Oracular Deities as Traditional Sources of Credit Among the Igbo of Nigeria

Abstract

This study focuses on the role of oracular deities as traditional sources of credit among a limited number of local communities of the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria noted for their powerful ancestral deities. The study is based on ethnographic methods of research and the fieldwork carried out in three local communities within the Nsukka cultural area of the Igbo ethnic group. The communities are Oba, Amufie, and Ugbaike. The findings of the study indicate that the credit institutions of the community deities are dual-tracked, involving financial and non-financial capital. The oracular credit institutions have far-reaching advantages as sources of micro-credits for a variety of largely (but not exclusively) non-business related purposes, albeit the institutions also have some negative externalities. But the real challenge of the fetish gods’ credit system is the issue of sustainability given its characteristic informality, poor liquidity base, and its overwhelming dependence on the personality and entrepreneurial acumen of the officiating chief priest.