University of Nigeria Research Publications

ODIFE, Ikenna

Author PG/M.A/91/12185

Christian Missionary Enterprise in Ihiala Title 1908-1970

Arts Faculty

History Department

September,1996 Date

Signature

CHRISTIAN M-!-SSIONAZY ENTERPRISE IN IHIP,LA : 1908-1970

I:. I:. ODIFE, IKENNA

...I x PROJECT REPORT -FRZXNTED TO THE 'DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,' NSUKKA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTEi< OF ARTS. APPROVAL PAGE

This project teport has been approved for the Department of History, University of l!igeria, Nsukka, iii . CERTIFICATION

ODIFE, IKENNA' a postgraduate student with the Department of Histwy and with the registration number PGhA/91/12805 has satisfactorily completed the requirements f.or the degree of MASTER. OF ARTS IN HISTORY. The work embodied in this,project report is original and has not been submitted in part or full for any other Diploma or Degree of this or any other University.

DR. J.D..;ITQMA'"' REV.FR..(DR.)"'I..R.A. OZIGBOH HEAD OF DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR. DEDICATION

This project is dedicated to my parents, '. Mr. B. C. Odife (C.B. Bright) and Mrs. C.O. Odife) my brother, Amara, and sisters: Uche, Chioma and N jideka. Five christian mi:.sions proselytized Ihiala in the period 1908-1970. They were; the Anglican Church (C.M. L. )

1908, tile homan Catholic Church (Fi.c.Fi.) 1911; the Faith Tauervlacle congrey&tion Church, 1933; the Jehova' s witnesses

Church 1948; and christ Holy Church (Odozi Obodo) 1968.

I Trleir ail11 was to convert the people to christianity. besides this, they desired to attract converts to their missions and to have a preponderant rrl~rnfsership, The successes recorded by the various missions introduced a neb soci&l phenomenon; the society became divided along the lines of Nui Uka, the

Converts and i\di ogo mmuo the hon-Converts. Although, both - -9 groups haa conf lictiny beliefs, there was no anxious moment in their relations.

Disa,$ointingiy enough, it ~ouldappear thdt the bid oi the main-line mi:,sions - che C,k.S, arid i-c,C,i.~. , to hdve preponaeran t membership, their meddleso~nenessin tne politics oi the tohn hnd un~hol~surwerfect of some aspects of the hornan Ca timiic ieachinqs, caesea r elations between the menmers gi the tho ~r~issionsto kcom L~~COL-OUS, HOheVeK, lhiala has sble to counter this divisi~nthrough the activities of the iniala Youths ~ssociation(i

It would appear tne massive response later srose from the exactions of colonial rule and some social benefits

they expected to derive from the missions. The social

mobility noticeable among Ihiala indigenes and the physical and social irriprovemcnts zvident in the tohn

are socre of the benefits thnt have accrued to Ihiala as

a result of the christisn missionary enterprise.

The belief] practices find culture of Lht. people exhibited remarkable resilience in tzce of christianity.

Although there were remarkable changes, the peoples

acceptance of ctlris tianity bas not total. vii PREFACE This study is a historical and sociological analysis of the christian missionary enterprise in I hiala.. Historically it examines the growth and development of the various christian missions that proselytized Ihiala. Sociologically it highlights the dynamics of the contact of the christian missions with I hiala, the I hiala response to christianity arid the role of the christiac missions in providing new structures for the reorganisation and reintegration of Ihiala,. Thj-,s study is 'undertaken with three purposes in view.. First, it seeks to critically examine the advent growth and development of the various missions with special emphasis on the evangelical strategies and the. peoples reactions to Christianity. It examines the contact of the christian missions with Ihiala, Finally, it tries to evaluate the continuities and changes in Igbo cultural institutions, beliefs and practices as 5 result of the imposition of Christianity and western culture. A lot of people contL.ibuted to the successful completion of this project. First and foremost, I am excteedingly grateful to my supervisor, Rev.Fr,(Dr.) I ,R .A. Ozigboh for

( patierltly and painstakingly supervising this project'. His fatherly azvice and compltkisance to read this work will ever remain everg-peen in my mind, I am also grateful tc Dr. Uchenna &nyanwu for all his encouragement, He read through the final draf t-of this- -work,_ University of Nigeria,. Nsukka. They contributed immensely in sharpening my focus on the study of history. They are: Professor S.C. TJkpabi, Dr. P.O. Esedebe, Dr. Okoro I joma,'

The work of this nature cannot be successfully executed without the informed opinions of my colleagues and friends,, Prominent among them are; Promise Osuafor, Paul Oguike (PC), Mike Izukanne and Cznute Ngwa. My ar;coc,i.ation with Gome friond~during my postgraduate ctudios at University of Nigeria Nmkkn was very rewarding.

They inspired me out of . , despondence and were ''the elixir that stimulated me towards working harder. .kmong them are; Dr.. Law Ezeanyika, Dr. Iyke Ifelunni, JB, Ugochukwq A'nacletbs, Emma, Nwokoye, Ben Ekwensi, I feanyi Eze, Chris Nwedo, Amoniit Biambo, Keneth A'madi (Ripples) and Eddy Osuagwu. Others include; Chizoba, Ebele, Gloria Igwilo, Chioma Alua and Mrs. Ada Eruchalp:, Also, I am indebted to Mrs. Keziah Odife who showed bmese, rved enthusiasm in this work through her hospita.lity during my field work. Most importan.tly, I salute my paren.ts, Mr and Mrs. E,.C. Odife, my brother and sisters for their sacrifice durir~gthe period of my study. I cannot thank them sufficiently because they mean everything to me in the completion of my studies. Mr. Eddy Meg:va and Hor). (Prince)

K,C. Nkemka and family should also be remembered for their moral and financial assistance. My thanks also go to Mrs. Amaucheazi for her niotherly care. I thank Mr. B,.C. Duru for his assistance in typing this project, Above all, I give praises to the Almighty Gad for his loving kindness and blessings to me and my family.

Ikenna Odife. LIST OF KRRREVIATTONS

A.1 .C .E. &lvan I ko~uC ollege of Education, Owerri

C.M .S.. Church Missionary Society C .U .P . Cambridge University Press COW.Do. Catholic Women' s Organisation D.O. District Officer

Fr. Father (Rev.) H.R.S. Holy Rosary Society I .H .M . Immaculate Heart of Mary I .Y .A, I hiala Youths k.ssociition Journal of African History Journal of African Studies

J ournal of the Historical Society of Nigeria J .M .P:oSe. Journal of Modern African Studies J .R.K. Journal of Religion in A'frica L .G .A. Local Government Area M .C .A', Men' s-Christian Association N .A'.E. National Archives of Nigeria, Enugu Branch ONDI ST. Onitsha District Papers ONPROF. Ondtsha Provincial Papers N..P .C . Katf onal Population Commission O.U.P. Oxford University Press

R.C .M. -' Roman Catholic Mission U.N.N. University of Nigeria N cukka Venn. Venerable (A'rchdeacod Viz. Namely Vol. Volume W.A.R. (Journal of) West A'frican Religion w.c;^c. World Council cf Churches. C 0 td TEN TS -PAGE . TImE PAGE i APPRCVAL PAGE i i CERJXFICATIOW iii iv ABSTRACT . PREFACE .. .. LIST OF ABBXXIATIONS .. ..

CONTENTS e 0

CHAI"TER I : Ir!TIIODUC TION .. A) Statement of Problem .. .. B) Purpose and Scopc of the Study . C) Methodology and Periodization ' .. D) Literature Peview .. .. E) Sources .. .. Notes .. .. CHAPTER 11: THE PRE-MISSIONARY IBIALA SOCIETY A) Location and Physical Features .. B Aspects of Socio-Politicd Organization C) Economy .. .. D) Philosophy 2nd Religion .. E) Ekternal Relations .. Notes .. ..

A) , The Anglican Church (CMS): 1908-1920 B The Roman Cat11o:Lic Mission (RCM)1911-1920 C) The Initial Reactions of the People Towards Christianity .. .. Notes .. .. xri -PAGE CHAPTER IV: THE PERIOD OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION OF THE MISSIONS: 1920 - 19'10 A) The Anglican Church (CMS) 1920-1970 B) The Growth of the RClll station in rhiala: 1920-1970 .. C) The ~aithTabernacle Congregati.on Church : 1933 - 1970 D) The Jehovah's Witnesses Mission: 1948 El The Christ Holy Church (Odozi Obodo) 1968 F) The Civil War Years: 1967 - 1970 .. G) Evangelistic Strategies of the Missions Notes .. .a CljAPTER V: THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONS AND IHIALA- SOCIETY , ..

A) Conflict Retween Christianity and the Traditional 6cdiety .. R) The Problem of Integration , . C) ~ntra-Missions Rivalry - . D) Inter-Missions. Relations ., E) he' Peoplets Re.sponses .. Notes .. .. CHAPTER VI: CONTINUITIES AND CHANGES

A) Christianity and the Emergent Society B) Continuities and Changes .. Notes , . .. CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSION ItPPhi6 /'K BIBLIOGRAPHY CHAPTER I: INTRODIJCTTON a) Statement of Problem The christian missions affected and influenced the life of most Igbo communities. Then again, colonialism, which collaborated with and reinforced the christian religion, weakened the Igbo traditional political authority. It also undermined and transformed the basis of the traditional society. ~oeheless,Igboland was relatively a quiet and peaceful society before the advent of the christian missionary 1 enterprise. The traditional religion was satisfactorily functional and provided the basis of behaviour and conduct among the people. It determined and controlled all facets ~f human behaviour, be they socio-econom5-c, political, group arid inter group relations. It provided the spiritual cement that bound the individuals in the society. The new religion, @whoseaimJ according to Richmond Palmer, "was to pull down 2 the fabric of the society in order to build on its ruinsN, indeed, endeavoured to break down the traditional solidarity of most Igbo communities. It is on account of the profound influence,the introduction of Christianity had on the Igbo that the need has arisen to appraise and evaluate the

christian n:Lssionary enterprise ir, I gboland.. Ihialz is one of the Igbo towns where the presence of the christian missions is heavily felt.. It has a seminary (Holy Ghost Juniorate) and a hospital (Our Lady of Lourdes) ~uhichare gigantic monuments ci- accomplishment. It is one of the tohns in the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsria that have proibucru a very large number of priests and It served as the centre for the dispersion of both the Roman Catholic and ~hlicanchurches to the neighbouring towns.

It is necessary, therefore, to sxplain the magnif i#ent kresence of the chirstian missions in Ihiala, despite the apparent initial resistance which qreeted t.he arrival of the early missionaries. k'urthermore, highly conflicting views trave been ex~ressedon the missionsry enterp~isein Ihiala.

Pt is necess-'ry to stat? and evaluate such opinions. An observer, for instance, once stated, that, "In no other part of Iguoldnci did the rivalry between the Honian cathol32 and 4 hnglicar~breed as much divisiveness as in Ihialav, There is therefore, the neeu co study tt~e~tissionary nistory of lhisla

in order to address these and other problems. bvas lhiala resilient to tne changes introcluced into the fabric of the society by Christianity? Or, aid the ctiange mean a complete break with and aepcr ture from her past? In ~therwords., dces Ihiala fit into =,A, Ayanaele's general assumption that the culture and traditional institutions of Igboland crumbled like t 5 the walls !of ~er~cho7the- blsre of Christainity? Can the nistorian talk of conhinuities and changes in the culture, bekief practices and value systems of Ihiala in the face of thr onslaught of christianity? Moreso, could it be argued that Ihiala did not have or could not contrive internal mechanisms to counteract the division created in the society by the. various chrisbian missions. b) Purpose and Sco~eof the Studv The purpose of this study is to ascertain the reasons for the acceptance of christianity in Ihiala. It will also highlight the growth and develo2ment of the various missions. Again, it will examine the responses of the variou~missions to the changing tides.of historical development and their role in the polari,zation of the society' .along denominational I.ines,. Furthermore, it will examine the role of the christian missions in the acceleration of social change in the town; the weakening of the values and structures of the traditional society; and the provision of a new bz.sis for societal integration on a larger scale. The essence of the study, therefore, .-.& to ascertain the role of the christian missionary enterprise in wielding the political and social forces in Thiala; and.to assess its performance a's an agent of social change. The scope of this study encompasses the entire Ihiala town, in the I hiala Local Government Area (L .G .Ao) of Anambra State, The time span of the study is 198-1970.. It is, however, pertinent kc state whir the study takes 1908 as its point of departura and 1970 as its terminal date.. The first mission to establish in Ihiala (the Church Missionary Society, here+fb,r referred to as the C .M,S,) , arrived in 1908, That was not, in fact, the year the missionaries 'first came to I hih. Reverend father Victor ~uhazeof the ~oknCatholic Mission (R,C.M.) had earlier visited in 1906. This was during his exploration of the Igbo hinterland,. But' since his mission was purely exploratory, no mission station was established and he did not win converts, The study terminates i.n 1970 with the formal alienation of the main medium of evangelization namely, the school. The government of the East Central State of Nigeria formally and forcibly took over the mission schools by its 1970 Education. Edict. That event is a land mark in the local missionary history. 4 Methodology and Periodization The approach to the study is both chronological and thematic.. It combines description and critical ana.lysis of events based on factual information available *the study, The stirdy is divided into two main periods, viz: The beginning of the christian missionary enterprise; 1908-1920 ; and the period ,. of grcwth and expansion of the missions: 1920- 1970. However the events of the period between 1967-1970 are very remarkable(. because of the influence of the Nigerian civil crises on the ehristian missionary enterprise in Ihialn, Structurally, the study is arranged in seven chapters. The first chapter examines the problem studied, the purpose and scope, methodology and periodization, literature review and sources available for the study, The second chapter highlights the geographical location and physical features of Ihiala, aspects of socio-political organization, philosophy and religion and external relations of Ihiala prior to th'e introduction of Christianity. Chapter three examines the beginning of the christian missionary enterprise from 1908- 1920, with an eye at the initial reactions of the people towards Christianity,. l?he fourth chapter highlights the growth and development . of the christian missions from 1920-1970. It equally exarnines the evangelistic strategies of the missions.. The fifth chapter critically evaluates the christian missions and Ihialz society. It deals with the conflict between Christianity and the society;. the problem of integrating the converts into the ideals of Christianity;' the relations within and between the various missionsO and finally i > the people& cumulative responses to these. chapter six examines continuities and changes in the beliefs and-cultural practices of Ihiala in the face of the onslaught of Christianity. Chapter seven highlights the conclusion that emerges from the study. d) Literature Review The existing studies bn Ihiala are reviewed to show the extent of the gap that needs to be filled by this study, "A' survey of the hi~toryof Ihiala from the earliest. times to 191OM,6 by C .O. I zuorah, synthesizes the various traditions on the origin of Ihiala and considerably dispels ,

the "Benin connection1I in the tradition,.. " " I ts terminal year of 1910 shows that it ended with the formal introduction of colonial rule in the area. Because of its scope and focus, the work gave no attention to the missionary enterprise in Ihiala. Victor 0kuma in "The reign of Chief Odimegwu Igwegbe Oluoha IX of Ihiala, 1910-1938",~ provides a good account of the traditional chieftaincy ins'titution from the inception colonial rule to 1938. It provides meagre information on the relationship between Chief Odimegwu Igwegbe and the various missions. Again, because of its focus, it does not throw much light on the nature of missionary enterprise in Ihiala, R,U, Okeke, has written on "The coming of the Roman Catholic church to I hiala; 1911-1960~1.8. The study is limited to the activities of the Roman Catholic church to the neglect of other missions.. "The kistory of Christianity in Ihiala Local Government Area: 1908-1$7711 if C.E. Obi's Bachelor of Arts degree project report. It makes commendable effort at reconstructing the missionary history of I hial.a, but it's concern with I hiala, Local government area, minimizes its attention to the. christian bw. missionary enterprise in Ihial~c;..Gonsequently, the analysis of the christian missionary enterprise in Ihiala appears shallow as little effort wac made to examine it in time perspective, The most valuable aspect of the study is the verbatim report on oral information used fkthe study. The informnr.ts who were eyc: witnesses to the beginning of the christian missicnary enterprise in Ihiala are either senile on account of old age or dead. The present study utilizes these reports in resolving conflicting oral information.. C .C. Agbodike wrote o#The chieftaincy institution in Ihiala from the earliest times to 196311,lo The thesis of the study is the evolution of the chieftaincy institution and the disputes that charzcterized it up till 1963. The only reference made to the christian missionary enterprise is on its impact on the chief t :.j.ncy institution, Several books have been published on the "activities in the Onitsha catholic Archdiocese. They deserve special menti~nb~cc-~l~se of their relevance to the study. Sonle of these include two of I.R.A. ~zigboh'sbooks on the C<).l.'iholic church, vi z: U,bo Cathaicism: The Onitsha Connection 1967-i984 (Onitsha, Afrlcana Fep pubibishers 1985) and Rornan Catholic-m in Southeastern Nigeria: 1885-1931: &-study in Colorl&l evangelism (Onitsha, Etukokwu Pre~;, 1988) . While the former provides a critical information on the contribution of Onitsha Archdiocese to the growth of Igbo ktholicism and the official btholic position on the major issues in the period studied, the latter with its lucid style and critical analysis of historical facts, tpaces the historical development of the Roman Catholic mission in southeastern Nigeria- up till 1931. Kgain,it provides some information on the introduction of the Roman Catholic mission in the Ihiala axis.'' Other books include; C.k. Obi (ed.), P; Hundred Years of 6atholl.c church in Eastern Nigeria (Onitsha, A'fricana-Fep Publishers 1985) ; V,. EL,, Nwosu ( ed.) ,. The Chtholic church in 0d.tsha: People. Places and

, Events. (Onktsha, Etukokwu Press 1985) and PouCObi Okpalaeket s The Role of the Church in Nigerian Education- in the ii~htof Vatican Council II and 1()63 Code-,of Canon Law (Rome, Imprimataur? 1989). The last bmk provides the reaction of the Roman catholic church to the attempts at government take over of schools from 1956, when the attempt was first made to 1970 when it finally materialized. Elochukwu Amauche' .azil s Church and Politics in Eastern Nigeria: 1q_45-1966: A Study in Preasure Group ~olitica(Nigeria, Macmillan I?.ress, 1986) described the Roman ~atholic-frotestant rivalry in practice in Eastern Nigeria from 1945-1966. The Anglican church unfortunately lacks literature on her activities. Until enough is pub1i:-;hed, it will likely continue to draw information on her activities from oral 50 s0urce.s. For the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, the Jehovah' s Uitnesses tind Christ Holy missions. Finally, the three leading books on the christian missionary enterprise in Nigeria deserve special mention because they provide the basic information on the eEergence of a new elite; the mission's scramble fur Nigeria; and bitter rivalries among the various missions in I gbol'and. These books are: J .A, A'jayi, Christian Missions in Ni~eria1841-1891: The Making of a new elite (London: Longman Publishers 1965) ; E.AD Ayandele, Missionary Inpact or? Modern Nigeria 1842-1914: A' Political and Social Analysis (London; Longman Pv-blishers 1966) ; and F.K. Ekechi: Missionary enterprise arid Rivalry in Igboland 1-8J7-1914 (London: Frank Cass, 1972)'. The p~esentstudy endeavours to fill some of the gaps left by these, works c.n the study of the christian missionzry history as it affects Ihiala. el Sources The materials for this study are'obtained fron both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources used are: oral evidence, archival materials from the dational archives at Enugu, hnutes books, Registers and &cords of the various missions. The Minutas books provide bits of specific information that the Enugu archives does not offer, These include minutes of synods, laity council meetings and communiques on topical societal issues. Registers provide the various correspondences of the missions and information on church membership,

The initial problem in the collection of oral data was in the choice of appropriate informants, being that most of the witnesses of the early ml~slonnrydnterprtse wera dead or senile. This, however, was over c'ome by the recommendations from the relatives of the researcher, priests and elders of the various missions The questionnaire method, in which answers to structured questions were fiud by respondents, was not employed in favour of the4 interview method. The general .procedure was t~ allow each informant to say all he or sbe knew, remembered or was told about the missionary enterprise in Ihiala, The arckival materials threw light on the; church-society relations that came to the notice of ci.vil government,. On the secondary sources, a large number of reJevant Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degree theses relating to the subject were consulted. Special projects from Colleges of education at Awka, Nsugbe and Owerri, and diploma essays and projects of the department of religion, lhiversity of Nigeria Nsukka, were . 9. - also utilized, besides journal articles and books. The nature and extent of these sources are indicated in the notes and bibliography, Notes

I. V.C. Uchendu, The Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winstom, 1965), p. 23.

2. Quoted in A,E. Afigbo, "Herbert Richmond palmer Ud~ndirect Rule in astern fiigeria 1915-1928t'. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria (JI-ISN) I11 ( 1965) pb:X7.

3. V.A. Nwosu: '( ed,) The Catholic chmch in Onitsha; Peopl-e, Places and Events (Onitsha: Etukokwu Fress, 1985), p. 4. An informal discussion with J.B. Apakama, Lecturer Department of History, A.1 .C ,Em Owerri. 5. E.A. Ayandele, Nigerian Historical Studies.(London: Frank Cass, 1979) , p. 168,

6. C.O. Izuorah, I1A Survey of the history of Ihiala from the Earliest times to 191011. (B.A. project, Department of Hist'ory, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (U .N,N ,) 1976) . 7. Victor Okuma, "The Re:l.gn of Chief Odimegwu Igwegbe Oluoha IX of I hia1.a 1910-193811. (N.C .E.. project Department of History, A'lvan Ikoku College of Education (A.1 .C .E,) Owerri, 1977) . 8. R. U. Okeke, "The Coming of the Roman Cathdlic Church tn I hiala 1911-1960, @I.C .E. project A .I .C .E. Owerri 1977) . 9, C. E. ObZ, "The History of Christianity in I hiala Local Government Area (L .G .Ae) 1908-1977". (B.A. project, Department of Religion, U .N .F .]. 1978) . 10. C . C . Agbodike, "The Chieftaincy I vistitutiori in I hiala From the earliest times to 1963". (M.A. thesis, Department of History, U ,N .N, 1982) . 11. I .R.A. Ozigbol?, Roman Catholicism in Eastern Nigeria 1885-1331: A Study in Colonial Evangelism, (Onitsha: Etukokwu Press 1988) , p. 169, ---* ---* CHAPTER I1 * THE PRE-MISSIONARY IHIALA SOCIETY This chapter examines the Ihiala society prior to the introduction of Christianity, It studies aspects of the dispensation of justice, methods of social control and the political structure of the traditional society,. The form and !A nature of economic activities that sustained the society are explained. Again, it highlights the traditional world view, values and cultural practices, that impinge:. on the tenets and principles of the christian doctrine, Furthermore, it examines the antecedents of the christian missior.asy enterprise in Ihiaia, through an exposition on her external relations. It studies certain imperatives that precipitated her role as t,he centre for the dispersion of Christianity to her neighbours. a> Location and Physical Features Ihiala lies on the southern tip of the Northern or Onitsha Igbo, It serves as the link between the northern and southern Igbo areas,' Thus, it is influenced by the social and cultural traits of the two zones, I hiala town is today the headquarters of I Hiala Local Government Area (L .G .k,) cli" Anambra state. I t is situated mid way on the trunk 'At road that links Onitsha and Owerri. It is bounded in the north by Oki ja, in the east by Azia and Mbosi, in the southeast by Ubulu Isizor, and the west by the Urasi river. With an estimated land area of about sixty square 13 kilometres, that is defined approximately by the imaginary lines 5'411 and 5'52' north of the equator, 6'51' and. 6'551 east of the Greenwich meridien,2 her population over the ' years had beon (24,290)3 twenty four thousand two hundred and \ .cut% ninety* by 1953; 40, 198~by 1963;; 89,780~by the 1991 census provisional figi~res. The greater part of the town is dn a. level land,'though there are places that lie on an undulating land characterized by deep valleys and rolling hills rising to a height of about twenty mete:rsO6 The greater part of the land is covered with thick vegetation. But owing to kuman exploitation and activities on land, most of them have given way to open grassland.. However, the banks of the major river, the Urasi, and streams still maintain a flourishing vegetation. In the areas characterized by deep valleys and rolling hills, leaching and surface erosion have produced deep gullies that threaten several households. The most. important river in the town is Urasi which empties inbthe Oguta lake. The streams include Omasi, Akazi and Ataimiri. The area has two water fnll,s, the Okpu and Osugwudugwudu. These streams and water falls are feeders to the Urasi river. b) Kspec ts of Socio-Y olitical Organization The sockal orgardzation of I hiala reflected. the system of kinship and marriage with their network of agnatic and cognatiu relations. The society was organized in patrilineages witk~

succession based on the principle of primogeniture. Polygyny

I was encouraged. Exogamy was the rule in marriage, 7 In Ihiala, class and social status were stratified along the lines of dialak freeborn,1 the ~ujslave;and social outcast, @u:. The highest political office was that of. Oluoha. Only the adult male of the four dyna& lineages were eligible for this office, 8 The socio-political crganization in Ihiala wac heirarchically grouped in four distinct units, Authority flowed from the basid unit, the nuclear family, xi, through.the lineage to the village group. At the first three lcvels of the soci.0-political organiza.tion, leadership was geronti)c@itic. Direct participatbry democracy of all the adult males was the rule, At the fourth level, political control was unwield3 - and representative democracy was adopted. The hasic socio-political segment was at the level of the household or nuclear family. This consisted of the man, the head of the family, his wives, children and sonspchildron including his dependants. Ii e held the -ofo, 'the traditLona1 symbol of authority, and administered :*the cult 01 the ancestors, The next level of the socio-,:olitical structure was the \ umunnak extended family or sublifieage. It was made up of a r' number of nxclear families that claimed a common ancestral

father. The head of the umunna was th2 okpara, the eldest ." surviving man in the extended family. He performed both , religious and political functions.

If howovcr, he was incapacitated by age or ailing health the person next to him in age represented him in family and public functions, Next after the sublineage vias the lineage or quarter orbe. This comprised a number of sublineages occupying a

dofinedi goo[~rvuphicnlureu. Tho mcmbor~of this group did not claim descent from a common ancestral father. The sublineages that, made up the quarters were grganked in order of seniority,

As from this stage, the concept of okpara acquired slight m~difications. Instead of the eldest surviving man in the lineage, the eldest man in the senior sublineage provided the moral and political leadership. Kt; the ogbe level, the age groups and nmanwu cult (masquerade) were used to enforce the decisions of the 0p;be assembly. Political leadership was separated from religious and ritual. functions. The chief priest of the village deity moderated in religious festivals, performed propitiatory rites and kept custody of the village deity shrine,.9 At this leve1,the role of women,associ~tionotu umunwanyi was very prominent. This association comprised all married women to the group and was headed by the woman married into the family before all others, The highest level of socio-political organisation was the town' obodo. It .consisted of the .ten quarters in Ihiala. The 0luoha was the highest politi.ca1 office, while the highest law making body and supreme authority was the Oluoha- in-council. This comprised the representatives of the villages in Ihiala. The .representatives of the four dynaetic lineages in the council were called,the ~nokobaraeze~"They sat on both sides of the oluoha during the council's sessions. They wers distinguished by their regalia. Their cap was adorned with two extra eagle feathers. The Op;buehit-- s represanted the other lineages. The administrative functions cf the council were: to maintain law and order in the community; to ensure that cordial relationship existed among the various groups in the town, and between the town and her neighbours. It passed legislations for the well being of the people, and ensured the prk~ervationof customs and traci-itions. Furthcrrnorc, it was thc hi.gher;t Judicial body.

decision of the council, resort was usually made to -Tbini ukpai of Arochukwu. The decision of this oracle was final- and binding on all the disputants. 11

In pre-colonial Ihiala sqciety, agriculture was the most impc~rtanteconomic activity. Land, the greatest asset .. in agriculture was commurid(y owned by the various o~be. The method of land use was shiftjng cultivation; a practice in which land was left fallow. for a number of years, ranging from three to five years. Crop rotation was practised. Yam aaternated with cassava. In between yam mounds, maize and cocoyam were cultivated. 'As the chief crop, it was regarded as the"1gbo staff of life;l2 and had a deity associated with its cultivation and consumption. It was so important as an ezgnomic crop that the size of the yam barn was a major index of wealth and affluence in the tradi.tiona1 society. 13 The main farming tools were hoes' and digging sticks. Fruit trees, livestock breeding, hunting and fishing featured prominently in the economy. Crafts included mat-making, carving and pottery manufacture, Rut because of the prominence attached to agriculture, the crafts wore mainly practised after crop cultivation, The women of Uzoakwa quarter were noted for the pottery products which they . sold to the various quarters and exported to communities outside Ihiala, They sourced the clay from the riverine section of Okija, 14 Farm and industrial surpluses were sold in markets in and outside Ihiala, Each village had its market, but the central market that served as the 'centre for all fairs, major festi.vals and social functions was Nkwo Ogbe, I t hehd on 2.lt srnate --.,fiTP:wo market days. Women were actively engaged in mat-making and the producti~riof cassava, melon and cocoyam. Their role as traders was limited to Ihiala. Long distance trade was the

exclusive preserve of men. They traded to such distant places as Aboh, in the present Delta state. IL5Head porterage was.

the chief means of transporting the goods, .

d) Philosophy and Relicion A good understanding of the religion and philosophy of Ihiala will be of i~mensehelp in examining the christian mission' s effort at, prosot(&xing. the society. I t will be easy to assess the extent christian ideals impinged on the traditionally deep religions sense of the society. In the same vein, it will assist to evaluate the role of Christianity as a ' char,ge agent' . I t will also offer guidelines as how to make Christianity more adaptable to the cultural milieu of I hiala society. In Ihiala, :' religion was centred on the existence of a supreme being, Chukwu. He is the Gveat God: author of heaven and earth and the ultimate reality. Another variant 16 to this is 'Chineke' God the creator. Next to Chukwu was a pantheon of gods or deities, namely, La ( earth goddess) Igwe ( sky god) , An~anwu.( sun god) and A'madioha (god of thunder and lightening). These gods variously related to chukwu and most of the time, they do

P his bi.dding. They were agents of the supreme bang, over- sesi+'ng s~scificaspects of human life. -Ala wes the most significant and cherished of the gods. It was responsible for the land where human beings live and farm. hhat she sanctioned constituted right and

hat she condemned &as taboo. She was the guardihn of the peoples morality.

The basis of law in the traditional Ihiala society was hinged on the dual principle of natur a1 law Omenala and public morality iwu obocio. Violation of the nat~rallaw constituted sbomination. Homiciae, stealing of yam seedlings from the tarnl, adultery, especially incest here regarded as abcnlir~acion. htren such occu~ne@,p~opiiiation became the concern of all. It was belieued thc;t without such, the whole coritn!uni ty wouici scrff er t;ol,~ecalkmi ty . This instilled fear' in the people. ~t LV~~Sthis fear ~tk~ibblsfrom the gocis Ltiat moderated social betraviour in Ihiila.

,,.+lie .. iwu GLOCG, bn ttle vthrr ni.r.iCI cunsiuteci ui such rules snd reqiii.atioris as wkre ~urlt~.ivec.iijy trie pi.ople for

$heir uaily lire ~ctivities. viol tition of' such laws attrac-

ted fit-15s and cor'por a1 pufii.5 hwent in ri~ost cir'cunl:, tances.

The wiief in reincijrniitfon md life-at trr-death was r ifc. I"he +eoglc cor~ceivrxlan6 percciveci life i;,,ld death

as a cu:lt;inuan~.

Qth2r lesser spirits of irnpor Lance were t:ie dnces tral

s?iriLs, The spirit of the dead ancestors; tile living dead.

li; LW~Sthe belief that whoever lived a good life on earth, received proper buricjL and funeral rites, would join the company of the good cpirits in the next world, and. from there protect their lineages. Such ancestors wore venerated. They were regarded as intercessoss for the living to chukwu and harbingers of good fortune. Me% There, however, souls of the deceased who did not attain that happy state. They lived ignoble and miserable life while on earth and did not receive full burial rites. They remained unhappy, discontented and roamed thc world of men, tormenting and harrassing people. They were the mal~volcnt,spirits that caused havoc and disorder in the society. IIThey come nearest to the conception of the Judeo-' Christian devilu'. 17 Although, the traditional relicionists di.rected their prayers to the ancestral spirits, the general belief was that the ancestral spirits were the intermediaries and intercessors for their offsprings-alife and chukvsu. They were addressed as ndi nna nna 'anyi ha; ndi gboo, our forebears. This means that the principle of praying to chukwu through the ancestrd spirits was not unlike the chri~.tianprinciple of praying to God through the saints. Similarly, the practice of the trad:itional religionists calling upon the god of their fcrebears chi ndi nr--a anyi ha, in their prayer is the same manner the christians 'beckon Qpon the'~odof Abraham, 1'saac an6 Jaccbl . 2 1

The most important deity in Ihiala was the IJrasi deity. It was embodied In the U,Fask river. I t had a chief priest who was eq~mllythe relicious head of the clan. Annually, the town celebrated a feast in honour of the deity. During such celebrations, sacrifices were offered to its shrine by tne people in appreciation ,,.of his ..benevolence in the past and prayed tor more protection in the future. In the same manner, they asked for forgiveness for offences they committed. A11 objects, animals and individuals used for atonement were dedicated to the deity. It was equally the custodian of all the totem animals in the town. Some of such animals include, the sacredpython -eke urusi., and a sacred fish locally referred to as %a. l8 It was an abomination to hurt or kill such animals. If, however, they were, accidentally killcd, they received burial rites almost comparable to that acco~*dedan individual. Again, it was the custodian of all sacred groves. But those noted for their malevolent disposition or used for dumping and the burial sites foll people who died of strange 'ailments were not dedicated to it, Such malevolect groves (a.70 ohia) included Tjhdengwu and kboha. The significance of some of the major religious beliefs and practices are highlighted to show the deep religious sense of the people. OD~Uruaka: 'This has an annual festival for children

in the age bracket of three and five years. It involved the feasting of these children to sumptuous meals at the

shrine oi the urasi deity to placate their souls and distract them from returning to the world beyond, from which they came. Isa Ofo; consecrating the -ofo. This was done to enhance the potency and efficacy of the -of o by smearing

it with the blood or the animal, usually goat, slaughtered

for the purpose.

Zustuii~aLy ueiieis UI~Gpractices include twin murder,

ogbanje and the killing of babies that cut the upper tooth

iirst. These were, however, due to a poor knowledge of human khysidlogy. Hence hormonal malfunctions here regarded

as abomination.

Another deity which had votaries in Ihiala was the

Ibini-uksabi, the lor19 juju of aArochukwu, It was mostly

consulted for orscdlar services, especially on matters

which were ielt to be beyond the ken of human knowledge,

It was equally consulted for conflict resolution.

Pt is suspected that its orsh ship permeated lhiala

with the establishment of hro colonies in the first 19 quarter of the eighteenth century. e) External i

acceptance of christianity in lhiala here the fall-out from her internecine wars with Uli. This war which started - 2 2 at about 1092, raged to the disadvantage of Ihiala till 1903. To contain Uli, she was constrained to seek external assistance to prosecute the war. First, the Abam warriors, but their martial prowess could not withstand the superior 20 f ire-power of U li t.roops. As a ]-act resort, she engaged the services of the West African Frcntier Force (WAFF) stationed at Aboh. Uli was finally put to fout in 1903, with their assistance. 21 This caused Ihiala to be favourably disposed to the Europeans or their agents, with the hope to derive similar benefits from such association.. Secondly, Okija proved very intransigent to a11 attempts by the missionaries and colonial agents to establish in the area. They feared that such presence would erode the ritual practices that constituted their major source of livelihood. This earned her a military Onslaught by the colonial force'. 22 The result was the diversion of interest to Ihiala, where there was a less aversion to the Europeans whether as colonial agents or missionaries. Finally, the contest for the vacant stool of Oluoha precipitated a major political upheaval in Ihiala at the end of the first decade of this century. In order to bolster up their chances - to the throne, the various contenders invited, allied or ~fTeredtacit support to either of the premier missions - the C.M.S. or R.c.M.~~This greatly affected the christian mis~ionaryenterprise as the machinations of thc~ccontenders polnr3.zsd tho society along denominational lines. Rival missions supported~id candidat ea. 1. Daryll Ford and C.I. Jones, The Ibo and Ibibio Speaking Peoples of Southeastern FJi/;eria (London: International African Institute, 1957) , p. 10. 2. Harold Fattard, Phillips Modern College Atlas for Africa (London, George and Phillips L td, 1702) , p, 13, 3 Population Census of Eastern Fi~;eria.. Bulletin No. 7 (Onitsha Province, Census Supcttendent Lagos, 1953) P. 14. 4. Ihiala Local Government Area office file No. 2 ~EO/78/vol.I1/15. 5. National Population C ommissiorl (NPC) I hiala L oc5.1 Government Area, Release Wo. 5, October, 1992. 6. National Archives, Enugu (N.A.E.) ONDIST 1/6/4 C.a30/7, 1908, P. 3. 7. Fbanaso Odirrlegwu C. 85 years. Farmer interviewed at PI baralrpaka village, I hiala, 6.7.93.

8. M .G. Smith, I hiala Chi.e;Ftai.ncy dispute. (Enugu, Government Printer, 1964) , p. 11.. 9. K banaso Odimegwu, interview cited, 1. M .G. Smith, LhiaLChieftalncy dis~ute. . . , p. 12. 11. K.N. Oriyekwere, he Aro Settlement. in IhialaH,~.C.E;. proj'ect ,. Department of History, College of Education, Awka, 1982) , p. 16.

3. Okorie Osuagwu, C.@ years, farme~/herbalist, interviewed at Urnudara village, Ihiala on 17th July, 1993. Mbanaso Odimegwu interview ciied. 14. ~~atriccOdife, Circa 90 years, housevrife/women leader, interviewed at Mbarakpaka village, Ihiala 30th June, 1993. 1. C.O. Izuorah, '!A' Survey of the ITistory of Ihiala from the Earliest times to l9aO1I (B.A. project, Department of History, University of PTigeria, Nsukka (UNM) 19761, p. 22.. 1.6. C .I;. Mcelt, "The Rel.icion of Nigeria" Africa XIV No* 3, p. 11.

17. I .F?.A. Ozigb*, Roman Catholicism in Southeastern I~ligeria1885-1931: A Study in colonial Evangelism (~nitsha,Etukokwu Press, 19881, p. 30. 18. Okorie Osuagwu; interview cited., lo. K.Fl. Onyehiere, "The Aro Settlement in I hiala"(~~~ project, Department of History, College of Education, Rwka 1982) , p. 17. 20. C.O. Izuorah, I1A Sarvey of the History ...I I , p. 27. 21. P.A. Talbot, People of Southeastern Nicreria vol.1. (London: Oxford University Press) , p. 274; C.E. Obi, ''A: History of Christianity in Ihiala L.G.A. 1908-1977. (B.A. project, Department of R~S-igion,cl~.N .N,) 1378) , p. 24. 22. Oguanobi Nwachukwu, Circq 85 years, farmer, interviewed at Ubahu Okija on July 10, 1993.

23. Solomon Asika, Circa 68 years, businessman, interviewed at Ndiezike village, Thiala on 9th July, 1993; Brendan Odimegwu Circa 70 years, retired headmaster, interviewed at Mbarakpaka village Ihial-a on 2nd July, 1793. CHAPTER 111: TF?E REGII\!I\TIMG OF CHRISTTAW MISSIONARY . . ,. . .. FNTERPRLSE IT; IHIALA: 1908 - 1920 -,....~ .. - a. . This chapter examines the'circumstances surrounding the advent of the tw3 christian missions that proselytized. Ihiala at this period. It traces thsn.from the inception of their activities in Igboland till they gradually +.meated Ihiala, Furthermore, the initial reactions of the people towards Christianity is highlighted.

a) The Ahglican Church (C .Mas,) 1908-1920 The Anglican Church missionary enterprise in I gboland was championed by the Church Missionary Soci'ety (CMS). They began in ~uly1857 with the establishment of a mission station at Onitsha by Reverends S.A. Crowther and J.Z. Taylor, together with some other teachers and evangelists from Sierra Leone. For the first twenty years of the operation of the mission at Onitsha, the European traders on the Niger co-operated with the mission. La.ter, the relationship turned sour due to racial prejudices, and by 1877, the missiorfs' situation began to deterioratec Two years after, Rev. Crowther ceased to be the administrator of the mission. In 1890, Crowther'c authority over it finally collapsed. The situation was salvaged and re-organized by H .H. Dobinson. With the arrival of Archi~aconT.J. Dennis in 1895, the mission embarked on a vigorous policy of expansion. The towns around Onitsha became proselytized before the end of . the decade. - With the British penetration of Igboland early in the twentieth century, the C.M.S. moved at the heels of British troops into I gbo hinterland. Expanding southwards, it reached Ihiala in 1908. 2 There are several gaps and conflicts in the accounts on the advent of the C.M.S. mission at Ihiala, However, all tend to agree *hat it was through the efforts of its agent, Rev. FOG, Payne, a West Indian, that the mission established the first statioi?, A.nd a local notable, ksoegwu Nwanakezi

of Amamumu village Thiala invited him. iY reconcilled

.' L vcrsion is attempted here. Rsoegxu Nwanakczi invited Rev, FOG. Payne from Onitsha where the C .M,S. mission had already establi~heda 'station,

Ilo requested Rev. F.G. Payne to ctart; a stat:i!)n at Thiala and offered his reception chamber, obi, to be used by the

mission till it wac able to build a church?:.; :' .%. . Several reasons accounted for the Asoegwu Nwanakezi's invitation of Rev. F.G. Payne. It would seem that his contact with the Europeans at Aboh, where he traded and the fear of the upheavals fiYom the puhitive expedition (Uli- 4 Ihiala patrol of 1908-1909) made him : associate closely with the missionary as a sign of friendliness and soladarity with the colonial force. This would thereby avert an ocslaught of the colonial forces on Ihiala, Moreover, he had come inxontact with or had knowledge of the use of troops of the West African Frontier Force (VJAFF) against communities hostile to the Brikish. He enlisted their assistance to 'ens 'the protracted Uli-I hiala war in Ihialat s favour in 1903. That drew attention of the colonial army to I hiala. Asoegwu Nwanakezi and two others were appointed warrant chiefs and thereby became members of the Hative Court at ~boh.5 Late in 1908, Rev. F.G. Payne formally established a station in dsoegwu Nwanakezit s componnd, There upc:~,it attracted the first set of converts in Ihiala which included, Jaruis Udechukwu, James Anyake , Ezekiel Nzelibe and Richard Onwuchekwa. 0 thers were; P eterb, Emmanuel and Lazarus Odif e, Edward Okezie, Moses Agbodike, Theophilus Nganwuchu, J eremiah Obi and Nathaniel Asika, etc. 6 In 1909, Rev. Payne, with the assistance of these converts,acquire& the sacred grove Udengwu, a3 jacent to Chief A'soegwu Nwanakezit s compound for a permanent station. It was clcared in the same year by the Converts. A church/school. ' '-, was built, Rev. F.G. Payne called it St. Silast church/school station Ihiala, ~e posted a resident school/church teacher, Timothy Anuekgnwa from Obinofia Ojoto, to the station. 7 In December 1910, some of the converts, James Anyake. , Peter Odif e, Richard Onwuchekwa and Ezekiel Nzelibe were baptized in the station by Rev. F.G. Payne. This was the first baptism at the station, 8 However, Pev. T.C. Fayne continued to visit the

station from his Onitsha base till the mid 1910s when his missionary activities gradually moved towards Owerri as the C.M.S. mission made forays in that direction. 9

The St. Silas' church/school . ..- ' .-: remained the only station of the Anglican church in Ihiala till 1917. Converts from the other villages attended church and school at the .St. Silasl station. The church/school teacher and these - early Converts played a fmdamental role in evangelizing the various villages in Ihiala. They organized the uka eke evangelism d&ing which emphasis was laid on the need for the

people to jettio~a1 their traditional beliefs and practices,

like reincarnation, twin murder, 3 caste system, idols, etc for the ideals 'of Christianity. They encouraged the more youthful non-converts to embrace schools and churches so as to benefit from the deveiopments of the colonial situation. 10

. .. The early converts showed marked .' :;- : ...... fanaticism towards the faith. They renounced all their wives but one, destroyed their idols openly, desecrated sacred places and defiled the sanctity of the nmanwu cult. These were indicators to the converts growing antipathy towards the traditional::. beliefs and practices. Not all.

converts did join in the desecration of such hcrec! places, though. The more youthful converts improved on their education and took employment with the.mission as teachers 12 and catechists. St. ark's Church TJmudara 1917

... ,.,. , The first of the out stations to spring out of St. Silas church was St. Mark's Umudara in 1917, through the patronage of two prominent aen in the'village, Jacob Onyemuze and Benneth Ilechukwu. Benneth I lechukwu offered his private land for the out statlon and was highly instrumental to the establishment of a market close to the church. Their primary aim for attracting the church was to put an end to the inconvenience~sufferedby the converts in trekking the long distance to St. Silast church. Resides, there was the need to bring d-evelopment close to the village. Hence, the establishment of the market close to the church. 13 The Roman Catholic Mission: 1911-1920 Ihialglhad the first contact with the RmC.Me in March 1906 during Rev. Fr, Victor Duhazet s exploration of Igbo hinterland. Since his task was to explore the interior, no station was established in the town. The accounts of the people OR the advent of the R.C.Me are silent on this event. However, records left by Rev. Fr. Duhaze contain valuable informati.on on the st.at6 of the town ad her attitude towards the whiteman and Christianity. It; is probable that he, visited when the wounds inflicted by the Uli-Ihiala. war were

still fresh as he recorded that It.. . just like their ' neighbours at Okid ja ( sic) they (Ihiala) distrusted the 71 list'. l4 To show the attitude of the people toward^ Christianity, he recokded that after he met with the leaders of the community, they became qui'te pleasant .. . and promised to put up two schools in their townI1. 15 The R.C .Ma was formally established in I hiala in Kpril 1911. There are several gaps and conflicts in the accounts on the genesis of the mission's activities in Ihiala, but all tend to agree on two points: Rev. Fr. Alphonsus Bindel brought the mission to Ihiala; the stztion was located at Eziqmi village before it was transferred to the present site along the Onitsha-Owcrri road. A reronciled version is attempted here. B delegation of Eziani &LL?ge of Ihiala invited Rev. Fr. Alphonsus 'Bindel from his base at Ozabsllu to establish a station in their village. On arrival in kpril 1911, he was hosted in Ohajiobi Nwachukwu' s house who also offered his to the missio~ary.l6 This new mission received wide acceptance from the people. According to Rev, Fr. Bindel1 s records, the Eziani people denounced members of their quarter that patronized the Anglican church. l7 This view appears to be a distortion of the reaction of Eziani people towards their neighbours who attended the ~n~lican church. It would appear to be a reflection of the rivalry that .characterized the relations between both missions at that_ time,, As the number of converts grew, they offered part of their communal land for a permanent site of the mission. Two mud houses with thatched roofs were erected thore to serve as the churchjschool and teacher's house. However

Ohajiobi Nwachukwut s house remained the Rev. F~S.guest houuo whonover ho vifktbd. 18

In May, 1911 the school was opened with only ten % child.ren present;, but the notables in the village promised to send in more children as soon as work in the farm ea~ed off .I9 Rav. Fr. Alphonsus Bindel app oinked Maurice Okolo as the first resident teacher while he occasionally visited from Ozubulu till the Ozubulu priest! s residence was transferred to Ihiala in 1927. The lhiala station was 20 called St. Martids Eziani, I hiah.

With the construction of the Onitsha-Owerri trunk 1A't road in 1912, Rev. Fr. Bindel requested a central and more strategic site on the road for the station. A portion of land partly owned by Uzo;skwa and Mbarakpaka villages was chosen. The name for this new site generated a heated

controversy. Each quarter insisted that the station should take after its name. To please both parties, Rev.Fr. Rindel

chose a nel~tralname. He asked, and W~Stold, the name of the kind cf grass tk.at grew at the site. He advisedly called the plaae Odc-ata (where the a> gram grew) after the name of the plant that @ow In -the place. Thus, the station was transferred to a new site. The station then became St. ~arti'ns church/school Odaata, I hiala. In 1913, the plot of land occupicd by the Odoata station was expanded. An addktional 14.070 acres of land was incorporated into it. This plot of land was leased at the cost of one ckilling per annum, for ninety-nine years. Chief Odimegwu Igwegbe (Oluoha IX) signed on behalf of his people while Rev. Fr. Alphonsus Bindel appended on behalf of the R.C.M. The deed stated that owners of the land on which the station was built would in addition, receive education tuition free' in the station1 s school as part of the 22 compensation for the use of their land. On 20th June 1914, th~R.C.M.. in Ihiala suffered a major set back, Rev, Fr, Bindel received a letter which conscripted ,him into the Allied Forces at Cotonou. He left immediately, 23 However, the job of . evangelization remained in the hands of the church/school teachers till he returned in 1918. It wou.ld seem that no Rev. Fr, was posted to replace Rev, Fr. Alphonsus Bindel. His assistant in the Ozubulu frontier, Rev. Fr. George BO~~S&&health broke down in 1914, and he had to return to Europe, despite the 24 war, 'I'iiis development afforded the catechist-teachere in the Romzn Catholic nission an. opportunity to make more meaningful impact on the evangelization of I hiala, The Roman Catholic Church gained a major f0o.t-hold in

Ihiala in the period between 1911- 1920. An outstation was. established. In 1918 John Abadom from 0nihsha was drafted to opon u r;i;trL.Lon ut: llmuozuuwalu.

St. Paul' a Church I1 rnuozo:lw:~J.a: 1-91.8 This was the first out-station to grow out of the (Odoata) .Be. Martirk church station. A' prominent chief and -n7,v title holder, Nwabu'gwu I zundu invited the mission 'b the village, Through his effort, a small hut was erected to serve as the church building. IIe offered one of the houses in his cpmpound as the teachers house till one was built in the station premises, 25 There is need to put the advent of the R.C.M. in Ihiala in a better historical perspective. R.U. Okeke is of the view, that Eziani village was chosen ' as the initial site for thc mission because, ".., it is the leader of all the villages in T hialatt.26 ~hi'iassertion does not agree with the hierarchical organization of the villages in Ihiala. Umudioha village is the senior'. 27 Tfie Eziani village was chosen because she *nt: the deputat.ion that invited Rev; Fr. Bindel :'-, -... ; to Ihiala. Furthermore, they hosted him and offered their communal land before the mission station was transferred to the present site. Again, C ,E. Obi opined that Chief 0dirnep;v& Igwegbe

(Oluoha IX) invited Sev. Fr. Alphon~usBindel to Ihiala. in order to project his influence and enhance his chances to the vacant stool of Oluoha, He contended that Chief

Odimegwu Igwegbel s motive was to counter the growing popularity of the opposing camp led by Aroegwn Nwanakezi, the patron of the Anglican church. 20 There is no doubt that Chief Odimegwu associhted with the R.C.M. to brighten his chances of election into

with favouritism to the R.C.M. and a rabid hatred for the

Anglicans in Ihiala. A vivid example 'was the deposition of Chief Asoegwu Nwanakezi from the Ihiala Native court. This aroused the anger of the Anglican station teacher, who complained that in appointing new chiefs in the town, the government put in chiefs who were sympathetic to the Roman catholics,' '"In.. ?actt1, observed the teacher, Itthe

new chiefs. already show distinck favour to the Catholics... 11 29 It would seem that Chief Odimsgwu did not invite Rev. Fr. Alphonsus Bindel to I hiala. If he did, as C.E. Obi claimed, he would have located the statiop .m his village Mbarakpaka rather than Eziani. It was the Eziani deputation to Ozubnlu that invited Rev. Fr. Alphonsus 'Bindel to T hinia, The zealous support and

patronage Chief Odimegwu gave him obscured the significance 37 of the Eziani deputation to Ozubulu and ,their role in inviting the R.C .M . to I hiala, c ) The Initial Reactions of the People Towards C hristianitv The arrival of the first two missions, the C.M.S. and ROCOM. in Ihiala coincided with the formal introduction of colonial rule in the area. A dative Court was opened at I hiala in 1909. 30 The fear of the onslaught of the colonial forces had made the people favourably disposed towards the missionaries. Again, the utter defeat of the

.PoWW.~UL:Uli in 1902/03, by the West African Frontier Force tightened the fear of the people in the area towards the whiteman. 31 Furthermore, indige9es of Ihiala who engaged in long distance trade had found the salutory changes introduced by the missionaries in such places and the decimation- of communities hostile to the colonial army, and so, strove for their town to benefit from such developments and avert the gruesome experience of military conquest. 32 It was in the light of the above that the people related coriially with the christian mission~sia in I hiala, The reactions of the people towards Christianity varied. The christian message seemed to have':'made no impression On the vast majority. It could be that such people could fathom nothing of the teaching on eternal

life, the Trinity, Virgir~'birth and worship of God in spirit. Similarly, they could not comprehend.why one onter should turn the,,cheek to an assailant. They.harboured strong doubts on the christian message. However, a few seemed to.have embraced the faith. 33 yet, the majority did not oppose the missionaries. This was probably because of the schools the missionarf-es established. It would appear that it endeared the people towards Christianity and informed their generous act of giving out land to the missionaries. Villages remotely located from the stations sent series of deputations to the priests to open schools and churches for the education of their children. Some wealthy i~ldigeneseven made offers 0.f land and houses to the missio~ariesin order to attract them. 34 A vivid example was the contritution of Beneth Ilechukwu to the es5ablishment of an &Igllcan church/school at Umudara v.i llage. HoweVv.er, some indigenes opposed the christian missions. But the fear of the coloxial situation in which

I they stood the risk of apprehension in the ~ativecourt, restrained them from openly challenging the missionaries and Converts. They could not attack or seek to forcibly expel1 the missionari.es from the town. They were thus constrain,ed to swallow the spkn they upnkdd bvent, ; on the missionaries and converts,35 39 MOTES

F.K. Ekechi, Christian Misslonary Enterprise and Rivalq in Ig,boland: 1957-1914.(London; Frank Cass 1972) p.6. Philip Okwuosa, circa, 80 years, retired civil servant interviewed at Mbarakpka village, Ihiala, 14th July, 1993. Venn F. Eriobuna, 58 years, Archdeacon Ihiala Anglican Archdeaconry. Interviewed at St, Silast church parsonage, I hiala, on 16th July, 1993; Solomon Asika, 68 years, businessman, interviewed at Ndiezike village, Ihiala on 9th July, 1993. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited.

1'1 .R.T. Milne, "Intelligence Report on Achalla group 1933 (National Archives, Enugu, (NA'E) ODll9 vol.11 ONIIIST 7/1/10) , 1-1. 13.

C .E. Obi llA history of Christianity in I hiala L .G,A. 1908-197~1~(B .A. Religion special project, IJnfiversity of Nigeria, 'Nauklca (UNM) 1978) , p. 25; Phllip Okwuosa, intervievi' cited.

Theophilus Nganwuchu, interviewed in C.E. Cbi, "A History . of Christianity .. . I I , p. 145; Philip Okwuosa and , . F. Erobuna, interview cited.

Theophilus Nganwuchu, interviewed :In C .E. 0 bi, llA history of Christianity .. . I I , p. 146.

Philip Okwuosa, . . F. Eriobuna', interviews cited. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited; Th.eophilus Nganwuchu, interviewed in C .E. Obi, "A History of Christianity ...11 , p. 146. -. Philip Okwuosa, . F. Eriobuna and Solomon ftsika: interviews cited. . F. Rriobuna, intcrview cited.

Philip Okwuosa and - F. Eriobuna, interviews cited. Mbalaso Odimegwu, circa 09 years, farmerLcommunity leader interviewed in Mbarakpaka village, 6th July 1993. Solomo~,Ibekwe, circa 72 years, retired civil servant interviewed at Umudara village, 22nd July, 1993, and F. Eriobuna interview cited. 14. J .Po Jordan, Bishop Shanahan of Southern Nigeria. (,Dublin, Elo Press repr. 1771) , p. 39.

15. J .Po Jordan, Bishop Shanahan of Southern Nigeria .. . 11 P. 39. 16. Rrenden Odimegwu circa 70 years; rtd. headmaster, i~.terviewedin M barakpaka village, I hiala, on 2nd/3rd July, 1993. 17. "Mission Diary" quoted in Roue Okeke, "The Cornin of the Roman Catholic Church to I hiala 1911-196011 fNCE project, Dept. of History, A.I.C.E. Owerri 1978), p. 18. 18. Brendan Odimegwu, interview cited; Sylvester Edebeatu, 58 years, school teacher, interviewed at Obodoawo village, Ihiala on 12th July, 1993; Alfred Eze, circa 68 year's, rtd. civil servant. Interviewed at Eziani village, Ihiala on 4th July, 1993. 19. "Mission Diarytt quoted in R..U. Okeke, "The Coming of the Roman Catholic Church .. . " p. 20. 20. Sylvester Edebeatu and Alfred Eze; interviews cited.

2 Brendan Odimegwu, Sylvester ~debeaiuand Alfred Eze, interviews cited. Cf also RoU. Okeke, "The Coming of the Roman Catholic Church ,...It, p. 17;D..E. Obi, '!A History of Christianity .. . I I , p. 42,. 22. A photocopy of the Deed of this lease was made available to the researcher by Brendan 0,dimegwu on 3rd July, 1493. 23. I1Mission Diary" qu.oted in R.U. Okeke, "The coming of the Roman Catholic Church ...I1 , p. 23,; 24. . I .R.A. Ozigboh, Roman Catholicism in Southeastern Ni~eria1885-1931: A' Study fin colonial evangelism. (Onitsha, Etukokivu Press 1988), .p. 67. 25. Raphael ~kwuk$kah circa 72 years, rtd. civil servant, intervieted at Umuezeawala village, I hiala on 29th June, 1993.

Okeke, "The Coming of the Roman Catholic Church .. .It, Po 24. Smith, Chief ta-incy dispilte in'I hiala. (Enugu Government Printer 1963;) , p. 44; C .C . Agbodbke, "The, Chieftaincy Institution in Ihiala from the Farlie~tTjmes to lQhYt- (M-A, thesis- Dent. .. nf c.E. Obi, "The History of Christianity ...I1, p. 22.

. , F.K. Ekechi, ItChristian Missionary Enterprise and rivalry in Igboland 1851-191fj. (L ondon: Frank Cass, 19721, p. 217. W .R .T. Milae uIntelligence report on Achalla group 1933. (N,A.E. OD119 Vol. I1 ONDIST 7/1/10) , p.14..

P.A. Talbot, I'l'he Peouss of So-n Ni,zerin vnl, 1-T, (London, Oxford University Press 1926) , p. 205. Brendan 0 dimegwu; M balaso 0 dimegwu, Philip Okwuosa, and '. F. Eriobuna, interviews cited. Okorie Osuagwu, 80 years, farrner/herbalist interviewed at Urnudara village, I hiaia, 17th Jul-y, 1993. M balaso ,Odimegwu, Philip Okwuosa, interviews cited,

Solomon I bek?.~e,' _ F. Eriobuna and Philip Okwuosa; interviews cited.

Philip Okwuosa; Brendan Odimegwu, and ' Fa Eriobuna; interviews cited. CHAPTER IV: PERTOD OF GROWTH AND RXPAMSION OF THE MISSTONS: 19.20- rci70~

This chapter examines thc growth and development of the christian missions in Ihiala up until 1970. It will also highlight the development of the converts, some problems of the missionary enterprise and the evangelistic strategies 0.f the missions. a) -The Anglican Church (The C.M .S.) 1920-1970 Thi.3 period marked the expansion and establishment of the Anglican church in the nooks and cranhie~of I hiala. 1 t also saw the development of converts in number and in their adherence to the ideals of Christia~ity. Most took employment with the mission as teachers and catechists. Much later, in.1956, an indigene, Rev.. E. Ilogu was ordained a priest. They served in the various communities in Igboland, especially the Owerri area. The contributions of a few of them are still recounted in the christian missionary history of such communities. For instance, the contributions of 2 ames Anyake and Theophilus Nganwucliu to the growth of the Anglican church in Mbieri is still remembered in the town. 1 These teachers and catechists were the elite that emerged in Ihiala.. Though, they were not the most frnan~i'd.kyjstable, their suggestions on matters concerning Ihiala and the church were highly regarded.. la The quality of the converts equally grew. Those in the employ of the missions laboured hard to keep up

to the church rules and standard, Failure to keep the^ -, standard often resulted in summary dismissal from the mission1 employment,. They shunned polygyny and title taking,, but most could not resist initiation into the , nmanwu (masquerade)" cult, The mission was not too keen on the enforcement of the ban of the cult among the converts,

The converts outside the employ of the missions were freer to participate in the traditional ceremonies,. It was from this category of converts that emerged people who initiated the agitation for the restoration of some traditional practices like polygyny and title-taking among the conv.erts. 3 Two other developments of note occurred" in the period. The Anglican church in Ihiala acquired autonomy from Bnewi district in 1954. In 1963, Okija. district was carved out from I hiala. St, ~benezehChurch Ose-Akwa: 1936 The establishment of a Trading post ( beach) by the United hfrican Company (UAC) at A'kwa in 1932, attracted an immigrant population that gave the village a metropolitan outlook, It was the need for a church to serve the population that gave birth to the out station in 1936. With the closure of business activities in the beach in the early 19508, mast of the immigrants left and the out station experienced a dwindling fortun,e.- However, >, the few indigenes who were of the knglican church managed to sustain it.. Its numerical strength became abysmally low. This was further ~~~~edby the preponderance of the Roman catholic chrch adherents In the village*4 District Stttus for Ihiala:: 1954 Until 1954, the towns in the present Ihiala L.G.A. constituted part of the Nnewi district of the diocese of the Niger.. The'priest resident at blnewi had pastoral rights end duties over the area.. He made recommendations to the Bishop on the establishment of new out sta-tions, the postings of out station agents and the granting of station status. K-number of out stations made up a station which was headed by a catechist.. The Ihiala- stakion had its headquarttsrs and a resident cat~chistat the St. Silas* church, I hiala,

In 1954 when the station yas granted ei; district status,. Okfja felt it could use the influence of its indigenes in the diocese to win the headquarters of the new district.. This caused a major rift in the new district as Ihiala was constrained to contest for the location of the district headquu.rters in her town.. Unknown to Ihiala, okija. had earlier got wind of the grtantifiy of the new

and made preparations to t grab' the headquarters.. To facilitate this, it built a hoise which it would present a13 the district parsonage at a. site along the Onitsha-Qwerri trunk 'li" road, and instigated a contest for the location of the district headquarters, ks the

contest became fierce, it presented the house 61s the parsonage, Qn this ground, it argued that Ihiala did not have a house befitting a priest and that St, Silad station was not located at a strategic point in the torn. But,, unfortunately for Okija, the parsonage it built was isolated from any existing Anglican church. With these arguments, Okija had hoped to attract the parsonage, but it failed in its attempt to use St,. Mary's church as the district headquarters.. T.ho St, Silast station was preferred by the aathorities c.oncerned.- 5 The conflict generated by this unfortunate contest rill b.e examined in. greater detail later, The first priest of the district, Rev, C-,& Emelugg lived in the parsonage built at Okijs while St,, Silas church was made the district headq~~ters,.TMs caused lots of logistic problems for the priest,. It was difficult for him to run his secretariat at St, Sllas' station from Okijec, Moreover, he could not organize the Friday morning class in any of the out stations in the district,6

A However, the new status added impetus to the activitiee of the Knglican church in I hiala.. Rev. Emelugo devotqd his energy to the establishment of more out-stations and embrrked on intensive evangelization ,of the towns in the district. Through his friendliness with all, the denominations notwithstanding,, the rivalry and hatred among the members of the primary missions were considerably reduc ed.. 7 411 Saints.Church, Oaboro: 1957 This out staltion.w&s established as part of the scheme by the Pnglican church in Ihiala to extend the church to the remotest parts of the t-own and$o. .. firmly establish herself in the religious map of Ihiala.. Special offerings were organized every first Sunday of the month at St. Silasg etation to raise funds for the out station.. Individuals al8~made donations too, Eor inrstance,, be stephen Ndurue, at veteran of the second world war,, made commendable financial contribution towardo the realizatioa of the project. The attempt to establish this oat station proved very s~~cessf~l~The out station attracted many new converts, especially from members of the traditional religion*8 St, stephen's Church, 1960

. . . . I , . 1 ...... ,. - ...... The ideGPtoestablish this out station was conceived at the 1954 Annual General Meeting of St, Silas' church station,. Several reasons accounted for that, First, there was the need to establish the Anglican church at a. strategic point that would attract thevattention.of passers-by to the presence of the mission in the town, Secondly, the growing metropolitan nature of Ihiala in the 1940s and 19506, demanded that an out station be established to serve the urban centree9 Algain., the 1088 of the parsonage of,the new district on the grounds of remote location of the church station from the urban centre, prompted the Ihiala Anglican church members to open the out-. station, To that effect, sn site in Hdiezike village,. along the Onitsha-Orerri trunk road raa chosen, Unfortunately, the status of the new out-station nearly generated a; fierce strife, Members of the hglicax church from Ndiezike village demanded that the station headquarters be transferred to the new out station, On the other hand, membess of the church from. Mbarakpaka vAllage, where the parent station was located, objected to this idea, They insisted that the church should retain its original location, This brought a.problem that nearly shook the very foundation of the Anglican church in I hipla.. This di6pute was amicably resolved.. T.he stations headquarters at Mbarakpaka.v.illage was retained. Alfter much delay, a 1ke uu P f fition church teacher wa-a posted to,, ip 1960. 10 The nature and effect of this conflict will be examined in greater depth later. St, ~ndreu'sChurch. ~bodawo: 1962 The St. ~ndredschurch Obodawo was established in'.. 1962, Members of the church pursued this end with great zeal; and made donations both in cash and kind towards the church ma jec t and church- teachers-house. kgain, special offerings were made at regular iatervals for the development, The greatest problem of the out station was the preponderance of eatholics in the village,. It remained the most numerically weak of all the hgl$can out-stations in. I hiala;. l1 Okija. District carved out from I hialstl. District. 1963 The increasing number of cotverts called for the creakion of new districts to ease the work of the priest and bring the church nearer to the grass-roots,. Polltiua and. clannish interests equally played a;. major role,. The inter play of these factors gave birth to the balkmizaition. of Ihiala dietrict in 1~63.1~ Right from the day Okijasfailed to grab the district headquarters, it made efforts to achieve a district status, It used the prominent position held by her indigenes on. the diocesan hierarchy to a: great advantage and in 1963, it wau :m ski zz district.. 13 On the part of the Anglican church community in Ihiala, this development woas c big relief and liberation from the sway of an influential partder,14 I t glaxilj embraced it, and in December 1963, the district council instituted an ad-hoc committee to work out modalities for the deaelopnent'of the district,. Thi6 conunittee was . mandated to inst-te a standing committee that would over- see the construction of a new church building and a house befitting a priest,. In December, 196hSi a fund-raising ceremony was organized for this purpose, Work omboth projects, that is the church and parsonage, started in. January 1965, The church and parsonage were consecrated by the late Biehop LS.. Ueodike in November 1967.15 b) . The GProwth of the R,C,M.. Station in Ihialac: 1920-1970 The RoCoM* station at Ihiala acquired great prominence in this period,. The chief reason for this was the south-- wards expansion of the Bzubulu priests' residence which gave ascendancy to the Ihiala station and attracted Roman Catholic institutions to the town, The Ozubulu Priestf FJ Reeidonce bansferred to I hia3-a: 1927 A's stated earlier, Rev, Fr. Alphonsus 'Bihadel eupervised the Ihiala etation from his Ozubulu residence. The work of evangelizing the ohbetation rested on native - - . <- ; .. a. agents-teache~&techi~t~.They conducted catechiam claases for the converts. The groat demand for teacher-catec'hists and the eouth- WHY^ expansion of the Oeubulu missionary outtreaah gave prominence to I hiala. since Ihiala en joyed a central and etrategic position, ' monthly re-unione of teachers in the ~zubuluQatholic district were held there. l6 with time, -1hiala was preferred to Ombulu as beet su:i.ted for the prieste residence. It would seem that this dtxlsion was taken $.n 1923 as RUV~Fr. Bindel began to build an . extremely large missionary house at St. Martin'a station in that year. 1% June, 1927 the O~uhulu~eeidence wan tranef erred to I hiala.17 The Development of R.C.M. Institutions in Ihiala In 1930, the foundation stonasof St. Martids church and achaol were laid, they were officially consecrated'by Biehbp Shanrnhari on 12th November, same year. Rev. 'Fr. Griccr of the bnua mission bbcame the manager of the schoole in Ihiala. The St. ~artiisschool was exclusively for boyn while the girls' primary ~chool(.convent) served the educational desireo of airle. 18 The tramsfer of the Ozubulu residence to Ihiala aasistbd in no slnall measure in placing ihiala. at the fore-ground of Roman Catholic activities in Igboland. Severel institutions of the Roman Catholic mission were -- sited in the town, viz: a hospitd (Our Lady of Lourdes) 1933; ar seminary school (Holy Ghost Juniorate). 1953; cmr Elementary Teachers Training eollege, 1954. It was the headquarters of the Congregation of the Sisters of Immazulake Heart of Mary till it waue transferred to Uruallm

On. 18th hagust 1933, the R.C.M,. represented by the Rt, Rev. Bishop Charles Heerey applied to the secretary of the Gouthern Provinces, ria. the Resident Onitsha1 province for lease of land to build a.missionary sisters' residence in I hiah.. The lease was to laat for a.period of niasty- , .. nine yeare, at an agreed rent of one shilling per annum. The names and abode of proposed grantors with whola the terme were negotiated ,rere XJAsigwe,. the ok~arai of Umuadohihi of hamumu quarters and one Kichzael ~adubuin~i.I9 The $ecretary, Southern flr.orinces, considered the rent of one shilling per anndm : tt gross underpricing when.compared with rents; paid on the same or about the same acreage of land, and for the same purpose, elsewhere in Igboland.. He rather suggested a. rent of five pounds (55) per annum.. T.his wcie accepted by both parties*20 52

However, before the lease wao granted, the Resident Onitsha. province raised objections on. the purpose for the use of the :.land.. He found "other missionary purposest821

rogue and ambigbus, and 4~~c.dfor clarification, 9:'' .:- .

In ep letter to Bishop Charles Heerey, through the Distric* Officer, Onitsha, the Resident doubted if he could approve of it,. as he feared, it might include 'native8 residence which was unacceptable. He demanded its 22 replacement with at more lucid phrase, In its reply,. the mission stated that other missionary purposest, included boarding house for girls; orphanage, hospital and dispensary with residences for the staff of each, With thi~clarification, the lease was sealed, 23 The sealing of the lease and acquisition of the land set in. motion. a, process that led to the developpent of the, present site of Our Lady of.'Lourdos ho8pita;l. IQ initially accommoda'ted the dispensary/hospital, the convent, marriage traLning centre and residence for thm Congregak:ion of the kitstere of the Immaculate Yeart of M.ary,. Proceeds from the annuaa church harvest were invested in the development of the site. The Girls' primary school ( convent). was founded in Kugust 1933. With the expansion of the hospital, it was phased out in 1963.. Its building was taken. over by the hospital, It served as the out-patient department of the hospital.. 24: ~n 1936,. Bishop Charles H eerey, through protocol ~.3570/36 of 23rd october, 1936, obtained permiseion from His Eminence the Cardinal Prefect of the Propaganda Fide' in Rome to start the Congregation of the Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary.. On 7th October, 1937, His Grace,. Bishop Heaaey, through a. letter to the Mother superior of the Holy Rosary Sisters Ihiala, formally decreed that the diocesan congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of IQry be erected under the direction. of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. The sisters were charged t.o take care of the sick, the training of the women Prt the marriage tradning centre (St, bnes) to be established by the Holy Rosary sisters, and education of the children in the schools.. In 1939, the marriage training centre, St. hne' s, was established by tha Holy Rosa~ySisters, 25 The Congregation grew gradually as two aspirants were admitted each year,. between 1940 and 1943.. In 1943, ~1~ho~~C'harles~Heereybegan work on a paece of land acquired a;t Urualla- for the Novitiate of the C,ongregation,- la.1944, the project was completed and Novices were transferred

, there from Ihiala.. Iith this development, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital finally took over We facilities of other institutions that shared prembes with it.. The Sisters' residence was retained by the sister nurses" attached to the hospital, 26 The sme gear, 1944 the R,C:.M, applied for the extension of the hospital under the Native Lands Acquisition Ordinance Cap 89, The lease wae eealed on 13th July, i~46. The grantors to the land included, Benedict Igboeli, Stephen Igboeli and Stephen I wuchukwu. 27 The R ,C,M, continued its expansion and establishment of institutions in Ihiala, Through the instrumentality of Rev,. Fr, Jordan, the Holy Ghost Juniorate was built in 1952, It formally took off in January the following year with thirty-seven boys.. The first set of the pioneer students were ordained priests in 1965,. They include Rev,. 28 Frs, P,. C binna kguh, I, Eze, F, Okonkwo and &. Onyeneke. The Catholic. missions house (Bindel House), was formally handed over to the Holy Ghost fathers on 16th January 1953, In 1954,. an Elementary Teacher Training college was opened in I hiala,. This college producod Grade Three Certificate ts&chers,. It was, however, phasqd out in 1963 due to the expansion of the Juniorate Seminary and the increasing unattractiveness in the calibre of manppwer it produced, 29 In 1967, Ihiala>added another feather to her cap of greatness in Igbo Catholicism, The Igbo based Nigerian province of the Holy Ghost Fathers was constituted in Kugust 1967 with its headquarters at St. ~arti&church. 30

The Out-Stations of the ROC OM, in I hiala Till 1970

St Christopher' s Church Okohia: 1925 The need to bring the catec'hism classes close to the door steps of all the converts in the town gave birth to this out station in 1925. It was situated in the plot of land donated by Stephen I lechukwu. 31 St. ~eterkChurch Oawu-Aniocha 1938 This out-station was of the greatest importance and sitnificance among the out-staticns of St,. Martins church, Ihiala. It is located in Ogwu-Aniocha in the present Ogbaru Local Government A'rea. The difficult terrain of the town made communication with her neighbours very arduous.. It was easier for the RoCeM, adherents in the town to attend church services across the Urasi river to Ihiala than pass through the tortuous network of creeks and water-ways to Atani, St. ~arti&station boldly faced this challenge, and in 1938, an out-station was established in the town, 32 St.. Gre~ory's Church Ose k,kwa, 1939 This out-station was established to serve the immigrant population that worked at the beach established by the U ,LC,. at kkwa, It remained one of the most flourishingnout-stations' in I hiala till the early 1950s when the beach was shut down. 33 c)', The Faith Tabernacle C'ongregation Church: 1933 - 1970 The advent of the Faith Tabernacle Congregation church differed from that of the main-line missions - the knglican and Roman Catholic churches. It has no history of organized evangelization process that gradually permeated Ihialai from other parts of Igboland, nor did it win adherents among the traditional religionists, hll of them wers secondary converts, having ea~lierbeen converted to Christianity by either of the primary missions, especially the knglican church, I ts advent in I hiala revolves around an individual,. Ben jamin Onwuchekwa, H~Ebiographical sketch is relevant and necessa-ry in any aStsmpt to have a better graf? of the advent and activities of the Faith Tabernacle congregation church in I hiala:, 34 Ben jamin Onwuchekwa, was amongst the earliest converts to Christiantty in I hiala. ~e acquired his primary education a'; Ihiala and Obosi, and later attended the St. kndrew' s Teacher' s College Oyo, There, he acquired the basic teaching qualification at that time. He later joined the staff of the Dennis Memorial Grammar School (DIYGS) Onitsha,. which had earlier been established in 1925; ' while he taught there, he entered into correspondence with the Faith T'9bernacle congregation church based in Philadeiphia, United States of America, In the process, he defected to the Faith Tabernacle Congregation church, In 1933, he officially resigned his appointment with the D,M,G,S,, and returned home to establish the , Faith Tabernacle Congregation church - I hiala;. During its early years, the Faith Tabernacle Congregation church attracted a large number of converts, They were largely drawn from the discontented members of the bnglican church. Grants and financial assistance from the parent mission overseas was effectively and judiciously utilized. k. plot of land opposite the present site of the Ni3 erim Telecommunication CFJ~TEL) station was acquired for the missiods school and church, In 1940,, the school admitted her firat set of pupils.. But owing to the economic depresision caused by the Second World War, the financial assistance from Xmerica: ceased to flow in, In 1946, the school was shut down..35 The founder was compelled to seek employment with the

Faith Tabernacle Congregation mission in the Ngwa 1 - - This mieeion assentially remained an affair for the Onwuchekwa family and a few decampees from the Anglican church in Ihiala. It suffered its greatest set- back with the death of the founder in 1952.. The belief in faith healing was the greate~tbane to its eowth and expansion in I hiala,.

d) The Johovah' s Witnesses Mission: 1948 The Jehovah' e bktnesse~mission was brought to I hiala.. in about 1948 by one ~$1jdh Onyekwuluje, rho ' hailed from Omuma in the Oru L.G,k~., of Ino state.. He initially settled at Om-A'kwa.. From there, he preached to the vmious villages in Ihiala.. His initial converts. were drawn from settlers at Ose-kkwa.. When the trading post was finally shut down, Ihiala indigenes, who had become adherents of the faith took the church to their nillages.. In 2953, So(pmen Ndubuisi volunt.sered die house acs the Ungdom Hal1 or venue for studies.. Till then, the numerical stren~thof the converts to the chure'h was very low.. In 1956, glchq+d Onwuchekwa ( brother of the founder of the Eaith Tabernacle.congregation church):' I hiala:.started another Kingdom Hall in Mbarakpaka village. 36 The church won many converts.. This remained the most glorious period of the church. Unfortunately, most of the adherents of the mission began to decamp.. Jooeph Onauchekwa blamed this on the inability of most adherents to live up to the. standard of christiaa:life set by the scriptures and a. consuming p;assion.. for mundane things. 37 Some decamgeee and members of the other Christian missions blamed it on the radical doctrine and extreme sectarianism of the church which put some adherents under severe pressure from family members and relations.. 38 The researcher confirmed this with the experiences in his family.. It took great pressure fro,m his father and uncles to end his grand mothe& adherence to the Jehovah' s W.itnesses church in the late 19508.. In 1967, the two kingdom halls were merged. The

, one at SDhm Hduhuisi'sj house survived the nerg- 39 This was the state of the mission tiil 1970.. e)l The Christ Holy Church (Odozi Obodo)., 1968 T.he Christ Holy Church (Odozi Obodo) was the first indigenous mission to prmeate I hiala.. I t reached the town in 1968,. at the heat of tho N.igerian civil oaisis IBrothert C.hike Okeke from Ymichi, brought the church:. It first starbd es a prayer group to provide succour to the privations on the people due to the Nigerian civil crisf s, Later, it matamorph~sedinto a church.. He worked on the prevailing psychology of the p,eople to attract adherents, The emphasis on. healing meditsvtion.,, the interpretation of visions and the ,, scripturee pulled the members of the, Anglican and Catholic churches that formed the nucleus of the mission, Its member6 were, however, drawn mostly from the azed adweak minded in the society, The adherents of the mi~sion&*re;ncd by the presence of refugeeo in Ihiala during the civil war, 40 f The civil War Y ea~s:1967-1970 The activities of the christian missions, especially the R.C.M., and partly the AngU.cm'church in I hiali during tha civil war showed the ability of the churches to cater for the welfare of the people, They were committed to the spiritual, material and physical well- being of all and sundry, irrespective of creed, denomination or belief.. The CmITAS International, through the Romau catholic church provided the basic necessities which the economic blockade ndlicy of the Federal Government deprived the secessionists. Relief materials of clothes, -blankets and food items with high protein contents, drugs end salt were made available to the people, The St. ~artinfschurch was the initial collection centre for all the dl?.ages in. I hida. The Rev, Er.. in the statioa worked out modalities for the distribution of these materials to different villages, down to the consumers, 41 Each village was assigned a.specific day of the reek in which it collected its allocation of the relief materials . The village church teacher and the representatives of the particular village assisted %n organizing those who came to collect the relief st the center in files and shared the materials to them, 42 Initially, the food materials were cooked at the station under the supervision of the resident priest and representatives from the various villages, who shared it out to the various villages on specific days. But this method generated logistic problems which made the villages remotely located from the station to demand their own portion of these food items in their raw state,. This was basically due to the haza-sds in trekking to the centre as the federal troops recklessly and ruthlessly attacked civilian settlements, 43 T.he ,CA'IZITAS checked the mortility of children ia. the form.. Those who suffered from malnutrition (krashiokor)- were airlifted to Gabon where they received medical treajltment and improved diet,. They were brought back after the civil war, Those rho could not be air- lifted as the Uli airport became increasingly unwe, were rehabilitated in the Red Cross center at St,. Ifartink church,44 62 To enhance health care delivery, the existing health care institutions were used to complement the services of Onr Lady of Lourds hospital.. The CARITAS through the catholic mission established refugee chpe for people displaced in their various communities in I gboland. The St,. There& s primary school Uzoakwa and

St, Pal' 8 church UmuezeawaSa3 were used for same purpose, 45 The World Council of Church (WCC)' through the Anglicam church, established a; relief center at the St. Silad primary school. This center did not flourish aa much as the St. Marti& relief center because of paucity of materials and food items. fl'ak members of the Anglican church as well as other missions and the non-converts relied on the Catholic centers for relief material^..46 The most important aspect of the relief services rendered by the mission was the manner denominational differences were jettisoned.. 41 received relief materials from the various relief centers irrespective of denomination, The researcher remembers when as a toddler he carried bowl to collect food from the various relief centres in the town,

&ot.ber issue of great import to the christian , missionary enterprise in Ihiala was the enactment of the Public Education Edict of 1970.47 Thie edict IomlLy and Forcibly took over the missions' and private agency schools in the defunct East Central State, the missions had used the schools to attrakt uonverts and propagate their doctrine, By the force of this Edict, the government successfully implemented a policy it conceived since 1956, but could not bring into effect owing to stiff opposition from the missions, and for few of loss of credibility,,48 By the time this edict was enacted, and the missions "unceremoniously elbowed out of the educational arena, no section of the society concerned came out significantly in their defencd~.~~In Ihialau, the Roman Catholics could only put up what seemed to be a feeble opposition compared with the pressure earlier mounted on the government of the defunct Eastern Region against the attempt to expropriate missions' schools.. This was a-qparently due to the fear of reprisals from the military junta in power and the dislocations of the society by the Nigerian civil cr38is. The hglicans, however, gaxe it m tacit support, The Faith Tabewnaecle Congregation, the Jehovahs' Witnesses and Qhrist ffLolyChurch missions' adherents welcomed it, They appeared to have breathed re sigh of relief from the forcible teaohing and imposition of the doctribo of the missions whose schools they attend,.% This was made possible by the governments policy against d0ctrin.J. teachings in schools.. 64

The m@or effect of the policy was the liberalization of admission into the schools) pupils could be admitted into schools irrespective of creed and denomin&ion. But in practice, most parents of the Anglican amd Catholic denominat ions preferred to send

their wards and children to schools originally owned by their own denomination. 51 Xn examination of the management of the schools reveals that the administrative heads of the major missions schools in the town have consistently been of the denominations that established them. Some of the old denominational fea'tures a(nd

flavours of the missions are still manifested in these schools, g) Evangelistic Straate~iesof the Missions The evangelintic strategies differed in the various missions,. While the main line missions adopted similar strategies, the non main-line missions did not adopt some of these strategies, This could be explained by the differences in doctrinal positions of the missions,. For instance, the faith Tabernacle Congregation church8s belief in faith healing and abstinence from drugs and medicine are inconsistent with the use of medical facilities as instruments of evangelization, Home Visitation - k11 missions in Ihiala adopted this strategy.. It was equally the primary method employed by the missions to win their earliest set of converts. It irlvolved visits to the varicus hodseiiold knits in the town. During such visits, the church

t.each~rimpressed the ckristizn rrbe5s&9eon the people. In the very early stages of his activities in

Ihiala, REV. Payne employed his meagre resources of the

Igbo lansuaye to a great sdvantac,e. tic went to the

ditferent households preaching to the pecple to llbiakute

Jesus k'unu nkee ndu ebebe~~~,(com to Jesus and have eternal life), using his right nand to gesticulate

"ndu ebebeu. Cn the part 2f the H.C.M., Fr. Bindel

spoke through an interpreter till he developed mastery 53 of the Igbo language.

The secondary missions equally adopted this

strategy. But because they arrived long after the aoctrine and certain religious observances of the main line missions had taken firm roots among the converts,

their home visitations were more involving. Initial

visits were followed up by yet more co-ordinateC visits during which the depth of the Holy scriptures were explored. 54 The Jehovah's witnesses mission, more than any

other group, adopted this strategy. It remained her

most effective instrument of evangelism. ii) Open Abr Preaching This straltegy was.employed by the main line missions. The hglican church adopted uha eke evangelism.. was a1 rest day in Ihiala, people abstdned from farm work, On the Sundays that fell on market day, converts gathered at the church premises and after a brief prayer went to aj. specified section of the town to preach and sing at the village square, Such aEl~~g.swere,however, informed in advance of such visits, Ufter the open &re preaching, the aonverts organized in'groups and went into various sections of the village for evangelism, 55 iii) School and Technical Education

The use of educational institutions as key factor ifi evangelization was recognized early enough by the various missions in Ihiaila. The three mi~sions,viz: the knglican, Roman htholic and Fajth Tabernwle Congregatiom churches, who employed it,. closely associated it with the church, They recognized that young converts would acquire the rudiments of literacy through the school and thus, gain eaaier and readier access to the printed word of ~od.56 Moreso, schools offered opportunities for the converts to benefit from the new order introduced by colonialism; paid eplployment as clerks in the large commercial firms an'd government departments; catechists and primary school teachers; and,most importantly, unravel the mystery of the'whitoman'st knowledge (oak knowledge) . &bow all, the school wau the most effective avenue for the propagation of the doctrine and dogmatic teachings of the variow mission^, Through it, the mission5 closely supervised the conduct of her young converts, and in the process, checked defection to rival missions, But unfortunately, the missions' policies on education were rather lop-sided, None of them embarked on secondary schools, The R,C,M, which made attempts to establish what appeared like colleges, set up an Elementary Teachess Training College and a seminary for the training of prospsctive clergy men, The secondary schools established in the town were through individual efforts. Mr,. Gilbert Okeke was the proprietor of the R~bbot Cdleges while late Jude Eze established the St, Judes GmmercialCollege which is opposite the Abbot Boys College,. hother related strategy was the establishment of technical workshops for training the youths. Rev, Fr, Eindel employed this, It was in his workshop that the first set of artisans - mechanics, carpenters, masons and drivers in Ihiala were trained, Their skill was used in constructing ",Bindel's House" at St. Martins premises and the first set of block house6 in Ihiala;. iv) . Welfare Services - Hospitals and Gifts The use of welfare services in evangelization was adopted only by the R,C,M,. and the Abglican church. The Jehovaht s Witnesses and Christ Holy Church (Odozi obodo) missions did not establish health care institutions, The Fad th Tabernache Congregation church' s belief in faith heaZing and abstinence from drugs could not permit her to own cne, 6:s early as 1928, the R,C,M,. had established an orphanage and dispensary at Eziani village. The orphanage took care of abandoned babies - twins, babies who first cut the tooth of the upper jaw and those whose mothers died on their delivery etc, The dispensary administered drugs on the sick and first aid to the wounded. The health-care services rendered by the R,C,M, was further improved with the opening of Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in 1933. These institutions, no doubt, provided a most useful and necessary need at that time, and the people were generally tinrestrained by cultural inhibitions in their patronage of them, This was obviously due to the efficacy of the drugs and treatment received at the hospital. 47 Rev, Fr, Bindel used gifts of al.:luring materials to attract children to the Roman Catholic church. He presented them with gifts of exquisite nature such as uweets, looking glasses and clothes. These minor presents won the admiration of the people, and the children developed - b9

, obsession for the possession of such gifts. The desire for these gifts lured them to the R.C.M.. Even parents in the Anglican denomination encouraged their children to get their share of such gifts (dash) from Rev. Fr. Bindel. 58

V) Use of Ob2ects of Worship The Roman Catholic mission see~nedto have understood the relevance of symbols in the religious worship of the people, They encouraged the use of the

crucifix and rosary as &ds:in ' worship.. The people on their part saw these objects as alternatives to the

traditional religious symbols. .The scapular wovnon the

neck seemingly served tl~mas 'amulets1, The use of these objects gave the R.C .M. some resemblance as the traditional religion. Thc! other missions, however, were unequivocal in their comdmnation of these practices. They tended to associate such objects and the Roman Catholic church with

i-dolatory. 59 vi) Use of Tracts and Leaflets The Jehovah's Witnesses mission more than any other mission sdopted this strategy. It required some degree of 1itera.c~on the people to admire the import of tracts and leaflets made available by the mission. These materials which primarily explained as well as propagated the doctrine of the Jehovah's witnesses were availed at a token fee,

The Awake magazine is noted for its high literary standard and indepth analysis on social and scientific matters, However, sme of these analyses tend to be too sectarian to be appreciated by the adherents of othcr missions, The degree to which these tracts and leaflets won converts was difficult to quantify. A' few of the adherents admitted that they became converted through , tho i nfluanco of thc~omu toriuln, 60 . 1. S.B.C. Anyanwu, "The growth of the Nazareth Englican Church, Ohohia, Mbieriv. A: paper presented at the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Nazareth Anglican church Ohohia, M bieri, August 1992. la. Philip Okwuosa, circa, 80 years, retired civil servant, interviewed at Mbarakpaka village, Ihiala 14th July, 1993.. 2. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited; Solomon Psika 67 years, Businessman, interviewed at Ndiezike village, I hiala, 9th July, 1993.

C. 3. F.. Eriobuna, 58 years, Amhdeacon, Ihiala Ahglican A'rchdeaconry, interviewed at St. Silas parsonage, I hiala, 16th J uly, 1993.. 4. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited. 5.' 'k. Erobuna, interview cited and John Kanu circa 68 years, retired church teacher, interviewed at A'kwa village, I hiala 18th July, 1993.. 6.: l?. Eriobuna, interview cited. 7. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited. 8. Robinson U zowulu, 69 years, retired civil servant, interviewed at Ndiezike village I hiala, 9th July, 19930 9. C.E.. Obi,. "The history of christianity in Ihiala LOG-.k,. 1908-1977".. (BOA. project, Dept. of Religion U eM.No. 1978) 9. pe- 26. .\ 10. Philip Okwuosa and Solomon A'sika; interviews cited. 11.. IY\l'c.t3& I bekwe, rtd. civil servant, interviewed at Qbodoawo village, I hiala 13th July, 1993; Theophilus Ngamwuchu in C .E,. Obi,. "The History of ! . p,. 148, 12. F. Eriobunz, interview cited, 13. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited,.

14. F. Eriobuna and Solomon Asika; interviews cited. 1 5. F. Briobuna and Philip Ckwuosa', interviews cited, H. Mdigwe, quoted in R.U.. Okeke, "The Coming of the . Roman Catholic mission to Ihiala 1911-1960" (N.C.E.. project, Dept. of History, N,I,C,$,. Owerri, 19771, PO 27. Brendan Odimegwu, 70 years, retired headmaster, interviewed at I hiala. 3rd July, 1993, Boniface I gboanugo, c..73 years, retired cbukk clerk, interviewed at Uzoakwa village, Ihiala- on 27th July, 1993, R,U,. Okeke,. "The Coming of the Roman catholic mission ...!I, p. 16.

National kchives Enugu ( N.A' .Em.) Op 731, ONDIST 12/1/54 ttApplication for lease of land at Ihiala for converts and schoolsH 1933-1954; schedule I, Secretary's office, southern provinces to the resident Onitsha province 19/9/33 SP 10/70/7 (R .A"!.E.. OP 731 ONDIST 12/1/34) . The Resident Onitsha Province to Bishop Charles Heerey OD1 48/37 of 27th March, 1934. (N.A'I.E.. OP 731 ONDI ST 12/1/504) , The Resident, Onitsha province to the District officer (D.0,) Onitsha District 0~/73/32 (N.X:.E.. OP 731 ONDIST 12/1/34). D.0.. to Resident, Onitsha province OD/148/41; 9th May, 1934 (N.A.E. OP 731 ONDIST 12/1/p4). Boniface Igboanugo, interview cited, and R.U.. Okeke, "The coming of ...!' p, 32,. Boniface Igboanugo, interview cited and Sylvester Edebatu, 56 years, school teacher, interviewed at Obodoawo village, I hiala on 13th July, 1993, Boniface I gboanugo, interview cited,. kssistant District Officer, Nnewi, - Onitsha Province to the Resident Onitsha province ~IV/2/33/30; 12th December, 1944 (N .A?.EI OP/731, ONDIST/ 12/1/94) R.U., Okeke,. "The Coming of .. .", p.. 28, as. Boniface Igboanugo, interview cited.. 30. Boniface Igboanugo,' Sylvester Edebatu; interviews cited,. Sylvester Edebatu, interview cited., Boniface Igboanugo, interview cited, Boniface Igboanugo, interview cited,, Jones Onwuchekwa, 73 years, retired headmaster, interviewed art Mbarakpaka vkllage, Ihialc 17th July, 19930 Christian Onwuchekwa, 55 years, civil servant, interviewed at and Jones Onwuchekwa, interview cited, Joseph Onwuchekra, 72 yeam, businessman, interviewed at I hiala, 18th July, 1993..

Peter Onwuchekwa, circa, 65 years businessman, ' interviewed at I hiala, 10th hugust, 1993, (Be decamped from tho Jehovah's Witnessgs church in 1959) . Philip Okwuosir, interview cited and Sydney Odife, 65 years, fmmer, interviewed at IY barakpakaa village, I hiala 2nd July, 1993. Joseph Onwuchekwa, interview cited,. Joseph Onwuchekwa, interview cited. Samuel Madubugwu, 55 year%, Pastor, Chri~tHoly church (Odoz$ mo),interviewed at Ihiala 6th Mug. 199.3. Brendan Odimegwc and Boniface I gboanugo; interviews cited. Sylvester Edebatu and Boniface Igboanugo; interviews cited. Boniface I gboanugo, interview cited, Sylvester Edebeatu, interview cited. Boniface Igboanugo, interview cited. Philip Okwuosa, Boniface Igboanugo; interviews cited. Public Education Edict of East Central State, 1970, Edict Po, 2 of 1971,. -E,C, Amucheazi, Church and Politics in Eastern : A Study in Pressure Group pwdk:?acnLillan 1986) , p. 120. A,E,. &fig&, "The Mission, the State and Education in Southeastern Niaeriall. in E, Fashole-Luke ( ed,). Christianity in-indepkndent -~l,qeria o on don; Rex Collins, 1978) ,. p. 126. Boniface I gboanugo, Philip Okwuosa., Jones Onwuchekwa amd Joseph Onwuchekw&,' interviews cited. Brendan Odimegwu, Sylvester Edebeatu and ' F .. Eriobu- interviews cited,

Beatrice Odif e, circa, 90 years, housewif e/women ' leader, interviewed at Mbarakpaka village, I hiala, 3rd July,. 1993.. Brendan Odimegwu, interview cited..

Joseph Onwuchekwa, interview cited, ' Theophilus Nganwuchu in C.E.. Obi, "The history of Chri6tianJ.t~. . .I1, p,. 43; Philip Okwuosal interview cited.. W,R.T,- Milne, llIntelJ.igence Report on Iichalla G'roup" , 1935 (N.A,E,. 00 199 ~01.11,ONDIST 7/l/lO)', p.17, M banaso Odimegwu, circa 90 years, farmer/community leader, interviewed at I hiala, 2nd July, 1.993. Okorie Osuagwu circa 8 5 years, herbalist/ farmer, interviewed at Umudara village 17th July, 1993.- E', Eriobuna, Philip Okwuosa; interviews cited,. F, Eriobuna, Philip Okwuosa, Joseph Onwuchekwaf interview^ cited, Joseph Onwuchekwal, interview cited, Beneth Okwmkwo, circa, 50 years, trader, interviewed act Ndiezike village, I hiala, 20th July, 19543. CHAPTER V: THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONS ATID

I. IHIALA SOCIETY This chapter examines the interaction of the christian missionary enterprise with the traditional vajlue systems of Ihiala and the problems aseociated with integrating the forces generated by this contact, It studies the relationship within and between the various missions, The people% responses to these are equally highlighted.. a3 Conflict Between Christianity and the Society The christian missionary enterprise meant a contact of two cultures and world views; christianity-cum-western values with the Ihiah traditional religion and value systems, Unfortunately, the missionaries showed remarkable contempt for the belief systems and culture of the people, and consequently endeqvoured to supplant them with the christian ideals. This generated some conflict. It is this are& of conflict that forms the focus of thie . section of the study. P olwynx Polygyny, a cherished tradition in I hiala, was the practice in which a man married more than one wife, The ability to marry several wives ~!aised the social male of the individual male in relation to his monogamous or celibate neighbourml The number of wives a man could marry was snmeosure of his dfluence, Moreover, the subsistent nature of the traditional agriculture demanded a large labour force to work on the farms,. This made polygyny, and subsequently, large families imperative, A'gain, the high rate of infant mortality constrained men,to marry several wives to raise large families with the hope that a good number muld survive,adulthood,4J But the missionaries had a negative opinion of this practice. They equated polygyny with adultery and conceived it as Itan offence against the law of God, and therefore incapable of amelioration..112 To them, it represented the depth of the peoples immorality, They adopted very uncompromising attitude towards the practice, and made it compulsory for the converts to dismiss all their wives but one,. Ironically, the first missionaries lost sight of the fact that by compelling the converts to renounce dl their wives but O~R,they destroyed the fabrics of traditionail family life. Some christians who tried to rehabilitate the traditional ~~bo'value system from the damages inflicted upon it by the christian missionaries argued along this line. 3 Ozo Title-Jnstitution I n the tradition& I hiala society, sol.id personal achievement was a mark of greatness. It was measured by the number of titles an individual could take from the hierarchy of social titles in the town.. The aowas the 77 chief title open to all male to attah the highest social status. The oz_o was a,. social association into which men were initiated, with one of their wives in various stages with very expensive ceremoniese4 It could take as much as a;l lif$s savings to take the highest &o title, The most important eligibility criterion for the title was the moral rectitude of the individual. 5 The -ozo title holders led a holy life, upheld the morality of the land and observed all rituals of the town, It did not, however, bestow religious role on its holders, Dr. Egboh has aptly described the socio-political significance of the aotitle holders thus; Ozo title holder occupiee a position in -Igboland comparable to the peerage of the English society with same social prestige as "Lordw in the society ,. .6 But whatever ww its social and economic significance,! the first missionaries educated the converts to have nothing to do with it , They seemed to have a! consensus opinion that ~o %s idolatZousf8, because of certain rites associated with the initiation into it.. The proper place for the &o title institution among the converts remained a- knotty problem for the mainline denominations,. Their members insisted on the continuity of the system.. The J ehovah8s Witnesses, Faith Tabernacle Congregation and Christ Holy church (Odozi 0bod0) churcheg adherents remained solidly opposed to the institution, . .; Killing of Twins and taboo Babies The belief system of any society is a, reflection of its conception of the seen and unseen ~rorld.~In Ihiala, it was considered unnatural for human beings to bear or deliver more than one st a time; only lower animals like dogs, cats, goats etc could have multiple birth. 4 woman who gave birth to twins would, therefore, need a. special cleansing sacrifice and the twin destroyed, Otherwise, the land thus abominated would incur the wrath of the ancestral spirits, 8 In the same vein, babies who cut the upper tooth first were killed or dumped in the evil forest to die for abominat.ing the land, The first missionaries that evangelized Ihiala advised the newly converted to discountenance this custom and keep their twins and those that cut the upper tooth first, Bather than accept the advice of the missionaries, some converts continued with the traditional practice for fear that failure to do so might attract ominous consequences. However, the converts and station teacher at; St. :;.'.lasf station, resculed and rehabilitated one of such childrsne9 The R.C .M. took a step further by building orphanages- where such children were rehabilitalted,. Funeral 0 bsequies In Ihiala, the obsequies of an elderly and titled person took two sta~es. The fTrst was the interment, it did not require elaborate ceremonies, The second usuaJly took place in about one year or iess, depending on the preparedness of the bereaved family, The essence of the second rite, the people believed, was to grant the spirit of such departed elderly person a; comfortable rest with th6 ancestors? in the land of ancestral bliss, from where he saw to the well-being of his children on earth. Secondly, it was done to sever relations between the living and the dead.. k11 social groups to which the dead

hitherto belonged severed all1 forms of association and relations with him at such ceremonies. A7>gain,,it afforded the relatives, frie~,dsand well wishers an opportunity to express their grief and present gifts to the bereaved family in reciprocation of similar gestures sarlier 10 extended to them or in expectation.a~'them. The property of the deceased would not be shared

among his children if this second rite was not performed. Moreso, the extended family (umunna) and members of various social groups to which the deceased had belonged would be harrassed and torwented by the spirit as it had not set,tled down with other ancestral spirits or formally severed relations with his socia.1' peers alive. 11 The first missionaries encouraged the converts not to perform such rites for the dead relatives -or participate in the reciprocity of gifts presented to bereaved friends and relatives,. In fact, the conve,rts were forbidden to participate in any of the funera2 rites that come after the interment. The missionaries erronously called it ' second burial' as if the corpse was buried a: second time, Osu Caste System Theau were the lowest in the social hierarchy of Ihiala. They were denied of dl forms of social relations and association with the freeborn, because their progenitors were dedicated to the major deities in the town. It was, for instance, an abomination for the freeborn to marry or have sexual intercourse with them; to attend the same social functicns or seek safety in their house even when traded by an assailant, The missionaries preached against this social inequality and injustice, They used the biblical story bf St. Pau's encounter with Cornelius the centurion,14 to teach tha converts not to regard people as unclean or social outcasts, and advised them to jettison the,practice,. Nrnanwu Cult (Masquerade;

The nmanwu is arguably the cult of the ancestraJ spirits animated and personified. They appeared in corporeal form as masquerades and were venerated by all. Only the initiates participated in the cult activities. It served as an instrument of social control and a source of entertainment and recreation. The missionaries encouraged tho converts to defile the sanctity of the institution by openly stating that the nmanwu had a human form. They advised the convert6 not to participate in the cult activities or submit themselves to its social control,

Ritual 0 bservanc es

It amounted to a ritual pollution of Ihiala if one wilfully or accidentally hurt or killed the !iQ~veJpythor,,

eke ura:&, and a specie of fish locally cjiled =a. These creatures , among others, were regarded as sacred because, the people believed, they embodied the soul of their communal unity and solidarity. Custom and tradition prescribed the appropriate sacrifice which the person who killed or hurt such animals offered to propitiate the gods. The earliest missionaries encouraged the converts not only to kill such animals, but hunt them for food as well:. They used God1 s injunction to Peter to, "arise kill and eat .. ." , and St. Paul' s instruction to Timothy to discountenance llsuch teachings (that) order them to abstain from foods which God created ..., for everything God created is good .. . " ,l7 to teach the converts not to abstain from such animals, clear in^ Sacred Groves and Evil Forests Some groves and forests in Ihiala were noted for their malevolence. 'They were dedicated to the major deities in the town'. As a result, th.ey were neither cultivated nor the trees in them exploited for domestic fuel.. They served as dumping sites for people whc had 'bad deaths' and were generally referred to as evil forest.. 19

The first missionary to establish in I hiala, Rev. F.G,. Payne, of the C.M.S. mission was given one of such

sacred groves -. the Uden~wu,to build his station. But this generoas and hospitable gesture ostensibly signified rejection. The people believed that the missionary and his converts would suffer some calamity if athey fell the trees in the grove. But with faith and determination, the converts cleared the grove without any incident of death or ill-health on their families. Consequently, they cleared othar groves in the town a they had developed strong doubts on the potency of the ominous powers they had believed such groves possessed. -Other Traditional Festivals and Ceremonies Almsst all aspects of human activities in the traditional I hiala sxiety ~.Weitssociatedwith rites, ceremonies and festivals. The earliest missionaries branded them Iunchristian1 and discouraged the converts from participating in them,. Prominent among these festivals were the ifejoku, the celebration in honour of the god of yam fertility. This was done shortly before. the cultivation of the crop; isa ofo; consecrating the of0 to enhance its efficacy; iba mkpa, fattening the maidens, ime obi umuaka, mollifying the spirit 'of children, and 20 the new yam festival, The~efestivals were celebrated in the village shrine op the shrine of the particular deity associated with each .of them,. b3, The Problem of Integration The christian missionary enterprise involved the conversion of the individual or group of people from previously held belief system to a new one, based on Christianity, Certain traditional practices which formed the basis of the peoples belief constituted stumbling blocks to the full accectance of the ideaas of Christianity. This posed the problem of infusing the converts with the christian belief systems as most of them had their cultural practices and value system deeply rooted in the traditional religion and value system, The problems of integrating the converts to the christian ideals fom the focus of this section of the study. N.s already noted, some aspects of the traditional value systems of Ihiala conflicted with christian-cum- western cultural values. This placed some of the early converts in a cruel illenma; ether to embrace the new religion #and be cut off from the traditional society they had laboured hard to achieve high so..:ial status or continue in the old system and 'lose the benefits 3.n the emergent society brought about by Christianity. This made some of the converts sceptical of Christianity, and so, reverted to the traditional religion and way of life. Others embraced Christianity but could not shed all aspects of the traditional life opposed to the ideals of Christianity, In other words, they either compromised some aspects of the traditional belief or adapted them

.: -.toChristianity.. One instance cxf the problem of integration into the ideals of Christianity was the case of Madubugwu Okwuosa, He was one of the great men that emerged shortly before the advent of the christian missions in Ihiala, He had taken the highestxo title, and as early as 1914, used corrugated iron sheets to roof his house,. He married the eighth-.wife the same year he embraced Christianity. In order to receive baptism, he denounced all his wives but oce, and also, renounced all his- titles,. He was baptised as &.braham Madubugwu Okwuosa in 1915. From then, he directed all hi.s energies towards the growth of the charch, participated in all its ceremonies and held tenaciously to the doctrine. However, the need to raise a:large family befitting his wealth and status, and the urge to relate with his former social peers prompted him to have a revulsion of he attitude against Christianity, In 1917,,reverted to traditional life and b.egan to reclaim his former social titles. In 1918, he again married an eighth wife, but 21 unfortunately, died of the influenza of that period, This case is nat only an illustration of the problem of a convert in the early stages of Christianity in Ihiala, but shows the problem of uprooting the convert from the culture and environment he was deeply rocted in, .Abraham Okwuosa. was unable to find meaning in the christian society and monogamous life he had adopted for three years. Agein, it shows 'the impression christian values had on the cream of the society who embraced ban* It equally shows how slightly christian values and ideals sat' on some of the early converts. A'gai'n, it is worthy-to note the paradox in the attitude of the chief upp porters and' patrons of the main line missior.~- Chief ksoegwu Nwanakez'i and Odimegwu Igweghe for the Anglican and Catholic churches, respectively, None of them embraced the christian faith despite their close association with these missions. They 'rather clung strongly to the traditional religion, Chief Odimegwu Igwegbe was so resolute about this that he allowed none of his children to embrace Christianity or attend schools in his life This shows that they supported the christian missions. for reasons entirely outside the admiration of the christian values and ideals. kppasently, they found them unsuitable for the traditional society and the world they knew, Kgoin, it showed a tota.1 rejection of the ideals of Christianity.. Nonetheless, some of the people embraced Christianity and western education, and made career in the opportunities they offered. Prominent among these were Theophilus Nghnwuchu, James A'nyake and Peter Odife. 23 They served as mission school-teachers and catechists in several communities in I gboland, especially, the Owerri azbea:, For instance, the contributions of James knyake to the growth ofi the Anglican church in Mbieri are still remembered in the missionary history of the towne24

knother aspect ,,.' :; ;k'-~k?.the ideals of hat Chri~tianity~failedto penetrate the society was the -osu caste practice. The freeborn converts refused to atssociate or relate with them,. The .mu in I hiala did not easily embrace dhristianity and western education, This initial passive attitude was bas~don sheer inferiority complex and ritual restrictions imposed on them, It took the persuasion and coaxing of.;the freeborn converts to lure them to church and schools, This accounts for their relative educational and econoqic backwardness compared with what obtained in most other places in ~~boland?However, it is necessary to state that this situation appeared to be peculiar to Ihida, The trend seemed not to accord with the thesis on the au receptivity to dhristianity and education in several 26 other calrrnunities in T gboland. Paradoxically, the freeborn converts, to a large extent persisted in the discrimination against the osu despite the role they played in luring them to .Christianity. The freeborn converts, for instance, insisted on a closed marriage against them, Mccording to Philip Okwuoss; The freeborn converts persuaded the au to accept Christianity so as to free themselves from the bondage of the deities, enable them to receive God's salvation and education 6r:self-improvement, but not to relate with them or erase the social stigma on them.27 Oral information from several sources tend to corroborate this view. However, the J ehovah' 8 witnesses seemed to be the exceptions to this attitude,. At. few of them married the au. Unfortunately, the freeborn converts of other denominations joined with the non-converts to ostracize the off-springs of s~chcouples from the society, The discrimination against the xuand the social. injustice they suffered were so kntense that even the law of the defunct Eastern Nigerian gove:rnment, 29 abolishing the aupractices among the Tgbo could not put an end to the practice in I hiala, Kgain, the role of the nmanwu cult as an instrument of social control, source of entertainment and recreation survived all tho attempts made by the first missionaries and some early converts to stifle it. Initiati.orr into the cult persisted even among some of the converts. However, the adherents of the Jehovah's witnessoe and Faith Tabernacle Congregation churches, refused to be initiated into the cult,. The continued practice of polygynydato a great extent, hamper the full integration of christian :deals in some o:f the converts. Unfili'illed marriage expectations compelled some converts to take additional wives, thus violating the rule against polygyny. The issue of polygyny among christians in Ihiala, and indeed, the entire Igboland, was made complex by the people' s belief in the continuity of the family kine through male issues, and the indispensable role of the off'springs as security to their aged parents. Hence childbessness and failure to produce male child compelled men to take additional wives. &gain, from the l9%s, some converts joined issues with their various churches on the aberration on polygyny.30 They viewed it from the Igbo perspective which saw polygyny as an essential ingredient of family life. However, the J ehovahs Witnesses and Faith Tabernacle congregation churches'adherents, despite all odds encountered in their marriages, remained solidly against the practice. Related to this was the problem that arose from the aotitle institution. The early. missionaries showed strong antipathy towards the institution right from the inception of their activities in ~hiaia. They tended to associate everything abmt it with idolatory and, therefore, banned the converts from taking it. Most

.r 9 the aotitle holders were required to renounce it before they could be admitted into the church. But the people's penchant for the &o title could not be easily wished away, Some influential and well placed Catholics in Igboland mounted inexorable pressures on the church to reverse her strong antixo stance. The problem thus generated became so complex and ruinous on the church that A'rchbishop Heerey in 1961 31 issued a1 conciliatory decree on the ao,title. This wars modified in 1966, It permitted the Catholics in Igboland to take aotitle which was devoid of the rites of initiation the church considered idolattous, Instead, the title was taken in the khristian wayt with the Rev. Father consecrating the insignia of the -ozo titke holder, This development opened the flood gate for the Catholics in I hiala to take the aotitle, Prominent among the catholics that first took the aotitle were Boniface I gboanugo, Sylvester Edebechi and Ignatius 0 dimegwu,. A'gain, to demonstrate their affinity for the traditick1 values, -some rich, titled and polygynous among the Catholics in Igboland formed a formidable 32 interest group, the akajiaku. Some eligible Catholics in Ihiale equally joined this association.. It served as ai psychological booster to the marginalization they suffered on account of their plural marriage and social titles.

However, this association was not recognized as a church organization. The Anglican church in the entire lgboland did not reverse the stand on the --ozo title system despite several conferences called to that effect. 33 Instead it encouraged the adherents to have f lambouyant cnurch wedding as a counter to the --ozo title. It branded it ozo ndi---' uka ---ozo title ior cnristians. This appelation appealed most to

the sensiblblities of the less enlicljr~t~:?r~ecirneinbrrs of' the church. Again, to futher distract the c.onverts i-rom the ozo title institutions, the ~nglicanchurch msmission errcourayed the formation of i%ents Christian ,issociation

(A,) This association served the very va1,uablc

purpose ok oryankzing male members of the church under

one social uiilb.relis, I t ~;nph~sizt;.r_lyr.ayer and 17;utdal

assistance arn0nqs.t the members a11d herved 3 social function somewhst similar to the insurance scheme the --oeo title 34 institution proviued h~rrhen~ber s.

~nokheraspect of the traditional practice which

the converts had pr~blernsin refraining from, was funeral.

rites, This w&s made n?or,e complex Ly the role the

christ.ian was expected to plsy in the burial o:r @ " titled non-convert father or relative. The christian could be given a church burial without raising my dust, but the christian, on the other hand, was responsible for tho burial of a. titled non-convert father. Custom and tradition proscribed certain rites which the children and relatives of the dead titled man compulsorily carried out.. Unfortunately, it was these rites tha:t the churches considered nunchristianM. This posed an enormous problem for the converts. Some converts chose not to participate directly in such rites.. Rathe5 they provided the necessary financial requirements and elected close relatives to stand on their behalf, while others tried to rebuff them entirely. 35 However, with the passage of time, converts of long estabXished confessions - the R.C .M. and n'nglican church, began to participate openly in the funeral rites of dead non-convert relatives. The funeral rites of christians even began to respect aspects of the traditional values. The full integration of the converts to the ideals 'and values of Christianity remained the greatest problem of the christian missions in Ihiala:. It was exacerbated by the rising tide of culturad nationalism among the Igbo christians from the late 1940s. This movement sought to expose the wealth and depth of Igbo world view, value systems and beliefs, It also r,&abilitated aspects of the traditional Igbo religion and culture that were wholesome, but regarded as tunclcfstlan' by the missionaries and some of the earliest converts, Again, for the fact that the traditional religion and value systems provided the spirit.ua1 cement that bound individuals and groups in the society, it was difficult for Christianity to gut them out of relevance, As a result, while still proclaiming Christianity, the vast majority of the converts in Ihiala retained aspects of their traditional values and religion. Moreso, some of the churches allowed their members to participate in some of the traditional values and culture they had earlier considered antagonistic to the ideals of Christianity. For instance, it was a. common sight to see the nrnanwu cult initiate and the polygynist sharing pew in the church with the monogamist and non-initiate into the nmanwu cult, By and large, traditional valu2s and beliefs showed resilience to the attempt by the christian missionaries to stifle them. This shows their importance and relevance in the lives of the people. Although,

+' %\; . .. ----+ there.were traces of change, the traditional institutions,

belief practices and valua syctems of the people still retained their basic character.

C) I ntra-Missions Rivalry This section of the study examines the relations within the various missions in I hiala with a view to identlfyin; dissensions within them. The Anglican church was the only mission that had internal strife. The causes were not unconnected with the problems that arose from sit,ing,the headquarters of the new districts that emerged as the church grew and expanded. Each contending community or church station considered itself more elicible for the headquarters of

tho newly created d:i.s.t;rict. There were two instances of this conflict, viz; the I hiala-Okija conflict of 1954; and St. Silas St. Stephens conflict of 1958 and 1963.

The T hialn-Okija Conflict of 1954 The causes of this conflict have bean hiehlighted-?t. .4n attempt is made here to examine it..; nature and

effect on the activities of i.he Angl-ican' church in I hiala. Each contendinf; community presented reasons to validate its claims for the district headquarters through the severkl representations it made to the diocesan authorities. Furth(~rmore, they either initiated new projec'ts in the church or expanded the existing ones, For instance, the Okija, Anglican community embarked on a parsonage project at a strategic location along the

Onitsha-Onerri trunk 'At road, specifically t'o attract the district headquarters while I hiala expanded and refurbished the station-teacher's resi-dence at St, '~ilas 37 church station, The Ihiala Anglican community considered very unfair the manner the diocesan authorities resolved the conflict, The administrative headquarters of the district was located at St, Silas statior, while the house built by Oki ja (St, Mary's parsonage) was used for the parsonage. For administrative effectiveness and convenience at leest, the parsonage and districts administrative headquarters ought to be located in the same church station, The St, Silns' church station deserved these, It was located at a more central place and was the centre for the dispersion of the Anglican church to other communities that made up the new district, Moreover, the station- teache$s residence was refurbished and expanded tc an appreciable standard, The reasons put forward by the diocesan huthorities that the St, Silas' station was inaccessible by road and remotely located from the Ihiala urban center, appeared rathcr too weak,. They contradict the preference of St, S~lasIchurch station as the administrative headquarters of the new distric? The I hiala Anglican community could not conceal her indignation at the injustice and bias in the diocesan authoritie; decision on the conflict, Venn F.4, Eriobuna saw the settlement as "sharing a disputed pot of porridge between the contestant and rightful ownerI1', 39 The loss of the parsonage of the new district prompted Ihiala to think along the line of establishing an outstation a,t a strategic location along the Onitsha- Owerri trunk IA.' road,. This gave birth to the idea of St, Stephen1 s outstation, Unfortunately, developments from this caused anothe-t. rift within the members of the Anglican church in I hiala..

St, Silas' -St, Stephen1s Conflict of 1958 and 1963 The causes of this conflict have been examined,40

The nature and its effect are hereby highlighted,. . The controversy the status of the' newly approved St, Stephen's outstation would have in relation -.::;.tb, the parent station, the St, ~ilas'station, simmered. frcm the conception of the idea of St, stephen's outstation, The tacit agreement by the I hiala Anglican community for establishing the new outstation was to transfer the Anglican. church to such a strategic location on the

Onitsha-Owerri trunk 'Dl road that would forestall any An@ ra n embarrassment similar to what it had when OkijaAcommunity contested the headquarters of the newly created district,.41 However, the section of the town in which the station was initially located felt it would lose her prime position and therefore worked against the re-locaition- The section of the town in which the St, Stephen out- station was to be built, on the other hand, insisted on. the implementation of the terms of the agreement. The smoulder which these claims generated became full blaza in the 19.58 Xnnual General Meeting of the I hiala hglican community. One of the major issues on the agenda of the year's meeting was the status of the new station in relation to the St. Silas' station, The debate on this matter got fierce as both parties argued with strong passion, The climax was I keasoinba , \ A'soegwu' s virtuperation on members of. the St. Stephens out sta,tion present at the meeting. This stirred a. ' confusion that almost marred the general meeting. 42 However, a concensus was reached,. The St. Stephen's out- station succeeded in asserting some degree of' autonomy. A'. church-teacher was posted there in 1960, while the St, Silast statioB retained its statas. Conflict between the rival stations re-occurred as Oki ja was granted an autonomous district in 1963. Members of the' St, Stephens out station again, pressed for the location of the Ihiala district headquarters in their station, They felt they could use the advantage of their strategic location on the Onitsha-Owerri trunk 'A" road and at the centre of the Ihiala urban town to Mrest the district headquarters from St, Silas' station. The several representations made to the diocesan authorities 43 to that effect proved futile, The researcher found that these conflicts deeply implanted hatred in the relations between members of the two stations. None passed complimentary remarks on each other in the course of his contact with them during his field work, d I nter-Missions Relations

The pjmdr-y' ' motive of the five missions that J proselytized Ihiala in the period studied was to convert the people to christianity. the desire too attract adherents to their missions and!?:, to have preponderant membership, The difference in the missions lay in their doctrine, To maintah the division each adopted' strategies which permitted minimal social interactions with others, They operated as closed groups and prohibited marriages outside 99

their denominations. They claimed this practice enabled

them to stabilize the christian beliefs of their converts 4-4 and prevent doctrinal pollution. But unfortunately, it divided the town along denominational lines, The dominant missions in Ihiala were the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. They were the first and second missions, respectively, :to establish at I hiala and their converts,were drawn'trom the traditional religionists. Others arrived long afterwards, Their adherents were chiefly re-converts from either of the older confessions. Became of poor numerical strength, their influence on . the society and on the inter missions relations were quite in~;ignificant. T t IGon account of thin that tho inter- mission relations in this study would tend to emphasize the relations between the dominant missions. The relations between them and their impact on the society form the focus of this section of the study, The relations between the mainline missions was acrimonious, This would appear to be the most disguhting feature of the christian missionary enterprise in 1.hialak The divisions introduced into the fabric of the society

as a3 result of the bitter and rancuorous relations between members of the mainline misfiions was so intense that an observer commented that "the relations between members of the C .M.S, and R.C,W, was so acrimonious that one began to wonder if they were adherents of the same religion or religi0~8antagonistic to each othertt. 45 The greatest bane of the missions in Ihiala lay 'in the aspect of the Igbo Catholic teaching which enjoined the adherents thus, I1Thou shalt regard lProtestantsr as thy enemiestt. 46 This unwholesome doctrine was again stated in their catechism which taught Itthat to attend a non-Catholic school or a non-Catholic church is to offend the first commandment of God". 47 Commenting on the unsalutory effect of such teachings, at prominent Catholic in I hiala, in exasperation, stated that; The earliest missionaries (Rev,. Fathers) deceived us. They tore the town apart with their: divisive tsachings.. It was an anathema for the Catholic to attend the same social functions, like funersl or marriage feasts with his kinsman who is an Anglican,48 He further stated that "the much permissible was to keep the Anglicans separately at such public functions, 49 This practice sparked off very strong anti-catholic sentiments among the Anglicans and fostered enmity between them. The bitterness that characterized their relations became so acute that their members "thought it more fashionable to dine and wine with the non-converts than the other..... n 50 This had far reaching consequencies on the christian missionary enterprise in Ihiala. The adherents of the Lo missions openly inveighed on each other and spoke disparagingly on the doctrine and some of the practices of the other. For instance, the Catholics called the Anglicans heretics and fanatics who desecrated the town with their practices, This was because the Anglicans cleared the evil forests in the town, wilfully killed the sacred animals and roasted yam in the embers'of their gfo. 51 The Anglicans on the other hand, called the Catholics 'pagans' and idolators, on account of their liberal policies on admission and church membership, coupled with their use of symbols and objects in religious worships, The sphnetic hatred the two denominations had for each other found its expression in the relations, both at inter-personal and group levels, between theis members, Instances of bitterness, ill tempers and hostilities to each other abound, Some of them are highlighted to show the intensity of the animosities. One of such incidents was recorded by Rose Okeke, A'ccording to her source; .. . James Oguanobi brought a. book akwukwo am ndu (a popular vernacular text used by the C .M,S, mission in Igboland) . When Fr. Bindel Saw the book, he asked James to bring it, The father found out that it was a CJLS, book and not a catholic book and so tore it to pieces, He condemned (sic) the book and asked the people not to read such bad books and associate with the nProtestsnts1fl.53 The Re,. FrS stern reproof of James Oguanobi' s possession of the text, not doubt, ~houedhin deeply rooted aversion

to the C,M .So mission and everything associated with it. The Catholics in Ihiala imbibed this antipathy he had for the C,M,S., and imbued with hatred they began to relate with the adherents of the Anglican church with spite.. Kgain,.Anglicans refused suitors from the catholic denomination and vice versa,. The marriage proposal Gilbert Okeke, a. Catholic made to Janet Ewulu, an Anglican, hit the rocks because of denomihational prejudices. Both denominations refused to assent to the marriage proposal even when the intending partiler, had consented, 54 Related to this was the ban the Catholic mission placed on social interactions between her members and those of the Anglican church. It was forbidden for the Catholic to attend the wedding feasts or. funeral rites of an Anglican, For instance, Alfred Ukaku set separate tables for entertaining the Catnolics and Anglicans in his wedding feast in 1937.55 Pgain, the Catholic members of an artisan association who attended the burial of their Anglican colleague in 1952, were penalized by the Be~erendfather. 56 The major effect of this division was that individual and group relations in the town tended to follow denominational lines, It was possible for ar. member of a particular denomination to know and relate with his colleagues in remote towns than. his kinsman who is cf the other denomination. 57 Alpart from the effects of the divisive teachings of the Catholic mission, sequence of events preceding the advent of both missions in Ihiala played a cardinal role in fostering the rancourous relations between them, The contest for the vacant stool of oluoha~had divided the town along two power blocks, with each supporting either of the candidates. Incidentally, the first christian mission in Ihiala established under the aegies of the supporter of one of the contestants, The obvious advantages and popularity his group derived from this association prompted the rival contestant to seek the assistance of another mission to bolster up his influence. The R.C.M. which had just established in the town provided him a good ally. Consequently, the missions became embroiled in the contest as they supported the rivd candidates. 58 The divisions which the contest had created in the town was reinforced' by the activities. of the missions. It was further exacerbated as people who shared sympathy for a particular contestant tended to associate with the

mission that supported hi,,p-" ,,.$ Thus., the contest I, degenerated into a denorni4a;tional ;struggle. The Anglican f., , church station teacher was unhappy with the deposition of

Chief ksoegwu Nwanakezi, an hglican church sympathizer. That he was never recalled showed the strangkhukl 'the Catholics exerted, on the dative 'court. This

/ indicates the missions1 involvement in the politics of the town. 59 Thus, the acrimonious relations between the missions was, in part, a recrudescence of the division the contest for the vacant stool of oluohal engendered in the society. However, the people were able to contrive internal devices that countered the divisions the activities' of the missions introduced into I hiala. e) The people; Responses The fore-going studies in this chapter have established that the value systems, beliefs and cultural practices of the people were the primary contact points of .Christianity with the societyc and the missionaries and some of the converts showed remarkable contempt for them. This tended to destroy the basis of the traditional society. Secondly, the converts reacted differently to the christian message. Some held tenaciously to the faith and treated the traditionaLvalues with contempt, Others could not shed all aspects of all the traditionaz values even when they proclaimed ChristianPty, A\ few reverted to the traditional religion not too long after they embraced Christianity. Again, the Anglican church had internal strife, And finally, the relations between the dominant miesions tended to be antagonistic. The peoples1 cummulative responses to these forms the focus of this section of the study. The people were indifferent to the contempt~us manner the missionaries treated the traditional values and belief systems of 1.hiala. This attitude was predicated on their belief in the vindictiveness of the gods towards those who defiled their sanctity.' But it astonished the people that such converts got scot free from the punishment that were usually the lots of such offenders, 60 Again, colonial conquest had instilled fear of the white- n& man on the people. So, they didneasily challenge such attitude of the converts.. The failure of the gods to avetge the assault on them caused the people to doubt their potency and reinforced the process that led to the corrosion of the traditional values of Ihiala. However, the people, though hesitantly, agreed with some practices which the missionaries condemned. For instance, thin murder, killing of babies that cut the upper tooth first and dedicating human beings to the deities were discontinued. 61 Again, the success of the christian mission^ in. winning converts introduced a new social phenomenon in the town, A, set of people with new world view, engendered by Christianity, began to emerge. They questioned the validity and relevance of the gods and acted in utter defiance of the ethos of the society; This drew the town into two divides; namely, Ndi uka The christians and Ndi ogo nmuo, the non converts. While the former were noted for their adherence to the ideals of Chr.ictianity and penchant for western values, the latter held to the traditional gods and value systems. Both operated as parallel groups in the town with each practising itis belief systems without molestation from the other. There were no cases of open physical conflict in the relations between them. 62 The strife in the Anglican church did not evoke any remarkable reactions from the people. Most of them were ignorant of it because it was purely an internal problem of the C.M.S. mission. Its effect on the society appeared quite inconsequential. 63 , The bitter relations between the members of the mainline missions was the aspect of the christian missionary enterprise in Ihiala that disgu sted all segments of the society - the christians and traditional religionists alike. The trad:i.tional religionists were perplexed at the degree of acerbitY members of the various denominations and missionaries "who claimed to preach the message of the same Eod"64 unleashed on each other. Mbalaso Odimegwu aptly recaptures the impression of the

non-converts on the bitter relations between the denorinations when he stated that, "they (the missionaries and adherents of mainline missions) talked with their tc,ngues in iheir cheek. They told us to love our neighbours like ourselves, but could not ralate cordially with their the brothers in,other mission". 6.5 However; thrt impact of thc bit tcr relations between

the rncrnbers of the two missions attracted thc attention of some sefyment of the popul.ation. some students, teachers and civil servants formed the I hiala Youth Association

(1.Y-A,) in the late lc3140s with the aim of fostering friendly relations between the various denominations. I t embarked on a number of projects and social'activities which tended to unite members of the various missions. For instla.3ce, Almanacs with photographs and information on leading ioembers of the Association and important dignitories in the town were produced, Carnivals in which youths from the various villages presented concerts and plays were organized every christmas eve. Through these activities, the I .Y .A. countered the divisions introduced in the society by the activities of the mainline denominations. 66 Presently, while several Igbo Citholics rejected suitors from the Anglican denomination, in Ihiala marriages were freely contracted between the members of the denominations without parents of the spouses or the Catholic church authorities raising objections to them. Studies in this chapter established the dynamics of the interaction and contact of the christian missions with the society. It further highlighted the way and manner the society adjusted and adqpted to the changes they induced. -NOTES F.K. Ekechi, "African polygamy and Western .. . - Ethnocentricisml'. ~obnalof African Studies (J.A.S.) 3, 111, 1976, P.. 330 Quoted in J.F'.A'. A jayi, Christian Missions in Nigeria 1841-1891: The Making of a new elite. (London: Longman Publishers, 1965) , p.. 120. F.K.. Ekechi, ltA"frican Polygamy .. . It , p.. 340. E. Ilogu, Christianity and Ipbo Culture. (New York: Nok Publishers, 1974) , p. '45. M banaso Odimegwu, circa, 85 years, farmerLcommunity leader, interviewed at Mbarakpaka village, Ihiala, 6th July, l993? E.0, Egboh, tlConflict Between traditional Religion and Christianity in T: tclandw. Journal of West African Religion fE) , 10. July 1971, p. 31. J .So Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy, (London: OUP ., 1969) , p. 49. Mbanaso Odimegwu, interview cited; Okoroaf or Osuagwu C. 80 years, farmer/herbalist, interviewed at Umudara village, I hiala 4th July, 1993.. C .E. Obi, "L.History cf Christianity in I hiala 15)08-19771r (BOAo project report, Dept. of Religion, IJ.N,Ne 1978) , PO. 250 M banaso Odimegwu and Okorie Osuagwu; interviews cited. Mbanaso Odimegwu and Okorie Osuagwu; interviews cited,. Philip Okwuosa, circa 80 years, retired civil servant, interviewed at Ihiala, 14th July, 1993; and Sylvester Gdebeatu 56 years, interviewed at Obodoarno village, Ihiala, 12th July, 1993. M banaso Odimegwu, Okorie Osuagwu, interviews cited, Solomon Asika, C . 65 years, businesbman, interviewed at Ihiala 9th July, 1993, The Christian Aew Testament. Acts of the A'postles 15. *'F';A, Eriobunah, circa, 57 years, Akchdeacon, I hiala . - Archdeaconry, interviewed at St. Silas' parsonage, Ihiala on 5th July, 1993.. - 16. Mbanaso Odimegwu, interview cited, 17. The Christian dew Teatament, 1 Timothy, 4: 2-3. 18. Philip Okwuosa and..F.A". Eriobunah; interviews cited.. 19, Mbanaso Odimegwu, F.A.. Eriobuna and Philip Okruowa; interviews cited.. 20. M bala.so Odimegwu and Okoroafor 0 suagwu; interviews cited, 21. Beatrice Odife, circa, 90 years, women leaderkhousewife interviewed at M barakpaka village, I hiala 30th June, 1993. 22, Brendan Odimegwu, circa 70 years, retired civil servant, interviewed at Mbarakpaka village,: I hiala 3rd July, 1993..

23, Philip Okwuosa, I8A-n address presented at the 80th ' hniversa~~celebration of the Anglican church in I hiala. 24, S.B.C. hyanwu, "The growth of Nazareth Anglican Parish Mbieriw. Ah address presented at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Nazareth Parish, Ohbhia Mbieri, 10th August, 1993- 25. Philip Okwuosa, Solomon PY.sika, and F,&. Eriobuna, interviews cited. 26.. The thesis on the aureceptivity to Christianity tends to suggest that the osu was the social class in Igboland that most eagerly embraced Christianity. BTor a detailed information on this, see: Chinusr Achebe, -Thinqs Fall Apart. (London: Fhinemann, 1958). 27. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited, 28. Joseph Onwuchekwa, circa 72 yearo, businessman,. interviewed at I hiala 18th July, 1993. 29, Eastern Region of Ni eria Gazatte NO.. 26 vol., 15 ( 15th kpril 195% par! k) , p. 91. . Philip Okwuosa, interview cited; and B.enson C, Odif e, 68 years, retired civil servant, interviewed at Owerri, 3rd June, 1993.. the text on the decree, see Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu (B,M.S.) Enugu, The Torch No.. 24 December 1961, For the modifications see; Fa& A'rinze, "On the instructions on Catholics on so Ekl~hkaq". Onitsh$December, 1966 (Cf. also noLr: 31 or .R.A. Ozigbo, Txbo Catholicism: The Onitsha Connection 1967-1984. (Onitsha: Africana , =985),72 .. E.O. Egboh, "Conflict between Traditional Religion.. .", pa 17.. E, Ilogu, Christianity and Igbo Culture .., pp. 73-74. Philip Okwuosa, interview cited, M banaso Odimegwu, Benson Odif e,' interviews cited, See chapter IV of this study, Solomon Asika, Philip Okwuosa interviews cited. Beneth Anoliefo, circa, 76 years, interviewed at Ubahu Okija on 10th July, 1993, F,A. Eriobunah, interview cited, F.Ai. Erfobunah, interview cited, See chapter IV of this sduty.. Solomon Ksika, Robinson D zowulu and Philip Okwuosa., interviews cited, Minutes of the 1958 A'nnual General Meeting of the St. Silas Church Ihiala, 9th December, 1958, Solomon A'sika, interview cited, Philip Okwuosa, interview cited, Sylvester ~debeatu,interviews cit,ed. Jones Onwuchekwa 68' years, retired headmaster, interviewed at Ihiala 19th July, 1993. Mbanaso Odimegwu, interview cited, Quoted in Elizabeth I sichei, A! History of the Iabo People,. (London:; Macmillan, 1976) , p. 170, For similar views, Boniface Igboanugo 72 years, retired cbuel: ~lerk,interviewed at Ihiala: in 29th July, 1993. I .HA, Ozigb&, Tgbo Catholicism ,. ., p. 84. Boniface Igboanugo, interview cited,.

, Boniface Igboznugo, interview cited, Ph,ilip Okwuosa, interview cited, Sylvester Edebeatu, interview cited, Solomoc Nsika, interview cited, R.U. Okake, "The Coming of the R.C.M. to I hiala 1911- 1960tt. (N.C.E, project report, Dept. of History, A',I.C.E, Owerri, 19771, p. 26, Solomon Asika and Robinson Uzowul.~, interviews cited, R,U. Okeke, "The coming of the R,C ,M.. .. . I I , pa 27, Aloysius Igboanugo, circa, 74 years, businessman interviewed at IJ zoakwa, I hialam27th July, 1993,

B enson Odif e, Philip Okwuasa and Boniface I gboanugo, interviews cited, See chapter I1 of this study, See chapter I11 of this study.. Fa& Eriobunah, Solomon ksika; interviews cited, Philip Okwuosa and Benson Odife; interviews cited. Boniface I gboanugo, Elenson Odif e and M balaso Odimegwu; interviews cited, Philip Okwuosa, interview cited, Mbanaso Odimegwu, interview cited, Mbanaso Odimegwu, interview cited, Boniface I gboanugo, and Philip Okwuosa.; interviews cited.. Boniface I gboanugo, interview cited,. CHAPTER VI: CONTINUITTES AND CHANGES

Studies on the rhiala response to Christianity tend to suggest a phenomenal acceptance of the religion without thoroughly examining the degree of change Christianity brought upon the society, Similarly, they tend to ignore the role, of Christianity in the configuration of the emergent society.' This section of the study seeks to fill these gaps, Tt will examine the response to Christianity in Ihiala with a vlew to identifying the underlying reasons for its acceptance, Again, it will highlight the continuities and changes in the belief, value systems and cultural practices of Thiala in reaction to the onslaught by Christianity, a Christianity and the Emergent Society The place of Christianity in the emergent Igbo society has attracted the attention of scholars, They have articulated reasons for the Igbo response to Christianity, The conclusions tend to suggest that the

Igbo massively embraced Christianity, It is in the

-light of the above that J,S, Coleman, in bewilderment, exclaimed that, "It is difficult to explain the amazingly 2 rapid adootion of Christianity among the Ibo pe&plew. Similarly, Sylvia Leith-Ross conjectures;

I think it is true to say that only among the I bo has there been what could be called a! massive acceptance towards Christianity.3 However, Simon Ottenberg explained this in terms of the Igbo receptivity to dange. He contends that the cultural adaptability of the Igbo made them open their mind to changesa4 V.C. Ilchendu rightly argued that the Igbo accepted only those changes that brought social improvements, 5 This section of the study, with reference to Ihiala, re-examines the Igbo receptivity to Christianity and explains the reasons behind the people's response to it. It has keen established elsewhere in this study that the greater number of the people initially spurned and disparaged the churches before what appeared as a massive acceptance of itO6But the question that arises is: Why such an acceptance after the initial resistance? Venn.' F.K.. Eriobunah is of the opinion that it was made possible by the perva~ivepowers of the Holy Ghost to intervene in human affairs.? DpC.. Okeke attributes it to the missionaries appreafation of the place of Chukwu in Igbo Similarly, I .R.&.. Ozigboh adds that the success of the Roman Catholic mission was partially through the effect of the resemblance between Catholic l.'ilc :; tron:; bc1.i~fs in supreme bein!;, the I-iib1.b world and life after death, 'ihc ::r:c:C1 for prayer, sacrifice and obcc!:i.c.nce to deities etc. became the bricllge r.~l:ich .I;Iic .. . doc trines on Chri.:; t , heaven, 1:hc l~'.c:;:;ed trinity, :!;race, the mass and Z~LC~T~::IC~I~Swere npprehencied by the pi?ople.g

of cnl.olli:\:l. -tb18l c ~):l.:~:lciln prit~cii)i:~l 1.01 e in thc Tk.;L)o response to C!l::i;; l;i::uLty. Tn :;11pport of the t~~~r~q~e~t theory 'I, :;. U. ICzi IL :~tltlr; t!~i~t\j!ic~~ tl~e :;oc icty in endar~gered, conquered ant.'. subjecicd to su2,len and violent changes, the beliefs which \lc.re inseparably liked with it began to have 11 limited, rel.::livc nxl pe~hnpsexhaustive vnlidity.

on1.y to tl~cc?::i;it!:t f;!i~tthey enhanced the Igbo apprehension of Christ:'~:t!~Sty, ;jut could not lead to a massive acceptance of it. ,171~~;~C~IIC~LICS~ t!i(:oryll and the concomittant situation

engendered 1j;r co? onj.21.i 513 np?ear to be the f undarnerltal The British conquest of the I hiala area coincided with the establishment of the first 'mission.. 8. Native court was established at Ihiala in 1909, l2 while the first mission arrived in 1908. or ever, before 1908 the colonial forces had'carried out series of military expeditions in the t'.challa group, which Ihiala was part of. Prominent among these were the 1902/03nexpedit-Lon ir~which they had assisted Ihiala in overwhelmning the belligerent Uli, l3 It would appear this made I hiala favourably dispoeed towards the missionaries, as they had found favour in an earlier association. with the whiteman, hain, the 1907 military expedition tigainst Okija instilled fear of the British in the communities in the locality, The development from this event tends' to accord with Ogbu Kalut s position that chances of missionary successes were greater in.communities cndergoing social crisis at the time the missionaries arrived, 14 The services provided by the christian missioos would appear to exp1aA.n the apparent massive acceptance of christianity in Ihiala. The most prominent of these social services was the school,. It was identified by the agents of the various missions as the most veritable instrument that mads Christianity attractive to the people, Education, which the schools offered, meant unravelling the mystery behind the whiteman's knowledge and gave the ability to read, write and communicate in the English language, Again, the acquisition of educatjon provided opportunities for earning ready wages in the church, government departments and European trading companies in contrast to the relatively unproductive drudgery of farming. Commenting on the role of education in the response to Christianity in Igboland, which Ihiala is an integraz part of, Bishop Shanahan wrote; If we go from town to town talking about God, we know from our experience that much of our efforts brings no result, But no one is opposed to schools,l5

This was because, l1educationtt, according to E ,Lo kyandele, ttcame to be seen as the open sesame to the new world the Igbo were being led to envision l6 In corroboration with this assertion, S.N.. Nwabara rightly stated that the Igbo were filled with passion for Christianity; not because local religion was abandoned in preference for Christianity but because many parents had begun to appreciate the economic value of education which the missionaries offered,l? 611 this indicates that the acceptance of Christianity and western education Wac based more on instrumental terms than an intrinsic desire to embrace them. Thus, it was in the bid to satisfy the crawing for education in the people that the main-line missions established schools simultaneously with churches in a11 the villages, In fact,so entwinned were they that the school buiiuii~ysequally served as church, and the schaol teacher the same as the church teacher, The Faith Tabernacle Congregation even established a school despite

her very lean financial resources,

Other services the missions offered which stimulated the massive acceptance of Christianity were medical services and drugs, They provided cure for several ailments the traditional medical acxtvrs, -dibia , could net. Acknewledqing the irtfluence of medical services in attracting the people te Christianity, a missionary in Igboland stated that. @@thecure we gave the children and 18 the diseased has easily attracted them to the missionsn, The Roman catholic hissisn maintained, a lead in these services, They established. an orphanage which later grew

to the Our Lady of Lourdes hospital Ihiala. Again, the presentation of gifts of alluring items fascinat:ed the people and attracted them to the missi@ns. The hvcrend Fathers were noted for the di~p~n~ati~nof such gifts, Another motivating factsar was the awe and curiosity the presepce of the eyibo (European) elicited from the people, Seme people embraced ehristlanity in order te have contact with the whiteman and acquira his intelligence, 19 This conclusion does not, however, invalidate the logic that spme people accepted Christianity on rel'igious basis and personal conviction, The salient issue is that the massive acceptance of the religion after be initial Pidr c CI tii~ hesitation, wasnmore on instrumental terms than the desire to practice the religion, In conclusion, the spur of the response to Christianity was the weakening of the traditional society by the forces of colonialism, This was reinforced by the desire of the people to benefit from the social services the missions offered, b), Continuities and Changes

This study has established that the weakening of the traditional society by the forces of colonialism and the desire to benefit from the services provided by the missions were the chief reasons for which the Ihiala people embraced Christianity, It stated too, that individuals renounced the traditional. beliefs and value systems the ideals of Christianity as they became christians, In other words, it was the desire of the early missionaries to transform the society in order to accord with the tenets of Christiacity, But the important question is; How much was the society changed by her interaction with the ideals of Christianity? To understand the impact of ' christianity On Ihiala, it is essential to state that the society did not cha~~gefundamentally, This research studies the impact of Christianity on the traditional belief systems of 1hla1a by examining the. the continuities and changes in the following traditional practices and belief systems, They are, -ozo title system, nmanwu cult institution, polygyny, the -osu caste system, twin murder and the killing of taboo babies, The early missionaries that proselytized Ihiala condemned the -ozo title system because of certain aspects of the initiation rites they considered ld~latkoua. and poor knowledge of the saclo-economic functions of the -ozo title holders in the society, They made it compulsory for intending converts to renounce their titles before accepting them in the churches, Similarly, a convert who took the -ozo title automatically lost his membership in the church,

The early converts embraced. this practice, However, initiation into the -ozo title system remained unabated among the non-converts, ~utwith the growth of cultural nationalism among the Igbo from the late 1910s, some

influential member^ of the R,C,M, mounted such inexorable pressures that made the mission re+&itits strong anti -ozo stance. Between 1961 and 1967, the Catholic mission introduced reforms which allowed her members to take the -ozo title without observing aspects of the initiation rites it had considered adolat*ous. Instead, the title was taken in a vchristiarl wayv with the Gverend father 20 consecrating the insignia of office, However, the pzo title system, despite these outward manifestations of change, retained its socia-economic function, It remained an institution essentially for the morally upright and well-to-do in the society, Aside from its function as an agent of social control and recreation, the nmanwu cult was believed to be the corporeal manifestation of the ancestral spirits, The earliest missionaries endeavoured to exterminate this practice, It however, continued to flourish in Ihiala, 2 1 Converts initiated into the cult kept its oath of secrecy, However, the institution did undergo several changes. each lineage in Ihiala had an nmanwu cult house which was built in a permanent structure with bricks, and roofed with corrugated iron sheets instead of the traditional mud wall and raffia palm frond roof, The walls of the houses had artistic impression of skulls of different animals which signify the (attainment of the particular cult house in the hierarchy of the --nmanwu cult, It mfght astonish scholars who propagate the suffocation of the traditional beliefs and practices of ~hialaby Christianity to see that at present, the nmatlwu' cult house of ~munoqlbbilineage is adjacent to the St. Silas Anglican church. Accounts on the activities of the early missionaries reveal that the polygynist was compelled to renounce all wives but one before he could be accepted as a christian, Similarly, on no account did the convert marry several wivmso The violation of this order earned an instant excommunication

from the church, But along the line, thin ceased to be the practice. Converts could marry several wives, However, they were denied full church membership, For instance, the 22 polygynists were not allowed to partake in the eucharist. The discrimination against the -osu and social stigma on them persisted even among the converts, though with slight modifications', Modernity and urbanization made It

difficult for them to be identified in public places, The result wa:; that greater social interaction developed

bctween the,;: and the freeborn to the extent of sexual intercourse, However, they did not marryefreeborn who married the -osu were ostracized, and by implications became one, with the advent of Christianity, individuals were no longer dedicated to the deities,, hence no freeborn, except those who married the -osu acquired the status, Twin murder and killing of infants that cut the tooth of the upper jaw first appeared to be the aspect of the traditional belief practi~esof Ihiala the missionaries succeeded in abolishing, This could be explained by the increase ir, tne scientific knowledge of human physiology among the christians and non-converts, as well as the introduction of the English Penal system, The fear 62,' punishment for offences bordering OAI this made the people to jettison the practice in toto,

A thorough examination of cor~tinuitiesand changes in Ihiala snows that .the society did not completely break away or depart from t~ro: pas^. It .still rttoined aspects of the tr~aditiobral~eliefs and practices despite the influence of Christianity, CON. ub4hts position on the resilience of the culture and belief practices of the Igbo would appear to be a true reflection, of the response to

Christianity in Ihiala, He argued that; ,,. traditional religion still ruled the minds of most Igbo to a greater extent than has generally been realized, not withstanding outward mariifestations to the contrary,23

Similarly, Frank ~alomont'scontention that "little has changed in the Igbo world view ,,, the essentials still remained ...88 ,24 applies to Ihiala. In sum, the basis of the traditional ~hialavalues remained essentiilly intact despitp the attempts by ~hristianity to stifle them. The changes observable in them are the products of the dynamics of culture contact, The two cultures in contact borrow from each other. Thin accords with Mi~Ljlo~h'stheory on social change which states that the phenomenon of change resulting from the interaction between two cultures are "Far from being a mechanical joining of two original influences, rather 25 the two impinge on each otherm, -NOTES

R.U. Ol~cl;~,lIrl!he Coming of the Roman Catholic Mission to Ihiala: 1311-196611. (N.C.E. project report, Dept. of ist tory , A.I.C.S. Chlerri, 1977), and C,E. Obi, ItThe history of Christianity in Ihiala Local Government Area: 1908-1977, (LA. project Department of Religion, U.N.N., 1978).

J.S. Coleman, Nigeria Background to Nationalism. (~erkley, University of California Press, 1971), p. 96.

SO ~eith-ROSS, --African Women: A Study of the Igbo of Nigeria.' ondo don: OUP., 1939), p. 297.

S. Ottenberg, "Ibo Receptivity to Change1!, in Bascom, W.E. and Herskovits Ma J. (cds. ) Continuity and Change in African Culture. (Chicago: br.iv~rsityof Chicago Prefin, 1959) p. 130.

V.C. Uchendu, The Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria. (New York: K3l.t ,' Rinehart and Sinston, 1965), p. 19.

See chni3tcr I11 of this study.

Fa A. Eriobunah, 58 years, Archdeacon, Ihiala Anglican Archdeaconry, Interviewed at St. Silas' parsonage Ihiala on 5th July, 1993.

D. Co Olceke, quoted in, IoR.A. Ozj.~;boll, I bo Cat;holicism: -!The Onitsha Connection 1967-1984.- +--Oni tsha Africans-Fep publishers, 1985), p. 72.

IoR.A. Ozigboh, Roman Catholicism in Southeastern Nil;eria, -1885-1931 : A Study in ~olonralEvan~elism. (Onitsha: Et.ul;ok~lu press, 1988), p. 276.

10. E.A. Ayilnddc, IiThe Collapse of Pngandom in Igbolandtl, in Journal of the Historical society of ~i&ria(JHSN)- vii, i (l'-)73), pp. 125-140 and F.K. likechi, Wolonialism and Christianity in West Africa: The Igbo Case 1900-191511, in Journal of African History (~~11)- XII, 1 (l97l), PP. 103 - 115. 11. O.U. Ihlu, flBroken Covenants: Yeligious Change in Igbo I[L:;toriop;raphylf, in Onwuka, Kalu, C.N. llbah, (eds.), --I, - '.';i?ostry of the African Past. (~agos:Vista Books, ,P994). \I. R.'!?. !;iI.nc, lllntellicence report on Achalla ,croup 1935, (:!.!,.I:, OD 119 vol. 11, ONDIST 7/1/10) 5 p. 13.

GI.R.'II, i.;ilne, lfIntelligence report on Achalla group 11 p, 1L

0. U, Ichlu, Christianity in West Af~>ica:The Nigerian Story, b bad an: Daystar press, 1978), p, 360.

Bishop Shanahan, quoted in J.P.. Zordan, Bishop Shanshan- of Southern Nigeria. (~ublin:Rlo Press, repr. m, Po 82. E.A. fiyandele, I1The Collapse of Pagandom in Igbolandlt. J.II.S.II. vii, 1 (l973), p. 127.

SONe IWabarn, Iboland: A Century of Contact with nritain 1860-1960. o on don: Hodder and Stoughton, 1977),, p. iv.

Father Lutz, quoted in F.K. Ekechi, Missionary enterprise ---and Rivalry in ondo don.: Prank Cass,

F. A. Triobunah, interview cited; Philip Okwuosa, circa 75 years, retired civil servant, interviewed at Iliiala, on 7th July, 19930

See cY:?:gtcr V.B of this study.

See ch.]?.l;cr V,B of tihis study. \ See chil.pter V,B ol" this study. CON. Ubah, l~BeligiousChange among the Igbo During the

Colonial Periodll, in' ~ournalof Religion in Africa, ( J.R. A, ) 18 XVIII, 1 (~eb., 1988), 9. 84,

F.A. Salomone, fTontinuity of Igbo Values nf ter Conversion: A Study of Purity and Change". Missology 111, 1 (~anuary,19'751, po 45.

B. I.Ialilior~sl~y,The Dynamics of Culture Change. (i:c-w IIeavcn, Yale University Press, 1945), p. 26, , moment between the converts and non-converts,

Furthermore, Ihiala was able to counter the divisions the activities of the main line missions induced in the society, This is evident in the activities of the Ihiala Youth Association (I,Y,A, ), a he rhiala people were neither passive recepients c3ere of Christianity nor,,their responses mere rejection or acceptance of Christianity, The fact lies in the medial position between the two polarities.

Finally, the social mobility noticeable among Ihiala indigenes and the physical and social improvements evident in the town are some of the benefits that have accrued to Ihiala, The new jobs and professions; the monetized economy and the cultural qains resulting from the missionary enterprise and western civilization stand larqely as memorable tributes b the missionary enterprise in Thiala, ORAL A) SOURCXS PLACE OF I 1,. NAME i AGE : OCCUPATION INTERVIEW VALIDITY' DATE 1 68 Rtd. civil I&6c&ig, nQay / owerri Reliable 3.6.93 . 1 yes. servant I \ '------.-.-----.---~------.-----.------+------l------

4 ' 2.. Okwutuorah, Rtd. civil i I I I Raphael C.72 yrs servant lUmuezawala, Ihiala ~eliablef29.6.93 o~.o--.---~~-~o~~.-~~~~o~.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C~.~~~.~~~~~~.~~..~.~~.~~.~~~~~~L~~~~~.~~~ 3.' Cdife Beatrice c.90 yrs Housewife/ ! women leader Mbarakpaka Ihiala , Reliable' 30.6.93 ,,,,,,--,------&------.------*.----.-..rl 40 CdiIWgwu, Brendan C.70 yrs, Rtd, Head- I master Mbarakpaka Ihiala Reliab?a* 2.7.93 -~r------...----~----2-.-.----.----. ---f------.-----rl.--rl.--.--rl..I 5. Odife, Sydney 68 yrs. Farmer Mbarakpaka, Ihiala Reliable 2.7.93 ~o.~~.~-.~-----.-..--.---.~-L~~-L---~-~~--~------~--~-~~~.~.~~~~~~-h~-~~~o--~~ I 6. Eze, Alfred 68 yrs. Rtd. civil ------..------..------l------..------*----..----' servant EZiani 1hiala Reliable 4.7.33 7. Odimegtru, Farmer/Commu- Mbanaso 85'Ers. - . "ity leader ~bakaknaka Ihiala Reliable,I 6,7..93 -.I-.------.------.------.-.----.------bb.--2------&----&--o-- 8. Asika, Solomon .68yrs,_ .. Busincssrnan Ndiezike, Ihlala ~eliablei9.7193 --~-----o------~------.-..~------.-----~-----oo------.----. 9. Uz~lu, Rtd. civil 1 ,,7------.----Robinson 65-'yr ------,--,,-,.---.-----2------.-*------s. ' I - servant Ndiezike Ihiala ella able f 9.7.33 10, ' Oguanobi I .--.------.Nwachukwu 85 yrs.--o--o------~.--.------2---~--.------.----.--.-*..------.- Farmer Ubahu Okija Reliablei 10.7.93 * 11, Anoliefo ~enethC,70 Rtd. Head- rs master Ubahu mifa Reliable [email protected] ,,o,.----,------.,,--YYY:------,--.------z -0----.-am------12, Edebeatu School

---c--Sylvester --,-,--,--,,,,, 56 yrs.,,---,,--,--,,.-,,.------z--L------teacher Obodoawo Ihlala Reliable 12.7.93 13. Ibekwe filchad 70 yrs, Rtd, civil 1 .-,..-----..-----,,.---.------,~------l------,------*------servant Obodoawo Ihiala Reliable 13.7.93 14. Okwuosa Philip 90yrs, Rtd. civbf Ihi ---.------,------.------~-servant Mbarakpka -,-2-----,--,,------ala Reliablei--.------14.7.93 NAI4E ; AGE : OCCUPATION PLACE OF 1 i i DATE , i I INTERVISW VALIDITY ! 1

3nwuchel:t1a, Jones ,73 yrs. Rtd. Head- 1 ( i ~barakpkaIhiala /&liable I master ------~------~----i------Dsuagiu, Okorie . ~armer/~erba- Umudara, Ihiala

: Sanu, Jdhn i

Okonkwo Selmeth 50 yrs. j 3usinessman

i Ibekwe, :Solonon .72 yrs. .%do civil i ; servant Unudara Ihiala i Reliable

Igboanug~, Soniface C73 yrs.i9td. civil i servant ! Uzoakwa , Ihiala ! Reliable -,,,,,,,,-,,,,---,,,,,,.,,,,,,,,,,---,,,,-. ,,--,--,--,,------,,,,,,,,-,,,,---,,,,,,.,,,,,,,,,,---,,,,-. ,,--...------.---- { ------1------Igboanugo Lloysius ' ~74yrs. ~usinessman 1 Uzoakwa, Ihiala 1 ~eliable ,,---,,,,--,,--,,,-,,,,,-,-,,,--.,------+------+"---,------~-----,---- Madubugwu Sarmel C55 yrs. ;clergy (Pastor) / ~hristHoly church/ 1 Premises Ihiala i ~eliable Onwuche!wa Christian CSB yrs. civil Servant I Umuokpu, Akwa ; !-!eliable 1 1 . I I I i_ A. Primary Sources

I. Oral Sourcco: See the attached leaf pp. 134-5.

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