Abstract

Ancient Africans understood that serious illness has its roots in an individual‘s consciousness of anti-social behavior. This crystalized over evolutionary time into the Africa-wide ancestor spirit anger theory of illness or its Urhobo equivalent emuerinvwin belief. Recent studies reveal this belief to be a holistic health (wellness) doctrine, deployed in the upbringing of individuals to know that antisocial behavior (sin) predisposes the sinner to serious illness. On the other hand, an important preoccupation of Urhobo udje poetry is satire of anti-social behavior and elevation of morality. It is proposed here that udje poetry contributed to the promotion of holistic health in Urhobo society.