ABSTRACT

The impact of Christian discourses on the problem of evil on the popular African Mami-Wata spirituality is yet to be addressed. Mammy Water (popularly known as Mami-Wata, that is, Mother-Water) is a goddess/deity that is indigenous to the Africans, central to African religious beliefs and social systems, and the deity's spirituality emphasizes religious practices that accentuate the expression of femininity, prosperity, fertility, womanhood, and sexuality. Studies have shown the various ways Mami-Wata deity has influenced African Christianity, especially the effect of the negative negotiations and engagement between African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Despite the diverse array of voices on how Christianity has contributed to the representation of postcolonial African spirituality, very little has been said about how MamiWata deity has been connected to the project of the problem of evil. Using ethnographic approach, this study analyses the way African Christianity has engaged different facets of MamiWata deity in addressing African Christians' understanding of the problem of evils and its effect on the female gender. It further seeks to address questions on what could be done to give femininity and feminine spirituality a creative and visible place in African Christianity rather than the demonization of African religion and femininity represented in Mami-Wata deity.