Afizere Priest in full regalia
Some of the information on this page were taken from some publictions.
1. A book titled A SOCIAL SURVEY OF AFIZERE CULTURAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES by Rev. J. Afan and Magdalene A. Agwom
2. THE AFIZERE (JARAWA) PEOPLE OF NIGERIA by Abok Musa Inyam |
RELIGION IN IZERE
Theologians say that the word Religion is derived from the latin word "Religion". According to scholars like Arinze, (1986), religon
is the consiousness of one's dependence on a transcendent being the tendency to worship him. In other words, religion has to do with man and a supreme
God or gods.Religion can also be said to be about worshipping an unseen power or powers. It is practised through adoration, confession, thanksgiving
suplication or petitioning. Afizere believe in the existence of God and his Supremacy. They refer to God as Adakunom which literally means
father of the sun. Since God cannot be seen physically, he is believe to be the father of the Sun. He is also believed to be Omnipotent and
Omnipresent and no one can hide from Him. He also has intermediaries of greater or lesser importance. These God representatives on earth were what
the west collectively termed "idols". the powers from which Afizere believed came from God.
Afizere believed in the existence of local spirits who concerned themselves with the welfare of mankind through their supernatural powers
Some of the spirits - Red or White were benevolently disposed towards humans and were described as "Itseng Iseng" (that is red spirits)
while those called Afere' were black spirits and are of ill repute hence were feared.
A futher category of spirits was the souls of the ancestors and the dead generally. These souls which were superior to those of the living
, being directly in touch the sources of divine power, were referred intermediaries of the living; nevertheless they were somewhat dangerous
allies in that while they protected the terrestrial members of the family, they also punish wrong doing without any compromise whatsoever.
In their quest to appeal ancestral spirits, Afizere were compelled to carryout once in a while expensive ceremonies of sacrifices or libations
. For instance, during circumcision ("Izhak") and puberty ("Igasang") ritual festivals, these ancestral spirits took possesion of masked dancers
("Azhankai" or "Abage")
ATSI (PRIEST)Read more...
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