{"title":"Toward an Understanding of a Misconceived Igbo Deity","authors":"Tobias Chibuike Onah, Kingsley Ikechukwu Uwaegbute, Virginus Uchenna Eze","doi":"10.1163/15700666-12340310","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This ethnographic study investigates the misconception among Christians and adherents of African Traditional Religion in their view and understanding of the deity ‘<jats:italic>ekwensu</jats:italic>’, commonly called Satan in Christian theology. The study area is Nsukka, a culture area in Nigeria. The adherents of the two religions use the words ‘Satan’ and ‘devil’ for ekwensu interchangeably. Many Christians claim that Satan is the sole equivalent of the traditional deity ekwensu in the Igbo cosmology. The aim of the work is to compare the Christian views of ekwensu as Satan, bringing out the origin, attributes, and activities of the two concepts <jats:italic>ekwensu</jats:italic> and Satan. The findings show significant differences between Satan and ekwensu, that Satan and ekwensu vary in their origin and attributes, and that they have different geographical locations. It is shown that some shrines and forests were dedicated to the ekwensu deity in Nsukka, and that masquerades also honour the festival of ekwensu (<jats:italic>afor ekwensu</jats:italic>). It is also evident that Christianity had a significant impact on the culture of the Nsukka people, which engendered the misconception of the ekwensu deity. This was partly based on Igbo Christian theolinguistics occasioned by Christian missionary activities in the area.","PeriodicalId":45604,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF RELIGION IN AFRICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JOURNAL OF RELIGION IN AFRICA","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12340310","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This ethnographic study investigates the misconception among Christians and adherents of African Traditional Religion in their view and understanding of the deity ‘ekwensu’, commonly called Satan in Christian theology. The study area is Nsukka, a culture area in Nigeria. The adherents of the two religions use the words ‘Satan’ and ‘devil’ for ekwensu interchangeably. Many Christians claim that Satan is the sole equivalent of the traditional deity ekwensu in the Igbo cosmology. The aim of the work is to compare the Christian views of ekwensu as Satan, bringing out the origin, attributes, and activities of the two concepts ekwensu and Satan. The findings show significant differences between Satan and ekwensu, that Satan and ekwensu vary in their origin and attributes, and that they have different geographical locations. It is shown that some shrines and forests were dedicated to the ekwensu deity in Nsukka, and that masquerades also honour the festival of ekwensu (afor ekwensu). It is also evident that Christianity had a significant impact on the culture of the Nsukka people, which engendered the misconception of the ekwensu deity. This was partly based on Igbo Christian theolinguistics occasioned by Christian missionary activities in the area.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Religion in Africa was founded in 1967 by Andrew Walls. In 1985 the editorship was taken over by Adrian Hastings, who retired in 1999. His successor, David Maxwell, acted as Executive Editor until the end of 2005. The Journal of Religion in Africa is interested in all religious traditions and all their forms, in every part of Africa, and it is open to every methodology. Its contributors include scholars working in history, anthropology, sociology, political science, missiology, literature and related disciplines. It occasionally publishes religious texts in their original African language.