RECURSO HUMANO COMPETITIVO.

Rites of passage means the combination of all the routine cultural and religious activities that people carry out for themselves and for others as they or their relation pass from one stage of life to another. This study however is about Urhobo funeral rite which focuses on the passage from akpọ to erivwin through the gate of death. As indicated in chapter three, section 3.5, Arnold van Gennep identified the three-phase pattern of separation, transition and incorporation that characterised every ceremony or rites of passage. He noted the uneven development of the phases in ceremonies and the prominence given to the transition phase in funerals rites for both the deceased and the bereaved.483

Elliot Dismore Chapple (1909–2000) and Carleton Stevens Coon (1904–1981), as American anthropologists, when they were in Harvard University in 1942, ‘were among

482 _{The ọpha in Urhobo also means ‘bride’ but is used in this research to mean ‘circumcision’ as used}

by John Tokpabere Agberia. See John Tokpabere Agberia, ‘Aesthetics and Rituals of the Opha Ceremony among the Urhobo People,’ Journal of Asian and African Studies, 41, No. 3 (London and New Delhi: Thousand Oaks and Sage Publications, 2006), 249–260: 249.

483 _{Myerhoff, Camino and Turner, ‘Rites of Passage,’ 1987: 382; van Gennep, The Rites of Passage,}

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the first to note the theoretical significance of Van Gennep's discovery.’484 They discussed ‘his analysis of rites of passage in a framework of equilibrium-maintenance theory, and […] added a fourth category, “rites of intensification,” which had as their main goal the strengthening of group unity.’485 Thus they advanced and refined ‘classification of rites’ and ‘restorative’ function of ritual behaviours. In common with van Gennep, Chapple and Coon referred to ceremonies around individuals as ‘rites of passage’ but differed by designating groups’ ceremonies as ‘rites of intensification’ because the rites increased the rates of interaction of group members.486 Victor Turner also developed the concept of rites of passage but introduced the ‘drama’ or ‘performative dimensions’ and symbolism to the study of rituals in addition to ‘the .processual dimensions’ of van Gennep.487 With Ndembu rituals as his case study, Turner classified rituals broadly into two, namely, ‘Life-crisis rituals’ and ‘Rituals of affliction.’ The former which includes rites such as birth, puberty, or death marks the transition from one phase in the development of a person to another while the latter is ‘performed for individuals who are said to have been "caught" by the spirits of deceased relatives whom they have forgotten or neglected.’488

484 _{Victor Turner, ‘Process, System and Symbol: A New Anthropological Synthesis,’ Daedalus 106,}

no. 3, Discoveries and Interpretations: Studies in Contemporary Scholarship 1 (Summer, 1977), 61–80: 67.

485 _Ibid.

486 _{Elliot Dismore Chapple and Carleton Stevens Coon, Principles of Anthropology (New York:}

Henry Holt and Company, 1942), 398.

487 _{Peter L. McLaren, ‘A Tribute to Victor Turner (1920–1983), Anthropologia, New Series 27, no.}

1/2, Victor Turner: Un Hommage Canadien/A Canadian Tribute (Canadian Anthropolgy Society, 1985), 17–22: 17–18. Victor Turner confirmed this approach by stating in The Drums of Affliction, that he approached the performances of rites in terms of ‘social field,’ ‘process,’ ‘situation,’ ‘social drama,’ and ‘conflict’ in chapters four and five but ‘as concatenations of symbols and systems of values, beliefs and meanings’ in chapters seven and eight (See Victor W. Turner, The Drums of Affliction: A study of Religious Processes among the Ndembu of Zambia (London: Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1981), 26).

488 _{Mathieu Deflem, ‘Ritual, Anti-Structure and Religion: A Discussion of Turner’s Processual}

Symbolic Analysis, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 30, no. 1 (Blackwell Publishing, March 1991), 1–25: 8 (See Turner, The Drums of Affliction, 15–16).

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Similar to van Genneps’ view, Turner equally identified three stages in the rites of passage but paid much attention to the transitional stage which he called the ‘liminal period’ and ‘communitas’ and in which the ritual subjects are ‘betwixt and between.’489 His kin interest in the middle rites of passage may have arisen from his own life ‘crossroads.’490 Mathieu Deflem491 observed that although Turner recognised the presence of ritual in the modern societies, he understood them as having different characteristics from those of the tribal societies. Turner applied his findings from Ndembu ritual study to the modern and industrial societies. He use the term ‘liminoid’ for the modern societies which regarded religion as ‘part of the division of social labour,’ separated from the ‘economic, political, domestic and recreational life’ but the term ‘liminal period’ for the tribal societies where life is wholly religious, ‘pervaded with invisible influences.’492

Deflem however critiqued Turner of ambiguity for using the same term, ‘ritual’ for both tribal and modern societies. He argued that the use of ‘ceremony’ for secular societies by Max Gluckman (1911–1975)493 was a better option.494 Deflem also noticed the contribution of Dame Mary Douglas (1921–2007), another British social

489 _{Deflem, ‘Ritual, Anti-Structure and Religion,’ 13–15 (See Turner, The Ritual Process, 1969, 94–}

97, 125–130).

490 _{Turner experienced divorced parents as a child and lived with his maternal grandmother. He}

developed interest in science through his father who was an electronic engineer and in arts through the mother, an actress. He did not like military service but ‘became a non-combatant bomb disposal soldier in 1943. He studied anthropology to be able to combine scientific and art studies in equilibrium (See Deflem, ‘Ritual, Anti-Structure and Religion,’ 1–2).

491 _{Mathieu Deflem is a Professor of sociology the University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA.} 492 _{Deflem, ‘Ritual, Anti-Structure and Religion,’ 17}

493 _{Gluckman was a South African and British social anthropologist and tutor to Victor Turner. See}

Michael D. Murphy et. al.. ‘The Manchester School,’ Anthropological Theories (The University of

Alabama: Department of Anthropology), available from

http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=Manchester School, Internet, accessed 19 February 2012.

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anthropologist,495 that there are secular rituals, though may be few, in tribal societies as well, thus one can study rituals in socio-cultural environment without reference to the supernatural.496 In other words, Deflem agreed with Gluckman on the use of ‘ritual’ and ‘ceremony,’ to distinguish the religious rites from the secular while Douglas supported Turner’s method of understanding both as rituals but of different approach.

For the purpose of this research, it is important to clarify that in both NBC and Urhobo culture, life consists of the sacred and the secular and the two are intrinsically interwoven. The Urbobo Baptists however preferred the words ‘funeral service’ or ‘burial ceremony’ to ‘burial rites’ or ‘ritual’ while in the traditional setting, ‘burial custom’ is a familiar term. Nevertheless, this research uses the words like ‘rites,’ ‘ritual,’ ‘ceremony’ or ‘custom’ interchangeably.

Three NBC scholars, namely Osadalor Imasogie, B. Uche Enyioha, and S. Ademola Ishola have expatiated on rites of passage from different perspectives. Although they used generalised terms like ‘African,’497 ‘Christian community’498 and ‘African community,’499 their immediate audience were the NBC and the wider Nigerian society. Therefore the implications of their thoughts for the Nigerian Baptists cannot be overemphasised. Imasogie defined the rites of passage ‘as a ritual dramatization of the interplay of biology and culture on human destiny on the one hand, and the African’s perceived mysterious symbiotic interaction between his temporal and spiritual existence

495 _{Richard Fardon, ‘Obituary: Dame Mary Douglas,’ The Guardian (Friday 18 May 2007),}

available from http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/may/18/guardianobituaries.obituaries, Internet, accessed 19 February 2012.

496 _{Deflem, ‘Ritual, Anti-Structure and Religion,’ 17–18.}

497 _{Osadalor Imasogie, ‘The Nature of Rites of Passage in African Traditional Religion,’ Ogbomoso}

Journal of Theology (OJOT), No. 7, 13–17 (December 1992): 13.

498 _{B. Uche Enyioha, ‘The Pastoral Significance of Traditional African Concept of Rites of Passage,’}

Ogbomoso Journal of Theology (OJOT), No. 7, 18–25 (December 1992): 18.

499 _{S. Ademola Ishola, ‘The Sociological Significance of the Traditional African concept of Rites of}

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on the other hand.’500 Imasogie’s definition underpins the African’s recognition of spiritual realities in the stages of life and the role of religious rituals on those realities. In exploring the nature of the rites, he focused on the essence, functions, essential qualities or characteristics of the rites of passage among Africans and identified four major characteristics. First is the three-fold pattern of separation, transition and re- incorporation, which agrees with van Gennep’s theory. The second is the symbolization of the rites for ritual renewal. The third is the theme of unbroken relationship between the secular and the sacred and lastly, the rites symbolize identity and continuity.501 In other words, rites of passage re-enact in Africans the sense of rebirth, affiliation with the sacred, identity and continuity. In line with Turner’s approach, Imasogie understood rites as symbols and thus demonstrated the eclectic nature of his theory.

B. Uche Enyioha examined the nature of pastoral ministry to members who are passing through the crisis of the rites of passage. He understood that the existing cultural practices in these periods are a reaffirmation of the people’s communal covenant and a reflection upon their history, values, cosmology and religious philosophy.502 He explained further that because of the crisis, the people are open to pastoral support and education.503 Enyioha was of the opinion that the contextual approach of a Christian minister in such moments can create a meaningful bridge between African cultural values and the Christian faith.504 He thus argued that an effective pastor should utilize Christian rites and ceremonies for meeting basic support needs and facilitating the total

500 _{Imasogie, ‘The Nature of Rites of Passage in African Traditional Religion,’ 13.} 501 _{Ibid., 14–16.}

502 _{Enyioha, ‘The Pastoral Significance of Traditional African Concept of Rites of Passage,’ 18.} 503 _Ibid.

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welfare of church members.505 Enyioha also advocated that Christian rites should not be oblivious of people’s cultural values.506 S. Ademola Ishola focused on the sociological significance of the Yorùbá rites of passage and argued that rituals of death are societal and have psycho-socio functions. Funeral rituals in particular ‘serve double purposes— the final, fitting send-off of the deceased to the spiritual world, and the renewal and strengthening of the bond of family ties.’507 In order to understand Urhobo rites of passage, the ọpha (‘circumcision’) shall be considered along with funeral rites.