THE NOTION OF PRAYERS AND INCANTATIONS INIBIBIO TRADITIONAL RELIGION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

In African traditional worldview, prayers and incantations are not mere
words or utterances but vehicles of power, capable of invoking the
Supernatural spirit and socio-economic forces that shape economic
development. This phenomenon provides the devotees the idea of
Supernatural Being, beliefs, ritual practices due to diverse religious
experiences. However, it has been observed with dismays the lack of
effective prayers and incantations among the devotees of Ibibio
traditional religion as the grounds of the erratic and fluctuating economic
situation experiencing in Nigerian society today. The paper employed
survey and phenomenological methods with techniques such as
interview and participant observation model. Finding from the study
revealed that Ibibio worldview is predominantly a religious
phenomenon, a spiritual view of life where almost everything is given a
spiritual or religious interpretation. It was discovered that prayers and
incantations are the essential acts of virtues in Ibibio traditional religion
as well as the avenues of conversation with the Supreme Being who
controls the affairs of man including economic activities vis-à-vis its
development for the individual and communal well-being. It is therefore
concluded and recommended that Ibibio traditional religion should
inculcate in their adherents the virtue of prayers and incantations as well
as productivity to enhance individual and communal economic
development in Nigerian society