The Nexus between Igbo Traditional Belief System and Masquerade Act: A Pragmatic Analysis

Abstract

This paper explores the proposition that the traditional belief-system and masquerade act of the Igbo of south-eastern Nigeria is a demonstration of Charles Peirce’s pragmatism. Pragmatism’s central theme is that only practice or action can validate the veracity or meaningfulness of any thought or con-cept. In like manner, masquerade act or practice in Igbo land is, in many re-spects, a manifestation of the traditional belief system of the Igbo (also known as Ndi-Igbo). In other words, masquerade act in Igbo land correlates with and validates a key concept communally shared by Ndi-Igbo, thus fulfilling the ul-timate goal of Peirce’s pragmatism and the pragmatic maxim, namely, that the actual or potential consequence of a concept is the only true proof or va-lidity of that concept.