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Urhobo
Community as Unity of Two Worlds
By Ochuko
Tonukari
The idea of
community
and humane living are highly cherished values of Urhobo traditional
life. This
statement remains true in spite of the apparent disarray in the
experience of
modern politics and brutal internecine strife in certain parts of
Urhoboland.
For traditional Urhobo, the community is basically sacred, rather than
secular,
and surrounded by several religious forms and symbols. A visitor to
Urhoboland
is soon struck by the frequent use of the first person plural Avware,
Orhavware (we, ours) in everyday speech. In modern Urhobo towns,
primary
community loyalties of one's extended family and village continue to
exert
their hold over people who live away from the communities of their
home-towns.
People generally return to their villages from their residence in the
cities
from time to time to join members of their village community to
celebrate
important traditional rituals and cultural events like initiation,
title-taking
or festival. From their residence in urban cities, they send
substantial
financial contributions to their rural home communities to support
various
development projects like provision of electricity and pipe-borne
water,
building of educational institutions and scholarship awards, funds to
send
young men and women on further studies in foreign countries or in one's
own
country.
Primary communities
based on
clan equally abound in many modern Urhobo towns. Analysts point out
that these
are often, for people who are detached from the communities of their
home-towns, "surrogate for the extended family or the community of
village
neighbors.” Elder Ovedje’s observation underscores
the important belief and sense of
the community among traditional Urhobos. In traditional Urhoboland, the
individual does not and cannot exist alone except co-corporately. He
owes his existence
to other people, including those of past generations and his
contemporaries.
Whatever happens to the individual is believed to happen to the whole
group,
and whatever happens to the whole group happens to the individual. The
individual can only say: "I am because we are, and since we are,
therefore
I am.” This is a cardinal point in the understanding of the Urhobo view
of man.
This treatise
discusses the
religious dimension of community in the traditional Urhobo background.
Several
myths relate the founding of community as well as shed light on certain
symbol
objects and forms that feature prominently in the ritual network of
Urhobo
people. I will try to show how such relevant ritual forms and symbols
are
employed by the Urhobos to enhance the ideal of community. I shall also
be
interested in finding out how certain punitive sacred sanctions like
ostracisation, help to curb deviance, and indirectly advance the cause
of
harmonious communal life. I propose to conclude the paper by examining
the
phenomenon and impact of radical social change on the role of
traditional
Urhobo Religion in promoting the community ideal in contemporary Urhobo
society.
Traditional Urhobo
people
share the basic instinct of gregariousness with the rest of human-kind.
Families and members of kin-groups, from minimal to maximal lineages,
generally
live together and form a community. The Urhobo share life
intensely in
common. There are communal farmland, streams, barns, and markets. There
are
also communal shrines, squares, masquerades, ritual objects and
festivals for
recreational activity, social, economic and religious purposes. Members
of the
same kindred or clan could distinguish themselves by their proficiency
in a
particular trade, skill or profession. Some traditional Urhobo
communities may
be experts in rain-making, weaving, wood carving, practice of
traditional
medicine, hunting or fishing. These and similar features
characterize the
communal life of traditional Urhobo society. Closeness to nature, the
experience of life in terribly hazardous environment, and the crucial
need for
security and better performance in means of livelihood are some
relevant
factors that combine to deepen the natural impulse for gregariousness
and sense
of community among Urhobo people.
For traditional
Urhobo,
community is much more than simply a social grouping of people bound
together
by reasons of natural origin and/or deep common interests and values.
It is
both a society as well as a unity of the visible and invisible worlds;
the
world of the physically living on the one hand, and the world of the
ancestors,
divinities and souls of children yet to be born to individual
kin-groups. In a
wider sense, Urhobo traditional community comprehends the totality of
the world
of its experience including the physical environment, as well as all
spirit
beings acknowledged by a given group.
The network of
relationships
among human beings are remarkably extended and deep. In fact, the words
'family', 'brother', or 'sister', etc. define far more for Urhobo
people than
what they mean today for the average European or North American. The
family for
the traditional Urhobo usually includes one's direct parents, grand and
great
grand parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts, cousins, nieces
and
nephews. And normally, a child would refer to any of his uncles or
aunts as his
father or mother, his nephews and nieces as his/her brothers and
sisters.
People generally do not ask a child his/her personal name. Rather, a
child is
identified as a child of so-and-so parents. The extended family system
is the
model. The molecular family pattern is alien and believed to be
inimical to the
traditional value of community. Actually, it is only in recent times
that the
latter system began to surface mainly in urban towns as a result of
external
influences. The extended family structure is held up to people as
model, one in
which parents, grand-parents, uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces live
together
and are cared for by their children, grand-children and other relatives
in
mutual love and respect.
The invisible
members of the
extended family, especially ancestors and spiritual beings, are
powerful and by
far superior to human beings. Their reality and presence in the
community are
duly acknowledged and honoured among various people in Urhobo
traditional
society. Neglect could spell disaster for human beings and the
community. The
invisible beings are represented by different kinds of symbols like
carved
objects, shrines and sacred altars. They may also be recalled in
personal names
given to children, especially in cases where particular ancestors or
spirit
beings are held to have reincarnated in individual children. The
presence of the
ancestors is particularly felt in traditional Urhobo community. They
are
believed to be benevolent and powerful representatives of the community
in the
subterranean world of 'erivwin' (underworld). Their symbols and
shrines
are common features among most traditional Urhobo people. For example,
women
within the child-bearing age are bound to observe several prohibitions.
Such
women run a serious risk of becoming childless if they flout such
taboos, since
it could result in scaring away of souls of unborn babies that are
believed to
hover around homesteads and families wanting to incarnate in wombs of
potential
mothers.
Most traditional
African
groups, including the traditional Yoruba of Nigeria and the Dogon of
Mali, have
intriguing sacred stories or myths that tell how the world, human
beings and
important institutions came into being. Such sacred stories generally
also
underscore the involvement of ancestors and mythical beings in the life
and
affairs of the community of the physically living. They also try to
explain the
significance of different rituals for human beings and their important
life-interests.
Members of
traditional Urhobo
society, like their counterparts in other parts of
The idea and
structure of
human society for traditional Urhobo are essentially part of a
world-view that
is fundamentally wholistic, sacred and highly integrated. Human
community,
therefore, has its full meaning and significance within the
transcendental
centre of ultimate meaning. Hence, the belief in ancestors and the
supernatural
order, in addition to its inherent religious import, provides
traditional
Urhobo society a useful over-arching system that helps people to
organize
reality and impose divine authority and sanction to their life.
It is an essential article of belief in Urhobo traditional Religion that a fundamental delicate balance and equilibrium exist in the universe, between the visible world and the invisible one. The Creator, Oghene, created everything that exists and set everything in its place. Traditional Urhobo basically view the universe as comprising basically two realms; the visible and the invisible realms. They grasp the cosmos as a three-tiered structure, consisting of the heaven above, the physical world and the world beneath. Each of these is inhabited by different categories of beings. The Creator and a host of spirit beings, including arch- divinities, inhabit the heaven above; other divinities, ancestors, and myriads of unnamed spirits dwell in the world beneath; while human beings occupy the physical earth. Human beings may be less powerful, but their world is the centre and the focus of attention. It belongs to human beings as sensible beings to maintain the delicate balance in the universe. This is what assures the happiness and prosperity of individuals and the community.
Harmonious living
is clearly
a pivotal value. Urhobo traditional religion, which I would prefer to
refer to
as the womb of the people's culture, plays a key role in the
realization of
this all-important value among traditional Urhobo people. Religion is
central
in the promotion and realization of harmonious inter-relationship among
individuals and the community. In the traditional Urhobo background,
religion
is a most important aspect of life. It pervades and permeates all
aspects of life
and infuses the social, economic, and political dimensions with meaning
and
significance. But there are some more striking avenues through which
the
traditional religion helps the community to realize the community ideal
of
harmonious living. They include transmission of certain key religious
ideas and
beliefs, initiation practices, ritual activities, sacred symbol forms
and vital
public institutions. I shall discuss these, one after the other.
i. Belief in
Ancestors: The belief in
ancestors is an important element of Urhobo
traditional religion. This belief occupies an important place in the
understanding
of the role of traditional religion in inculcating the ideal of
harmonious
living among Urhobo people. One needs however, to know the content of
the
belief to be better able to appreciate how it helps the people to
realize the
community ideal of harmonious living.
The ancestors, or
the
living-dead, as John Mbiti refers to them, are believed to be
disembodied
spirits of people who lived upright lives here on earth, died 'good'
and
natural death, that is at ripe old age, and received the acknowledged
funeral
rites. They could be men or women. But more often than not, male
ancestors are
prominent since patrilineage is the dominant system of family and
social
integration in traditional Urhobo society. With the completion of
prescribed funeral rites, a deceased person is believed to transform
into an
ancestor. The funeral rites in this case, serve as some kind of 'rites
de
passage'. The disembodied spirit joins the esteemed ranks of fully
achieved
ancestors in the spirit world.
The strong belief
in
ancestors is not restricted to Urhobo people alone. For instance, among
the
Akan of Ghana, as part of the coronation ceremony of a new king, the
candidate
carves a traditional stool for himself which he uses as personal stool
while he
is alive. When he dies, he is placed on the stool and bathed before his
burial.
The stool is then blackened and kept at the shrine of his ancestral
spirit.
Each lineage has a chapel of blackened stools which is the shrine of
its
ancestors. The Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Thonga, and Shona among other South
African
peoples have their respective ancestral symbols and shrines. The Igbo
of
South-east Nigeria have their Okpensi and Ofo as well
as sacred
altars for the ancestors.
Traditional Urhobos
hold the
ancestors as the closest link the physically living have with the
spirit world.
"The living-dead are bilingual; they speak the language of men, with
whom
they lived until 'recently', and they speak the language of the spirits
and of
God ...They are the 'spirits' with which Urhobo people are most
concerned: it
is through the living-dead that the spirit world becomes personal to
men. They
are still part of their human families, and people have personal
memories of
them. Urhobo strongly believe that the ancestors are essentially
benevolent
spirits. They return to their human families from time to time and
share meals
with them, however, symbolically. They know and have interest in what
is going
on in their families.
For Urhobo people,
there are
the belief and ideas about ancestors being able to form an
essential part
of the effort to inculcate, mobilize and promote the community ideal of
harmonious living in the society. As benevolent spiritual guardians of
their
respective families and communities, ancestors are believed to
reincarnate in
new-born babies in the community. A child is named after the ancestor
that is
believed to have reincarnated in the life of that child. Special
attention and
favours are bestowed to such a child as a mark of respect to the
ancestor.
Family elders make regular offerings of gifts, food and drinks to the
ancestors. The Urhobo male elder does not normally eat or drink without
first
offering some portion on the ground, or at the shrine or symbol of the
ancestors.
Again, this
situation is not
limited to the Urhobo people alone. The Mende of Sierra Leone avails of
the
staple food item of rice, and water for their offering to ancestral
spirits.
Among the Akan, the lineage head offers food and drinks to the
ancestors at
appropriate times. The Adae rites which take place every
twenty-one days
and the annual Odwera festival are high points of the Akan
worship of
ancestral spirits. Furthermore, ancestors are generally held to be the
custodians of the land on which their children live. They are guardians
of
family affairs, customs, traditions and ethical norms. Offence in these
matters
is ultimately an offence against the forefathers who in that capacity
act as
invisible police of the families and communities (E.Ikenga-Metuh 1987;
149).
Ancestors are thought to mete quick and severe punishment on people who
disregard the hallowed traditions of the community, or infringe taboos
and
norms of acceptable behaviour in society. Urhobo people, therefore, try
to
strictly observe such taboos and norms, thereby ensuring peace and
harmony in
their relationship with one another, with ancestors and other
supernatural
beings.
From early childhood through adolescence to full adulthood, the traditional Urhobo citizen is formed to hold tenaciously to the belief in the ancestors, to reverence them as powerful and benevolent members of the community, although not in a physical but rather mystical sense. Ancestors are held up as models to be copied in the effort to strictly adhere, preserve and transmit the traditions and norms of the community. The average Urhobo man is psychologically fully equipped and motivated to promote the delicate balance and equilibrium that is believed to exist in the universe through ensuring harmony in his relationship with the invisible world and among members of his immediate surrounding.
ii. Libation :A libation quite simply is a form of prayer
used in
traditional Urhobo life. Unlike Western prayers, where the eyes are
closed,
libations are done with eyes open to see what gods or ancestors have
brought.
Performed at significant events, such as the birth of a child, a
harvest or a
wedding, libation comes from the same cultural wellspring that gave
Christians
Communion. As a sacred communal ritual, it helps to bind families and
communities with everything that lives and everything that ever lived.
It is
also an act of remembrance to keep families linked to their familial
legacy and
to prevent them from becoming isolated and adrift in society.
Like the wine in
Christian Communion,
liquids are often used in libation; some will include water, as a
symbol of the
continuity of life, and some may use palm wine or oil, a household
staple in
Urhoboland. Others may use coconut milk, a liquid that many consider a
symbol
of the mysteries in life. Other communities may use beer, gin,
schnapps, or
other alcoholic beverages as a symbol of the ancestral spirits.
There is a hierarchy to pouring libations that is strictly followed in Urhobo communities. The libation closely follows the family lineage and in many cases, it is a recitation of a couple’s links to each family member, living, dead and unborn. Libations can be simple expressions of good wishes, or complicated choreopoems with refrains of call and response. In Urhobo society, every adult is expected to be able to call up the appropriate words at appropriate moments. It may be performed by the eldest family member or by a respected family member or friend. Instruments such as bells, drums, or horns may accompany the officiant. Repetition helps to reinforce sentiments and the mood. This wish is typical: "May the spirits on high, as well as the spirits below, fill you with grace."
A libation can be
one of the
most dramatic parts of a marriage celebration. It may be done at the
ceremony
and again at the reception. It is meaningful and colorful, and offers a
moment
to pause and reflect on the importance of family. It is an important
act of
remembrance that helps young people to reclaim their family heritage.
Because it is
prayer, it can
evoke powerful emotions and feelings of good wishes. It also offers a
way to
highlight both families’ ties to one another. The libation can be a way
of
elevating the event and involving guests and family members in a
personal way.
And for anyone who has lost a parent or other family member, it can be
a moment
of emotional reconciliation and celebration.
A libation, like a
prayer,
starts with an invocation to invite everyone to participate. It is
followed by
an introduction where ancestors, elders and family members may be
named. The
supplication asks God for good wishes. The conclusion ends the libation
by
thanking everyone for participating. It also sends the spirits home.
This libation details the importance of immortality. We call upon our own name seven times so one day we may be immortalized in the memory of our children as our ancestors are now. We invite God to look down upon his children as they gather for a day of honor, rejoicing, and remembrance. We ask for your blessing of power and unity. We honor our ancestors and ask that those who have a foot in both worlds carry our blessing to God so that he may hear our entreaties. We lift our voices to all whose bravery, blessings, perseverance, and deeds served to uplift and strengthen these families. We lift our voices to unite these two families. We lift our voices to banish ill will. We lift our voices to bring peace. And when the celebration draws to a close, we wish everyone to leave more blessed than when they came.
iii. Initiation
Rituals: Rites marking the
transition of individuals and
groups from one significant stage of life to another abound in
traditional
Urhobo societies. Similar rites are also found in several parts of the
world outside
Prior to the
introduction of
Western-type schools, initiation rituals provided a most effective
avenue for
socialization and transmission of key beliefs, ideas and values of the
community to successive generations. Against the background of the oral
culture
of traditional Urhobo society, people relied on such oral media as
speech-forms, dramatic performances, and ritual symbolic forms to
communicate
their important ideas, beliefs and values to members of the community.
The awe
and mystery that often characterised the initiation ceremonies prove
particularly favourable for the successful communication of the
accumulated
wisdom of the people, including the ideal of harmonious co-existence in
the
community.
Masquerades and
several
ancestral symbols feature prominently in traditional Urhobo
initiations. Such
is the case also for example, with initiation into the Poro for
young
men and even Sande for young girls in
iv. Dominant Ritual Symbols: Traditional Urhobo also preserve
and
express the ideal of harmonious community-living through their dominant
ritual
symbols. In an effort to ensure that this, and other important values
relating
to their survival, are well preserved and successfully transmitted to
successive generations, in the absence of developed culture of
literacy,
traditional Urhobo avail of different kinds of oral means and media to
encode
and communicate their important cultural values over and over again.
Repetition
is, no doubt, a typical feature of oral cultures around the world.
Traditional
Urhobo rely on speech-forms such as myths, proverbs, wise sayings and
songs, as
well as art-forms like sculpture, dance, ritual objects, etc to
preserve and
impress their key beliefs, ideas and values in the minds of successive
generations of society. Dominant ritual objects are particularly
relevant
because of their tremendous potential as effective means of
communication in
the oral cultural background and their prominence in the socio-cultural
and
religious dynamics of life of traditional Urhobo people. They
encapsulate and
express for traditional Urhobos vital information relating to their
different
areas of awareness; the intuitive, physical, aesthetic, social and
normative.
v. Important Traditional Institutions: Traditional Urhobo people also possess important sacred institutions with significant religious dimension that equally further the community ideal. They include sacred kingship institution, public shrines and sacred groves, divination and masquerades. Each one of them generally implies important religious beliefs, supernatural power and authority, and serves as a vital channel for inculcating and promoting the ideal of harmonious living in society by the people. For traditional groups that have sacred kings, such kings are not simply political heads, they are more importantly sacred personages. They posess spiritual and mystical powers which enable them to confer benefits on their people. In most cases, they are regarded as descendants or incarnations of divine beings, a mythical ancestor, or divinity.
Public shrines and
masquerades are some other important sacred institutions which
contribute
significantly in promoting the sense of community. Shrines are often
located in
large public squares. They serve multi purposes for traditional
Urhobos. The
shrines are specifically for religious worship. The adjoining open
space is for
meetings, economic transaction, for staging of festivals and other
public
performances. Symbolically, shrines and adjoining public squares
signify for
traditional Urhobo the mystical meeting-point or communion of the
invisible
world of spiritual beings and the visible world of human members of the
community. People usually take turns in keeping them clean. Such places
are
surrounded by all kinds of prohibitions and taboos. As sacred place,
they
inspire awe and elicit reverence because of what they stand for.
Masquerades are
highly
symbolic public institution and performance among traditional Urhobo
people.
There are mainly two types; a class belonging to youths and adolescent
children
that serve largely for purposes of entertainment, and the serious masks
belonging to different senior age grades. Urhobo masquerades are
generally
public performance troupes that evoke a wide variety of significant
ideas and
values concerning the social, occupational, political and religious
aspects of
life of the people.
Masquerades are
rich in their
meaning-content. Udi refers to them as "the Dead among the Living",
while Okereka suggests the title of "Gods As Police Men".
Masquerades, no doubt relate to several important areas of life of the
people
of Urhobo. Masks usually identify and represent the respective social
units;
villages or age sets in the community. They were associated closely
with the
occupational pursuits of the people, as well as their socio-political
structure. Primarily, masquerades are thought of by Urhobo as powerful
sacred
symbols. They represent lineage ancestors and serve as the visible
expression
of the spiritual force and authority believed to validate the basic
beliefs and
values of society. They also serve to reinforce social modes of conduct
and
symbolize the spiritual authority that eradicates social evils. As a
sacred
symbol with a rich religious significance, they contribute considerably
to bind
people together, to sustain and foster the people's sense of
interdependence.
IV. Other Ways
Of
Enhancing The Community Ideal
: The
afore-mentioned media do not exhaust the many and varied oral means
through
which traditional Urhobo people try to communicate and enhance the
important
value of harmonious community-living. As already stated, repetition is
a
characteristic feature of oral cultures, including those of other
traditional
i.
Direct Speech-forms; Recorded
oral materials, including prayers, personal
and titular names of traditional Urhobo culture contain a lot of
references to
the theme of social harmony. Naming ceremonies are important events
among
traditional Urhobo people. In many places in Urhoboland, it is the
prerogative
of lineage elders to give personal names to the children born to the
different
families in the kindred. The elders usually try to convey significant
life-experiences of parents, or community as well as their important
aspirations in the names they give to babies during the naming
ceremony.
Similarly at initiation into important title positions, candidates take
title
and praise names which refer to important values in the community, or
attributes for which the candidate has become distinguished in society.
Apparently the
names may seem
not to have much to do with religion. But, they certainly do. The
context in
which the names are given is clearly religious. Naming ceremony and
initiation
always take place within the context of ritual performances. The giving
of a
name is usually the climax and conclusion of the ritual event.
Religious
beliefs and ideas are implied in peoples' names among traditional
Urhobo
people. Most traditional Urhobo names are meaningful and symbolic. Many
of them
imply values that relate to and enhance community consciousness in
traditional
Urhobo society.
Traditional prayers
equally
play an important role in the promotion of the sense of community. Most
traditional prayers are intensely communitarian in content and
orientation.
Whether offered by the individual elder in front of his family shrine,
or by a
priest or other ritual experts in public shrines, Urhobo prayers
contain a lot
of references to the community. The elder in most traditional Urhobo
communities begins the day by offering prayers and supplications for
himself,
members of the kindred and the entire community. He would pray to the
ancestors, divinities and other spiritual beings for his health, that
of his
family, for progress of members of the lineage, both the young and the
old, for
peace and harmony, for protection from the attack of evil forces,
sorcerers and
witches, and finally for the elimination of his enemies and evil doers
in the
community.
The transliterated
text of a
prayer from the late Elder Ekeke of Isiokolo recounted by Popor, his
son, makes
a good illustration:
O
my ancestors, A wild dog can never lie near a wolf's den;
You have now finished eating. I offer you an imported drink;
It is gin. Please receive it for all members of the lineage,
Here is the drink we have brewed ourselves; It is corn beer. Receive
this one
also.
May you be as a powerful medicine to protect the entire lineage. May we
all be
in good health always, All our children too.
All our customs which are going to the Europeans,
May they understand them well.
They should take good care of the black people....
Look! Prayers offered for one's in-laws should not become ineffective.
No ! Never!
Here is gin; Here also is water.
Help us to succeed when we use your nets;
Your coconut plantation too must be fruitful,
To provide a means of livelihood for us;
May trouble be far from us. May poverty be far from us;
May sickness be far from us; May death be far from us.
Give us plenty of wealth; Give us plenty of children;
Just as we have also given you,
May you too give us even more abundantly.
As typical oral
(rather than
formalized) texts, Urhobo traditional prayers are very contextual. They
fiercely reflect the concrete needs, aspirations, values and relevant
life-situation of people making the intercession. The above prayer of
the late
elder Ekeke is a good example of Urhobo people’s keen interest and
concern for
both the needs of individual and the general well-being of the entire
community. The individual's need for protection, good health and
material
wealth has its full meaning within the context of the need of the
entire
community for overall well-being. Hence, the above elder does not focus
simply
on the individual as such. He asks for the health of the entire lineage
(which in
this case includes the kindred of his relations through marriage, his
in-laws),
for the well-being of the black people, for prosperity in the means of
livelihood (coconut plantation, success in fishing) and for a large
community
with an abundance of children.
ii.
Normative Standards of
Behaviour: The area of morality is yet another relevant
avenue through
which traditional Urhobo try to socialise people and reinforce in them
the
important idea and value of harmonious community-living. Every social
group
evolves its distinct ethical code. Every society has its norms of
acceptable
behaviour, taboos and prohibitions. Many traditional Urhobo people have
in
addition, motivational features and incentives through which compliance
to the
norms of approved behaviour and social ideals are encouraged. There are
equally
rituals of purification, as well as punitive measures that try to deter
and
curb the tendency to deviate.
Religion may be
distinct and
separate from morality, as many scholars have rightly argued. For
traditional
Urhobo, however, the line dividing the two is very thin indeed. Urhobo
traditional religion plays a crucial role in the ethical dynamics of
the
different levels. In the traditional Urhobo background, 'gods serve as
police
men'. Urhobo traditional world-views invariably outline a vision of
reality
that is, at once ethical in content and orientation. Human beings and
their
world are the focal centre of a highly integrated universe. Hence,
traditional
Urhobo world-views have been described by some people, as heavily
anthropocentric. Human conduct is seen as a key in upholding the
delicate
balance believed to exist between the visible world and the invisible
one.
There are norms and
taboos
that try to address the need of the individual human person for
security of
life and property. For example, most traditional Urhobo communities
have stiff
penalties for willful murder of a person, not an enemy at war,
including
bringing about the death of a foetus. Any one guilty of murder, would
be
required to repair the crime usually by providing another human being
to the
family of the person killed, a person relatively close in age to the
deceased.
The offender would then be bound to take his/her own life through
public
hanging. There are also severe penalties for willfully damaging
people's crops,
economic trees, and animals.
The vast majority
of norms,
taboos and prohibitions are directed towards protecting the community
and
promoting peace and harmony. Communal farmland, economic interests like
the
market-place, stream, or shrine are generally surrounded with taboos,
including
who may or may not enter, and when and under what circumstances people
are
permitted or not to enter such places. Stealing is abhorred. It is in
fact, an
abomination to steal things relating to people's vital life-interests
and
occupation, like cassava crop or stealing fish held in a trap laid by
someone
in a stream or river. There are also special restrictions and norms
regulating
the behaviour of people towards public functionaries like lineage
heads, the
king or queen, traditional priests, diviners and
medicine-practitioners. Such
persons are generally regarded as specially sacred, and representative
of the
community. Their residence is equally sacred.
Traditional Urhobo
people believe
that spiritual beings, especially ancestral spirits, guarantee and
legitimate
the ethical code. Urhobo traditional elders visibly demonstrate this by
striking their powerful lineage ritual symbol on the ground to mark the
promulgation of a law or a taboo. And they invoke severe divine
sanction on any
one who would try to oppose or disobey a promulgated law or norm of
morality.
People, no doubt, acknowledge the social basis of ethical norms. Fines
may be
imposed or material reparation demanded. But they seriously reinforce
the norms
with the supernatural authority and sanction of invisible beings. As
such,
agents of divinities, including traditional priests, and more
frequently
special masks representing individual deities or ancestral spirits,
participate
actively in the execution of communal law and morality in many
traditional
Urhobo communities; they impose sanctions and take active part in the
recovery
of fines imposed on defaulters. Serious criminals are not simply
regarded as
anti-social persons; they are sorcerers, witches and wizards. People
protect
themselves against their nefarious activities through different kinds
of ritual
practices including offering ritual sacrifice, making and wearing of
charms and
amulets.
For most Urhobo
people, ostracizing
an individual or group that has fragrantly disobeyed the community is
thought
to be the most severe punishment that could be meted out to any body.
It feels
like death for any one so punished since such a person is regarded as
an
outcast. He (or she) would not be allowed to share in the life of the
community. There would be no visits to the family, no exchange of
greetings, no
one would sell or buy from members of the affected family. So severe is
the
punishment of ostracisation, that every member of the community highly
dreads
it, and would do every thing possible to avoid it. It does, on the
other hand,
show the kind of tremendous power of the community in traditional
Urhobo
background.
In cases of
abomination,
grave offence or defilement against the community like murder, incest,
etc.,
the moral pollution has to be cleansed or expiated by special ritual
experts in
order to appease spiritual beings and ancestors who are believed to
have been
also offended. Until the expiation is done, the entire community (and
not only
the individuals directly involved), stood a real and imminent danger of
suffering a disaster. The serious moral breach has destabilized the
fundamental
peace, balance and harmony that should prevail between the visible
world of humans
and invisible world of spiritual beings and forces. The affected
community
could, therefore, expect severe punishment from the supernatural
custodians and
guarantors of morality. Urhobo traditional religion clearly plays a
distinctive
role as the ultimate source of supernatural power and authority that
sanction
and reinforce public morality. It is pressed into full service to
maintain
social order, peace and harmony. Traditional Urhobo society believes
that
success in life; including the gift of off-spring, wealth and
prosperity, are
all blessings from the gods and ancestors. They accrue to people who
work hard,
and who strictly adhere to the customs, and traditional norms of
morality of
the community, people who strictly uphold the community ideal of
harmonious
living. Only such people could entertain a real hope of achieving the
highly
esteemed status of ancestorhood in the hereafter.
V.
Conclusion; The Factor
Of Radical Change In Urhobo Society: Prior
to the advent and spread of external forces of change engendered by
colonialism, commerce and Christian missionary campaigns, most Urhobo
people
lived in stable, largely small-scale and homogeneous communities. The
traditional religion was 'a typical religion of structure'. It was the
sole
world-view with which Urhobo people explained, predicted and controlled
space-time events. It underpinned every facet of life of the people. It
was
particularly significant in inculcating and promoting the sense of
community-living and certain key values associated with that. Urhobo
traditional religion suffused and gave meaning to life, pervaded and
permeated
all its aspects.
What one of the
pioneer
colonial officials, who lived and worked in the Niger Delta from 1895
to 1905
witnessed, is typical of the situation that prevailed throughout
Urhoboland:
"...They
are, in the strict and natural sense of the word, a truly and a deeply
religious people, of whom it can be said, as it has been said of the
Hindus,
that "they eat religiously, drink religiously, bathe religiously, dress
religiously, and sin religiously".In a few words, the religion of these
natives, as I have endeavoured to point out, is their existence, and
their
existence is their religion". (A.G. Leonard 1968; 409)
The situation has
changed
radically nowadays. The experience of colonialism and Christian
missionary
activity have given rise to a radically different socio-political and
religious
background in Urhoboland. Colonialism created a new social and
political order.
It created modern beliefs and value systems by pulling together
traditional
groups with diverse language and cultural identities. A lot of things
hitherto
unknown came into existence as a result of the colonial enterprise.
Most
communities are no longer homogeneous. They are heterogeneous and
plural in
virtually every aspect of their life. A wedge has been driven between
the
sacred and the so-called secular aspects of life.
While it is true
that
traditional religion still has considerable influence in the life and
culture
of many Urhobo people, it no longer enjoys exclusive dominance and
control over
the life of the vast majority of the population. Civil society now
prevails.
There are civil governments, civil law, agencies of government
responsible for
law and order, Western-type schools for formal education and
socialization.
Above all, the belief in one and only God is now the existing order in
Urhobo
nation, Christianity having emerged as the dominant faith. The law of
diminishing returns has since befallen UrhoboTraditional Religion.
Roles in
society are now much more specialized and differentiated unlike what is
obtained in the traditional background. Life is parcelled out into
specific
departments and different needs are catered for by distinct units in
the civil
society.
The prevailing
radical social
change has far-reaching implications for the ideal of community-living
in
contemporary Urhobo society. On the one hand, the world-view with which
people
explain and control reality is no longer the traditional one which is
religion-dominated. Certain traditional Urhobo beliefs, customs and
practices
associated with the idea and promotion of community-living have been
outlawed.
They were considered either too cruel, or simply opposed to the aims of
colonial administration and/or Christian missionaries. For example,
polygamy,
which has as its major objective to produce many children and thereby
increase
the size of the community as much as possible, is in serious decline in
many
parts of modern Urhoboland. This is as a result of the combination of
several
factors, including Christian missionary preaching against it, better
health-care services, and changing economic circumstances. The
traditional
belief in ancestors and other spiritual patrons, as well as the vital
role they
were believed to play in fostering community-living, have been
seriously
relativised in most contemporary Urhobo communities. Masquerades are
not part
of the apparatus of modern state administration. And schools have
largely
displaced traditional initiations as the main channel for formal
education and
socialization of youths.
Community-living on
the other
hand, remains a cherished value among traditional Urhobo people. The
dramatic
changes in the socio-political and religious aspects of life bring
considerable
pressure on the people's sense of community. With the progressive
relativisation of the traditional religion, the traditional role of the
latter
in inculcating and promoting harmony and peaceful co-existence become
more and
more diminished. The profound sense of the sacred and feeling of awe
which the
traditional religion brought to life in general and different
institutions in
traditional communities have become greatly circumscribed. The ability
of
Urhobo Traditional Religion to promote the community ideal of peaceful
and
harmonious co-existence in contemporary Urhobo communities is in a
state of
progressive decline. The trend is much more noticeable in the urban
areas like
Warri, Ughelli and Sapele than in rural towns and villages. The rate of
displacement of the traditional religion by the forces of radical
social change
in Urhoboland is generally slower in rural areas than in urban cities.
Urhobo communities are visibly in a state of transition, a stage of betwixt and between, with the attendant anxiety, tension and confusion being felt at virtually every facet of life of the people. The destabilization of Traditional Religion has clearly left wide gaps in the social structure, particularly in the bonds of interpersonal and inter-group relationships. Fortunately, the forces that precipitate and sustain radical change in the Urhobo nation, including Western culture and socio-political systems, now largely provide new framework and elements for community-living and harmony in most communities in Urhoboland.
Interviews
· Interview with elder Ejegedivo Udi, a local historian, aged 88 years at Isiokolo. 18th June, 2005.
· Interview with Elder Ekuke, aged 80 years at Isiokolo. 20 May, 2003.
· Interview with Pa Ovedje, a hunter, aged 80 years at Isiokolo. 12th January, 2006.
· Interview with Anthony Ujaw, a herbalist, aged 87 years at Erhon Abraka. 14th April, 2000.
Selected References
1.
N.S.
Booth (ed.) African
Religion, A Symposium (New York; NOK Publishers, 1977)
2. C.I. Ejizu, OFO, Igbo Ritual Symbol (Enugu; Fourth Dimension
Publishers Ltd. 1986)
3. A. Ekwunife, Consecration In Igbo Traditional Religion
(Enugu; SNAAP
Press, 1990)
4. E.Ikenga-Metuh, God And Man In African Religion (London;
Geoffrey
Chapman, 1981)
5 ---- Comparative Studies Of African Traditional Religion
(Onitsha;
Imico Publishers, 1987)
6. J.S. Mbiti, African Religion And Philosophy (London;
Heinemann, 1990
ed.)
7. C. Gaba, Scriptures Of An African People; The Sacred Utterances
Of The
Anlo (New York; NOK Publishers, 1973)
8. A.G. Leonard, The Lower Niger And Its Tribes (London; 1905,
Frank
Cass, 1968 edition)
9. B. Ray, African Religion, Symbol, Ritual And Community (New
Jersey;
Prentice-Hall, 1976)
10. A. Shorter, African Christian Theology (London; Geoffrey
Chapman,
1975).