By Mary Agidi

Is reincarnation real, or is it a myth born from culture, religion, and imagination? For centuries, this question has stirred debates, and in Ondo State, it remains as divisive as ever.

Recently, The Hope conducted a survey across the state, engaging Christians, Muslims, Traditionalists, and scholars — men and women aged between 31 and 70. The aim: to find out whether people believe that the dead can return in another form.

While 66.67% of respondents said they had never encountered a reincarnated person in their family or community, 33.33% claimed they either knew one or believed they themselves were reincarnated.

Christians made up 72% of respondents, while Traditionalists, Muslims, and other religions accounted for 28%. Regardless of their backgrounds, none denied knowledge of the concept of reincarnation but expressed their opinions based on cultural, religious, and traditional positions.
Across the board, people pointed to physical marks, unusual skills, and personality traits as signs of reincarnation — even when their religions officially rejected the idea.


What People Believe

“Reincarnation, according to my belief, is a strange spirit putting on the image of someone who has died and reappearing as a living person. They are evil spirits sent to cause confusion in the world,” says an anonymous Yoruba woman.

Also known as rebirth or transmigration, this belief continues to spark conversations and confusion among humans, as different groups express their views either in support of its reality or describe it as a myth, depending on their religious, cultural, and educational knowledge.

A male Yoruba respondent in his 40s, who affirmed his belief in reincarnation, noted that he has a reincarnated being in his family. According to him, the individual was believed to be a reincarnated ancestor because he had “a mark at the exact spot where the previous person had it.”

Saying, “Reincarnation is real,” the respondent asserted that reincarnated individuals possess special qualities and skills, both spiritually and physically, such as “the ability to compose good music.” He added that reincarnated beings are called Babatunde or Iyabo in his tribe (meaning “Our dead father” or “Our dead mother” is back).

 
What Science Says

His submission about special qualities was corroborated by a report on reincarnation published by a team of researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Division of Perceptual Studies. The team, which has studied the science of reincarnation for nearly half a century, concluded that 70% of reincarnated beings remember some aspects of their past life.
 
According to their report, 9% of people who remember a past life exhibit an unusual skill related to that former life. It stated: “You’ve heard the expression ‘she’s a natural’ when someone effortlessly picks up something new, like a sport or a language. Sometimes genetics or environmental factors can explain it, but in many cases, scientists don’t know why some people demonstrate extraordinary talents. Researchers at the University of Virginia Division of Perceptual Studies found that nearly one in ten people who remember a past life exhibit a skill related to that former life.”
This raised the question: Is it possible that we retain some knowledge and experience from lives we’ve lived before?

 
Signs and Stories

From The Hope survey, a middle-aged female respondent also claimed not to have such an individual in her family. She, however, described reincarnated beings as “evil spirits sent to cause confusion in the world.” She also affirmed that they are the ones called Akudaaya in Yoruba.

An Igbo medical practitioner who claimed to know one in his family noted that they could be identified through their character and resemblance to a previous family member. Though he could not provide the traditional name ascribed to such individuals in his tribe, he posited that heredity and genes play a role in reincarnation.
 
A Traditionalist in his late 40s claimed there is a reincarnated being within his family. Asked what evidence made them believe he is the reincarnated version of the previous family member, he said: “He behaves like him. When he was younger, he made statements relating to what he said when he was alive. People confirmed he reincarnated. I am also an example of a reincarnated being.”

Affirming his belief that reincarnation exists, he also corroborated the claim that reincarnated individuals are the ones named Babatunde and Iyabo.
 
A Christian religious leader described the notion of reincarnation as “a deception to negate judgment after death.” According to him, “As a Christian believer, the Bible says it is appointed for a man to die once; after that comes judgment.” He also asserted that reincarnated beings are called Akudaaya in Yoruba.
 
A 50-year-old Muslim respondent, of Yoruba descent and a member of the Egungun tradition, said:  “In Islam and as Muslims, we believe in the afterlife, where individuals are judged based on their deeds and are either rewarded with paradise or punished with hellfire. There is no sign whatsoever to categorise an individual as a reincarnated being in my family because we do not believe in it, and I don’t believe that reincarnated individuals possess any special qualities or skills.” He noted that in his tribe, they are called Akuwa.

Another Yoruba respondent, aged between 51–70, said there was no Biblical support for reincarnation, although he noted that reincarnated beings often have “the same behaviours, characters, and physical outlook as the previous person.” To him, reincarnated beings are called Akudaaya.

A male Islamic believer claimed: “Reincarnation is majorly a product of people’s imagination. Dead souls are gone, never to be seen in this realm except in dreams, according to Islamic teachings.”

However, as someone of Yoruba origin, he acknowledged that his kinsmen have a different perception of the phenomenon, believing such individuals—called Abiku, Emere, or Akudaaya—can exhibit special traits such as the ability to foresee events, extraordinary physical strength, beauty, or aura.

 
Akudaaya vs. Reincarnation

Meanwhile, during a conversation with a 59-year-old civil servant, Mr. Adekunle Oladiji, he shared an encounter with someone believed to be reincarnated. He narrated an experience involving a woman close to him who, while travelling to Ekiti State, was confronted by locals:
 “‘You again? What have you come to do in this town after many years of your sudden disappearance?’ She said she was almost lynched, but for God’s mercy, because they mistook her for someone else.

This scenario depicts another belief about the mystery of human beings existing in dual form but in different geographical locations—a belief said to be different from reincarnation.

Among the Yoruba in Nigeria, the names Akudaaya, Babatunde, and Iyabo or Yetunde do not mean the same thing. While reincarnated beings are believed to be born into a known family as a baby—named Babatunde, Sehinde, Malomo, Kokumo, Yetunde, or Iyabo—Akudaaya are not reborn.

According to scholars, an Akudaaya is a dead person who died untimely and wanders far from their original birthplace, retaining the same adult physique. They marry without introducing their spouse to known family members and disappear once exposed as a dead person. They are referred to as “Living Wraiths.”

This was the situation of Jadesola (not her real name), a native of a community in the northern part of Ondo State. After completing her secondary school education, she left for the city. About ten years later, she returned to the village with three children. Out of curiosity, villagers probed why she left her husband in the city. They concluded that she had married an Akudaaya who later left her without revealing his family background.

This is the case of Akudaaya, which is often misconstrued as reincarnation by some Yoruba respondents, such as a female octogenarian who said: “My position is that reincarnation is real, both culturally and religiously, and from what we have been hearing, reincarnated individuals don’t relate with their known natural relations or earlier places of abode. They are called Akudaaya.”
 

Signs inherent in reincarnated beings

Scientific scholars have highlighted diverse views, facts, and features of reincarnation. They note that some reincarnated beings display attributes, fears, and anxieties linked to their past lives—such as aquaphobia in those who drowned, or fear of accidents, gunshots, or other unnatural deaths.

Past-life researcher Dr. Jim Tucker said: “Drowning victims spend more time in the process of dying than individuals killed in an automobile accident or shot to death. Thus, the past-life trauma from drowning is more likely to stick with them in the next incarnation.

According to the University of Virginia Division of Perceptual Studies, many investigated cases involved people who believed they were murdered or accidentally killed in a past life, with over a third of them exhibiting intense fear of that cause of death.
 
Scientific researchers such as Dr. Ian Stevenson and Mitt Mika have identified signs that may portray an individual as reincarnated, including unusual birthmarks or physical traits corresponding to injuries or marks from an alleged past life, déjà vu when visiting certain places, irrational fears, extraordinary childhood skills, and vivid recurring dreams.
The Cultural and Religious Puzzle

Different cultures and religions have their unique beliefs on reincarnation as scientific continues with research about the mystery. For some tribes in Africa, it is viewed as a way  for ancestors to return and guide the family.

Meanwhile, the native American tribes believed that souls reincarnate within the family for continuation of wisdom and tradition, while the Ancient Celts believed it as a natural part of life’s cycle, with souls returning to learn new lessons.

Others like the Hinduism described it as a Karma- coming back to complete the mission the individual was unable to achieve in the previous life, which could be good or bad.

In all, The Hope observed that the submissions of some Christian and Muslim respondents were clouded by religious convictions, describing reincarnation as superstition and emphasising that “after death comes judgment.” While many feigned disbelief in reincarnation, they still listed features attributed to reincarnated beings—portraying the ongoing disagreement among religion, science, culture, and spirituality that shapes individual perspectives on life.
 
 
First published in The Hope Newspaper edition of 17th August, 2025