Citation

Eze OC. International Journal of Intangible Heritage 2018; 13: 52-61.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Deities have always been an important factor in the socio-political life of the Nsukka people, defining and regulating inter-personal and inter-group relations. In other words, the institution ensured that there were cordial relationships not only at the horizontal but also at the vertical levels of society. Deities were, therefore, believed to have provided Nsukka - and the entire Igbo - with an ultimate vision of themselves and the world. This institution that hitherto promoted peace and harmony among the people through its impartiality in administrating justice and arbitration, has, in recent years, been faced with relentless attacks from organised religion - particularly from Christianity. Unfortunately, this aspect of Nsukka history has been neglected, uninvestigated and unharvested. As a result of this, our knowledge of this hitherto time-honoured institution is patchy and distorted. This study explores this neglected area so as to broaden and enrich our knowledge of the history of the Nsukka people. The year 1960 is chosen as the commencement date for this study for two obvious reasons. It witnessed Nigeria's independence which was expected to have ushered in a cultural rebirth that would encourage Nsukka people to reorganise their violated gods or battered deities. With the establishment of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1960, numerous Christian sects 'invaded' and drew huge numbers of converts from the indigenous people. The year 2016 marks the end of the study because of the landmark events which culminated in two young men committing suicide apparently at the instance of a deity. Apart from depleting the numbers of traditionalists, some misguided and overzealous Christian converts, under spurious guises, have blatantly destroyed and burnt some effigies of sacred deities. Ironically, some of these apostates have had recourse to return to these deities in times of challenges and troubles. Such patronage of deities would seem to have sustained their relevance in the lives of the traditionalists in the Nsukka cultural zone. Rather than disappearing, as claimed by the universal religions, deities have continued to soldier on in Nsukka, just as they have done elsewhere in Igboland. The focus of this study is to examine the continued relevance of these deities in this age of Christianity and westernisation. © 2016 National Folk Museum of Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Nigeria; Adoro; African Traditional Religion; Arusi; Chukwu; Deities; Eze Chitoke; Igbo; Ikpo mma; Ndi Nsukka; Ube