Igbo Of South-eastern Nigeria Research Articles

Cultural–Cognitive Study of Selected Death-Oriented Personal Names in Igbo

Working chiefly within the tenets of Cultural Linguistics (CL), this study examines the cultural and cognitive motivations that underlie selected death-oriented personal names among the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria. Based on the cultural linguistic perspective, the analytical tool for the study is shaped by insights from cultural schemas, cultural categories and cultural metaphors as signifiers of ideation and social meaning. The cultural frames enable the language user to have a better understanding of the cultural and cognitive motivations that underlie the conceptualization of names and naming among the Igbo. Much has been done on the structure and sociological forms of Igbo personal names and their meanings, but only a few studies have been undertaken on the names that express the notions of death and dying in Igbo. More importantly, no previous study has used insights from Cultural Linguistics (CL) or the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) to explain the motivations for the preponderance of death-oriented names among the Igbo people. Thus, this study specifically aims to address the lacuna. The study reveals that the Igbo, like most African and other human societies, recognize and accept the inevitability of death. Consequently, they use language in diverse forms and contexts to express their perceptions of the horrors and pains associated with the inevitability of death. Songs, proverbs and ritual practices are some of the verbal and social semiotic forms through which the Igbo express their knowledge of and attitude toward death and dying. However, names and naming are the most vivid cultural cognitive patterns by which the Igbo show their understanding of the nature of death and dying and their psychological effects on the living. Constrained by space and scope, this study identified and classified six major death-oriented names among the Igbo, as follows: names that depict the overwhelming power of death; names that make an appeal to death; names that depict death as wicked/evil/terror; names that depict death as no respecter of wealth/social class; names that challenge/mock the assumed power of death; and names that depict death as an insensitive entity. Thus, the above frames constitute the major paradigms by which the Igbo express their knowledge of and attitudes toward death and dying.

Colonialism and the Changing Nature of Indigenous Political Organisations: The Okun-Yoruba and the Igbo in Comparative Perspectives

The study carries out a comparative analysis of the nature and characters of indigenous politics and leadership among the Okun-Yoruba and the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria. The paper extends the analysis to the changing nature of the political organisation of both societies as a result of external influence. For the Okun-Yoruba, the paper explores the political organisations and nature of intergroup relations before the Nupe invasion in the mid-nineteenth century and the subsequent imposition of British colonial rule in Nigeria around 1900. The indigenous political organisation of the Igbo is subjected to a comparative analysis with the Okun-Yoruba. The study also examines the impact of British colonialism on both the Igbo and Okun-Yoruba. It is noted that both the Okun and Igbo societies shared similar indigenous political and social structures that were characterised by small-scale political units. These colonial arrangements had far-reaching consequences on inter-group relations as well as the political organisation of both Okunland and Igboland. British colonial arrangement applied a new system of administration that was fashioned in line with the indirect rule system which was antithetical to the pre-colonial situation. The British imperialism in Nigeria did not only alter the political landscape but they also changed the nature of intergroup relations for both Okun Yoruba and the Igbo.

“Incarnations of the spirits:” carnivalesque elements of Igbo children’s ekpo masking performance

ABSTRACT This study explores performative features of a children’s masking performance carried out among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria. Informed by the need to interrogate the cultural dimensions of the Bakhtinian notion of the carnivalesque, it discusses the extent to which some Igbo children’s masking activities resemble carnival performance. Using data drawn from fieldwork and conceptual precepts from carnivalesque theory, the study analyses Igbo children’s ekpo masking performance as a veritable kind of carnival presentation, by discussing the elements of Igbo children’s ekpo masking display which is usually characterized by humour, laughter, freedom to participate, reversal of hierarchy and merry-making. The study concludes that Igbo children’s ekpo masking presentation displays strong parallels with carnival performance.

The beginner’s odyssey: ethics, participant observation and its challenges in native ethnography

Classic anthropological fieldwork emphasized working „abroad‟ – that is, doing fieldwork in societies that were culturally and geographically distant from that of the ethnographer. More recent discussions of anthropological fieldwork have drawn attention to significance of working „at home‟ – including paying attention to the forms of social differentiation and marginalization present in the society to which the ethnographer belongs. There are arguments that native anthropologists are better qualified to study issues involving their group than outsiders are. This paper discusses the researcher’s field experience conducting native ethnography among the Nrobo of Southeastern Nigeria. This study adopted ethnographic methods of participant observation – adopting chitchatting and semi-structured interviews. Also, focus group discussion (FGD) was used to cross-check the validity of data from the other instrument. This study found among other things, that conducting native ethnography is a challenge to the ethnographer. The mutual intelligibility does not guarantee quick rapport instead it sets up suspicion. Furthermore, ethical issues in ethnographic research are culturally relative. The Nrobo case stipulates time value and as such reward is expected for every task that takes up their time. Also security threat poses challenges to native ethnography. This study, to the best of my knowledge, is the first attempt to conducting native ethnography among this group. As such it adds to the corpus of ethnographies on the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria.

Igbo funeral songs: Exploring their major themes

Death, transition and other related terms are used by various human societies to communicate the ending of all formal functions and processes in the life of a living organism. When death occurs, it causes an emotional outburst which people express in forms of chants, recitations and dirges. In most parts of Africa, the death of an adult member of the society goes with the rendition of some songs in honour of the deceased and to contemplate on death as a natural phenomenon during the funeral. The Igbo of South Eastern Nigeria, through funeral, send off the deceased solemnly as she/he was welcomed at birth. The essence of this is captured in Igbo cosmic thought and in many funeral songs. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to identify some strands of meaning which most Igbo funeral songs convey and to also highlight their basic thematic constructs. The paper applied expository and analytical methods of research for data collection. It then observed that Igbo funeral songs have a clear identifiable purpose because in them are expressed different phases of grief and they serve valuable purposes in the various Igbo communities where they are rendered.

Ras Kimono, the Relics of Slavery and the African Diaspora: A Study on the Socio-Cultural Factors in the Haitian-Biafran Relations

It is no longer news that people of African descent were enslaved to the new world via: Caribbean, America and Europe for more than four hundred years. Rastafari movement has always engaged in the history of memory especially to reminiscence about slave experiences. Bob Marley songs are replete with such freedom chants. For example, Marley’s Redemption song and Buffalo Soldier are strong lyrics about the horrors of slavery. The cultural linkage between the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria and Haiti in the Caribbean is examined, especially the nexus between Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Haitian support to the Biafran struggle during the Nigerian Civil War 1967-1970 re-echoes the African slave narratives as Kimono recorded in his song.

Meaning and Identity Creation in the Culture of Hollandaise Textile Use Among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria

This paper analyses the names given to vlisco hollandaise fabric designs imported from Helmond, Netherlands by the Igbo suppliers in Nigeria. These names are used to convey social and cultural meanings which could appeal to the sensibilities of prospective buyers who are predominantly women in Igbo society. Data for the study were gathered through interviews of selected suppliers and buyers in south eastern Nigeria. Applying Cognitive Semantic framework, the study examines the naming patterns of the fabrics and their social and cultural meanings. The study shows that the names reflect natural phenomena that are peculiar to the Igbo experiences. They help both the suppliers and the end users to create various identities that enable the suppliers to maximise sales and the women to express themselves socially. These identities align with the different design even when there is no correlation in some cases between the names and the designs. Keywords: Hollandaise, Fabrics, Culture, Name, Igbo women, Identity DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-16-05 Publication date: August 31 st 2021

Gender and rural economic relations: ethnography of the Nrobo of South Eastern Nigeria

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine gender and rural economic relations of the Nrobo of Southeastern Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to examine the subsistence strategies, gendered role patterns and gender gaps in economic relations of the Nrobo. Design/methodology/approach This study used ethnographic methods of participant observation – adopting chitchatting and semi-structured interviews. Also, focus group discussion (FGD) was used to cross-check the validity of data from the other instrument. Findings This study found among other things, that although there is still verbal expression of gendered roles division, it does not mirror what actually obtains in society, except bio-social roles. Ideological superiority of men reflects the patrilineal kinship arrangement of society. Theoretically, some of the hypotheses of gender inequality theory were disputed for lack of adequate explanation of gender and economic relations in an egalitarian-reflected society such as Nrobo. Originality/value This study, to the best of my knowledge, is the first attempt to ethnographically examine gender and economic relations among this group. As such it adds to the corpus of ethnographies on the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria.

Primitives or Classicists? A Critical Look at the Work of Uli Women Painters of Nri

ABSTRACT Uli is the body and wall painting tradition of the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria. It was popular and common across Igbo villages until recently. The decline of uli like many other such cultural resources results from nescience and devaluation of autochthonous cultural expressions that do not measure up to prescribed Western ideas of art in the postcolonial experience. As part of efforts to save uli from possible extinction, artists of Nsukka School have researched the uli creative idiom and also appropriated it in their work. However, this appropriation, while trying to prolong the tradition, has also subtly added to the shadow of primitivism cast on the work of uli classical women painters in scholarship as the two paradigms have existed along the lines of the traditional–contemporary binary championed by Western scholars of African art in the early 1990s and beyond. This paper studies the uli revivalist painting sessions organized by Obiora Udechukwu and Krydz Ikwuemesi in 2003 and 2004 and uses the process and outcome of the paintings to argue that the women are not primitives, but classicists, if classicism is to be seen as a multi-versal experience.

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

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 concept. In like manner, masquerade act or practice in Igbo land is, in many respects, 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 ultimate 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 validity of that concept.

Masking and oral tradition in the re-enactment of village-based hierarchy among the acephalous Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria

ABSTRACT Despite the generally acephalous landscape of the Igbo society of southeastern Nigeria, forms of hierarchy are noticeable, with certain criteria traditionally established to rank some villages higher than or ‘senior’ to others. This paper drew from ethnographic research in two Igbo towns to explore ways in which masks and oral tradition were deployed to advance the ranked orders of lineages and villages. Contemplating this scenario in such a place like the Igbo society well known for its acephalous landscape is the broader perspective the paper raised. In the village groups studied, oral tradition and ranking of masked performances were seen to co-extend from existing lineage- and village-based hierarchies. Masking and oral tradition were major tools that ritualized and ratified the prevailing hierarchies, endowing them with supernatural legitimacy, in order to ensure their sustenance. The benefits accruing to the advantaged lineages and villages would tend to motivate a tendency to sustain the established structures.

Ofo: the tangible and intangible heritage of the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria

Ofo: the tangible and intangible heritage of the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria

The ‘Kauri’ - Ego Kiri Kiri: Pre-colonial Cash and its Religious Usages Among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract The Kauri, Ego Kiri Kiri, the pre-colonial cash in Igboland of Nigeria and its usages in the religious, ritual and votive offerings in shrines, temples and in sanctuaries so widespread in the then Igboland is the focus of this article. Many had used their cash to placate the “gods of the ancestors”who they believed had prospered their “hands”. Ego Kiri Kiri became, no doubt, the essential commodity to implore the Eze Mmuos (Chief priests/esses) to plead the divinities to solicit their continued blessings. Our study adopts “the methodology of oral tradition” to reconstruct the historical trajectories of the Kauri and its pluriform usages in the religious houses across Igboland. The article concludes that the religious usages of the Kauri reveal Igboman’s conscious awareness of the nexus between spirituality and economic pursuits.

Wisdom in Mournful Tunes: Exploring the Major Themes of Igbo Oral Funeral Songs

Death often engenders emotional outbursts in the form of chants, songs and recitations. In most parts of Africa, the death of an adult member of the society goes with the rendition of some peculiar songs in honour of the deceased and to contemplate on death as a natural phenomenon. Among the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria, it is anathema to intone a funeral song at a moment or location where there is no bereavement. Such acts attract severe verbal sanctions because oral funeral songs are special performances rendered during burial and funeral ceremonies. This implies that they are not merely ordinary songs rendered for non-justifiable reasons but ones which have recognizable motives behind their rendition. The focus of this paper is to identify some strands of meaning which most Igbo oral funeral songs convey. It highlights their basic thematic constructs or the ‘artistic representations’ espoused in most of them. Applying Contextual Analysis as the conceptual theoretical framework, the paper analyzes the content of selected Igbo oral funeral songs and concludes that they have clear identifiable preoccupations because they express multifaceted shades of grief and serve valuable purposes in the various communities where they are rendered.

The Social Construction of Gender in Traditional Igbo Societies: A Comparative Study of Language used as Socialization in John Munonyes’s the Only Son and Flora Nwapa’s Efuru

The Social Construction of gender is hinged on the belief that gender is culturally and psychologically produced. Culture is defined as the totality of man’s acquisition as a member of society. It includes all behavioural traits, attitudes, values, beliefs, skills as well as the manufacture and use of material items in a given human society. This is contrary to the widely held view that biological differences are responsible for the distinctions in the behaviour of men and women, including the roles they play and the positions they occupy or do not occupy in society. As an integral component of the social construction of gender, socialisation inculcates in members of the society, acceptable cultural traits while moulding their individual personality (psychology). Since socialisation is a process that begins at birth and ends at death, both young and old members of society are involved. Through this process of socialisation, the culturally acceptable behaviour, values, beliefs and skills for males and females are prescribed, encouraged, reinforced and transmitted from one generation to another. On the other hand, those behavioural patterns, values, belief systems and skills deemed unacceptable by the society are proscribed, discouraged and sanctioned, thereby accentuating the distinctions between masculinity and feminity; highlighting gender as a social rather than biological phenomenon. This paper is a comparison of language used as socialisation in John Munonye’s The Only Son and Flora Nwapa’s Efuru to illustrate the social construction of gender among the Igbo of South-Eastern Nigeria. The methods or theoretical frameworks employed in this study are content analysis which provides valuable historical and cultural insights over time, through the analysis of the above stated texts and social constructionism, a sociological theory of knowledge which postulates that human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through integration. Keywords: Gender, Language, Society, Culture and Socialisation. DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-10-11 Publication date :May 31 st 2019

Creativity in calamity: Igbo funeral as interface of visuality and performance

Death, transition, translation and other related terms are used by various human societies to communicate the ending of all formal functions and processes in the life of a living organism. When the human individual dies, most societies consider the experience demise, loss and therefore a calamity. The Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria while mourning the dead also celebrate death as a way station to the ancestral life of spirituality. In the funeral rites that mark the burial of a deceased, the heavy presence of sounds, words, images, gestures and imagery turns the calamity of demise into a theatre of creativity. This paper scrutinized the creative inspiration and artistic deposits in the anatomy of Igbo funeral. While attempting to redraw the contours of art in these parts by challenging extant definitions, scopes and perspectives through its critical thesis, the paper also inscribes the body as the agency of these creative activities and the funeral arena as a space of multifarious negotiations.

A metaphorical view of God, the gods and the supernatural among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria

Based on insights from the tenets of conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) this study examines the metaphorical conceptualization of God, the gods and the supernatural among the Igbo speakers of Southeastern Nigeria. This study accepts the notion that metaphor is primarily conceptual/cognitive and most times draws from the cultural worldview and ideological orientation of the people, hence the way we understand our physical and spiritual worlds, and our everyday actions, shape the form of language we use to express them. The data under consideration represent the Igbo as religious people who in their language and thought consciously recognize the existence of God and other supernatural forces. The Igbo express God and the supernatural in metaphors that show their relationships with these entities. God is metaphorized variously as a mountain/hill, river, king/wealthy person and so on while the lower gods are framed as mass killers/cleansers, destroyers and so on. Metaphors in Igbo language and thought are linguistic and cognitive representations of ideational meanings.

Indigenizing counselling valuing the afterlife with the Igbo of south eastern Nigeria: a case for ino-uwa based intervention

This study examines prospects for the utilization of the concept of ino-uwa practised by the Igbo cultural-linguistic community of South Eastern Nigeria to understand and address counselling needs of a child and his family. Ino-uwa is the cultural familial scaffold that bridges the lifeworlds of ancestors and the living. In this case, a child with debilitating and unspecific general illness was cured with evocation of ino-uwa. The implications of this anecdote are important for authentic counselling practice in an African cultural heritage context.

Negotiating Boundaries: Performance Partitions in the Mmonwu Theatre

The mmonwu mask is an interesting and intriguing part of the Igbo culture and cosmology. It is mystic and sacred as it is entertaining even while fulfilling its religious and traditional essence. The practice of this mmonwu mask seems to vary from one culture to another which has become a subject of debate among scholars interested in the mmonwu phenomenon. But suffice it to say that irrespective of the available research and information on the subject of mmonwu mask, much is still left unsaid and the mmonwu culture is one area of our cultural heritage begging for more scholarly attention. Perhaps part of the reasons may stem from the religious and scared nature of the mmonwu which could account for the unavailability of the much expected and desired scholarly works on its existence, form and practices in many societies where the mmonwu thrive and survive till today. This paper is one of such effort to foray into the mmonwu subject and reveal some intricate parts of this longaged phenomenon. This study sheds light albeit prescriptively, on the mmonwu mask tradition of the Igbo of south eastern Nigeria. The tradition, an age-long and hallowed one, contains many potentially confusing aspects and delineations especially in the performance which is the sphere of concern for this paper. Explanations are given as to the nature and differences between song, chant, mask, and troupe, masquerade and so on; thereby making comprehension clearer and better.

A Critical Survey of the Growth, Decline, and Sustainability of Traditional Pottery Practice among the Igbo of South Eastern Nigeria

Ethnographic studies conducted in major women's pottery communities in Igboland have proved that Igbo traditional pottery is on the decline and has even gone into extinction in some areas as a result of the introduction of Western technology and education. Some writers have also stressed that despite the negative influence of modernity, the pottery tradition has continued in some parts of Igboland because of its role in traditional society. This study, undertakes a critical survey of the extent and period in which Igbo pottery flourished, when it began to decline as a result of modern influences, and the contribution to its survival due to the role it plays in traditional Igbo society. The study involved in-depth interviews with women potters in the study areas (Afikpo and Ishiagu) as well as critical observations of their present and past pottery practices. The study has established the fact that the influence of modernity started to be felt in the 1950s, but its effect was very gradual, enabling the pottery tradition to reach its peak in 1970s. The actual period of decline was the 1980s, about twenty years after the end of colonial administration in Nigeria. In the 1980s the Igbo embraced Western culture, flooded the market with modern containers and established modern pottery industries, which eventually led to the decline of traditional pottery in late 1980s. However, the social, religious and economic roles of pottery in traditional Igbo society have been identified as among the factors responsible for its survival in those communities that have continued production in spite of the negative effects of modernization.