Araya is a village in the Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria.[1]
The town has an educational institution known as the Adam Igbudu Memorial Secondary School.[2] It is a secondary school named after the late founder of the Anglican Adam Preaching Society, Evangelist Cornelius Adam Igbudu who hailed from Araya and also died there in 1981.[3] In 2017, the Adam Igbudu Memorial Secondary School was one of the schools that benefitted from the Edafe Unuezi Oduh Foundation's "back to school programme", with over fifty thousand notebooks distributed across several schools in Isokoland.[2]
The people were mostly adherents to traditional African religions prior to the advent of Christianity in Nigeria.[3] However, the sweeping influence of western civilization coupled with the indigenous propagation of Christianity especially by Igbudu's evangelism caused a decline in the practice of those traditional African religions, as many African indigenous peoples of Isoko and Urhobo extractions have now become Christians and have nothing to do with idol worship.[4]
The people now believe that sometime in 1914,[3] "a large complete copy of the Holy Bible" dropped from heaven on rain-soaked yams which was soon discovered by the owner of the yams, Mrs. Ofuunweike Esievo described as "an uneducated old woman".[5]
They now also opine that Adam Igbudu was born around that time, and infer from this "miraculous event" that the fallen Bible was to be the emblem of the great evangelistic work Igbudu was to undertake for God in Isokoland and beyond.[3] Another writer also posits that the evangelistic impact of A.A.P.S. and Adam Igbudu's legacy are inextricably bound together.[6][7]
The Araya Bible Site
edit
The Araya Bible Site is a Christian religious tourism site which houses a copy of the Holy Bible in Araya, a village in the Isoko region of Delta State, Nigeria.[8] It is believed that the Bible descended to this spot miraculously from heaven around August 1914.[5][8] The Bible dropped on rain-soaked yams and it didn't get wet.[3][5][8]
The site now attracts thousands of Christians yearly, especially during the Easter season.[9] The late Mr. Osima was quoted saying:[8]
If the Bible is still around as I strongly believe, it will one day come back to Araya. All that is left for us is to praise and glorify God's name, in Araya.
Location
editAraya is located in Aviara clan in the Isoko region of Delta State, Nigeria. It is surrounded by neighbouring communities of the Urhobo people, the Ijaw people and the Ukwuani people in the Niger Delta. It is situated along the rain forest, having boundaries with the River Niger.
Notable people
edit- Cornelius Adam Igbudu (1914–1981), the founder of the Anglican Adam Preaching Society
- Abel Ubeku (1936–2014), Nigerian businessman and politician
References
edit- ^ "List of Towns and Villages in Isoko south LGA". Nigeriazipcodes.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ a b "Foundation Brings Succour To Students In Isokoland, Donates 50,000 Notebooks". BigPen Nigeria. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ a b c d e "Igbudu, Cornelius Adam". DACB.org. Archived from the original on 2023-11-30. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
Adam Igbudu had the rare privilege of being born and raised in a Christian family.
- ^ "HISTORY OF URHOBO PEOPLE". EdoWorld.net. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
However, the influence of western civilization and Christianity is fast becoming an acceptable religion in most Urhobo communities.
- ^ a b c Ogedegbe, Isaiah. "The Stolen Bible: How Araya Became a Tourist Attraction Since 1914". NGGOSSIPS.com. Archived from the original on 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
Mrs. Ofuunweike Esievo, an uneducated old woman, hastened to her farm to harvest yams. When she got there, she found a large complete copy of the Holy Bible atop of pile of yams... her yams were soaked by rain; but surprisingly, the Bible was not wet!
- ^ Ogedegbe, Isaiah. "Exploring the Life of Evangelist Cornelius Adam Igbudu". Nigerian Times. Archived from the original on 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Ogedegbe, Isaiah. "Exploring the Life of Evangelist Cornelius Adam Igbudu". NGGOSSIPS.com. Archived from the original on 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ a b c d "Bible Site, Araya". Hotels.ng. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "The Araya Bible Site". NigeriaGalleria.com. Archived from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
Further reading
edit- Enuwosa, J.; Idamarhare, A. (2010). "History and Mythology: The Social Significance of the Mystery Bible in Araya". The Anthropologist. 12 (4). doi:10.1080/09720073.2010.11891168. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- Ogedegbe, Isaiah. "The Stolen Bible: How Araya Became a Tourist Attraction Since 1914". NGGOSSIPS.com. Archived from the original on 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-25.