Creative dynamism and religious syncretism in Igbo oral funeral songs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/tl.v61i2.15967Keywords:
Igbo oral funeral songs, creative dynamism, religious syncretism, Christian influence on oral tradition, infracultural ethnopoeticsAbstract
Igbo oral funeral songs are dynamic and resilient oral forms. Applying the tenets of an infracultural model of ethnopoetics to study Igbo oral funeral songs collected during fieldwork, in this article, I examine the emerging trend in most Igbo communities of the co-existence, modification, and adaptation of Christian/western ideals into the mainstream repertoire of Igbo oral funeral songs. I therefore examine a situation where Igbo oral performers are drawing inspiration from western religious, linguistic, and cultural philosophies and applying them to the trajectory of Igbo oral funeral poetry. Observing that the reason for this is to accord the deceased a befitting funeral rite, I underscore the resilience of Igbo oral funeral poetry which acculturates western cultural elements into its oral funeral performances which are deployed to help reduce the pain of bereavement and assist the dead to successfully find their way as they journey to join their ancestors.
Downloads
References
Achebe, Chinwe. The World of Ogbanje. Fourth Dimension, 1986.
Afigbo, Adiele E. An Outline of Igbo History. Rada, 1994.
Alembi, Ezekiel. “The Abanyole Dirge: ‘Escorting’ the Dead with Songs and Dance.” Folklore Electronic Journal of Folklore vol. 38, 2008. pp.7–22.
Asad, Kamonges Wahab & Muktar Salihu Nawait. “Grief and Bereavement Practices Among the Igbo People of Southeastern Nigeria: Implications for Counselling.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Education vol. 1, no. 1, 2018, pp. 110–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53449/ije.v1i1.41.
Avorgbedoe, Daniel. “Narrative Rhythms in Giryama Ngano: Oral Patterns, Musical Patterns and Musical Structure.” The Oral Performance in Africa, edited by Isidore Oknpewho. Spectrum, 1990, pp. 208–27.
Balogun, Mushin Adekunle. “Syncretic Beliefs and Practices Amongst Muslims in Lagos State Nigeria; with Special Reference to the Yoruba Speaking People of Epe.” Diss. U of Birmingham, 2011.
Deezia, Burabari Sunday. “Westernization: The Opening of the Pandora’s Box on African Cultural Value System.” Religion in Historical Perspective-Essays in Honour of Professor E. S. Akama, edited by W. O. Wotogbe-Weneka, G. I. K. Tasie & J. O. Obineche. Chadik Printing, 2020, pp. 120–34.
Ebeogu, Afam. “The African Folk and the Arts.” Issues in Humanities and Social Sciences, edited by Afam Ebeogu & Uzoma Nwokocha. Fasmen, 1998, pp. 1–8.
Echema, Austin. Igbo Funeral Rites Today: Anthropological and Theological Perspectives. LIT, 2010.
Elhallaq, Ayman Hassan. “East-Mediterranean Ethnopoetics: Transcription and Representation of the Spoken Word.” Arab World English Journal Special issue on literature vol. 2, 2014. pp. 48–59.
Emeka-Nwobia, Ngozi U. “Code-switching in Igbo-English Bilingual Conversation.” British Journal of Linguistics vol. 2, no. 3, 2014, pp. 1–6.
Emeribe, Mary Joy & Longinus Chukwuemeka Chinagorom. “The Dynamics of Igbo Cultural Revitalization.” IDSOR Journal of Arts and Humanities vol. 3 no. 3, 2018, pp. 12–33.
Finnegan, Ruth. Oral Poetry: Its Nature, Significance and Social Context. Cambridge U P, 1977.
Gunner, Elizabeth. “A Dying Tradition? African Oral Literature in a Contemporary Context.” Social Dynamics: A Journal of African Studies vol. 12, no. 2, 1986, pp. 31–8. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02533958608458404.
Jan, Oscar Kimanuka. “What Can We Do to Save the Dying African Literature.” The New York Times. 20 June 2021. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/196343.
Mokhoathi, Joel. “From Contextual Theology to African Christianity: The Consolidation of Adiaphora from a South African Perspective.” Religions vol. 8, no. 266, 2017, pp. 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8120266.
Mutia, Babila. “Stylistic Patterns of Oral Literature: The Form and Structure of Bakweri Dirges.” Nordic Journal of African Studies vol. 12, no. 3, 2003, pp. 387–403. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53228/njas.v12i3.320.
Ndebele, Hloniphani. “A socio-cultural approach to code-switching and code-mixing among speakers of IsiZulu in KwaZulu-Natal: a contribution to spoken language corpora.” Diss. U of KwaZulu-Natal, 2012.
Ndukwe, Udochukwu Emmanuel, Innocent Paschal Ihechu & Onyinye Ralph-Nwachukwu. “Modernity and Burial Rituals in Igboland: A Paranormal Communication Approach.” British Journal of Mass Communication and Media Research vol. 1, no. 1, 2021. pp. 28-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52589/bjmcmr-oxv49eqi.
Okpewho, Isidore. African Oral Literature: Background, Character and Continuity. Indiana U P, 1992.
Okpewho, Isidore. The Oral Performance in Africa. Spectrum, 1990.
Onanuga, Seun et al. The Business Culture of the Igbo: A Model for the Nigeria Economy. Silverpen, 2012.
Onu, John Odo. “Ethnopoetics Study of Igbo Oral Funeral Poetry in Elugwu Ezike, Enugu State, Nigeria.” Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences vol. 3, no. 2, 2018, pp.72-88.
Onu, Mercy Agha. “The Ethnopoetics Study of Igbo Oral Funeral Poetry: A Case Study of Edda Dirge.” From the Official Conference Proceedings of The European Conference on Literature and Librarianship, 2015, pp. 1-10.
Quick, Catherine S. “Ethnopoetics.” Folklore Forum vol. 30, no. 1–2, 1999, pp. 96–105.
Sanka, Confidence Gbolo. “The Sisaala Dirge: A Critical Analysis.” Diss. Kwame Nkrumah U of Science and Technology, 2010.
Stevenson, Ian. “The Belief in Reincarnation Among the Igbo of Nigeria.” Journal of Asian and African Studies, vol. 20, no. 1–2, 1985, pp. 13–30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/156852185X00027.
Tedlock, Dennis. “Ethnopoetics.” Folklore, Current Performance and Popular Entertainment: A Communication Centered Handbook, edited by Richard Bauman. Oxford U P,1992, pp. 81–5.
Turin, Mark. “Foreword.” Oral Literature in Africa, edited by Ruth Finnegan. Open Book, 2012, pp. xvii-xx.
Uwazuoke, Aghaegbuna H. & Greg O. Obiamalu. “The Effects of Westernization and Christianity-inflicted Change on the Igbo Language and Culture.” The Creative Artist: Journal of Theatre and Media Studies vol. 11, no. 4, 2017, pp. 516–25.
Uzochukwu, Sam. Traditional Funeral Poetry of the Igbo. U of Lagos P, 2001.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Tydskrif vir Letterkunde
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6465-6584
.png){kind=spacer}