AFRICAN WOMEN AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE A STUDY OF THE WESTERN IGBO OF NIGERIA With a special focus on Asaba town Victoria Oluomachukwu Ibewuike Abstract Ibewuike, V. O., 2006. African Women and Religious Change: A study of the Western Igbo of Nigeria with a special focus on Asaba town. 353 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 91-506-1838-5. This study focuses on a small ethnic group in the western part of Igboland called Asaba. It describes how the religious and socio-political role of women has changed, due to colonialism, modernisation, Western education and Christianity, which were brought by the groups of Europeans and Americans, who penetrated Africa in the nineteenth century. One of the major points of the thesis is that the freeborn women in the traditional “dual-sex”society of the Igbo lost their previous power to speak for themselves when the Igbo were Christianised. However, the women of slave origin happily adopted the new, more egalitarian faith. The dissertation is divided into three parts. The first part is the traditional aspect, which highlights the role of women in Igbo traditional society. The second is a theoretical and historical part. This part deals with the socio-economic and political changes, which took place between 1830 to 1910 in Asaba society, due to colonialism, modernization, Western education and Christianity, and the impact of these forces of change on Asaba women. The third part deals with the role of women in the Catholic Church in Asaba. It analyses the various women's organisations in the Catholic Church in Asaba and the roles, which they play in the church. The major conclusion arising from the present analysis is that with the coming of forces of change, such as colonialism, modernization, Western education and Christianity, the religious and socio-political roles of women changed in Asaba society. Keywords: Asaba, women, traditional religion, Catholic Church, Africa Victoria O. Ibewuike, Department of Theology, Uppsala University, Box 511, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden. © Victoria Oluomachukwu Ibewuike 2006. ISBN 91-506-1838-5 Typesetting: Editorial Office, Uppsala University. Printed in Estonia by Tallinna Raamatutrükikoja, Tallinn 2006. Distributor: Department of Theology, Uppsala University, Box 511, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden. To my parents Contents List of Figures...............................................................................................10 List of Tables ................................................................................................10 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................13 CHAPTER 1 Introduction.............................................................................17 1.1 The main focus...................................................................................17 1.2 Definition of terms and spellings .......................................................21 1.3 Sources ...............................................................................................22 1.3.1 Fieldwork....................................................................................22 1.3.2 Archives......................................................................................22 1.4 Review of previous literature .............................................................23 1.4.1 Previous Literature on Igbo Women of Nigeria .........................23 1.5 Structure of Presentation ....................................................................28 PART ONE: TRADITIONAL IGBO SOCIETY ........................................33 CHAPTER 2 General Background ...............................................................35 2.1 Geographical background...................................................................35 2.1.1 Settlement ...................................................................................35 2.2 Achievement orientation ....................................................................37 2.3 Societies and clubs .............................................................................39 2.4 Conclusion..........................................................................................47 CHAPTER 3 Kinship and Duality................................................................49 3.1 Patriliny ..............................................................................................49 3.2 Double descent ...................................................................................50 3.3 Dual-sex organisation in Igbo society................................................52 3.4 Conclusion..........................................................................................54 CHAPTER 4 Political Organisation .............................................................55 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................55 4.2 Men's political organisation ...............................................................55 4.3 Women's political organisation ..........................................................62 4.3.1 The Otu Omu ..............................................................................62 4.3.2 Social, economic and political functions of the Omu and her cabinet..................................................................................................64 4.3.3 The Otu Umuada ........................................................................66 4.3.4 The Otu Inyemedi .......................................................................70 4.4 Slaves and the slave-born: ohu...........................................................72 5 CHAPTER 5 Economic organisation ...........................................................77 5.1 Cultivation..........................................................................................77 5.2 Marketing and selling.........................................................................79 5.3 Women's economic clubs...................................................................83 5.4 Inheritance and authority after the father's death ...............................83 5.5 Summary ............................................................................................86 CHAPTER 6 Religious Organisation ...........................................................87 6.1 Belief System .....................................................................................87 6.1.1 Traditional medicine...................................................................89 6.1.2 Disembodied spirits and witches ................................................91 6.1.3 Separate female and male gods...................................................92 6.2 Men's religious organisations.............................................................93 6.3 Women's religious associations..........................................................94 6.4 Conclusion..........................................................................................96 CHAPTER 7 Life Cycle Rituals...................................................................97 7.1 Introduction ........................................................................................97 7.2 Birth....................................................................................................97 7.2.1 Naming .....................................................................................100 7.3 Initiation ...........................................................................................104 7.4 Marriage ...........................................................................................109 7.5 Death and funeral rites .....................................................................120 7.6 Conclusion........................................................................................126 7.7 Summary and conclusion of part one...............................................127 PART TWO: CHRISTIAN MISSION, COLONIAL POWER, AND THE IGBO RESPONSE......................................................................................129 CHAPTER 8 Colonialism and Christianity ................................................131 8.1 Christianity and change 1830-1888..................................................131 8.1.1 Introduction ..............................................................................131 8.2 The end of the slave trade.................................................................131 8.3 Beginnings of European interest in the Niger area...........................132 8.3.1 The Niger expeditions of 1832-1857........................................132 8.4 The Royal Niger Company and Asaba.............................................134 8.5 The coming of Christianity to eastern Nigeria .................................136 8.6 Christianity comes to Asaba: The CMS change...............................137 8.6.1 Early ventures by Sierra Leoneans ...........................................137 8.6.2 The CMS affects Asaba polity..................................................142 8.7 Early Catholic establishments ..........................................................144 8.7.1 The arrival of the first Catholic missionaries: The Society of African Missions................................................................................144 8.7.2 The early Asaba patronage .......................................................148 8.8 Conclusion........................................................................................153 6 CHAPTER