Women in Igbo Life and Thought by Joseph Therese Agbasiere

Author:Joseph Therese Agbasiere [Agbasiere, Joseph Therese]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Anthropology, General
ISBN: 9781136358937
Google: uJpACwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2015-12-22T05:06:03+00:00

Notes

1 This is a view shared by the late Professor D. I. Nwoga and Dr P. A. Nwachukwu of the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

2 Edwin Ardener (1959) re-affirms the main arguments in the earlier works (i.e. E. W. Ardener 1954a, b) through consideration of the structure of Nguru community in Mba-Ise.

3 Umunne, umunna (singular nwanne, nwanna, respectively). See Table 4.

4 Cf. E. W. Ardener (1959: 113-14).

5 Classificatory terminology is defined as one in which lineal relatives (father, son, etc.) are addressed or spoken of by terms which may apply to certain collateral relatives (Notes and Queries, Vol. 23(4), p. 77).

6 This can be translated as nwa ada nna (collectively umuada nna = umuada) and nwa okpara nna (collectively umuokpara nna = umunna), respectively. The elder female or male child of a single mother within a polygamous set up may be referred to as nwa ada nne, ‘elder female child of mother’ or as nwa okpara nne, ‘elder male child of mother’, as distinct from the eldest female or male child of a polygamous group taken as a single unit, who would be described as isiada nna, literally ‘head of father’s elder daughters’ or diokpara nna, literally ‘husband of father’s elder sons = heir apparent’, respectively.

7 Literally meaning ‘father’s child’ as opposed to ‘mother’s child’ (nwanne). The term reflects the logical linguistics complement of nwanne. In ordinary usage neither this term nor its collective umunna carries the meaning attached to it by Igbo ethnographers.

8 Derives from the same root as okwu (word of mouth) and is generally used to refer to a (fitting) cover or match, implying close identity. For example, ikwu efere, ikwu ite, ‘similar type’, in the sense of fitting lid or cover of a dish or pot respectively. The term implies close identity and the notion of beauty and completeness.

9 Ottenberg (1968) describes the kinship system of Afikpo in terms of double descent, from which it is inferred that the rest of the country’s kinship system is unilineal. A more recent work, Nsugbe (1974), speaks of another Igbo group, Ohaffia, in terms of matrilineal descent, which implies that the rest of Igboland operates on the patrilineal descent system. But, further research might yet prove that the Afikpo and Ohofia systems are at one end of a continuum.

10 Readers should understand ‘paternal half-siblings’ here, as the Igbo do not practise polyandry, and both illegitimacy and re-marriage of women are extremely rare.

11 Ndebe is derived from the terms nde, ‘people of’ and be, ‘home’. In its semantic context ndebe denotes member of the immediate family under a single male head. The word nde is commonly used in combination with other terms to designate a separate and purposeful group. For example, nde oha ala, literally ‘people who worship Ala (traditionalists)’ as distinct from nde uka, ‘people of the church (Christians)’.

12 Nkpuko seems to be derived from two root terms: nkpu (low entrance) and uko (part of the kitchen, overhanging the hearth).

13 Used in its very restricted sense of localized blood relatives.

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