AfricaBib 
bibliographic database
| Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
 WorldCat |
| Title: | Oracular trade, Okonko secret society and evolution of decentralised authority among the Ngwa-Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria |
| Author: | Oriji, J.N. |
| Year: | 1981 |
| Periodical: | Ikenga: Journal of African Studies |
| Volume: | 5 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 35-52 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Nigeria |
| Subjects: | African religions cults Igbo mercantile history |
| Abstract: | The nature of traditional Igbo society has been a source of controversy among scholars. The controversy stems from two different approaches. Diachronists like Jones, Ottenberg and Shaw who studied the dynamics of Igbo society over time have postulated that centralised polities existed in Igboland in the past. On the other hand, synchronists such as Horton and Uchendu who examined the Igbo in their modern setting, have argued that they lived in an acephalous or decentralised society. The controversy between the diachronists and synchronists can be resolved by a study of the social and economic history of different Igbo groups. Using the Ngwa as an example, this paper examines the changes which occurred in the Igbo hinterland as a result of the development of oracular (overseas) trade. Sacred authority holders of Ngwaland were closely associated with the early exchange centres. The emergence of oracular trade, especially the Aro Oracle and Okonko secret society, upset the status quo and led to the development of new centers of authority. As the Ngwa shifted from regional to overseas trade, their centralised village communities were gradually transformed into a republican society. Maps, notes. |