EXPLORING THE ROLES OF SECRECY AND CONFIDENTIALITY IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL PRACTICES: A CASE STUDY OF RAIN MAKING RITUALS
African renaissance today is both a necessity and an emergency. This is because Africans are becoming more aware of the reality of the lack of exploration of their rich autochthonous values. The problem is that many African traditional practices, rain makers, inclusive have been grossly misinterpreted and misrepresented as evil, fetish and diabolical. One of the issues raised against African traditional rain making lies on the question of secrecy and non – exposure for scientific tests and verification. This has further led to the neglect of its vital roles for sustainable development. This paper, using qualitative method of inquiry explored through interviews and field experiments, attempts to justify the significance of secrecy and confidentiality in African traditional practices. This work therefore recommends the indexing of all rain makers and the involvement of the government in their training and development. Patent right as well as other relevant legislations must be designed to accommodate and protect the interest of the rain maker. The scientific and magico – spiritual laws as well as other traditional values which rain making underscores can be harnessed for global relevance.
Keywords: african, case, confidentiality, exploring, making, practices, rain, rituals, roles, secrecy, study, traditional