Abstract
Abstract Ottenberg's phallic, Freudian reading (1989) of Igbo adolescent initiation lacks empirical support. An alternative analysis, taking its eue from Igbo oral texts and Meillassoux's materialist view of reproduction (1981), interprets Igbo initiation as semantically umbilical. Igbo initiation expresses, not Œdipal conflict, but preventive therapy of failed reincarnators (îgbo ogbârije, Yorùbâ àbfkû). Beyond the ïgbo-speaking area, umbilical denotations suggest symbolic links with cognate Yorùbâ and Fan traditions, eg in the figure of Èsù/Légbâ (cf. Auge 1988).
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