CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background

Since change is the fundamental reality of human existence, society is better conceived of

in terms of becoming than being but the speed and sequence of becoming varies. Sometimes its

pace is so slow that the society appears to be an inert structure, sometimes it is gradual and

evolutionary, and – much more rarely – it is rapid, revolutionary. Transformations, as specific

types of rapid social change (and specific modes of societal becoming) are defined in these

broadly as fundamental societal upheavals leading to system change The concept does not,

therefore, refer to all kinds of social change, nor does it refer only to political transformations. A

change is a transformation if it has at least two features: comprehensiveness (it effects all or most

areas of life) and a relatively rapid pace (it is experienced as faster than the “normal” flow of

life). Of particular interest are transformations that occur as a result of implementation of

political projects, and thus are to a degree directed. In these cases, we need to study both their

intended and unintended consequences1.

Over the years due to force of progress and continuous evolution of mankind social change

became integral feature of society. In many ways society has been transformed and the rate of

social transformation is different from place to place. The nature and scope of change is also

varying in respective communities. There are many drivers of social transformation viz;

industrialization, political revolutions, social movements, and modernization. Social

transformation indicates the notion of mobility2. Most of the social transformation is taking place

1
Koshel, I., & Yakovenko, M. (2020). Migration: sociocultural context of astudy. E3S Web of Conferences
210.https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202021015015
2
Igwenagu, E. (2022). Anambra state population. https://nigerianinformer.com/anambra-state-population/
due the development and social change take place due to development. In recent time process of

industrialization and modernization changed the scenario completely. The change is evident in

social institutions and social structure. The thinking process has also transformed from primitive

to scientific. Change is not always positive, few times it brings conflict and contradiction. As the

human society has emerged with new structure like urban and industrial society there are many

complication creating difficulties in civil society 3. As we know due the science and technology,

life of human kind have all access to facility and comfort however the unprecedented growing

population and unplanned development creating problems to the human society. The place of

informal relation has been taken by the formal relationship; the primary society has become

secondary. The changing nature of social interaction created various social issues and problems.

The most significant social transactions took place in colonial period, where two different

communities interacted with each other. Twentieth century is the most important and happening

for the transition and transformation in the world. Emergence of machine and dominance of

science created new knowledge society. This was the period when the rise of cities and urban

development took place, migration triggered massively and education was on peak. This was the

period when most of the countries opened up the doors to other countries. The open market

concept arrived4. This was not remained up to the goods; it was the transformation in culture too.

Clothing pattern were exchanged, good were carried away and even new food habit was

introduced among the countries. Past so many years it has not happened at this level. It was the

3
Akhigbe, A. O., & Effevottu, E. S. (2023). For the greater good: The economic and social impacts of irregular
migration on families in Benin City, Nigeria. In Forced Migration and Separated Families: Everyday Insecurities
and Transnational Strategies (pp. 95-110). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
4
Altai Consulting (2015) ‘Migration trends across the Mediterranean: Connecting the dots. IOM MENA Regional
Office. Altai Consulting. https://publications.iom.int/books/migration-trends-across-mediterraneanconnecting-dots.
era of education and knowledge-based society. Major change has happened in the social

institutions

The subject matter is social-cultural transformation. Naturally, you have to understand the

relationship between these two processes. Neither society nor social problems are static. Social

problems are closely linked with social structure, ideologies, values, attitudes, institutions,

power, authority and interests of society5. The process of social transformation brings about

change in these different aspects of social life and side by side generates new social problems.

First of all, let us try to understand the theoretical background of the concept of socio-

cultural transformation. In early sociology, concepts of ‘evolution’ and ‘progress’ were used to

indicate the dynamic aspects of society. It was gradually realized that these were that these were

value-loaded concepts, and therefore, replaced by ‘social change’ which was considered to be

more neutral and value free. After the Second World War, concepts of ‘development’ and

‘modernization’ occupied a significant place in the terminology of social sciences. These two

concepts represent ideologies of the developed, industrialized, capitalist and democratic Western

societies. 6The term ‘revolution’ was preferred by radical social scientists interested in

overhauling the capitalist social system and influenced by the Marxist ideology. ‘Social

transformation’ is a broad concept used to indicate social dynamics. The ideas, conveying the

meanings of evolution, progress and change on the one hand and the meanings of development,

modernization and revolution, on the other, are incorporated within the concept of

transformation7. Social transformation and social problems are closely linked with each other.

Society is not static but the dominant groups in society sometimes want to perpetuate their hold

5
Anambra State Government, (2017). History of Anambra state https://www.anambrastate.gov.ng/history
6
Bandura, A. (1977) ‘Social learning theory’ New York: General Learning Press.
7
Bronstein, I., Montgomery, P. and Dobrowolski, S. (2012). PTSD in asylumseeking male adolescents from
over society and protect their interests by repressive methods. Thus, in a negative manner, if the

process of social transformation is suppressed, it generates new social problems. On the other

hand, if the process of social transformation is taking a natural course, the society faces the

problems of adjustment during the transitional phase of the decline of the old system and

the emergence of a new system8.

The social transformation was always being Centre point of study among the social

scientists. Many a times development and progress can create issues and unintended problems in

the society. Development induced displacement or cultural transformation creates conflict these

are some issues created in the phase of transformation. Social change can have left deep impact

on social institutions. So it always challenges to the social science to observe the transformation

and to analyze the impact of it. In sociology many studies were conducted on the changing

nature of primitive society and its continuous progress. This paper is an attempt to analyze how

social transformation has changed human civilization and how sociologists are studying it with

various perspectives9. It is an attempt to understand nature, order, social reconstruction, social

change, social structure, etc. This is a descriptive type of study and based on secondary sources.

Various theories, reviews, articles and books have been used for reference10.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The critical responsibility of education system is to facilitate the empowering role of

information which has been recognized by experts in the field. Within the college or University

environment it is also important for lecturers to be able to build up on the foundation of the

8
Afghanistan. Journal of Traumatic Stress,25(5), 551-557.
9
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23070950/#:~:text=Male%20adolescents
%20(N%20%3D%20222),are%20likely
10
Polanki Karl, 1957 The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic
students know the dynamics of human’s knowledge by successfully transferring this learning

from course to course., understandings the critical and empowering role of socio-cultural

transformation in a free and democratic society we are today 11, and demonstrating ethical

behavior, norms, beliefs, traditions and academic integrity as consumers. when a society failed to

change or neglect changes the could hinder group and development of any given country, state,

local government and communities which could lead to decay of the people of Nagwu with the

best practice in the world. Most of the Nigeria educational institutions are defective; they are not

equipped for quality Education12

In view of the aforementioned problems, this research work seeks to understand, the socio-

cultural transformation of Nagwu people of Danukofia local government of area of Anambra

state

1.3 Aim and objectives

The study aims to examined the socio-cultural transformation of the Nagwu people of

Danukofia local government area of Anambra state. These specific objectives of the student are

as follow

1. To examine the agent of socio-cultural transformation of the Nagwu people

2. To understand the stages of socio-cultural transformation

3. To determine the effect of socio-cultural transformation

1.4 Research question

11
Origin of our Time, Beacon Press, Boston. Kothari Rajani, 1988 Transformationand Survival, Ajanta
Publications, Delhi
12
Merton K., Robert, Nisbet Robert, 1971 COntemporary Social Problems, Fourth Edition, Harcourt Brace and Co.,
New York.
 1. What is the agent of socio-cultural transformation?

2. What are the stages of social and cultural transformation?

3. What is the effect of social-cultural transformation?

1.5 Scope and delimitation

This research is concerned with the socio-cultural transformation of Nagwu people of

Danukofia local government of Anambra state. The study is within the Nagwu people of

Danukofia local government area of Anambra state because of the soci0-cultural transformation

of the Nagwu people. The study focuses on the various socio-cultural transformation and the

study restricts itself to social, cultural, changes of the people of Nagwu which has affected their

ways of doings things and the dynamic phases through the people are in the twentieth century.

The study covers the Nagwu people of Danukofia local government area of Anambra state who

are mainly agrarians and Ibgo speaking language.

1.6 Significance of the study

This research is concerned with the socio-cultural transformation of the Nagwu people of

Danukofia local government area of Anambra state. This study is significant because it will

contribute to the body of knowledge on the social. Cultural and political transformation or

changes of the Nagwu people and Danukofia local government area and it will serve as reference

materials to students, researchers, lecturers. It will provide future paths for students who wish to

investigate the socio-cultural transformation of Nagwu people.

1.7 Reviews of Literature

The subject of social transformation (including cultural change) is as old as sociology

itself. From the time of Darwin, reference has been made to one aspect of social transformation
or the other either overtly or covertly in sociological theorizing. Since then, intellectual interest

in social change in different societies has developed into different schools of thought or

ideological perspectives (Adebisi, 2007). The law of human progress espoused by August Comte

in his attempt to create a naturalistic science of society that will both explain the past

development of mankind and help to predict its future course, represents the first concrete

attempt to draw attention to the inevitability of change in human societies. As early as 1822,

while August Comte was still serving under Saint Simon, he set for himself the assignment to

discover the law of human progress, which emerged from his ambition to apply what he

conceived to be a method of scientific comparison13. From his law of human progress emerged

his conception of the law of three stages. In this law, Comte believed that mankind has passed

through three stages. These three stages, according to him, are the theological or fictitious stage;

the metaphysical or abstract stage and the scientific or positive stage. Each stage represents a

particular state of human development with its own sociocultural characteristics and belief –

system14. In the theological stage, for example, the human mind seeking the essential nature of

being supposes all phenomena to be produced by the immediate action of the supernatural

beings. On the other hand, in the metaphysical stage, the mind supposes abstract forces, which

are capable of producing all phenomena. In the final stage, which is the positive stage, the mind

is said to have given over the vain search after absolute notions, the origin and destination of the

universe as the causes of phenomena. Instead, the mind applies itself to the study of their laws.

For August Comte, each successive stage or sub-stage in the evolution of the human mind

necessarily grew out of the preceding one (a vivid indication of change) 15. The implication of this

is that, the constitution of the new social system cannot take place before the destruction of the

13
Marx, Karl. 1946 (1867). Capital. Ed. Frederick Engels. London: George Allen
14
Merton, R. K. 1968 (1948). Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: The Free Press.
15
Moore, Wilbert E. (1987). Social Change. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India
old. August Comte in his philosophy on human progress believed that these three stages parallel

the stages in the development of social organizations, types of social order, types of social units

and the material conditions of human life. To him, all these evolved in similar manner as the

changes in progressive mental development mentioned above take place In trying to illustrate

this position, August Comte said that each mental age has its own characteristics, which

accompany the social organization and the type of political dominance. Thus, the theological

stage is dominated by priests and ruled by military men. In the same vein, the metaphysical

stage, which corresponds to the Middle Ages and Renaissance, was under the control of

churchmen and lawyers. Finally, industrial administrators and scientific moral guides will govern

the positive stage, according to August Comte16.

Karl Marx was first social scientist who looked the social change very differently. His

idea of observation was based on the factors responsible for the social change. His theories are

based on economic factors, prevailing in the society. His whole idea of social change was the

ownership of production and its distribution17. He claimed that any change in the ownership of

production and distribution can change the direction of social change. As per his ideology,

material things are important then the all-other institutional factors. Any change in the

materialistic things can bring the change in social institutions. The nature of social interaction

can be changed and decided by the materialistic condition of that society. If small section of the

society holds the power and ownership of the means, eventually the direction of social change

will have decided by them. They will bring the changes according and favorable to them. It

means the direction of social change will be managed and controlled by the few of the society

16
Morgan, Lewis Henry. 1963 (1877). Ancient Society. Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company.
17
Pareto, Vilfredo. (1935). The Mind and Society. New York: Harcourt Brace.
which May not in interest of the larger section of the society. Marx clearly highlighted the socio-

eco factor which is inter-related and determines the change. The nature of change is not decided

by humans rather it is determined by the economical factor. He coined the term capitalist society,

who lead the change and decide the nature of social change. These are the few classical

sociologists perspectives who explain their ideas of social change and social transformation. This

was the period of renaissance, developing ideas and analyzing human nature and his capability.

Social change was described and analyzed limited to the thinking process. But things changed

rapidly hereafter, many driving forces came in existence and social transformation was on the

peak and moreover the new era of modernization brought paradigm shift in transformation.

Herbert Spencer also analyses the human progress and came to conclusion that human

society is gradually progress in certain manner. His idea of social change is start with the

primitive status to the form of military society and it advances into the industrial society. Sorokin

explored concept of cyclic and linear change. In his concept he stated that the social change

particularly the cultural change starts in linear direction. It goes straight in direction but due to

various forces it goes in another direction some time it comes back to the same place too.

Eventfully the force of development will guide the direction of change. Lewis coser thinks that

conflict in society initiative the change, the social transformation can be the society only through

conflict18

The argument above is further extended by Augus Comte in his positive philosophy when

he attempted to link the stages of human progress with types of social organizations.

Accordingly, he pointed out that in the theological stage, the family is the prototypical social

unit. In the metaphysical stage, it is the state that rises into societal prominence, while in the
18
Sahlins, Marshall D. and Elman R. Service. (1960) (eds.). Evolution and Culture. Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press.
positive stage, the whole human race becomes the operative social unit 19. August Comte’s ideas

about social change as contained in his work on the law of human progress also cover the causes

of such progress. In this regard, he attempted to advance reasons for the kind of human progress

discussed above. Though he admitted other factors such as intellectual evolution as the causes of

human progress (transformation), he specifically stressed the factor of increase in population.

Because of increase in population, he said that there will be division of labor, which becomes the

powerful implement of social evolution or human progress. In Comte’s Positive Philosophy

quoted is indicated that increase in population are seen as a major determinant of the rate of

social progress (change).20 The aforementioned notion is captured thus: The progressive

condensation of our species, especially in its early stages brings about such a division of

employment… as could not take place among smaller numbers: and … the faculties of

individuals are stimulated to find subsistence by mere refined method by creating new wants and

new difficulties, this gradual concentration develops new means, not only of progress but of

order, by neutralizing physical inequalities and affording a growing ascendancy to those

intellectual and moral forces which are suppressed among a scanty population21.

1.8 Theory of Cultural Trauma and The Theory of Delayed (Cultural) Counter-

Transformation.

There are two notable theories of the cultural dimension of post-communist

transformations. The theory of cultural trauma, proposed by Sztompka working in collaboration

with several colleagues. treats the regime transformation as a traumatogenic change that effects

19
Sorokin, Pitirim. (1957). Social and Cultural Dynamics: A Study of Change in Major Systems of Art, Truth,
Ethics, Law, and Social Relationships. Boston: Porter Sargent.
20
Spencer, Herbert. (1898). The Principles of Sociology. 3 vols. New York: D.Appleton & Co.
21
Spengler, Oswald. 1962 (1918). The Decline of the West. New York: Knopf.
the society on several levels, including its “axio-normative and symbolic belief systems.

Sztompka argues that people coping with the trauma of transformation can employ several

strategies, but eventual success comes from developing new cultural tools 22. When this happens

“in spite of immediate negative, painful consequences” cultural trauma “shows its positive,

functional potential as a force of social becoming” Of course, the traumatic sequence may end up

also in cultural destruction. This well-developed theory utilizes both conceptualizations of

culture, socio-psychological and semiotic, and theorizes the role of cultural factors as both

resources and obstacles to transformation23.

Another theory, merely signaled in various works, can be called delayed cultural counter-

transformation. It is suggested by the events of the 2005-2012 period during which several

countries, most notably in Hungary, experience radical disruption of the transformational process

and the decisive turn of the political field and popular culture to the right. The explanation of this

momentous change in the process of consolidation is beyond this short essay, but it seems to

have something to do with a combination of three factors: (1) transformational exhaustion caused

often by the scandalous and corrupt behavior of the political elites (often ex-communists), (2)

world economic crisis, and (3) the aggressive propagation of the right-wing political ideologies

offered as panaceas for transformational problems24.

1.9 Research methodology

The concerned of this study is to understand the socio-cultural changes in the Nagwu

people of Danukofia local government area. The study is observation and employ interviews

22
Steward, Julian H. (1963). Theory of Culture Change: The Methodology of Multilinear Evolution. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press.
23
Tonnies, Ferdinand. 1963 (1887). Community and Society. Trans. C.P. Loomis.New York: Harper & Row.
24
Toynbee, Arnold. 1946 (1934). Study of History. New York: Oxford UniversityPress.
tools and data analysis and its methodology 25. Data were gotten from secondary and tertiary

sources the secondary data sources which were gotten from text books, thesis, dissertations,

undergraduate projects, government publications, conference papers, published articles, journals,

and host of other works. Also, database, internet/laboratory research will be adopted serving as a

quid on some primary aspect of the research such as geographical location of the of the people.

Information gotten was carefully crosschecked.

CHAPTER TWO

THE SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION OF NAGWU PEOPLE

25
Tylor, Edward B. (1871). Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy,
Religion, Language, Art and Customs. London: J. Murray.
2.1 History of Anambra State

Anambra is a state in southeastern Nigeria. Its name was inspired by the term Omambala, the

Igbo name of the Anambra River which flows through the area and is a tributary of the River

Niger. The capital and seat of government are Awka. Onitsha, a historic port city from pre-

colonial times, has developed as by far the largest urban area in the state. The state's theme is

"Light of the nation"26.

Boundaries are formed by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Rivers State to the south, Enugu

State to the east, and Kogi State to the north. The indigenous ethnic groups in Anambra state are

the Igbo (98% of the population) and a small population of Igala (2% of the population), who

live mainly in the north-western part of the state.

Anambra is the eighth-most populated state in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the second-

most densely populated state in Nigeria. The stretch of more than 45 km between the towns of

26
Weber, Max. (1958). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Trans. Talcott Parsons. New York:
Scribner’s.
Oba and Amorka contains a cluster of numerous thickly populated villages and small towns,

giving the area an estimated average density of 1,500–2,000 persons per square kilometer27.

Anambra is rich in natural gas, crude oil, bauxite, and ceramic. It has an almost 100

percent arable soil. Anambra state has many other resources in terms of agro-based activities

such as fisheries and farming, as well as land cultivated for pasturing and animal husbandry. It

has the lowest poverty rate in Nigeria. In the year 2006, a foundation-laying ceremony for the

first Nigerian private refinery, Orient Petroleum Refinery (OPR), was made at Aguleri area. The

Orient Petroleum Resource Ltd, (OPRL) owners of OPR, was licensed in June 2002, by the

Federal Government to construct a private refinery with a capacity of 55,000 barrels per day

(~7,500 t/d)28.

In 2012, following the efforts of Governor Peter Obi and other stakeholders of Orient

Petroleum, Anambra State became an oil-producing state. The indigenous company struck oil in

the Anambra River basin. On August 2, 2015, the management of Orient Petroleum Resources

Plc said the company planned to increase its crude oil production to 3,000 barrels per day by

September 2015, as it stepped up production activities in two new oil wells in its Aguleri oil

fields29. An indigenous company, Nails and Stanley Ltd, was to establish a gas plant at Umueje

in Ayamelum Local Government Area to support economic activities in the oil and gas industry

in the state.

27
Weber, Max. (1958). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Trans. Talcott Parsons. New York:
Scribner’s.
28
White, Leslie A. (1959). The Evolution of Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Bibliography
29
Alexander, Jeffrey C., Ron Eyerman, Berhard Giesen, Neil J. Smelser, and Piotr Sztompka. 2004. Cultural
Trauma and Collective Identity. Berkeley: University of California Press.
 Anambra State is rich in culture and tourism. Agulu Crocodile Lake is located along

Awka road in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area of the state 30. A potential tourist site, it is

home to an estimated three hundred crocodiles and water turtles. Fishing is not allowed on the

lake. As the crocodiles are considered sacred animals, they cannot be killed. Legend says that

these crocodiles were instrumental in delivering the town from enemy soldiers during the

Nigerian civil war. It is believed that these sacred crocodiles and turtles transformed themselves

into beautiful ladies and lured the soldiers unawares into the lake, where they disappeared

without a trace. At noon the crocodiles and the turtles appear at the banks of the lake to take in

sunlight.

Ogbunike Caves, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, is one of the most visited

tourist sites in Anambra State. It is classified as a Sandstone cave (Lateritic sandstones of

Campanian-Miocene age) It has very scenic vegetation with an attractive waterfall. It is situated

in the Ogba hills Ogbunike, across the Ugwu-Aga Escarpment Umunya by the Enugu/Onitsha

Expressway31.

There is also the Igbo Ukwu museum. Igbo Ukwu is an ancient town known for its

astonishing metalcrafts; it continues to attract tourists to see its bronze artifacts. First noticed in

1938, the bronzes were later excavated by Thurstan Shaw (an English archaeologist). They have

been dated to the 9th century, and are of high value and historic relevance.

30
Almond, Gabriel A, and G. Bingham Powell, Jr. 1966. Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach.
Boston: Little Brown.
31
Archer, Margaret S. 1996. Culture and Agency. The Place of Culture in Social Theory. Revised Edition.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Uzu-Oka: Awka is historically known for the great metal foundry, Uzu Craftmanship. Imo-Awka

is an annual festival celebrated by the natives32.

The Anambra State University, formerly known as Anambra State University of Science

and Technology (ASUTECH), has two campuses, one in Uli, and another at Igbariam; the

Federal Polytechnic, Oko; the Nwafor Orizu University of Education (formerly known as the

Nwafor Orizu College of Education), Nsugbe. Private universities include The Tansian

University, Umunya; Madonna University, Okija; and St Paul's University, Awka 33.

Literacy rate in the state is comparatively high compared to other states. Primary and secondary

school enrollment in the state is one of the highest in the country. Consequently, Anambra state

has the highest number of JAMB candidates going after the limited number of spaces in Nigeria's

tertiary colleges. Since 2011/2012 till date (2024), its students have had the best results in both

WAEC and NECO-conducted senior secondary school examinations. With an annual population

growth rate of 2.21 percent per annum, Anambra State has over 60% of its people living in urban

areas. It is one of the most urbanized states in Nigeria34.

The major urban centers of Anambra state are Onitsha, including Okpoko; Nnewi, and

Awka, the state capital. Awka and Onitsha developed as pre-colonial urban centers: Awka was

the craft industrial center of the Nri hegemony. Onitsha is a city-state on the Niger, having

developed as a river port and commercial center. Onitsha is a fast-growing commercial city and

has developed to become a huge conurbation extending to Idemili, Oyi and Anambra East LGAs,

32
Bell, Daniel. 1978. The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. New York: Basic Books.
33
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1983. “Ökonomisches Kapital, kulturelles Kapital, sociales Kapital.” In Reinhard Kreckel, ed.
Soziale Ungleichheiten (Soziale Welt, Sonderheft 2). Goettingen: Otto Schartz & Co., pp. 183-98.
34
with one of the largest markets in West Africa 35. Nnewi (sometimes called the Taiwan of

Nigeria) is a rapidly developing industrial and commercial center. Designated as the state capital,

Awka has regained its precolonial administrative eminence36.

2.1.1 Geographical Location and Language of the Nagwu People

Danukofia is the Igboland and it’s the home of the Igbo people and it covers most of

Southeast Nigeria. This area is divided by the Niger River into two unequal sections – the eastern

region (which is the largest) and the midwestern region. The river, however, has not acted as a

barrier to cultural unity; rather it has provided an easy means of communication in an area where

many settlements claim different origins. The Igbos are also surrounded on all sides by other

tribes (the Bini, Warri, Ijaw, Ogoni, Igala, Tiv, Yako and Ibibio)37.

The origins of the Igbo people have been the subject of much speculation, and it is only

in the last fifty years that any real work has been carried out in this subject: like any group of

people, they are anxious to discover their origin and reconstruct how they came to be how they

are. ...their experiences under colonialism and since Nigeria’s Independence have emphasized

for them the reality of their group identity which they want to anchor into authenticated history.

‘Prolegomena to the study of the culture history of the Igbo-Speaking Peoples of Nigeria’, Igbo

Language and Culture, Oxford University Press, 1975. 28.)38.

35
Geertz, Clifford. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
36
Hann, Chris, ed. 2010. Religion, Identity, Postsocialism. The Halle Focus Group 2003-2010. Halle/Saale: Max
Planck Institute for Social Anthropology.
37
Harvey, David. 1989. The Condition of Postmodernity. An Inquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change.
Cambridge: Blackwell.
38
Hunt, Lynn. 1984. Politics, Culture and Class in the French Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press.
 Analysis of the sources that are available (fragmentary oral traditions and correlation of

cultural traits) have led to the belief that there exists a core area of Igboland, and that waves of

immigrant communities from the north and west planted themselves on the border of this core

area as early as the ninth century. This core area – Owerri, Orlu and Okigwi – forms a belt, and

the people in this area have no tradition of coming from anywhere else. Migration from this area

in the recent past tended to be in all directions, and in this way the Igbo culture gradually became

homogenized39. In addition to this pattern of migration from this core area, other people also

entered the Igbo territory in about the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries. Many of these people still

exhibit different characteristics from that of the traditional Igbos – for example geographical

marginality, the institution of kingship, a hierarchical title system and the amosu tradition

(witchcraft). For some time, some Igbo-speaking peoples claimed that they were not Igbo – the

word was used as a term of abuse for “less cultured” neighbours 40. The word is now used in three

senses, to describe Igbo territory, domestic speakers of the language and the language spoken by

them:

The first contact between Igboland and Europe came in the mid-fifteenth century with the

arrival of the Portuguese. From 1434-1807 the Niger coast acted as a contact point between

African and European traders, beginning with the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the

English. At this stage there was an emphasis on trade rather than empire building, in this case the

trade consisting primarily of Igbo slaves. With the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 came a

new trading era, concentrating on industry (palm products, timber, elephant tusks and spices). At

this point the British began to combine aggressive trading with aggressive imperialism. They saw
39
Kennedy, Michael. 2002. Cultural Formations of Postcommunism. Emancipation, Transition, Nation, and War.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
40
Klingemann, Hans-Dieter, Dieter Fuchs and Jan Zielonka, eds. 2006. Democracy and Political Culture in Eastern
Europe. London and New York: Routledge.
the hinterland as productive, and refused to be confined to the coast. In 1900 the area that had

been administered by the British Niger Company became the Protectorate on Southern Nigeria,

also incorporating what had been called the Niger Coast Protectorate. Control of this area then

passed from the British Foreign Office to the Colonial Office. Long before it had officially been

conquered, Igboland was being treated as a British colony. Between 1900 and 1914 (when

Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated) there had been twenty-one British military

expeditions into Igboland. In 1928 for the first time in their history, Igbo men were made to pay

tax – they were a subject people41.

This attempt to take over political control of Igboland met with resistance and cultural

protest in the early decades of the twentieth century. A nativistic religious movement sprang up

(the ekumeku) which inspired short-lived but feverish messianic enthusiasm. The rumours that

the Igbo women were being assessed for taxation, sparked off the 1929 Aba Riots, a massive

revolt of women never encountered before in Igbo history. However, the engine of imperialism

could not be stopped, and once it had begun, Igbo culture would never be the same again.

Traditional Igbo architecture embodies the essence of the Igbo people's heritage, social

structure, and cultural identity. It represents a harmonious blend of functional design and artistic

expression within a communal framework. Traditional Igbo architecture embodies the essence of

the Igbo people's heritage, social structure, and cultural identity. It represents a harmonious blend

of functional design and artistic expression within a communal framework42.

41
Kubik, Jan. 1994. The Power of Symbols Against the Symbols of Power. The Rise of Solidarity and the Fall of
State Socialism in Poland. College Park: Penn State Press.
42
Kubik, Jan. 1994. The Power of Symbols Against the Symbols of Power. The Rise of Solidarity and the Fall of
State Socialism in Poland. College Park: Penn State Press.
An Igbo compound entrance, in or near Önïcha. Photographed by Herbert Wimberley, c. 1903

An "Ógwa", an ancestral meeting and reception shrine hall of household patriarchs photographed

by P. Talbot Igbo architecture predominantly uses locally sourced materials such as mud, clay,

wood, bamboo, thatch, and palm fronds. These materials are abundant and well-suited to the

local climate. The traditional Igbo dwelling is often organized within a compound, which

includes several houses for extended family members arranged around a central courtyard 43. The

courtyard serves as a communal space for gatherings and interactions.

Exterior of Igbo Architecture

Igbo architecture is modular, with structures being added or expanded as family needs grow.

This flexibility allows for adaptability over time. Most traditional Igbo houses feature steeply

pitched thatched roofs made from palm fronds or grass. The roofs provide insulation, natural

ventilation, and protection from rain. Houses may be adorned with decorative patterns and

43
Malia, Martin. 2006. History’s Locomotives. Revolutions and the Making of the Modern World. New Haven:
Yale University Press.
motifs, often carved into wooden beams, walls, and doors. Such designs hold cultural and

symbolic significance44.

Igbo House & Tower in Background

Some Igbo houses have elevated floors, which serve multiple purposes, including protection

against flooding, improved ventilation, and storage space underneath. Verandas and raised

platforms are common features, offering shaded outdoor spaces for relaxation, socializing, and

various activities.

A building photographed in the western Igbo area, filed under

Onicha Olona by the MAA Cambridge, but may be another surrounding Igbo town.

Many Igbo houses incorporate sacred spaces, such as shrines or altars, for religious practices,

ancestor veneration, and community rituals. Architectural elements often carry cultural and
44
Petro, Nicolai N. 2004. Crafting Democracy. How Novgorod Has Coped With Rapid Social Change. Ithaca:
Cornell University Press.
religious symbolism, reflecting the Igbo worldview and values. Building and maintaining

structures involve collective effort, highlighting the communal nature of Igbo society. Igbo

architecture takes into account the region's climate and natural surroundings, using design

elements that promote comfort and harmony with the environment. In some Igbo communities,

wooden communication towers called "ogene" or "isiokwe" are erected for signaling and

communication during events or gatherings45. Towers were common, in Igbo architecture, often

Two-storey buildings,[136] which disproves the popular western myth that Africans didn't have

multi-story buildings prior to Colonization.[137]

45
Pollack, Detlef, Jorg Jacobs, Olaf Muller, and Gert Pickel, eds. 2003. Political Culture in Post-Communist
Europe. Attitudes in New Democracies. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Igbo exterior Architecture building, Art and design.

"Okoli Ijeoma Ada" War tower

Awka watch tower

One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, which was a form of Step

pyramids at the town of Nsude, in modern day Enugu, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal

structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft (18 m) in circumference and

3 ft (0.91 m) in height. The next stack was 45 ft (14 m) in circumference. Circular stacks

continued, until it reached the top46. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was

believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The

46
Sewell, William, Jr., 1994. “Ideologies and Social Revolutions: Reflections on the French Case.” In Theda
Skocpol, Social Revolutions in the Modern World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 169-98.
structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud,

time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.

Nsude Pyramids in Enugu

Three Nsude Pyramids in Enugu

Igbo art is noted for Mbari architecture.[139] Mbari houses of the Owerri-Igbo are large opened-

sided square planned shelters. They house many life-sized, painted figures (sculpted in mud to

appease the Alusi (deity) and Ala, the earth goddess, with other deities of thunder and water).[140]

Other sculptures are of officials, craftsmen, foreigners (mainly Europeans), animals, legendary

creatures and ancestors.[140] Mbari houses take years to build in what is regarded as a sacred

process. When new ones are constructed, old ones are left to decay.[140] Everyday houses were

made of mud with thatched roofs and bare earth floors with carved design doors. Some houses

had elaborate designs both in the interior and exterior47. These designs could include Uli art

designed by Igbo women.[141]

47
Sewell, William, Jr., 1994. “Ideologies and Social Revolutions: Reflections on the French Case.” In Theda
Skocpol, Social Revolutions in the Modern World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 169-98.
 A scene in an Mbari house c. 1904

2.1.2 Language and literature

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the most popular and

renowned novel that deals with the Igbo and their traditional life.

The Igbo language was used by John Goldsmith as an example to justify deviating from the

classical linear model of phonology as laid out in The Sound Pattern of English. It is written in

the Roman script as well as the Nsibidi formalized ideograms, which is used by the Ekpe society

and Okonko fraternity but is no longer widely used.48 Nsibidi ideography existed among the Igbo

before the 16th century but died out after it became popular among secret societies, who made

Nsibidi a secret form of communication.[143] Igbo language is difficult because of the huge

number of dialects, its richness in prefixes and suffixes and its heavy intonation.[144] Igbo is a

tonal language, and there are hundreds of different Igbo dialects and Igboid languages, such as

48
Skocpol, Theda. 1994. “Cultural Idioms and Political Ideologies in the Revolutionary Reconstruction of State
Power” A Rejoinder to Sewell.” In Theda Skocpol, Social Revolutions in the Modern World. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 199-209.
the Ikwerre and Ekpeye languages.[25] In 1939, Dr. Ida C. Ward led a research expedition on Igbo

dialects which could possibly be used as a basis of a standard Igbo dialect, also known as Central

Igbo. This dialect included that of the Owerri and Umuahia groups, including the Ohuhu dialect.

This proposed dialect was gradually accepted by missionaries, writers, publishers, and

Cambridge University49.

In 1789, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was published in

London, England, written by Olaudah Equiano, a former slave. The book features 79 Igbo words.
[146]
In the first and second chapter, the book illustrates various aspects of Igbo life based on

Olaudah Equiano's life in his hometown of Essaka.[147] Although the book was one of the first

books published to include Igbo material, Geschichte der Mission der evangelischen Brüder auf

den caraibischen Inseln St. Thomas, St. Croix und S. Jan (German: History of the Evangelical

Brothers' Mission in the Caribbean Islands St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John),[148] published in

1777, written by the German missionary C. G. A. Oldendorp, was the first book to publish any

Igbo material.[146] Perhaps the most popular and renowned novel that deals with the Igbo and

their traditional life was the 1959 book by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. The novel

concerns the influence of British colonial rule and Christian missionaries on a traditional Igbo

community during an unspecified time in the late nineteenth or early 20th century. Most of the

novel is set in Iguedo, one of nine villages on the lower Niger.50

2.1.3 Performing arts of Nagwu people

49
Swidler, Ann. 1986. “Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies.” American Sociological Review, 51 (April):
273-86.
50
Sztompka, Piotr. 1993a. “Civilizational Incompetence: The Trap of Post-Communist Societies.” Zeitschrift fur
Soziologie 22, 2 (April): 85-95.
The Igbo people have a musical style into which they incorporate various percussion

instruments: the udu, which is essentially designed from a clay jug; an ekwe, which is formed

from a hollowed log; and the ogene, a hand bell designed from forged iron. Other instruments

include opi, a wind instrument similar to the flute, igba, and ichaka. Another popular musical

form among the Igbo is highlife. A widely popular musical genre in West Africa, highlife is a

fusion of jazz and traditional music. The modern Igbo highlife is seen in the works of Dr Sir

Warrior, Oliver De Coque, Bright Chimezie and Chief Osita Osadebe, who were among the most

popular Igbo highlife musicians of the 20th century51

Masking is one of the most common art styles in Igboland and is linked strongly with

Igbo traditional music. A mask can be made of wood or fabric, along with other materials

including iron and vegetation. Masks have a variety of uses, mainly in social satires, religious

rituals, secret society initiations (such as the Ekpe society) and public festivals, which now

include Christmas time celebrations.[153] Some of the best known include the Agbogho Mmuo

(Igbo: Maiden spirit) masks of the northern Igbo which represent the spirits of deceased maidens

and their mothers with masks symbolizing beauty.[] Other impressive masks include northern

Igbo Ijele masks. At 12 feet (3.7 m) high, Ijele masks consist of platforms 6 feet (1.8 m) in

diameter,[152] supporting figures made of coloured cloth and representing everyday scenes with

objects such as leopards. Ijele masks are used for honoring the dead to ensure the continuity and

well-being of the community and are only seen on rare occasions such as the death of a

prominent figure in the community.

51
Tornquist-Plewa, Barbara and Krzysztof Stala, eds. 2011. Cultural Transformations after Communism. Central
and Eastern Europe in Focus. Lund: Nordic Academic Press.
There are many Igbo dance styles, but perhaps, Igbo dance is best known for its atilogwu dance

troops. These performances include acrobatic stunts such as high kicks and cartwheels, with each

rhythm from the indigenous instruments indicating a movement to the dancer.\] The Egedege

Dance is an Igbo traditional Royal-styled cultural dance of South Eastern Nigeria52.

Religion and rites of passage

Wooden sculpture of Ikenga, an Alusi, in the Musée du Quai Branly

The Nagwu traditional religion is known as Odinani. The supreme deity is called Chukwu

("great spirit"); Chukwu created the world and everything in it and is associated with all things in

the universe. They believe the cosmos is divided into four complex parts: creation, known as

Okike; supernatural forces or deities called Alusi; Mmuo, which are gods/spirits; and Uwa, the

earthly world.[156] Chukwu is the supreme deity in Odinani and considered the creator deity, and

the Igbo people believe that all things ultimately came from him, and that everything on earth,

heaven and the rest of the spiritual world is under his supervision. Linguistic studies of the Igbo

language suggest that the name Chukwu is a compound of the Igbo words Chi (spiritual being)

52
Urban, Michael. 2010. Cultures of Power in Post-Communist Russia. An Analysis of Elite Political Discourse.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
and Ukwu (great in size)53. Each individual is born with a spiritual guide/guardian angel or

guardian principle, "Chi", unique to each individual and the individual's fate and destiny is

determined by their Chi. Thus, the Igbos say that the siblings may come of the same mother, but

no two people have the same Chi and thus different destinies for all. Alusi, alternatively known

as Arusi or Arushi (depending on dialect), are minor deities that are worshiped and served in

Odinani. There are many different Alusi, each with its own purpose. When an individual deity is

no longer needed, or becomes too violent, it is discarded.

The Nagwu Igbo have traditionally believed in the possibility for reincarnation of

individuals within the family. People are believed to be able to reincarnate into families that they

were part of while alive. Before a relative dies, it is said that the soon to be deceased relative

sometimes give clues of who they will reincarnate as in the family. Once a child is born, he or

she is believed to give signs of who they have reincarnated from. This can be through behavior,

physical traits and statements by the child. A diviner can help in detecting who the child has

reincarnated from. It is considered an insult if a male is said to have reincarnated as a female. [161]

Children are not allowed to call elders by their names without using an honorific (as this

is considered disrespectful). As a sign of respect, children are required to greet elders when

seeing them for the first time in the day. Children usually add the Igbo honorifics Mazi or Dede

before an elder's name when addressing them54

Christianity major religion in the 21st century

53
Whitefield, Stephen, ed. 2005. Political Culture and Post-Communism. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
54
Sare, Watimagbo (2024). "Total population of the Igbo people". Joshuaproject.net. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
 Christianity was introduced to the Igbo people through European colonization in 1857.

The Igbo people were hesitant to convert to Christianity initially because they believed the gods

of their native religion would bring disaster to them. However, Christianity gradually gained

converts in Igbo land, mainly through the work of church agents. These men-built schools and

focused on persuading the youth to adopt Christian values55. The Igbo people today are known as

the ethnic group that has adopted Christianity the most in all of Africa.

The Holy Ghost depicted as a dove on a relief in Onitsha

The Igbo people were unaffected by the Islamic jihad waged in Nigeria in the 19th century, but a

small minority converted to Islam in the 20th century. There is also a small population of Igbo

Jews,[167] some of whom merely identifying as Jews, while others having converted to Judaism56.

These draw their inspiration from Olaudah Equiano, a Christian-educated freed slave who

remarked in his autobiography of 1789 on "the strong analogy which... appears to prevail in the

manners and customs of my countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached the Land of

Promise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in that pastoral state which is

described in Genesis—an analogy, which alone would induce me to think that the one people had

55
Central Intelligence Agency (23 October 2023). "Nigeria country profile". The World Factbook.
56
https://namibia.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/formattted%20SDG%206%20Igbo%20READING
%20LIST_Final.pdf
sprung from the other." Equiano's speculation has given rise to a great debate on the origins of

the Igbo.

2.2 FACTORS OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIOPN:

Biological Factors

Biological factors may be further classified into two types – non-human biological

factors, and Human biological factors. The non-human biological factors include plants and

animals. They affect the lives of the people in varied ways. Human beings need plants and

animals for survival, be it for food, cloth, medicine and other purposes in many different ways as

defined by one’s culture. At the same time, man also eliminates or keeps away harmful and

poisonous plants and animals by any available means 57. Man, also needs plants and animals

indirectly for availing oxygen and other utilities through many processes, including

photosynthesis. Besides, the biological environment also keeps on changing as one animal

species gains ground at the cost of some other species in the course of struggle for existence. The

struggle for existence of the species is also conditioned by overexploitation of natural resources

including those in the regions/border areas due to social and political conflict, deforestation,

construction of large dams, among others, for one reason or another have caused enormous social

and ecological problems in the contemporary world which are found to be even greater factors of

social transformation than migrations and disasters58.

Geographic Factors

Geographic transformation has been significant factors of social change. There are

several instances where social transformation has been brought about by geographic factors, such

57
"Igbo people group in all countries | Joshua Project".
58
"PeopleGroups.org - Igbo of Cameroon". peoplegroups.org.
as the complete annihilation of the inhabitants of Pompeii by volcanic eruptions, the migrations

of the Irish population to the United States after the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s and so

on.

Natural disasters can cause both environmental and social changes. Victims of a natural disaster

may be left without friends, relative, or resources besides their severe psychological trauma.

They may have to abandon their community, or completely rebuild it. Ecological change is also

a major source of social transformation in the modern times. Many ecological changes have been

induced by human beings. Over population of a region, overexploitation of natural resources

including those in the regions/border areas due to social and political conflict, deforestation,

construction of large dams, among others, for one reason or another have caused enormous social

and ecological problems in the contemporary world which are found to be even greater factors of

social change than migrations and disasters59

Technological Factors

Technology has been considered as one of the important factors of social transformation.

This is quite true particularly in the context of the contemporary World. Change was very slow

in the remote past (pre-historic age) when our forefathers used crude implements such as stone

tools for their day-today activities and survival. With the invention of modern technology,

change has become much faster with both good and bad effects. All these changes have been

largely responsible for the change in the mode of production, relations of production, old forms

of social organization and structure, old ideologies, attitudes, beliefs, and traditions 60. This is so,

because man adapts to the change of material environment caused by technology. While modern

59
"Mother tongue by single and multiple mother tongue responses: Canada, provinces and territories, census
divisions and census subdivisions". 17 August 2022.
60
Nwangwa, Shirley Ngozi (26 November 2018). "Why It Matters That Alex Trebek Mispronounced The Name Of
My People On 'Jeopardy!'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
technology has been a great boon to man, there are also the other dark side of it. This is mainly

due to change of the old ways of life and systems, destructive nature of the technologies being

designed or misuse of technologies for destructive ends. For example, the perceived ill-effects of

technology on the society and its social institutions can be observed in many ways. One such

impact is the disintegration of community life and promotion of individualism 61. The abuse of

modern technologies to humanity has been quite alarming indeed.

Socio-Cultural Factors

Socio-cultural factors have been the most important causal factors of social

transformation. Man is the most important player of social change. Social change has been

caused by various human activities in the form of discovery, invention, diffusion, social

movements, and so on. Change is also caused by the attitudes and values of the people toward

innovation in a particular

society. Discoveries and inventions have contributed much to the process of social

transformation, particularly in modern times after the introduction of modern technological

know-how62. Discoveries and inventions are processes of innovations that can alter society.

While discoveries are the act of finding something not known earlier although always existed,

inventions are devices constructed by putting two or more things together in a new way. The

inventions of alphabet, modern state, modern technologies etc. have caused enormous social-

cultural transformation. Diffusion, the process of the spread of culture from group to group, has

also been considered as one of the main causes of social change. Diffusion takes place within

61
"Igbo". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
62
Lovejoy, Paul (2000). Identity in the Shadow of Slavery. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 58.
ISBN 978-0-8264-4725-8.
societies and between societies through contact 63. This is why the process of diffusion becomes

difficult to penetrate in a situation of isolation. Social movement is another most important

factors of social change. We can understand social movement into two different forms- one,

those movements organized to create some new social forms that are usually radical and liberal

in nature; and two, those movements concerned with maintaining or recreating older social forms

that are generally conservative or reactionary.

However, in both these cases, social change will depend much on the success of the

movements and the impact it could cause to the society. Revolutionary movement, a kind of

social movement has also caused social change such as the incidents of French Revolution of

1789, Russian Revolution among others64.

2.3 IMPACT OF SOCIAL CHANGE

The impact of socio-cultural transformation on human society has been a major concern

for social scientists, particularly, sociologists. The impact can be understood in two levels –

impact of the individual and group or society. However, there are different views among

sociologists on the nature of impacts on human society. They way people of the Danukofia local

government thinks and react to things have drastically change due to the socio-cultural changes

in terms or norms and values65. There are many sociologists who believe that industrial society

alienates individuals from one another because of the nature of the work. Karl Marx was one of

the thinkers who believed that the move from agrarian to industrial societies would alienate

people from their work. This, he felt, was inevitable because the goods produced would be

63
Floyd, E. Randall (2002). In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings. Harbor House. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-891799-06-8.
64
Cassidy, Frederic Gomes; Robert Brock Le Page (2002). A Dictionary of Jamaican English (2nd ed.). University
of the West Indies Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-976-640-127-6.
65
Equiano, Olaudah (1837). The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. I. Knapp. p. 27.
owned by the factory owner, and not the worker. There are also other sociologists who think that

industrial society would affect human society.

Ferdinand Tonnies and Max Weber, among others, may be cited as those sociologists

who subscribed to the idea that industrial society would affect human relationships, albeit in

different ways66. There are few sociologists, such as Emile Durkheim who felt that complex

industrial societies have positive effect on human relationships by virtue of the division of labour

after specializations among other attributes that promote interdependence and integration of

society.

The introduction of modern know-how and technology has also caused great problems and

anxiety to human life. The heavy use of automobiles and fuels causes massive pollution and

hazardous emissions. It also pollutes and damages the physical environment that man depends

for survival. The acute demand for fuel and the means to meet the demand have often led to

conflicts between communities and states even to the extent of war. The invention and use of

nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction have caused great concern to humanity.

It has, in fact, caused more insecurity than it was never before. The inventions of deadly

weapons of mass destruction make us think as to where we are heading for- either towards the

end of human civilization (the end of the world through World War III) or towards a civilization

of great insecurity and uncertainties67.

2.5THE CONCEPT OF SOCIO-CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

Culture

66
Obichere, Boniface I. (1982). Studies in Southern Nigerian History: A Festschrift for Joseph Christopher
Okwudili Anene 1918–68. Routledge. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-7146-3106-6.
67
Forrest, Tom (1994). The Advance of African Capital: The Growth of Nigerian Private Enterprise (illustrated ed.).
Edinburgh University Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-7486-0492-0.
 Culture refers to a multifaceted and complex dimension of social reality and is thus

notoriously difficult to define. Here I introduce only two analytical distinctions that help to make

this concept more useful for research. First, we need to distinguish between global and selective

(delimited) definitions of culture. Culture conceived globally refers to all building blocks of

human (collective) life that are not transmitted genetically. Tylor provided the most influential

definition of this kind: “Culture, or civilization, taken in its broad, ethnographic sense, is that

complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other

capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. similar definitions were

dominant in the nineteenth century evolutionary sociology and anthropology. Given the

comprehensiveness of such definitions, their users would see transformations as ex definition

cultural processes68.

Dissatisfied with the unwieldy scope of global definitions of culture, scholars set out to

narrow them. Two broad strategies of conceptual delimitation emerged: socio-psychological and

semiotic. The first strategy, dominant in political science, leads to the definition according to

which culture “consists of attitudes, beliefs, values and skills which are current in an entire

population, as well as those special propensities and patterns which may be found within

separate parts of that population69. They are usually studied via surveys and interviews.

Adherents of the second strategy, semiotic, conceive culture as a web of meaning, an

historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited

conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and

68
Mwakikagile, Godfrey (2006). African Countries: An Introduction with Maps. Pan-African Books: Continental
Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-620-34815-7.
69
"The Native Igbo Of Equatorial Guinea". www.igbodefender.com. 19 August 2018. Archived from the original on
2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life 70. The study of the relationship between

culture and politics in this approach consists primarily of the systematic interpretation of an

ensemble of politically relevant texts produced in given society and accessible in public spaces.

Of particular interest are meanings that provide evaluations of the world and provide scripts (or

scenarios) of/for action.

To illustrate the gap between the two conceptualizations it is enough to contrast the

different research agendas associated with each of them: whereas within the socio-psychological

approach we study the existing syndromes of attitudes that, for example, facilitate or obstruct the

building of democracy, within the semiotic approach we may focus on cultural practices, such as

rituals, production of texts, putting on performances, etc. through which political entrepreneurs

try to influence people’s minds to promote (or demonize) “democracy.”

Each research agenda is associated with a specific, highly articulated sub-disciplinary

intellectual tradition based on a distinctive set of categories, modes of argument, and techniques

of data gathering. What can bridge them is an assumption that culture is formed and forms

individual minds (attitudes) via communication. In the most basic model, an act of

communication is composed of three elements: sender, message, and receiver. Semiotic

approaches focus on meaning and its formation thus their practitioners tend to study the first two

elements: message(s) and sender(s). The third element of the communication triad, receiver(s)

can be studied in many ways, but most popular and influential are surveys of attitudes (views,

opinions, etc.). We need to focus on all three elements to describe and explain how meanings are

generated, transmitted, and internalized to become motivators of (political) actions. Studies of

political culture that rely exclusively on surveys of attitudes are incomplete; they do not provide
70
"Igbo | Culture, Lifestyle, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
information on the producers of cultural messages and the meaning of messages themselves.

They do not show how culture “works;” they only uncover its effects71.

The concept of ‘social transformation’ has occupied a significant place in social

sciences after the Second World War. The literal meaning of the concept is ‘changing form or

appearance or character or alter out of recognition’. This concept was specifically used by Karl

Marx in his book ‘German Ideology’ (1846) to mean a facet of social change which arises out of

contradictions in a society and leading to rapid change or revolution. Marx feels that at some

stage of social development, there is a conflict between the material forces of production with the

existing rules of production. The conflict, based on these contradictions, leads to social

revolution72. This phase of social revolution has been termed by Marx as a period of rapid social

transformation. Social transformation indicates the change in the form of society or the rise of

new formations. Rajni Kothari (1988) is of that view the modernization and revolution

are two models of social transformation. They can be presented in the following manner.

Modernization and Revolution

2.5.1 Model of Modernization

Modernization, as a concept, represents ideologies and values of the industrial, capitalist

and democratic societies of the Western Europe and the North America73. The opposite to

modernized structure is agrarian, traditional, custom based, technologically and economically

backward social structures of Asia, Africa and Latin America. As pointed out by Daniel Lerner

(1964) modernization is represented by literacy, political participation, urbanization,

71
Slattery, Katharine. "The Igbo People – Origins & History". www.faculty.ucr.edu. School of English, Queen's
University of Belfast. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
72
Chigere, Nkem Hyginus (2000). Foreign Missionary Background and Indigenous Evangelization in Igboland:
Igboland and The Igbo People of Nigeria. Transaction Publishers, USA. p. 17. ISBN 978-3-8258-4964-1. Retrieved
January 17, 2016.
73
Williams, Lizzie (2008). Nigeria: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-84162-239-2.
occupational mobility and empathy. The other characteristics of modernization are free market,

industrialization, modern technology, democratic state and modern education. There are five

major dimensions of modernization i.e. technological, economic, political, social and

psychological74. Along with their components, they can be presented as follows:

Modernizatio

Technological Economic Political Social Psychological

• mobility

• occupational

• inanimate differentiation

sources of • freedom • universalism • cosmopolitan

• market
energy • individualism • specificity mind
• capital
• modern • democracy • urban • achievement
• commodity
machines • political industrial orientation
• consumerism
• heavy participation culture • empathy

technology • literacy and

modern

education

In the model of modernization, the transformation is supposed to be sustained, evolutionary,

gradual and linear. In this gradual process, change is the result of a long duration. It is significant

that the process of modernization visualizes a structural transformation in the society. As pointed

74
Fardon, Richard; Furniss, Graham (1994). African languages, development and the state. Routledge. p. 66.
ISBN 978-0-415-09476-4. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
out, the modernization model of development has a close relationship with the process of

industrial and the industrial society. We are in the early part of the twentieth century. The

industrial society has also undergone a phenomenal change over the last several decades75.

2.5.2 Marxian Revolution Model

In this model, the change is brought about by men’s intervention. As indicated by Engels,

man is the only animal who is capable of transformation in accordance with this requirement.

Apart from the French (1779) and the American (1789) revolutions, the revolutionary social

transformation was experimented effectively in this century in Soviet Russia (1719) and China

(1949). According to the exponents of this model, the industrial-capitalist system is afflicted by

exploitation of man by man. It has produced unprecedented social inequality. Despite

industrialization, application of heavy technology and a large-scale production, man has lost his

dignity in the capitalist model or modernization 76. According to the exponents of the

revolutionary model, only a revolutionary transformation can eliminate poverty, inequality,

exploitation, unemployment and dehumanization. The final goal of the Marxist-Leninist concept

of the revolutionary transformation is the building of a classless and stateless society based on

equality77. After the revolution, in the phase of transition, a society based on revolutionary

transformation is characterized by the points as given below:

Society based on

Revolutionary Model of

Transformation
75
Miers, Suzanne; Roberts, Richard L. (1988). The End of slavery in Africa. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 437.
ISBN 978-0-299-11554-8.
76
Falola, Toyin (2003). Adebayo Oyebade (ed.). The foundations of Nigeria: essays in honor of Toyin Falola.
Africa World Press. p. 476. ISBN 978-1-59221-120-3. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
77
Ekechi, Felix K. (1971). "Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa: The Igbo Case, 1900-1915". The Journal
of African History. 12 (1): 103–115. doi:10.1017/S0021853700000098. S2CID 162515367.
(transitional phase)

Decision Making

Collective ownership Power Structure based based on a single

of the means of on the dictatorship of political party

production the proletariat (Communist Party)

and its polit bureau

2.5.3 Sanskritisation and Westernization

In the Indian Context, a clear distinction should be made between the two processes of

transformation known as Sanskritisation and Westernization. Sanskritisation as used by

Srinivas refers to the imitation of the manners and customs of the upper castes by the

lower castes, whereas, Westernization means the impact of Western culture, values and

institutions on the Indian Society. The basic attributes of the ‘model of modernization’ as

discussed in this unit are similar to the attributes of Westernization.

2.5.4 Critical Appraisal of these Models

The human society has experienced both modernization and revolutionary models

of transformation. As pointed out by Rajni Kothari, human society has seen keen competition

between these two models–leading to the global problems of Cold War, deadly armaments,

threats of nuclear weapons, division of World into two power blocks (before the collapse of the

Soviet Union) and attempts to dominate over others. The 19th Century European mind was full

of optimism; it has tremendous faith in progress78. After the First World War, the voices of

78
Forsythe, Frederick (2006). Shadows: Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967–1970. Hikoki Publications.
p. 1. ISBN 978-1-902109-63-3.
dissent against the Western civilization, its patterns of development and material advancement

were raised by Joseph J. Spengler in his ‘Decline of the West’ and P.A. Sorokin in his ‘Socio-

Cultural Dynamics’. These writers stressed that Western civilization represented by materialism,

industrialization and modern technology was moving towards decline. Perceptive Critical

analysis of the industrial and capitalist pattern of modernization was done by Karl Mannheim in

his ‘Man and Society: In an Age of Reconstruction’, Erich Fromm in his ‘Sane Society’ and

Petre L. Berger and others in their ‘Homeless Mind’.79 They were of the view that the

industrialized capitalist societies of the West were moving towards —Decline, disintegration and

disorganization, lack of moorings, weakening of institutions like family and religion, loss of

autonomy of individuals, and emergence of mass society.

The functioning of communism, its system of production, economic organization and

power structure as a product of revolution were criticized by Kruschev, Djilas and Gorbachev.

As a system, it created dictatorship, police terror, executions, denial of human rights, decline in

productions, collapse of economy and the creation of a ‘new class of party functionaries and the

State officials80. The social problems of violence, unequal distribution of resources, poverty,

unemployment could not be solved by these two models of transformation. We have to keep in

mind that when society starts moving from one formation to another formation, certain problems

are bound to crop-up.

The period, lying between the movements from one formation to another formation or from

one stage of transformation to another stage of transformation, may be regarded as the stage of

79
Adekson, Adedayo Oluwakayode (2004). The "civil society" problematique: deconstructing civility and southern
Nigeria's ethnic radicalization. Routledge. pp. 87, 96. ISBN 978-0-415-94785-5.
80
Levinson, David; Timothy J O'Leary (1995). Encyclopedia of World Cultures. G.K. Hall. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-
8161-1815-1.
‘transition’81. The period of transition in any society creates problems of social and psychological

adjustment, cultural accommodation and economic recasting. Societies move forward in the

pattern of challenge and response. Whenever there is any challenge, society tries to meet it by its

response. When the responses are effective, there is positive transformation and development.

When the responses do not meet the challenges, there is decline in a situation when there are

likely to be a large number of social problems. Simply stated, social transformation results in

social problems. The effort to solve social problems can initiate social transformation82.

2.6 TRANSFORMATION AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS

In the process of transformation, society moves from the traditional to modern social structure.

Scholars also point out that human societies are becoming more and more globalized in the wake

of fast spread of information and communication technology, industrial development, physical

communication networks and so on83.

Traditional and Modern Societies

The traditional Society is characterized by agriculture, villages, small scale undeveloped

technology, customs and simple social structure. In traditional societies, there is said to be

harmony in social relations and in social institutions. There is consistency between institutions,

the accepted norms and patterns of behavior. The mechanism of the social control operates

through customs, folkways and mores. There tends to be a close correspondence between

expectations and achievements in traditional societies84.

81
Achebe, Chinua (2000). Home and Exile. Oxford University Press US. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-19-513506-0. ...Igbo
people might score poorly on the Oxford dictionary test for tribe... Now, to call them a nation... This may not be
perfect for the Igbo, but it is close.
82
Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: S-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 762.
ISBN 978-0-313-32384-3.

83
Williamson & Blench (2000) 'Niger–Congo', in Heine & Nurse, African Languages.
84
Kay Williamson in Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, F. N. Anozie, Nwanna Nzewunwa (eds.), The Early History of the
Niger Delta (1988) 92f.
 The modern society is characterized by industry, cities, heavy technology, rule of law,

democracy and complex social structure. The introduction of new social relations, new social

roles as a result of transformation from the traditional society to modern society tends to make

earlier behavior ineffective to achieve new goals set as a result of the movement. This results in

tensions and frustrations. To meet the changes, new patterns of behavior emerge. The old

established order changes and there is confusion85. The changes in the various cultural items (e.g.

acceptance of technology) would mean acceptance of scientific attitude to life, being punctual at

the place of work, new forms of social organization such as trade unions which are different

from traditional values. It takes time for people to adjust to the emerging situations in the phase

of transition when the ‘old’ is not fully rejected and the ‘new’ is not fully accepted.

Before and After Transformation

Whenever, there is a gradual or a revolutionary transformation, certain problems are

bound to emerge in society. or the purpose of understanding, we may consider two stages of

society i.e., before the transformation and after the transformation. In the pre-transformation

phase, the people develop their own way of life, social relations, norms, values, productive

system and consumption patterns. With the process of transformation, people are required to

adjust themselves to the new requirements. In the transformation phase, they find difficulties in

moving away from the age-old habits 86. This point can be explained by taking the example of the

Indian Society. India attained her independence by following the path of struggles–sometimes by
85
Michael C. Campbell; Sarah A. Tishkoff (September 2008). "African Genetic Diversity: Implications for Human
Demographic History, Modern Human Origins, and Complex Disease Mapping, Annual Review of Genomics and
Human Genetics" (PDF). 9. Retrieved December 22, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
86
M191/P86 positive samples occurred in tested populations of Annang (38.3%), Ibibio (45.6%), Efik (45%), and
Igbo (54.3%). Veeramah, Krishna R; Bruce A Connell; Naser Ansari Pour; Adam Powell; Christopher A Plaster;
David Zeitlyn; Nancy R Mendell; Michael E Weale; Neil Bradman; Mark G Thomas (31 March 2010). "Little
genetic differentiation as assessed by uniparental markers in the presence of substantial language variation in
peoples of the Cross River region of Nigeria". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10: 92. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-92.
PMC 2867817. PMID 20356404.
revolutionary methods (for example the revolts of 1857 and 1942) and by and large, though by

peaceful means yet determined resistance to colonialism. India, being an ancient civilization, is

characterized by certain traditional institutions like caste, joint family and untouchability. Indian

society is moving from the traditional social structure to the modern one. Apart from the age-old

traditional institutions, now, there are certain new structures based on constitutional provisions

such as a modern State, parliamentary democracy and organizations for the planned development

of society. In the post-independence period, concerted effort has been made through the

constitutional provisions for social transformation and planned development, elimination of

untouchability and creation of a just and equal society in India 87. Despite these efforts, even

today, in several parts of India, untouchability is practiced in one or the other form.

Examples of Linkage

Certain social problems are directly linked with social transformation. The process of rapid

economic development and industrialization are bound to take place in modern society. They are

the indicators of modernization but at the same time, they generate problems of regional

imbalance, pollution, ecological degradation, slums linked with violence, crime and

delinquency88.

Democracy is supposed to provide equal opportunities to all citizens. It believes in legal

and political equality. It is supposed to increase human dignity. But unfortunately, elections–an

essential part of democracy–have encouraged regionalism, communalism and castes in India

Affluence and leisure are the indicators of a modern society. At the same time, they are creating

87
Okonkwo, Emeka E.; Ibeanu, A. M. (2016-04-20). "Nigeria's Archaeological Heritage: Resource Exploitation and
Technology". SAGE Open. 6 (2): 215824401665111. doi:10.1177/2158244016651111. ISSN 2158-2440.
S2CID 147944354.
88
Chikezie-Anuka p. 19, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Adolphus (2018). Mmanwu and Mission among the Igbo
People of Nigeria: An Inculturative Dialogue. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-643-91063-9.
problems of loneliness, alcoholism and drug addiction in highly industrialized societies as well

as in the rich section of the society.

2.7 SOCIETAL PROCESSES OF CHANGE

In the not-distant past, natural resources, the environment, strategic locations, ambitious

leaders, gifted individuals, creative minds and ideas, cultures, and states played important, at

times decisive roles as agents of change and forces of transformation. Lately, however, the roles

of all such agents have been vastly and irreversibly diminished, and the roles of the societal

processes of change have been enhanced at their expense. These processes are defined as the

sociocultural, the political, the economic, and the infomedia processes89. These are social

mechanisms evolved over time to facilitate the introduction of change in society and the

management of its consequences. And unlike social systems, the societal processes do not abide

by certain rules or laws, and are not subject to effective control by state of social authority.

Nevertheless, the degree of sophistication and activism of the dominant process always reflects

the philosophical orientation of society and the developmental stage of its economy. Together,

these processes form the larger framework within which all social systems and institution’s

function, and through which all change is introduced and managed in society90.

Each societal process has specific tasks to perform, objectives to pursue, and logic to

follow. But since no change can occur without affecting the roles and relative positions of other

players in society, no process can function freely or independently; every process affects the
89
Elizabeth, Isichei (1976). A History of the Igbo People. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-18556-8.;
excerpted in "Cultural Harmony I: Igboland—the World of Man and the World of Spirits", section 4 of Kalu Ogbaa,
ed., Understanding Things Fall Apart (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999; ISBN 0-313-30294-4), pp. 83–85.

90
Eze–Uzomaka, Pamela. "Iron and its influence on the prehistoric site of Lejja". Academia.edu. University of
Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
other processes and is affected by them. Despite this relationship, in each civilization or stage of

societal development one process usually distinguishes itself as the major vehicle facilitating

societal change and influencing its direction. While the sociocultural process dominates the life

of tribal and traditional agricultural societies and determines the general direction of change, the

political process dominates the lives of mature agricultural and early industrial societies and

determines the general direction of change is such societies 91. In the meantime, the economic

process dominates the life of mature industrial societies and influences the nature of societal

change and its direction. Today, the infomedia process, in association with the economic process,

determines the nature and influences the direction of change in almost all societies, particularly

those passing through the transitional period from the industrial to the knowledge age.

Nevertheless, there are indications that the infomedia and economic processes are slowly

merging and forming one societal process that would be hard to tame or challenge. In an effort to

become more effective in performing targeted tasks, each process exhibits, in varying degrees, a

tendency to change, adapt, and be creative 92. This tendency is shaped by a desire to gain more

power and outperform one or more of the other processes, which dictates that it must compete

and sometimes cooperate with one or more of the other processes. Each process, therefore, is

subject to change under the influence of four factors:

1. A built-in mechanism to adapt as circumstances change to remain relevant;

2. A desire to influence other processes and make them more responsive to its goals and less

obstructive of its path;

91
Eze–Uzomaka, Pamela. "Iron and its influence on the prehistoric site of Lejja". Academia.edu. University of
Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
92
Holl, Augustin F. C. (6 November 2009). "Early West African Metallurgies: New Data and Old Orthodoxy".
Journal of World Prehistory. 22 (4): 415–438. doi:10.1007/s10963-009-9030-6. S2CID 161611760.
3. A need to anticipate change by the other processes, particularly change perceived as

threatening to its position and societal role; and

4. An impulse to react to actions taken by the other processes and changes they experience.

The sociocultural process is the oldest process of all; it was born as the first human society

evolved to provide it with a system to organize and sustain itself over time 93. When religion and

the idea of God were developed thousands of years ago, the belief system built around religion

emerged as the core of the sociocultural process. And because religions in general claim to be

based on universal values and eternal truth, the sociocultural process became a force of stability

and continuity94. But with every societal change, the sociocultural process and its religious core

were forced to adapt to remain relevant and retain a societal role.

Centuries after the development of agriculture, political authority began to emerge and

play a pivotal role in societal life, leading the political process eventually to become a major

force in every society. In the beginning, the functions of the political process were limited in

scope; but with the maturity of the agricultural age and the growth of populations and the

expansion of trade, the political process assumed more powers and responsibilities, spurring the

formation of states and empires and the building of armies 95. In a later, more advanced stage of

the agrarian era, the economic process evolved slowly and began to play a modest role in societal

life; but with the arrival of the industrial age, the political process became more active and

93
Eggert, Manfred (2014). "Early iron in West and Central Africa". In Breunig, P (ed.). Nok: African Sculpture in
Archaeological Context. Frankfurt, Germany: Africa Magna Verlag Press. pp. 53–54. ISBN 978-3-937248-46-2.
94
Eggert, Manfred (2014). "Early iron in West and Central Africa". In Breunig, P (ed.). Nok: African Sculpture in
Archaeological Context. Frankfurt, Germany: Africa Magna Verlag Press. pp. 53–54. ISBN 978-3-937248-46-2.
95
Isichei, Elizabeth Allo (1997). A History of African Societies to 1870. Cambridge University Press Cambridge,
UK. p. 512. ISBN 978-0-521-45599-2.
powerful, causing the roles of the other processes to change and decline. Today, the infomedia

process is the major force facilitating societal change and influencing its direction.

2.8THE SOCIO-CULTURAL PROCESS

The sociocultural process includes the social forces, institutions, ideas, values, and belief

systems that define, shape, and manage the social and cultural affairs of nations. It performs its

tasks by taking actions and sponsoring activities to preserve the cultural heritage of nations,

emphasizing traditions and traditional values and belief systems; clarifying the dividing lines

between sectarian, cultural, and religious groups within society; and responding to external and

internal challenges and altered social circumstances96. Since the major organizing principles of

this process are values, traditions, and religious convictions, it represents the social forces of

stability and continuity rather than change and transformation97.

A stable core of values and convictions, and a simple, largely changeless agricultural way

of life have given the sociocultural process the opportunity to dominate societal life and

influence the nature of change for many centuries. The development of politics into a full-

fledged societal process around the middle of the agricultural age and the emergence of the great

empires of the past put an end to the dominance of the sociocultural process. And as the

European agricultural society entered a transitional period leading to the industrial age, life

conditions began to change rapidly and profoundly, causing the sociocultural process to enter a

period of transformation characterized by chaos and crisis 98. Forces that caused the sociocultural
96
Uzukwu, E. Elochukwu (1997). Worship as Body Language. Liturgical Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8146-6151-2.

97
Isichei, Elizabeth Allo (1997). A History of African Societies to 1870. Cambridge University Press. p. 246.
ISBN 978-0-521-45599-2. Retrieved 2008-12-13.

98
Hrbek, Ivan; Fāsī, Muḥammad (1988). Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. London: Unesco. p. 254.
ISBN 978-92-3-101709-4.
process to enter such a period include: the expansion of trade; the discovery and exploitation of

the New World; the questioning of Church conduct and edicts, the increasing complexity of city

life; the advancement of philosophy and science and technology; and the emergence of the nation

state. These forces were instrumental in undermining traditional values and questioning the

rationality of certain beliefs. During the industrial age, the role of the sociocultural process was

weakened; it could not lead unchallenged or influence societal life as before. Nevertheless, it

continued to provide the social glue that held people together, giving them a community to

belong to, while giving each nation an identity of its own.

In the second half of the twentieth century, the sociocultural process faced serious

challenges from the inside and outside, forcing it to lose balance and focus and influence change

in more negative than positive ways99. On the other hand, the dominant political and business

elites in society began to promote social change and advocate building new relationships on the

bases of interests and unconventional values and lifestyles. As a consequence, the conservative

forces of the sociocultural process, fearing consumerism and materialism and liberalism, felt a

need to resist change and retreat into their old cultural shells. And this, in turn, caused traditional

values and relationships to be put on the defensive and be weakened. Although this change has

influenced all rich and poor societies, Third World societies in particular were traumatized by it,

causing them to experience sociocultural polarization100.

Two sociocultural camps consequently emerged in most societies; the first represents the

liberal forces that are able to understand the nature of global change and appreciate the role

science and technology play in transforming world society and economy; the other represents the
99
Lovejoy, Paul (2000). Identity in the Shadow of Slavery. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 62.
ISBN 978-0-8264-4725-8.
100
Onwuejeogwu, M. Angulu (1981). Igbo Civilization: Nri Kingdom & Hegemony. Ethnographica. ISBN 978-0-
905788-08-1
conservative forces that perceive change as a threat to their traditional ways of life and status in

society. Having changed the way, they view themselves vis-à-vis the other and the world, the

liberal forces are advocating rapid change and promoting modernization. And because they see

change as a force serving their interests, they claim that the economic and technological

imperatives of the time demand a positive response to almost everything modern, including

nontraditional values and lifestyles101. On the other hand, the second camp, which represents the

conservative forces, seems to lack the capacity to understand the nature of change and appreciate

the role modern technology plays in transforming the economic and noneconomic aspects of life.

As a consequence, these forces are resisting change and calling for preserving traditional values

and identities102. Generally speaking, Third World forces of traditionalism and nationalism view

the values promoted by the West and its media as a new wave of cultural imperialism that must

be resisted. Meanwhile, no balance between the old and new values is sought anywhere, and no

serious efforts are being made to reconcile the differences between the ideas and attitudes of

conservatism and liberalism.

Due to its inability to adapt to rapid technological, scientific, and economic changes, the

sociocultural process in every society is today in a crisis 103. This gives rise to a new phenomenon

in which a fragmented society is created in every city and state. One is characterized by

affluence, consumerism, and liberalism; the other is characterized by poverty, traditionalism, and

conservatism. And in between, there are a few more sub-societies that represent national,

cultural, religious, sectarian and socioeconomic minorities that feel lost and deprived of most

101
Chambers, Douglas B. (2005). Murder at Montpelier: Igbo Africans in Virginia (illustrated ed.). Univ. Press of
Mississippi. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-57806-706-0.

102
Uzukwu, E. Elochukwu (1997). Worship as Body Language. Liturgical Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8146-6151-2.
103
Hodder, Ian (1987). The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings (illustrated ed.). CUP Archive. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-
521-32924-8
things in life, except traditional values and convictions and memories that hold them together.

People belonging and claiming allegiance to the same culture, nation, state, and oftentimes

religion, are living different lives socially, spiritually, economically, and intellectually. “The idea

of culture as an identity... is going by the wayside in the realm of geopolitics,” says Constantin

von Barloewen, Overcoming Differences, while growing socioeconomic gaps and sociocultural

divides in every society are causing social fragmentation, economic and cultural globalization is

creating three major cultures104. One is global, to which the rich and the well-traveled and

educated elites of the world and the youth belong; the second is national, to which the majority

of each society belongs; and the third is a minority subculture based largely on nationality and

religion, to which the poor and the ill-educated and culturally conservative minorities belong.

The Political Process

The political process includes the forces, activities, ideas, and institutions that shape and

manage the political affairs of nations. It performs its tasks by responding to political needs at

the local level, defining goals and strategies at the national level, and dealing with trade, finance

and security issues at the international level. Usually, political decisions are taken by the state,

most political activities are carried out by national institutions, and goals are defined by the

nation’s overall philosophy and perceived need to advance the national interest, which reflects

the views and interests of the dominant political and economic elites105.

With the disappearance of tribal society from the agricultural communities, the political

process emerged as an extension of the sociocultural process to replace the tribe’s chief and play

104
Nyang, Sulayman; Olupona, Jacob K. (1995). Religious Plurality in Africa: Essays in Honour of John S. Mbiti.
Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 118. ISBN 978-3-11-014789-6.
105
Hodder, Ian (1987). The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings (illustrated ed.). CUP Archive. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-
521-32924-8.
his societal role. In the meantime, the growth of populations and the establishment of scattered

agricultural communities in need of a superstructure to keep law and order and regulate the

sharing of farmland and water resources were instrumental in forming states and defining the

prerogatives of politics106. Due to the enormity of these tasks, the political process was able to

acquire substantial powers and dominate societal life in general for centuries. But as economic

activities increased and diversified, and trade expanded and democracy spread in industrial

countries, the state was impelled to recognize the rights of people to participate in shaping policy

and determining the direction of politics107. Consequently, the grip of the political process on life

began to weaken, and the popular commitment to a national interest began to fracture.

Today, economic and cultural globalization, environmental concerns, international

terrorism, world poverty, and a growing commitment to human rights are making political

decisions and politicians answerable to a world public opinion and subject to scrutiny by

nongovernmental organizations and, at times, the world media as well 108. Meanwhile, the gradual

disintegration of traditional society, wider recognition of the legitimacy of cultural diversity, and

increasing life complexity have changed the way politics are organized, and how political

institutions respond to internal needs and external challenges. Consequently, the political process

of nations, particularly the democratic ones, has begun to lose coherence and focus. Politics

today is seldom able to develop comprehensive and coherent sets of national objectives capable

of winning popular support, causing the national interest to become a concept easy to speak of

but hard to define. Consequently, national politics have become subject to the influence of
106
Basden, George Thomas (1921). Among the Ibos of Nigeria: An Account of the Curious & Interesting Habits,
Customs & Beliefs of a Little Known African People, by One who Has for Many Years Lived Amongst Them on
Close & Intimate Terms. Seeley, Service. p. 184.
107
"# IGBO UKWU (8th–early 12th century) | Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time".
108
McIntosh, Susan (2022-11-07). "Igbo-Ukwu at 50: A Symposium on Recent Archaeological Research and
Analysis". National Center for Biotechnology Information. 3 (4): 369–385. doi:10.1007/s10437-022-09495-5.
PMC 9640786. PMID 36405395.
external forces and global economic and noneconomic considerations that constrain its capacity

to take decisions and initiate actions freely109.

Global developments since the early 1980s have vastly reduced the ability of the political

process to focus on issues of public concern. Such developments include international security

and terrorism, the recurrence of economic recessions and financial crises, economic migration

across political lines, an open international trading system that caused the state to lose control

over it economy, easy movement of jobs and investment capital from one country to another, and

the integration of many industries worldwide 110. “Entrepreneurs built the national companies that

destroyed local companies at the end of the nineteenth century, and they are building the global

companies that are destroying national companies at the end of the twentieth century.” (Lester C.

Thrurow, Building Wealth, The Atlantic Monthly, June, 1999 63) Forced to respond to many

groups with varied and oftentimes contradictory objectives, the political process has become

more reactive than proactive, and more vulnerable to the influence of the other societal

processes, particularly the economic and infomedia ones111.

The Economic Process

The economic process includes the forces, activities, ideas, institutions, and goals that

shape and manage the economic affairs of nations. It performs its tasks by responding to market

forces that reflect the preferences of consumers on one hand, and the forces that motivate

business people to engage in economic activities on the other. Opportunities created by

109
McIntosh, Susan Keech (2022-12-01). "Igbo-Ukwu at 50: A Symposium on Recent Archaeological Research and
Analysis". African Archaeological Review. 39 (4): 369–385. doi:10.1007/s10437-022-09495-5. ISSN 1572-9842.
PMC 9640786. PMID 36405395.

110
Sutton, J. E. G. (2001-03-01). "Igbo-Ukwu and the Nile". African Archaeological Review. 18 (1): 49–62.
doi:10.1023/A:1006792806737. ISSN 1572-9842. S2CID 161228421.
111
Furniss, Graham; Elizabeth Gunner; Liz Gunner (1995). Power, Marginality and African Oral Literature.
Cambridge University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-521-48061-1.
technological developments and changed domestic and international conditions provide strong

incentives for the economic process to expand globally and diversify its activities 112. Because

profits are made by producing and selling goods and services, and since demand for such goods

and services exists everywhere, the economic process functions at all levels, in all places, at all

times, and pays attention to all potential markets and opportunities.

As a consequence of economic globalization, which internationalized investment and

trading and financial markets, the state’s role in managing national economies was weakened,

and the role of the economic forces was strengthened at its expense 113. As a result, the

multinational corporation felt free to expand operations and merge with other companies, invest

overseas, downsize and outsource tasks, and pressure local and national governments to change

laws and regulations in its favor. And as it seeks to increase market share, reduce production

cost, improve competitiveness, and maximize profits, the multinational corporation neglects the

communities where it operates and pays little attention to its workforce, creating winners and

losers among states and regions114. As a result, corporate social responsibility declined, the

national interest lost much of its meaning and appeal, and economic considerations outweighed

all other considerations. Mergers of important industries and the increasing mobility of money

and knowledge and knowledge workers are leading the economic process to become global and

more powerful and ruthless115. Since profits are the major organizing principle of business

entities in general, economic considerations rather than political or social ones guide this process

and shape its relationships to the other processes. And due to the power, it has acquired since the

112
Chigere, Nkem Hyginus M. V. (2001). Foreign Missionary Background and Indigenous Evangelization in
Igboland (illustrated ed.). LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster. p. 113. ISBN 978-3-8258-4964-1.
113
Gordon, April A. (2003). Nigeria's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (illustrated, annotated ed.). ABC-
CLIO. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-57607-682-8.
114
Meek, C. (1937). Law and Authority in a Nigerian Tribe, Pub. London
115
Basden, G. (1921). Among the Ibos of Nigeria, Pub Nonsuch, p. 211-213
mid-1950s, the economic process has begun to manipulate political and nonpolitical actors to

strengthen its capacity to function freely 116. The political process, unwilling to surrender its

traditional authority in society, is struggling to impose its will on the economic process, and

provide adequate protection for consumers and the environment. While some states like China

are able to control economic decisions; states like Germany and France are only able to influence

such decisions; other states like the United States and Britain seem to have lost their capacities to

do much to align corporate goals with the national goals.

In response to these developments, local politicians in Nigeria have become more active,

demanding that the federal government gives more attention to job creation and worker training,

while moving to acquiesce to corporations’ demands, offering them subsidies and preferential

tax treatment in their states117. Such actions are intended to provide financial incentives to entice

new corporations to move to their communities and discourage others from leaving. But in both

cases, local communities lose revenues that could otherwise be used to provide much-needed

services related to education, labor training, healthcare, poverty, homelessness, and the like.

Economic and technological changes that occurred since the Industrial Revolution have

increased the power and elevated the status of economics and businessmen in society. Most of

the prestige and moral authority commanded by religious, political, and intellectual leaders in the

past have been transferred to the domain of wealth. Corporate managers in the Western in

general, and in the northern States in particular, have acquired more power than most politicians,

are listened to more often than intellectuals, and are followed by more people than most religious

men; the 2020 financial crisis, however, has changed this trend slightly. bankroll and, in effect,

116
Jeffreys, M. (1951). The Winged Solar Disk, or Ibo Ichi Scarification, Journal of the International African
Institute, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 93-111
117
Ilogu, Edmund (1974). Christianity and Ibo culture. Brill Archive. p. 11. ISBN 978-90-04-04021-2.
help to pre-select the specific major candidate’s months and months before a single vote is cast

anywhere,” causing the people who elect presidents, senators, and congressional representatives

to become a mere afterthought of those elected 118. (David Broder, “Frontline Exercise in

Exaggeration But due to the institutionalization of research and development, and the

commercialization of new products by the media, the perceived reality that ‘necessity is the

mother of invention’ was changed; many new products and services are emerging almost daily as

byproducts of scientific investigation and technological developments. Meanwhile, media

promotion of all types of products and services has caused the creation of new human needs

never existed or felt before. Decades ago, necessity was the mother of invention; today,

invention has become the father of necessity 119. Every human need leads sooner or later to

creating a new invention to satisfy it; every new invention leads, sooner rather than later, to

creating a human need for it. So, necessity instigates invention, invention feeds need, and the

interaction of the two makes economy more dynamic, life more complex, and people’s ability to

attain a comfortable level of satisfaction largely unreachable. When Steve Jobs was once asked

to survey the market in order identify what people need or desire to have and design Apple’s

products accordingly, his answer was no. Jobs said that people do not know what they really

need; they will realize what they need when they see the products; this is why palm oil products

were produce

The Infomedia Process

The infomedia is made of the traditional media (newspapers, magazines, and books), radio and

television, the Internet and social media. As for the infomedia process, it includes the forces,
118
Ndukaihe, Vernantius Emeka; Fonk, Peter (2006). Achievement as Value in the Igbo/African Identity: The
Ethics. LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster. p. 204. ISBN 978-3-8258-9929-5.
119
Agbasiere, Joseph Thérèse (2000). Women in Igbo Life and Thought. Routledge. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-415-22703-
2. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
activities, organizations, and groups that control the flow of information and news and manage

entertainment programs in society120. The infomedia performs its tasks by responding to events

and crises, analyzing official policies while giving priority to certain issues over others,

providing educational and entertainment programs, collecting and disseminating information,

facilitating the flow of ideas worldwide, and following trends of local, national and global

change. And for a price, the infomedia provides leaders, politicians and businesses with the

means to promote their causes and reach their targeted audiences in a timely manner 121.

The twin revolutions of communications and information have vastly energized the

media and expanded its reach. They enabled the media to enhance its contents and activities,

expand its national and international coverage, and transform itself into a powerful societal

process122. The ability of the infomedia to reach everyone, everywhere, at all times on the one

hand, and its willingness to provide information and entertainment programs continuously on the

other, have given it the power to influence people’s attitudes, mold and remold public opinions,

and transform cultures. And since all information and news has to pass through its channels, it is

able to manipulate facts, politics, and people’s hopes and fears as well as business decisions.

The infomedia process began to develop steadily and play a transformational role in

society after printing was revolutionized in Europe in the middle of the fifteenth century. “Books

became in the sixteenth century things for entertainment as well as instructions a transformation

as great as any in human history123. Before that time, most people in the world communicated by
120
Amadiume, Ifi (1987). Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society. London: Zed
Books Ltd. pp. 15. ISBN 978-1-78360-335-0.
121
Chambers, Douglas B. (2005). Murder at Montpelier: Igbo Africans in Virginia (illustrated ed.). Univ. Press of
Mississippi. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-57806-706-0.
122
Liamputtong, Pranee (2007). Childrearing and Infant Care Issues: A Cross-cultural Perspective. Nova Publishers.
p. 155. ISBN 978-1-60021-610-7.
123
Holbrook, Jarita C.; R. Thebe Medupe; Johnson O. Urama (2008-01-01). African Cultural Astronomy: Current
Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy Research in Africa. Springer, 2007. p. 235. ISBN 978-1-4020-6638-2.
means of the spoken word, not the printed one. But since the spoken word is limited in its

accuracy and ability to reach a large audience, ideas could not travel or spread easily; they often

encountered obstacles and were subjected to distortion and misinterpretation. But with printing,

ideas were able to spread easily and exert an increasingly powerful impact on people’s attitudes,

ways of thinking and cultures124.

During the transitional period that took Nigeria from the agricultural to the industrial age,

the media played a double role, facilitating the spread of new ideas on the one hand, and helping

absolute rulers to control the flow of information and limit freedom of speech on the other. “In

states that succeeded in controlling the press. monarchs maintained their grip on religious, social

and political thought. The Columbia History of the World, 1972 729) In the twentieth century,

the media enabled Third World and communist states, to gain unprecedented power and use it to

manipulate people and control most spheres of societal life. “Before the twentieth century, states

could seek or claim such control. They could not exercise it. Now they can125.”

Due to the immense power of the media, the political and sociocultural processes tried to

control it, subjecting its activities to certain regulations and ethical codes, but without any

discernible success. In the West, particularly in America, the media functions freely, and the

standards it agreed to abide by are of its own making. Meanwhile, the economic process tried

with great success to purchase media outlets and transform them into business concerns

dedicated to promoting its interests and making money. As a consequence, media elites emerged

in the late 1990s as champions promoting a culture that reflects attitudes, values, ideas and

lifestyles not necessarily shared by the public at large. Members of these elites who own major
124
Njoku, Onwuka N. (2002). Pre-colonial economic history of Nigeria. Ethiope Publishing Corporation, Benin
City, Nigeria. ISBN 978-978-2979-36-0.
125
Onwuejeogwu, M. Angulu (1981). An Igbo civilization: Nri kingdom & hegemony. Ethnographica. ISBN 978-
978-123-105-6
media companies and manage news and other educational and entertainment programs find

themselves almost always in conflict with forces managing the institutions of the sociocultural

process. The culturally and religiously conservative forces in America and in other states like

Saudi Arabia, realizing the power and influence of the media, were quick to establish their own

media outlets, not just to counter what they perceive as disinformation, but also to launch their

own misinformation and disinformation campaigns. And by so doing, the media has confused the

public and vastly limited the freedom of speech to everyone, except to those who own a media

outlet. In most Third World countries, the media cannot escape government control; it is strictly

regulated and often owned and managed by state organs, causing freedom of speech to be denied

to everyone, except to those who promote the ideas and lies of the ruling class and justify

whatever mistakes they make and crimes they may commit126.

As the media was gaining the power and freedom to collect, analyze, manipulate, and

disseminate information regarding most aspects of life, this power was increasingly being

concentrated in the hands of a few conglomerates and smaller groups of media elites. “Our

leading newspaper corporations own a half of all Nigerian newspapers, control two-thirds of

circulation and have more than #1billion billion in annual revenues, Merger activities since then

and expansion in other fields like commercial education and publishing have made media

ownership and power much more concentrated than ever before, while expanding its reach

tremendously127.

126
Aguwa, Jude C. U. (1995). The Agwu deity in Igbo religion. Fourth Dimension Publishing Co., Ltd. p. 29.
ISBN 978-978-156-399-7.
127
Hammer, Jill (2006). The Jewish book of days: a companion for all seasons. Jewish Publication Society. p. 224.
ISBN 978-0-8276-0831-3.
 Freedom of expression, which most elites and political parties preach religiously, has

consequently become a victim of monopoly on the news, commercialization of entertainment

programs, and lack of effective public oversight. Freedom of speech in my opinion has two basic

requirements: having the freedom to say whatever you want to say, and having the ability to

reach your targeted audience, which the media controls and seldom facilitates. Moreover, media

entrepreneurs have become more interested in making money than in informing the public. They

favor profitable programs that feature violence, crime, drugs, even programs that are socially

harmful and morally corrupt128. Hardwood said that the dedication of corporate leaders “to

journalism and its essential role in a democratic society is suspect. They are more responsive to

the short-term demands of the stock market than to the values their industry supposedly

represents. In fact, while the forces of the economic process are busy polluting our physical

environment, and money is busy corrupting politics and politicians, the infomedia forces are

actively distorting our values and polluting our minds and social and cultural environments129.

In the Third World, the development of transistor radio and television came at a critical

time for the masses. They came while illiteracy rates were very high, giving the radio and

television the opportunity to become the major sources of news, information, education, and

entertainment. As a consequence, television and radio enabled the spoken word to make a great

comeback, causing the desire for reading by students and the public to decline substantially,

while causing book publishing, critical thinking, and intellectual thought to suffer a tremendous

setback. Being the major source of information and education, a state-controlled media is able to

manipulate the fears and desires of the masses, mold and remold their opinions, and color their

128
Peek, Philip M.; Kwesi Yankah (2004). African Folklore: An Encyclopedia (illustrated ed.). Taylor & Francis.
p. 299. ISBN 978-0-415-93933-1.
129
Douglas, Chambers B. (2005). Murder at Montpelier: Igbo Africans in Virginia. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 25.
ISBN 978-1-57806-706-0.
views130. The media has also created a consumer society in every rich and poor country whose

members are interested in conspicuous consumption much more than in economic production

and creative activities.

Nevertheless, modern means of communications and the Internet and social media have

created a more alert world public. Modern communications is in fact making people on all sides

of the economic, political, cultural, and ideological divides more aware of what exists on the

opposite side. It also provides people with the opportunity to link together, causing social and

cultural interactions that undermine the barriers that made communications across cultures

difficult in the past; they also expose the excesses of dictators and sometimes the corrupt

economic and political elites as well 131. The revolutions that swept Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria,

and Yemen in 2011 underscore the power of social media. In addition, fast and cheap means of

communications have enabled the economic process to establish service centers in states where

labor is cheap to serve customers worldwide; it has also encouraged the development of a world

culture and facilitated the rebirth of minority subcultures. “The digital revolution allows once-

ignored and even shunned groups to become organized and as it facilitates the formation of

subcultures, the infomedia facilitates the creation of global cultures that link young people and

knowledge workers together across political lines 132. Kenichi Ohmae wrote, “In those societies

open to the influence of the multimedia, the critical balance is already beginning to shift.

Children and teenagers are, at deep levels of sensibility and knowledge, becoming much more

like their counterparts in other societies similarly influenced than they are like the older

130
Talbot, Percy Amaury; Mulhall, H. (1962). The physical anthropology of Southern Nigeria. Cambridge
University Press. p. 5.
131
Talbot, Percy Amaury; Mulhall, H. (1962). The physical anthropology of Southern Nigeria. Cambridge
University Press. p. 5.
132
Lovejoy, Paul E. (2003). Trans-Atlantic Dimensions of Ethnicity in the African Diaspora. Continuum
International Publishing Group. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0-8264-4907-8.
generations within their own culture, The End of the Nation State, 1995 30) As a result, the

young in societies exposed to the full influence of the infomedia have largely lost their ties to

their traditional cultures and national identities; they have become followers of an emerging

global culture that recognizes no political borders and abides by no ideological convictions. The

link among generations has been broken; a new link with those sharing similar experiences has

been forged
 CHAPTER THREE
NAGWU OF DUNUKOFIA SOCIO-CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

3.1 LIBERALIZATION AND TRANSFORMATION

The world was not the same after the era of Liberalization and open market system. It

was worldwide process which brings world close. It was merely related to market however

opening the gates, there were many other things flown away from western countries and vice

versa. New ideas, social media, idea of private sector, idea of private partnership, new

technology, digital sharing, great transport, help in health and education sector and above all

financial assistance seeded the liberalization process 133. It lefts deep impact on the third world an

underdeveloped countries. It was not only the market and finance were exchanged but the idea of

equality, brotherhood, rights of poor, health care and liberal thoughts on caste, these liberal

values flown away with the global exchange. Huge and massive economic centers created in

compliance with the GATT agreement and new liberalization policy. The sectors like media,

television and telephone were ruled by the government sector and somehow it was government’s

voice, but the new liberalization policy opened up these sectors to private player 134. This was the

opportunity masses to raise the voice against government which leads many social movements.

Multinational companies travelled to all countries freely which creates new ideas of branding

and benchmarking, this was era of commercialization of everything. Traditional exchange of

interaction was replaced by commercialization. Some of the critics of globalization held

133
Isichei, Elizabeth Allo (2002). Voices of the Poor in Africa. Boydell & Brewer. p. 81.
134
Rucker, Walter C. (2006). The River Flows on: Black Resistance, Culture, and Identity Formation in Early
America. LSU Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8071-3109-1.
responsible to commercialization for destroy of social institutions, however few other things

were welcomed by society as social change, like Men and women treated equal in job

opportunities, women are more invited for many specific jobs and cast and class left behind over

the skill and knowledge135.

3.2 DYNAMICS OF CHANGE

As explained earlier, the sociocultural process was the first societal process to emerge in history,

followed by the political process. These two processes, concentrating primarily on continuity and

stability, worked together and reinforced one another to dominate societal life for many

generations. The economic process emerged slowly and grew gradually during the agricultural

age, gaining momentum only after the Industrial Revolution 136. However, as it began to mature,

the infomedia process emerged to challenge its dominance but not its goals. These two processes

have worked together and continue to reinforce one another, concentrating primarily on change

and transformation rather than continuity and stability. The sociocultural process produced great

ideas and ideologies, of which religion is the most prominent one. The political process produced

great leaders, empires, and political philosophies, of which nationalism, colonialism, and

democracy are the most notable ones. The economic process produced great technologies,

entrepreneurs, inventors, and industrial and trading companies as well as capitalism and

communism. The infomedia process is producing great technological innovations, virtual

communities, and global cultures, while systematically destroying many of the old ideological

and cultural barriers137.

135
Holloway, Joseph E. (2005). Africanisms in American Culture. bottom of 3rd paragraph: Indiana University
Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-253-21749-3. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
136
Philips, John Edward (2005). Writing African History. Boydell & Brewer. p. 412. ISBN 978-1-58046-164-1.
137
Berlin, Ira. "African Immigration to Colonial America". History Now. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19.
(paragraph 11) Preferences on both side of the Atlantic determined, to a considerable degree, which enslaved
Africans went where and when, populating the mainland with unique combinations of African peoples and creating
distinctive regional variations in the Americas.
 The sociocultural process worked relentlessly to transform early human settlements into

stable communities, using kinship, traditions, and belief systems to give each community an

identity of its own. The political process, motivated by ambitious leaders and an ideological zeal,

created nations, states, and empires that facilitated cultural interaction and helped expand trade.

The economic process developed many products and activities that impelled people to build new

associations on the basis of financial interests, causing all nations to eventually become largely

economically interdependent138. The infomedia process works today to link individuals together,

create virtual communities on the bases of shared hobbies, values and interests, and transform the

world into a global village that progressively renders political borders less meaningful, national

cultures less particular, and ideology less sacred. In addition, the infomedia provides the elites

and masses with the means to communicate instantly and exchange information and ideas

constantly. It uses sophisticated technologies and networks, as well as psychological methods to

change attitudes and mold cultures, promoting certain values, undermining others, and

encouraging the creation of new, unconventional ones. Since values are the heart of all cultures,

some people accuse the western media in particular of cultural destruction, while others call it

cultural imperialism. Both views seem to acknowledge the importance of the infomedia but fail

to find a way to use its potentialities to their advantage. And in conjunction with the economic

process, the infomedia works to create a new world society free of rigid traditions and moral

constraints, and an individual free of the usual national and cultural attachments.

In each age, the societal process that enjoyed most authority in society has claimed most

of its talent. In the agricultural age, the sociocultural process attracted some of the most talented

138
Morgan, Philip D.; Sean Hawkins (2004). Black Experience and the Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 82.
ISBN 978-0-19-926029-4.
people, employing them in the service of religion to spread the faith and develop its doctrine.

When the political process became the most dominant, it attracted the most talented individuals,

employing them as bureaucrats, military commanders, and tax collectors. As a consequence, the

sociocultural and political processes denied society the opportunity to use its talent to develop its

economy, technology, and educational institutions, directing talent instead to ensuring continuity

and maintaining stability and control139.

The economic process also attracted most of the talented people, employing them in

industrial production, innovation and technological development, and marketing and financial

activities. Today, the infomedia process, along with the economic one, attracts almost all the

talent in industrial and post-industrial societies, as well as a good portion of the talented

individuals of the developing world. Talented people are being employed by profit-making

enterprises primarily in the fields of research and development, and information technology and

telecommunications140. As the economic and infomedia processes employ world talent to develop

the economic and financial services for the benefit of capitalists and bankers, they cause the

socioeconomic gaps in every society to widen and the sociocultural divides to deepen further.

Every social, cultural, political, and economic activity involves the four processes of change and

transformation. All change that societies have experienced throughout history has been the result

of actions and reactions and interactions precipitated by agents of one or more of the four

processes. When relationships between these processes are well defined and in balance, which

rarely occurs, stability prevails in society, but only for a short time. When one process moves to
139
Robotham, Don (January 13, 2008). "Jamaica and Africa (Part II)". Gleaner Company. Archived from the
original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23. ...It is not possible to declare that the Eastern Nigerian
influence in Jamaica – apparent in expressions such as 'red ibo' – is Igbo.

140
McWhorter, John H. (2005). Defining Creole. Oxford University Press US. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-19-516670-5.
Retrieved 2009-01-10.
expand its influence at the expense of another, conflict ensues, causing instability and provoking

change. Instability, just like stability, is neither permanent nor necessarily bad. But for balance to

be restored temporarily, a new relationship has to be built on new bases that alter the relative

powers of all social forces involved.

Today, the sociocultural process is being pushed to abandon its traditional role of unifying

nations and communities around shared values, traditions, and religious convictions. Emerging

circumstances are forcing this process to move in two different and largely contradictory

directions at once: the first is dictated by a need to accommodate the desires of an expanding

economic process; the second is dictated by a need to accommodate the interests of minorities

demanding cultural and political recognition141. While the development of a global culture based

on the values and lifestyles of western consumerism accommodates an economic process eager

to expand internationally, the creation of subcultures and cultural ghettos accommodates the

demands of minorities for cultural and political rights.

Since the sociocultural and political processes are always searching for followers to lead

and manipulate, and the economic process is always looking for new consumers and markets and

investment opportunities to exploit, the infomedia has become the main vehicle facilitating the

movement of all social actors, helping other processes achieve their goals. And by so doing, the

infomedia has become the major forum to debate public issues, define national goals, and set

public priorities142. As a consequence, the infomedia process is able to assume the traditional role

of the political party in democratic states, causing the democratic institutions to be undermined

and become less able to function properly. The sociocultural process tends to perform well at the
141
Allsopp, Richard; Jeannette Allsopp (2003). Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. Contributor Richard
Allsopp. University of the West Indies Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-976-640-145-0.
142
Carrington, Sean (2007). A~Z of Barbados Heritage. Macmillan Caribbean Publishers Limited. p. 25. ISBN 978-
0-333-92068-8.
communal level, fostering group unity and cultural identity. The political process tends to

perform well at the national level, building nation states and developing national cultures and

identities and economies143. The economic process tends to perform well at the international

level, linking economies and major investment and trading markets and industries together and

creating economic and political interdependences on the basis of mutual interests 144. The

infomedia process tends to perform well at all levels; it helps integrate economies and industries

at the global level, facilitate the fragmentation of societies and cultures at the national level,

strengthen cultural ties and deepens religious beliefs at the communal level, and spread

knowledge and make it accessible worldwide. Interaction among the four processes causes

relationships in society to change constantly145. During periods of rapid change, relationships

usually become chaotic, causing rules and regulations to become less effective and traditional

ways of thinking less helpful. At such times, intellectual activity and creativity is usually revived

and encouraged to go beyond the known and traditional, which often leads to undermining the

conventional wisdom and its logic and causes new worldviews to emerge slowly. In transitional

periods, however, it is always easier to explain emerging situations than control them or predict

their outcomes.

Chaos and order exist together in one world; they are two sides of one social process, and

therefore neither one can survive long without the other. Order without some chaos, just like

total cooperation without any competition, characterizes social systems that lack dynamism and

are unable to adapt to new circumstances. Uncontrolled chaos, just like cutthroat competition,
143
Gibbs, Archibald Robertson (1883). British Honduras: an historical and descriptive account of the colony from its
settlement, 1670. S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington. Eboe Town, a section of the town of Belize reserved for that
African tribe, was destroyed by fire
144
Fischer, David Hackett; Kelly, James C. (2000). Bound Away: Virginia and the Westward Movement. University
of Virginia Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-8139-1774-0.
145
Opie, Frederick Douglass (2008). Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America. Columbia University
Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-231-14638-8.
characterizes systems that are badly conceived, largely unproductive, and thus headed toward

disintegration. Chaos and order are needed to build and sustain healthy societies characterized by

dynamism and creativity146.

A new theory of social change capable of explaining chaos and order and how and why they

erupt often unexpectedly is badly needed to bridge the widening gap between the reality of

politics and the imperatives of economics in the evolving knowledge age. Such a theory should

make it possible for us to use the certainty of order to regulate chaos, use the dynamics of chaos

to transform order, and employ the propensities of both chaos and order to resolve conflict

peacefully and make progress a reality shared by all147.

3.3. BURIALS OF THE NAGWU PEOPLE

After a death, the body of a prominent member of society is placed on a stool in a sitting

posture and is clothed in the deceased's finest garments. Animal sacrifices may be offered, and

the dead person is well perfumed.[168] Burial usually follows within 24 hours of death. In the 21st

century, the head of a home is usually buried within the compound of his residence. [163] Different

types of deaths warrant different types of burials 148. This is determined by an individual's age,

gender and status in society. Children are buried in hiding and out of sight; their burials usually

take place in the early mornings and late nights 149. A simple untitled man is buried in front of his

house and a simple mother is buried in her place of origin: in a garden or a farm-area that

146
Ekechi, Felix K. (1972). Missionary Enterprise and Rivalry in Igboland, 1857–1914 (illustrated ed.). last
paragraph on page 146: by Routledge. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-7146-2778-6.
147
Chuku, Gloria (2005). Igbo Women and Economic Transformation in Southeastern Nigeria, 1900–1960: 1900–
1960 (illustrated ed.). Routledge. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-415-97210-9.
148
Afigbo, A. E. (1992). Groundwork of Igbo history. Lagos: Vista Books. pp. 522–541. ISBN 978-978-134-400-8.
149
Furniss, Graham; Elizabeth Gunner; Liz Gunner (1995). Power, Marginality and African Oral Literature.
Cambridge University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-521-48061-1.
belonged to her father in the 21st century, a majority of the Igbo bury their dead in the western

way, although it is not uncommon for burials to be practiced in the traditional Igbo ways.

3.4 MARRIAGE OF NAGWU PEOPLE

The process of marrying usually involves asking the young woman's consent, introducing

the woman to the man's family and the same for the man to the woman's family, testing the

bride's character, checking the woman's family background, and paying the brides' wealth.

Typically speaking, bride wealth is more symbolic150. Nonetheless, kola nuts, wine, goats, and

chickens, among other things, are listed in the proposal, as well. Negotiating the bride wealth can

also take more than one day, giving both parties time for a ceremonial feast. Marriages were

sometimes arranged from birth through negotiation of the two families.

A modern Igbo wedding, Nnewi, Nigeria

In the past, many Igbo men practiced polygamy. The polygamous family is made up of a man

and his wives and all their children. Men sometimes married multiple wives for economic

reasons so as to have more people in the family, including children, to help on farms. Christian

and civil marriages have changed the Igbo family since colonization. Igbo people now tend to

enter monogamous courtships and create nuclear families, mainly because of Western influence.

150
Ilogu, Edmund (1974). Christianity and Ibo Culture. Brill Archive. p. 63. ISBN 978-90-04-04021-2.
Some Western marriage customs, such as weddings in a church, take place either before or after

the lgbo cultural traditional marriage.151

3.4 Attire

Traditionally, the attire of the Igbo generally consisted of little clothing, as the purpose of

clothing originally was simply to conceal private parts. Because of this purpose, children were

often nude from birth until the beginning of their adolescence—the time they were considered to

have something to hide.[178] Uli body art was used to decorate both men and women in the form

of lines forming patterns and shapes on the body.152

Men wearing contemporary Isiagu with the ceremonial Igbo men's hat

okpu agu

Women traditionally carry their babies on their backs with a strip of clothing binding the two

with a knot at her chest, a practice used by many ethnic groups across Africa.153 This method has

been modernized in the form of the child carrier. Maidens usually wore a short wrapper with
151
Sanday, Peggy Reeves (1981). Female Power and Male Dominance: On the Origins of Sexual Inequality
(illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-521-28075-4.
152
Gordon, April A. (2003). Nigeria's Diverse Peoples. ABC-CLIO. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-57607-682-8. Retrieved
2008-12-19.
153
Rubin, Neville (1970). Annual Survey of African Law. Routledge, 1970. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7146-2601-7.
beads around their waist and other ornaments such as necklaces and beads.[180] Both men and

women wore wrappers.154 Men would wear loincloths that wrapped round their waist and

between their legs to be fastened at their back, the type of clothing appropriate for the intense

heat as well as jobs such as farming.155 As colonialism became more influential, the Igbo adapted

their dress customs.[182] Clothing worn before colonialism became "traditional" and worn on

cultural occasions. Modern Igbo traditional attire, for men, is generally made up of the Isiagu

top, which resembles the Dashiki worn by other African groups. Isiagu (or ishi agu) is usually

patterned with lions' heads embroidered over the clothing and can be a plain colour.[183] It is worn

with trousers and can be worn with either a ceremonial title holders hat or with the conventional

striped men's hat known as okpu agu.156 For women, a puffed sleeve blouse along with two

wrappers and a head tie are worn.157

3.5 Cuisine of the Igbo in Danukofia LGA

Yam porridge (or yam pottage) is an Igbo dish known as awaị.

154
Fielding, Steven; John W. Young (2003). The Labour Governments 1964–1970: International Policy. Manchester
University Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-7190-4365-9.
155
Mathews, Martin P. (2002). Nigeria: Current Issues and Historical Background. Nova Publishers. p. 38.
ISBN 978-1-59033-316-7.

156
Minogue, Martin; Judith Molloy (1974). African Aims & Attitudes: Selected Documents. General C. O. Ojukwu:
CUP Archive. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-521-20426-2.

157
Bocquené, Henri; Oumarou Ndoudi; Gordeen Gorder (2002). Memoirs of a Mbororo: The Life of Ndudi Umaru,
Fulani Nomad of Cameroon. Berghahn Books. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-57181-844-7.
Main article: Igbo cuisine

The yam is very important to the Igbo as the staple crop. It is known for its resiliency (a

yam can remain fully edible for six months without refrigeration), but it can also be very

versatile in terms of its incorporation into different dishes. Yams can be fried, roasted, boiled, or

made into a potage with tomatoes and herbs. The cultivation of yams is most commonly carried

out by men, as women tend to focus on other crops158.

There are celebrations such as the New Yam festival (Igbo: Iwaji) which are held for the

harvesting of the yam.159 During the festival, yam is eaten throughout the communities as

celebration. Yam tubers are shown off by individuals as a sign of success and wealth. Rice has

replaced yam for many ceremonial occasions. Other indigenous foods include cassava, garri,

maize and plantains. Soups or stews are included in a typical meal, prepared with a vegetable

(such as okra, of which the word derives from the Igbo language, okwuru[] to which pieces of

fish, chicken, beef, or goat meat are added. Jollof rice is popular throughout West Africa, and

palm wine is a popular alcoholic traditional beverage.160

Demographics

The Igbo people are natively found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Delta, and

Rivers StateThe Igbo language is predominant throughout these areas, although Nigerian English

(the national language) is spoken as well. Prominent towns and cities in Igboland include Aba,

Enugu, Nnewi, Onitsha, Owerri, Abakaliki, Asaba, and Port Harcourt among others. The official
158
Ihemere, Kelechukwu U. (2007). A Tri-Generational Study of Language Choice & Shift in Port Harcourt.
Universal-Publishers. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-58112-958-8.
159
Emenanjọ, Nọlue (1985). Auxiliaries in Igbo Syntax: A Comparative Study. Indiana University Linguistics Club.
p. 64.
160
Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E. (1986). Human Rights in Commonwealth Africa. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 95.
ISBN 978-0-8476-7433-6. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
data on the population of ethnic groups in Nigeria continues to be controversial as a minority of

these groups have claimed that the government deliberately deflates the official population of

one group, to give the other numerical superiority. The CIA World Factbook puts the Igbo

population of Nigeria at 15.2% of a total population of 230 million, or approximately 35 million

people. Southeastern Nigeria, which is inhabited primarily by the Igbo, is the most densely

populated area in Nigeria and possibly in all of Africa. Most ethnicities that inhabit southeastern

Nigeria, such as the closely related Efik and Ibibio people, are sometimes regarded as Igbo by

other Nigerians and ethnographers who are not well informed about the southeast. After the

Nigerian Civil War, many Igbo people emigrated out of the indigenous Igbo homeland in

southeastern Nigeria because of an absence of federal presence, lack of jobs, and poor

infrastructure. In recent decades the Igbo region of Nigeria has suffered from frequent

environmental damage mainly related to the oil industry161. Igbo people have moved to both

Nigerian cities such as Lagos and Abuja, and other countries such as Gabon, Canada, the United

Kingdom and the United States. Prominent Igbo communities outside Africa include those of

London in the United Kingdom and Houston, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Seattle, Atlanta and

Washington, D.C., in the United States. About 21,000 Igbo people were recorded in Ghana in

1969, while as small number (8,680) lived on Bioko island in 2002162. Small numbers live in

Japan, making up the majority of the Nigerian immigrant population based in Tokyo. A large

amount of the African population of Guangdong, China, is Igbo-speaking and are mainly

businessmen trading between factories in China and southeastern Nigeria, particularly Enugu

Other Igbo immigrants are found in the Americas (Igbo Canadian, Igbo American and elsewhere.
161
Udogu, Emmanuel Ike (2005). Nigeria in the Twenty-first Century: Strategies for Political Stability and Peaceful
Coexistence. Africa World Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-59221-320-7. Retrieved 2008-12-18.

162
Nwachuku, Levi Akalazu (2004). Troubled Journey: Nigeria Since the Civil War. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
p. 59. ISBN 978-0-7618-2712-2. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
 

 v

 t

 e

3.6 POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

The 1930s saw the rise of Igbo unions in the cities of Lagos and Port Harcourt. Later, the

Ibo Federal Union (renamed the Ibo State Union in 1948) emerged as an umbrella pan-ethnic

organization. Headed by Nnamdi Azikiwe, it was closely associated with the National Council of

Nigeria and the Cameroons, which he co-founded with Herbert Macaulay. The aim of the

organization was the improvement and advancement (such as in education) of the Igbo and their

indigenous land and included an Igbo "national anthem" with a plan for an Igbo bank163.

In 1978, after Olusegun Obasanjo's military regime lifted the ban on independent political

activity, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo organization was formed, an elite umbrella organization which

speaks on behalf of the Nagwu people who are Igbo. 164 Their main concerns are the

marginalization of the Nagwu (Igbo) people in Nigerian politics and the neglect of indigenous

Igbo territory in social amenities and development of infrastructure. Other groups which protest

the perceived marginalization of the Igbo (Nagwu) people are the Igbo People’s Congress. Even

163
Nwachuku, Levi Akalazu (2004). Troubled Journey: Nigeria Since the Civil War. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
p. 59. ISBN 978-0-7618-2712-2. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
164
Groundwork of Igbo history. Vista Books, Lagos. 1992. pp. 161–177. ISBN 978-978-134-400-8.
before the 20th century, there were numerous Igbo unions and organizations existing around the

world, such as the Igbo union in Bathurst, Gambia in 1842, founded by a prominent Igbo trader

and ex-soldier named Thomas Refell. Another was the union founded by the Igbo community in

Freetown, Sierra Leone by 1860, of which Africanus Horton, a surgeon, scientist and soldier,

was an active member165.

Decades after the Nigerian-Biafran war, the Movement for the Actualization of the

Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), a secessionist group, was founded in September 1999 by

Ralph Uwazurike for the goal of an independent Igbo state. Since its creation, there have been

several conflicts between its members and the Nigerian government, resulting in the death of

members. After the 2015 Nigerian general elections a group known as the Indigenous People of

Biafra became the most prominent vocal group for the agitation of the creation of an independent

state of Biafra through a radio station named Radio Biafra. For the promotion of the Igbo

language and culture, the Society for Promoting Igbo Language and Culture was founded in

1949 by Frederick Chidozie Ogbalu and has since created a standard dialect for Igbo166.

165
Amadiume, Ifi (2000). The Politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice. Zed Books. pp. 104–106.
ISBN 978-1-85649-843-2.
166
Odi, Amusi. "Igbo in Diaspora: The Binding Force of Information" (PDF). University of Texas. Archived from
the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
 CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS OF SOCIO-CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF NAGWU
PEOPLE IN DUNUKOFIA L.G.A
4.1 The analysis of transition periods in socio-cultural transformation (in contrast to

periods of progressive development) revealed that in general, the set of the aforementioned

features turns out to be the same irrespective of the time period. To such culturally dominant

characteristics refer relativism, pluralism, skepticism, eclecticism, gamification, and a break with

the preceding cultural tradition167. All of these features invariably manifest themselves during

different stages of sociocultural transformations, albeit with varying degrees of intensity. The

peculiarity of culturally dominant characteristics of transition periods is that they contribute to

167
Onuorah, Agobonome, Obiadi, Ikenna, Peter, Bons (January 2023). "A Comparative Study of Igbo Traditional
Building Finishings; precolonial, colonial and post-colonial". ResearchGate. 3 (4): 101.
the annihilation of the ones that reflect the essence of the previous culture system and pave the

way for the ones that will establish the next system 168. The fact that the set of such characteristics

for the periods of socio-cultural transformations is more or less permanent, and that it is different

for the stages of culture systems makes it possible to characterize periods as a regular and

systemic in the dynamics of culture169. This is necessary for bringing culture to a new level and

making it acquire an anthropogenic character, the latter undergoing changes as society develops.

Such periods witness a qualitative change in the way of life of a society, elimination of culturally

dominant characteristics of the previous period, and the establishment of the attributive

characteristics of the next. By comparison with stages of culture systems, which are evolutionary

by nature, the establishment of a socio-cultural transformation is a fairly fast process170. There is

no doubt that the duration of this process varies with different stages of the cultural continuum.

Yet, the law of historical time acceleration holds true both for progressive stages and transition

periods. At the same time, despite this difference, according to the law of historical time

acceleration, they are chronologically proportionate to the preceding stages of culture systems. In

particular, the Middle Ages span approximately ten centuries. each successive culture system is

chronologically shorter than its predecessor, as well as each successive socio-cultural

transformation is far shorter than the one preceding it 171. Another peculiarity of socio-cultural

transformations of Nagwu people is rooted in its essence and manifests itself in the fact that any

qualitative change in the socio-cultural values and norms of a society can only be affected due to

a transition period. Various changes occur in socio-cultural evolution on a constant basis. Their

168
Elleh Nnamdi. African Architecture: Evolution and Transformation. McGraw-Hill; 1997. ISBN 0070215065
169
Basden, G. T. (1966). Among the Ibos of Nigeria 1912. Psychology Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-7146-1633-9.
170
Gikandi, Simon (1991). Reading Chinua Achebe: Language & Ideology in Fiction. James Currey Publishers.
p. 52. ISBN 978-0-85255-527-9. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
171
Oliver, Paul (2008). "African architecture". Geographic influences, Palaces and shrines, last paragraph:
Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
existence allowed identifying among them structural and systemic transformation which were

eventually confirmed in the process of exploring the continuum of south-east region of who are

mainly Igbo dominant culture in Nigeria. Structural phenomena are realized within the

framework of a culture system proper and do not entail any systemic changes, i.e. changes

bringing a society to a new stage of its development172

Therefore, structural changes are distinguished by their manifestation in one sphere of

culture or by their influence on each cultural sphere, but within and by means of the culturally

dominant characteristics of the same culture system. Unlike structural changes, systemic changes

first of all always apply to all forms of culture and secondly, act comprehensively, eliminating

old culturally dominant characteristics and establishing new ones, which are very often opposite

to their predecessors173. The aforementioned observation made while exploring the dynamics of

Nagwu people culture which allowed singing out two types of changes: crisis (which reflects the

structural essence of the process), and socio-cultural transformation (reflecting the systemic

essence of the process).

The process of progressing towards a new quality in each cultural sphere is unique and

depends on the peculiarities of the cultural sphere as well as on the conditions in which it

develops. Thus, changes in the religious sphere during the socio-cultural transformation after the

Middle Ages took effect much faster than those that occurred during the transition from the early

culture system to the contemporary one. In each area of culture, the transition to a new quality

happens in a specific way that is not universal for the other areas. In turn, this feature impacts on

172
"The Poetics of Line". National Museum of African Art. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
173
"Nsibidi". National Museum of African Art. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2010-02-25. Nsibidi is an ancient
system of graphic communication indigenous to the Ejagham peoples of southeastern Nigeria and the southwestern
Cameroon in the Cross River region. It is also used by neighboring Ibibio, Efik and Igbo peoples.
the intensity of the ongoing changes. In some cultural spheres, the development is quite rapid, in

others, on the contrary, it is far less so. This is determined both by the time period, when earlier

socio-cultural transformations are characterized by a longer duration (and vice versa) as well as

by the specificity of each sphere (for instance, viewed in this light, religion seems to be rather

conservative, whereas science – far more dynamic). With drastic changes, old culturally

dominant characteristics are eliminated rather quickly, while with gradual ones more slowly. In

the latter case, the old features may exist for a long time. Yet, eventually an overall

transformation takes place, i.e. a new culture system with its inherent culturally dominant

characteristics is established174.

Another problem arising in the context of exploring socio-cultural transformations as a

systemic way of life in a society in light of the linear movement is that of the essence of progress

in culture. On the whole, progress implies a transition from the less perfect to the more perfect

(Kul'turologija, 2009). Progress manifests itself in the quantitative and qualitative improvement

of a society’s life175. The analysis of the development of Nagwu people of Danukofia in Anambra

state of Nigeria civilization shows that the civilization in question, acting as a trigger for the

global historical process for a long time, laid the foundations for his understanding of the essence

of progress. What is of great importance here is not only a quantitative growth (of knowledge,

for instance), but also the qualitative component manifesting itself, among other things, in

breakthrough scientific discoveries which contributed to the appearance of new directions in

scientific research.

174
Oraka, L. N. (1983). The foundations of Igbo studies. University Publishing Co. pp. 17, 13. ISBN 978-978-160-
264-1.
175
"igboenglish". igboenglish. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
 Therefore, raising the level of organization of culture might serve as an ever-important

universal criterion for cultural advance176. If in the course of cultural dynamics the constituent

elements of culture grow in number, the structures which connect these elements become more

complex, increasing the number of interconnections and interactions, and if the set of functions

(i.e. actions performed by a socio-cultural complex, thus ensuring greater stability and further

development as compared with the previous culture system) is enlarged, the entire set of changes

in question can be characterized as progress in culture. The aforementioned set of features does

not necessarily mean that it is characteristic of all spheres of culture177. As it has already been

mentioned, changes in religious life are not as prominent as, for example, in science. One should

not ignore the opposite tendency when progressive development of one form of culture does not

entail cultural progress on the whole. For instance, if a cultural complex becomes generally more

sophisticated, it does not exclude the possibility of some of its functions or constituent elements

becoming simpler or even deteriorating. As the study of causes of socio-cultural transformations

showed, they are conditioned by socio-economic factors. Nevertheless, apart from these external

conditions there are also immanent ones 178. Their nature can be understood not only by means of

considering the dynamics of Nagwu people’s culture through the prism of socio-cultural

transformations, but also with the aid of the synergetic approach. In light of this approach, any

system, including culture, undergoes two stages. The first one is characterized by gradual

development with quite predictable results. In our case, it corresponds to the stage of a culture

system. The second is determined by the notion of a leap which gives the whole organize a new

quality. In the context of this study, it corresponds to the stage of a socio-cultural transformation.
176
Oraka, L. N. (1983). The foundations of Igbo studies. University Publishing Co. p. 35. ISBN 978-978-160-264-1.
177
Equiano, Olaudah (1789). The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. I. Knapp. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-
4250-4524-1.
178
Oldendorp, Christian Georg Andreas (1777). Geschichte der Mission der evangelischen Brüder auf den
caraibischen Inseln ... - Christian Georg Andreas Oldendorp, Johann Jakob Bossart – Google Boeken. Retrieved
2013-08-25.
From the point of view of synergetic, the results of development during the second stage are hard

to predict as at such moments the whole organization faces the necessity to choose one of the

many existing options179. The choice is made randomly, and is determined by a concurrence of

circumstances at a given point in time. Interestingly, after the choice or a transition to a new

quality has been made, the system will not be able to return to its previous state, which in our

case corresponds to the establishment of the stage of a culture-arrangement.

4.2Discussion

The principles of the synergetic model of socio-cultural transformation presented in the research

work. These principles allow considering culture not merely as a linear process but also as the

sum total of gradual and intense development 180. In this process, along with external impacts, the

dynamics of human life are also determined by internal (immanent) factors, such as, for example,

the researcher ‟s subjective intent, personal outlook, and various experiments in different spheres

of culture. If society approves of the results of these phenomena, they can establish themselves in

culture under the influence of culturally dominant characteristics of a socio-cultural

transformation, and get a certain status thereby marking a new stage of a culture-system.Thus,

the analysis of Nagwu people of Danukofia cultural dynamics shows that processes taking place

within their framework may be characterized by means of the linear development with some

elements of the synergy. This combination makes it possible to reveal the essence of the ongoing

changes in light of external and internal factors of cultural dynamics more precisely181.

179
Achebe, Chinua (1994). Things fall apart. Anchor. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-385-47454-2.
180
Grove, George; Stanley Sadie (1980). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (6 ed.). Macmillan
Publishers. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-333-23111-1.
181
Falola, Toyin (2001). Culture and Customs of Nigeria. Greenwood Press. pp. 174–183. ISBN 978-0-313-31338-
7.
 The study of socio-cultural transformations in the continuum of Anambra people culture

demonstrations that the processes of dynamics in this region are unique in that chronologically

they do not coincide with transition periods in the cultures of other civilizations. It confirms the

idea accepted by the modern theory and philosophy of culture

that it is rather difficult to identify universal laws of development applicable to every region of

the world. This, in turn, enables the researcher to renounce the principle of a rigid mechanistic

determinism, which arose from evolutionary anthropology, and to reveal the uniqueness of each

culture182. At the same time, the identification and analysis of culturally dominant characteristics

of transition stages in the dynamics of oriental (or any other)

cultures irrespective of their timing has a great potential in terms of finding out universal

regularities reflecting the essence of socio-cultural transformations on the whole183.

182
Picton, John (2008). "art, African". West Africa, Igbo: Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-11-23.

183
Eltis, David; David Richardson (1997). Routes to Slavery: Direction, Ethnicity, and Mortality in the Transatlantic
Slave Trade. Routledge. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-7146-4820-0. Retrieved 2008-11-24.