Witchcraft, Sorcery, Magic & Social Order Amoung the Ibibio of Nigeria

The Ibibio people of Nigeria have an intense belief in the supernatural – in ancestral and non-ancestral spirits and witches who cause disorders in society and have to be appeased or neutralised to maintain social and cosmological equilibrium. Professor Daniel Offiong provides a detailed description of myth among the Ibibio and its relevance in explaining misfortunes and social order. He describes how social dynamics, failures and nautural disasters are explained in the relationship between animate and inanimate spiritual forces. He explains Mbiam, a magically potent object used for divination possessing supernatural ability to detect innocence and guilt, and its potency in inflicting punishment. A full account is given of the anti-witchcraft crusade in 1978 and its consequences.