The common practice these days is for young people here in Africa, to start professing their allegiance for the rituals and practices of their fore father, with or without respect cum accord for the western religious practices.
Custodians of these arts, known as Ndi Dibia and Eze Nwanyi, are no longer the church rat of old but have started enjoying the opulence of modern day hallelujah prosperity preachers.
You see many young people visiting self acclaimed soothsayers for their destiny to be read for them and to know what secret enchantment, nay, sacrifice you need to make to appease the gods and get their ways favoured.
The Dibias have now learnt to make the rituals that one must perform serials so as to maintain a steady conduit of cash flow from these vulnerable seekers to him.
But yet again, there are more enlightened pro Igbo traditionalists who have become survivors of such rip off Dibias. They have come to the realization that true traditional practice is more of a science than a religion and that anyone can be his or her own priest or priestess and improvise that relationship with the unseen within his/her means.
The same thing applies to the Christian church. A priest who was recently having a hard time employing that trick of ‘if you want to donate one cow of 50,000 Naira to the upcoming event, come out for prayers,’ confessed out of exasperation that indeed his training originally was to preach the gospel, that begging for money is not his forte.
It goes to show that while positive affirmations and conscientious living taught in church are quite good, the endless real estate business they engage in with money they sweet talked the congregants into donating is so section 419 of the Nigerian Constitution as amended.
Back to the African tradition; a true practitioner is more spiritual and most of his practices are personal. Everyone has his personal holy place in his home where he goes to consult the gods before any other thing each day. He has his own Chi and can even borrow Chi from different places and people especially those ones that have proven their potency.
Take for instance the Okija Shrine. It is said that the original deity of justice was brought by a certain lady that was married into an Okija family and she used the deity to get justice against her oppressors. Other people who heard of the efficacy of her god sort after her and started making offerings and supplication to the Deity. And it became great.
So, true Igbo spirituality is practiced more scientifically. It is not a religion you practice blind folded. The way of life one is expected to live is peculiar between him and his Chi. Nobody gives a hoot about anybody’s spiritual peculiarity.
Starting from the esoteric pattern you make on the ground with the Nzu, when you gather as co practitioners is unique per person.
Then who ever is native in the geographical location or close to it is the chief priest of all gatherings and he has the spiritual right to either make invocations over the kolanut or appoint someone else to do it on his behalf.
The philosophy of the African Traditional Practice is jealously preserved in her endless list of proverbs. And the mode of passing on the practice is by word of mouth from the elder or father to the child or seeker. Just like it used to be in the mystery schools of Egypt.
It is a practice that covers every aspect of human life and living and as well allows for modifications over time and experience. So the African tradition is not a religion but a spirituality that held the African society strong and cohesive. Families were working. Society was more harmonious and people were happier. In as much as we are trying to preserve the practices in writing, let us promote the individualism and dynamism of it. A lot of the practice have been lost and a lot might be bastardized if we don’t write and write well what it is all about. Let it not still be the experience of one person being used as the standard for everyone.
