Mystical Elements and Practices in Nigerian Films

Abstract

It is obvious that secret forms of traditional beliefs, secret practices and ritual performances dominate the narrative of Nigerian (Nollywood) film industry. They constitute film blockbusters following their attraction to Nigerian film audience. This suggests that Nigerians and Africans are attracted to culture-oriented films. Belief practices as intertexts foreground African intellectual-cultural heritage. They are used in amalgamation with contemporary narratives, with markedly contemporary socio-political settings. The study adopts the Cultural and African Film Theories. The data collection is based on textual analysis of Nigerian movies as primary texts, selected from commercially available films. Film-viewing and establishing of oral motifs will accompany analysis and evaluation of their function/recurrence in filmic plotlines. The analysis of belief practices in film narratives is focus largely on their narrativity and less on the visual, image-making process. The study draws on selected Nigerian films from the three major ethnic groups, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo (major offshoots of the Nollywood film Industry).