Context, form and poetic expression in Igede funeral dirges

Abstract

This article discusses the context, form and structure of the Igede dirge. Although a minority tribe in Nigeria's Benue State who are little known in anthropological and literary studies, the Igede have a tradition of oral expression that is as vibrant as that of any of Africa's larger language groups. The article thus aims to enlarge our understanding of the corpus of Africa's traditional literature through one of its neglected aspects—the dirges of one of the minority tribes. As a storehouse of Igede beliefs, practices and wisdom the dirge leads us into a world of spirits, a dreadful world of ancestors fearfully conjured up as a universe of monstrous, malignant forces before whom man is a vulnerable being, constantly constrained to plead for protection. But there is genuine creativity in Igede dirges which compares favourably with those found among other peoples of the world.