• Text size  | | |
• Email this document
• Printable version

Nigeria: The Egbudu shrine at Tisun, suburb of Warri, Delta State, including the name of the current chief priest of the shrine and the previous chief priest who died in January 2005; how the chief priest is chosen; penalties for refusing to be chief priest on the basis of being a Christian

Information on the Egbudu shrine and its chief priests in Tisun, suburb of Warri, Delta State could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, Delta State's official website indicates that, in the town of Kantu, southwest Warri, there is an annual traditional festival in honour of the deity "Egbudu" (N.d.). According to the website, "[the festival] is for the cleansing of the land, protection of the people and provision of wealth in abundance, homage, sacrifices and display[s] ... by masquerades repressing the deity (Egbudu) [which] characterize the festival" (Delta State n.d.).

In a 4 January 2008 telephone interview, a professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard University said that he was not aware of the specifics of the Egbudu shrine in Delta State, Nigeria; however, he said the following practices are common for the area:

A person may become a shrine priest by inheritance if he belongs to the shrine priest lineage (e.g., if his father was a priest) (Professor of African Religious Traditions 4 Jan. 2008). A person may also be selected if he has been a member of the cult for awhile: he may be chosen based on his knowledge, wisdom or age (ibid.). According to the Professor, if an individual who is a member of a shrine priest lineage is designated to become a priest and then refuses, he may "face problems" (ibid.). The Professor noted that an individual may also "face problems" for refusing to become a shrine priest on the basis of being Christian (ibid.). When asked to describe the problems an individual might face for refusing to become a chief priest, the Professor said that an individual could be killed, for example, by poisoning (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Delta State, Nigeria. N.d. "A Calendar of Notable Traditional Festivals in Delta State." <http://www.deltastate.gov.ng/calendar.htm> [Accessed 3 Jan. 2007]

Professor of African Religious Traditions, Harvard University. 4 January 2008. Telephone interview.

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: A professor of Anthropology at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania provided the name of an anthropologist with field work experience in Nigeria's Delta State. A graduate student of Tulane University specializing in cultural anthropology of political violence in West and Central Africa provided the name of a renowned Ijaw scholar in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, who did not provide information within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: AllAfrica, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net), Factiva, Nigerian National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Norway – Landinfo, OnlineNigeria.com.

Topics: Religious discrimination,