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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:On Masks and Audible Ghosts: Some Secret Male Cults in Central Nigeria
Author:Isichei, Elizabeth
Year:1988
Periodical:Journal of Religion in Africa
Volume:18
Issue:1
Period:February
Pages:42-70
Language:English
Geographic terms:Northern Nigeria
Nigeria
Subjects:African religions
cults
masks
Religion and Witchcraft
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1580836.pdf
Abstract:This paper analyses a number of cults in and near southern Kaduna State, also called Southern Zaria, Central Nigeria. It begins with the Abvwoi complex, found among the Kaje, Katab and Kagoro. This is a cult of male ancestral spirits or ghosts, who are not seen but speak through a voice disguiser. This cult is linked with a number of visible manifestations, called masquerades, which are conceptualized as wives or messengers of Abvwoi. The article then discusses the extremely similar and perhaps related cult, Ku, found among a neighbouring people, the Ham. The next section describes four well-documented cases of the adoption of new cults of this kind, the Mbue cult in Kagoro, the Ugurza cult among the Abisi, new masking cults among the Irigwe and new masking traditions among the Amo. Finally, the paper considers what has happened to these cults in present-day Nigeria and what social functions, if any, they filled. Notes, ref.
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