SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN THE SERVICE OF HUMANITY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ade P. Dopamu
Edito! O"u O#a$emi O.%. O"o&ede R.'. Omoto&e F.A. O"ade"e S&"(ia S&"(ia O. Ma"omo R.A. O"ao&e
MAGIC AND SCIENCE IN YORU%ALAND) TO'ARD AFRICA*S TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
Piu! O. A%IO+E Introduction Th is age has been described as a scientific one, which implies That whatever has no empirical explanation is dismissed as superstition or unreal. Very often, magic is called a mysterious or metaphysical power, meaning that it has no scientific basis Magic is also called an art. Whatever the arguments may be, it is obvious that magic is rarely called science, and African science and technology are still subject to being defined. n the understanding of this paper, science has produced many magical feats, in the sense that not many persons can explain how certain scientific products engender their effects. Magic, as what elicits wonder and ama!ement, has thus been very much part of what constitutes science and technology. "laboration of this point li es ahead. The purpose of study is to challenge African scientists to discover whatever scientific principles obtain in what is called African magic, toward producing amenities there from. Many ancient Africans had discovered medicinal properties of many plants, in herbs, roots and bar#s, with which many diseases are cured. $uch discoveries are impossible without a scientific insight. n this light, the scientific discoveries of ancient Africa in areas other than medicine, should be uncovered and appropriated. f, as it is said, science developed from magic, contemporary African scientists should endeavour to demonstrate through research, how that obtains in African context. Africa should expose her scientific heritage beyond the medicinal phenomena, and proffer definitive ways by which people can access African scientific feats in such areas as ma#ing and preventing rainfall, and in long distance communication devices.
The word science derives from the %atin scientia, which means #nowledge or #nowing. n contemporary usage, scholars spea# of the &natural sciences& 'which include physics, chemistry and biology(. They also refer to sociology, psychology, and anthropology as human or social sciences.) *eyond that, the scientific method is applied to such studies as history, theology and politics 'hence political science(. As +ichard Tarnas observes, &from the +enaissance onward, modem culture evolved and left behind the ancient and medieval world views as primitive, superstitious, childish, unscientific, and oppressive.& Tarnas notes further that Verifiable facts and theories tested and discussed among e-uals replaced dogmatic revelation hierarchically imposed by an institutional hurch. The search for truth w a s n o w c on d uc te d o n a b a si s o f i nt er n at io n al cooperation, in a spirit of disciplined curiosity, with a willingness, even eagerness, to transcend previous limits of #nowledge. $cience offers a new possibility of epistemological certainly and objective agreement, with new powers of experimental prediction, technical invention, and control of nature.&
What is called $cientific +evolution is usually dated to the $eventeenth entury, though the picture cannot be complete, without mentioning /icholas opernicus ')012 3 )402(. 5e was the first person #nown to have suggested that it was not the sun but the earth that was rotating 'round the sun(. 6ohannes 7epler ')41) 3 )829( carried the theory further when he discovered that the orbits of the planets were ellipses. :alileo :alilei ')480 3 )80;( confirmed the opernican theory through the telescope he built in )89<. 5e suggested that plannetary bodi es were made of the same substance as the earth. The +oma n atholic hurch forced him to recant his position, because it contradicted the existing philosophical and theological understanding of the issue. 2 5ut if :alileo were wrong, there would be no astronauts today. *ecause :alileo has been proven right by later scientists, the humiliation he experienced in the hand of the atholic hurch partly explains why the Western world decided to separate the hurch from the $tate, so that the hurch=s authority can be limited to the hurch, and a scientific study of the world can flower, unhindered, by those with dogmatic mandate. n
the words of Tarnas The West saw the emergence of a newly self3conscious and autonomous human being 3 curious about the world, c on f id en t i n h is o wn j ud gm en ts , s #e pt ic al o f orthodoxies, rebellious against authority, responsible for his ojvn beliefs and actions, enamored of the classical pas t, but even more committe d to a gre ater future . . . assured of his intellectual capacity to comprehend and control nature. This emergence of the modern mind, rooted in the rebellion against the medieval hurch, too# the three distinct and dialectic3ally related forms of the +enaissance, the +eformation, and the $cientific +evolution. These collectively ended the cultural hegemony of the atholic hurch in "urope. $cience suddenly stood forth as man#ind=s liberation empirical, rational, appealing to common sense and to concrete reality that every person could touch and weigh for himself.0
"ssentially, science is about controlling nature through learning of the laws that govern the operation of natural elements. The scientific method, basically, relies on observation and experiment. 5aving gathered the observations, the scientist draws out a theory from them, by a process of induction. The theory becomes recognised as a scientific law if it is supported by further experiments. t has been discovered that a scientist is occasionally assisted by an artistic inspiration to ma#e sense of his observations. Tim 5awthorne, a >rofessor of biochemistry, notes how some scientists were assisted even by some dreams, and how harles ?arwin developed his idea of the &survival of the fittest& from a boo# by an Anglican clergyman, Thomas Maltus, who suggested that populations always grow faster than the food and money for their support, leading to a struggle for survival.= Thus, science and art do mingle after all, different aspects of the same life. n another respect, science is also said to have a magical nature. ndeed, in popular opinion, many of the so3called products of science have their magical sides, to the extent that overwhelming majority of users cannot explain how the effects are caused or achieved, for instance. how does the fax machine transmit a paper message by delivering another paper@
ne can say that ther e will he a photogr aphic input in the pac#age, but neither photography itself nor the transmission mystery are open to the per son sendi ng the fax or just any photo graph er for tha t matter. Alon g the fax machine, one can group the e3mail computer electronic transmission, and the amount of materials available on the internet. At any rate, the magical nature of science, as evident in the pr od uc ts , is expr es se d beyo nd conj ec tu re an d st re et op in ion. n academic note, it is stated that Magic has tended to transform itself to become science. Thus, alchemy, which had many magical elements, beca me transformed into scie ntific chem istr y, and astrology was replaced by astronomy.&
ne would li#e to examine further, the magical aspect of science, as experienced in some scientific products. The Boruba would say that if a person wants to #now about the reality of magic, sheChe should start by scratching a match. The matter may appear simple, but, there is hardly any doubt that overwhelming majority of the public that obtain light by scratching a match do not #now the secret behind i t. Thus, though hardly anything sells better than matches in /igeria, it is rare to find it produced by /igerians. What is produced in the country are the stic#s, while the magical or the mysterious element is imported. M. A. *amgbose -uotes $ean >. 7ealy as noting that &in the real world, most people have neither an ade-uate grasp of science, its limits, and its method.=& This study reveals the fact that many scientific secrets are as esoteric ' i . e . hidden( to many scientists as magical secrets. Thus, for instance, the actual elements that are pac#ed into the :$M ':lobal $ystem of Mobile ommunications( sim card that activates the handset, and the recharge card numbers that update the functions of the handset are un#nown to ordinary scientists and technicians, but only to those to whom the secret is revealed. The actual elemental power of the cards is said to remain a top secret that is available only to a privileged core or family members. >art of one=s discovery is that investment in the :$M business does not imply #nowing the secret of the cards, since all that is re-uired is having enough funds to purchase machines, materials, and hiring of relevant technicians. Many engineers are involved, for instance, in the
production and bottling of the :uiness drin# in /igeria, but the actual :uinness stuff is said to be imported from ?ublin in reland. The secret is #nown only to the privileged members of the :umess family. n the course of this study, one came to the realisation that what said about the magical nature of the :$M cards applies to many o t h e r things, including land and cellular phones, the radio and television, photography, video and audio productions, fax machines, the e3mail and internet transmissions. There is also the electric wire, the secret of which remains esoteric. ne discovered that when people spea# of /igerian wire, it should not be forgotten that the essential elements of the product are imported, and the local manufactures only put them together as directed by those who possess what ma#es the wire to be what it is. he3 patent must be granted before any company can engage in electric wire production. "ven then, the essential material is supplied by the privileged family that is the custodian of the essential stuff. >robably the most =ama!ing discovery of this study is that the electron from which electricity is said to generate remains mysterious except to a privileged family. "lectricity is a household name in many countries of the world, but its real essence remains obscure from scientists other than members of the family that discovered the magic, so to say. n the words of Tim 5awthorne $ome experiments show that the electron is a tiny negatively3 charged particle, others, e-ually reliable, that it is energy in the form of waves. /iels *ohr is supposed A to have said that he believed in particles on Mondays, Wednesdays and Drida ys, but waves on Tuesdays . Thursdays and $aturdays. The electron=s behaviour can be expressed in the mathematical e-uations of wave mechanics but we can no longer picture it. %ight also has this dual nature, behaving in some experiments as waves and in others as a stream of photons, discrete pac#ets of energy.E
Thus, the electron remains somewhat intractable to general scientists whereas it cannot be expected to be so elusive to the family that mar#ets it for electric light, in transmitters and generators. ?ifferent forms of batte ry tes tif y to the mys ter y of the ele ctric light. Wherea s man y technicians can assemble batteries, the essence of the element remains
unfathomable to them, since their tas# involves merely #nowing what to buy from the mar#et and then assemble them appropriately. n most cases, the conductor of the electric light is what is called electric wire, which has its own mystery, with particular reference to radio, television, phone, fax and other forms of ama!ement. s3ha- A#intola -uotes *enny 5aerlim and ?ong >arr as staling that heir are no clear answers to many of the &big3picture& sc ie nt if ic -uestions as#ed by the public, in many cases because we lac# the #nowledge, but in others because arbitration between different answers is beyond scientific competence.<
Another important point mentioned by >. Ade ?opamu, is the fact that &very few people, especially the educated, can be credited with the rare spirit of openness&. )9 t is rare, for instance, to find a scientist who will disclose the essential secret of a discovery that has the prospect of ma#ing him or her a millionaire. And that may well be the basic source of scientific secrecy, beside the fact that one may need a scientific insight to understand scientific mysteries. Magic and Science among the Yoruba The Western world has introduced remote control, through which a person can open and close from a distance, such entities as car, garage and house doors, as well as appliances, such as the television. An interviewee observed that what used to be called African magic is now better called African remote control. 5e did not need to explain what he meant, since remote control operates magically. t also stands to reason that if the Western form of remote control is called a scientific product, that of Africa should not be derogatorily referred to as magic, as if every inexplicable phenomenon in the African worldview is an occultic product. >. Ade ?opamu -uotes an interlocutor as saying that &the undecoded African science is what is called magic.& ))
f course, Africa is almost always a peculiar land. There are pers ons who still believe tha t Afr ican ancestors did not #now :od. Traditional Africans were li#ewise not supposed to have neither science nor philosophy, in the opinion of certain scholars. With
specific u3lm3iii to the concept of African >hilosophy, F!odinma /wala observes that Those who defend the authenticity of traditional African >hilosophy and try to systematise it are called ethno3philosophers. n the other hand, the refuters who somewhat dogmatically espouse the authenticity of Western type analytic philosophy, are called universalists. The principles of Western analytic philosophy are said to be universal principles. Thus a motive is ascribed to the exponents of African philosophy for which they are called names and the philosophy they espouse called =philosophy in a debased sense=. ); f that is the situation with philosophy, which has to do with reasoning. wisdom and systematic discourse of issues in human life, what is one to expect in respect of science which tends to relate to fewer talented human beings@ Whatever misunderstandings might have existed, right reasoning and right observations have asserted that Africans have always #nown :od before the advent of hristianity and slam, since they have no other reator than the $upreme *eing, and there are many philosophers among traditional and modem Africans, even though literacy might have caught up with them much later than in some other lands. $imilarly, African science is a datum, even when efforts must be made to decode it, must be put to use in order to develop African technology for human advancement. t is pertinent to state that, to #now the African idea about :od. one3 must go beyond seeing traditional Africans worshipping spirits in natural forces. ne must listen to African proverbs, adages, maxims, poems and songs. $imilarly, to #now how magic constitutes African science, one3 must proceed beyond occultic magic to scientific magic. 5ere, the Boruba example is apposite. n respect of what one can call occultic magic, >. Ade ?opamu notes that The Boruba believe that they are able to use and control powers in the supernatural world in as much as they #now the primordial secret names of the spiritual agents. =Fnimportant thing is for an operator to #now the names and how to use them. n most cases, sorcerers and witches #now the secret names and use them to do evil.
5owever very few people are believed to have #nowledge of the occult names.)2
The point is well made, notwithstanding the fact that this category of magic may not -ualify as science, since science deals with discovery of natural laws, out of which technology develops. What one can call scientific magic in Africa refers to what 'traditional( Africans who have scientific insight discovered from their study of natural elements. ne should mention that some scholars have come close to -uestioning the source of3occultic magic. liver A. nwubi#o -uotes one E. Amadi as noting that harms are believed to bring to reali!ation, the power of the spirits and ancestors. Bet it is believed that through the use of charms, obnoxious and implacable spirits and ancestors are controlled, driven away, or blindfolded, such that their evil machinations and punishments of the living are minimi!ed or averted.)0
ne would suggest that miracle may be what is involved whenever a person invo#es spiritual or supernatural forces positively, for intervention. When in the :ospel account, the %ord, 6esus hrist is portrayed as wor#ing a miracle through ma#ing a paste from dust with his spittle '6ohn <831(, the implication is that divine action can ta#e any form. Dor the purpose of this paper, a number of traditional priests were interviewed in Borubaland. They all held that there is a distinction between magical power, and the power of the divinities. 3They explained that a divinity does not need a magic to function. What prompted the -uestion was the case of a man who refused to get initiated into the fa system. t happened that the man who was in his fifties, was always urinating into his trousers whenever he was inside the hurch on $unday, and the occurrence would not stop until the man presented himself for initiation into the fa system. ne then began to wonder whether magic was responsible for the man=s disgraceful experience, or fa oracle was behind it. The -uestion was put to traditional experts in different parts of Borubaland 'yo, jebu, "gba, fe, ndo and "#iti( and the answer was the same, as if the interviewees had held a meeting on how to respond. They a l l insisted that a distinction exists between magic and miracle in Boruba worldview. t does not seem that traditional Africans see their
divinities as needing magic or charm to operate effectively, *olaji dowu also discovered among the Boruba that
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Most divinities do not regard magic in the sense of fetish favourably. ne of the praise titles of $opona, the divinity whose scourge is smallpox, is =ne who causes medicine or magic designed for wic#ed ends to be thrown awayG. Thus is true of the ?ahomean counterpart, $agbata. Tano. the arch3divinity in Ashanti, hates magic.. .M.6. Dield observes that in rural :hana, strictly consistent priests do not loo# favourably on magic and the possession of suman. To use or even possess a bad suman is a major sin, punishable by deity with death. :ood suman is not encouraged but tolerated. )4
ne came to the realisation that metaphysical magic is a universal phenomenon, however. ts existence and reality are felt and experienced not just in Africa and Asia, but worldwide. A Westerner. 6acob /eedleman notes that True metaphysics wor#s true philosophy wor#s true mystery wor#s. True magic wor#s through the phenomenon of resonance. ne must #now the exact words to say and one must say them in exactly the right place and the right time and then forces may be called down from heaven.)8
At the same time, where scientific magic is involved, the effective force has to subsist in natural elements as set by the reator. n Boruba perspective, those who are versed in magic are usually persons who are very close to nature, particularly in the forest and jungle. Writing from 'he perspective of the Boruba. >. Ade ?opamu observes that Magic and medicine are based on scientific discovery. Theories abound to show the preoccupation of the ancient people and their encounter with nature. $cience began wit h th e stu dy of n ature 3 observation of weather, seasons, the behaviour of animals, plants and other animate objectsH what food to eat, what plant was poisonous, which animal was dangerous and which was friendly, winch plant was medicinal and which had occult properties . . . . These observations might have developed into investigations about how to use nature to human advantage. They arose out of human needs, and
they were developed upon through further investigation, experimentation, invention and utili !atio n through scientific en-uiry and procedure.)1
?opamu=s study is based on magic and medicine, and he succinctly explains that no one without scientific insight and instinct can discover the medicinal use of plants and animals, or which plants and animals are poisonous. This study is set to contribute to the discourse on scientific magic. ne has tried to illustrate the fact that many scientific products function magically, and so, Africa may need to re3examine many of the phenomena that are referred to as magic, in case there are those of them that are scientific in nature, and can help to boost African technological development. Scientific Magic and African Technology in Yoruba Worldview n the )<89s when was a boy, a man from another town in Borubaland brought sanyin to our village, wereile. 5e spent a couple of wee#s, entertaining the indigenes with his sanyin, and indirectly attracting persons who needed divination. To the best of my memory, the sanyin appeared li#e a statue gaily dressed, but only :od and the man #new what was inside the object he put down as a decorated doll. The ama!ing thing about the object was that when people spo#e to it, it was responding with a guttural voice. Thus, when in the year ;992 bought a :$M handset, and saw how it was functioning and sounding upon the insertion of the sim card, my mind soon went bac# to the sanyin experienced in the 89s. then thought that may be Africans should re3 v i s i t some of their so3called magic and in-uire systematically whether many magical devices are scientific in nature or not. t is difficult to see the difference between a sim card that activates a handset and a magical pac#age. nce the sim card is inserted into a handset, it begins to respond to certain -uestions, and can be used for long distance communication. An ordinary card does not have that power. 5ence the idea of scientific magic comes to mind. At this juncture, one should recall the scholarly opinion and explanation that science developed from magic. That is the situation in Western perception, and in the view of African scholars, such as >. Ade ?opamu, as earlier discussed. n this section, one
would present some African magical phenomena that have some correspondence to what is called Western science, or those that appear to derive their power from natural laws. nterested African scientists may then step3in to give fuller explanation, if only they can obtain necessary funds to do good researches and experiments. ?aniel A. ffiong -uotes &hief '?r.( 6. . %ambo, /ational >resident of the /igerian Association of Medical 5erbalists& as affirming not only that &charms can heal&, but also that All creatures have dual virtues, that is, positive and negative. n traditional medicine with a lot of elements of magic and sorcery, ,one must have fair #nowledge of the virtues of all creatures as well as fair understanding of the elements 3 fire,= water and earth . . . . f the tongue of a dog is used in an occult way, no dog can bar# at the person . There is a stone in the left side head of a bush toad, and this has a wonderful virtue that can be used for a very good purpose.)E
What %ambo meant, as noted by ffiong, is that African ancestors understood many laws of nature. )< ne would thin# that the awareness should inform an African attempt to distinguish and separate scientific magic from occultic magic, rather than branding all under the nomenclature of the occult. ne should note that African traditional magicians 'or scientists( are as good as their Western counterparts in jealously guarding their secrets. They can go to any length to safeguard the secret of their discoveries. Dor instance, they may create an unnecessary ritual to mystify the actual nature of their magical or scientific discovery. 5ence, to decode many of African magics, a lot may need to be expended in terms of funds, patience, wisdom, perseverance and courting the friendship of appropriate African men and women elders. *ut, surely, several African scholars, including *olaji dowu, agree with the assertion that &observations of nature and the discovery of causal lin#s are at the root of many magical 'and medicinal( procedures&. & Mown also attests to the fact that African magicians and scientists ali#e can disguise their secrets. 5e notes that Medicine is more often than not prescribed with the i ns tr u ct io n t ha t i t m us t b e u s ed a t s ta te d t im es , compulsorily mulct certain conditions, accompanied with certain prescribed gestures 'which may he repetitive(, and w i t h incantations. And from 'lie point of view of the
patient, it is often difficult to #now whether it is the actual medicine 9) the accompanying ceremonies, or both together, that effect a cure. ;)
ne has tried to explain 'above( that the guarding secrets are not un#nown in other parts of the world, particularly in the Western hemisphere, where a person may pay a lot of money to obtain a patent or a copy right. *ut, in what areas can a scientist direct his or her attention, in search of African scientific magic, as different from African occultic magic@ f course, the main tas# is investigation, and where necessary, experimentation. *elow are some hints. When was with some hunters in a hamlet, it happened one day that they needed to spea# with one of their colleagues in a distant location of about ten or more #ilometres. ne of them went into his bag of magic and brought out a horn. 5e blew into it. and the person responded at the other end. They communicated until the matter was resolved. A similar thing is demonstrated in Saworoide, a Boruba play by >rof. A#inwumi shola. n that play, a drummer too# a feather, cleaned his ear with it, and attached it to his tal#ing drum. 5e then used the drum to call his son whom he has not seen for several years. The son heard the sound of the drum, but his wife who was serving him food at that time did not hear it. Much more ama!ing was that the man traced his father by following the direction of the sound of the drum that remained in his mind. an some modern African scientists follow these leads to #now what natural laws are applied, and what further developments are possible therefrom@ Along the line of the examples given above, la +otimi, in his Boruba3based play, Kurunmi, also showed that traditional Africans have a way of communicating with people who are in distant, and sometimes un#nown locations. That was what happened when gunmola, a leader of the badan warriors, called 7urunmi 'the leader of jaye warriors( to come to the war front and count his losses. These occurrences in the plays 'i.e. Saworoide and Kurunmi) remind me of my experience in the hamlet with traditional hunters. The telephone in its various forms that are said to be the product of science, sends me wondering whether raditional Africans have not discovered the natural laws that can ma#e humans communicate to one another beyond the normal hearing di st a n c e.
*ut only committed African scientists are in a better position in in-uire, where there is the will, resources and. possibly, encouragement. ?evice for rain3ma#ing and preventing rain from falling is another magic which may be purely scientific in Boruba worldview. 5ut, t h i s researcher is not in the position to conclude. $cholars with s c i e n t i f i c insight may 5ave to loo# into it, and see if Africa can offer a technological device for ma#ing and preventing rain at will. That seems to bother on meteorology. There are two forms of magic that are reminiscent of camera and television in Boruba worldview. t is believed that an enemy can prepar e a concoction, and call out a targeted person to appear out of the concoction. The enemy will then club the person. t is believed that once that happens the person would die wherever sChe may be. The other magic is also somewhat obnoxious. t concerns the belief that a lover can prepare a magic to ma#e a targeted lady see him whenever she loo#s into any mirror. *olaji dowu relates the matter thus A love3magic practised among the Boruba of /igeria is a simple one. The ingredients are compounded with the woman in mindH when it is ready, the preparation is stuc# on the face of a loo#ing3class, an incantation with the name of the woman being pronounced during the operation. The belief is that any time the woman loo#s at a mirror, she would invariably see the man=s face, she . would see the man=s face also in her dreams and maybe in trances. :radually, her resistance would be wea#ened through this constant mirror3presence of the man and she would eventually consent to the suit. ;;
The attraction here, of course, is the issue of &mirror3presence&, and that of ma#ing a person to appear in the water of a concoction. *oth mirror and water do show human reflection. And, even though the two magics are obnoxious, the attraction is the secret of ma#ing persons appeal in a way that reminds one of the television screen. ne is also considering the possibility of ta#ing what may be beneficial in a culture and jettisoning what is obviously inimical to human advancement. an anyone really deny that many things appear magical about the appearance of persons and hearing of voices on the television screen@ ssf that is part of
scientific discovery, it would appear intellectually sound to call it scientific magic at least in respect of the general public. "ssentially, this study represents a call on African indigenous scientists to investigate some of the phenomena that are referred to as magic in African culture. Are some, or many, or none of them based on natural laws, such that they can be manufactured and mar#eted as amenities@ The government and non3governmental organisations would need to support such researches and experiments that may be re-uired. *ut interested individual scientists can also endeavour to ma#e a brea#through that can throw them into limelight, or afford them a mar#etable discovery. Conclusion This study has tried to see the possibility of developing African technology based on African form of scientific magic. $everal scholars are -uoted as noting that many traditional Africans have ac-uired much #nowledge of laws of natural elements. *ut the secrecy that normally surrounds scientific discoveries must be overcome. The first step is for modern African scientists to eschew prejudice, and not regard every magic in African culture as occultic, at least not until they might have done their investigations and experiments. The major recommendation of this study is that government, non3governmental organisations, and private initiatives should commit themselves to salvaging African heritage in the area of science and technology. ne would refuse to believe that traditional Africa has nothing at all in the area of scientific magic, which modern Africa can build upon for African technological advancement. A major plan# of this study is that scientific devices, such as the remote control which magically opens and closes doors, television and other forms of electronic, challenge Africans to produce similar devices by loo#ing inward. The :$M sim card that activates the handset also demonstrates what is here referred to as scientific magic. The same is said for the telephone and television, generally spea#ing. This study demands a positive response from modern African scientists. Are there African forms of scientific magic, or Africa has nothing but occultic magic@ Modem African scientists are advised to endeavour to penetrate the rituals that many traditional Africans use to disguise their scientific magic, toward the production of mar#etable devices. Notes and References
)
harles .5elfling, &$cience and +eligion&, in :la!ier. M and Moni#a 7. 5ellvig. eds.. The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia 'Minnesota The %iturgical >ress, )<<0(, p. 1<f. ; +. Tarnas, The Passion of the Western Mind: nderstandin! the "deas that #a$e Shaped %ur World &iew '/ew Bor# 5armony *oo#s, )<<)(, p. ;E;. 2 fr. $mith, 6ean +eader and %acy *aldwin $mith, eds.. Essentials of World #istory '/ew Bor# *arren=s "ducational $eries, inc.. )ress. )erspective&, being a paper presented at the ;4 )=) Annual onference of the /igerian Association for the $tudy of +eligions, held at labisi nabanjo Fniversity, Ago woye, ;1&= 3 29 lh $ept., ;990, p. 4. E T. 5awthorne, ). Ade ?opamu, &$cientific *asis of African Magic and Medicine he Boruba "xperience&, in ?opamu, >. Ade, $. . ycwole, 7 A A#anmidu, et al. +frican Culture, Modern Science and (eli!ions Thou!ht 'lorin African entre for +eligions and the $ciences 'A+$(. Fniversity of lorin, ;992(, p. 040. )) >. Ade ?opamu, ;992. p. 04<. ); T. F!odinma /wala, &$ummary of the ?ebate oncerning the "xistence. /ature and $cope of African >hilosophy ')<19 <9(&. in /wala, T.F. Critical (e$iew of the reat -eate on +frican '/su##a William Amo entre for Philosophy /01234 0113) African >hilosophy, Fniversity of /igeria. /su##a. )<<;(, p. 0. )2 >. Ade ?opamu, Esu: The "n$isile 'oe of Man: + Comparati$e Study of Satan in Christianity, "slam and 5orua (eli!ion 'jebu3de $hebiotimo >ublications, ;999(, p. ;1.
)0
liver A. nwubi#o, Christian Mission and Culture in +frica Thou!ht, (eli!ion and Culture. '"nugu $/AA> >ress %td., )<<)(, p.8;. )4 . 5o#iji dowu. +frican Traditional (eli!ion : + -efinition '%ondon $M >ress. )<1E(, p. )<8f. )8 6acob /eedleman. 6ost Chris tianity '/ew Bor# ?oubleday J o., nc.. 1980). p. 91 . 17
>. Ade ?opamu. ;992, p. 089. ?aniel A. ffiong. Witchcraft. Sorcery. Ma!ic and Social %rder +mon! the "iio of 7i!eria '"nugu Dourth ?imension >ublishing o. %td., )<<)(, pp. 0< 3 4). )< ?aniel A.ffiong, )<<). p. 4) . ;9 %. *olaji dowu. )<1E. p. ;9). ;) %. *olaji dowu. )<1E. p. ;9;. ;; %. *olaji dowu, )<1E, p. )<0. )E
