Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Deuteronomy and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

Deuteronomy portrays itself as Moses's speech at the edge of the promised land. This article examines the book's attitudes towards the other within this rhetorical setting by concentrating on the indigenous peoples, also in contrast to those outside the land of Israel. It is pointed out that the ideology of Deuteronomy is very exclusive, and its treatment of indigenous peoples compatible with ideologies that accompany genocides and conquests. Mitigating such exclusive thinking can serve as a model for human interactions today, and this would also seem to be compatible with the overall thinking of the New Testament canonical documents.

The Yahwenomics of Land and Social Justice and Contemporary Land Resource Crises In Nigeria.

“…Hence, at the level of fact it would appear as if individuals own land while at the level of ideas it is the group which owns land. 23 Writing on Ibo land tenure system, Obioha echoes the communal ownership aspects and kinsmen always had the final say on land matters. This he observes was changed with advent of the British colonialists.…”

“…However, the westernization of Ibo society through the colonial experience has resulted many changes in its land tenure system, although reminisces of the old customs still subsists . 23 Kandawire, "Thangata in Pre-colonial and Colonial Systems of Land Tenure," 186. 24 Commenting further on the continue impact of colonial rule on customary laws (especially land ownership practices), Obioha writes, "Like the customary land laws, other aspects of the social systems of different African societies are undergoing a process of change.…”