The Clash Of Tradition And Christianity In Ekukunela, Cross River State

Forum 8 years ago

The Clash Of Tradition And Christianity In Ekukunela, Cross River State

Before the Berlin Conference of 1884/1885 that demarcated Africa among the then Colonial Powers and subsequent Colonisation of what is today known as Nigeria with the hoisting of Union Jack on January 1st, 1900, the ancient Ekukunela Community in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, exist.


It would be recalled that the British came, first as missionaries, introducing Christianity to replace the people’s traditional way of worshipping their God through the African Traditional Religion (ATR) and then colonised the people. At that time,
there was no specific date set aside for the people to worship their gods as Christianity has Sunday as its day of worshiping the Most High God through Jesus Christ.


Christianity as a Colonial Legacy clashes with the Ekukunela community tradition on market days which sells on Sundays, a worship day for Christian religion.


The only market in Ekukunela community holds on Sundays and the locals are faced with the challenge and choice of either going to church or to the market to buy and sell things that they’ll use till the next market day-Sunday when market will hold again.


Local produce in Ekukunela community Market are relatively cheap as people from neighbouring communities also come to buy and sell in the same market, defiling church services.


According to the report of a survey on Price of Produce in Ekukunela Market by the Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture & Natural Resources released on 27th July, 2014, a bunch of plantain cost N500, bottle of palm oil cost N180, live chicken N1,200, 5 big tubers of yam N2,000, etc.


If you live in Ekukunela or its environ, you’ll be faced with the choice of a church service or going to market on a Sunday. However, it’s easy to combine both.
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