THE QUESTION OF METHODOLOGY:
Igbo at the origin of human civilizations PART 2
Igbo at the origin of human civilizations PART 2
Greek Pre-History was recorded by Homer from existing Oral Tradition of the people of the Aegean. The first historians of Greece gathered their materials from existing oral traditions of the Mediterranean. Herodotus confessed such in his Histories. Berossus also recorded the earliest History of Sumer partly from oral and partly from written traditions. In the presence of written traditions, Africa’s pre-History is yet to be taped from her wealth of oral traditions. What we attempt here is to see how much of actual facts and histories can be sieved from oral traditions of Igbo and their neighbors; how much globally widespread these ‘local’ West African/Nigerian Oral Traditions may be, which would be taken as a pointer to their universality. Veteran Archaeologist, F.N. Anozie, writing about his research on iron Technology in Nsukka area of Igbo land, admitted to making extensive use of oral tradition in his work: “During our research, we found oral tradition indispensable for many reasons. Firstly, only tangible material objects are preserved in archaeological records. But there are many other actions and behaviors concerning the industry which are non-material and so are preserved only in oral traditions… some of these materials are crucial for the reconstruction of the (smithing) industry. Here we have no choice but to rely on oral tradition… Even the discovery of the site was through oral information” (Oral Tradition and Oral History in Africa and the Diaspora: Theory and Practice, ed. E.J. Alagoa, 1990, p. 249-254). E.J. Alagoa (1990), providing the Theoretical framework for his editorial work on Oral Tradition and Oral History in Africa and the Diaspora: Theory and Practice, insisted that
African oral traditions and oral history still have value for African societies in the modern world. African historians have the primary responsibility to organize their systematic recording, documentation, preservation and use in the service of the owners of the traditions and of the modern nation states. To the extent that these traditions are a legacy to all humanity, scholars of other nations and continents also have a legitimate interest in their study and preservation… Such studies … may yet serve the needs of African scholars as providing alternative perspectives and insights. Definitely a sharing of (this) knowledge and experience is valuable… (p. 8).
The importance of Oral Tradition in the constructing and reconstructing of History is underscored in the mandate of the Nigerian National Archives as formulated by F.O Babalola in The Role of the Nigerian National Archives in the Collection of Oral Tradition and Oral History. (Alagoa ed. 1990, p. 278-280)
This project involves the reconstruction of forgotten histories through the re-interpretation of oral traditions and through comparative language analyses. This method of research belongs to the field of cultural anthropology and linguistics. Both linguistics and archaeology were once disciplines of anthropology until each grew to become a distinct discipline, with the former dealing with the scientific study of language as a human phenomenon and the other dealing with the excavation and study of material remains of past life. (Ukaegbu and Rafferty, 2007) Accordingly, the study of disused languages is called linguistic archaeology. Our field work study of the inscriptions on the monoliths of Ikom, Cross River State, Nigeria, belongs to this field of study. We are also focusing on the nature of the relationship between language and culture on the one hand and between language and history on the other, for language is a powerful tool in the study of the histories and kinships of peoples and ethnic groups. Linguistic changes carry with them records of historical changes and developments. Our analysis of the inscriptions on the monoliths of Ikom, induce us to consider ancient African symbols as means of linguistic and non-linguistic expression, communication and historical documentation. Such materials constitute veritable tools for our analysis and reinterpretation of history’s possible routes, origins and directions. All of this belongs within the territory of Cultural Anthropology, for cultural anthropology, according to D. Ukaegbu and K. Rafferty, deals with
the context … and theories of culture, field work and social and cultural institutions like the family, marriage, kingship, religion, political systems, economic systems and their subsistence patterns, symbolic systems and other types of social institutions. Currently cultural anthropologists are dealing with the new phenomenon of globalization which defies strict geographical boundaries. (Faces of Anthropology: A Reader for the 21st Century, 2007, p. 1-6)
Our work attempts to position the Igbo nation and other Black African peoples within the global cultural perspective of the original one-world family. If this is anthropological globalization, then so be it.
“In the past three decades cultural anthropology has made the jump to an interpretative approach, which … views culture as a system of symbols whose meanings must be deciphered” (Ukaegbu and Rafferty, p. 4). This fell in with the emergence of Post Modernist Poetics of Deconstruction which flowered in Literature and Visual Arts. Deconstruction led to the near-death of Anthropology and a blurring of the line between the Anthropologist and the literary critic; the rebirth and globalization of the primitive element in human art and culture with Black Africa taking the center stage. This present work is an indirect result of the Post-Modernist critique of the late 20th Century, which has pushed the boundaries of cultural anthropology and knowledge, bringing about the springing up of multiple perspectives, the re-examination of hitherto unquestioned sources and methods of constructing anthropological knowledge, insisting upon the upholding of Black African cultural and oral historical perspectives towards the reconstruction of Africa’s prehistory within the context of world civilizations
African oral traditions and oral history still have value for African societies in the modern world. African historians have the primary responsibility to organize their systematic recording, documentation, preservation and use in the service of the owners of the traditions and of the modern nation states. To the extent that these traditions are a legacy to all humanity, scholars of other nations and continents also have a legitimate interest in their study and preservation… Such studies … may yet serve the needs of African scholars as providing alternative perspectives and insights. Definitely a sharing of (this) knowledge and experience is valuable… (p. 8).
The importance of Oral Tradition in the constructing and reconstructing of History is underscored in the mandate of the Nigerian National Archives as formulated by F.O Babalola in The Role of the Nigerian National Archives in the Collection of Oral Tradition and Oral History. (Alagoa ed. 1990, p. 278-280)
This project involves the reconstruction of forgotten histories through the re-interpretation of oral traditions and through comparative language analyses. This method of research belongs to the field of cultural anthropology and linguistics. Both linguistics and archaeology were once disciplines of anthropology until each grew to become a distinct discipline, with the former dealing with the scientific study of language as a human phenomenon and the other dealing with the excavation and study of material remains of past life. (Ukaegbu and Rafferty, 2007) Accordingly, the study of disused languages is called linguistic archaeology. Our field work study of the inscriptions on the monoliths of Ikom, Cross River State, Nigeria, belongs to this field of study. We are also focusing on the nature of the relationship between language and culture on the one hand and between language and history on the other, for language is a powerful tool in the study of the histories and kinships of peoples and ethnic groups. Linguistic changes carry with them records of historical changes and developments. Our analysis of the inscriptions on the monoliths of Ikom, induce us to consider ancient African symbols as means of linguistic and non-linguistic expression, communication and historical documentation. Such materials constitute veritable tools for our analysis and reinterpretation of history’s possible routes, origins and directions. All of this belongs within the territory of Cultural Anthropology, for cultural anthropology, according to D. Ukaegbu and K. Rafferty, deals with
the context … and theories of culture, field work and social and cultural institutions like the family, marriage, kingship, religion, political systems, economic systems and their subsistence patterns, symbolic systems and other types of social institutions. Currently cultural anthropologists are dealing with the new phenomenon of globalization which defies strict geographical boundaries. (Faces of Anthropology: A Reader for the 21st Century, 2007, p. 1-6)
Our work attempts to position the Igbo nation and other Black African peoples within the global cultural perspective of the original one-world family. If this is anthropological globalization, then so be it.
“In the past three decades cultural anthropology has made the jump to an interpretative approach, which … views culture as a system of symbols whose meanings must be deciphered” (Ukaegbu and Rafferty, p. 4). This fell in with the emergence of Post Modernist Poetics of Deconstruction which flowered in Literature and Visual Arts. Deconstruction led to the near-death of Anthropology and a blurring of the line between the Anthropologist and the literary critic; the rebirth and globalization of the primitive element in human art and culture with Black Africa taking the center stage. This present work is an indirect result of the Post-Modernist critique of the late 20th Century, which has pushed the boundaries of cultural anthropology and knowledge, bringing about the springing up of multiple perspectives, the re-examination of hitherto unquestioned sources and methods of constructing anthropological knowledge, insisting upon the upholding of Black African cultural and oral historical perspectives towards the reconstruction of Africa’s prehistory within the context of world civilizations
HOME
|
ABOUT
|
WHO THE IGBOS ARE
|
IGBONOMIC
|
ODINANI
|