Nigeria’s Nsukka, Nigeria, has been a crossroads between the two spiritual traditions: Christianity and African traditional religion.
His life was always marked by mystery, says the 59-year-old who was raised a devout nondenominational Christian in Amachi Nsulu, near Aba in southeast Nigeria.
He sped over the course of a year before going missing. “I was found the next morning in the same trench they searched the previous day”, he said.
He suddenly suddenly erupted and became extremely ill, and his parents took him to the hospital, but when his condition did not improve, they sought medical advice from a traditional healer. The dibia (priest and medicine man) attributed his illness to the gods, saying it was a sign of Nwaohia’s inescapable destiny to lead his people in the ancient traditions of the Igbo people.
According to Nwaohia, “the dibia said that I was my grandfather’s reincarnation.” “His return to the earth as a powerful traditional priest was foretold]before he died]”.
In various West African cultures and spiritual practices, such doctrine is not uncommon. But Nwaohia’s mother, due to her deep Christian faith, received the prophecy with doubt and kept it from her son.
In 1983, Nwaohia received the baptismal rites. But on the day of the baptism, he had an accident. He said, “I suddenly veered into the bush and sustained fleshly injuries, but my co-rider was unscathed,” and that was a sign he was heading in the wrong direction.
But back then, Nwaohia was still ignorant of the prophecy, so at age 18, he became a Bible teacher at a church in his hometown.
He sought medical attention after a second road accident, one in which a car accident in 1987, left him with leg injuries that he claimed would not heal despite years of hospital treatment. He then turned to a friend’s counsel and sought medical attention from a doctor. The wounds, the dibia told him, were signs that Nwaohia’s calling to the priesthood in the African traditional faith was due.
Nwaohia, who was 23 years old, explained what the dibia said to his mother. She finally revealed the prophecy she received about him many years ago. He felt his path was now clearer, and he gradually accepted his new spiritual role, despite her reluctance.
“People who identify and follow their true path will thrive, while those who stray will face difficulties until they find their way back”, said Nwaohia, who claims his leg injury healed on its own after he embraced his calling.
In a lavish ceremony that included frenzied dances, rituals of purification and vision, as well as drumming and initiations, he was formally ordained a dibia in 1993. Other spiritualists offered Igbo prayers to Chukwu (the supreme being), Ndi Ichie (the ancestors), and the gods and spirits that control the physical and spiritual worlds, asking for acceptance, guidance, protection and blessings.
Christianity is the number one religion in Nigeria, a country of more than 200 million people. However, according to religious leaders and observers Al Jazeera spoke to, a growing number of young people have been converting from monotheistic beliefs to Indigenous African beliefs in the years since Nwaohia changed his spiritual path.
There is a dearth of data and research on the issue, observers said, but they started noticing the trend in the early 2000s. Some believe pastors who emphasize material wealth over spiritual well-being, which is contrary to the Bible’s teachings, make people consider alternative religious options.
Coexistence or irreconcilable differences?
Portuguese traders and slavers introduced Christianity to Nigeria for the first time in the 15th century. However, the faith was restricted to the coastal areas of the country where they were based. Up until the 19th century when British colonialists arrived, this was in effect. The Christian faith then spread to various parts of Nigeria through the efforts of missionaries and some emancipated slaves.
However, Nigerians had a religious belief system that focused on deep ties to their ancestors, the physical and spiritual worlds, and community-specific deities prior to the advent of Christianity and other monotheistic faiths like Islam.
Today, many converts leaving Christianity face opposition at home. For one, Nwaohia’s mother initially disapproved of his conversion as an insult to her beliefs.
Families of converts also fear the social stigma associated with traditional beliefs. Many people mistrust their ancestors, their divination, and other spiritual practices. Worshippers can face severe discrimination, with beliefs branded “pagan”, “demonic” or “witchcraft”. This reflects colonial missionaries’ influence, according to observers, who viewed indigenous faith as archaic and dangerous spiritually.
However, for adherents of African traditional religion, both beliefs often coexist.
Some people go to church on Sundays, and others go to a dibia’s office for advice, while also engaging in traditional and Christian rituals like funerals or naming ceremonies.
The adherents of traditional faith interviewed by Al Jazeera say all religious divinity is captured in their pantheon, including the Christian God. Many people then combine Christian and indigenous practices.
This approach to religion has become attractive in a society where religious zealotry has caused division and violence, including conflict between Christians and Muslims.
Echezona Obiagbaosogu, 49, a former Catholic priest who now practises both Christian and traditional faiths, recounted the story of a man who remained both a devoted Christian and a rainmaker, even serving on the parish council until his death. Despite these instances of harmonious coexistence, he noted that some zealous preachers claim that the two religions are unrelated.
The search for personal conviction is inspiring a return to the kind of faith many Africans link to their roots. At one point in his priestly career, Obiagbaosogu found himself unsure whether his spiritual path was truly in tune with his inner convictions.
“I felt that maybe my personal relationship with God needed something more from me”, he said, without elaborating on what he felt was missing. In his 16th year as a priest, he embraced traditional religion in 2022 after seven years of internal struggle and finding no solution in Christianity.
He had also faced similar challenges in the seminary where he studied, leading him to start a society for African culture with his colleagues to explore African religious concepts or practices and their place in Christianity.
Obiagbaosogu believes that different interpretations of the supernatural can be found in both Christian and traditional religious practices.
“Humans crown realities and create concepts, and we become slaves to the concepts we create. When you choose to cut yourself off from the ideas, nothing happens, he said.
‘ Easy money ‘
Some people claim that the shift in young people’s attitudes toward traditional African religion has been fueled by their own spiritual beliefs, along with their own perceptions, as well as their desire for easy wealth.
Many young people embrace traditional beliefs thinking it will lead to , wealth, some clergy say, due to the belief that alignment with the deities and spirits can grant blessings, financial breakthroughs or supernatural aid in personal and economic endeavours.
They are very interested in making money, according to Catholic priest Anthony Oluba, who says the African traditional religion provides them with an easy way to do so.
But some argue that it is in fact Christian churches ‘ emphasis on material wealth that has caused them to want to leave the religion.
The commercialization of some Christian churches and their preference for wealthy people have undermined their religious credibility, according to Kingsley Akunwafor, a tailor and former Catholic.
Clerics , demand offerings for miracles and blessings, distracting the Christian church from core responsibilities, including the spiritual welfare of members, said Akunwafor, who requested a pseudonym as he now practises traditional beliefs in secret.
Some clergy are also accused of working for personal gain for the church.
Joel Ugwoke, an Anglican priest, told Al Jazeera he knows a businessman who lost confidence in the institution after he sold a Pentecostal pastor a power generator for the church. The pastor requested that the businessman charge more than the difference so he could pocket the difference without making suspicion.
Chinedu Oshaba, 37, another former Catholic, embraced traditional faith more than a decade ago after witnessing the Church , prioritising money over empathy.
Unpaid levies prevented a devoted member from receiving a church burial. With no one to settle her debt, another church of a different denomination , eventually conducted her funeral. She was terminated from her membership, according to Oshaba, who claimed.
Many orthodox churches collect monthly or annual levies from members, including to feed priests and bishops, maintain church buildings, and help bury members. Regardless of financial status, all members are honored in the Native faith during burial ceremonies. Oshaba sees this as an advantage over Christian churches, where the bereaved are charged for funeral services, including fees for officiating clerics and church facilities.
Some Christian clerics have observed the trend of more people seemingly moving towards African spirituality. Religious leaders said there are ongoing reforms and discussions about how to appeal to worshipers among various denominations.
Oluba’s Catholic congregation, for instance, appeals to people by providing support with agriculture, through training opportunities and grants, while Anglican priest Ugwoke says he is careful about his approach to church doctrine and how he teaches it.
According to Ugwoke, “I practice what I preach because they [the congregation] focus on me more than what I preach.”
‘ Christianity may be dislodged ‘
In Nigeria, colonialism quickly gained acceptance as a religion in the second half of the country in the 20th century. The spread was sometimes marked by violence, which killed people and displaced the Indigenous peoples who survived.
According to historian Chijioke Ngobili, “When you deceive or conquer one, two, or three generations of a people, there will always be the descendants who will defy you, having known the truth for themselves.”
Now, as social media empowers free speech, more young people are speaking up about the colonial atrocities , in Nigeria. Some observers claim that this threatens Christianity’s supremacy.
“With young adherents of Indigenous spirituality potentially becoming future intellectuals, politicians, capitalists and policymakers, Christianity may be dislodged”, said Ngobili, who is also an adherent of traditional faith.
Some churches have reported a lack of young people who frequently take the lead in music and singing during church services. “One church even stopped using musical instruments because its young male members left for Indigenous faith”, said Oluba, the Catholic priest.
Oluba worries that the church will no longer serve as a beacon of morality and conscience in society as more young people leave. Meanwhile, other clerics worry about the young people embracing traditional faith to use it to gain wealth and power through black magic.
However, historian Ngobili contends that traditionalists are not innately dark forces, but rather were brought in by those with bad intentions.
“The bad ones take their vices – such as greed, desire for wealth without work, instant gratification, violence, among others – into the practice of Indigenous faiths”, he said.
He claimed that the improper use of particular potent practices and procedures harms the image of traditional faith, creating societal distrust and strengthening negative stereotypes.
African method of worship
At sunset on a day in January, in his hometown of Amachi Nsulu, Nwaohia gathered outdoors on the grounds of his shrine, preparing to invoke , the gods.
Before gulping a mouthful of gin from a bottle, he used his index finger to mark the outermost edges of his eyes with a white kaolin. Then, with a pinch of kola nut between his fingers, he moved slowly between the various figurines of his oracles, decorated in animal blood.
Kola was eaten by our ancestors. Spirits drink”, he said, pouring droplets of the gin.
Nwaohia has spent a lot of time studying what he believes to be the true faith, which closers him to his ancestors and his forefathers, while diligently adhering to the customs he has learned.
The African method of worship sees prayers take place in the morning and at sunset, often accompanied by libations, with hot drinks, kola nut and kaolin. Stones, carved images and trees are considered homes for the gods, and are often used as the representation of their presence.
Then there are annual and seasonal festivals to mark the harvest seasons, as well as masquerade ceremonies. To seek blessings, protection, or guidance, offerings are made at shrines, including kola nut, yams, other food, or sacrificial animals. Blood sacrifices of fowls or goats are performed to appease spirits or mark events.
However, there is no written law that instructs adherents in carrying out specific laws.
Worshippers believe that there is a connection between humans and natural elements like the earth, water, plants and animals, and , that certain wrongdoings – including murder, adultery and injustice – are not just an offence against humans but the entirety of nature.
Members typically spend quiet time reflecting and seeking truth and fairness in their own actions rather than gathering in a common assembly, as they do in churches.
However, a lack of mentors can be a challenge for converts. For a faith based on personal meditation, without leaders who guide and give sermons in churches, new worshippers can wallow in confusion.
When added to the shrouded nature of some ritualistic practices, this less organized structure is available for studying and comprehending important doctrines.
Young adherents from Christian homes often bear the brunt, as there is no generational transfer of knowledge.
Oshaba, whose father had already become an African traditionalist before he was born, said, “When I left the church, my father set up my shrine for me and taught me everything.” But most others do not have a guide.
In the most extreme cases, stigma makes new converts less liked by family and friends. For this reason, Akunwafor says he , is forced to occasionally attend the Catholic Church to avoid being sidelined by his friends and relatives.
Since converting about five years ago, the tailor has secretly practiced his traditional faith.
“I am very bothered by my inability to practise my faith openly because of wrong perceptions about it, but I’m hopeful that my God will give me confidence eventually”, he said.
Similar to Obiagbaosogu, the transition was difficult. “I lost friends”, he told Al Jazeera. Although our relationship may not have been smooth, I’m making new connections and making new friends.
However, on rare occasions, loved ones do come around. Although his mother was initially upset, the entire family eventually accepted his new role as a traditional priest in Nwaohia.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply