Ndigbo have a peculiar way of being in the world. It is the outcome of a process of cultural evolution which has crystallized over the years. In the peculiar Igbo way of being in the world, the kindred group is the smallest but the most fundamental unit of the Igbo society. It is the basic, in fact, the only way of being a member of the tribe. It is the clan. It is a politically evolved biological unit. The kindred group is basically bonded by common ancestry, common identity and a powerful social cord of brotherhood. It is a unit of the village, the Igbo town-state and the Igbo tribe. It is a judicial territory and a cultural unit. As the basic unit of the Igbo town-state, the kindred performs statutory functions of the state in the conduct of marriages, arbitrations and adjudications of sundry issues or disputes that may arise in the kindred. The kindred unit also has a territory which is apportioned to members and handed over from generation to generation in a well defined system of inheritance. It is in the context of the kindred that the Igbo person defines his identity, and acquires a sense of rootedness in the world. The questions regarding the meaning of life and the end of existence are resolved by Ndigbo in the context of the kindred as it is in relation to the kindred that Ndigbo seek meaning in life. In death, the Igbo man’s ultimate quest is to be admitted in the comity of ancestors from his kindred in the world of the dead. This work studies this peculiar Igbo ontological experience, using candid observations and philosophical analyses of the existential activities of Ndigbo, past and present.
| Published in | Science Development (Volume 2, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12 |
| Page(s) | 30-34 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Igbo, Kindred, Ndigbo, Africa, Kinship, Ontology
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APA Style
Socrates Ebo. (2021). A Philosophical Exposition of the Dynamics of the Kindred Group in Igbo-African Ontology. Science Development, 2(2), 30-34. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12
ACS Style
Socrates Ebo. A Philosophical Exposition of the Dynamics of the Kindred Group in Igbo-African Ontology. Sci. Dev. 2021, 2(2), 30-34. doi: 10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12,
author = {Socrates Ebo},
title = {A Philosophical Exposition of the Dynamics of the Kindred Group in Igbo-African Ontology},
journal = {Science Development},
volume = {2},
number = {2},
pages = {30-34},
doi = {10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.scidev.20210202.12},
abstract = {Ndigbo have a peculiar way of being in the world. It is the outcome of a process of cultural evolution which has crystallized over the years. In the peculiar Igbo way of being in the world, the kindred group is the smallest but the most fundamental unit of the Igbo society. It is the basic, in fact, the only way of being a member of the tribe. It is the clan. It is a politically evolved biological unit. The kindred group is basically bonded by common ancestry, common identity and a powerful social cord of brotherhood. It is a unit of the village, the Igbo town-state and the Igbo tribe. It is a judicial territory and a cultural unit. As the basic unit of the Igbo town-state, the kindred performs statutory functions of the state in the conduct of marriages, arbitrations and adjudications of sundry issues or disputes that may arise in the kindred. The kindred unit also has a territory which is apportioned to members and handed over from generation to generation in a well defined system of inheritance. It is in the context of the kindred that the Igbo person defines his identity, and acquires a sense of rootedness in the world. The questions regarding the meaning of life and the end of existence are resolved by Ndigbo in the context of the kindred as it is in relation to the kindred that Ndigbo seek meaning in life. In death, the Igbo man’s ultimate quest is to be admitted in the comity of ancestors from his kindred in the world of the dead. This work studies this peculiar Igbo ontological experience, using candid observations and philosophical analyses of the existential activities of Ndigbo, past and present.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - A Philosophical Exposition of the Dynamics of the Kindred Group in Igbo-African Ontology AU - Socrates Ebo Y1 - 2021/08/18 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12 DO - 10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12 T2 - Science Development JF - Science Development JO - Science Development SP - 30 EP - 34 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2994-7154 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20210202.12 AB - Ndigbo have a peculiar way of being in the world. It is the outcome of a process of cultural evolution which has crystallized over the years. In the peculiar Igbo way of being in the world, the kindred group is the smallest but the most fundamental unit of the Igbo society. It is the basic, in fact, the only way of being a member of the tribe. It is the clan. It is a politically evolved biological unit. The kindred group is basically bonded by common ancestry, common identity and a powerful social cord of brotherhood. It is a unit of the village, the Igbo town-state and the Igbo tribe. It is a judicial territory and a cultural unit. As the basic unit of the Igbo town-state, the kindred performs statutory functions of the state in the conduct of marriages, arbitrations and adjudications of sundry issues or disputes that may arise in the kindred. The kindred unit also has a territory which is apportioned to members and handed over from generation to generation in a well defined system of inheritance. It is in the context of the kindred that the Igbo person defines his identity, and acquires a sense of rootedness in the world. The questions regarding the meaning of life and the end of existence are resolved by Ndigbo in the context of the kindred as it is in relation to the kindred that Ndigbo seek meaning in life. In death, the Igbo man’s ultimate quest is to be admitted in the comity of ancestors from his kindred in the world of the dead. This work studies this peculiar Igbo ontological experience, using candid observations and philosophical analyses of the existential activities of Ndigbo, past and present. VL - 2 IS - 2 ER -
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