ZHIBAJE RITUAL FESTIVAL AND THE GBAGYI WORLD VIEW

Abstract

ZhiBaje practice is one of the essential aspects of the Gbagyi folk life which celebrates the quintessential humanity of the Gbagyi people in central Nigeria. It is one of the religious performances that prove the vitality of the Gbagyis irrespective of the balkanization of the people across several states in Nigeria. This study examines the functionality of ZhiBaje ritual and folklore in the fragmented postcolonial Nigerian state. It appraises the social constructivist values in ZhiBaje practice and how aspects of the ritual practices convey doctrines of sharing, social harmony, love and human dignity; all which are fundamental to nation building. We use performance ethnography and functional theories as a theoretical premise to assert that ZhiBaje practice convey an epistemic bastion upon which humanity’s racial prejudices can be suppressed for social integration to take its course. We draw our data from the performance of ZhiBaje ritual by the Gbagyis of Gonin-Gora area of Kaduna State. We used participant observation and key informant interview instrumentality to maintain that the ritual corpus of ZhiBaje is philosophical and contained sundry episteme that can preserve world’s humanity. We conclude that harmony amongst Nigeria’s diverse populations can only be attained by drawing from aspects of Nigerian nativist beliefs that sanctions the inviolability of human dignity. The study found out that the Gbagyi cosmic world is hierarchical and as a result influences the character of the Gbagyis in central Nigeria.