Routing and Wavelength Assignment

Auchi diocese is situated in the northern part of Edo state of Nigeria. Edo state is one of the 36 states of the federal republic of Nigeria, which came into being on August 27, 1991 when it was carved out from the old Bendel state. According to the 2006 Nigerian national census figures, Edo state has a population of 3,233, 366,⁴² which translates to 2.3% of the total population of Nigeria, put at 140, 431, 790.⁴³ Benin City is a well-known historical destination for Europeans who had early contacts with Africa. Edo state has a total landmass of 19,187 square kilometres. The state has a population density of about 168 persons per square kilometre. It is bordered by Kogi state to the North, Delta State to the East, to the South by Ekiti state and Ondo State to the West. Its climate is typically tropical with two major seasons- the wet (Rainy) and the dry (hamartan) seasons. The wet season lasts from about April to November and the Dry Season lasts from about December to March.

41Auchi Diocese (Nigeria), 2014, “Directory 2014”, Auchi, p.6.

42 National Population Commission of Nigeria, 2006, “2006 Population And Housing Census Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria”, http://www.population.gov.ng/images/Priority%20Tables%20Volume%20I-update.pdf. Accessed on 28.01.2014.

43 Ibid.

21 Edo state has over 30 ethnic groups but all of them are submerged into three large bodies of ethnic groups, namely: The Binis, located in the south of the state, are the biggest in size and make up about 52.1% (1, 686, 041) of the population of the state. The next are the Afemais (the area of our research) located in the northern part and make up about 29.5% (955, 791) of the state’s population and the last ethnic group are the Esans (some pronounce it as Ishans) and they make up the remaining 18.4% (591, 534)⁴⁴ of the state’s population.

Politically, there are 18 local governments areas (LGA) each lead by a chairman elected by the people every 3 years. While the Binis have 7 LGAs, Afemais (Auchi Diocese) have 6 and the Esans have 5.

So, the six LGA covered by Auchi Diocese and their population⁴⁵ are as follow:

1. Akoko Edo LGA 261, 567

2. Etsako Central LGA 94, 228

3. Etsako East LGA 147, 335

4. Etsako West LGA 198, 975

5. Owan East LGA 154, 630

6. Owan West LGA 99, 056

Total 955, 791

By ethnic and linguistic classification, these local government areas are merged to make up three large ethnic groups within the diocese, including their population, namely;

1. Akoko Edo Local government Area making up the Akoko Edo ethnic group (261, 567 or 27.4%).

2. The Etsakos comprise the three Local Government Areas of Etsako Central, Etsako East and Etsako West (440,538 or 46.1%).

3. The Owans are composed of the two Local Government Areas of Owan East and Owan West (253,686 or 26.5%).⁴⁶

44This is based on the 2006 Nigerian census. National Population Commission of Nigeria, 2006, “2006 Population And Housing Census Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria”,

http://www.population.gov.ng/images/Priority%20Tables%20Volume%20I-update.pdf. Accessed on 05.02.2014.

45 Ibid.

46 Ibid.

22 2.2.1 AUCHI WELTANSCHAUUNG (WORLD VIEW)

Before the advent of Christianity, the Auchi people had a Weltanschauung (world view). The first is the belief that the world is flat and that the sun revolved around the earth in a regular rhythm that was unchangeable.⁴⁷ Time is marked by day and nights and the rhythm of daily time is reckoned according to the common daily activities of the community. Asante and Asante say “time for the Africa does not exist in a vacuum as an entity which can be conceptually isolated. Time is conceived only as it is related to events and it must be experienced in order to make sense or become real.”⁴⁸ Such events could include waking up in the morning, going to the farm, rest and lunch at midday in the farm, return from the farm in the evening, dusk at the beginning of the night. The moon marked the lunar months, and the seasons were reckoned in terms of the rainy and dry periods. The months are named according to the common activities of the community, such as cultivation, planting, weeding, harvesting. For the Auchi, therefore, man creates time, not time enslaving man. In other words, the events and human participation are of essence.

Also, the world is conceived as one consisting of the earth on which humanity lived, and the sky from which the moon and stars shone at night and across which the sun passes each day.

The world is not seen as an entity that would change or come to an end. The world is believed to be inhabited by both visible beings (such as humans, domestic and wild animals, valuable and poisonous plants), non-visible beings (such as deity, ancestors, children about to be born), and inanimate objects (such as mountains, rocks, caves, rivers) all of which existed in a balance of relationships within the context of the natural cycle and rhythm of life. If the cycle of the seasons and the rhythm of life in the community was interrupted by such occurrences as prolonged rain, drought, epidemics, unusual deaths, it was believed someone in the community had caused a breakdown of the balance of the relationship, thereby offending the deity, ancestors or spirits. A diviner would be called upon to investigate the source of the breakdown and to reveal who was responsible and what remedies were to be carried out, and accordingly what punishments were to be meted out on the culprits. For the Auchi people, all activities centred around their belief in the supreme God, together with the deities, spirits and ancestors, as shall be discussed later.

47 Jesse N.K. Mugambi, 2002, Christianity and African Culture, Kenya, p. 56.

48 Asante Molefi/Asante Kariamu, 1996, African Culture: The Rhythms of Unity, Trenton-New Jersey, p. 131.

23 2.2.2 THE PERSON IN AUCHI

The Person in Auchi is understood with the entire anthropological context of his existence and history. The Auchi person, like other Africans, is basically conceived as being made up of body, soul and spirit.

2.2.3 THE BODY

The body, ‘Egbe’, is the totality of the human personality of the Auchi person which enables him to relate with other fellow humans and the physical world. The body gives him his unique identity that makes it possible to distinguish John from Paul or Lucy from Veronica. And the heart ‘udu’, is for the Auchi the most important part of the body. Thus, it is common to hear the Auchi people say Udu khọ ‘ọmọ (It is the heart that makes a child).

The body is seen also from its spiritual dimension. For the Auchis, apart from the body being a physical element, it is also spiritual. It is for this reason that the Auchi people pay respect to the body of the dead and death rites are always accompanied by sacred activities to honour the corpse, including celebrations. It is also for this same reason that acts against the human body are punishable. For instance, chastity, because it involves preservation of the sanctity of the body is rewarded. At marriage, a virgin girl is given a lot of gifts. On the other hand, adultery is punishable because, apart from the offender taking another’s man wife illegally, it is also considered a damage to the body of the woman. Unfortunately, the woman bears the greater part of the punishment. The man could be fined, e.g. to give some tubers of yams to the husband of the adulterous woman, but the woman will have to go through certain purification rites which could last up to three months and during this time, she is not allowed to give food to the husband and children.

Similarly, killing is considered the most extreme violence against the human body and the offender’s punishment is also death. According to Cornelius Omonokhua “the sacredness and the resurrection of the body have moral implications for the Etsakọ people. For instance, traditional laws are put in place to guide the use of the human body.”⁴⁹

49 Cornelius Omonokhua, 2008, Eschatology and Anthropology: A Theologico-Comparative Enquiry

into the Destiny of Man in Judeo-Christian and Etsakọ Religions, Unpublished PhD Theses submitted to Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma-Nigeria, p.46.

24 Unfortunately, one aspect that was not really treated as a violence against the human body was wife battering by the husband. In most Auchi traditions, it was considered as ‘correcting’

the woman but in most cases it does severe bodily harm to the woman.

2.2.4 THE SOUL

The soul among the Auchi people is called ‘aighu’ meaning ‘immortal’. It is not clear what distinction Omonokhua was trying to make between the soul and the spirit when he talks about ‘oreghe’ which he explained as the vital force of the human person and responsible for all that life entails.⁵⁰ But what he did emphasize is that there is no separation between the body and the soul and that they both form the human person.