Psalm 82, "Unjust Gods" and its Application to Nigerian Survivors of Sex Trafficking in Europe

Project Plan

Chapter 1 - Introduction
A. Nigerian Sex Trafficking in Europe
B. Christian Faith-Based NGOs as Key Players in Assisting Nigerian SOTs in Europe .
C. Introducing Psalm 82 and the Cosmos as a Polity Framework
D. Outline of Dissertation Approach and Relationship to Integrative Theology

Chapter 2 - Understanding the Role of an African Traditional Justice System in Nigerian Sex Trafficking Cases
A. An African Traditional Justice System in Nigeria
1) The Categorical Framework: Deities as Enforcers of Justice
2) Oath-Taking Temples as Locations for African Traditional Justice
3) Example of Ayelala
B. Ritual-Judicial Practices and Juju
C. Sex Trafficking as Corruption of Numinous-Judicial Power

Chapter 3 - Understanding Psalm 82
A. History and Core Interpretational Issue
B. ‘The Cosmos as a Polity’ - An ANE Categorical Framework and Root Metaphor ...
1) ANE Categorical Framework
2) A Root Metaphor
3) The Phenomenon of Elohim as Judicial Powers
C. Biblical-Exegetical and Theological Consideration
1) Verse 1
2) Verses 2-4
3) Verse 5
3) Verses 6-7
4) Verse

Chapter 4 - Applying Psalm 82 to Nigerian SOTs
A. From Apperception to Intersubjectivity
B. Narrative-Theological Application of Psalm 82
1) The Biblical Metanarrative Related to Psalm 82
2) Applying the Narrative to SOTs
3) A Narrative Therapy Based on Psalm 82
C. Ritual-Judicial Application of Psalm 82
D. Project Conclusion

Bibliography

Chapter 1 Introduction

A. Nigerian Sex Trafficking in Europe

Over the last twenty years, the global recognition and response to the social justice crisis of human trafficking has continued to take shape, motivating the international community to confront criminals operating trafficking networks as well as provide social assistance and care for survivors of trafficking (SOTs).¹ Within the various categories of human trafficking as defined by the UN, the exploitation of sexual labour is especially prevalent within the EU member states.² This form of trafficking most often exploits women³ migrating into EU member states from other economically disadvantaged member states or from third countries. Trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation thus refers to cases in which women are forced or coerced into prostitution post-migration and some or all of their money is taken. A common method for sex trafficking is the establishment of debt-bondage.⁴ In these cases, money is not taken by force but is rather ‘collected’ as a debt.

Debt-bondage and the exploitation of sexual labour is the most common method used in the trafficking of Nigerian women within the EU.⁵ Despite the fact that the overall numbers of Nigerian migration into the EU has seen a steady decline since 2017, stakeholders continue to recognize the trafficking of Nigerian women as a concern.⁶ In the vast number of reported cases, these women were promised some form of employment in the EU and provided with a financial sponsorship to fund their journey through irregular migration. Those who sponsor the women are themselves female and are referred to as ‘madams.’ Madams maintain control over those they sponsored until the debt has been repaid.⁷ Despite the fact that the windy road of irregular migration into an EU country from Nigeria often includes the threat of starvation or drowning and the trauma of imprisonment and rape, such circumstances do not diminish the expectation of repayment after arrival.⁸ Likewise, debts are regularly compounded during travel and later inflated, increasing to upwards of 40,000 Euros by the time they reach the shores of a European nation.⁹ Upon arrival, the trauma which took place along the way is magnified when the promised employment that kept them motivated through their journey is no longer available and the applied pressure to start repaying the debt pushes them into prostitution.

A central element to the Nigerian system of debt-bondage trafficking is the utilisation of the threat of spiritual violence from an unseen power. This power, referred to as juju, relates to an oath of allegiance which was sworn by the victim upon entering into the sponsoring relationship with her madam.¹⁰ The oath includes the promise to repay the debt and to keep silent regarding the sponsoring relationship, especially when speaking to any authorities.¹¹ Using the sworn oath as a threat, those involved in exploiting the women are able to ensure their compliance and silence despite physical separation. The unseen and transnational nature of this system of exploitation, both in the non-localisation of the madam and the use of a cultural belief system, have made criminal justice efforts especially difficult.¹² Likewise, efforts toward assisting Nigerian SOTs within EU member states are consistently hindered by a skepticism related to epistemological differences, further exaggerated by the victim’s fear of a spiritual threat. Government authorities and NGOs frequently misunderstand the religious sensibilities of the Nigerian culture and the significant role this plays in their lived experiences. Many times, the experientially based fears of these women are disregarded by the authorities as fantasies or even worse, as lies in order to obtain asylum status.¹³

Furthermore, there are many misconceptions about the oath-taking practices themselves. In many instances, the European media speaks about such rituals in sensational terms, evoking as much foreignness to the experience as possible.¹⁴ Nigerian based social scientific research, however, has helped shed more light on the use of oath-taking rituals exploited by traffickers and located this practice within an ubiquitous reliance on spiritual powers as enforcers of civil, criminal, and contractual justice within traditional Nigerian society. Idumwonyi and Ikhidero termed this practice ‘traditional justice’ since it relates to a phenomenal justice reliant on a shared traditional African cosmology and worldview.¹⁵ Although the majority of Nigerians identify as Christian or Muslim, both religions afford degrees of engagement with this traditional lifeworld.¹⁶ Understanding the way traffickers use traditional beliefs and practices is essential for European authorities and humanitarian NGOs that work with SOTs. Without this understanding, survivors remain disconnected and isolated from host societies and even from those eager to provide help.

B. Christian Faith-Based NGOs as Key Players in Assisting Nigerian SOTs in Europe

There are a number of identifiable groups involved in assisting Nigerian SOTs in Europe alongside state authorities.¹⁷ In European society, the State often relies upon civil-society organisations to assist in managing and implementing social care, a constellation referred to as governance.¹⁸ Among some civil-society organisations in Europe, faith, religion, and spirituality are given a place alongside of common secular elements within social work.¹⁹ Though the term has been contested as a neologism, Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) describes ‘any organisation that refers directly or indirectly to religion or religious values, and that function as a welfare provider and/or as a political actor.’²⁰ Despite the fact that European social care is predominantly regulated by a strong secular hegemony, a ‘turn to religion’ has been identified in the number of FBOs that receive funding for humanitarian relief and development work outside of the EU.²¹ This turn to religion in development aid appears to be built on a pragmatic conceptualization of client-orientation, which recognizes the significant role faith and spirituality play in the lives of aid recipients. As a client-orientated approach, the goal of offering meaningful assistance is combined with the value of collaborating with the most significant meaning making belief systems of the recipient, relying on the principle of intersubjectivity in the delivery of aid.²²

The value for cross-cultural, lifeworld, and worldview intersubjectivity is not only relevant to organisations providing aid to those in developing nations but also those offering social care to migrant populations with a faith background coming into Europe. Based on interviews of Nigerian SOTs, a deeper trust is said to be built with social workers who expressed a faith connection with them, engendering more opportunities for integration.²³ Since the majority of Nigerian SOTs have a Christian background, European Christian FBOs especially share common ground with their clients.²⁴ Furthermore, even though divergences in worldviews exist between FBOs and Nigerian survivors, their shared confessional faith grants European Christian FBOs an initial access to their clients more than those limited to a secular epistemology.²⁵ Since Nigerian sex trafficking primarily operates through the use of a spiritual threat, many survivors anticipate that part of their journey to freedom will involve a ritually satisfying counteractive spiritual experience and they expect European Christian FBOs to play a role in that process.²⁶ In order for FBOs to effectively meet this need, greater understanding of the worldview and lifeworld of survivors must be attained.

C. Introducing Psalm 82 and the Cosmos as a Polity Framework

As will be argued in the following project, Psalm 82 is an invaluable guide for European Christian FBOs to understand the role of divine authority in African traditional justice. Despite the significant attention biblical scholarship has given to this Psalm, it has struggled to find a definitive place within Christian dogma, especially due to confusion related to the plural use of the word elohim.²⁷ The text has been accurately described as ‘poetry with narrative context’ and the term ‘prophetic’ is commonly used as a descriptor.²⁸ What has become nearly indisputable among a growing number of biblical scholars is the Psalm’s reliance upon a categorical framework which imagines the entire cosmos, seen and unseen, under the governing authority of spiritual powers.²⁹

This framework of understanding which was common in the ancient Near East (ANE) can be referred to as the Cosmos as a Polity (CAP), where the metaphor of household- governance was used to represent divine authority.³⁰ If a narrative context is to be found in Psalm 82, a concise poetic text consisting of only 59 Hebrew words, one must recognize that such a narrative conceptually relies on the CAP framework. Therefore, to understand what is being proclaimed in this Psalm, one must seek to comprehend the cognitive linguistic framework upon which it is built.³¹ The masterful adaptation of the CAP framework by the author of Psalm 82 offers a dynamic narrative-theological vision, exalting Yahweh as a cosmic Suzerain and calling into question corrupt, subordinate powers.³² Furthermore, a commonly overlooked aspect of the Psalm is its ritual-judicial significance. In order to better grasp this element and its unique relevance for Nigerian trafficking, one must venture into grasping how the ancients considered the spiritual and governmental to experientially intersect.³³

D. Outline of Dissertation Approach and Relationship to Integrative Theology

This project proposes that since there is a cognitive linguistic overlap between African traditional justice and the CAP framework, Psalm 82’s prophetic, liberating witness to God’s justice within this framework invites FBOs into an empowering intersubjectivity with Nigerian sex trafficking survivors. As the Psalm becomes understandable in its biblical-exegetical, theological, linguistic, and phenomenological meaning, FBOs are brought into a more significant connection with the worldview and lifeworld of survivors. Furthermore, this knowledge grants FBOs new competencies to address the spiritual threat felt by survivors in a meaningful way, contributing to their liberation and integration.

The following project applies a biblical text to a concrete social justice issue as a demonstration of integrative theology. The next chapter will describe the framework and lifeworld of an African traditional justice system operating behind Nigerian sex trafficking. Following this in chapter 3, Psalm 82 will be exegetically presented. Finally, in chapter 4, a concept for the Psalm’s application to the needs of Nigerian SOTs by European Christian FBOs will be given based on the approach of intersubjectivity.³⁴ Through the attitude of intersubjectivity, key teaching themes and two low-threshold therapies based on Psalm 82 will be offered as concrete actions for FBOs to use with survivors.

Chapter 2 Understanding the Role of an African Traditional Justice System in Nigerian Sex Trafficking Cases

The following chapter introduces an African traditional justice (ATJ) system and its relationship to sex trafficking in Edo State, Nigeria. To begin, the categorical framework and cosmology as well as the judicial-cultic structure behind ATJ will be examined. Next, the example of Ayelala, a deity commonly used in trafficking, will be considered. Finally, the lived-in experiences of ritual-judicial practices found in ATJ will be presented. Chapter 2 is intended to grant understanding to European Christian FBOs assisting Nigerian SOTs. A heavy reliance is given to African social scientific and theological research and cultural-religious reflection while attempting to communicate to a primarily western Christian readership. Unfortunately, many western Christian endeavours to understand African autochthon religion and culture have been grievously guilty of exploiting the knowledge obtained.³⁵ Postcolonial criticisms introduced an essential ethical challenge to western motivation behind the research of indigenous peoples. Recognizing how academic understanding has historically been used in service to western power, the chapter takes a postcolonial approach to heart.³⁶

A. An African Traditional Justice System in Nigeria

1) The Categorical Framework: Deities as Delegated Enforcers of Justice

The term ‘traditional justice’ is taken directly from a social scientific monograph which details the resurgence of a postcolonial, phenomenal justice system in Edo State, Nigeria.³⁷ The paper focuses on promoting ‘a harmonisation of a ‘euro-afro-centric judicial system’’ and makes a case for the positive benefits of a hybrid system.³⁸ Early on, the paper establishes that ATJ cannot be understood apart from traditional religion.³⁹ The authors’ use of religion here relies upon an African sense of the word which is described by Mbiti as permeating ‘all departments of life so fully that it is not easy or possible always to isolate it.’⁴⁰ Durkheim’s philosophy of the intersection between religion and justice in the pursuit of a moral community is considered especially helpful to grasp the African apprehension of both elements.⁴¹ We are then told that ‘justice in Benin traditional society is Theo-centric [s/c].’⁴²

Describing ATJ in Edo State as theocentric indicates an expectation of divine involvement in the administration of justice, an expectation profoundly shaped by an African traditional cosmology. Academics often rely on the nomenclature African Traditional Religion (ATR) when examining the unifying elements found within a diversity of African worldviews and practices, especially those elements related to the interpenetration of the ‘this-worldly and otherworldly.’⁴³ ATR is used as a container to assemble descriptions of how worldview and cosmology in African belief are embedded in particular cultural-religious phenomena. Despite justified criticism against the harmful effects of over generalising all things African, the cosmological and worldview descriptions related to ATR offer value in understanding ATJ.⁴⁴

A complete survey of ATR cosmology is beyond the scope of this project. The primary element to be examined is the role played by divinities and deified ancestors (together referred to as deities) in the enforcement of justice. ATR’s cosmology is notoriously related to a hierarchical structure where the conceptualisation of a singular Supreme Being is at the top, who is responsible for the formation and maintenance of all life and the moral order.⁴⁵ This Being is associated with the heavens, presented as the creator of all living things, and the founder of an eternal moral code.⁴⁶ Within ATR, conceptions of the Supreme Being rely on various metaphors relating God with the benefaction of a divine family member such as the Great Ancestor or the Divine King (Tribal Chieftain).⁴⁷ Nevertheless, in ATR, God’s role as benefactor is primarily expressed in the delegation of authority to empowered human agents to discern His will (priests, elders, rulers) and unseen divine powers to enforce it (deities).⁴⁸ For this reason, delegated and empowered agency, both human and divine, as a mediation of the Supreme Being’s will is central to ATJ.⁴⁹

The delegated governing role of deities within ATR is evident not only in the context of enforcing the moral order but also in the management of the natural world.⁵⁰ For this reason, some divinities are presented as ‘personified forces of nature,’ governing especially over rivers and other bodies of water.⁵¹ Furthermore, deified ancestors can be attributed with having a unique grace or power given in service to the Supreme Being. Sango, for example, the fourth king of the Oyo dynasty (12th Century CE), was said to have buckled under the weight of the exceptional supernatural power given to him in his human life but later, upon dying, carried this power in service of the Yoruba people. The cult dedicated to him now appeals to Sango's sporadic but powerful nature which remains available through divination.⁵² Many ATR cosmologies divide the deities into two primary categories of personality, hot and cold, represented by the colours red and white respectively.⁵³ This categorisation can be logically followed in how temperature describes character; cold relates to a more mild- mannered and contemplative nature, hot to a temperamental and severe character.

There are three primary ways where one can see ATJ utilising the cosmology named above. First, we are told that deities ‘are believed to be present as witnesses to proceedings of justice administration.’⁵⁴ The word witness used here describes the concept of judicial oversight. In other words, in ATJ, deities are invoked to oversee priest-judges and ensure that decisions being rendered by human authorities are just. The ritual invocation of the deity’s power thus offers a fear of penalty when justice is neglected.⁵⁵ Secondly, deities are directly invoked as judges through oath-taking rituals.⁵⁶ Oath-taking is done before a ‘dreaded deity’ (hot disposition) and is either used as an invocation for a supernaturally enforced verdict (judicial oath) or in the swearing of a promissory oath.⁵⁷ The promissory oath operates as a conditional-self curse, where the deity is invited to punish the oath-taker if a default on the promise should take place. The final appropriation of the ATR cosmology in ATJ is the conceptualisation of divine beings as a kind of ‘police’ force, being activated to fight crime.⁵⁸ Rather than making an appeal for adjudication, the deity is invoked ‘to detect and unleash their anger on criminals and evil doers in the community.’⁵⁹ Underlying all three forms of divine involvement in ATJ is a fear of the deity’s punitive-judicial power. Whereas any system of justice regards the legitimate use of force and its punitive function as necessary, ATJ operates from a widespread conviction in the authority of deities to fulfill this duty.⁶⁰ The nomenclature ‘curse’ is most often used to describe a range of experiential outcomes as a result of a deity’s punishment, the common three being sickness, insanity, and death.

2) Oath-Taking Temples as Locations for African Traditional Justice

Even though the cosmology behind ATJ can be evident in many areas of African life, the practice of invoking deities as judges in Edo State primarily takes place in traditional temples where worship and judicial functions are explicitly combined.⁶¹ Not all deities are considered to be equal in their judicial power. As different deities are attributed with diverse dispositions (hot and cold), judicial power is sought exclusively among those powers which are considered severe, since they strictly hold someone to their promise.⁶² The severity of the deity’s character reflects the effectiveness of their punitive-judicial power, granting them an esteemed position within ATJ.⁶³ A degree of rank can be discerned among the thousands of oath-taking temples in Benin based on the severity of the presiding deity. Furthermore, two particular temples operate as higher courts of appeal. The Arohosunoba temple is the second highest and the absolute highest is the temple of the Oba (traditional king) of Benin himself.⁶⁴ Indeed, the Oba of Benin ‘has the supreme power to make and unmake all other oaths taken in any temple or shrine in Benin.’⁶⁵ The Oba’s authority is attributed to his unique role as God’s representation in Edo, having the sworn loyalty of all Benin’s traditional priests, and his possession of the ancestral images of the most potent traditional deities.⁶⁶

The influential role of the Oba in context to ATJ was highlighted on March 9th, 2018, when he called a sacred assembly to confront the injustice brought upon victims of human trafficking through ritual oath-taking. Having recognized the abuse of power that was taking place, the Oba nullified the oaths that the victims had taken and declared a curse upon anyone who would use oaths to enforce Human Trafficking in the future.⁶⁷ The full ramifications of the judicial curse spoken by the Oba including the immediate and long-term effects could be the subject of a much larger study. Despite a positive effect for some victims, technicalities and loopholes continue to allow traffickers to operate and exploit without consequence.

As seen in the example of the Oba, the role of human actors within ATJ is essential since the system relies on a symbiosis between deities and traditional leaders to maintain the moral order. One can find a varied group of people involved in running traditional temples. Besides the Oba himself, who rarely makes an appearance outside of his palace, chief priests, assistants to the priestly office, and devotees are among the most commonly named groups.⁶⁸ The primary function of the chief priests {Ohen) is mediation between the commoner and a deity. The essential functions of the Ohen in traditional temples can be summarised as fighting witchcraft and offering healing, divinatory and protective functions, and the administration of justice.⁶⁹ The use of ritual oaths can be brought into all of the Ohen’s activities but they are most explicitly involved in the administration of justice. Those who assist the Ohen are given diverse tasks with varying degrees of significance. Some assistants, for example, even operate as diviners on behalf of the deity, while others are functionaries for more mundane administrative tasks (secretary, treasurer, and spokesman).⁷⁰ The final category, devotees, are those who have sworn allegiance to the primary deity of the temple through an initiation ritual.⁷¹ The existence of devotees as a distinct group reveals a conceptual gap in ATJ between worship-devotion and the judicial power of a deity offered to all for the common good. Even though, in some temples, certain judicial services were only provided to devotees of the presiding deity.⁷²

3) Example of Ayelala

Although there are several deities considered to be specially endowed with the character and power to enforce justice, the deity Ayelala provides a useful example. The notoriety of Ayelala in Edo appears to have been recent and not without dispute among certain members of the traditional priestly class.⁷³ One of the controversies surrounding her⁷⁴ authority is related to the fact that she comes from Yoruba and her authority in the neighbouring Edo State is therefore questioned.⁷⁵ The mythical origin of the deity communicates her severity in ATJ. As the story goes, after it was discovered that a commoner committed adultery with the wife of a great leader in the community, the man fled for his life and took refuge in another nearby village. The act of adultery and the protection of the village created violent tension between the two communities and thereby disrupted the moral order. A slave woman was chosen to be sacrificed to restore order, and a covenant was made between the two tribes, uitilizing a ritual to enforce the covenant. Just before being killed, the slave women shouted, ‘ayelala’ which means, ‘the world is terrible.’⁷⁶ The spirit born out of that sacrifice is now considered to be very severe in her punishment of oath-breaking and other criminal activity. She became distinctly popular in Edo in 2005 after her name was used to avenge victims of a massive looting in the Benin central market.⁷⁷ Since Ayelala is commonly invoked in oath-taking rituals used for human trafficking; her origin story is especially ironic.

[...]

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¹ European Commission, 'Progress,' 'Section IV - Criminal law,' 'Section V - Identification,' n.p. Victim and survivor are often used interchangeably. In the case of the following project, survivor is used for someone in the process of recovery after experiencing the exploitation of trafficking.

² European Commission, 'Section II TRENDS,' n.p.

³ UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking, p. 52. 90% of those trafficked for sexual exploitation in western and southern Europe were female, 72% were over 18 years old.

⁴ Shelly, Global Perspective, p. 218.

⁵ Hepburn and Simon, Around the World, p. 177.

⁶ comp. Pathfinders Justice Initiative, 'Slavery Index,' n.p. with 'Still the Problem,' n.p.

⁷ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 13.

⁸ Breen, ‘On This Journey,’pp. 24-25.

⁹ Breen, ‘On This Journey,’p. 25.

¹⁰ Ikeora, Cooperation, p. 117.

¹¹ Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' p. 15.

¹² Olufade, 'Sustenance,' p. 14.

¹³ Ikeora, 'Role,' pp. 12-13.

¹⁴ Ikeora, 'Role,' p. 9.

¹⁵ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 127.

¹⁶ Anekwe, 'In Dialogue,' p. 73.

¹⁷ Another essential group to be considered are African Christian diaspora communities. Such consideration is unfortunately beyond the scope of this paper.

¹⁸ Bode, Ingo 'Welfare Mixes,' p. 347.

¹⁹ See Beaumont and Cloke, Faith-Based Organisations, p. 73, for an example of an anti-trafficking faith-based organisation.

²⁰ Beaumont and Cloke, Faith-Based Organisations, p. 11.

²¹ Tomalin, 'Global Aid,' p. 323

²² Tomalin, 'Global Aid,' p. 332; See Orange, 'Intersubjective,' pp. 245-46, who, as a relational theorist, emphasises the role intersubjectivity plays as a sensibility which 'reminds us that we have no privileged access to reality.'

²³ Blöcher et al., Intersectional, p. 49.

²⁴ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, pp. 40-41.

²⁵ For a description of the divergences see Erikson, 'Imaginaries,' p. 81; See Beaumont and Cloke, Faith-Based Organisations, pp. 276-77, for post-secular epistemology of FBOs.

²⁶ Ikeora, 'Role,' p. 14; See also Blöcher et al., Intersectional, p. 50.

²⁷ A problem further compounded by the diversity of English translations of Ps. 82.1. See Heiser, 'Divine Council,' n.p.

²⁸ Tate, Psalms, p. 332.

²⁹ Tate, Psalms, p. 332.

³⁰ Jindo, 'Divine Courtroom,' p. 77.

³¹ Cognitive linguistics is the study of language and human cognition and is especially interested in the way language communicates the intersection of experience and modes of thinking, often articulated in metaphor. See Schmid and Ungerer, 'Cognitive Linguistics,’ pp. 613-15.

³² Gers-Uphaus, 'Gott,' p. 42.

³³ The lifeworld related to the CAP framework. See Kitts, 'Grasping Ritualized Violence,' p. 102.

³⁴ Intersubjectivity as a counseling framework refers to the counsellors' conscious entrance into the lifeworld of another. See Orange, 'Intersubjective,' p. 245.

³⁵ Fromont, 'Paper,' pp. 496-97; Sackey, 'Colonialism.' pp. 460-61.

³⁶ Choudhury, Reading, pp. 1-8.

³⁷ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' pp. 123-135; Ayodele, 'Crime-Control,' pp. 925-943.

³⁸ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' pp. 123, 131.

³⁹ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 127.

⁴⁰ Mbiti, African Religions, p. 1.

⁴¹ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 127.

⁴² Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 128.

⁴³ Acolatse, Powers, p. 34; comp. with Thomas, African Traditional Religion, p. 5, who uses the term 'Traditional African Cultural Forms' but does so interchangeably with ATR.

⁴⁴ Nweke and Okpaleke, 'Re-emergence,' p. 248.

⁴⁵ Imasogie, 'Christian Faith,' p. 287.

⁴⁶ Imasogie, 'Christian Faith,' p. 287; Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 129; Anekwe, 'In Dialogue,' p. 24; Moscicke, 'Reconciling,' pp. 128-29.

⁴⁷ Muzorewa and Watkins, African Origins. n.p; Imasogie, 'Christian Faith,' p. 290, identifies the kingship metaphor as key to perceiving African cosmology.

⁴⁸ Hierarchical consideration would prioritise a divine to human order. Mbiti, African Religions, p. 16.

⁴⁹ See Imasogie, 'Christian Faith,' pp. 289-290, who refers to this complex relationship between God and subordinate deities as 'bureaucratic monotheism.' Scholars like Thomas are sceptical of the nomenclature monotheism because of its instrumentalisation by Christian and Islamic apologetics for African conversion, African Traditional Religion, pp. 59-61; See also Acolatse, Powers, pp. 37-42, who wrestles with the limitations of the common taxonomy of religion in describing African traditional religion.

⁵⁰ Moscicke, 'Reconciling,' p. 128.

⁵¹ Drewal, et al., Yoruba, p. 15.

⁵² The Sango Cult is also transnational and operates beyond the historical boundaries of Yoruba. Bargna, Africa, p. 205.

⁵³ Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' p. 5.

⁵⁴ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 129.

⁵⁵ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 129.

⁵⁶ Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' p. 8.

⁵⁷ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, pp. 55-56.

⁵⁸ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 130; See also Ayodele, 'Crime-control,' p. 927.

⁵⁹ Idumwonyi and Ikhidero, 'Resurgence,' p. 130.

⁶⁰ Bottoms and Tankebe, 'Beyond,' pp. 126-132.

⁶¹ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 42.

⁶² Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' p. 6.

⁶³ Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' p. 6.

⁶⁴ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 47.

⁶⁵ Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' pp. 6-7

⁶⁶ Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' p. 7.

⁶⁷ Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' pp. 17-18.

⁶⁸ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 46.

⁶⁹ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 52.

⁷⁰ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, pp. 49-50.

⁷¹ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 50.

⁷² Diagboya, 'Oath Taking,' p. 13.

⁷³ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 36.

⁷⁴ The gendered nature of such deities can be skewed at times. Even though both male and female cultic images of the deity exist, Ayelala is presented as a goddess, likely rooted in the myth of her origin. See Ojo, 'Incorporation,' p.1026.

⁷⁵ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 36.

⁷⁶ Ojo, 'Incorporation,' p. 1026.

⁷⁷ Plessard and Lavaud-Legendre, Trafficking, p. 36.