Syncretism and Religious Change

22 Pages·2010·2.06 MB·English

Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History
Syncretism and Religious Change
Author(s): J. D. Y. Peel
Source: Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Jan., 1968), pp. 121-141
Published by: Cambridge University Press
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SYNCRETISM AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE
A superficivali ewo f whath appensw hena largen umbero f peoplef orsake
theirf ormerre ligionf ora new one is thats ome of theo ld beliefsb ecome
mixedw itht hen ew.I t is a commonplacteo hear thatf olkC atholicismis
mixedw ithp agans urvivalso,r thatn ewlyc onverteAd fricanC hristianasr e
"notr eal Christianso"r "havea veneero f Christianityb"e,c auset heyh ave
nott otallyab andoneda ll thatt heyo nceb elievedS. ucha judgmenht,o wever
ethnocentrwic,o uldb e pardonablein a Europeanm issionarwy ho held a
particulavr iew of Christianitwy,h ichi tselff urnishead clear criterionof
"real ChristianityB"u. t similaro pinionsa re oftene xpressedb y sociologists
and anthropologiswths op rofests hemselvense utrawl ithr espectt o religious
belief.T hey are usuallyi nteresteidn "acculturationo"r "culturec ontact"
and considerit of greatm omentto be able to say how far any particular
beliefo r practicel ies along a continuumw hosep oles are marked" tradi-
tional"a nd "acculturatedS"u. ch assumptionusn derlayM alinowskim's uch-
criticizesdc hemef ort hea nalysiso f culture-containct A fricaa nd the great
bulko ft hew orkb, yL intonW, allace,L anternarain d otherso,n independent
religioums ovementsT.'h ist raditioonf i nterpretatiios nst illv erym ucha live.
It is the objecto f thisp apert o considerw hath appensw henp reviously
paganp eoplesc hanget heirr eligiona,n d to suggestt he seriousl imitations
of any approachw hichc entreso n acculturationT.h e materiails mainly
drawnf romt heY orubao f WesternN igeria( of whomo ver9 0% profests o
be Christiaonr Muslimr, oughlyha lfa nd halfo f each),a nd particularltyh e
independenAtl adurac hurches.
Yoruba Religious Attitudes
ManyA fricanin dependencht urche-s andt heA ladurao r "prayingc"h urches
I B. Malinowski,D ynamics of CultureC hange (1943), Chap. III, criticizedb y M.
Gluckman," Malinowski'sF unctionalA nalysiso f Social Change",A frica,X VII (1947),
and by G. BalandierS, ociologieA ctuelled e l'AfriqueN oire (1955), Chap. I; on religious
mnovementRs., Linton," NativisticM ovements"A, mer.A nthr.,X LV (1943), A. F. C.
Wallace, "RevitalizationM ovements",i bid., LVIII (1956), and V. Lanternari,T he
Religionso f the Oppressed( 1963), are typical.
122 J. D. Y. PEEL
amongt hem- presenatn odd paradoxw henv iewedi n thisl ightT. heyc an
maket hel egitimatcel aimt hatt heyo pposet he traditionarle ligionan d all
itsw orkws ithm uchm ores trenuoursi gourth and o them emberosf m issionary
churchesw, hosec reeds,o rganizationans d ritualsw erel argelyp re-madien
Europe. Yet the Europeano bserverw, hetherm issionaroyr acculturation
anthropologiscta,n onlys ee theird ifferencfer omt he missionarcyh urches
as residinign theirb eingm oren ativistsy, ncretiosrt t raditionaTl.h2 e Aladura
outlooko n religiona nd cultureis distinctivaem ongt he variousw ays in
whicht heY oruba,t hemselvevse ryd ivideda mongt hreer eligionasn d many
sects,s ee thesem attersa,n d to understanitd w e mustg o backt o thes ituation
in whichr eligioucsh angef irstt ookp lace.
The firstY orubaC hristianws eref reeds laves,c onverteidn SierraL eone,
and the missionsf ollowedt hemb ack to Abeokutai n Yorubalandi n the
1840's.3T he evidencef orw hatt heY orubai nitiallyth oughotf Christianity
is slightb, uta storyh andedd owna t Abeokutae xemplifiewsh atm usth ave
beenw idespreaads sumptionsT.4h e C.M.S. missionariebsr oughats presents
fort heA lakea nd chiefsa Bible( fromQ ueenV ictoriaa) nd a steelc orn-mill
(fromt heP rinceC onsort)a, nd thel eadingc hiefw antedt o sacrificteo the
corn-miwll henh e had seeni ts marvellouosp erationC. hristianiwtya s asso-
ciatedw ithE uropeanc ulture(f orw hicht heS aro, or repatriateedx -slaves,
were an ever-presenadt vertisemenatn); d a piece of novel and effective
technologcyo uldb e seen in termso f Yorubar eligionT. herei s amplee vi-
dence of widespreadr espectf or,a nd interesitn , the positivea spectso f
Christianiteyv,e nw heret hisi nteresdti d notg o as fara s conversion.
This responsem ustb e relatedt o the charactero f traditionaYl oruba
religionT. his compriseda discretea nd variegatedsy stemo f beliefsv, ery
differenftr omt he closely-integrarteedli giouss ystemso f whichw e have
accountsf orm ostA fricanp eoples.5A ratherr emotes upremeG od; a vast
rangeo f subordinatgeo ds or orisa,s ome widespreadan d some localized,
mostlys pecializedin functionw, hosed evoteesf ormedc ult-grouplsi;n eage
ancestorosf relativelmy inorim portancaen; importansty stemo f divination
calledI fa,w hosep riests(b abalawo)w erec onsultedon mosti ssueso f public
and privates ignificanc-e thesew ere its main elementsI.t is not really
2 Cf. E. G. S. ParrinderR, eligioni n an AfricanC ity( 1951) or K. Little,W estA frican
Urbanization(1 966). Even BishopS undkleri,n his memorableb ook, BantuP rophetsi n
South Africa (rev. ed., 1961) tends to make this assumption- "new wine in old
wineskins".
3 For missionh istoryin Nigeria cf. J. F. Ade Ajayi, ChristianM issions in Nigeria
1841-1891 (1965), and E. A. Ayandele,M issionaryE nterprisea nd the Evolutiono f
ModernN igeria1 875-1914( 1967).
4 This is told by A. K. Ajisafe,A Historyo f Abeokuta( Abeokuta,1 924).
5 Cf. C. D. Forde, The Yoruba-speakinPge oples of South WesternN igeria (1951)
for a bibliographyof the vast literatureo n Yoruba religiona nd society;S . Johnson,
The Historyo f the Yorubas( 1921), is of basic importancaes an accounto f nineteenth-
centuryp racticesa mongt he Oyo Yoruba.
SYNCRETISM AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE 123
properlyca lleda "primitiver"e ligionb ecauset hatp rocesso f rationalization
whichr esultfs romo nep eopler ealizinagb outo therp eoplesg' odsh ad already
begun.B esidesc ertaing enerasli milaritiiens r eligioucso ncept(ss ucha s ideas
aboutt hes oul or theH ighG od) withinW estA frica,w6 e findv erys pecific
similaritiebse tweenY oruba deitiesa nd thosew orshippebdy neighbouring
peoples.T he Igunnuc ultw as introducefdr omN upe; thes ea-godO lokuni s
sharedw ithB enin;t hes mallpox-goSdo ponai s worshippeads an earth-god
Sakpatai n Dahomeya nd sometimecsa rriest he epithetO luwaiye( lord of
thee arth);I fa divinationsi,m ilarin principlief variablei n precisef ormi,s
foundo verv eryw idea reas of theW esternS udana nd GuineaC oast.7T he
processo f borrowingc,o mparisonan d adaptationo,f tenb etweenr eligious
systemws hichd ifferco nsiderabliyn theirt otalityis, a consequencoe f in-
creasedi ntercourswei thinan area, as a resulto f war and trade.A similar
situationp revailedin the EasternM editerraneaann d the MiddleE ast for
severalc enturiepsr iort o the establishmenoft the dogmatica nd prophetic
worldr eligions.
Similard evelopmenttos ok place amongt he Yoruba peoples( who have
nevera t anyt imee njoyedp oliticaul nitya,n d who onlyc ame to call them-
selvesb y a commonn amei n thel ate nineteentche nturyS).o me orisa, like
Sangot het hunder-gaondd O duduwat heh ero-ancestoofrt heY oruba,s pread
witht hei nfluencoef Old Oyo. Much of thed isagreemenabt outt hen ature
ofY orubar eligionca n be tracedt o thed ifficulotfyr econcilinpga rticularized
local conceptionosf orisa witha n emergencte ntratl raditionw, hiche arly
ethnographiperse senteads a kindo f orthodoxyw,h ichi t was not.L ikewise
in classicalG reecet herew as a steadyt endencyfo ra ll kindso f localized
deitiest o be relatedt o them ajorO lympianst;h eg reatg odsw erep resented
withl ocal,a ndo ftenb izarrea,t tributeTs.h8 e processw ento n outsideG reece.
Herodotusw, itha greatr espectf orE gyptianan tiquityt,r iedt o harmonize
Greeka nd Egyptiant raditionasb outH eracles,i f necessarym odifyintgh e
Greeko nes.9L atert heg odso f theO lympianp antheonw erep airedo ffw ith
Romano nes- in somec ases ratherb ad matchesT. herea re twoi mportant
differencbese tweent he situationisn WestA fricaa nd the AncientW orld.
In WestA fricat hef orcesw hichp roducedr ationalizatioonf local religion
verys oon producedw orldr eligionsI,s lam and Christianitwyh, ereast hese
onlye mergedin theA ncientW orlda fterm anyc enturieosf highlyso phisti-
cateda ndr ationalize"dp aganism"w; hilei n theA ncienWt orldt hed eveloping
tradea nd communicatiownsh ichs timulatetdh er ationalizatioanls o brought
6 Such as thosec itedb y M. Fortes,O edipusa nd Job in WestA fricanR eligion( 1959),
pp. 19-25.
7 Cf. G. Maupoil,L a Ge'omancied e l'AncienneC ote des Esclaves (1943).
8 On Greece,c f. the greatc ompilationo f L. R. Farnell,T he Cults of the GreekS tates
(5 vols., 1896-1909);f or a similars ituationin India, cf. the essay by McKim Marriott
in VillageI ndia: Studiesi n the LittleC ommunity(1 955), pp. 195-200.
9 Herodotus,H istoriesI,I . 42-45.
124 J. D. Y. PEEL
literacy- a mosti mportandte terminaonft t hec haracteorf religioutsh ought,
as we shalls ee.
A corollaryof thism odificatioonf local religionw as thatr eligionw as no
longer" thec emento fs ocietyi"n thes amew ayt hati t is wherea n all-impor-
tanta ncestocru lts ustainas segmentarliyn eages ystem- fora ncestorsu,n like
orisa, cannotb e sharedw ithu nrelatedg roups,a nd in factt he orisa cult-
groupsc ut acrosst hel ineagesin membershipT.1h0e individuawl as allowed
to chooseh is cult-grouopr; at a crisisi n hisl ifeh e mighbt e advisedt o join
thato f a particulaorr isa by thed ivinera, priesto f Ifa. Ifa divinatiohne lped
articulatteh ev ariouso risa cults,b uti t had no especialc ommitmentot the
traditionarle ligiona gainstI slam and Christianitayn,d has oftenb een re-
gardedb y Yoruba adherentosf theser eligionass a sourceo f esoterict ra-
ditionawl isdomw hicht heya re quiteju stifieidn c onsultingP.1o1li tico-religious
coherencew as and is providedb y the Oba, the sacredK ing,w ho stands
betweenh is subjectsa nd theu ltimatpe owers- a functiohne can perform
whethetrh esep owersa re regardedas beingo risa or theO ne God preached
by thep rophetirce ligionsT.h erei s a fortunataem biguitiyn thep ositiono f
a rulerli ket heY orubaO ba or thed ivinizeRd omanE mperor(w hoser elation
to the competincgu ltso f his subjectsw as verys imilar)h; e can fulfitl he
samec ohesiver oleu nderp aganisman d underI slamo r Christianibtyec ause
his sacrednesiss note xclusiveliyd entifiewdi tht het raditionrale ligiona,n d
can be puto n a newf ootin-g he becomesa Kingb y theG raceo f God, or
Christ'sV icar. Justinianw as much more effectivelay divinek ing than
Diocletian.
So the differentiatioofn s ocial and religiousa llegiancea t the level of
individuable liefa nd rituali s balancedb y a unitya t a higherle vel.S uch a
"functionaalu tonomy"a,s Gouldnerh as argued,1f2a cilitatecsh angei n the
autonomouss phere.R eligioust olerancei s probablyt he greatesta mong
peoplesl iket heR omanso r theY orubai n then ineteentchen tur-y whoh ad
leftb ehinda localizedp rimitivree ligionin whicht o be a membero f the
societya t all meantt o subscribteo a particulacru ltusa, nd whoh ad noty et
adopteda prophetirce ligionw hosea dherentrse gardedit as the sole way
of truthan d whoseu niquei mportancwe as sucht hati t mighbt e maintained
by coercionA. furthesro urceo ft oleranclei es in thec haracteorf ther eligion
fort hei ndividua-l it tendst o be concernepdr edominantwlyit he asingt he
conditionosf livingi n tllisw orld,a nd is seen by its adherentass having
instrumentaas lw ella s expressivvea lue.T he morer eligionis regardedas a
techniquew, hosee ffectivenetshse individuaml aye stimatfe orh imselft,h e
readierw illt hei ndividuable to tryo ut othert echniquews hichs eemp rom-
10 Cf. WVR. . Bascom,T he SociologicalR ole of the YorubaC ult Group (1944).
11 On thisa specto f Ifa, cf. Wande Abimbola," Ifa", AfricanN otes, II1 (1965).
12 A. W. Gouldner," Reciprocityan d Autonomyi n FunctionalT heory",C hap. VIII
of L. Gross (ed.), Symposiumo n SociologicalT heory( 1959).
SYNCRETISM AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE 125
ising.H e willn otb e inclinedt o relye xclusiveloyn one techniqujeu st for
the sake of simplicityn,o r will he be intolerantto wardso theri ndividuals
who prefero thert echniquesC. hiefS agbua of Abeokutaa ppreciatedth e
powero f the corn-milaln, d in so fara s it was a Christiante chniquew, as
well-disposetdo ChristianitTyh. e sourceso f "spirituapl ower"( i.e. ability
to performfe atsa s a resulto f supernaturianl terventioonr celestiakl nowl-
edge)w erem ysterioums,a nifoladn d widelys pread;i lluminatiomni ghcto me
fromr emoteq uartersa,n d a dogmaticr elianceo n one sourcew as foolish
and pointlessI.n thes ames piritt heE mperorA lexanderS everus(2 22-235),
as PontifexM aximush ead of the old Roman stater eligiona,n d himself
regardeda s semi-divinteh roughoutth e Empire,h ad a privatec hapeli n
whicht herew eres tatueso f OrpheusA, brahamC, hrista nd Apolloniuso f
Tyana,a ll mightypr ophetaain d benefactorosf the humanr ace.'3S agbua
and manyY orubaw erer eadyt o acceptC hristianitanyd Islami n thes ame
spirita s thati n whicht he originallNy upe cult of Igunnuh ad been in-
corporatedb;u t theyd id not understantdh e uniquec laimsm ade by these
religionsa,n d triedt o softent heiru ncompromisinougt linesT. hey would
have agreedw itht he SenatorS ymmachuws heni n the twilighotf Roman
paganismh e pleadedt hatt hep aganA ltaro f Victorym ighnt otb e removed
fromt he SenateH ouse: "non uno itinerep otestp erveniraid tam grande
secretum".'4
YorubaC hristianity
We mayn owr eturnto thes ituationof thee arlyY orubaC hristianAs.t the
beginningw, hent he contrasbt etweent hema nd theirn on-Christiacnom -
patriotws as sharpestt,h eirli fec entredo n thep rominenttw o-storemyi ssion
houses,d ominatebdy a missionarysy, mbolosf Christianiatnyd Civilization.
Laterw henn umberhsa d increasedso mewhatth eyw erem uchl ess separated,
and separateC hristianv illages( such as the Catholicse stablishedin the
Congo)w eref ew,a nd event henu suallym ixedC hristianan d pagan.'5T he
Christiandsi d forma distinctivger oupi n societyh owevera,n d wereb arred
by religionfr omp artakinogf somea spectso f publicl ife- sucha s member-
shipo f thei mportanpto litico-religioOugsb oniS ociety.'Y6 et theC hristians
13 Cf. E. R. Dodds, Christiana nd Pagan in an Age of Anxiety( 1965), p. 107. The
storyi s told in the HistoriaA ugusta,w rittenb y pagan sympathizerisn the late fourth
centurye; ven if, as Mr. T. D. Barneso f The Queen's College Oxfordh as suggestedt o
me, the storyi s nott rue( Prof.D odds acceptsi t),i t illustratetsh e same attitudeo f mind
in certainc ircleso f the fourthc entury.
14 "There cannot be only one path to such a great secret":c ited by A. D. Nock,
Conversion( 1933), p. 260.
15 On Christianv illages,c f. Ajayi, op. cit., pp. 114-117;t heya ppealed more to the
Catholict hant o the Protestanmt issions.
16 Cf. Ajayi,o p. cit.,p p. 189, 225, on Christiana ttitudetso Ogboni;s ome laymend id
in factj oin.
126 J. D. Y. PEEL
did notw ithdrawfr oms ociety- theyf oughats a separatec orpsi n war,a nd
eventuallhya d chieftaincireess ervefdo rt hema, s had theM uslimst oo. This
was possibleb ecause the loose relationshibpe tweenr eligiona nd society
permittetdh es eparatenesosf then ew religiont o be recognisewd ithint he
politicafl rameworTkh. isa ccommodatiotno t hes tatew as no doubtf acilitated
by theL utheranb ackgrounodf manyo f theC .M.S. missionaries.
The problemw as morea cutea t thel evelo f individuabl eliefW. hered id
theo ld religionst andi n thel ighto f then ew?I t was dismembereTdh. e old
SupremBe eing,O lodumarew, as regardedas thes ameb einga s theC hristian
God, nowm orep erfectlrye vealed.'T7 hisw as easys inceO lodumare'csu ltus
had beenn on-existenort minimala,n d so couldn otb e seena s fetishismor
idolatryB. y thee nd of thec enturyth es plendida nd evocativee pithettsr a-
ditionalluys ed to describeO lodumareh ad in manyc ases been annexedt o
theC hristiaGn od, and these,o r epithetlsi ket hem( orikiE leda ni ede wa,
"thep raise-nameosf theC reatori n our tongue"a, leadingm embero f an
Aladura churchc alled them) are used in churchest oday.'8T he word
"Olodumare"(w hichi s of uncertainet ymologyw) as used in the Yoruba
Bible to translat"eA lmighty".
This tacticw as not possiblew itht he orisa, whosew orshipw as clear
idolatryT. he alternativwese ret o regardt hema s non-existenstim, pled elu-
sions,o r as dangerousa nd seductived evils.T he formeris onlyp ossible
wherec onvertasr e so removedf romt hes ocials ituationisn whicho risaa re
worshippeda,n d fromt he occurrenceasn d evidencesw hicha re explained
by theira ctivityt,h att heyn o longerc onstitutae problemt o be overcome
and can justb e forgotteTnh. esec onditionws ereh ardlya chieveda t all until
well intot he twentietche nturyw, heny oungm enc ould say in 1931 "that
theh eathenas re onlyd eceivingth ep eopleb y puttingon rags,v oicingh o
ho ho, and sayingt herei s Egungunin side".1T9h e earlyc onvertcse rtainly
regardedth ema s diabolica-l a viewpoinwt hichw as undoubtedlsyt rength-
enedb yt hec hoiceo ft hen ameo fo ne oft heo risa,E shu,t o translat"eD evil"
in theB ible.J ustt hes amef ormo f accommodatiowna s foundi n thel ater
RomanE mpire,w henC hristianws ereq uitep reparedt o concedet hee xist-
ence and them aligna ctivityof thep agang ods,w hicht heyc alledd aimones
- Socratesg' oodd aimonb ecamea demon.2T0h erew eres imilara lternatives
withw itchesD. id one deny theire xistencew ithr obustr ationalismo,r
17 E. B. Idowu, Olodumare:G od in YorubaB elief( 1962), arguest hatO lodumarew as
not as remotea s otherA fricanH igh Gods, and showst hat in places therei s a cultus
to him.
18 Cf. A. A. Abiola, Isipaya AsiriA dura (Revelationo f the Secreto f Prayer)( Ibadan,
n.d.), by an Apostle in the Seraphim;o r the AnglicanR ev. S. M. Abiodun's,A kojo
Oruko Olorun( Collectiono f the Names of God) (Lagos, 1919).
19 Quoted in "Complainta gainst Cherubima nd SeraphimS ocietyb y the Bales of
Agodo,A latarea nd otherv illagep eople,4 th June1 931",b eforet heA lake of Abeokuta,
typescripptr oceedingsS, osan Papers (Universityo f Ibadan Library).
20 On daimonesc f. Dodds, op. cit.,p p. 37, 124-125.
SYNCRETISM AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE 127
emphasizet he effectiveneosfs Christianitayg ainstt hem?A jayi notest he
confusiocna usedb y C.M.S. ambiguitoyn thiss core2; 1 butm ostC hristians,
now as then,c ertainlbye lievei n theire xistenc(ew hichi s less tiedd ownt o
a particulasro cial ordert hani s thato f theo risa), and mayt rustin Chris-
tianityas a protectiofnr omt heirm alice.
The orisa, howevert,h oughp ersonalizegdo ds,a re not clearlys eparated
fromo gun - charmsa nd medicinecso lloquiallyca lled "juju". Some orisa
are barelym oret hanw hatw orksin a particulafri eldw, hiles omeo gunm ust
be invokedin ordert o worko, r requirein cantationtos be said.T he category
ogun includeasl l thee xtensivpeh armacopoeoiaf t heY oruba,w hosep urpose
was obviouslyg ood,a nd whichw as seen as a simplep arallelt o European
medicinesA. lineh ad to be drawns omewherbee tweend evilsa nd medicine.
The line was drawng enerouslayn d whatf ell on its permissiblsei de was
definedas notr eligiousM. anyY orubaA nglicanc lergymewne rer enowned
fort heirk nowledgoef nativem edicinea,n d in some cases publishedp am-
phletsa bouti t;2 2 Christianp rayerc ould,i f need be, replacei ncantation.
Ifa divinatiown as mored ifficulitt; w as a salvationisetle menitn a somewhat
fatalisrt eligionan d,t hougha ssociatedw itha n orisa Orunmilas,t ooda part
fromt her esto f Yorubap aganismI.t s predictiveef ficacitwya s stilla lmost
universallayc cepteda,n d fewl aymene itherig noredit or declinedt o consult
it occasionallyY.o rubac lergymewne ret hef irstto collectt heO du (versified
responseso) f Ifa, and theyd efinedit as "Yorubap hilosophy"a, valuable
parto f Yorubat raditionaclu lturew hichw as not religionan d so was per-
missible.2T3h is attitudwe as notu niversaalm ongt hec lergym, osto f whom
did defineIf a as pagan.
It is a pityw e do noth avem orec ollectedm ateriaoln justh owm issionaries
presenta newr eligionT. wo broada pproachems ayb e discernedT. he first
emphasizetsh ed iscontinuiitnyv olvedin adoptinga newr eligiona,n d seems
to predominataem ongt hoseP rotestantwsh o drawo n the evangelicaild eal
of totalr egeneratioTnh. is stemmefdr oma situationw herem enw ereb eing
invitedt o changef roma theismi,r religioonr non-religiotno a particular
kindo f religion- thusW esleys aw then atureo f his conversionTs.h is atti-
tudew as alwaysp resentam onge vangelicalisn Nigeriab, ut especiallyaf ter
the impacto f the vigorousK eswickr evivalismof the 1880's,w hens ome
21 Ajayi,o p. cit.,p . 264. H. R. Trevor-Roper",T he WitchC raze", EncounterX, XVIII
(1967), shows changes in the attitudeo f the Church in Europe to the existenceo f
witches.
22 For example,R ev. J. S. Adejumo,A nglicanp ioneera t Ife, Dr. N. D. Oyerinde,
leadingf oundero f the BaptistS eminarya t Ogbomosho,a nd A. K. Ajisafe,a prominent
laymani n the AfricanC hurch,a ll of whom exchangedr ecipesw itht he fathero f an
acquaintanceo f mine,t he late Mr. E. M. P. Dada, of Ibadan.
23 Such as Adejumo, describeda s "The Yoruba Philosophero f Ife", in the West
AfricanN ationhood,2 1 Aug. 1931; cf. ArchdeaconT . A. J. Ogunbiyi'sb ookletI we
Itan Ifa etc. (Storyo f Ifa) (Lagos, n.d.) or Rev. D. 0. Epega's The Mysteryo f Yoruba
Gods (1932).
128 J. D. Y. PEEL
misionarierse gardedA fricanass beinge itherw ithourte ligiono,r withs uch
a degradedr eligionth ati t was worset hana theismS.u chm ena re notl ikely
to be veryg oodm issionaries.
The othera ttitudee mphasizest he continuitbye tweent he old and the
new,a nd, in thea bsenceo f a social cataclysmw hichw illm akem enw ant
to rejectt hep ast utterlyis, likelyt o be a bettera pproachi n practiceW. e
see it in the writingosf Pere Tempelso n Baluba beliefs,2a4n d in Pater
Schmidt'tsh esist hatt hem ostp rimitivree ligionw as a pure monotheism,25
but it is not confinedto RomanC atholicsT. he earlyD anishm issionaries
in theG old Coast adoptedit ,26 and it has been thed ominanstt raino f the
C.M.S. in Yorubalande,s peciallyas preachedb y Yorubac lergyT. husA rch-
deacon Ogunbiyci ompareds acrifice(se bo) in Yoruba paganismw itht he
once-for-aslal crificeo f Christo n behaffo f Christianst,o emphasizet he
superioerf fectivenoesfsC hristianityO.t2h7 erC hristianhsa ved rawna parallel
betweens acrificaes thew ay thep agan approachehs is god, and prayera s
the Christianw's ay;28o r have comparedIf a as the ancestragl uideo f the
Yorubasw ithC hrista s the guide of the Yoruba Christian.2T9h ose who
adoptt hisa pproacht endt o see the two religionass bodies of beliefa nd
practicew iths imilarb oundariesp,u rposesa nd objects- it is just thatt he
contento f theira ssertioniss differenant d thato ne is moree ffectivteh an
theo therY. et bym akingw hats eemedt o themt o be descriptivceo mparisons
betweent her eligionst,h eseY orubat heologian(sf ors ucht heyw ere),w ere
actuallyd elimitintgh eb oundarieosf Yoruba" religioni"n a neww ay,a nd
werep uttingfo rwarda particulacro nceptionof the natureo f Christianity.
The AfricanC hurches
The culturadl ebatea boutt hep lace of Christianitiny Yoruba societyw as
conductedm oste nergeticalwlyi thint heA fricanc hurcheso,f whichs everal
weref oundedb etween1 888 and 1901.30T hesec hurchesc,r eatedb y,f ort he
mostp art,l aymenw ho brokea way fromt he AnglicansM, ethodistasn d
Baptistsw, eres timulatebdy disgusta t the wave of restrictinpgat ernalism
whichp assedt hrougthh em issionisn the 1890's.B ut ther eal motiveo f the
founderws as thec onvictiotnh att hec hurchews eres tille xotici nstitutions,
14 R. P. Tempels,B antu Philosophy(1 959).
25 W. SchmidtD, ie Ursprungd er Gottesidee,1 2 vols. (1912-55).
26 Cf. D. W. Bro-kenshSao, cial Changea t Larteh,G hana (1966), chap. II.
27 Ogunbiyio, p. cit.,p . 40.
28 Cf. editorialo f the Lagos newspaperA kede Eko for 30 May 1931 on the Aladura
revival- "Adura l'ebo" (prayeri s the sacrifice).
29 Thus Epega in an article" Ifa Amona Baba wa, JesuK ristiA mona wa" (Ifa Guide
of our Fathers,J esusC hristo ur guide),i n Akede Eko, 3 Dec. 1932.
30 This accounti s based veryl argelyo n J. B. Webster,T he AfricanC hurchesa mong
the Yoruba,1 888-1922( 1964).
SYNCRETISM AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE 129
and wouldr emains o untill,e d byA fricanst,h eyp urgedt hemselveosf their
adventitiouans d inessentiaElu ropeanc ulturatlr appingTs.h eologicalltyh eir
formailn novationwse ref ew;b uti n organizatioinn, e vangelistaicn d pastoral
methodsi,n the use of Yoruba musica nd, to a lessere xtenti,n liturgical
formsi,n theirr eadinestso acceptw ithoucta vils uchc ustomas s polygamy,
theyc hangedt hea specto f Christianictoyn siderablFyo. r twentyye arso r so
theirf oundersin' itiale nthusiasmca rriedt hemf orwardv igorouslyb,u t by
1920 theird esiret o competew itht he smartm issionc hurcheisn Lagos in
socialr espectabilihtyad causedt heirp ace to slacken.
Can thesec hurchebse calleds yncretisNt?o t if we meanb y thata desire
to unitei n one systemw hatt heys aw as valuablei n Christianiwtyit hw hat
theyi dentifieads traditionYalo ruba religionR. athert heo ppositef, ort hey
justifiedth eiri nnovationosn the groundst hatt he non-religiouassp ectso f
Christianitwyh, ichw ereo wed to Europeanc ulturew, ereb eingr eplacedb y
Yoruban on-religioeulse mentsW. henC hiefJ . K. Coker,t heS aro leadero f
theA fricanC hurchs, pokea boutA fricanC hristianithye, meantt he same
Christianitiny Africanf orm.H e was accused of makingc oncessionst o
paganisme, speciallyin the mattero f polygamyb,u t althoughh e was no
doubtm oret oleranotf Yorubap aganp racticetsh ant heE nglishB ishopo f
Lagos,i t was becauseh e had to livew itht hema nd wishedt o changet hem.
The demarcatioonf essentiaCl hristianiatnyd Africano r Europeanc ustoms
was necessaryto thisp rojectI.n thec ase of polygamyC,o kert riedt o show
thati t was practisedin theO ld Testamentn,o tf orbiddeinn theN ew, and
thatE uropeanm onogamwy as due to "simplyth eu niversaclu stomasn dl aws
oft hep aganG reeksa nd Roman".3'
A syncretiisst a manw hos ees someg ood,a s manyY orubash ave done,
in his traditionarle ligiousp racticesa nd beliefs,i dentifieads such, and
attempttso synthesitzhe emw ithn ewb eliefisn a harmoniourse ligioussy stem.
If theiro wnn atureh ad permitteidt, C hristianiatnyd Islamw ouldh aveb een
syncretiziendt oY orubap aganismju sta s AlexandeSre veruts riedt or omanize
Christianiitny t het hirdc enturyT.o do thisw itha prophetirce ligionm eans
explainingaw ay its uncompromisinclga im of uniquenessa,n d this most
Yoruba Christianasn d Muslimsh ave notb een preparedt o do in a formal
and explicitw ay.R athert heyh ave followeda patterno f behaviourw hich
is inconsistenont thec ulturapl lane,h oweverr easonablaen d understandable
- theyh aveb eenp luralistsg,o ingt o churcho r mosquea nd also,w hent hey
wantedt,o a babalawo.3T2h isi s reasonablbee haviourf,o rt heyw antc leara nd
well-definetdh is-worldglyoa ls,a nd theyp ursuew hatevemr eanst heyh ave
anyr easont o supposee ffectivteh; es ourceso f spirituaplo wera re manifold
and nonen eed be rejectedI.t is onlyw herel ogicalc oherencer,a thert han
31 J. K. Coker,A Review of the Problem of Polygamy (Lagos, 1934).
32 Cf. M. J. Field, Search for Security(1 960), p. 52, about the clienteleo f shrinesi n
southernG hana.