Contesting identity: the Osu caste system among Igbo of Nigeria

Abstract

Questions about who we are, who we can be, and who is like and unlike us underpin a vast range of contemporary social discourses. Identity is produced and embedded in social relationships, and worked out in the practice of people's everyday lives. An investigation into the experiences of the Osu castes reveals these dynamics. This caste is hereditary; the offspring from marriages within the groups take the status of the lower caste, and the Osu have limited association with members of their societies. The article teases out how contestation of space, power, and representation of self and others shape the identity construction and reconstruction of the caste. The article demonstrates how power is deployed within government, church and indigenous communities, drawing attention to the need for an effective institutionalised mechanism that protect marginalised groups.