Kenjo

Kenjo is one of the two most common family cult-deities of the Jukun-speaking peoples of the Benue valley in Nigeria, documented in detail by the colonial ethnographer C. K. Meek. He is regarded as the patron of war and the bringer of victory in battle, and his shrine was maintained within the household, each Jukun household functioning as a religious unit. Pre-colonial Jukun songs of worship were composed for Kenjo alongside other deities to express allegiance, thanksgiving and petition.

Domains

• war

Powers

• to grant victory in wars and battles to his devotees

Sources

• C. K. Meek, A Sudanese Kingdom: An Ethnographical Study of the Jukun-Speaking Peoples of Nigeria (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1931)
• Nathan Irmiya Elawa, "'The Eliminated Gods': The Christian Reconfiguration of Jukun Theism," Studies in World Christianity 28.2 (2022), 209-228
• Victor Ukaogo and Adihikon Tanko, "Linguistic and Cultural Practices in Jukunland: Contrasting Features of Resurgent Tradition" (2020)