SORCERY AND THE ABUSE OF POWER: AN IGWEBUIKE HERMENEUTIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This paper explored the use of power from an African alternative spirituality perspective with particular reference to the practice of sorcery in African Traditional Religion. The purpose of this research is to advance openhearted dialogue among people who have interest in alternative spiritualities in relation to the use and abuse of power.It, therefore, responded to questions such as: what are the most significant ways in which some practices in African alternative spirituality can cause harm through the abuse of power? Are certain spiritual practices, such as sorcery, inherently abusive? How does sorcery within the African religious perspective constitute an abuse of spiritual power? To respond to these questions, the research discussed the categorization of power/force within the African worldview, with the intention of showing how these powers have been and can be used. It further studied the enduring features of sorcery and how sorcery remains a practice that abuses spiritual power. The Igwebuike indigenous theoretical framework was employed given the peculiar nature of the African worldview. The hermeneutic, critical and analytical methods of inquiry were used for the interpretation and analysis of data. The study revealed that sorcery is inherently abusive in its use of spiritual power, especially in an African world that is interconnected, complementary and interrelated.