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A Philosophical Exposition of the Dynamics of the Kindred Group in Igbo-African Ontology

Received: 17 April 2021     Accepted: 5 May 2021     Published: 18 August 2021
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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.

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

Keywords

Igbo, Kindred, Ndigbo, Africa, Kinship, Ontology

References
[1] Ebo, S. (2019). Death in Igbo African Ontology. https://doi.org/10.21847/1728-9343.2019.3(161).171815.
[2] Onwoatuegwu, I. N. (2011). The Igbo are republican and egalitarian in nature: A philosophical approach. http://sgojahds.com/index.php/SGOJAHDS/article/viewFile/76/79.
[3] Achebe, C. (1958) Things Fall Apart.
[4] Lidman, M. (2017). The Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/messianic-jews-to-nigerians-youre-not-real-jews/.
[5] Acholonu, C. O. (2014). Eden in Sumer on the Niger. ISBN-10: 3659467871.
[6] Hershberger, S. (2020). Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-are-all-more-closely-related-than-we-commonly-think/.
[7] Sedelmeier, U. (2014). Europe after the Eastern Enlargement of the European Union: 2004-2014. https://eu.boell.org/en/2014/06/10/europe-after-eastern-enlargement-european-union-2004-2014.
[8] Nwaubani, E. (2006). Igbo Political Systems. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-are-all-more-closely-related-than-we-commonly-think/.
[9] Ugwueze, U. L. (2011). African Culture, Identity and Aesthetics: The Igbo Example. https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=MXrUyS9zY8UC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=no+word+for+cousin+in+igbo&source=bl&ots=-ypCX3C0fd&sig=ACfU3U1kSi5SZg5AF2kUmbQUHDtyC2gmAg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiF-LPUya7wAhXN3oUKHaBWAusQ6AEwEnoECAUQAw#v=onepage&q=no%20word%20for%20cousin%20in%20igbo&f=false.
[10] Obika A. N and Ikechukwu G. I. (2019). Kindred Group as the Prototype of Modern CoOperative Societies: A Study of Igbo Proverbs. https://ijels.com/upload_document/issue_files/42IJELS-108201933-Kindred.pdf.
[11] Okide, U. J. (2019). Perception and artistic presentation of the phenomenon of death among Igbo poets. file:///C:/Users/USA/Downloads/77-311-1-PB%20(1).pdf.
[12] Aristotle, Politics, Book 1, section 1253a.
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    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

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    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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    AMA 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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  • @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}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • Center for Continuing Education, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa, Nigeria

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