Abstract

This study titled “Ghost Phenomena amongst the people of Bachuo Akagbe” A historical analysis 1884 – 2015” has identified the forms and rules played by ghost among the people of Bachuo Akagbe. The main argument of this study is that ghost phenomena is a reality among the people of Bachuo Akagbe. Other sub arguments are that there are several forms of ghost in Bachuo Akagbe and this has resulted to several consequences.

In other to acquire data for this research, we relied mostly on oral interviews that were done through a random approach. We equally made use of written documents that relate to the topic. Our findings showed that ghost phenomena are common among the people of Bachuo Akagbe and it has impacted the community both positively and negatively.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The issue of Ghost Phenomena is common to most communities around the world. Different cultures and people view ghost in various ways depending on their tradition and environment. Willey for instance defines a ghost as the transparent, three-dimensional imprint of a deceased witch or wizard which continue to exist in the mortal world. To him, the wisest witches and wizards choose not to come to the communities but it is those with unfinished business.

Also, ghosts choose to come back because of fear, guilt, regrets or overt attachment to the material world which makes them not to want to get to the next dimension of invisible world.  In our own view, ghost can be define as the physical manifestation of deceased persons back in the communities.

In a similar dimension, Mark  analyze the belief of Ancient Greeks who believed that a ghost was the spirit of the departed who for one reason or another returned from the land of the death or refused to leave the land of the living.  Also, in Ancient World and even in the contemporary period, there was no doubt that  the belief in an afterlife was central. They believed that the soul of a human being survived death. So culturally, people were made to understand that the dead lived on in another form and needed a form of sustenance in an afterlife that was dictated by several factors. Some of these factors included the kind of life they had lived on earth, how their remains were disposed of at their death and how they were remembered by the living.

In many countries around the world especially in the Americas, civilizations like Aztec, Mississippi and others had different notions about ghost. They mostly belief in the protection of their love ones by ghost and that ghosts could even harm their killers.

In Africa, different communities had different ghost phenomena beliefs and practices. Many persons view ghost phenomena differently depending on their traditional and religious beliefs. Even though due to migration and globalization some different ghost phenomena beliefs had found themselves in different communities.

In some communities like Manyu especially among the Bachuo Akagbe, it is linked to the people’s culture and tradition. The people’s tradition holds that it is the flesh that dies but the spirit lives. In some families, food stuffs were prepared and kept with the belief that the death person’s spirit (ghost) will consume. So many reasons were responsible for the existence of ghosts. This could be because of the traditional ritual performed on the deceased person. They could also appear depending on some unfinished business they had or to provide a true account of the event surrounding their death, such as when one was murdered and he or she needed justice or to avenge his or her death in order to rest in peace.

In Manyu and among the Bachuo Akagbe people elsewhere, the appearance of ghosts was rarely considered a welcomed experience to some persons or families as well as it was to others. To those who did not welcome ghosts, they believed that death was supposed to remain in their own land and was not expected to come back to the world of the living. When such spirits appeared, it was a sign that something was terribly wrong and those who experienced it had to resolved the issue or problem through a spiritualist or herbalist in order for the ghost to return to its proper place.

Statement of the Problem

Ghost Phenomena amongst the people of Bachuo Akagbe community has been a common belief in the community as well as in other parts of Manyu division. This issue is rooted from the people’s traditional history and culture. There is a general belief in the community that the ghost might either influence the living and the death positively and or negatively depending on how the person was treated when he was alive and the circumstances surrounding his or her death.

Some families do perform rituals on their members to transform them into good ghosts at death. This is to enable them to help people or families to advance economically. On the other hand, some ghosts witnessed used to cause harm to the community. In this situation, traditional remedies were applied with the use of native doctors and the ghost was arrested or stopped spiritually. The belief in ghosts even though had been common in Manyu tradition has been ignored in terms of research. Even the government in the area and beyond does not believe in issues that could not be seen and proven. In spite of this controversy, people in Bachuo Akagbe continuous belief in the existence of ghosts in their daily activities and that is why this study had to investigate this phenomenon.

 The objective of the Study

The objective of this study is

1. To examine the ghost phenomena in Bachuo Akagbe
2. To analyze the different ways ghosts manifest themselves in Bachuo Akagbe.
3. Examine the implication of ghost phenomena in Bachuo Akagbe.

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