A guide to Ijaw divination
With a population of roughly 6-million, Ijaw people are an ethnic group indigenous to the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Their major settlements are in Bayelsa state, Delta state and Rivers State and they are said to have moved to the Delta region over 7000 years ago.
Just like the Idoma, Ijaw people have a very rich culture. They are aquatic people who are mainly into fishing and farming. Despite majority of them being Christians, they still have and observe intricate traditional religion practices; one of which is Igbadai.
Igbadai is also called Obebe or Agbadi. It is a form of divination where recently departed adults are cross-examined to find out the cause of their death. The cause may be from disease or something else. During the divination exercise, an Igbadai divining frame is said to be shouldered by four young men.
The person who interrogates the deceased is referred to as Igbasdai-biwei. Igbadai operates on YES/NO principles; when the answer is ‘YES’ the frame mystically moves the bearer forward, while the bearer is moved backward when the answer is ‘NO’.
Typically, Igbadai is only used when death occurrs suddenly and with unknown causes, otherwise it is rarely carried out. According to Ijaw beliefs, death is not the end of life but rather the transition from one form of existence to another. They have a strong belief in the afterlife.
It is noteworthy to mention that this traditional religious practice is also familiar to the Esan, Igala and Nupe people of Nigeria.
#TraditionalValues is a segment documenting the beauty of indigenous culture. In this article we highlight Igbadai, an Ijaw traditional religious practice where recently departed adults are cross-examined to find out the cause of their death.
