NAME: ONYEMAECHI CHUKWUEMEKA REGINALD

COURSE REG: CE/22/382

DEPARTMENT: COMPUTER ENGINEERING

COURSE CODE: GST102

COURSE TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

ASSIGNMENT: REVIEW OF CHAPTER TWO TO TOWARDS

IGBO META PHYSICS
CONTENT:
1. IGBO LANGUAGE:
Igbo oral usage,
Igbo proverbs,
Igbo folklore

2. IGBO CULTURE:
Community,
Tradition

3. BIOGRAPHY
 IGBO LANGUAGE
The two main avenues to thought-content of any people are its language
and culture. In fact, the philosophy of a people can be stated as the
underlying principles of the people’s way of life as expressed in language
and culture.
The language of the Igbo is Igbo. It is a tonal language in which both
grammar and speech tones play an essential role. The stress on syllables
of a word, regardless of whether they are high, intermediate or low is
determinative of meaning. Thus many words that have the same
orthography do not have the same tone.
According to research gotten from Google Igbo language is the native
language cluster of the Igbo people, a meta-ethnicity from southern. The
number of igboid languages depends on how one classifies a language
versus or a dialect, so there could be around 15 different igboid
languages. Igbo language is an isolating language that exhibits very little
fusion. The language is thought to have originated around 9 th century AD
in area near the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, and then
spread over a wide area of southern Nigeria
IGBO ORAL USAGE
Talking about Igbo oral usage refers to our social communication
and interaction. Among the Igbo the ties of blood and community are
very strong. Social communication and interaction are on a personal
level, usually face to face .in local community the spoken word is used as
a means of establishing harmony and friendly relations between parties.
A sense of integration, community solidarity and sympathetic related-
ness are thus established, strengthened and fostered.
The Igbo place a tremendous importance on conversation. In Igbo land
the conventions of conversation are accorded great respect. The
strategic moments are the opening and final stages of conversation. The
initial stages are performed in a ritual way with ‘’kola hospitality.’’ The
regard the Igbo’s have for conventionalized conversation is expressly
depicted by obiechina.

At the present stage of the development of Igbo, oral tradition occupies

a tremendous prominent place, like the exchange of greeting in homes, market
places etc has built itself in the fabric of culture. Every important social or
religion group-enterprise is preceded by the presentation of kola nut,
accompanied by conversation opens up the question of proverbs and folk-
tales, the two most recognizable forms of Igbo oral literature elaborate verbal
exchange. In things fall apart [1958], oral tradition is manifested in many facets
it is the cultural material transmitted orally from one generation to another by
folktale. For the African people, oral tradition is linked to their way of life.

IGBO PROVERBS
Professor Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, one of the prominent sons
of Igbo land once defined proverbs [ilu] as ‘the salt with which words are
eaten’. Proverbs are the wisdom of a people in a nutshell. Complex
stories and situations are concentrated in a few words and phrases
which capture and retain the essential meaning of experience from
which the derive.
Proverbs, that is, brief, popular epigrams, are very commonly used
by male elders as expressions of traditional wisdom and familiarity with
Igbo lore. There can be no important discussion or public speech in
which the elders participate that is not replete with proverbs. ’Illu bu
mmanu eji esuru okwu’’ [Proverb is the oil with which words are eaten],
is a significant saying which expresses how the Igbo’s value the use of
proverbs, which are a natural form of speech in all tradition societies.
There are various strata of Igbo proverbs. For example the proverb used
in analysis of truth and sincerity, proverbs on good and evil etc. Some
common proverbs in Igbo land:
 Anu naa taa, echi: Time will always be
bu nta.
 Udo adagh adi ebe: Peace is incompatible
Ajo uche di with evil thought. Etc

There are proverbs to fit into any situation reference to both sensible
and super sensible realities. But it is important to note that the use of proverbs
is conventionally reserved to a certain class of people, namely, elders and all
those who by special talent or circumstance. According to Chinua Achebe
proverbs or wise saying usually considered folk knowledge, which intends to be
either advice or names some general truth about the world. Igbo proverb is
the wisdom of the people. It has specific roles and purpose which they serve in
Igbo culture. Igbo proverbs therefore touch every aspect of the people’s
culture and the search for Igbo philosophy is traced through the proverbs.

IGBO FOLKLORE
Folklore generally refers to the traditional tales or saying preserved orally by a
people. Folklore in Igbo land is a recognizable form of oral literature.

Folklore is the traditional beliefs, custom, and stories of a community,

passed through the generations by word of mouth. Folklore is characteristically
anonymous: timeless and place-less tales that circulate among a people. In the
Igbo society they form an important channel for informal education and
entertainment of the young. They places of this occasion for the narration are
on a way to farm or to streams to fetch fire wood or water in the evening, in
village squares, or common parlours after dinner. Folklore is one of the pillars
of Igbo culture and informal school through which children get inducted into
the society. Folklore represents creation, life, and even death. Through
elaborate tales, the Igbo people pass on their belief about how their people
came to be. Folklore by Chinua Achebe is said to be a way of passing on the
clan’s culture, folklore are viewed as a pastime of Igbo people, They serve as a
way to pass wisdom to the next generation, usually from mother to child. The
word folk comes from a German word volk, which means people said by
Elisha .O. Ogbonna. The popularity of the folktale among the Igbo is easily
evident in the varying dialectical terminologies with which it is associated.
These include IFO, Ife, IRO, akuko ufe, akuko ufere, ufe, akuko ifo, inu, ilu and
ihwo.

IGBO CULTURE
Culture can be seen generally as the integrated pattern of human
behaviour which includes thought, speech, action and artefacts trans-
behaviour which includes thought, speech, action and artefacts
transmitted to succeeding generations. Included also in elements of
culture are the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a
racial, religious or social group.
 Igbo cultures are the custom, practices and traditions of the Igbo
people. Igbo culture can refer to various fields such as dressing, eating,
cooking ingredients, music forms, and so on.

Igbo culture has been handed down by words of mouth, by deeds

and intimate personal contacts from [distance past] ancient times to the
present day through native elders. Chinua Achebe n things fall apart represents
culture as the universal principles which validate self-confidence, but at the
same time he refers them to universal principles which vitiate their destructive
potential. Igbo culture, like all African cultures, suffered a great setback from
the wheels and trails of colonialism. This is the fact that Igbo writers have
lamented several times but to no avail. However, it shows how much it
behoves the present generation to reconstruct our culture.

The only sure way of doing this productively is to conduct research not
among the literate class of Igbo society but among Igbo ‘indigenes’.

COMMUNITY
A traditional culture cannot exist without a community. Community can be
seen as the embodiment of traditional culture. The concept of community here
must be characterized as a life community, that is, societal set up in which
there is an intimate face-to-face interaction. The community life begins in the
family. A family is not formed until all the marriage customs are fulfilled. In
Igbo culture a man encounters a lady; they do not rush off to court and rattle
off promises before a judge, without a moment’s thought of their implications.
A long and protracted series of customary ceremonies must be performed to
prepare for the important task of marriage.

In Igbo community, which embodies traditional culture, there is

cooperation among people residing permanently in a single locality. The
members of such a community share the basic conditions of a common life.
The community strives to maintain the different groups within it while
maintaining itself as a community. Community is said to be a group of people
with a common characteristics or interest living together within a large society.
Throughout history, groups of have formed commonly to increase the chances
of survival. Members of the community typically feel sense of responsibility to
one another.

TRADITION
Tradition by definition can mean an inherited pattern of through or action,
such as a religious practice or a social custom. It also means cultural continuity
in social attitudes and institutions. The Igbo concept of tradition includes all
these and more. The Igbo word for tradition is ‘omenani’. It is also translated
as ‘obibendi’, that is, according to what is accepted in one’s community.

‘Omenani’ comes from two roots, ome and ani. Ome denotes action,
dynamic activity. It has the same root as ‘omume’, which means action, act,
conduct, doing. This in turn has the same root as ‘omimi’, which means
mystery, depth. Chinua, Achebe’s ‘Things fall apart’ defined tradition as the
customs or beliefs that are passed down through generations. The tradition
helps to connect hosts and their guests. Sometimes, these traditions are
demonstrated through rituals, a pre-sequence religious ceremony. A ritual of
hospitality for clan is for a host to break a kola nut and then pray to their
ancestors and the gods.

Tradition contributes a sense of comfort and belongings; it brings families

together and enables people to reconnect with friends.

As a leader, role models, and parents, we must share to utilize every

opportunity available to us to reinforce the values and beliefs that we hold.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chinua Achebe, THINGS FALL APARTH 1958 UNITED KINGDOM, 1ST
EDITION

Elisha.O.Ogbonna, COMPREHENSIVE IGBOLANGUAGE

Emmanuel M.P.Edeh, C.S.Sp, TOWARDS IGBO METAPHYSICS

Parrinder, Edward Geoffrey, AFRICAN TRADITION RELIGON. 2 ND

EDITION 1962