University of Nigeria Virtual Library Serial No ISSN: NEXT ISSUE Author 1 SAMUEL, Efiong Sunday Author 2 Author 3 Widowhood Practices in Amaigbo Town of Title Nwangele Local Government Area Imo State Keywords Widowhood Practices in Amaigbo Town of Description Nwangele Local Government Area Imo State Category Health Education Nigeria Journal of Health Education Publisher Publication Date 2004 Signature • Page 99to.' /06 Widowhood Practices in Amaigbo Town of Nwangele Local Gove'rnment · Area, ImoBtate 1 . -, ' ' r •· • · ' . i " . i ~ · I " 1 I It) I( . ~ ,.,1, .1 " "' ' ' J l . , E.S. Samuel, Ph.D. Department of Health and Physical Education University of Nigeria, Nsukka Abstract menace of Umuada or Agada (93.3%). The . only widow-related 1l1e main purpose of the study was to inheritance right practiced was I determine the widowhood practices sharing the deceased properly among Jl in lfmaiglw town of Nwangele Local male cbildren. It miS recommended Government Area, lmo Stale. The that stale, public and private health survey research design was utilized agencies and religious organizations for the stucz)' and the main tool for should ca111paign against all . .Jj data co/lee/ion was the research's widowhood practices that are structured (//Aeslionnaire. 711e sample detrimental to health. I consisted of 300 widows selected by purposive sampling technique. The Widowhood refers to loss of a !: investigator and four assistants who spouse and according to Saba ( 1977) hailed ji-om the town collected the it is one of the events of life, which data. 7/w major findings of the study many women go through. It is a \\"ere as follows: mourning rituals tragedy, which befalls a married practiced the. widows in the town woman by the death of her husband. included widows' run (82%), Widowhood involves a physical 111011rning for one year (93%). a/1(1 break in the relationship of the relatives (50%), mouming with woman with her husband and is seen definite ou(/it (93.8%) and as the most stressful and devastating remanying their husbands' brothers thing in life. Widowhood involves or relatives (50%). llurial riles not only the loss· of the role of a man practiced by the widows in the town but also the loss of person most were a widow pulling sand into the supportive of the woman. The husband's grave (74%), a widow transition from wife to a widow heing engaged on the day of the happens so suddenly that in one burial (79%), shaving her hair minute a woman is a wife and yet (96.3%), silling in one particular another minute a widow. place (77%), fu(filling certain According to Erinne ( 1996) the financial obligations (99) and the death of a husband can occur ul any Ni~eria11 Jon mal Of 1/ealth Erlnmtio11 (N.f If1:.] Vol. 12, No. I, 2004 ---- ~ .