SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN THE SERVICE

OF HUMANITY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Ade P. Dopamu

Editors
Olu Obafemi
O.B. Oloyede
R.W. Omotoye
F.A. Oladele
Sylvia O. Malomo
R.A. Olaoye

MAGIC AND SCIENCE IN YORUBALAND:

TOWARD AFRICA'S TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT

Pius O.

ABIOJE

Introduction
This age has been described as a scientific one, which implies
That whatever has no empirical explanation is dismissed as superstition
or unreal. Very often, magic is called a mysterious or metaphysical
power, meaning that it has no scientific basis Magic is also called an art.
Whatever the arguments may be, it is obvious that magic is rarely called
science, and African science and technology are still subject to being
defined.
In the understanding of this paper, science has produced many
magical feats, in the sense that not many persons can explain how certain
scientific products engender their effects. Magic, as what elicits wonder
and amazement, has thus been very much part of what constitutes science
and technology. Elaboration of this point lies ahead.
The purpose of study is to challenge African scientists to discover
whatever scientific principles obtain in what is called African magic,
toward producing amenities there from. Many ancient Africans had
discovered medicinal properties of many plants, in herbs, roots and barks,
with which many diseases are cured. Such discoveries are impossible
without a scientific insight. In this light, the scientific discoveries of
ancient Africa in areas other than medicine, should be uncovered and
appropriated. If, as it is said, science developed from magic,
contemporary African scientists should endeavour to demonstrate through
research, how that obtains in African context. Africa should expose her
scientific heritage beyond the medicinal phenomena, and proffer
definitive ways by which people can access African scientific feats in
such areas as making and preventing rainfall, and in long distance
communication devices.

The word science derives from the Latin scientia, which means
knowledge or knowing. In contemporary usage, scholars speak of the
"natural sciences" (which include physics, chemistry and biology). They
also refer to sociology, psychology, and anthropology as human or social
sciences.1 Beyond that, the scientific method is applied to such studies as
history, theology and politics (hence political science). As Richard Tarnas
observes, "from the Renaissance onward, modem culture evolved and left
behind the ancient and medieval world views as primitive, superstitious,
childish, unscientific, and oppressive." Tarnas notes further that:
Verifiable facts and theories tested and discussed among
equals replaced dogmatic revelation hierarchically
imposed by an institutional Church. The search for truth
was now conducted on a basis of international
cooperation, in a spirit of disciplined curiosity, with a
willingness, even eagerness, to transcend previous limits
of knowledge. Science offers a new possibility of
epistemological certainly and objective agreement, with
new powers of experimental prediction, technical
invention, and control of nature."

What is called Scientific Revolution is usually dated to the

Seventeenth Century, though the picture cannot be complete, without
mentioning Nicholas Copernicus (1473 - 1543). He was the first person
known to have suggested that it was not the sun but the earth that was
rotating (round the sun). Johannes Kepler ( 1571 - 1630) carried the
theory further when he discovered that the orbits of the planets were
ellipses. Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) confirmed the Copernican theory
through the telescope he built in 1609. He suggested that plannetary
bodies were made of the same substance as the earth. The Roman
Catholic Church forced him to recant his position, because it contradicted
the existing philosophical and theological understanding of the issue. 3
Hut if Galileo were wrong, there would be no astronauts today. Because
Galileo has been proven right by later scientists, the humiliation he
experienced in the hand of the Catholic Church partly explains why the
Western world decided to separate the Church from the State, so that the
Church's authority can be limited to the Church, and a scientific study of
the world can flower, unhindered, by those with dogmatic mandate. In

the words of Tarnas:

The West saw the emergence of a newly self-conscious
and autonomous human being - curious about the world,
confident in his own judgments, skeptical of
orthodoxies, rebellious against authority, responsible for
his ojvn beliefs and actions, enamored of the classical
past, but even more committed to a greater future . . .
assured of his intellectual capacity to comprehend and
control nature. This emergence of the modern mind,
rooted in the rebellion against the medieval Church, took
the three distinct and dialectic-ally related forms of the
Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Scientific
Revolution. These collectively ended the cultural
hegemony of the Catholic Church in Europe. Science
suddenly stood forth as mankind's liberation empirical,
rational, appealing to common sense and to concrete
reality that every person could touch and weigh for
himself.4

Essentially, science is about controlling nature through learning of the

laws that govern the operation of natural elements. The scientific method,
basically, relies on observation and experiment. Having gathered the
observations, the scientist draws out a theory from them, by a process of
induction. The theory becomes recognised as a scientific law if it is
supported by further experiments.
It has been discovered that a scientist is occasionally assisted
by an artistic inspiration to make sense of his observations. Tim
Hawthorne, a Professor of biochemistry, notes how some scientists were
assisted even by some dreams, and how Charles Darwin developed his
idea of the "survival of the fittest" from a book by an Anglican clergyman,
Thomas Maltus, who suggested that populations always grow faster than
the food and money for their support, leading to a struggle for survival.'
Thus, science and art do mingle after all, different aspects of the same life.
In another respect, science is also said to have a magical nature.
Indeed, in popular opinion, many of the so-called products of science
have their magical sides, to the extent that overwhelming majority of users
cannot explain how the effects are caused or achieved, for instance. how
does the fax machine transmit a paper message by delivering another paper?

One can say that there will he a photographic input in the package, but
neither photography itself nor the transmission mystery are open to the
person sending the fax or just any photographer for that matter. Along
the fax machine, one can group the e-mail computer electronic
transmission, and the amount of materials available on the internet.
At any rate, the magical nature of science, as evident in the
products, is expressed beyond conjecture and street opinion. On
academic note, it is stated that:
Magic has tended to transform itself to become science.
Thus, alchemy, which had many magical elements,
became transformed into scientific chemistry, and
astrology was replaced by astronomy."

One would like to examine further, the magical aspect of science,

as experienced in some scientific products. The Yoruba would say that if
a person wants to know about the reality of magic, she/he should start by
scratching a match. The matter may appear simple, but, there is hardly
any doubt that overwhelming majority of the public that obtain light by
scratching a match do not know the secret behind it. Thus, though hardly
anything sells better than matches in Nigeria, it is rare to find it produced
by Nigerians. What is produced in the country are the sticks, while the
magical or the mysterious element is imported. M. A. Bamgbose quotes
Sean P. Kealy as noting that "in the real world, most people have neither
an adequate grasp of science, its limits, and its method.'"
This study reveals the fact that many scientific secrets are as
esoteric (i .e . hidden) to many scientists as magical secrets. Thus, for
instance, the actual elements that are packed into the GSM (Global
System of Mobile Communications) sim card that activates the handset,
and the recharge card numbers that update the functions of the handset are
unknown to ordinary scientists and technicians, but only to those to whom
the secret is revealed. The actual elemental power of the cards is said to
remain a top secret that is available only to a privileged core or family
members. Part of one's discovery is that investment in the GSM business
does not imply knowing the secret of the cards, since all that is required is
having enough funds to purchase machines, materials, and hiring of
relevant technicians. Many engineers are involved, for instance, in the

production and bottling of the Guiness drink in Nigeria, but the actual
Guinness stuff is said to be imported from Dublin in Ireland. The secret is
known only to the privileged members of the Gumess family.
In the course of this study, one came to the realisation that what said
about the magical nature of the GSM cards applies to many o t h e r things,
including land and cellular phones, the radio and television, photography,
video and audio productions, fax machines, the e-mail and internet
transmissions. There is also the electric wire, the secret of which remains
esoteric. One discovered that when people speak of Nigerian wire, it
should not be forgotten that the essential elements of the product are
imported, and the local manufactures only put them together as
directed by those who possess what makes the wire to be what it is. I hepatent must be granted before any company can engage in electric wire
production. Even then, the essential material is supplied by the privileged
family that is the custodian of the essential stuff.
Probably the most 'amazing discovery of this study is that the
electron from which electricity is said to generate remains mysterious
except to a privileged family. Electricity is a household name in many
countries of the world, but its real essence remains obscure from scientists
other than members of the family that discovered the magic, so to say. In
the words of Tim Hawthorne:
Some experiments show that the electron is a tiny negativelycharged particle, others, equally reliable, that it is energy in the
form of waves. Niels Bohr is supposed A to have said that he
believed in particles on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,
but waves on Tuesdays. Thursdays and Saturdays. The
electron's behaviour can be expressed in the mathematical
equations of wave mechanics but we can no longer picture it.
Light also has this dual nature, behaving in some experiments as
waves and in others as a stream of photons, discrete packets of
energy.8

Thus, the electron remains somewhat intractable to general scientists

whereas it cannot be expected to be so elusive to the family that markets it
for electric light, in transmitters and generators. Different forms of
battery testify to the mystery of the electric light. Whereas many
technicians can assemble batteries, the essence of the element remains

unfathomable to them, since their task involves merely knowing what to

buy from the market and then assemble them appropriately. In most cases,
the conductor of the electric light is what is called electric wire, which has
its own mystery, with particular reference to radio, television, phone, fax
and other forms of amazement. Is-haq Akintola quotes Benny Haerlim
and Dong Parr as staling that:
I heir are no clear answers to many of the "big-picture"
scientific questions asked by the public, in many cases
because we lack the knowledge, but in others because
arbitration between different answers is beyond scientific
competence.9

Another important point mentioned by P. Ade Dopamu, is the fact that

"very few people, especially the educated, can be credited with the rare
spirit of openness".10 It is rare, for instance, to find a scientist who will
disclose the essential secret of a discovery that has the prospect of making
him or her a millionaire. And that may well be the basic source of
scientific secrecy, beside the fact that one may need a scientific insight to
understand scientific mysteries.
Magic and Science among the Yoruba
The Western world has introduced remote control, through which a
person can open and close from a distance, such entities as car, garage and
house doors, as well as appliances, such as the television. An interviewee
observed that what used to be called African magic is now better called
African remote control. He did not need to explain what he meant, since
remote control operates magically. It also stands to reason that if the
Western form of remote control is called a scientific product, that of
Africa should not be derogatorily referred to as magic, as if every
inexplicable phenomenon in the African worldview is an occultic product.
P. Ade Dopamu quotes an interlocutor as saying that "the undecoded
African science is what is called magic." 11
Of course, Africa is almost always a peculiar land. There are
persons who still believe that African ancestors did not know
God. Traditional Africans were likewise not supposed to have neither
science nor philosophy, in the opinion of certain scholars. With

specific u-lm-iii to the concept of African Philosophy, Uzodinma

Nwala observes that:
Those who defend the authenticity of traditional African
Philosophy and try to systematise it are called
ethno-philosophers.
On the other hand, the
refuters who somewhat dogmatically espouse the
authenticity of Western type analytic philosophy, are
called universalists. The principles of Western analytic
philosophy are said to be universal principles. Thus a
motive is ascribed to the exponents of African
philosophy for which they are called names and the
philosophy they espouse called 'philosophy in a
debased sense'.12
If that is the situation with philosophy, which has to do with reasoning.
wisdom and systematic discourse of issues in human life, what is one to
expect in respect of science which tends to relate to fewer talented human
beings? Whatever misunderstandings might have existed, right reasoning
and right observations have asserted that Africans have always known
God before the advent of Christianity and Islam, since they have no other
Creator than the Supreme Being, and there are many philosophers among
traditional and modem Africans, even though literacy might have caught
up with them much later than in some other lands. Similarly, African
science is a datum, even when efforts must be made to decode it, must be
put to use in order to develop African technology for human
advancement.
It is pertinent to state that, to know the African idea about God. onemust go beyond seeing traditional Africans worshipping spirits in natural
forces. One must listen to African proverbs, adages, maxims, poems and
songs. Similarly, to know how magic constitutes African science, onemust proceed beyond occultic magic to scientific magic. Here, the
Yoruba example is apposite. In respect of what one can call occultic
magic, P. Ade Dopamu notes that:
The Yoruba believe that they are able to use and
control powers in the supernatural world in as
much as they know the primordial secret names
of the spiritual agents. 'Unimportant thing is for
an operator to know the names and how to use
them. In most cases, sorcerers and witches
know the secret names and use them to do evil.

However very few people are believed to have

knowledge of the occult names.13

The point is well made, notwithstanding the fact that this category of
magic may not qualify as science, since science deals with discovery of
natural laws, out of which technology develops. What one can call
scientific magic in Africa refers to what (traditional) Africans who have
scientific insight discovered from their study of natural elements. One
should mention that some scholars have come close to questioning the
source of-occultic magic. Oliver A. Onwubiko quotes one E. Amadi as
noting that:
Charms are believed to bring to realization, the power of
the spirits and ancestors. Yet it is believed that through
the use of charms, obnoxious and implacable spirits and
ancestors are controlled, driven away, or blindfolded,
such that their evil machinations and punishments of the
living are minimized or averted.14

One would suggest that miracle may be what is involved whenever a

person invokes spiritual or supernatural forces positively, for intervention.
When in the Gospel account, the Lord, Jesus Christ is portrayed as
working a miracle through making a paste from dust with his spittle (John
9:6-7), the implication is that divine action can take any form.
For the purpose of this paper, a number of traditional priests were
interviewed in Yorubaland. They all held that there is a distinction
between magical power, and the power of the divinities. -They explained
that a divinity does not need a magic to function. What prompted the
question was the case of a man who refused to get initiated into the Ifa
system. It happened that the man who was in his fifties, was always
urinating into his trousers whenever he was inside the Church on Sunday,
and the occurrence would not stop until the man presented himself for
initiation into the Ifa system. One then began to wonder whether magic
was responsible for the man's disgraceful experience, or Ifa oracle was
behind it. The question was put to traditional experts in different parts of
Yorubaland (Oyo, Ijebu, Egba, Ife, Ondo and Ekiti) and the answer was
the same, as if the interviewees had held a meeting on how to respond.
They a l l insisted that a distinction exists between magic and miracle in
Yoruba worldview. It does not seem that traditional Africans see their

divinities as needing magic or charm to operate effectively, tmmanual

Bolaji Idowu also discovered among the Yoruba that:
Most divinities do not regard magic in the sense of fetish
favourably. One of the praise titles of Sopona, the
divinity whose scourge is smallpox, is 'One who causes
medicine or magic designed for wicked ends to be thrown
away. Thus is true of the Dahomean counterpart,
Sagbata. Tano. the arch-divinity in Ashanti, hates magic..
.M.J. Field observes that in rural Ghana, strictly
consistent priests do not look favourably on magic and
the possession of suman. To use or even possess a bad
suman is a major sin, punishable by deity with death.
Good suman is not encouraged but tolerated.15

One came to the realisation that metaphysical magic is a universal

phenomenon, however. Its existence and reality are felt and
experienced not just in Africa and Asia, but worldwide. A
Westerner. Jacob Needleman notes that:
True metaphysics works: true philosophy works:
true mystery works. True magic works through
the phenomenon of resonance. One must know the
exact words to say and one must say them in exactly
the right place and the right time: and then forces
may be called down from heaven.16

At the same time, where scientific magic is involved, the effective

force has to subsist in natural elements as set by the Creator. In
Yoruba perspective, those who are versed in magic are usually
persons who are very close to nature, particularly in the forest and
jungle. Writing from (he perspective of the Yoruba. P. Ade Dopamu
observes that:
Magic and medicine are based on scientific discovery.
Theories abound to show the preoccupation of the
ancient people and their encounter with nature.
Science began with the study of nature observation of weather, seasons, the behaviour of
animals, plants and other animate objects; what
food to eat, what plant was poisonous, which
animal was dangerous and which was friendly, winch
plant was medicinal and which had occult properties
. . . . These observations might have developed into
investigations about how to use nature to human
advantage. They arose out of human needs, and

they were developed upon through further

investigation, experimentation, invention and
utilization: through scientific enquiry and procedure.17

Dopamu's study is based on magic and medicine, and he succinctly

explains that no one without scientific insight and instinct can discover
the medicinal use of plants and animals, or which plants and animals are
poisonous. This study is set to contribute to the discourse on scientific
magic. One has tried to illustrate the fact that many scientific products
function magically, and so, Africa may need to re-examine many of the
phenomena that are referred to as magic, in case there are those of them
that are scientific in nature, and can help to boost African technological
development.
Scientific Magic and African Technology in Yoruba Worldview
In the 1960s when I was a boy, a man from another town in
Yorubaland brought Osanyin to our village, Iwereile. He spent a couple
of weeks, entertaining the indigenes with his Osanyin, and indirectly
attracting persons who needed divination. To the best of my memory, the
Osanyin appeared like a statue gaily dressed, but only God and the man
knew what was inside the object he put down as a decorated doll. The
amazing thing about the object was that when people spoke to it, it was
responding with a guttural voice. Thus, when in the year 2003 I bought a
GSM handset, and saw how it was functioning and sounding upon the
insertion of the sim card, my mind soon went back to the Osanyin I
experienced in the 60s. I then thought that may be Africans should rev i s i t some of their so-called magic and inquire systematically whether
many magical devices are scientific in nature or not. It is difficult to see
the difference between a sim card that activates a handset and a magical
package. Once the sim card is inserted into a handset, it begins to
respond to certain questions, and can be used for long distance
communication. An ordinary card does not have that power. Hence the
idea of scientific magic comes to mind.
At this juncture, one should recall the scholarly opinion
and explanation that science developed from magic. That is the
situation in Western perception, and in the view of African scholars,
such as P. Ade Dopamu, as earlier discussed. In this section, one

would present some African magical phenomena that have some

correspondence to what is called Western science, or those that
appear to derive their power from natural laws. Interested African
scientists may then step-in to give fuller explanation, if only they can
obtain necessary funds to do good researches and experiments.
Daniel A. Offiong quotes "Chief (Dr.) J. O. Lambo, National
President of the Nigerian Association of Medical Herbalists" as
affirming not only that "charms can heal", but also that:
All creatures have dual virtues, that is, positive and
negative. In traditional medicine with a lot of elements of
magic and sorcery, ,one must have fair knowledge of the
virtues of all creatures as well as fair understanding of the
elements - fire,' water and earth . . . . If the tongue of a
dog is used in an occult way, no dog can bark at the
person. There is a stone in the left side head of a bush
toad, and this has a wonderful virtue that can be used for
a very good purpose.18

What Lambo meant, as noted by Offiong, is that African ancestors

understood many laws of nature. 19 One would think that the awareness
should inform an African attempt to distinguish and separate scientific
magic from occultic magic, rather than branding all under the
nomenclature of the occult. One should note that African traditional
magicians (or scientists) are as good as their Western counterparts in
jealously guarding their secrets. They can go to any length to safeguard
the secret of their discoveries. For instance, they may create an
unnecessary ritual to mystify the actual nature of their magical or
scientific discovery. Hence, to decode many of African magics, a lot may
need to be expended in terms of funds, patience, wisdom, perseverance
and courting the friendship of appropriate African men and women elders.
But, surely, several African scholars, including Bolaji Idowu, agree with
the assertion that "observations of nature and the discovery of causal links
are at the root of many magical (and medicinal) procedures". " Mown
also attests to the fact that African magicians and scientists alike can
disguise their secrets. He notes that:
Medicine is more often than not prescribed with the
instruction that it must be used at stated times,
compulsorily mulct certain conditions, accompanied with
certain prescribed gestures (which may he repetitive), and
w i t h incantations. And from (lie point of view of the

patient, it is often difficult to know whether it is the actual

medicine 01 the accompanying ceremonies, or both
together, that effect a cure.21

One has tried to explain (above) that the guarding secrets are not
unknown in other parts of the world, particularly in the Western
hemisphere, where a person may pay a lot of money to obtain a patent or
a copy right. But, in what areas can a scientist direct his or her attention,
in search of African scientific magic, as different from African occultic
magic? Of course, the main task is investigation, and where necessary,
experimentation. Below are some hints.
When I was with some hunters in a hamlet, it happened one day
that they needed to speak with one of their colleagues in a distant location
of about ten or more kilometres. One of them went into his bag of magic
and brought out a horn. He blew into it. and the person responded at the
other end. They communicated until the matter was resolved. A similar
thing is demonstrated in Saworoide, a Yoruba play by Prof. Akinwumi
Ishola. In that play, a drummer took a feather, cleaned his ear with it, and
attached it to his talking drum. He then used the drum to call his son
whom he has not seen for several years. The son heard the sound of the
drum, but his wife who was serving him food at that time did not hear it.
Much more amazing was that the man traced his father by following the
direction of the sound of the drum that remained in his mind. Can some
modern African scientists follow these leads to know what natural laws
are applied, and what further developments are possible therefrom?
Along the line of the examples given above, Ola Rotimi, in his
Yoruba-based play, Kurunmi, also showed that traditional Africans have a
way of communicating with people who are in distant, and sometimes
unknown locations. That was what happened when Ogunmola, a leader
of the Ibadan warriors, called Kurunmi (the leader of Ijaye warriors) to
come to the war front and count his losses. These occurrences in the
plays (i.e. Saworoide and Kurunmi) remind me of my experience in the
hamlet with traditional hunters. The telephone in its various forms that
are said to be the product of science, sends me wondering whether
raditional Africans have not discovered the natural laws that can make
humans communicate to one another beyond the normal hearing di st a nc e.

But only committed African scientists are in a better position in inquire,

where there is the will, resources and. possibly, encouragement.
Device for rain-making and preventing rain from falling is another
magic which may be purely scientific in Yoruba worldview. Hut, t h i s
researcher is not in the position to conclude. Scholars with s c i e n t i f i c
insight may Have to look into it, and see if Africa can offer a technological
device for making and preventing rain at will. That seems to bother on
meteorology.
There are two forms of magic that are reminiscent of camera and
television in Yoruba worldview. It is believed that an enemy can prepare a
concoction, and call out a targeted person to appear out of the
concoction. The enemy will then club the person. It is believed that once
that happens the person would die wherever s/he may be. The other
magic is also somewhat obnoxious. It concerns the belief that a lover can
prepare a magic to make a targeted lady see him whenever she looks into
any mirror. Bolaji Idowu relates the matter thus:
A love-magic practised among the Yoruba of Nigeria is a
simple one. The ingredients are compounded with the
woman in mind; when it is ready, the preparation is stuck on
the face of a looking-class, an incantation with the name of
the woman being pronounced during the operation. The
belief is that any time the woman looks at a mirror, she
would invariably see the man's face, she . would see the
man's face also in her dreams and maybe in trances. Gradually,
her resistance would be weakened through this constant
mirror-presence of the man and she would eventually consent
to the suit.22

The attraction here, of course, is the issue of "mirror-presence", and that

of making a person to appear in the water of a concoction. Both mirror
and water do show human reflection. And, even though the two magics
are obnoxious, the attraction is the secret of making persons appeal in a
way that reminds one of the television screen. One is also considering the
possibility of taking what may be beneficial in a culture and jettisoning
what is obviously inimical to human advancement. Can anyone really
deny that many things appear magical about the appearance of persons
and hearing of voices on the television screen? Issf that is part of

scientific discovery, it would appear intellectually sound to call it

scientific magic at least in respect of the general public.
Essentially, this study represents a call on African indigenous
scientists to investigate some of the phenomena that are referred to as
magic in African culture. Are some, or many, or none of them based on
natural laws, such that they can be manufactured and marketed as
amenities? The government and non-governmental organisations would
need to support such researches and experiments that may be required.
But interested individual scientists can also endeavour to make a
breakthrough that can throw them into limelight, or afford them a
marketable discovery.
Conclusion
This study has tried to see the possibility of developing African
technology based on African form of scientific magic. Several scholars
are quoted as noting that many traditional Africans have acquired much
knowledge of laws of natural elements. But the secrecy that normally
surrounds scientific discoveries must be overcome. The first step is for
modern African scientists to eschew prejudice, and not regard every
magic in African culture as occultic, at least not until they might have
done their investigations and experiments. The major recommendation of
this study is that government, non-governmental organisations, and
private initiatives should commit themselves to salvaging African heritage
in the area of science and technology. One would refuse to believe that
traditional Africa has nothing at all in the area of scientific magic, which
modern Africa can build upon for African technological advancement.
A major plank of this study is that scientific devices, such as the
remote control which magically opens and closes doors, television and
other forms of electronic, challenge Africans to produce similar devices
by looking inward. The GSM sim card that activates the handset also
demonstrates what is here referred to as scientific magic. The same is
said for the telephone and television, generally speaking. This study
demands a positive response from modern African scientists. Are there
African forms of scientific magic, or Africa has nothing but occultic
magic? Modem African scientists are advised to endeavour to penetrate
the rituals that many traditional Africans use to disguise their scientific
magic, toward the production of marketable devices.
Notes and References

Charles O.Helfling, "Science and Religion", in Glazier. M and Monika

K. Hellvig. eds.. The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia (Minnesota
The Liturgical Press, 1994), p. 79If.
2
R. Tarnas, The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas
that Have Shaped Our World View (New York: Harmony Books,
1991), p. 282.
3
Cfr. Smith, Jean Reader and Lacy Baldwin Smith, eds.. Essentials of
World History (New York: Barren's Educational Series, inc..
1980), p. 84f.
4
R.Tamas. 1991. p. 282.
5
Hawthorne, T., Windows on Science and Faith (Leicester: Inter-Varsity
Press. 1989), p. 15f.
6
N. Smart. The Religious Experience of Mankind (Glasgow: William
Collins Sons & Co Ltd., 1981), p. 75
7
M. A. Bamgbose, "God and Creation: Christian Perspective", being a
paper presented at the 251'1 Annual Conference of the Nigerian
Association for the Study of Religions, held at Olabisi Onabanjo
University, Ago Iwoye, 27"' - 30lh Sept., 2004, p. 5.
8
T. Hawthorne, 1986, p. 17.
9
I. Akintola, "Creation: Science or Allah", being a paper presented at the
25th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association for the Study of
Religions, held at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye,
Nigeria, 27lh - 30th September, 2004 p. 9.
10
P. Ade Dopamu, "Scientific Basis of African Magic and Medicine I he
Yoruba Experience", in Dopamu, P. Ade, S. O. Oycwole, K A
Akanmidu, et al. African Culture, Modern Science and Religions
Thought (Ilorin: African Centre for Religions and the Sciences
(ACRS). University of Ilorin, 2003), p. 454.
11
P. Ade Dopamu, 2003. p. 459.
12
T. Uzodinma Nwala, "Summary of the Debate Concerning the
Existence. Nature and Scope of African Philosophy (1970 90)". in
Nwala, T.U. Critical Review of the Great Debate on African
Philosophy (1970-1990) (Nsukka: William Amo Centre for
African Philosophy, University of Nigeria. Nsukka. 1992), p. 4.
13
P. Ade Dopamu, Esu: The Invisible Foe of Man: A Comparative Study of
Satan in Christianity, Islam and Yoruba Religion (Ijebu-Ode:
Shebiotimo Publications, 2000), p. 27.

14

Oliver A. Onwubiko, Christian Mission and Culture in Africa Thought,

Religion and Culture. (Enugu: SNAAP Press Ltd., 1991), p.62.
15
I . Hokiji Idowu. African Traditional Religion: A Definition (London:
SCM Press. 1978), p. 196f.
16
Jacob Needleman. Lost Christianity (New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc..
1980). p. 91.

P. Ade Dopamu. 2003, p. 460.

18
Daniel A. Offiong. Witchcraft. Sorcery. Magic and Social Order Among
the Ibibio of Nigeria (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing Co.
Ltd., 1991), pp. 49 - 51.
19
Daniel A.Offiong, 1991. p. 51.
20
L. Bolaji Idowu. 1978. p. 201.
21
L. Bolaji Idowu. 1978. p. 202.
22
L. Bolaji Idowu, 1978, p. 194.
17