RELIGION AND SOCIAL CONTROL ATTA COMMUNITY, IKEDURU L.G.A IMO STATE

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The maintenance of social order is a universal phenomenon. If societies should function well, there must be social order and if social order must be achieved, systems of social control must be operational. To this effect social control becomes a necessity in Atta community which is in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.
According to Iwe (1985):
The real survival of every village or community within the Igbo traditional setting is maintained by the verity of the ways in which the values and norms of the community are preserved and ensured. This process is called social control1.
Generally speaking, social control is nothing but control of the society over individuals. In order to maintain the organization and the order of the society, man has to be kept under some sort of control. This control is necessary in order to have desired behaviour from the individual and enable him to develop this social qualities.

Society in order to exist and progress has to exercise a certain control over its members since any marked deviation from the established ways is considered a threat to its welfare. Such control has been termed by sociologists as social control.
Social control is the term sociologists apply to those methods by which any society maintains a normative social system. It refers to all the ways and means by which society enforces conformity to its norms.
In order words, social control is all the means and process whereby a group or a society secures its members’ conformity to its expectations. Infact, social control in Igbo land exists to promote order, stability and predictability in social life. Atta community has some system of social control, a set of means of ensuring that people generally behave in expected and approved ways. These are embodied in the indigenous religion of Atta people.

Atta people have fears and strong beliefs in the efficacy of the gods and the deities of their religion. In Atta community, the religion and social control methods are sets of interpersonal attitudes that forecast rewards for those who obey the rules, and punishments for those who refuse to conform to the rules of the community. Therefore, to maintain an orderly system of social organization and social relation, people are subjected to some degree of compulsion.
To safeguard the welfare of the community, there are many taboos concerning what should not be done and consequences of doing so. There are many things held to be morally wrong and evil, such as robbery, rape, telling lies, stealing, being cruel and saying bad words, showing disrespect, practice of sorcery or witchcraft, interfering with public rights, backbiting, being lazy, greedy or selfish, breaking promises and the like. These and many more are moral vices in the eyes of the community and whoever does them is considered to be a bad or evil person. In extreme cases, sanctions may include social discrimination and exclusion. Good deeds earn praises while bad deeds earn curses, punishments or fines depending on the degree of the deeds. Kalu (1989) supported this view when he affirmed:
In the preservation of social norms and values, a society teaches or inculcates acceptable norms and values, it restricts individuals or groups from breaking those norms and values, punishes those who break acceptable norms and values 2.

On the other hand, there are many things that are held to be morally right and good, such as kindness, politeness, showing respect, being truthful and honest, being reliable, keeping promises, hardworking, being hospitable, being considerate, helping others, looking after the homestead and many more. Whoever follows these precepts is approved by society and considered to be a good person.

Generally, social control is classified under the following two forms:
Formal social control and (b) Informal social control.
Societies depending on their level of development may use either the formal or informal methods of social control. In the enlightened societies formal methods are preferred and these include the use of police, army, law, constitution, punishment etc. But in the indigenous society, such as Atta, the informal methods are used and they include: ritual, sarcasm, criticism, ridicules, negative sanction, gossip, ostracism, fines, oath-taking and physical tortures.
According to Kalu (1978), “Social control is based on four models– Acculturative, Restrictive, Punitive and affirmative”3.
A little explanation of these modes may be necessary. By acculturative mode, Kalu refers to the roles and influences of the family – nuclear and extended, formal and informal modes of education, age grades (peers), secrete societies, women association (Umu Ada), kinsemen (Umu nna) among others.
Also by restrictive mode, he refers to the impacts which joking relationship, gossips, praise and blame, ridicule and satire-some of which are clothed in proverbs, music, dance and pantomime make social controls.
By punitive instruments, he refers to the activities and the impacts social structures such as the titled Elder (Ndi Nze na Ozo).