Pentecostal Christianity and Traditional Religion in Nigerian Video Films by Edo-Language Filmmakers

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the representation of Pentecostal Christianity and African traditional religion in Edo-language (also known as Bini or Benin) video films. It discusses this in relation to English-language Nigerian religious video filmmakers’ demonisation of African traditional religion in their films. The article responds to Birgit Meyer’s work in her article “Religious Remediations: Pentecostal Views in Ghanaian Video-Movies”. It adopts an ethnographic approach based on participant observation, and uses interviews with key Edo-language video filmmakers. The current scholarship on Nigerian religious video films mainly focuses on the representation of religions in English-language Nollywood films and creates the impression that the Nigerian video film industry is an area of homogeneous cultural production. In contrast, Edo-language film producers do not privilege Pentecostal Christianity or traditional religion in their films but use the values of the two religions, which they see as similar, to edify Edo citizens and to promote the wellbeing of Benin society. This article therefore challenges the view that all Nigerian films represent traditional religion negatively and calls for greater recognition of the particularity of indigenous-language religious video films.