Religion in its various form is very strong in Nigeria. In other words Nigerian people are very religious. Most of them believe that there is an unseen supernatural world apart from the natural word we see around us. This other world is inhabited by beings who are the source of our knowledge of good and evil. They watch and judge us and if we offend them they may have to be appeased with prayers and sacrifices certain individuals in the natural world priest prophets and diviners are believed to be endowed with special powers to make contact with the other world. These individuals lay down ceremonies or rituals which must be observed if due honors is to be paid to the unseen beings the Christianity in thus passage our focus is on traditional religion Traditional or indigenous religion continues to exert a strong influence on many people minds Party because of the association with their birth places and families. Each ethnic group has its own religious traditions and these are often linked to some sacred spots in the ethnic homeland yet the various traditional religion have much in common a remote but benevolent high god under him, a number of lesser gods who interacts with mankind and below them various spirits who inhabit natural objects (trees streams rocks etc.) below them again and closet to living men and women the spirit of the ancestors In the Yoruba tradition for example there are more than 400 lesser deities presided over by the high god Olurun because he is remote from mankind shrines are not built to him and worship is not offered to him directly. The lesser gods on the other hand are subject of special cults each with its own priest and devotees eshu the messenger of the god’s ifa the god of divination, shango the god thunder and so on. Traditional religion was also strong in other parts of Nigeria. In Igbo traditional religion there were fewer gods although there was a remote high god the most important figure was Ala or Ani the goddess of the earth in Hausa land traditional religion was has largely gone underground owing to the influence of Islam, but belief in the existence of Bori spirits and their power to possess people especially women. Is strong in some areas. Each spirit is associated with certain type of behavior which is manifested by the possessed individual Divination the discovery of what is unknown or yet to happen by supernatural or magical means is an important element of traditional religion. It is often one of the functions of medicine men or herbalist in Igbo land there also seem to be several oracles which people consulted in order to seek solutions to their problems with the coming of Christianity their influence has however waned but in areas like Arochukwu and okija the influence is still very strongly felt Adapted from grant , nnamonu and jowilt (1997) senior English project for senior secondary school students
