THE BELIEF OF THE YORùBá PEOPLE ABOUT WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY: A CRITICAL EVALUATION

摘要

The Yoru?ba? constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. It is doubtful if any other African group has greater influence on the culture of the new world than the Yoru?ba? whose descendants until today, continue to preserve Yoru?ba? culture and traditions the world over (Awo?la?lu?, 1979). They are bound together by language, traditions and religious beliefs and practices. The keynote of their life is their religion and according to I?do?wu?, (1962, pp. 159-160) “religion forms the foundation and the all-governing principle of life for them. As far as they are concerned, the full responsibility of all the affairs of life belong to the deity”. The Yoru?ba? hold the belief that God, the Creator of mankind, (E?le??da?a?) did not create man to suffer just as the Holy books tell us that all things created by God (man, animals, birds, trees, plants, etc.) were good. In spite of this belief, the Yoru?ba? and even the entire human race find themselves in a world filled with difficulties, and misfortunes. They find themselves in a world where evil co-exists with good. The objective of this paper among others is to determine the extent to which this belief affects the people’s behaviour. The paper establishes the fact that membership of secret groups most times affects the behaviour of members and the generality of the people either positively or negatively. The research methodology for this study is analytical. The paper concludes that in as much as people still experience misfortunes, the belief in the existence of witchcraft and sorcery and the fear attached to their activities will persist. The paper therefore suggests that man should accept his fate, and continue to struggle and battle whatever difficulties that come his way.??