The Return of the Gods? Trends and Implications of the Rising Popularity of Fetish Rituals and Occult Practices Among Nigerian Youth
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12124992 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jacinta Chiamaka Nwaka (0000-0002-7020-9358, University of Benin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2021-08-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Africa Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0850-3907 • E-ISSN: 2521-9863 |
| Publisher | Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (PUBLISHER • SN) |
| DOI | 10.57054/ad.v45i3.634 |
| OpenAlex | W4312967124 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 16 |
In his seminal 1993 work The Embattled Gods: Christianization of Igboland 1841–1991, Ogbu Kalu argued that the gods of African traditional religion were dislodged from their stronghold but not completely defeated. Could the rising popularity of fetish rituals and occult practices among the Nigerian youth over the last two decades mean the return of these gods? Using historical analytical methodology, this article examines the rising influence of fetish rituals and occult practices among youth in southern Nigeria. It recognises the current attraction of the occult world as a subtle form of youth resistance to financial and social insecurity engendered by the modern state system in Nigeria, as well as youth resistance to the money-making ethos of ‘prosperity gospel’ evangelism. The article argues that, while the surge in youth engagement in ritual and occult practices may appear to be a form of re-traditionalisation, such cultural revisionism can better be described as an instrument of youth resistance. Jacinta Chiamaka Nwaka, Department of History and International Studies, University of Benin, Nigeria. Email: [email protected]
Christianity · Christianization · Occult · Political science · Popularity · Prosperity · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Gender Studies · History · Law · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Medicine · Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria
The peoples of Southern Nigeria
Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in South Africa
The modernity of witchcraft
Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande
The Early Missionary Groups and the Contest for Igboland
Doing resistance – youth and changing theories of resistance
A spiritual dimension to cybercrime in Nigeria
Witchcraft, Anti-Witchcraft and Trans-Regional Ritual Innovation in Early Colonial Ghana
Religion and politics
The Supreme God as Stranger in Igbo Religious Thought
The Ordeal of Modernity in an Age of Terror
Understanding African Philosophy
Witchcraft and British Colonial Law
Occult economies and the violence of abstraction
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |