SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Religion And Human Relations

CONTRIBUTORS:

Nwanchor, O. E.
Madu, J. E.

ABSTRACT:

The dissertation is titled: “A Discourse on Traditional Circumcision in Modern Northeastern Sub-cultural Zone of Igboland”. The background is dependent on the sorry state of affairs in Northeastern Igboland as occasioned by circumcision. A situation where the traditionalists had to attach all the social, economic, political, cultural and religious privileges to ritual circumcision which is the rite to adulthood, calls for investigation. This insistence brought about conflicts, breaking of law and disorder, destruction of property and court litigations. The aim of the research is to investigate circumcision in the Modern Northeastern Sub-cultural Zone of Igboland comprising the Ezza, Ikwo, Izzi and Ngbo clans. To determine the meaning, contents and origin of the custom, analyze the effects of circumcision in the socio-cultural life of the people. To evaluate the spiritual and material value of the rite and the impact of the Church and the younger generation on the practice of the custom. The work will be of great benefit to the Igbo people, the political class, researchers, institutions and the cultural archives. Data was collected from the primary and secondary sources and the method of data analysis or interpretation incorporated the multi-dimensional and area-culture approaches. The researcher made the following findings in the course of the study: that both male and female circumcision is still relevant and strictly observed by some members of the culture area; that the custom has a meaning but the origin cannot be authentically traced; that the rite defines adulthood among the people of the clan and that the youths and the Christian converts reject the rite. The research recommends circumcisional renaissance, cultural re-orientation of circumcision, discarding of the harmful aspects of circumcision and the need for the adherents of the rite, the Christians and the younger generation to re-adjust to accommodate each other for amicable co-habitation in their different cultural areas or communities.