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DISSERTATION Titel der Dissertation SICKNESS AND THE SEARCH FOR HEALING IN IGBOLAND: A PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS Verfasser: MMag. Sabinus Okechukwu Iweadighi angestrebter akademischer Grad: Doktor der Theologie (Dr. theol.) Wien, im April 2011 Studienkennzahl: A 080 011 Dissertationsgebiet: Katholische Fachtheologie Betreuer: emerit. Prof. DDr. Paul M. Zulehner ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Having grown up in a Society plagued by sickness and disease worsened by lack of adequate health and medical care in the midst of poverty and hunger, a society now booming with a deep-seated hunger for miracles and healing, my journey in Pastoral Theology has often been interrupted by questions that began with ‘why’. The demand to understand ‘why’ has been motivated by my experience of a young, dynamic and fast growing church that in recent days tend to take the biblical injunction of Christ to -“go and proclaim the gospel and heal the sick”- serious. In the face of this, the need to recall to our minds the basis of the Christian ministry to the sick became crucial. The strong influence of the fast growing prosperity evangelical churches with emphasis on healing and deliverance seemed to have added to my zeal and interest to research into this topic. In the Igbo society, search for healing has become the order of the day but with many aberrations reported here and there. The traditional view of sickness and the Christian understanding of suffering seemed interesting to compare in the face of some carry- overs or a syncretistic mixtures of the two- traditional and Christian practices. Equally, my experiences and study in the Western society and my contact with the much improved and sophisticated but praiseworthy medical system in place and the somewhat absence or elimination of God from the medical laboratory and the almost complete entrusting of the function of healing to medicine, raises the question in me: Who heals actually? In 2000-2002, the Institute of Pastoral Theology of the University of Vienna through Markus Beranek under Prof. DDr. Paul M. Zulehner carried out a study in Europe to determine how far the faithful in four selected parish communities in Austria and Ger- many see their parish communities as a place of healing and salvation – “Gemeinde als Heil/Land”. The result was interesting as it was discovered that none of the interviewed expected bodily healing from the parish community. Medicine has taken over that func- tion. It was interesting then to make a similar study in Africa particularly, in Igbo Land where the practice of “healing Mass” has become rampant. I take this opportunity to acknowledge my indebtedness to all those who demonstrated their understanding to my quest and have differently played a supportive role. The successful completion of this work today would not have been possible without the help and direction of many. I am grateful to Almighty God for His grace and sustenance 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT all through this long academic journey. I appreciate the support of my local Ordinary (Bishop), Rt. Rev. Dr. Solomon Amatu, the Catholic Bishop of Okigwe Diocese, in Ni- geria and the entire diocese for the opportunity given to me to study here. I thank the diocese of St. Pölten, Austria for the training and support. I am grateful for the opportu- nity given to me to acquire the much needed experience both in the pedagogical (teach- ing) field as a Gymnasium Professor as well as in the pastoral work in the parish both as curate and now as parish priest in Pottenbrunn St. Pölten Austria. I thank my parishion- ers in Pottenbrunn, for their support and understanding. I am grateful to my professor DDr. Paul M. Zulehner for his paternal guidance and the moderation of this work as well as for his patience and encouragement. I also thank my co-professor Dr. Matthias Beck for his enviable support and encouragement. I am highly indebted to my cousin Uchechukwu Uchendu of the University of Leuven for painstakingly proofreading the work and to Sr. Nneka Uzukwu for proofreading the biblical part of this work from a biblical and exegetical point of view in spite of their tight academic engagements. I am grateful to all who granted me interviews in the course of this work and to all who contributed in no small measure to this work by fill- ing our questionnaires and returning them as scheduled. To all these people and friends, I say thanks a lot. My thanks equally go to Hugo Grimm who assisted me immensely in the statistical analysis of the data gathered from the field work. To my family members, I am indebted to you and I say thank you so much for your love and concern. In a special way I am grateful to my father Ichie Columba Iweadighi for my upbringing and his encouragement when the goings seemed unbearable. In the same manner, I remember and pray for the repose of the soul of my mother: late, Mrs Elfrieda Margaret Iweadighi. May God grant you eternal rest. I thank my brothers: Peter, John and sister Sabina for what they have been to me. I am grateful to my friends and brother priests: Emma Umeh, Tony Chimaka, Damian Ikejiama, Simon Udemgba and Paul Obiji for their friendship. My gratitude goes also to Pfr. Dechant Leopold Bösendorfer for his continuous encouragement and support. And to all who have in one way or the other being of assistance to me in this journey and have contributed to the success of this work in one way or the other, I say thank you and God bless. May God reward you all abundantly. MMag. Sabinus Iweadighi (Vienna, April 2011) 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS SICKNESS AND THE SEARCH FOR HEALING IN IGBOLAND: A PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................5 i. Aims and Objectives of the Research ..................................................................................... 11 ii. SOURCE MATERIALS ............................................................................................................. 13 iii. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 14 PART I: FUNDAMENTALS – THE THEORETICAL CONTEXT AND THE STUDY BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................. 17 I. General Introduction ............................................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER ONE: COSMOLOGY: THE UNDERSTANDING OF IGBO WORLD-VIEW .......................................................................................................................................... 18 1.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 18 1.1 Meaning of the term “World-View”. ................................................................................... 18 1.2 Situating the Igbo society: Geographical location and origin .............................................. 19 1.2.1 The geographical location .................................................................................................. 20 1.2.2 Climate and vegetation ...................................................................................................... 22 1.2.3 The Igbo population ........................................................................................................... 22 1.2.4 Brief history of the origin of the Igbo people .................................................................... 23 1.2.5 The Igbo language: A mark of distinction…………………………………………………………………..…..29 1.3 The material organisation of the Igbo traditional society. .................................................. 31 1.3.1 Categories of persons in Igbo cosmology .......................................................................... 31 1.3.2 The Extended Family – “Umunna” system. ....................................................................... 32 1.3.3 The sense of community among the Igbo ......................................................................... 33 1.3.4 Cultural Tradition and Moral – “Odinala” / “Odibendi”, “Omenala”................................. 34 1.4 The Religious Organisation of the Igbo traditional society .................................................. 35 1.4.1 The hierarchy of being in the Igbo cosmology ................................................................... 35 1.4.2 Symbolism of the Chi concept and the worship of God .................................................... 37 1.4.3 The deities and spirits ........................................................................................................ 40 1.4.3.1 The good and evil spirits. ............................................................................................ 42 1.4.4 Ancestors and the ancestral cult ....................................................................................... 43 1.4.5 Local priests and diviners................................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER TWO: THE CONCEPT OF LIFE, MAN, HEALTH AND PRAYER ... 47 2.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 47 2.1 Igbo Anthropology .............................................................................................................