Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has cautioned against disparaging African indigenous spirituality, referring to such action as a form of blasphemy against the spirituality of the world.
Soyinka stated this in his keynote address in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday during the World Heritage Day celebration with the theme “Akwa Ibom Heritage Alive.”
World Heritage Day aims to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage of humanity and the efforts required to protect it.
He condemned the tendency of some Nigerians to dismiss their own indigenous cultural and spiritual practices as “fetishism” or “primitive,” while ironically celebrating similar traditions elsewhere.
The renowned playwright argued that what is labelled “fetishism” is often a sophisticated form of symbolic, artistic, and spiritual expression that is actually celebrated and revered in other parts of the world, citing the example of Barbados, where masquerades and dances have survived.
He said, “What some people consider primitivism or fetishism is ignorance. People are celebrating these things over there. Go to Barbados, you will find masquerades, you will find dances also, which you have seen today, and we can only say may these deities of the world open their minds and get them eventually to stop blaspheming against the spirituality of the world.
“What a day like this means is very simple—bring your own wares, spiritual wares, to view; bring yours, and I bring mine. What UNESCO is all saying is that Godhead is one, but there are many parts to Godhead. So construct your part and leave me alone to construct mine.”
