Linguistics-Scholarly Publications

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Browsing Linguistics-Scholarly Publications by Author "Anyachebelu, L.A"

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    Open Access
    CULTURAL REPRESENTATION IN OBIDIYA: A POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE
    (The Quint, 2018-03-03) Anyachebelu, L.A
    Cultural elements abound in Africa which could serve as sources of thematic exploration, plot narratives, same as means to the documentation of such cultures. Some Igbo writers as part of African writers have appropriated the use of cultural elements in their works. This study is therefore; set to examine Igbo cultural representations in Akoma’s Obidiya and aims at examining how much of the cultural elements reflected in the text are still applicable in the contemporary Igbo society. The content analysis is employed in the analysis of this study and the Marxist theory of literature is employed as the theoretical model for the study. The study reveals that Akoma is able to reflect so many Igbo customs, beliefs and traditions, such as belief in ‘Chukwu’ God, ‘Ịgbaafa’, divination, ‘ịlọụwa’ reincarnation, ‘nrọ’ dream, ‘ohu’ slavery, ‘Ndịichie’ Ancestary, “Arụsị’ deity, ‘Ịkwụụdọ’ – suicide, and ‘ụwaọzọ’ Another world. The study also reveal that some of the cultural practices reflected in Obidiya have gone extinct, such as ‘ohu’ slavery, ‘ihianụ’ humans operating through the form of animal. Some of them seem to still be in operation, but under some disguised forms, such as ‘ịgbaohu’ slavery which operates in the form of domestic/house helps ‘ihianụ’ operating as witchcraft. The study therefore recommends that Igbo literary authors should borrow a leaf from Akoma by incorporating more of the Igbo cultural elements into their works; especially the very archaic ones as a means of their documentation, preservation and transference to the on coming generations.
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    Open Access
    Patterns of Igbo Spousal Names
    (Ihafa: A Journal of African Studies, 2015-07-01) Anyachebelu, L.A
    Spousal names are integral aspects of Igbo culture and society. Igbo spousal names usually describe the character or nature of the bearer and are closely linked to the person and the state of his/her marriage. This paper focuses on a critical examination of how Igbo spousal names reflect the social values in Igbo society and how they make statements about the bearer, the givers of such names, and their family situations. It examines the impacts of the names and how they could be employed as tools for sustaining marriage institution in Igbo society. The paper discusses the Igbo pattern of spousal naming, their social relevance, and implications in the society. It takes a critical look at contemporary spousal naming pattern in Igbo land and corroborates existing notions that names are not just labels but fundamentals in the reflection, revelation, signification and sustenance of certain social values among the Igbo people. The paper concludes by suggesting parameters that could be used in designating spousal names in Igbo society.
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    Open Access
    REORIENTATION FOR NATIONAL TRANSFORMATION: THE ROLE OF LITERATURE
    (Africa Focus. (ed) Daniela Merolla, 2019-05-04) Anyachebelu, L.A
    At the formative period of any human society, certain relevant orientations are conceived, designed and actualized to create awareness on what should be acceptable and or unacceptable in human relationships. There are core values, norms and morals aimed at getting the natives to be properly brought up and to be aware of their place, time and identity within their society. The sole aim of such orientations is to ensure cohesion and a peaceful harmonious living. Oral literature as it is used in this paper refers to those literary artistic creations composed in oral form for the purposes of entertainment, edification and education. In it, we limit our discussions to the oral version of literature, drawing most of the excerpts copiously from the works of oral Igbo literary artists. A few instances are as well drawn from the written version as the needs arise.
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    Open Access
    RETRIEVING THE PEARLS OF THE PAST: AN ADAPTATION OF IGBO FOLK-NARRATIVE STRATEGIES INTO VIDEO FILM
    (Journal of Linguistics, Language and Igbo Studies., 2016-04-04) Anyachebelu, L.A
    Culture is both dynamic and adaptive. Hence it easily adapts to the prevailing socio-cultural conditions. One of such cultures is the moonlight games of the Igbo. Among the games children indulge in during the moonlight is folk narrative. The incessant migrations of the Igbo and the advent of western education in the contemporary era have eroded the ancient tradition of moonlight games. To Igbo people in urban cities, the custom of folktale wanes. Folktale in Igbo society, beyond entertainment, is a veritable means of transmitting traditional values, cultures, and the ethos of the people and therefore, should not be allowed to go into extinction. This paper, therefore investigates the adaptation of certain aspects of Igbo folklore art forms into films and home movies. The main aim is to project the importance of folklore in the training of Igbo children which is designed to nurture them to mature as worthy and well-behaved members of their society. The reduction of aspects of Igbo folklore into films and home movies is a dynamic way of modernizing the ancient Igbo life to suit what obtains in the contemporary era. When this is achieved, it will aid in the much needed effort to revive, develop and promote Igbo culture, language and worldview and showcase same to the larger world society. This is possible without loosing the instructive values and the beauty of the ancient Igbo folklore.
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    Open Access
    Social Symbolism of Igbo Names in Nza na Obu.
    (Journal of Nigerian Languages and Culture (JONLAC), 2015-04-11) Anyachebelu, L.A
    This paper aims at the exploration of Igbo names in Ogbalu’s Nza na Obu and their social symbolic relevance to the Igbo. It attempts to show that names in Igbo folktales reflect the Igbo culture and their belief system. This is an extension of Emenanjo’s (1977) work on some notes on folktale; in which he takes a look at Symbolism as it applies to characterization, time, place and numbers. In the course of his work Emenanjo (1977) takes a partial look at name symbolism. In this work more insight is thrown on symbolism of names as they relate to folktale. Theory of interpretive criticism is applied in the analysis of this study. The collection and analysis of data is textually based. It is observed that the names in Igbo folktale make some statement about the characters in those tales, which invariably symbolises the naming pattern in Igbo society. This work further corroborates the existing notion that names are fundamental for human identification and also reveal their socio-cultural implications in Igbo society.
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    Open Access
    A SURVEY OF ANIMAL IMAGERY IN NIGERIAN PROVERBS
    (NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES (NJAS), 2019-01-11) Anyachebelu, L.A
    Proverb is a very integral part of African rhetoric. It serves varied functions ranging from admonition, satire, and praise. They mirror the society and justify societal issues. Nigerian proverbs are mainly derived from plants and animals due to the fact that the people’s abode are close to certain natural phenomena like land, seas and forests. Animals play vital roles in Nigerian folklores, especially in the aspects of folktales and proverbs. Hence, animal imageries abound preponderantly in Nigerian proverbs. The random use of animal imageries in proverbs have some implications in Nigerian societies. The thrust of this paper, therefore is to identify some of the animal imageries which are prevalent in the proverbs of the following Nigerian societies- Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, explain their meanings and their implications as social facts in Nigerian society. Data for this study are gathered from discourses among elders who are fluent speakers of some of these Nigerian languages. More data are abstracted through non participant observation. The analysis of this study reveals that there are lots of animal imageries in Nigerian proverbs. The study also reveals that animals such as ‘goat’ ewu (Igbo), ‘akuya’ (in Hausa), ewure (Yoruba) tortoise Kunkuru (Hausa), snake agwọ (Igbo), maciji (Hausa), ejo (Yoruba) feature in Nierian proverbs. The essence of animal imagery in Nigerian proverb is to mirror what obtains in the society.
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    Open Access
    SYMBOLIC ANALYSIS OF COMMUNALISM IN THE TRAINING OF IGBO CHILD AS MIRRORED IN IGBO ANIMAL TALES
    (Igede Igbo. A Journal of Igbo Studies., 2016-03-04) Anyachebelu, L.A
    This study aims at the abstractions of some symbols in Igbo animal tales as they apply to communalism and the implication of such symbols in the training of the Igbo child. Symbols are necessary because the aims of literature are to say succinctly, what would have been said in more words in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. Symbolism in literature is one of the tools that narrators and writers in both oral and written literature employ in order to create different levels of meaning. It is an intelligent and skilful way of reflecting a particular character, object, utterance or meaning in a work of art. Symbolism, as an art in skilful narration is evident in Igbo tales about animals. Animal tales are one of the major categories of tales found in Igbo folktales. Folktales, beyond entertainment, is one of the means of education and orientation for children in Igbo society; yet not much effort has been made to ensure and analyse the symbols abstracted from the tales. Most of the tales have been compiled and published as books; therefore this study will focus on six compilations of such publications of Igbo folktales. The study is analytical. The result of this study shows that the communal symbols in the animal tales appear in form of meetings, taking decisions together, settling disputes, building houses, communal ownership of things such as market, farms, and hospitals, rendering assistance, marriages among others. If the symbols are properly analysed, it will be a vital instrument in youth training, education and orientation. The study therefore recommends that further researches should be geared towards the abstraction of other forms of symbols in Igbo folktales.