Silencing the Spirits of the Shrines: the Impact of Tin Mining on Berom Religion and Ecology
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SILENCING THE SPIRITS OF THE SHRINES: THE IMPACT OF TIN MINING ON BEROM RELIGION AND ECOLOGY SIMON DAVOU MWADKWON B. A, M.A (JOS) (PGA/UJ/11304/2000) A Thesis in the DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES, Faculty of Arts, Submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies, University of Jos, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION of the UNIVERSITY OF JOS DECEMBER, 2010 ii CERTIFICATION This is to certify that the research work for this thesis and the subsequent preparation of this thesis by Simon, Davou Mwadkwon were carried out under my supervision. ________________________ __________________ Prof. U.H.D. Danfulani Date SUPERVISOR _________________________ __________________ Prof. J. D. Gwamna Date HEAD OF DEPARTMENT _________________________ __________________ EXTERNAL EXAMINER Date iii DECLARATION I hereby declare that this work is the product of my own research efforts, undertaken under the supervision of Professor Umar Habila Dadem Danfulani and has not been presented elsewhere for the award of a degree or certificate. All sources have been duly distinguished and appropriately acknowledged. SIMON DAVOU MWADKWON (PGA/UJ/11304/2000) iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I sincerely acknowledge the genuine contributions of distinguished scholars in the area of religion and ecological ethics, too numerous to mention here. However, my profound gratitude goes to Professor Dr. Ulrich Berner of Bayreuth University and Dr. Umar Habila Dadem Danfulani of the University of Jos for stimulating my interest in the area of religion and eco-ethics. Their approaches to issues relating to the environment empowered me to look closely at the concept of religion and environmental ethics. I want to really appreciate Professor Ogbu Kalu of the University of Nigeria Nsukka for reading four chapters of the thesis along side with Professor Berner during my series of seminar presentations while I was in Bayreuth University Germany. I want to also thank Dr. Oliver Freiberger for allowing me to use his office during my short stay in Bayreuth University where I began writing the thesis. I appreciate Dr. Afe Adogame who welcomed me to Bayreuth and encouraged me to document the thesis. I thank Professor Thomas Bargatzky for his interest in this thesis. While in Bayreuth, Bargatzky took his time to ask me questions on my thesis and I gained a lot from this interaction. Bargatzky’s book The Invention of Nature was also of tremendous help in the documentation of the thesis. My profound gratitude goes to my wife Diana who stood by me during the time of writing this thesis. I thank all my parents for their prayers and support. I acknowledge all my colleagues in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Jos for encouraging me not to give up writing this thesis. I want to say thank you to Alexandra Schadlich and her parents who assisted me in many ways during my stay in Bayreuth. v Finally and very important too, I want to sincerely thank DEUTSCHER AKADEMISCHER AUSTAUSCHDIENST (DAAD) for giving me scholarship to travel to Germany to gather materials that I used in documenting the thesis. During my stay in Bayreuth University Germany, I was able to write four chapters of the thesis. Simon Davou Mwadkwon. vi DEDICATION I humbly dedicate this work to God Almighty the creator of the world, to my late mum and dad Da Davou Mwadkwon Fwet and Chundung Mwadkwon Fwet, my daughter Hashila and to all lovers, friends and nurses of Mother Earth. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE DECLARATION..................…….…………………………...............................…… ii CERTIFICATION..........……..…………………………………......................…..... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………...................................…………………………… iv DEDICATION………………………………………...........................…….............. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………..……………................................. vii ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................................xv THEORETICAL FRAME WORK.............................................................................. xvii GLOSSARY................................................................................................................xxi ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………..........................…….xxvi CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.1 INTRODUCTION..…………..………………..………….…............................1 1.2 THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.......................………....................... 10 1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY..........................…...................... 14 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY...............……………….......................….. 16 1.5 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY..………...…....................... 16 1.6 METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE STUDY.…...........................17 1.7 PLAN OF PRESENTATION.OF THE STUDY.......…...…............................. .29 viii CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 BEROM HISTORY, CULTURE, RELIGION AND ECOLOGY ………..........32 2.2 THE ENVIRONMENT.......................................................…………………….48 2.2.1 Defining ‘Environment’ and ‘Ecology’.................................................................48 2.2.2 JPERDP: Jos-Durham Works Related to the Jos plateau Environment..................50 2.3 LYNN WHITE Jr (1907-1987) AND THE DISCOURSE ON GENERAL ECOLOGICAL CRISIS.....................................................................................51 2.4 ECOLOGY AND NATURE RELIGION.............................................................60 2.5 INVENTION AND REINVENTION OF NATURE............................................67 2.6 TYPOLOGY OF ECOLOGICAL BASED RELIGIOSITY..................................76 2.7 WORLD RELIGION AND ECOLOGY................................................................81 2.7.1 Aboriginal and Autochonous African Land Ethics................................................81 2.7.2 Christianity and Ecology........................................................................................83 2.7.3 Judaism...................................................................................................................91 2.7.4 Islam.......................................................................................................................94 2.7.5 Buddhism and Eastern Mysticism..........................................................................98 2.7.6 Atheistic Humanism, Pantheism and Ecology........................................................99 2.8 THEORIES CONCERNING RELIGION AND ECOLOGY...............................100 2.8.1 Nature Religion as Primitive, Regressive, or Dangerous......................................102 2.8.2 Nature Religion as Spiritually Perceptive, Authentic and Ecologically Beneficent.........................................................................................103 2.8.3 The Role of Religion in the Protection of Nature/the Environment.......................104 ix 2.8.4 An Economic Theory of Nature..............................................................................105 2.8.5 Social Theory of Ecology or Social Ecology..........................................................110 2.9 APPROACHES IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION AND ECCOLOGY................112 2.10 WOMEN/FEMINISM, RELIGION AND ECOLOGY...........................................114 CHAPTER THREE A PROFILE OF BEROM PEOPLE 3.1 THE BEROM OF THE JOS PLATEAU……….……………..........…...….......120 3.2 BEROM MYTHS OF MIGRATION………………………....………………..124 3.3 ENVIRONMENT…….…………………...……………..........…………..........134 3.4 TRADITIONAL ECONOMY..........………...……………….....……………...135 3.5 SOCIAL ORGANISATION………..……………………….........………….....146 3.6 POLITICAL ORGANISATION…………..………………….....................…...167 3.7 BEROM RELIGIOUS WORLDVIEW ………….............................................182 3.8 RELIGIOUS STRUCTURE………………………...………………........….....190 3.9 LAND IN THE RELIGIOUSWORLDVIEW OF BEROM...……….................216 CHAPTER FOUR ALTARS AND SHRINES IN BEROM RELIGION BEFORE THE ADVENT OF TIN MINING INDUSTRY 4.1 THE CONCEPT AND IDENTIFICATION OF SHRINES IN BEROM RELIGION........................................................................................................227 4.2 A TAXONOMY OF BEROM SHRINES......................................................... 234 4.3 MADO SHRINE: NOTES ON FIELD STUDY................................................236 x 4.3.1 Rituals and Ritual Agents in Mado Shrine.........................................................236 4.3.2 Indigenous Function ..........................................................................................250 4.3.3 Mado Shrine as a Hunting Ground................................................................... 252 4.3.4 Prohibitions Guiding Mado Shrine....................................................................257 4.3.5 Hunting for Small Animals in Mado Shrine......................................................259 4.4. BEHWOL SHRINE: NOTES ON FIELD STUDY.......................................... 259 4.4.1 Introduction to Behwol Shrine...........................................................................260 4.4.2 Rituals and Ritual Agents................................................................................. 261 4.4.3 Hunting.............................................................................................................. 261 4.4.4 Religious Pilgrimage......................................................................................... 265 4.4.5 Collection of Medicinal