Okpu


Book Description

This study considers the important institution of the the Okpu, from a historical perspective but always with an eye to its future, treating it as a living cultural phenomenem. The Okpu are here compared, at a primary level, to the pyramids of ancient Egypt. They are the burial site of ancestors over which shrines, mausoleums, houses or monuments are erected, and represent a major cultural resource among the Nembe people of the Eastern Delta. The study also provides an account of the artifacts left behind by European visitors to the Brass and Nun rivers, in order to present a rounded view of the Nembe in the Niger Delta. It traces how the earliest Okpu were simple structures and the rise of their sophistication in the early twentieth century coincided with the intrusion of Western ideas and Christianity which put the values underpinning the Okpu in retreat. However despite this intrusion, the author concludes the Okpu tradition is complex and changing, has adapted itself to history and remains strong.




Igbo Deities


Book Description

The aim of the rebirth of the sacred arts of Igbo African spirituality by Sirius Ugo Art is to restore the glory of African methodology, and unveil the hidden African intelligence in our spiritual systems. As we are the ones witnessing the beginning of Uga Anwu, the age of enlightenment, it is our duty to lay the foundations of Anwu for the next generation. All the arts in this book were shot and digitally created by Sirius Ugo Art. They were all based on the fashion, designs, and decorations of the ancient Igbo people. Spirits are not human beings, however, spirits are manifested in human form because humans are spiritual beings experiencing materialism. The colors of the deities are also well-known in ancient Igbo. When a spirit is pure white, it represents purity, or the moon and sun. When a spirit is green, it represents life, health and Fertility. When a spirit is red, it represents blood, war, and power. When a spirit is dark in color, it represents dark energy. When a spirit is blue, it represents water, and air. All the deities work with one or two of the four elements. For example, Agunkwo works with Eke, while Nneono Oshimiri works with Orie. There are over seven hundred thousand Igbo deities. It would be impossible to create the arts of all Igbo deities, because that would be one claiming to understand all the energy forces in the universe, which is impossible. However, all the energy forces (Umu agbara nine) of the universe are different manifestations of Chukwu na Nnechukwu. Igbo people do not believe that humans created umu agbara. Igbo enlightens us that Umu Agbara (Energy forces) existed before humans. And that humans came to recognize them and work with them to become Agbara as well. A human being becomes Agbara through self Illumination.







Okwurume


Book Description




Temple of Solomon & Wailing Wall Part 1. Igbo Mediators of Yahweh Culture of Life: Volume V


Book Description

This Book: Wailing Walls of Jerusalem, Igbo Mediators of Yahweh Culture of Life Volume V, has its setting in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. It is the first accurate account of the true location of the City of Ancient Jerusalem (Igbo language: iyī e rusalem, meaning ‘evil [of abortion] should not touch me’). This assertion is supported by a map titled ‘Ìlú Yèrúsàlέmì ńǹwèrè Yèésú’ meaning ‘Capital City of Jerusalem at the Birth of Jesus Christ’) believed to have been made by anonymous Yoruba King visiting the City of Jerusalem before its destruction by 70AD. The city was surrounded by the inner Wailing Walls (Igbo language: ihi e ti eti, meaning ‘the wailing wall’) built around the Heart of the Capital City of Ancient Jerusalem (Igbo language: iyī e rusalam, meaning ‘evil should not touch me’) which was the home of King David to this day called Amawọm (Igbo language: ama Owe m, meaning ‘the settlement of my Leader [King David]’). The walls enclosed the Royal Palace of King David (Igbo language: Di wụ edo, meaning ‘the man who is fair in complexion’), the Old Temple of King Solomon (Igbo language: isi e lo ama ana, meaning ‘the head that thinks wisely for the land’), the Houses of the Chief Priests and Scribes, and houses of the indigenous people within the area traversed by the Sea of Galilee (Igbo language: ogo li elu, meaning ‘the districts on heights’). This book builds on the theme of the book series on the Igbo as the Chosen People of God.




Male Daughters, Female Husbands


Book Description

In 1987, more than a decade before the dawn of queer theory, Ifi Amadiume wrote Male Daughters, Female Husbands, to critical acclaim. This compelling and highly original book frees the subject position of 'husband' from its affiliation with men, and goes on to do the same for other masculine attributes, dislocating sex, gender and sexual orientation. Boldly arguing that the notion of gender, as constructed in Western feminist discourse, did not exist in Africa before the colonial imposition of a dichotomous understanding of sexual difference, Male Daughters, Female Husbands examines the structures in African society that enabled people to achieve power, showing that roles were not rigidly masculinized nor feminized. At a time when gender and queer theory are viewed by some as being stuck in an identity-politics rut, this outstanding study not only warns against the danger of projecting a very specific, Western notion of difference onto other cultures, but calls us to question the very concept of gender itself.




Across the Lines


Book Description

This third volume of ASNEL Papers covers a wide range of theoretical and thematic approaches to the subject of intertextuality. Intertextual relations between oral and written versions of literature, text and performance, as well as problems emerging from media transitions, regionally instructed forms of intertextuality, and the works of individual authors are equally dealt with. Intertextuality as both a creative and a critical practice frequently exposes the essential arbitrariness of literary and cultural manifestations that have become canonized. The transformation and transfer of meanings which accompanies any crossing between texts rests not least on the nature of the artistic corpus embodied in the general framework of historically and socially determined cultural traditions. Traditions, however, result from selective forms of perception; they are as much inventions as they are based on exclusion. Intertextuality leads to a constant reinforcement of tradition, while, at the same time, intertextual relations between the new literatures and other English-language literatures are all too obvious. Despite the inevitable impact of tradition, the new literatures tend to employ a dynamic reading of culture which fosters social process and transition, thus promoting transcultural rather than intercultural modes of communication. Writing and reading across borders becomes a dialogue which reveals both differences and similarities. More than a decolonizing form of deconstruction, intertextuality is a strategy for communicating meaning across cultural boundaries.










The Living Law


Book Description

Hon Justice Jumoke Pedro attended the University of Lagos Nigeria where she passed out with a 2nd class upper degree in Law in 1980. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in July 1981 to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court. After her NYSC service with the MilitaryPolice in 1982, She practised briefly with the law firm of Akin Olugbade and Co. for two years. In 1984 she joined the Lagos State Judiciary as a Magistrate and rose through the bench to become a Chief Magistrate. She was later appointed as Registrar of Titles at the Land Registry Lagos. In 1999 she was appointed the Chief Registrar of the High Court Lagos She was appointed a Judge of the High Court Lagos in year 2001. Her Lordship is a Christian and is married to Olufemi Pedro a former Deputy Governor of Lagos state and they are blessed with four children. Her Lordship is a Deaconess and, a Chancellor. She is a member of the CIARB England and a certified Mediator. She is also a member of Olave Baden Powell Society and National Association Of Women Judges in Nigeria.