speak to God on behalf
of the people. God ordered Moses: God down and warn the people
not in break through to look at Yahweh, or many of them will perish”
(Ex. 19:21). Even in Christianity, one still prays through intermediaries, such
as the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, notwithstanding the fact that one
can and often does approach God Directly.
_____________________________________________________
4Idowu,
E.B. Olodumarre: God in Yoruba Belief (London: Longman Group Ltd., 1977),
pp.54-106.
5Ibidem, pp.141-143.
The Yoruba have no word for angels of God, the divinities are His
angels. No wonder they say angeli, as Christians, and malaeka as
Muslims. In sum, God is neither deus mcertus nor dues remotus, as
Idowu quotes one Diedrich Westernmann as describing God in African
perspective.6 The Yoruba, in the final analysis are fond of saving
“L’agbara Olorun” (by God’s grace); “E je k’a fi gbogbo nkan le
Olorun lowo" (Let us leave everything in God's hands,. i.e. God wi11
take care, and make sure things work out as one wants.) Such Yoruba
expressions correspond with St. Paul's teaching that God has revealed
Himself and His will to all human beings, ever since the creation of the
world (Rm. I 19).
In 1994 the Special Assembly for Africa, of the Synod of Bishops sitting
in Rome, reinstated the regard due to African Traditional Religion,
insisting that the distorted image of the religion should be corrected. The
Synod notes, "Dialogue with the guarantors of our cultural values and
of our traditional religion (ATR), structured around the cultural heritage,
is strongly recommended in our local Churches.
Many African traditionalists likewise held, in the interviews conducted,
Out devotion to, and worship of many traditional divinities can never
die. In the words of Susanne Wenger. "There arc still now quite a
number of Yorubas who are serious about their tradition." and "Yoruba
culture is more or less not dying out”.7
It was discovered that many adherents of the Yoruba Traditional
Religion also go to the mosque, and one Church or another When asked
why, the response was usually; so that when "I" die, “my” death will not
be marginalised. Many of them join the Muslims if surrounded by
Muslims and Christians when surrounded by Christians, while
continuing to patronise their original traditions Some traditional
_________________________________
6
'Ibidem, p 140.
Nigerian Tribune, Tuesday, 24 November, 1998, p. 6.
7
musicians and entertainers likewise enjoy popularity and patronage. The
whole enterprise smacks of hypocrisy, doing things to win the approval of
human beings, without any inner conviction as such. Some of the
traditionalists spoken to had no doubt that they were not doing anything
against God and His commandments but they found that they were now in
the minority, and they could not stand that, and so had to join
Christianity or Islam just to fall in line, somehow. This phenomenon has no
doubt affected the value system of the Yoruba, or even the Nigerian value
system as a whole. As Professor Adeoye Lambo laments:
I think many things were wrong with Nigeria in that the value
system has collapsed, and we've got no other substitute. We've
been dangling between the traditional and the so-called
sophisticated Western mores and value system and we had not even
got to the other end before the traditional one collapsed, so we are in
a total vacuum.8
The Special Assembly for Africa, of the Synod of Bishops (Rome, 1994)
would seem to have taken a very positive step by showing recognition for
the religion of African forebears, as mentioned above. In his post-synodal
apostolic exhortation, following the special assembly on Africa ( 1 9 9 4 ) ,
P o p e J o h n P a u l I I , n o t e s that "the Church certainly respects and
esteems the non-Christian religions professed by very many Africans, for these
religions are the living expression of the soul of vast groups of people.”9
Beside, John B. Taylor, a General Secretary of the World Council of
Churches notes in regard of people holding primal or fundamental world
views that while the Church has simply denounced what has gone before,
main Christians feel "we have been too quick to denounce. Our
neighbours with primal views on life, and ways of life have much to
________________________
8
The Punch Wednesday, September 25, 1996, pp. 12-13. 'John
9
Paul II, Ecclesia in Africa, n. 47
teach us."10 Also, one may borrow a leaf from some commentaries on the I
1994 Synod on Africa:
Today, we realise that there are true values in every culture and there
are also negative elements. Africa has a great wealth of cultures and
values to be shared with other nations. The great task of Christian
Churches in Africa today is to encourage the members to express their
African and Christian values in a fully African way.11
The commentary adds that the Churches in Africa has to integrate into her
life whatever is good and according to the message of Jesus in the African
culture. That way, many Africans will not feel much tension between
their culture and their Christian faith.
At any rate, if Africans are to be authentic Africans, they can hardly
show total disregard to, and discredit the religion of their forebears. And if
they are to be authentic Christians, they cannot close themselves against
the efforts to purify and liberate the African Traditional Religion from any
ungodly and dehumanising elements that may be attributable to the
religion. Hence, attempts to identify problem areas, such as one is trying to
do here, may contribute to a more healthy religious atmosphere, by creating
awareness, especially toward a Christian inculturation of African
Traditional Religion.
ATR and its ethico-moral standard
Obviously, many Christian evangelizers have never been really close to
ATR in a frank sense. Many of them, even when they are Africans, they
_____________________________________
IOJ.B.
Taylor, Primal World Views: Christian Dialogue with Traditional Thought
Forms (Ibadan: Daystar Press, 1976), p. v.
11 AMECEA Pastoral Department, ed., The African Synod comes home: a simplified text
(of John Paul II's Ecclesia in Africa) (Nairobi: Pauline Publications Alma.
1995),p.25.
are born into Christian homes, and went to Christian schools and
catechism classes where they are told to steer clear away from ATR. The
Pan-African Conference of Theologians which met in Accra, Ghana, in
1977, made statements, such as "Moreover, there is a gap between the
rhetoric of church officials, administrators and theologians, and the
reality in the village.... The missionary church in Africa has used
education as a means of domestication, which has also led to
misunderstandings with our colleagues in the wider dialogue".
As a matter of fact, open-minded Christians who grew up or lived among
adherents of ATR know that there are 'good Samaritans' among them.
The Lord Jesus once pronounced: "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel
have I found such faith." (e.g. Mat 8:5-17). The explanation for that is
suggested in St. Paul who teaches that even though Gentiles do not have the
tablet of the law, they show, and their conscience also bears witness that
what the law requires is written on then hearts (Rm 2:14-15). That is
applicable to adherents of ATR.
In support of the foregoing, one can quote Pope John Paul II, who
enjoins that instead of marveling at the fact that Providence allows a
great variety or religions in the world, one should be amazed at the
number of common elements found in them. Writing further, he
observes "As the Council also noted, these last religions possess the
characteristics of a system. They arc systems of worship and ethical
systems, with a strong emphasis on good and evil. "The words last
religions' refer to African and Asian religions which the Pope mentioned
earlier, and 'Chinese Confucianism and Taoism" 12
In the Yoruba (African) context', many traditional religious songs
emphasize the ethical nature of ATR The following is one such song,
about Ogun, the Yoruba divinity who is the patron of ail who deal in
metals and motors.
_________________________
12John
Paul H, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, edited by Vittono Messori (New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1994), p. 82.
Ogun ri'nu.
Bi mo ba s'eke o, bi mo ba jale,
Ogun ri'nu.
Meaning:
Ogun sees the mind. If
Hell lie or steal „ Ogun
sees the mind.
Another example is a short repetitive song usually sung in the shrine of
Orisaibeji - the divinity of twins:
Ogbon a ran ni je, iwon lo dun mo
Meaning.
Wisdom for cheating has a limited value
Indeed, one of the Yoruba divinities -Ifa. the divinity for oracular
divination- has the amazing name of Orunmila. "heaven knows who will be
saved". Likewise, some personal names testify to the belief of the traditional
Yoruba in the ethical probity of their divinities. Bishop M.O. Fagun of Ekiti
diocese explains that his own name is "Fagunleka, which is now known as
Fagun for short", and it means, according to the Bishop. "Ifa oracle does
not preside over wickedness, that is to say, God is my justice,"13
In-the same vein, the conviction of Ogun worshippers that Ogun hates deceit
is expressed in such names as Ogunrinu (Ogun sees the mind) Similarly,
part of Ogun's praise names is: "Egbe lehin eni a nda loro” - "Defender of
the persecuted". Then, there are other names, such as Sangodare, "Sango
(the divinity for thunder and symbol of God's anger)
____________________
13M.O.
Fagun, The story of my life: An autobiography (Ado-Ekiti: Hope Paper Mill: Ltd.,
1995), p. 8. (Among the Oyo Yoruba, the name would have been written "Faigunleka".)
vindicates", or "Sango has vindicated", and so on.
Then, there are theologians who wonder whether Christianity has
made any ethical improvement on Africans themselves. Justin Ukpong
quotes one Diedrich Westernmann, for instance, who observes in a
book he wrote in 1937, that:
When Europeans who have lived in Africa are asked: Are African
Christians distinguished from their pagan fellows by greater
honesty, reliability, and thrift? In the majority of cases the
negative ... some will go so far as to say that Christian and
mission natives in general are worse than any others. This is
obvious exaggeration, the truth in it is that through contact with
Western civilisation natives are losing their balance; they are
severed from the roots of their tribal life without being really at
home in the white man's spiritual world 14
That was in 1937 Writing as late as 1997, Luke Mbefo notes that
questions arc arising about the salvivic claims of Christianity. The
questions bother, according to Mbefo, on the fact that after nearly two
thousand years of Christian history, the world has remained unredeemed
and unchanged That is the case, continues Mbefo, to the extent that
people still behave and react lo situations exactly as ancient human
documents narrate it since the dawn of written literature and as far as
oral tradition can remember It seems to be constant that: "There have
always been good and bad guys concludes Mbefo.15
Of course, there have been some changes, both positive and negative,
since Christianity came to Africa One of the most remarkable
changes is that twins are no longer thrown away, as it used to happen
in such
___________________
*
I4
J.S Ukpong,"African Theologies Now: A Profile," in Spearhed, no. 80 (Nairobi:
GABA Publications, 1984), p. 13.
15
L N. Mbefo, The Liturgical tear in Action (Omtsha: Spiritan Publications, 1997),
P 9.
places as Calabar, where the missionary Mary Slessor preached
vigorously against the practice. Yet, that feat appears drowned by the
current spate of abortion and crimes in our world.
At any rate, it is officially acknowledged that "the tension between the
church's holiness and the sinfulness of her members can at times assume
alarming proportions and -as in the late Middle Ages, for instance-gravely
distort the face of the church herself"16 Indeed, the Second Vatican
Council would seem to have responded to all the difficulties raised, in
saying.
The church is not blind to the discrepancy between the message it
proclaims and the human weakness of those to whom the Gospel has
been entrusted. Whatever is history's judgment on these
shortcomings, we cannot ignore them and we must combat them
earnestly, lest they hinder the spread of the Gospel. (Gaudium et Spes,
no. 43)
This section will be dangling until one discusses the vices in ATR.
Several discourses on that subject now follow.
The vices in ATR
This topic touches the main concern of the document from Rome. The
document wonders how the Church can recognise ATR for dialogue while
some abominable vices are associated with the religion.
Without pre-empting this discussion, one can state that there are no
societies and institutions where there are no sinners and vices. This
research found that ATR teaches no evil, but there are evil men and
women that may apply their evil genius in the African traditional
religious system, just as some Christians may deface Christianity by
_________________________
16
A Catholic Catechism for Adults: The Church's Confession of Faith, originally
published by the German Bishop's Conference, translated by Stephen Wentworth Amdt,
and edited by Mark Jordan (San Francisco; Communio Books, 19X7), p 235.
their unholy preaching, whims and caprices,
In Yoruba land, for instance, all the divinities (it is said that they are
twenty-four in number) are believed to have come from the Supreme
Being as his ministers and messengers in the world, as hitherto
explained. Adherents of ATR are called idol worshippers, because they
often propitiate before statues and natural objects, such as some big
trees, rivers, mountains, hills, the earth, and so on. Investigations
revealed that they recognise these objects as symbols and emblems, rather
than as gods in themselves. They believe that the objects house spirits
that transcend them. The ultimate Spirit is that of the Creator, who has no
shrine in most African societies. Under a curious subheading, "No
Temple in the City", Philip Afolabi writes: "And I saw no temple in it. for
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it (Rev 27:22).
"No Temple' signifies that full and free access to God is equally granted to
all."17
One would think it suffices that traditional Africans recognise the
Supreme Being as the only source of earthly and heavenly beings. Every
other power is perceived as subject to him, and can only serve as an
intermediary. If Christians still ask angels, the Blessed Mary, the saints,
and fellow human beings to pray for them, we have to respect the
African background and context, in their invocation of certain divinities
spirits, and the ancestors
At any rate, the concern here is to reestablish the integrity of traditional
Africa, before zeroing-in on the vices that are associated with ATR. As
earlier noted, it is not the religion per se, but certain men and women
that may commit evil in the religious system, as in any institution run by
human beings. This study discovers that adherents of ATR have no
monopoly of any evil activity. We shall discuss, for instance the issues
of human sacrifice, witchcraft, violence and ATR, human rights
__________________________________
17Philip I.
Afolabi, Comprehensive Bible Study: An Indispensable Handbook on Basic
Christian Doctrines (Lagos: Omega Publishers, 1988), p. 231.
violation, and African traditional chieftaincy title-taking by Christians
Human sacrifice
There is ample evidence from literature and scholarly works emanating from
different parts of the world which indicate that human sacrifice is known to
most ancient and some modern cultures of the world. For instance, the
indication to that is contained in J. F. Haught’s remark, that In sacrificial
offerings of fruit or animals, and even of humans, the objective is not
merely to appease spirits in order to ensure benefits."18
Even in the Bible, Abraham wanted to sacrifice Isaac, his first son, to God
(Gen. 22:114), and Jephtah actually sacrificed his daughter, who was his
only child, to the Lord (Judges 11:29-40), In academic circles, n is
recognised that Jephthah’s action indicates that, at that period of li-wish
religious history, their religion "was not wholly different from Iliat of her
neighbours', where it was believed that "a human being must IK; sacrificed in
times of special stress "19
I he motivation for human sacrifice in ATR j's not different from what obtains
in the other parts of the world In Yoruba land, for instance, there is the
story of Lady Moremi, who promised to sacrifice her only son Oluorogbo.
to the divinity of River Oshinmirin, if she came back safely and successfully
from spying and discovering the secret of the invincible enemies (the Igbos),
who were attacking and plundering her people (of Ile-Ife) from time to time.
This woman, banking on her beauty, allowed herself to be captured as a
hostage by the invaders, who nave her as a booty to their king. She eventually
got the king to tell her how the Ifes could subdue the Igbos, and then escaped
back to Ile-Ife When the Igbos came again, the Ifes routed them, through
Moremi’s
_____________________________
18MohnF. Haught. What is Religion: An Introduction (New York: Paulist Press, 1990), p.24
19See "Jephthah" in Rev. W.M. Clow (ed), The Bible Reader's Encyclopaedia and
Concordance (London: Collins' Clear-Tape Press, 1977), p. 210.
discovery.
Moremi made good her promise and sacrificed her only son, Oluorogbo, to
River Oshinmirin It cannot be said that this is a myth, since Moremi remains
a celebrated person particularly in Ile-Ife, where several establishments such
as grammar schools and university halls are named after her and her son
There are Moremi shrines in some Yoruba towns, such as Offa, Kwara
State. And there is Moremi bus stop in Ibadan, for another instance
Thus, as J.S. Mbiti rightly notes, the rationale for human sacrifice in
African traditional societies is usually "a very serious one." He adds that
Such sacrifice may be made when the lives of many people are in
danger The life of one person or animal, or of a few of either, is
destroyed in the belief that this will save the life of many people.
Thus, the destruction of one becomes the protection of many.20
This belief and practice have been so pervasive throughout human
history, worldwide, that some early Christian theologians picture God,
with regard to the death of Jesus Christ, "like some powerful, ruler who
demands compensation for offenses in suffering and blood."21 Such
interpretations are based on such biblical passages as Mark 10:45, where
one reads that Christ has come to give his life as a ransom for many. St.
Paul also says that he received the lesson that "Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the Scriptures" (I Cor 15:3). Indubitably, there is the
notion of a vicarious death for others. Yet, it is also indubitable that the
_________________________
20John S Mbiti, An Introduction to African Religion (London: Heinemann, 1975), p.
59
21 See Denis Edwards, ''Salvation", in Glazier, M., and M.K. Hellwig (eds.), The
Modern Catholic Encyclopaedia (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press,
1994), p. 785
innocent Jesus "was put to death by a hostile government",22 or what
one may call a diabolic status quo If the latter position is seriously
stressed the death of Jesus Christ becomes a real challenge to sensitise
humanity.
Field research in Yoruba land revealed that many adults who have lived
all their lives in African traditional environments have only heard about
human sacrifice; they have neither witnessed nor have a clear idea
about it.
That notwithstanding, the traditional elders (from
septuagenarians upward) interviewed said that human sacrifice ;s not at
all common, but certain few remote divinities receive human sacrifice
in a few farfetched places. The latter is the case, to the extent that none
of the twenty-four Yoruba traditional divinities that are believed to have
originally come from heaven is worshipped with a human victim. That
explains the rarity of human sacrifice in Yoruba land.
Beside that one was made to understand that ancient Africans believed
m capital punishment, and certain categories of criminals were usually
beheaded before the emblem of certain divinities. In Yoruba land, for
instance, criminals of a certain category were beheaded before the altar
of Ogun, and the corpse of such a person was buried by the relatives
ordinarily, however, Ogun is worshipped with dog, not with a human
being.
Also in Yoruba land, Sango (the divinity that executes God s anger
through lightening) is known for taking hardened criminals' lives,
without any human intervention, as testified by elders who said they
have been eyewitnesses. In such an incident, the Shango priest would
analyse the dead criminal’s life and the crimes committed by him/her,
and those who knew the person would have no doubt that he or she
deserved to die.
In the distant past, some men and women, such as slaves or strangers,
were buried with some longs. The practice may not have died in some
_____________________
22See-
"Redemption" in Joseph Komonchak, Mary Collins, and Demot A. Lane (eds.)
The New Dictionary of Theology (Theological Publications in India, 1996), p. 839.
communities or societies At the same time, this research reveals that
many traditional Africans know nothing about money-making rituals that
involve human life, and is much pervasive in Africa today, ft is sad to think
how some so-called Christian ministers (not Catholics, Anglicans or any of
the traditional churches) arc sometime? arrested fbr crimes related to
homicidal rituals Fidelis Obiora sums this up, when he writes that: "God
made man Man made money Money has become the god of everyday needs
Money has driven men into ail sorts of strange doctrines and even atrocities.
"38
All over the world, dailies, weeklies, and magazines are awash with
stories of political and commercial assassinations, just as in the age of
large scale slave trade, when human beings were sacrificed on the altar of
wealth acquisition and self-aggrandisement. Thus, in our day, more
human beings are sacrificed 10 the god of wealth and political offices
than to divine beings.
The foregoing is to stress that there is no justification for singling out a
particular system. One should recognise that there is nowhere like heaven in
this world, and so an accusing finger should not be pointed to only a
particular direction. Human beings are human beings, whether they are in
Africa, Europe, America, Australia, West Indies, or any other place. What
counts ultimately is not religion, but fear of God, respect and love of fellow
human beings Only that can bring an end to human sacrifice, worldwide
Witchcraft
One notes with interest that the document from Rome recognises that
witchcraft may not be an aspect of ATR. even though it is found in
Africa. Indeed, witchcraft is found all over the world, and persecution
against witches has also been universal. Moreover, as Montague
Summers notes, the Church too has not always been innocent,
particularly in an age when heresy, sorcery, witchcraft and anarchy were ail
treated as interchangeable words. According to Summers, "the first Bull
launched directly against the black art was that of Alexander IV in
1258.”23 Anne Borrowdale likewise observes that 'women have been
attacked as the embodiment of evil, denigrated as inferior beings, and
even physically tortured and killed in the name of Christ in the witchhunts
of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries." Having said that she notes that
"such blatant hostility to women has declined 4 It is oonscientising to
mention Alan Schreck, who writes "it is an unfortunate fact that sometimes
the spiritual condition of the Church of Christ is no better than the spiritual
condition of the society as a whole."25
African traditionalists believe that witches have mystical powers This,
work takes no interest in psychological witches To buttress tin claim that
witches with mystical or mysterious powers exist, Tatah H. Mbuy (of
Cameroon) quotes a letter:
Dear Rev. Father Humphrey,
I have read your book. Encountering witches and wizards in
Africa. I used to doubt the existence of witchcraft and openly said so.
In my mind. It was an illusion, a figment of the mind One day 1 was
drinking with friends (1 drink only soft drinks) and the topic of
witchcraft came up. I dismissed it in my usual way One of the men
said nothing to me but went out quietly. Later 1 had to go to the toilet
to ease myself. When I reached the door, 1 found the bar empty.
Instead I saw that 1 was in the street with people moving on their
hands, heads down. I stood quiet and after about thirty minutes, I
found myself few metres from my house
__________________________
23Montague Summers, The. History of Witchcraft and Demonology, (New Jersey:
Castle Books, 1992), p. 43.
24Anne Borrowdale, Distorted Images' Christian Attitudes to Women. Men and Sex
(London: SPCK, 1991), p. 17.
25Alan Schreck, The Compact History 'the Catholic Church ( Bombay: St. Paul's
1995), p.45.
Next day the man who had gone out before my woes, met me and
asked if I still doubted the existence of witchcraft.26
It is believed that witches can use their craft for both good and evil,
depending on the person (i.e. the witch) and the circumstances. Witches
are, therefore, categorised as both white and black. White goes for
benevolent witches, while black describes evil witches. In regard of the
latter, the belief is that potent men and women of charm do have
antidotes to checkmate witches.
Supportive witches are called, in Yoruba, lya Osoronga (the Indomitable
Mother), and most persons (men and women) in the mystical business
have their own Indomitable Mother(s) to whom they pay homage at
every outing. It would thus appear that the Yoruba, and possibly many
other African peoples, believe in a form of female principality. A
popular adage has it that behind every successful man is a woman.
Tatah Mbuy has done a lot of good research on witchcraft in Africa. I
agree with his observation that Africans do hunt and persecute suspected
wicked witches The most important point to note, however, is that
Africans have never been alone in hostility against suspected or selfconfessed wicked witches There are less incidents of witch-hunting and
persecution today than in the past, though the situation may vary in
different parts of Africa.
"My conclusion is that if truly there are witches with or without mystical
powers, the surest guarantee for their safety is not to perpetrate evii.
Then, every populace should be cautioned and ordered against unholy,
hasty, and wicked suspicions.
Violence
Religious violence has been rife in history. It was perpetrated against
_________________________
26Mbuy, Understanding Witchcraft Problems in the Life of An African: Case Studies from
Cameroon (Owerri. High Speed Printers. 1992), p 33.
Christianity, even in biblical times, for instance, the one that culminated in
the death of St. Stephen, the dispersion of Christians to places outside
Jerusalem, and the conversion of St. Paul (Acts, Chapter 6 ff) And in
A.D. 64, Emperor Nero initiated the statewide persecution of Christians in
the Roman. Empire, which was perpetrated by several Emperors after him
The document from Rome notes that "Pure Traditional Religion is
tolerant. But the manifestation of the wrong side of Traditional Religion is
showing a lot of intolerance and creating conflicts, even violence." (P.1).
This research reveals that certain Christian and Muslim sects are still much
more intolerant and much more violent than adherents of ATR, at least
in Yoruba land.
Historically, traditional Africans do not engage in proselytisation or faith
propagation, and so. they hardly quarrel, except that they require
initiated and official persons to have at least one of their children as a
successor or replacement in the religious circle and office The latter i
condition is what may bring a conflict, especially where a child who is said
to be chosen by a divinity resists membership on the grounds of being a
Christian or a Muslim. Even then. African traditionalists usually go for
mystical, rather than physical confrontation. An adult may begin to behave
abnormally whenever he goes to the church or mosque, according to
this research. For instance, a middle-aged person may find himself
urinating right inside the church or mosque during worship When asked
whether such a person was charmed, the response from ill fluent
African traditionalists was consistently that a concerned divinity fights
its own fight One was told by traditional informants that there is a clear
distinction between the power of charm or magic and the power of the
divinities.
Apart from the foregoing, one may witness a violent masquerade festival, in
winch participants test one another's resistance to flogging, where
masquerades try to outcharm one another, or where traditional religious
celebrants block motorists to ask for money from them. Otherwise,
traditional Africans are not known for religious violence, generally
speaking.
There a re occasions when some Christians and Muslims object to certain
African Traditional religious festivals, such as Oro in Yoruba land. Oro is
a divinity whose emblem must not be seen by women. It is believed that
any woman (black or white) who beholds Oro would die
mysteriously soon after During the Oro festival, women are not
supposed to go out of their homes during the hours when Oro is in town.
There huvt been reported cases of women who died from beholding Oro. In
some communities, the Oro hours have been successfully negotiated,
considering other people's religious, civil, and commercial obligations. In
such communities. Oro may come out only at night hours, so that men and
women can go about their normal duties during the day. But certain
Christians and Muslims in some communities agitate for total
extermination of Oro festival, and that often leads to a bloody violence.
A good conclusion of this discussion on ATR and violence is that it is
easier to point accusing fingers at other people than at oneself.
Human Rights
Institutions and organisations usually violate human rights through
certain laws and through certain individuals within the system. Even
when one qualifies an institution by a divine adjective, it must still be
acknowledged that it is run by human beings.
On the one hand, one thanks God that the Church, with the Second
Vatican Council, recognises the basic right of every individual to
religious freedom. For it is written:
The Vatican Council declares that the human person has the right to
religious freedom. Freedom of this kind means that all men should be
immune from coercion on the part of individuals, social groups and
every human power so that, within due limits, nobody is forced to act
against his convictions in religious matter in private or in public, alone
or in association with others. (Declaration on Religious Liberty.
1965. No. 2)
ATR probably has its own subtle ways of inquisition. There are certain
principles one has to understand, however. For instance, a person used in
share in a goat killed whenever someone else died. When such a prison
also dies, African traditionalists may insist that the children would
offer a goat whether they are Christians or Muslims, to reciprocate.
This makes it sometimes difficult to judge a case of violation of human
rights to religious freedom by adherents of ATR. Even, case has to be
treated within context. A proper investigation and analysis may be necessary
to arrive at a just solution.
Title-taking
In my discussion with some Catholic priests who argue against African
traditional chieftaincy title-taking by Christians, their objections hinged •
Hi the suspicion that a candidate must perform some rituals at some IH
mil Additionally, with particular reference to the clergy, they felt a
Catholic priest must never take even an honorary chieftaincy title, since,
molding to them, that would automatically subject the priest to
the king who confers the title, whereas a priest should not descend that
low, while his allegiance should be to the Lord, Jesus Christ, alone.
In the first instance, there is obvious prejudice, because the matter has not
been investigated, to see what each particular case involves. Does it involve
a ritual, and if it does, what type of ritual does it involve? Is it a religious or
a ceremonial ritual? Or, is it the case that every traditional ritual is ipso
facto objectionable? If so, why? For, as John Haught observes, "Merely
thinking our way through difficulties seldom works. And so a ritualistic
drama or acting out of a sense of ‘breaking through' is in intrinsic part of
most religions, from the Stone Age up to the present.”27
______________________
27
John F. Haught, 1990, p.22.
Among the expatriate missionaries, I know quite a number that were
conferred with chieftaincy titles by some African traditional rulers For
instance, one Fr. Lepers was made the Chief Atobatele (one who has
always been equal to a king) of Ipetu-Ijesha; a Rev. Sr. Immanuela was
honoured as the lya-Abiye (an Ever Successful Midwife) of Oshogbo. That
demonstrates how appreciative and creative the African traditional people
can be, and how they could modernise their rituals to what can be acceptable
to not just Christians, but even to Christian leaders. Also, the expatriate
missionaries have thus set the good example of not denying African
traditional communities the possibility of showing their recognition and
gratitude in the best way known to them in their culture.
If, as it is often said, vox populi vox Dei, one would suggest it is
worthwhile to consider each case in its own context, whenever a
Christian is popularly proposed for a traditional chieftaincy title, rather
than put a blanket ban on every case involving Christian lay people, the
clergy, and the religious.
The Lord Jesus has not come to abolish but to fulfill the traditional
culture of the Jews. Why should we not imitate him with reference to our
traditional culture? Could this be because we often regard as sinful
whatever appeal's not to be Christian to us, rather than whatever really
harms? We often forget that Christianity has come down to us in the
garb of Western culture, using symbolic materials that are foreign to the
land of our birth.
In the light of the foregoing, one would like to appeal to the wisdom of
the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, which teaches.
Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life,
acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths
found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture.
(Nostra Aetate, No. 2).
Chieftaincy title-taking in African societies, such as in Yoruba land,
nowadays, is more often than not, social and cultural than religious.
Individual cases should, therefore, decide what we make of it.
Indispensability of Christian dialogue with ATR
Naturally speaking, there is hardly any doubt that African traditional
religious ideas have coloured the African vision. Most Africans,
t h e r e f o r e , look outward through the lenses of ATR. and they perceive
intelligibility in accordance with their African native sense., whether they in
born directly or indirectly into the African traditional worldview.
Thus, it Christianity is to gain a deep foothold or incarnate in Africa, it
has to dialogue with ATR, since most grass-root Africans are
psychologically and perceptively oriented to the African traditional
religious worldview.
What dialogue would involve, at this idealistic level, is finding
correspondences in Christian and African traditional beliefs, doctrines,
tenets and ideas. Many theologians have emphasised that religious –studies
directed by Christians in Africa should invariably include studies in ATR
Theologians, such as Mercy Oduyoye, observe that Christian theology
can benefit from a knowledge of African traditional statements concerning
God, nature and human nature, to state the affirmations that
Christianity has been groping for Such knowledge would come.
according to Oduyoye, from "in-depth studies of the religious
components of our oral traditions, myths and legends She nghtiv thinks
that African Christians would benefit more from foregoing than studying
Greek metaphysical philosophy. 28
____________________________
28
Mercy Oduwoye (ed.), The State of Christian Theology in Nigeria (Ibadan: Dayster
Press, 1986), pp.6-7
Socio-politically speaking, the purpose of inter-religious dialogue is
harmony, peace and progress in community and in society at large.
According to Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Prefect of the Pontifical
Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue,
when people of differing languages, cultures, religions, races and
social and economic status accept one another, share gifts and
competencies and work together for the good of their society, we
have some of the ideal conditions for human growth, peace and
development Interreligious dialogue can help towards such
harmony 29
Obviously, this type of dialogue is impossible unless one acknowledges the
existence and the value of non-Christian religions. As Carmody and
Carmody observe, nowadays, many Christians find the power and
influence of other religious traditions, very daunting. As they rightly
note, because many Christians are not certain how to correlate nonChristian traditions with a commitment to Christ, they "flee the test of
letting God slowly reveal what is compatible and what is not.”30 That calls
for a redirection of inward altitude.
One could add that more than one religious tradition enjoys God's
favour. In the words of St. Peter the Apostle. "I have now come to
realise that God has no favourites, but in every nation any one who fears
him and does his will is acceptable to him " (Acts SO:?4-35) Thus
irrespective of human self-conceit, prejudice, superiority complex or
holier-than-thou attitude. God remains the impartial Lord of all he has
created Since He wants harmony in His creation., and since He cannot be
loved adequately until we love our neighbour, Christians and all who
______________________
29Francis
Cardinal Arinze, "Interreligious Dialogue and Harmony" an unpublished
lecture delivered at the Federal University of Ibadan, 1999, p. 1.
30John T. Carmody & Demse L. Carmody, Catholic Spirituality and the History of
Religion (New Jersey: Jew Jersey Paulist Press, 1991), p.15.
claim to be God's children have no option but to embrace dialogue, as a
modus vivendly and modus operand!. Where dialogue fails, government
and security agents could be called upon to intervene, after conscientious and
consistent efforts at peaceful resolution might have proved abortive.
Conclusion
An individual who would engage in a critical and close investigation of
ATR or another person's religion for that matter, would have to be
someone who is not prejudiced against the religion. To be prejudiced
against something means that one cannot speak objectively about the
thing in question There is no way for a Christian who has no clear
knowledge of ATR. to speak authoritatively about the religion To try to
do so is to base oneself on hearsay presumption, and assumption, which
very often amount to prejudice There is also the chance of overgeneralisation.
No wonder the Fathers of the Synod on Africa (Rome. 1994), who
defended the value of ATR. recommend that "a dialogue with the
guarantors of our cultural values and of our traditional religion (ATR)
structured around the cultural heritage is strongly recommended in our
local Churches x" Obviously, it is the guarantors and those who are
close to them or have studied them deeply that can explain what ATR is all
about, authentically speaking. Hence this researcher has consulted ninny
of them.
Finally, the impression should not be created that something has
happened or is happening in ATR that has never happened or is not
happening elsewhere. Part of this work has been to demonstrate that
there is nowhere in this world where heaven exists on earth, and there is
nowhere on this planet where there are no persons struggling to enter the
kingdom of God. Many human beings everywhere are aware of the need
to crave for heaven It is St. Augustine that is often credited with the
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31Oliver, A. Onwubiko, op. cit., p.138.
religious maxim that God has created human beings for himself, and their
hearts are restless until they rest in him. Adherents of ATR are included in
that understanding. They too seek the kingdom of God, generally speaking
Moreover, a religion that preaches love and peace, such as Christianity,
cannot dispense with dialogue in a world of religious and ideological
plurality.
Likewise, Christianity must not stop the work of evangelisation even as it
recognises the authenticity of ATR. Evangelisation that is based on love of
God and neighbour must continue. Human beings need to be reminded of
love of God and neighbour. Men and women of goodwill who are God's
children from all walks of life need such an evangelisation, and some
of them may join in that propagation as followers of Christ who came to
preach love of God and neighbour, particular!) when they arc shown such
a love
This researcher is convinced that Christian relevance and leadership in the
New Millennium can be solidly rested on promoting love and human
solidarity, in the name of Jesus Christ, irrespective of membership
registration. Such an ecclesiastical selflessness will appeal to the people of
this age and is sure to yield its own dividend, even in terms of
membership registration. The new preoccupation is not to teach people
about the Unknown God as such, bur to remind them, as Jesus did, to love
their Creator and to love their neighbour as themselves, for His sake, and
for the sake of peace, human solidarity, justice, compassion. mercy, and all
that can bring about the establishment of God's kingdom in our world.