HATE SPEECH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION: THE TANGALE EXPERIENCE

Abstract

This paper examines hate speech in African traditional religion, with a particular focus on the Tangale ethnic group of southern Gombe State in northeastern Nigeria. It asserts that the Tangale people and their traditional religious system are not exempt from the trend of missionary activities that maligned African religious beliefs and practices. Hate speech is a form of communication imbued with antipathy, intense hostility, or apathy towards other people, their beliefs, and practices. It usually arises from pride and disdain, leading to conflict between the parties concerned. Hate speech has long plagued human society and left indelible marks, like a cancerous tumor, deforming the lives of individuals and communities. In 1915, when the traditional Tangale religion encountered the Christian faith, some incomprehensible and untenable terminologies were used by early Christian missionaries to describe the people‘s aboriginal belief systems. Other derogatory terms used to describe the Tangale religious system include "worshippers of ancestors" (anampure), "pagan religion," "hill pagans," "idol worshippers," "cannibals," and the claim that they had no concept of God (Yamba). Hence, the main aim of this paper is to investigate hate speech in African traditional religion, with a specific focus on the experience of the Tangale people of southern Gombe State, Nigeria. The research methodology employed is descriptive and based on oral interviews, consistent with research methods in religious studies. The issues raised and discussed in this paper reveal that hate speech is evident in the Christian missionary characterization of Tangale traditional religion. The researchers therefore recommend that these hate speeches are not, in fact, an accurate reflection of the nature of African traditional religion and the Tangale people in particular