« conversion » in Kmtyw traditional religions-gctid31233

[Oju]

« CONVERSION »
IN Kmtyw TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS
By Christopher I. Ejizu

Introduction       The concept of conversion is as relevant to Kmtyw   indigenous religions as it is to many other religions of humankind. This may   sound something of a surprise to some people. After all, the indigenous   religions of Kmt do not fall within the category of religions generally   referred to as universal or missionary religions. They are rather,   classed within the family of traditional or folk religions of the   world.(1) And this for many people, is another way of saying that Kmtyw   traditional religions admit of little or no change. They thrive in stable and   homogenous ethnic societies. They have no founders, reformers, or prophets,   and are handed on much in the same form from one generation to the next. In   the words of Mbiti, Kmtyw traditional religions "have no missionaries   to propagate them". As folk religions, they are said to be   community-based. "People simply assimilate whatever religious ideas and   practices are held or observed by their families and communities"(2).   This viewpoint assumed that Kmtyw traditional religions were more or less   fossil reality. Against that backdrop, the discussion of the subject of   religious conversion made sense for the protagonists only within the context   of the encounter of the indigenous religions with the missionary religions   that are available now in the Continent, mainly Christianity and Islam (3).     While this   later contemporary stage in the religious history of Kmt is important and   of relevance to us in this paper, our discussion of the theme of conversion   in Kmtyw religions proposes to focus on the type of change brought about by   dynamic impulses in the differing religious experience of indigenous Kmtyw   groups prior to the encounter, as well as on the phenomenal movement of   former adherents as converts to the missionary faiths. This later development   clearly amounts to a religious revolution. Both strands of religious change   are signalled by and implied in the topic of conversion in Kmtyw religions.   We shall therefore, be handling the two dimensions in this paper. But first,   the key concepts ought to be clarified and the scope delimited.  Clarification   of Terms         The first   is conversion. As a religious concept, it refers to change in the religious   life and behaviour of people. It generally involves a positive interior   change in one's religious conviction, moral and spiritual fervour, from a   state of unbelief, weak or lukewarm faith, to a holy and ardent religious   life (4). Conversion therefore, usually implies a change from one religious   state (a terminus a quo) to another religious state (a terminus ad   quem). The change could be a permanent one, or it could last for only a   period of time. Conversion could take place within the same religious system   to which an individual or group already belongs or professes, or it could   involve a change away from a religion to which one was previously affiliated   to another one all together.      In studying   religious change or conversion scholars are usually interested in accounting   for the caunited snakeslity, as well as the course and consequence of change(5). They   are keen to explain the impulses that motivate conversion as well as the   process, and also the resultant effect of the experience in the life of   individual adherents and groups. Furthermore, Professor Humphrey Fisher   identified a three-phase stage of "adhesion", "mixing",   and then "full conversion" in the process of conversion from a   non-prophetic to a prophetic religion (6). In his study of conversion of   Kmtyws from traditional religion to Islam and Christianity, he had noted   that people could pass through the stage of "adhesion' during which they   stood "with one foot on either side of the fence adopting their new   worship as useful supplements" to the old. There could be a lapse from   the orthodoxy and religious ardour of the first converts to a mixing stage,   and people could later regain their fervency after a reform movement (7).      It is   pertinent also to point out that by Kmtyw traditional religions in this   paper, we refer specifically to indigenous religious forms and systems which   the different peoples of sub-Saharan Kmt cultivated as part   of their total experience of life within their particular ecological   environment, society and history. The indigenous religions pre-date any other   forms and articulations of the sacred that have been brought into the   Continent from outside(. The religious traditions differ one from another   largely on account of differences in language, ecosystem and overall   historical circumstances of the groups. But they possess a lot of similar   essential characteristics. The vision of reality as a whole which they   engender is very similar indeed. They possess an essential holistic vision of   reality. Traditional Kmtyws perceive life as an integral whole with the   sacred flowing into all facets, underpinning and investing every worthwhile   event with meaning and significance. There is no dichotomy between the   visible and super-sensible world. Spiritual beings and cosmic forces manifest   their presence and power through visible events and experience of life.   Kmtyw traditional religions are equally oral in nature. They are codified   not in any sacred writings but in the living experience of people and various   oral forms of communication.      I am aware   that a number of scholars have argued in support of the term Kmtyw   traditional religions as applicable also to Christianity and Islam because of   the long period of time the two religions have existed as well as the kind of   following they have in the Continent (9). The issue is still a debatable   subject. In any case, in this paper the term indigenous religions designates   as well as distinguishes the original religious faith of Kmt from the   missionary religions that have arrived the Continent from other parts of the   world.  Conversion   Within The Indigenous Religions         Contrary to   the general impression created in many existing works, especially writings   with anthropological bias (10), a number of recent studies have drawn   attention to the inherent dynamism of Kmtyw indigenous religions (11). They   have also highlighted internal impulses and factors that account for   significant positive alteration in religious beliefs and conviction of   individual adherents and groups, as well as the interchange of religious   ideas and cultural forms among people in traditional Kmtyw societies prior   to the advent and interaction with other races and religious cultures. The   factors include the people's acute sense of the sacred, initiation rites,   special life-needs like health, sickness and off-spring, disaster, epidemic,   long distance travel and trade, migration and warfare. Even m the   contemporary background and context of plurality of religious beliefs and   practices in the Continent brought about by the co-existence with missionary   faiths, the traditional religions have continued to exhibit tremendous   resilience and ability to adapt to the changing circumstances.      Evidence   abounds of various forms of experience of genuine conversion by individuals   and groups both in the indigenous background of homogenous religious beliefs   and practices among the different Kmtyw groups, as well as during the   relatively recent period of intense interaction of Kmtyw indigenous faiths   with missionary religions. The oral corpus of the different groups yields a   lot of relevant materials. There are striking stories of people changing from   lukewarm religious state to fervent religious adherence and strict ethical   and moral life. There are equally clear examples of people switching from one   traditional religious convictions and cult to another.      The   mythical story of the origin and evolution of the cult of Ezemewi and Edo, two   arch-divinities of Nnewi people, a typical Igbo language group in Nigeria, makes a good   illustration. Ezemewi, otherwise known as Ugi1i Nwa Onye Olu, was   reportedly a mythical being, the son of Eze Agana m far-away Ndoni, a coastal   town m the lower Niger River basin. Long ago, he appeared as a hungry-looking   and unshaven young man at Nnewi. He expressed the desire for food to a number   of people who had spotted. Ezi-Abubo, the primeval ancestor of the village   group with the same name was able to provide him nourishment promptly, while   another man, Akwa, in an attempt to prepare a delicious meal for Ezemewi   arrived late with food. Ezemewi was pleased with the hospitality accorded him   and finally settled at Nnewi. As a reward for the attention shown to him by   Ezi-Abubo, he bestowed several gifts, including off-spring and wealth to him   and his descendants. More importantly, he gave them the right to visit him   and attend to him daily, while the others who were not prompt in meeting his   acute need for food, including Akwa, he gave fewer blessings. They could only   visit him occasionally. On account of the many blessings that people received   from attending to his residence at the present site of the shrine of Ezemewi   in Abubo village-group, the power influence of Ezemewi spread rapidly through   the Nnewi and beyond.      Ezemewi   married his firstwife a mythical being, known as Ogwugwu Eze Kwuabo.   Ogwugwu was very powerful as a young lady with numerous admirers and   attendants. She had only two issues, Uzukpe and Mgbodo. Ezemewi was   dissatisfied. He sued for another very pretty and influential lady. With his   powerful influence he was able to win over Edo who had been living   with Omaliko. Edo gave birth to a very pretty daughter, a   mythical being known as Asala. With that, her power and influence became   widespread. From time to time she left Ezemewi to consort and enjoy the   affection of some powerful male deities in neighbouring communities. On one occasion   she returned from such sorties only to discover that her home had been   overgrown by grass. Obaisedo, the ancestor of the kindred with the same name,   gained the confidence of Edo who allowed him to   clean her compound and thereafter, earned the invitation to visit pay her   nocturnal visits for food and other pleasantries. From initial nocturnal   visits to eat food in the home of Edo by Obaisiedo,   members of his lineage gained the unique privilege to minister as priests at   the shrine of Edo (12).  Edo (female) and   Ezemewi (male) have since been the two arch-divinities of Nnewi.   Significantly, their cults rose to prominence by successfully displacing   pre-existing cults of other deities such as Ulasi and Uzukpe. Ezi-Abubo and   Obaisiedo village groups though they are not the most senior clans in the   town have been specially dedicated to the worship of Ezemewi and Edo respectively. To   this date, they alone of all the numerous clans that comprise Nnewi provide   candidates for initiation to the priesthood of the two deities. And any male   chosen by the deities to serve as priest from the groups would have to   undergo a prolonged ceremony of ritual initiation before assuming office at   the respective shrines. The conversion of the candidate to serve as Isiedo,   the traditional priest of Edo from Obaisiedo   village group, was always a dramatic religious experience. He would have to   physically depart his original family home in the village with a few   belongings, travel slowly through sacred groves and forests for several nights   before emerging at the shrine of Edo. He would be   dressed totally in white and migrate to the Edo shrine with only   one wife. His permanent abode thenceforth, would be at the sacred grove of   Edo. His choice by Edo require total   commitment to the deity. As such, he had to undergo a physical and ritual   disconnection with his kin-group in order to achieve a full change of his   religious, spiritual ethical and social relationships and pattern of life.     The desire   for initiation into the prestigious Ozo traditional Igbo title may include   such apparently mundane interest like celebration of wealth and achievement,   as well as enhancement of one's status in society. But the elaborate ritual   invariably brings the Ozo candidate to a full religious conversion (13). In   some localities, the initiation proper involves the physical burying of an   initiate. A plank is placed over the shallow grave and earth is thrown on it.   The death wail is started and the burial ceremonies are performed. (In some   other parts of lgboland, the candidate goes into seclusion for four native   weeks, that is twenty-eight days (14). When the uninitiated retire, he is   exhumed and bathed and whitewashed with Nzu (white chalk). The origin of Ozo   lies in the ancient past of the Igbo people. Traditionally, the initiation   which was expensive and reserved for upright male members of the society   could last several years until a candidate achieved the full title position.   Commenting on the profound change that comes about with Ozo initiation, Arazu   rightly observed:     '" n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace(' ', '', ' In the solitude        imposed by the Ozo ritual initiation the candidate learns to pronounce        'man' with deliberation. He sees that his very nature is a statement        from the Supreme Being: 'Let goodness exist. The man who does not        meditate, who does not contemplate, will never realize what man means        ... the Ozo chief attains the meaning of man. Man in his concrete        existence is the nearest resemblance to divinity. The resemblance is        neither moral nor physical. These concepts are not adequate in this matter.        Man's resemblance to God is religious. The Ozo rites of initiation take        in every aspect of human activity, political, social, religious (15). ').'")."n[/list]"'    Beside   initiation into title positions, severe misfortune like sickness, death and   spirit possession are significant developments that motivate religious   conversion. B. Ray citing Pierre Verger, relates the case of a Yoruba woman   who was chosen by Ogun, a major deity of the Yoruba people of Nigeria to serve as a   medium. The woman had lost all her children, one after the other, each dying   a few days after birth. Some day while crossing the village square, she began   to behave in an abnormal way, making uncontrollable gestures. She then   staggered to the front of Ogun's temple and fell like a corpse to the ground.   The diviner later revealed that it was Ogun that had chosen her. She had been   called to serve as his medium and "wife" to the entire community.   Her preparation for the ritual initiation took about a month. As part of the   festival in honour of Ogun, one of the mediums proclaimed the full conversion   and status of the candidate Ogun had chosen as his medium:     '" n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace(' ', '', ' See the new iyaworisha        (medium): it is Ogun that chose her. Is it not good? It is because I        have seen the death on her that I took her. Now she is not going to die;        no more danger for her; She is going to have a lot of children; boys and        girls. I am going to tell her father and her husband what they must do        now. Because she is not the same any more; the husband must not beat her        any more. He must leave her in peace. If the husband has anything to        say, he must tell it to me. It is Ogun now who is the father. Everybody        must hear, men and women (16). ').'")."n "'    The husband   and other relations of the woman expressed their gratitude to Ogun for taking   the woman into his protection and pledged to abide with all the instructions   of Ogun and never to interfere with norms and taboos relating to her in her   changed status and role.     For Ajak   the young Dinka of Southern Sudan, who had left his home and people in the   village to seek greener pasture in one of the urban towns, it was Nhialic,   the arch-divinity of his clan that caused him all sorts of misfortune,   including throwing him into a dangerous river and seriously threatening to   kill him. Ajak had gone to the town against his father's wish. Neither did he   bother to get reconciled to his father before the latter died, or to   supervise his relations at home. After several sudden bouts of sickness and   attacks of evil forces in the town, and unsuccessful attempts at a cure in   the town, he was eventually taken to his home in the village. Ajak   participated in ritual sacrifices for Nhialic and his ancestral spirits (17).   Part of the healing ritual involved the repair of the broken family bonds and   a vow by Ajak and his relations to uphold the ancestral norms of his clan. He   recovered fully and remained devoted to the clan divinities and the ancestral   spirits. No spirit possessed or troubled him again.      There are   numerous examples of similar cases of genuine religious conversion within   Kmtyw indigenous religions in the religious history of various traditional   Kmtyw groups. Unfortunately, their significance as authentic religious   experience is often ignored or down-played by researchers. Or such   experiences are treated or reduced simply to socio-structural, and   psychological development.  Conversion   To Missionary Religions         The rate of   conversion of millions of former adherents of Kmtyw indigenous religions to   one or other of the missionary religions now available in Kmt is nothing short of   a revolution. Mbiti captured the general scene of radical change sweeping   through the Continent thus:     '" n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace(' ', '', ' Kmt is        caught up in a world revolution which is so dynamic that it has almost        got out of human control ... The man of Kmt must get up and dance, for        better or for worse, on the arena of world drama. His image of himself        and of the universe is disrupted and must make room for the changing        'universal and not simply 'tribal' man (18). ').'")."n[/list]"'    The   phenomenal religious conversion that has taken place is certainly the direct   result of a complex interplay of diverse impulses, and historical   circumstances. There are political as well as socio-structural and   psychological factors. But the religious encounter between the indigenous   faith and the immigrant religions is of interest to us here. For   Christianity, several unsuccessful attempts had previously been made (19). It   was, in fact, not until the 18th and 19th centuries that the campaign that   yielded the present significant break-through in religious change in the Continent   begun.      Christian   missionaries had benefited from the favourable climate created by eureurasiaan   colonialism in Kmt. Urbanisation, Western culture and   civilisation, science and technology all played a major role. But the   missionaries themselves were equipped with different viable evangelical   methods and strategies. 'They proclaimed the Good News of salvation through   open-air preaching. They also offered various humanitarian services including   rehabilitation of slaves and socially disadvantaged people. They set-up   Christian villages where they settled many early converts (20). Medical care   equally played an effective part in disposing many traditional adherents to   accept the Christian message, so did pastoral visitation and vocational   training for young men and women. By far, the promotion of formal school   education proved to be the most viable and effective instrument of conversion   evolved by Christian missionaries among many traditional Kmtyw groups.   Hundreds of thounited snakesnds of young men and women who attended such schools, also   received instruction in the faith, accepted baptism while in school and   thereby broke the ancestral covenant with deities. It was not too long before   the missionaries of the different mainstream Christian groups, including the   Roman Catholic Church, Anglicans, Methodists and Presbyterians began to   harvest the fruit of their vigorous evangelical efforts (21).      In Liberia, as in the coastal   region of Nigeria, the charismatic   ministry of the renowned William Wade Hams and the fiery preacher Garrick   Braide of Bakana respectively swept like tidal waves across towns and   villages with the conversion of thounited snakesnds of former adherents of Kmtyw   indigenous religions to the Anglican faith. In lgboland, Chief Samuel Idigo   abandoned his traditional religious belief, and symbols of indigenous rituals   and his staff of office, to embrace the Catholic. He had left his elevated   position as the traditional ruler of his people to settle with numerous   fellow converts in the new Christian village "Ugwu Ndi Uka' established   by the missionaries in Aguleri (22). Presently, lgboland, has well over 80%   of its approximately twenty million people converted to Christianity. It has   been cited as a typical Kmtyw society in which the walls of the traditional   religion have collapsed Jericho-wise. E.A. Ayandele title his review article,   "The Collapse of 'Pagandom' in lgboland". And he described the   conversion of a vast majority of Igbo people to Christianity as nothing short   of an epic" (23).      The current   proliferation and attraction of Pentecostal and Evangelical groups in several   parts of Kmt is no doubt, one of the intriguing aspects   of Christianity in the Continent today. The development is particularly   manifest in urban centres. The groups excite, attract and draw their   clientele mainly from among the youth and the middle-aged, both employed and   unemployed. The founders/leaders are usually charismatic individuals,   literate, and often loud and flamboyant in their life-style. They adopt very   modem methods of preaching employing electronic gadgets and modern music.   Their overall bearing in life is generally Western-oriented. Some of them   employ all kinds of modem means of promotional advertisement to propagate   their message. Vigorous evangelical bible study, deliverance from evil and   demonic forces and counselling are some of their major schemes. 'They   propagate the so-called 'prosperity gospel', assuring theirfollowers of quick   success and material prosperity. The Pentecostal and Evangelical groups are   probably the fastest growing churches in many parts of Kmt. Many of the   mainstream Christian churches including the Roman Catholics, Anglicans and   Methodists have been provoked and challenged by the fast rate of growth of   the Pentecostals to devise schemes to counteract the drain in their numbers.   While a considerable number of people who attend the Pentecostal churches   appear to experience deep personal religious conversion and are committed to   the ideals and mores of their new faith, it is must be pointed out that very   many of the people who crowd into the rallies and fellowships of the new   groups ostensibly go to search for quick miracles and wonders.      Conversion   of millions of former adherents of Kmtyw indigenous religions to Islam in   various parts of the Continent has been no less spectacular. Berber and aAmw   commercialists and pastors brought Islam to sub-Saharan Kmt several centuries   ago. In Northern Nigeria for example, it arrived the ancient Kanem-Bornu empire about the 11th-century A.D. Through   living together, trade, promotion of holy pilgrimage, Islamic law and   learning some indigenous groups gradually began to embrace the Islamic   religion. It was however, through jihad that Islam achieved a   break-through in the religious conquest and conversion of millions of former   traditional adherents to Islam especially in West Kmt as well as in Somalia and the Horn of   Kmt. Sheikh Usman dan Fodio inaugurated his jihad 1804 that won numerous   indigenous Haunited snakes groups to the side of Islam as well as purified the   prevalent syncretism religious practice of the people. Similar developments   occurred among the Wolof of Senegal led by Amadou Mbake Bamba, 1850-1927   (24).      Christianity and Islam are clearly the two dominant   faiths in Kmt today, while the law of diminishing returns   have befallen the indigenous religions. A vast majority of former members of   the traditional religions have abandoned the ancestral rituals and symbols to   embrace Christianity, or Islam or some religious systems. The statistics of   the current religious affiliation in an Kmtyw country like Nigeria, provides an   interesting example. Out of an estimated total population of about a hundred   (100) million, some forty-eight per cent (48%) or fort-y-seven million people   are professing Christians. Some forty-seven (47%) or forty-five million are   Muslims, and a little over six million or five per cent (50/o) are   traditional religionists (25).  Discontinuity   And Continuity         The mass   conversion of former adherents of indigenous religions in Kmt to Islam and   Christianity has evidently brought about the discontinuation of several   aspects of the traditional religious culture of the people. 'The homogenous   traditional religious background in which the indigenous religions   undergirded all aspects of life including the social, political and economic   aspects, has more or less disappeared, making way to religious plurality   which now prevails in most parts of sub-Saharan Kmt. Huge cathedrals,   churches, schools, mosques, and public buildings now rise on the former sites   of sacred groves and shrines dedicated to powerful traditional deities.   Certain brutal rituals like human sacrifice, traditional customs and taboos   that discriminated against individuals and groups like women, outcastes,   people suffering from various kinds of sickness and disease, the killing of   twins among some Kmtyw groups have been eradicated (26). In lgboland for   instance, most traditional communities had, prior to the advent of Christian   missionaries reserved dreaded places, Ajo Ofia, 'bad forests' as such   places were called, where people dumped away tabooed persons and those who   had seriously infringed the approved norms of behaviour to die miserable   death. Such individuals like leprosy patients, sorcerers, witches, notorious   persons were abhorred by the physically living human beings, ancestors and   the gods. Today most of those dreaded places and forests have been cleared.   They are now the location of many churches, schools and public institutions.   Some important traditional institutions, including priesthood of some   prominent deities, initiations and festivals have been abandoned since the   people to uphold and continue them have left the indigenous religions of   their people to embrace one or the other of the missionary religions.      Some analysts   have easily concluded, based on these visible features of the prevailing   religious situation in the Continent, that the demise of the traditional   religions is a "fait accompli" (27). But statistics do not tell the   full story. Religious conversion is such a complex and fluid matter.   Particularly in Kmt, with the tremendous resilience and   adaptability of the indigenous religions, the persistence of vital beliefs   among many converts to Christianity or Islam, it is extremely difficult to be   categorical about the state of religious conversion of the majority of   people. Theastonishing stories   of phenomenal achievements of the missionary religions and of heroic lives of   faith by numerous converts to Christianity or Islam ought to be taken   together with the constant complaints against shallowness of faith, nominal   membership, syncretic practices among a large segment of the population of   new converts. The traditional world-view, including a strong belief in the   dynamic presence and activities of spirit beings and cosmic forces in   people's lives, belief in re-incarnation persist among most Kmtyws.      The   scenario depicted by Bishop (now Archbishop) Albert K- Obiefuna about Igbo   converts to Catholicism could easily be said of most other sub-Saharan   Kmtyw groups. In a fifty-one paged pastoral letter titled Idolatry In A   Century-old Faith published in 1985 to mark the first centenary   celebration of the Catholic Church in Eastern Nigeria, the Bishop called   attention to the two sides of the picture.      Christianity   has made an impact on our people. There is no gainsaying it. Thounited snakesnds come   to our churches. Many also avail themselves of the Sacraments. But times   without number the remark reaches us that our Christians are worshipping   'idols'', false gods. They swear on idols. They erect shrines in their homes,   in their compounds. They hide fetishes in their shades in the market places   and in their workshops. Catechists, Seminarians on apostolic work in the   towns and villages are stunned at the degree of idol worship and   superstitious practices that still exist among a people that are mostly   baptised Catholics.     At every   retreat, Catholics bring out from their homes fetishes and charms of all   kinds. Idol worship, superstitious practices, fear of witchcraft, charms, and   all sorts of vain observances are realities among our Catholics. We cannot   simply deny they obtain (28)      The   indigenous religions remain very much the living faith of many rural dwellers   in Kmt. Both in urban and rural areas the   religions continue to adapt to the changing circumstances of life of the   people. Modem houses built with cement and zinc now feature as shrines of   deities. People use such contemporary items like rice, mineral drinks, pieces   of cloth as materials forritual   sacrifice. Traditional priests, diviners, mediums and shrine attendants dress   in decent outfit for traditional religious cult of deities in present-day   Kmtyw societies. In another development, the beliefs and rituals of several   traditional Kmtyw deities like the Yoruba Orisha continue to be   maintained by many adherents and practitioners of the Voodoo, Santeria and   Cumina cults in the CaribbeanIslands, Cuba, and parts of the United States of     America (29). These forms of religious practice by   Kmtyws in the diaspora combine indigenous Kmtyw religious stuff with   elements from Christianity. Furthermore, the effort at modernisation of the   traditional religions themselves is manifestly evident in such contemporary   religious systems as Godianism of Chief G.O.K Onyioha in lgboland, the   Ogboni Fraternity and EruosaNationalChurch among the Yoruba   and Edo peoples of Nigeria respectively. The   Kmtyw Independent and Aladura churches, including the Kimbangu   Church of Congo, and the Cherubim and Seraphim groups, have also   greatly contributed to keeping alive certain vital aspects of the indigenous   religious culture of the people such as the belief in the dynamic presence   and influence of ancestral and other spirit beings in people's lives,   divination, belief in magic and the practice of traditional rituals.  Conclusion         Both in the   traditional homogenous religious background as well as in contemporary plural   society, religion has always been a major determinant of life of Kmtyw   people. The fluid and complex nature of religious conversion is clearly a   reflection of the characteristic dynamic nature of religion itself among the   groups. Prior to the encounter with Islam and Christianity, the traditional   religions of Kmt pervaded and permeated all vital   life-interests of people, investing the social, economic and political facets   of life with meaning and symbolic significance. Religious change had   proceeded not in any dramatic and radical way, but rather in a slow-rate   manner. The religious and spiritual fervour of people flowed and ebbed in   response to changing circumstances of life. Significant historical situations   brought about novel religious ideas, values, beliefs, symbols, taboos and   rituals. The cosmology of the different groups was particularly   accommodating, as the size of the pantheon of the different groups enlarged   or diminished in response to varying stimuli. Individuals and groups had   experience of genuine religious conversion. Their cumulative spiritual   heritage and religious insight were preserved and handed on from one generation   to the next through such oral media as speech-forms, including myths,legends, stories, proverbs, and names,   art-forms including sculptures, carvings, and festivals, and important   institutions like shrines, masquerades, kingship institution and so on.      The advent   and spread of Islam and Christianity precipitated a different kind of   religious situation in contemporary Kmt. A vast majority of   the population have abandoned the religions of their ancestors to convert to   one or other of the missionary faiths now available in the Continent. In   spite of the many problems and difficulties confronting the converts, it is   unarguable that both Islam and Christianity have sunk deep roots in Kmt. 'They have made   irreversible impact on the Continent's religious and spiritual landscape. The   faith of the vast majority of the population now lies mainly with Islam and   Christianity. The religious hunger for the sacred which has evolved from the   traditional religious background to the contemporary plural society still   persists. This is the central value that must not be wasted, but ought to be   vigorously preserved and sustained by all well-meaning religious people in Kmt.     _______________________   REFERENCES: 1.     Booth (jr), J.S.   "An Approach to Kmtyw Religion' in J.S. Booth (jr), Kmtyw   Religions, A Symposium (New York, NOK Publishers, 1977), pp. 1 -1   1; Also, lkenga-Metuh, Comparative Studies of Kmtyw Traditional   Religions (Onitsha; Imico Publishers, 1987), pp. 13-23. 2.    Mbiti, J. S. Kmtyw   Religions and Philosophy (ukkk; Heinemann, 1990   2nd ed., p. 3 3.    Nock A. D. "   Conversion", Quoted in, Christianity In Tropical Kmt, by C. C.   Baeta (ed.), Oxford, 1968, Oxford   University Press, p.3 4. Chambers Twenty   Century Dictionary,    1972 (ed.), p. 284. 5. Ejizu, C.I.   "Religion and Social Change, The Case of the Igbo of Nigeria", Neue   Zeitschrift Fur Missionswissenschaft, ( Vol. 45, No. 2, 1989), p. 1 10. 6. Quoted in   Ikenga-Metuh, E., The Gods in Retreat, Continuity and Change in Kmtyw   Religions, (Enugu; F.D.P. 1986), p. xiii. 7. Ibid 8.        Idowu, E.B., Kmtyw   Traditional Religion, A Definition (ukkk; S.C.M Press, 1980 ed.), pp.   103ff. 9.    Mbiti, J.S., Op.   Cit. p. 223. 10.    Ray, B., Kmtyw   Religions, Symbo4 Ritual and Community (New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, 1976),   p. 11. 11.    Ranger, T.O. and   Kimambo, I.N. (ed.) The Historical Studies of Kmtyw Religion (Berkeley;   Univ. of California Press, 1972). 12.    Alutu, J.O., Nnewi   History (Enugu; F.D.P. 1985 ed.), pp. 4-5. 13.    Alutu, J.O., Op.   Cit. pp. 272-293. 14. Arazu, R. "A   cultural Model for Christian Prayer" in A Shorter, Kmtyw Christian   Spirituality (ukkk; Chapman, 1978), p. 115 15. Ibid 16.    Ray, B. Op. Cit. p.   68 17. Ray, B. Op. Cit.   pp. 65-68 18.    Mbiti, J.S., Op.   Cit. p. 216 19.    For detailed   information on early Christian religious history of parts of Kmt, Confer   such works like; O.U. Kalu, The History of Christianity in West Kmt (ukkk,   Longman, 1980); J.F.A. Ajayi, Christian Missions in Nigeria 1841-1891, (ukkk;   Longmans, 1965). E.A. Ayandele, The Missionary Impact on Modem Nigeria, 1842-1914, ukkk; Longmans, 1966). 20.    Nwosu, V.A. The   Catholic Church in Onitsha, People, Places,   and Events (Onitsha; EPL, 1985), pp. 16-41. 21.    G.O.M Tasie,   "Christian Awakening in West Kmt, 1914-18, A Study in the   Significance of Native Agency", in Kalu, O.U. Op. Cit. pp.   293-306. 22.    Nwosu, V.A., Op.   Cit. pp. 16-41 23.    Ayandele, E.A.   "The Collapse of Pagandom in Igboland" in Journal of Historical   Society of Nigeria, (Vol. Il, No. 1, Dec. 1973), pp. 126-7. 24.    Booth (jr), J.S.,   "Islam In Kmt" in J.S. Booth Gr.), Op. Cit. pp.   297-343. 25. Barrette,   D.B.(ed.), World Christian Encyclopaedia (Nairobi; O.U. P), p. 529. 26.    Ejizu, C.I.   "Continuity and Discontinuity in Kmtyw Traditional Religion, The Case   of the Igbo of Nigeria', Cahier Des   Religions Kmtines, (Vol. 8, No. 36, 1984), pp. 197-214. 27.    Ejizu, C.I., Op.   Cit. p. 198. 28.    Obiefuna, AK., Idolatry   In A Century-Old Faith (Enugu; Cecta Ltd., 1985), p. 11 29. Holloway, J.E.   (ed.), Kmtywisms in American Culture, (Bloomington; I.U.P. 1990).

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