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| Prince Kelly |
In Esan culture, it is customary and obligatory after the dead of a married woman for her corpse to be returned back to family. Typically, after the burial ceremonies at her husband's compound, the corpse is taken to her family compound for the proper burial. Alternatively, an Esan woman could be buried outside the family home based on a valid request to that effect; a consideration sought and obtained by the first male child. He may be accompanied by his age mates and backed by uncles of the deceased; it can be honored or declined. If accepted, they would usually be fined by her family but her family must be allowed to perform their rites before bidding her final fare well.
Tradition demands that the woman family thoroughly examined the woman before burial. The reasons for this are many but principally to examined whether the woman died violently or was battered by her husband. If any evidence is detected that suggests the woman died violently, questions are usually asked and most times, answers can only be accepted after the payment of levies.
Esan culture has in-built flexibilities as in every culture; it is dynamic and admits refinement just as the culture is dialectic as well. It imposes duty on both parents and offspring; while parents owe a sacred duty to raise children to adulthood, it is the conforming obligation of adult children to stay alive to celebrate their parents and conduct them through the lonely path home. It is understood that a child who cannot do honor to his parents is valueless; he enjoys limited regards among his mates and friends.
Esan people value their children, male or female, this is why unlike some cultures; the bride price is very low. The payment of bride price is vital to the conclusion of marriage notable under Esan native law, which like any other customary law marriage in Nigeria; it is recognized under the Marriage Act. The impression being that Esan people do not sell their daughters in marriage, the requested amount for bride price is usually meagre; 24 Naira (representing 24 cowries or British pounds used in the pre-colonial and colonial days). A huge sum is usually presented these days, from which the prominent members of the bride’s family would remove a small amount and refund the balance to the groom for his wife, their daughter`s up keeping. A calculated message to the groom that she is still considered a family daughter even though she is married, hence the tradition that at death, the corpse of Esan woman is returned to her family to be buried with her ancestors.
John Mbiti lent weight to this when he revealed that to the African people, marriage is the focus of existence (Mbiti, 1969:133). In Esan culture, a man does not discuss the burial rites of his late wife; the only area where the husband is summoned is when evidence shown or surfaced that he did not send the smelly he-goat and a bundle of seven yam tubers just before the first male child birth. It is their entitlement to feast and celebrate the impending motherhood of an Esan maiden which is a deserving right of the youths in the maternal lineage. That is the only fine the man may pay to the youths. It is strictly between the first male child and those younger than the deceased. Elders do not partake in all the talks about burials and do not plan the associated cultural ceremonies.
BURIAL RITES AMONG ESAN PEOPLE.
The oldest surviving son of the deceased has the sole traditional right to announce, perform and lead the burial rite of the dead parent(s). He bears the burden to bury his late dead father and may be assisted by his siblings that are sometimes done by levying them in anticipation of sharing the estate property with them or allowing them to farm on the family land or remain in the family home.
However, in rear cases where the deceased has no male child, the eldest daughter carry this responsibility but she must nominate male child, probably, hers, to lead certain traditional/family rites, most often, the husband plays vital roles.
Elders, who reached realistic ages before death, are typically buried faster, even before their death is publicized. But their oldest living sons must be present to cast the first handful of earth.
Good health and efficient healing are essential aspects of life and are the most vital values in Esan people lives. Sickness or disease in the Esan people view is a dilution of life, a threat posed to life. Therefore, request for good health is the most common prayer point. E. I. Lartey, (1985), in emphasizing the significance of health and healing, attributed the formation and growth of Independent Indigenous Pentecostal Churches in Africa to the failure of the Western Missionaries to integrate charismatic experience, especially in the area of healing, into their faith and practice. He argues that healing, exorcism, divination, diagnosis and the reinstatement to effective cure from illness or disturbed persons are the crucial functions of a priest. He adds: to the African, the most important function of a priest is the medical one, - the ability to diagnose correctly and to prescribe accurate remedies for various diseases. He further opines that the medical function is inseparable from his other priestly activities. The failure to accept this as a valid service of a religious person, he claims, is to seriously detract from a priest’s acceptability and recognition by a traditional African.
The Esan people view of the etiology of disease is of multilateral dimensions. Briefly, they are the natural/physical, mystical/preter-natural and supernatural causations. The causes of natural diseases depend on cause-and-effect theory. The cures can be subjected to laboratory tests/analyses in the modern time and the active principles discovered. The treatment is rational since no rituals are involved.
To an average Esan person, supernatural diseases are caused by witches, sorcerer and evil eyes of enemies while divinities and ancestors are responsible for mystical diseases. Mystical diseases come principally from a breakdown in devoted relationships consequent on the failure of a victim to perform his obligation to the ancestors and/or the breach of family moral code. Divinities are reasoned to cause disease if the victim breaks any of its taboos or in the wake of a failure to maintain cleansing before or during ritualistic events. The features of supernaturally and mystically caused diseases include incessant yawning and sneezing, emaciation, inability to respond to the whole latitude of proven efficacious solutions to illness or disease.
The etiology of disease parenthetically determines the types of disease in Esan. Natural diseases are known as “Emianmhen” or “Ekhonmon” while mystical and supernatural diseases are called “Emianmhen elimhin”. Therefore, the mystical and supernatural diseases require divination to reveal the main causes. These types of disease require different therapeutic processes in Esan medicine. According to J. O. Mume, (1976), there are basically eight therapeutic methods and that Nigeria has the highest variety of therapies which have placed Nigerian medicine in a superior position to any other country’s traditional medicine. These methods include herbalism, massage, hydrotherapy, fasting, faith healing and others.
Bibliography:
· Abolarin, E. E, ‘A Cross-ethnic comparison of support network in widowhood in Nigeria’ (1997), Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
· Blench R. & Dendo, M. (2005) A Dictionary of Nigerian English -Draft Circulated for Comment-, Cambridge.
· Dukor, M. (2010).Scientific paradigm in African philosophy. Germany: Lambert Publishing.
· Goldman, S., Lord, B., Widowhood., Cambridge M. A. Schenckman, (1983).
· Gbenda, B., ‘The double standard widowhood. The Counsellor ‘(1997), 173-179.
· Ikuenobe, P., (1998), 'A defence of epistemic authoritarianism in traditional African cultures', xxiii Journal of Philosophical Research 419-420.
BURIAL RITES AMONG ESAN PEOPLE.
The oldest surviving son of the deceased has the sole traditional right to announce, perform and lead the burial rite of the dead parent(s). He bears the burden to bury his late dead father and may be assisted by his siblings that are sometimes done by levying them in anticipation of sharing the estate property with them or allowing them to farm on the family land or remain in the family home.
However, in rear cases where the deceased has no male child, the eldest daughter carry this responsibility but she must nominate male child, probably, hers, to lead certain traditional/family rites, most often, the husband plays vital roles.
Elders, who reached realistic ages before death, are typically buried faster, even before their death is publicized. But their oldest living sons must be present to cast the first handful of earth.
Good health and efficient healing are essential aspects of life and are the most vital values in Esan people lives. Sickness or disease in the Esan people view is a dilution of life, a threat posed to life. Therefore, request for good health is the most common prayer point. E. I. Lartey, (1985), in emphasizing the significance of health and healing, attributed the formation and growth of Independent Indigenous Pentecostal Churches in Africa to the failure of the Western Missionaries to integrate charismatic experience, especially in the area of healing, into their faith and practice. He argues that healing, exorcism, divination, diagnosis and the reinstatement to effective cure from illness or disturbed persons are the crucial functions of a priest. He adds: to the African, the most important function of a priest is the medical one, - the ability to diagnose correctly and to prescribe accurate remedies for various diseases. He further opines that the medical function is inseparable from his other priestly activities. The failure to accept this as a valid service of a religious person, he claims, is to seriously detract from a priest’s acceptability and recognition by a traditional African.
The Esan people view of the etiology of disease is of multilateral dimensions. Briefly, they are the natural/physical, mystical/preter-natural and supernatural causations. The causes of natural diseases depend on cause-and-effect theory. The cures can be subjected to laboratory tests/analyses in the modern time and the active principles discovered. The treatment is rational since no rituals are involved.
To an average Esan person, supernatural diseases are caused by witches, sorcerer and evil eyes of enemies while divinities and ancestors are responsible for mystical diseases. Mystical diseases come principally from a breakdown in devoted relationships consequent on the failure of a victim to perform his obligation to the ancestors and/or the breach of family moral code. Divinities are reasoned to cause disease if the victim breaks any of its taboos or in the wake of a failure to maintain cleansing before or during ritualistic events. The features of supernaturally and mystically caused diseases include incessant yawning and sneezing, emaciation, inability to respond to the whole latitude of proven efficacious solutions to illness or disease.
The etiology of disease parenthetically determines the types of disease in Esan. Natural diseases are known as “Emianmhen” or “Ekhonmon” while mystical and supernatural diseases are called “Emianmhen elimhin”. Therefore, the mystical and supernatural diseases require divination to reveal the main causes. These types of disease require different therapeutic processes in Esan medicine. According to J. O. Mume, (1976), there are basically eight therapeutic methods and that Nigeria has the highest variety of therapies which have placed Nigerian medicine in a superior position to any other country’s traditional medicine. These methods include herbalism, massage, hydrotherapy, fasting, faith healing and others.
Bibliography:
· Abolarin, E. E, ‘A Cross-ethnic comparison of support network in widowhood in Nigeria’ (1997), Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
· Blench R. & Dendo, M. (2005) A Dictionary of Nigerian English -Draft Circulated for Comment-, Cambridge.
· Dukor, M. (2010).Scientific paradigm in African philosophy. Germany: Lambert Publishing.
· Goldman, S., Lord, B., Widowhood., Cambridge M. A. Schenckman, (1983).
· Gbenda, B., ‘The double standard widowhood. The Counsellor ‘(1997), 173-179.
· Ikuenobe, P., (1998), 'A defence of epistemic authoritarianism in traditional African cultures', xxiii Journal of Philosophical Research 419-420.
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