Christian Confrontations with Indigenous Beliefs in the Niger Delta
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Keywords
Niger Delta, Conversion, Church Mission Society, Bishop Samuel Crowther, Intellectualist Theory, Robin Horton
Abstract
After centuries of deep embeddedness within macrocosmic social structures, including trade with Europeans and other communities along the Niger, the macrocosmic tiers of Brass’ and Bonny’s cosmologies were not as prominent as Robin Horton’s Intellectualist Theory would predict. Rather, this article suggests that a process of microcosmic-tiered condensation precipitated conversion in Brass and Bonny. Church Mission Society archival materials that recount cosmological confrontations between Christian and indigenous beliefs under Bishop Samuel Crowther in Bonny and Rev. Thomas Johnson in Brass are examined, arguing that for individuals that abandoned contested beliefs, the microcosmic tier of their cosmology became smaller with each belief that was disowned. A cosmological lacuna was thereby created that could be filled in a number of ways, including conversion to Christianity. This article suggests that this process of microcosmic-tiered condensation became a contributing factor in conversion in Brass and Bonny.
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References
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