{"title":"Cultural Reconstruction of Ọzọ Initiation Rites in Igbo-Ukwu Southeast, Nigeria and Identity Preservation","authors":"Obiageli C. Okoye","doi":"10.1163/15700666-12340228","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\nMost aspects of Igbo culture were abandoned and some faced the threat of extinction as a result of colonialism and Christian religion. Ọzọ title taking, an exclusive title for honest and successful men was abandoned in Igbo-Ukwu because of its connection with Igbo traditional religion. The study employed qualitative approach to investigate the traditional ọzọ initiation ritual, the reconstructed version and the role of the ọzọ title taking in preserving Igbo culture and identity. The study established that the realization of the role of ọzọ institution in building morals and preserving Igbo identity by the traditional leadership of Igbo-Ukwu led to its revival by reconstructing its initiation rite. The reconstruction involves removing parts of the ọzọ initiation rite connected with Igbo traditional religion to make it more acceptable to people of all religious leanings. Although, some people argued that the disconnection of the ọzọ title from Igbo traditional religion has reduced it to a mere social title. They fail to realize that any aspect of culture that is not adapted to meet the current societal need will eventually be extinct. The study recommends the thorough character investigation of prospective ọzọ candidates to ensure they are honest and responsible men. Van Gennep’s Rites of Passage is adopted as explanatory framework for this study. Secondary data were used to compliment primary data collected. Primary data were analyzed descriptively.","PeriodicalId":45604,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF RELIGION IN AFRICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JOURNAL OF RELIGION IN AFRICA","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12340228","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Most aspects of Igbo culture were abandoned and some faced the threat of extinction as a result of colonialism and Christian religion. Ọzọ title taking, an exclusive title for honest and successful men was abandoned in Igbo-Ukwu because of its connection with Igbo traditional religion. The study employed qualitative approach to investigate the traditional ọzọ initiation ritual, the reconstructed version and the role of the ọzọ title taking in preserving Igbo culture and identity. The study established that the realization of the role of ọzọ institution in building morals and preserving Igbo identity by the traditional leadership of Igbo-Ukwu led to its revival by reconstructing its initiation rite. The reconstruction involves removing parts of the ọzọ initiation rite connected with Igbo traditional religion to make it more acceptable to people of all religious leanings. Although, some people argued that the disconnection of the ọzọ title from Igbo traditional religion has reduced it to a mere social title. They fail to realize that any aspect of culture that is not adapted to meet the current societal need will eventually be extinct. The study recommends the thorough character investigation of prospective ọzọ candidates to ensure they are honest and responsible men. Van Gennep’s Rites of Passage is adopted as explanatory framework for this study. Secondary data were used to compliment primary data collected. Primary data were analyzed descriptively.
由于殖民主义和基督教,伊博文化的大多数方面都被抛弃了,有些方面面临灭绝的威胁。Ọzọ title taking是对诚实和成功的人的专有头衔,由于它与伊博传统宗教的联系,在伊博-乌库乌语中被放弃了。本研究采用质性方法探讨了传统的ọzọ入会仪式、重建版本以及ọzọ头衔在保存伊博文化和身份认同中的作用。研究发现,ọzọ制度在伊博-乌库乌传统领导中对道德建设和维护伊博身份的作用的实现,通过重建伊博-乌库乌的启蒙仪式,实现了伊博-乌库乌的复兴。重建工作包括取消与伊博传统宗教有关的ọzọ入会仪式的部分内容,使其更容易为所有宗教倾向的人所接受。虽然,有些人认为ọzọ头衔与伊博传统宗教的脱节使其沦为纯粹的社会头衔。他们没有意识到,任何不适应当前社会需要的文化方面最终都会灭绝。该研究建议对潜在的ọzọ候选人进行彻底的品格调查,以确保他们是诚实和负责任的人。本研究采用Van Gennep的《成人礼》作为解释框架。次要数据用于补充收集到的主要数据。对原始资料进行描述性分析。
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Religion in Africa was founded in 1967 by Andrew Walls. In 1985 the editorship was taken over by Adrian Hastings, who retired in 1999. His successor, David Maxwell, acted as Executive Editor until the end of 2005. The Journal of Religion in Africa is interested in all religious traditions and all their forms, in every part of Africa, and it is open to every methodology. Its contributors include scholars working in history, anthropology, sociology, political science, missiology, literature and related disciplines. It occasionally publishes religious texts in their original African language.