Theory and Practice of Secrecy

There is a practical connection between conceptions of the sacred mysteries associated with ancestral societies and the imperative of secrecy with regard to those same mysteries and rites. The mysteries and rites are precisely that which is preserved and jealously guarded by silence from the ordinary but revealed to those properly initiated. Thus, secrecy is perhaps most associated with ancestral societies like Okonko and Ogboni in Africa. Okonko and Ogboni have esoteric rites, rituals, and ceremonies and access to certain knowledge is hierarchically ordered, making secrecy more than merely pragmatism. Therefore, in the context of contemporary anthropological and religious studies, the work examines the practice of secrecy as a strategy of continuity. It attempts to differentiate the ancestral societies and their mysteries from other exclusive societies drawn by the allure of access to secret knowledge. The work stressed the importance and significance of secrecy in traditional Africa.