Continuity in the Midst of Change: Underlying Themes in Igbo Culture

Abstract

To examine the continuity of cultural patterns, an intergenerational approach is utilized in studying members of three generations of Igbo who resided in Akatta, a rural village-group in Nigeria. Discussions of the research results are reported in terms of the most frequently reported responses. Comparisons of the present observance with that of the precolonial period indicate that belief in igba nsi, hit with poison a type of sorcery had not declined but that belief in reincarnation, ancestral spirits, and omenala, customs, had weakened moderately. The most evident erosion of cultural patterns is the weakening of the observance of communal worship and sacrifice and the discontinuance of several ceremonial rituals. Underlying themes in Igbo culture which persist in the midst of cultural change include. 1)interdependency of the world of humans and the world of spirits; 2) a sense of family unity and group identity; and 3) conformity to norms enforced by group sanctions.