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In the face of the difficult task of inculturating the Christian faith in Igboland, christianizing the Igbo and igbonizing Christianity, this book offers an interesting and inspiring study of Igbo traditional initiation forms in comparison with the Christian sacraments of initiation. Because of its characteristic features and the significant role in Igbo tradition and culture, it proposes traditional Igbo initiation forms as inculturation basis for pastoral catechesis of Christian initiation.
The Second Vatican Council aims to make the Christian life to command greater appeal and to deepen the faith in the Paschal Mystery among Christians everywhere through very lively celebrations. It therefore gives special attention to the renewal of the liturgy in consideration of the plurality of cultures, languages and customs of particular Churches within Christendom. This study belongs to the area of possible liturgical adaptations and renewals of the Roman rite to accommodate the multicultural reality in the Church. Directives in this regard are given in the Church. Directives in this regard are given in the Council's constitution on the Liturgy, Sacro-sanctum Concilium 37-40. Today, the different contextual engagement with these directives are designated with the word inculturation. For the sake of precision and thorough treatment, this work is geographically restricted to the Igbo land Nigeria which belongs to the English speaking part of West Africa. It makes an extensive investigation into the traditional forms of initiation rites in the pre-Christian Igbo society. Holding to the fundaments of the Christian rites of initiation as well as the true principle for liturgical renewals, it distributes responsibility for the tension between the traditional pre-Christian practice of initiation and the Christian practice as the missionaries of the 19th century introduced it, to crises of cultural identity and the missionaries' inattention to the cultural grammar of the people they wanted to evengelize at all costs. Apart from the problems associated with mass religious ignorance of many Igbos as it is evident in the mushrooming of religious movements in the area, it exposes the biasedattitude in the way the traditional and cultural rites of the Igbos were eliminated by 19th century missionaries, and in the light of the theological intimacy between the Church and her liturgy, it asks for possible ways out as it makes recommendations.
The Agwu is the Igbo patron deity of health and divination, and one of the basic Igbo theological concepts employed to explain good and evil, health and sickness, wealth and poverty, and fortune and misfortune. Belief in the Agwu was widespread in thepast. Most communities had some Agwu people, who were considered victims of its malignant powers or recipients of its positive influences, such as priest-diviners and physicians. This books analyses this belief system in past and present times, and posits the view that it still exists but to a lesser degree or in a modified forms. The author conducted his research through personal interviews and observer-participant methods. Themes range from beliefs about the Agwu deity through the rites and initiation into Agwu cult, to the guild of diviners and traditional healers. The six chapters cover: supernaturalism and disease causation; the anthropocentricity of Agwu; art and symbol in the Agwu cult; the rites of Dibia initiation; significance and consequences of Dibia initiation; and Agwu therapeutic forces in a time perspective.
This book highlights the complex identity crises among many Christians as they negotiate their new identities, religious ideas and convictions as both Christians and members of Nigerian-African societies of indigenous religious traditions and identities. Through an interdisciplinary interpretation of religious practices and educational issues in teaching and ritual training, the author provides tools to help analyse empirical cases. These include the negotiation processes among Christians, with focus on the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) and members of the Ogo society within the Amasiri, Afikpo North Local Government Area, Ebonyi state, in South-eastern Nigeria. Identifying the power dynamic, identity, role and influence of indigenous religions on Christians and the Ogo society, this book reveals the limited interactions between many Christians and members of the Ogo society. Questions explored include: what makes the Ogo society an integral part of the socio-religious life of Amasiri and what powers and identity does it confer on the initiates; how is the PCN within Amasiri responding to the Ogo society through its religious practices such as baptism, confirmation, local auxiliary ministries and organisational structure; and how does the understanding and application of conversion within the PCN impact on its members’ response to the Ogo society? Demonstrating how complex religious identities and practices of Nigerian-African Christians can balance mission-influenced Christianity with indigenous religious traditions and identities, this book recognises the importance of appropriating the powers of indigenous cultures, ingenuity and creativity in the construction and preservation of community identities. As such, it will be of keen interest to scholars of Christian theology, indigenous religious practice and African lived religion.
A study of Igbo ritual symbolism is of primary significance to the systematic reconstruction of Igbo traditional religious experience and life. As the clearest visible expression of the corpus of Igbo beliefs, sacred symbols provide reliable information about indigenous religious thought and socio-cultural life. This is especially the case with the dominant symbol of Ofo, since it occupies a unique place in the Igbo ritual network. The book makes a systematic and detailed analysis of Ofo ritual symbol, including its provenance, structural variations and functional range in the different sub-cultural zones of Igboland, and its dense meaning- content. The study is presented from a historical perspective.
This book provides a unique insight into understanding the Igbo social, economic, and political world through comprehensive analyses of indigenous and foreign religious practices, issues surrounding women, literature, language, sexism in musical lyrics, films, and community development and government. It also explores thought-provoking cultural practices relating to marriage and divorce, reincarnation, naming, and masquerade dance. The themes covered in the book help readers appreciate the often-neglected multifaceted local and external forces that continue to shape the Igbo experience in southeastern Nigeria.
Owing to their value and strategic importance in the people's mentality and culture, this work proposes the Igbo Rites of Passage as a necessary parameter and a transmitting wave-length for a firm rooting of the christian faith among the Igbos.
"Numerous titles focusing on particular beliefs in Africa exist, including Marcel Griaule′s Conversations with Ogotemmeli, but this one presents an unparallelled exploration of a multitude of cultures and experiences. It is both a gateway to deeper exploration and a penetrating resource on its own. This is bound to become the definitive scholarly resource on African religions." — Library Journal, Starred Review "Overall, because of its singular focus, reliability, and scope, this encyclopedia will prove invaluable where there is considerable interest in Africa or in different religious traditions." –Library Journal As the first comprehensive work to assemble ideas, concepts, discourses, and extensive essays in this vital area, the Encyclopedia of African Religion explores such topics as deities and divinities, the nature of humanity, the end of life, the conquest of fear, and the quest for attainment of harmony with nature and other humans. Editors Molefi Kete Asante and Ama Mazama include nearly 500 entries that seek to rediscover the original beauty and majesty of African religion. Features · Offers the best representation to date of the African response to the sacred · Helps readers grasp the enormity of Africa′s contribution to religious ideas by presenting richly textured concepts of spirituality, ritual, and initiation while simultaneously advancing new theological categories, cosmological narratives, and ways to conceptualize ethical behavior · Provides readers with new metaphors, figures of speech, modes of reasoning, etymologies, analogies, and cosmogonies · Reveals the complexity, texture, and rhythms of the African religious tradition to provide scholars with a baseline for future works The Encyclopedia of African Religion is intended for undergraduate and graduate students in fields such as Religion, Africana Studies, Sociology, and Philosophy.