TRADITIONAL HEALING AND MUSICAL CREATIVITY IN OBUDU: INSIGHTS FROM HISTORICAL RITUAL PRACTICES

This study explores the traditional health remedies and entertainment practices of the Obudu people in modern Nigeria prior to the advent of Western colonial rule in 1909. The research highlights how the community developed effective solutions for common health challenges, including snake bites, fractures, abscesses, pneumonia, and embedded bullets, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of medicinal and therapeutic practices. Alongside healthcare, the study examines indigenous forms of entertainment, particularly the Litung and Iquom isho dances. Litung, a meditative nocturnal performance, enabled participants to communicate with the supernatural through soulful drumming and movement, while Iquom isho, performed during funeral rites, combined ritualistic and social functions to honor deceased community members. Drawing on historical and ethnographic sources, the paper illustrates the creativity, ritualistic significance, and cultural complexity embedded in Obudu’s indigenous practices. By documenting these traditional remedies and entertainment forms, the study underscores the community’s resilience, ingenuity, and holistic approach to health and social life, offering insights into the interplay of medicine, ritual, and culture in precolonial societies.