"Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." (Winston Churchill)

"Conduct will not be right unless the will to act is right; for this is the source of conduct. Nor, again, can the will be right without a right attitude of mind; for this is the source of the will. Furthermore, such an attitude of mind will not be found even in the best of men unless he has learned the laws of life as a whole and has worked out a proper judgment about everything, and unless he has reduced facts to a standard of truth." (Seneca)

In discussing the subject of moral education in traditional Nigeria I would like to apply the word imagination in the active sense of imaginative, creative, inventive, rather than the passive sense of imaginary, unreal, and illusionary. Though it is no formalized textbook codification as do the contemporary urbane Western and other versions, it contains within itself the operators needed in order to achieve the good life as understood and envisioned within society.

Philip Wheelwright posits from modes of imagination in his book, The Burning Fountain, namely, confrontational imagination which particularizes and intensifies its object; stylistic imagination which distances and stylizes its object; compositive imagination which fuses heterogeneous elements into some whole; and archetypal imagination which sees the particular object in the light of a larger conception or higher concern.¹

It is my claim here that there is an element of each type of imagination involved in the operation of the imagination, rather than in the construction of the system. My central argument focuses, however, not on the imagination but on character formation. Later in the discussion I will try to show that no individual or group could claim to have established a system for this; that is why I stress the word operation. In this operation every element finds a place such that there is no separation of concerns. The moral, the political, the social, the religious, even the banal, finds a place within the scheme. The overall ground for justification has been a reference to omenala which has been didactically referred to as omere-ala.

When Theophilus Okere defines morality as omere-ala²that which enables society to function properly³he hits precisely at the definition of the various aspects of behavior and social activities that are acceptable as desirable. Also included in this concept are those actions and attitudes that are rejected as undesirable. While Christian and Islamic moral codes point to some form of revelation for their origins, the Nigerian traditional moral code is built up from the injunctions of the earth goddess Ala (for the Igbos), and through the ancestors Ndichie or Ndibunze.⁴ These injunctions, made up of approved observances and prohibitions, constitute what the Igbos call omenalathe ought of the land. Prohibitions are referred to as Nso-alaactions abhorred by Ala. This traditional code emphasizes group morality rather than individual cultivation of goodness itself; its most important element is the idea of Life as the highest good.⁵

One is accounted as Onye aruru-alaa perpetrator of abominable things; or onye uru-alaone in the business of doing abominable deeds--when one does things disruptive of the socio-cosmic order. Uru-ala or aruruala therefore pertain to the realm of action that is already performed or could possibly be performed. On the other hand, when one is reckoned as evil in one's general disposition, one is described as Ajo mmaduan evil person. The concept of good is expressed by the word mma. The same word expresses the idea of beauty, health, order. The antonym is njo (adjective ajo), which expresses the idea of something evil, bad, ugly, unseemly.

In a traditional moral code, prohibitions seem to outnumber positive injunctions. The few positive injunctions gravitate largely around religious duties, observances and rites. These must be properly observed for the enhancement of the Good Life, which is regarded as constituting the supreme good.

A communalistic outlook is very prominent too, and stems from the people's world view. Professor Ilogu suggests that because of the emphasis on the community, its well-being, and its ordered existence, the maintenance of the proper links of relationship in human kinship as well as in the relationship between humans, nature, and the ancestral spirit, most members of the traditional society do not readily see the value of goodness for the exercise of personal responsibility. Goodness is seen primarily as a means of realizing the social morality of the group, and this is capable of removing from moral life the joy of inner motivation which is of the essence of responsibility.⁶

A question which arises inevitably with any group-oriented morality is whether it is capable of bringing about a sense of personal responsibility that manifests itself in a feeling of guilt⁷ or of exultation. There is every likelihood that it would be based on the sense of shame; whereas the sense of having done well would be based mostly on public opinion. According to Milton Singer there is no scientifically demonstrable reason why in group-oriented moralityheavily influenced by the community's rigorous enforcement mechanism, including shame, taunting and improvised denigrating songsmembers of such groups could not develop inner remorse or guilt.⁷ It is not a question of either/or, for both elements are present substantially in the system.

TRADITIONAL NIGERIAN MORAL "CODE"

No written moral code existed in traditional Nigerian society for the obvious reason of lack of literacy. The moral laws were generally conventional, and specific laws were made to cater to specific needs. Professor Ilogu has been able to put together a set of 24 injunctions and prohibitions that could serve as a residue of the morality which regulated, and in many cases still regulates, both the conduct of the individual members of the community and the community as a whole:

1. Stealing of yams either from the barn or from the farm.

2. Homicide.

3. Incest.

4. A freeman diala having sexual relationships with an Osu (one dedicated as slave to a deity), or spending the night especially with the Osu in his or her house.⁸

5. Suicide, especially by hanging.

6. Poisoning someone with intent to take his or her life secretly.

7. Theft of domestic fowls especially a hen in her hatching pot where she can easily be taken along with her eggs.

8. A woman climbing a palm tree or kolanut tree, especially if she does so with a climbing belt called ete.

9. Theft of any kind committed by an Ozo titled man.

10. Adultery by a wife(though not by a husband).

II. A wife throwing her husband down on the ground in the course of a domestic row.

12. Deliberately killing or eating any totem animal; if accidentally the liability is more benignly regarded but the act is abominable all the same. Totem animals include the sacred or royal python, sacred cows, goats or rams associated in one form or another with the community's origins or destiny.

13. Deliberately cutting the tendrils of young, growing yams in another's farm.

14. Secretly altering land boundaries, especially during the night.

15. Wilful arson.

16. Divulging the identity of the masquerade--especially if the offender is a woman.

17. A woman breaking confinement by cooking and serving meals during her menstrual period, especially if the husband is an Ozo titled man.

18. A widow having sexual relationships while still in the period of mourning her dead husband.⁹

19. Dying a "bad death"--that is, death resulting from an infectious disease like leprosy or smallpox, or dying within one year after having sworn an oath. Perjury in traditional society is akin to the Biblical unforgivable sin and anyone guilty of it was denied the normal courtesies of mourning or a decent burial.

20. A husband deliberately breaking or throwing away his wife's utensils.

21. A cock crowing at an awkward time in the night. That is, between the hours of 8 P.M. and 5 A.M. which was supposed to be the business times of the spirits and the ancestors. It is the height of impudence to disturb them.

22. A woman giving birth to twins. (The practice of tabooing twins has long ceased.)

23. A baby delivered "feet-first" rather than "head-first."

24. An infant cutting the upper teeth first.¹⁰

Many important features could be noted by looking at these rules of conduct. First of all, they cannot be called societal laws in the sense of regulations established by the people for the smooth running of the community. The reason for this is that no one could claim authorship or even knowledge of the precise origins of these rules of conduct. A typical member of the community, say an elder, will explain their validity by saying: "That is what our forebears and their own forebears practised since the beginning of time. Anyone who goes against them does so at his or her own risk."¹¹ The sanctions apart, whatever they are, one would like to know the reason for them and authority behind them wherever they apply. Conformity for its own sake is in itself clearly not a sufficient vindication of the agent's status as a rational and autonomous agent. Its moral import could only be at best marginal.

Secondly, in general no one took any personal offence at the breach of any of these laws. Rather it was the community that took action against offenders. The more serious breaches were said to be offenses against Ala, the earth goddess, on whose behalf maximum stiff penalties were inflicted on offenders. The land has always been there since the beginning of time and is technically considered eternal and inviolable.

Thirdly, there is a cyclic interplay in the universe of beings among the superhuman, the human and the subhuman, in which the human is always at the center. Even though human concerns are at the center the principle behind these ethical generalizations is at base cosmological in as much as it covers the entire spectrum of beings, rather than anthropological in the sense of limiting itself to rules that are meant to guide human conduct. In this connection the rules affect even domestic animals (see number 21) as well as crops in the field.

Fourthly, a sequel to this is the lack of direct reference to the divine element which might lead to suspicions of the lack of a teleological explanation. The masquerades are the only reference to the superhuman element, since masquerades were considered to be the revered spirit of the ancestors come back to earth. However, in most traditional explanations there is constant reference to Ala. Besides providing some justification, this reference also introduces the teleological explanation often sought in ethical determinations.

Fifthly, religion does not show up directly, but seems only presupposed. This presupposition is demonstrated by the fact that a breach of any of these injunctions would attract sanctions of a religious nature by way of expiatory or purificatory rites. The conclusion one may draw from this is the fact that morality and the religious sense are bound inextricably together.

Sixthly, these laws or rules appeal to the heart rather than to the intellect. This is not to suggest that they are irrational. Rather, their validity depends not so much on their ability to persuade the mind as in their functionality in maintaining order in the community. In this respect one may be justified in regarding them as intuitionist in character. With regard to the traditional moral code the general attitude is to challenge one not just to take-it-or-leave-it, but simply to accept it.

A closer look at the 24 injunctions would reveal a great deal of emphasis on justice and equity. Hence the many prohibitions against stealing (numbers 1, 7, 9, 14), and vandalism (13, 15, 20). While the stealing of a fowl was considered a disgrace of the most debasing kind, the stealing of yams was a very serious offence because the yam stands as a mark of masculine achievement. It could be compared with stealing another's hard won Olympic medal. By far the most demeaning was for a titled man to steal, since the conferral of an Ozo title amounted to a universal acknowledgment of one's integrity of life. The lesser the worth of the object stolen the greater will be the attendant opprobrium.

Prohibitions against murder emerge strongly (2, 5, 6, 15) and include both suicide and attempted murder such as poisoning and arson. Also emerging strongly are prohibitions against sexual impropriety (3, 4, 10, 18). Sexual activity, which by its nature procures some bodily pleasure, was rightly considered inappropriate during the period of mourning, since it showed lack of respect for the memory of the deceased. When it is said that the rule of abstinence applied to women it does not mean that it did not apply to men. Because of the polygynous, rather than polyandrous, nature of marriage in traditional Nigerian society, a woman had only one husband to lose, but a man had other wives to whom he could turn. Where the man had only one wife, he would be obliged to observe the period of mourning and the abstinence from sexual activity that went with it.

Allied to these are prohibitions against a woman climbing trees or serving meals when she should be confined. The former was considered to be in bad taste and offensive to the beholder because the anatomical structure of the female body was considered ill-suited to the hazardous activity of tree-climbing. The latter was purely due to hygienic considerations.

Divulging the identity of a masquerade was considered abominable. It amounted to blasphemy--saying that the masquerade was a human being when it was actually taken to be the spirit of the ancestors. In the Bible Jesus considered blasphemy one of the sins against the Holy Spirit "which can be forgiven neither in this world nor in the next."¹² A woman guilty of this was doubly liable of overreaching and impropriety. Since women were not supposed to approach the masquerade in the first place, she could not have ordinarily known. Therefore she could only have known illegitimately by going out of her way to find out. There lies the impropriety.

A Western reader of 22, 23, 24, is sure to find them rather surprising. What may seem excessively brutal can be better appreciated if one considered the logic behind them. In 22, humans are supposed to be unique and single. Only animals come in multiples. To get into the human race in multiples was considered as demeaning to the human nature and as unacceptably introducing a bestial element into the human forum.

It was a bad omen for a child to come feetfirst. That was considered the exit rather than the entrance posture. One exited the human community feet-first when his or her body was being carried out of the house for the last time. A child coming feetfirst was an omen of death and disaster. The head touching the ground first was taken as a sign of humility and loyalty, while the feet hitting the ground first was a sign of rebellion and intractability.

To cut the upper teeth first was considered bestial, for it reminded one of the fangs of deadly serpents, tigers and lions, and such domestic animals as cats and dogs. It was also considered to be an omen of avarice and wrangling. In the name of peace and harmony and in deference to the perceived order of the universe, these phenomena were viewed with foreboding and "normal" people had the duty to forswear them. There is an Igbo proverb that clearly shows this resolute disposition: Nwata puo eze-elu ma a-kpopeghi ya, o ga epukwa ozoIf a child cuts the upper teeth first and you do not knock them out, he is likely to do even more unseemly things.

Professor Ilogu's was a brave attempt to put together on paper what previously existed in people's collective memory. Hopefully, he will have the occasion to refine his collection by showing more clearly the fine tuning in various aspects of the "code," and to make it more comprehensive in order to cover the details of daily living. It will then be easy to translate it into basic material for formal education, reflection and criticism. As the code stands, it is based on the natural law and makes categorical demands on the individual.¹³

In other parts of Nigeria, there are different points of emphasis, but the principle is the same. S. F. Nadel studied the situation among the Nupes of Northern Nigeria. According to him, law in the Nupe kingdom is a concern of political organization and forms part of the elaborate coercive machinery of the state. Forms of redress and sanctions exist and are applied outside the political framework. This restricted form of redress covers two types of offenses: religious offenses and kinship offenses. The former includes such acts as the desecration of sacred objects or places, whether Islamic or traditional, while the latter includes litigation over inheritance and offenses against traditional marriage rules. Among the most common of such offenses are marriage in the forbidden degrees of consanguinity and incest.¹⁴

Traditional Nupe law operated with legal distinction which, corresponding in certain respects to the modern distinction between civil and criminal law, defined two classes of delicts: simpler delicts or Gyara which were settled by "repairing" the damage that had been done, and graver delicts which called for formal judgment and punishmentSheri'a. The following table summarizes the various crimes and offenses according to this twofold classification:

Offenses involving Gyara:

1. Small debts.

2. Minor thefts carried out during the day.

3. Theft of fowls, sheep, and goats.

4. Adultery: seduction of a girl by a man who is willing to marry her.

Offenses involving Sheri'a:

1. Large debts

2. Theft on a small scale and during the night.

3. Theft of cattle or horses, and all theft committed during the night.

4. Adultery leading to fights and bloodshed.

5. Seduction by a married man who refuses to marry the girl.

6. Murder and manslaughter.

7. Highway robbery.

8. Arson.

9. High treason, i.e., rebellion of feudal lords against the king--Lese-Majeste, Gi Toko Nya Tsu, literally abuse the king.¹⁵

The first set of offenses was a matter for the local authority, while the graver crimes were referred to the central authority--the court of the king and Alkali in Bida. Punishment of ordinary criminals was performed in the capital, in the open market and might range from flogging or shela to capital punishment.

SEXUAL MORALITY IN TRADITIONAL

NIGERIAN SOCIETY

An important point that requires some discussion is the question of sexual morality. In traditional Nigerian societies sex was not a subject to be glibly discussed. It was, in fact, considered remiss for adults to discuss matters regarding sexuality either with or in the presence of the young. By the same token it was unthinkable for young persons to make references to sexual things in the hearing of their elders. Whatever they needed to know about sexuality was casually told them as warranted by the unfolding of their own physical and sexual development. At the onset of puberty, for example, the adolescent would probably complain of some ache or pain or physical distress. The parent would understand the connection and instruct him or her on how to cope.

It was not uncommon in the past that young maidens went about their daily business without clothes on until the time of marriage. Boys also went about their daily activities without clothes on until they were officially "clothed" in a special ceremony initiating them into adulthood.¹⁶ It was at the initiation stage that anything a young initiate ever wondered about was frankly and directly explained, since he or she would in a short time need to apply them in the course of his or her adult and marital life that would soon follow the initiation. The Efiks, Yorubas, Igallas, Igbos, Fulanis, Igallas, practically all the peoples of Nigeria had their own versions of the initiation process.

Contrary to the impressions created by the earliest European and other foreign nationals, there was no pornographic intent involved in the scantiness of clothing. On the contrary, the humid climatic conditions rendered elaborateness of clothing unnecessary as a protection against the weather, and even less so as an ornament. Thus even in Europe and the rest of the industrialized world, hot summers have led to various degrees of scantiness in clothing and even at times to a state of complete un-clothedness.

In traditional Nigerian society, the moral standards were absolute and parents had absolute control over their children--male and female alike. The boys played and interacted among boys while the girls did so among girls. That removed unnecessary occasions for temptation. Where a boy or girl was in a state of sexual restlessness, this became embarrassingly manifest to any casual onlooker. In traditional society, sex was not to be indulged in for pleasure, even though it might be craved. The element of pleasure was considered as incidental rather than central to the course of human mating. As a result sexual promiscuity rarely, if at all, occurred. Society was very strict, and anyone indulging in promiscuous activities earned the scorn of the neighbors.

It was probably this strictness about sexual matters that led S. M. E. Bengu to assert that all sexual perversities were alien to Africa.¹⁷ "These perversities," he insists, "have been imported into Africa through the cities with the whites as their carriers, since they were the creators of the cities themselves."¹⁸ This assertion, though somewhat of an overstatement, is likely to be endorsed by most African purists. One need only consider the degree of tolerance accorded in industrialized societies to certain sexual practices, which are almost unmentionable in more traditional societies. On the other hand, however, Bengu fails to define just what constitutes a sexual perversion, especially as there is no unanimity in the issue, just as there is no strict homogeneity in African cultures. Besides, he never tried to show how he came about his conclusion.

Flora Nwapa, a leading Nigerian woman novelist, discusses the issue of prostitution and rejects it as bad for the African woman. In her novel Idu, the heroin of the novel by the same name denounces prostitution outright: "Our Woman of the Lake, (i.e., the Sea Goddess) frowns at it, and that's why prostitutes of our town never profit by it."¹⁹ The Woman of the Lake is also the goddess of virginity and is said to punish prostitutes. Idu drives her point further: "If prostitution is to be practised let it not be native women, but women of other lands to practise it."²⁰

Professor Wole Soyinka, Nigeria's Nobel Laureate for Literature, depicts a scene where the traditional sexual morality is given expression. A grandmother brings pressure to bear on her granddaughter Dehinwa not to abort a child whether conceived in or out of wedlock, and whether for cosmetic or any other reason: "You were plump when you first came back from "ilu oyinbo." (She looked up sharply, boring into her eyes, then shook her head in relief and mischief). No, she chortled, I don't think so. But listen girl, I know this new habit of you modem girls, don't join them in the foolishness. If you are expecting a baby, have it. A child is a beautiful thing; have it. The important thing is to know the father."²¹

Dehinwa is here not being encouraged to be promiscuous, but rather to face up to her conduct. If by accident or design she had conceived a child, she should not seek to escape by the backdoor. Here was an emphatic objection to any contemplation of abortion. Progeny was to be preferred in all circumstances above personal convenience or cosmetic considerations. A woman's womanhood was assessed by her actual ability to bear children.²² Where she was unable to bear children, her esteem waned.

Another Nigerian writer, John Munonye, touches on the predicament of a woman that failed to bear children. In his novel Obi, a friend, Warrior, congratulates Obi, the hero of the story, on his marriage to a well-bred and beautiful wife. Nevertheless, Warrior wastes no time in declaring his stand on any woman who fails to bear children: "We could never call her wife until she has produced children for the family; for what use is a kolanut tree if it fails to bear fruit."²³

A similar attitude finds expression in the case of Flora Nwapa's Idu, who was so unhappy over her inability to be a mother after three years of marriage. Of her it was said: "She was not pregnant, she had not even had a miscarriage. She was, like any woman in traditional society, meant to be a mother and not a mere sex object."²⁴

Within marriage itself, adultery, especially on the woman's part, was highly condemned. Men were not thereby given licence; as has already been noted, they could meet their sexual needs from their several wives; if they had only one wife, they were expected to remain faithful to her. Concubinage is the only exception to the rule.²⁵

TRADITIONAL MORAL EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG

James Hake points out that the factors that affect the moral training of children in Northern Nigeria (and other parts as well), were the customs, practices, and religious beliefs of parents.²⁶ Children were required to show their parents and elders prompt obedience and respect, and an unquestioning submission to their will. The belief is that if one were to be too lenient in training the child, he or she would bring misfortune to him or herself and to his or her family. According to traditional and religious beliefs, a child is born imperfect and if given his or her own way, will do foolish and harmful things not only to himself or herself, but to other people as well. Parents therefore felt it was their bounden duty to try to curb the incipient evil tendencies in their children, and to use corporal and other punishment as they saw fit.²⁷

In addition to the small but recurring misdeeds of children which would irritate parents, stealing and lying were considered serious negative character traits. Quarrelling, fighting, tardiness, rudeness, disrespect for elders and breakage of family utensils are other types of misbehavior which would cause parents to use disciplinary measures.

The most common form of punishment was thrashing, and in many cases it was often preceded by a good scolding. In some extreme cases of breach of discipline or persistence in obstinacy the child could be locked up in a dark room and temporarily denied access to his most cherished belongings and playthings. Sometimes he or she would be denied a meal. The idea was to let the child see the full impact of his or her conduct. Most children would break down and cry, which was considered an act of contrition that would earn them reprieve. It was left to the parents to determine just the right measure of strictness that would not border on cruelty, but they would prefer to be "cruel in order to be kind."

These traditional methods were thought to have been quite successful in maintaining discipline. In the light of present-day sensitivities, they are likely to be criticized as trial by fire. It is arguable whether it was not, after all, a case of parental sadism and child abuse which did no more than impose compliance rather than authentic spontaneous obedience. Could acts of compliance be reckoned in terms of virtue as acts resulting from a developed and autonomous judgment or are they mere conditioned responses to stimuli? If the former, it is all well and good, but if the latter, the children's autonomy or capacity for virtuous action becomes at best severely impaired and at worst permanently distorted.

John Kambalame and his companions put together a clear-cut code that gave precise directives to specific groups in the community--children, adults, parents, married couples. They were meant to provide relevant instruction for various stages of development--initiation, marriage, family, and society in general. Though designed for Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and other East African countries, the contents are very relevant to Nigeria: though the details may vary, the substance is basically applicable.²⁸ It has all the makings of a social catechesis.

MALE INITIATION

When the time of initiation came the children were gathered together, taken into the remote forest and away from their parents and exposed for the first time to life in its most rugged and most challenging state. The boys would experience for the first time what it meant to be their own men beyond the protective shadows of parents, and under the strict supervision of one skilled in the job and designated to guide them. Their food would be simple and their shelter would be the barest possible. There was no question of the boys feeling "crushed" or "punished" by the experience. On the contrary, their punishing experiences were meant to "prove" to proud parents, peers, and prospective female admirers, that they could hold their own in tough conditions and difficult circumstances. The "tutor" or mentor would proceed to explain the significance of every object and action so that the boys would understand perfectly what they were doing and why. Then they would be issued specific instructions which they were supposed to carry out.

Explanations for 12-14 Year-Olds at Initiation

Twelve to fourteen-year-olds are taught as follows during the course of initiation:

1. The porridge they are bringing here for you has this meaning: that you belong now to your own group; that you have set out on a journey.

2. These ceremonies mean that when you were small you played about as you felt inclined and held off from the disagreeable things.

3. The cruel leader of vinyau symbolizes those trials in life that you will meet with in the world; if you go on childishly such things will come to you from this side or from that.

4. That blindfolding of you means that there will come to you troubles that the eye does not see, such as illness, trials, and death; things that can take you unawares.

5. Making you part company with your mother means putting modesty between you and her, because you and she are not alike in your physical parts.

6. The little temporary shelter here signifies the grave where you will lie without seeing any one of the people of your village.

7. Your sponsor signifies the spirits who will stay with you among the dead, and who, when the time comes, will present you to Mulungu (God the Just, Upright, and Immutable), accompanying you as witnesses to your good character.

Injunctions to the 12-14 Year-Olds During Initiation

1. Be obedient and do gladly all that you are ordered to do.

2. Honor all who are older than yourself.

3. You always must help particularly those in need and especially such as are aged, the lame ones, and children: never deride: never revile, never strike them.

4. Be ready to fetch and carry wherever you go.

5. Honor your father and your mother for all the good things they do for you in looking after you here on earth.

6. You must love Mulungu, who looks after the spirits of the dead, and make offerings of worship to Him.

7. You must always speak what is true.

8. Take nothing belonging to another without asking for it.

9. Never entice another man's wife.

10. Have care of your body day by day.

11. Eat nothing that is stolen.

12. Be amiable to everyone.

13. Always be busy at your work.

14. Be kind to all created things such as dogs, cats, frogs, lizards.

FEMALE INITIATION: THE OFOSI GUILD

There is also a special initiation for females. It is the initiation into the female priesthood--the Ofosi Guild among the Owe people of Kwara State of Nigeria.²⁹ As a rule, the traditional religion of the Owe is an affair completely controlled by the adult male section of the community. Women and children are of practically no importance, just as they have no direct say in the other decisions concerning the well-being of the tribe. A significant exception to this general rule is in the religious sphere, the phenomenon of Ofosi. They are women who are initiated into an esoteric and deeply religious society, involving periodic and authentic spirit possession.³⁰ They are considered the "wives of the Ebora," and unlike other women who have no active role in the Ebora cult, they have some specific, though limited, part to play in the worship of Ebora. Their part consists mainly in singing and dancing in honor of the Ebora on the appropriate occasions such as the major religious festivals, Eye, Oka, and Ekiho; for the promotion of a man to the Orota grade; the funeral of a member of the Orota grade or his mother, or that of one of their own number.

The rite of initiation into this cult occurs only when there is a suitable spiritual atmosphere in the town, generally on the occasion of the promotion of a great chief, or the burial of an important priest-elder. As soon as the atmosphere is declared propitious, parents who have daughters and husbands with wives they intend to dedicate in this way to the Ebora take the necessary steps with the directors of the guild to have the prospective candidate enrolled. A woman, too, may decide on her own to get initiated, but she has to obtain the permission of her husband who then puts forward her name.

On a given day, the head of the Ofosi calls down the spirit. She performs secret rituals involving palm oil on the sacred pot of the Ofosi, and calls out the names of the candidates. As the names are being called into the sacred pot of "medicine," the Ofosi spirit gets into the candidates wherever they may be. They suddenly begin to experience serious pains in the head, fall into a trance and rush into the bush--generally up into the Ebora hill--for days.³¹ After some time, the Ofosi women go in search of them and bring them to a sort of novitiate.³² Here as the blood of a sacrificed goat is poured into the sacred pot, they regain consciousness and begin right away the long period of elaborate initiation, divided into three stages.

The first stage consists of three months of complete isolation. In Olle, this used to be spent in the depth of the forest. Then comes a further three months of communal life on the premises of the Oba Ofosi, the chief of the Ofosi, during which time they learn the language of the Ofosi, songs and ritual dances under very rigid discipline and seclusion. At the last stage, again a period of three months, they leave the seclusion, go around in small groups performing the ritual dances they have learnt from house to house, and beg for food and money.

The candidates at this stage came often into the town, "very scantily dressed, with a small piece of cloth that just about went round the waist, and stopping far up above the knees."³³ Their bodies were smeared with red osun or ochre; the upper part of the body was completely bare, except for beads swung around the neck, and many others not inelegantly piled on the waist. Since they had, so to speak, just been born to a new life, "they behaved like children in speech and mannerism, and were even called Akiyeye or Akitata which means 'mad' or 'moronic'."³⁴

Though strictly cultic, the Ofosi has a lot of features in common with the initiation rites already described. There is a common interest in the esoteric, in the need to retire "away from the crowd," rigid discipline, reference to a leader or guide. The end result of cultic "regeneration" is also noteworthy. The initiates emerge as "new creatures" untrammelled by the banal habits of the world around them. Henceforth they are no longer ordinary people, but must be referred to in quite special circumstances.

The scantiness of dress makes them no one's object, but relates them more to the spirit world than to the world of sense, since at the very beginning of the ceremony they were taken possession of by the spirit. They had learnt to make do with whatever they could; to endure isolation and terror; to survive in tough circumstances; to keep secrets and the discipline required for learning and using an esoteric language, esoteric songs and dances. As with Saint Paul's expression, "It is no longer (they) who live" (and act) but the spirit who lives in them,"³⁵ their actions and attitudes in that state are completely adapted to the promptings of their possessing spirits.

The fact that a new name is imposed on initiates is very important. Names in traditional Nigerian culture express the very personality of the bearer, and the taking of a new name is a significant expression for the fact that by initiation, the Ofosi has become a new person. Similarly, in the Bible's Old Testament, God changed Abram's name to Abraham; Jacob's name was changed to Israel; and in the New Testament Simon became Cephas or Peter, and Saul became Paul.

It was a great honor to be made an Ofosi. The Ofosi women were held in respect by the local people, and a husband (who had to pay the expenses) considered it an honor to have an Ofosi as a wife. The hands of girls who became Ofosi prior to marriage were highly sought in marriage, for it was generally conceded that an Ofosi woman was more trustworthy, obedient and moral than other women, and it was rare for an Ofosi to try to leave her husband.

SPECIAL POST-INITIATION INSTRUCTIONS

After initiation, the boys as well as the girls among the initiates were basically ready for the marital stage of life. Special instructions and hints were offered them about successful family-craft and mother-craft as they were gradually eased into the family life of their own. The parents, too, had their own sets of instructions about the most helpful attitudes to adopt towards their maturing son or daughter and the spouses they might have chosen for themselves.

To the Parents of the Young Man

1. Never tempt or try your child needlessly.

2. Care for your child most watchfully as he comes to full maturity.

3. Your child has left your hut and sleeps now in the young man's hut with his peers, but never say that he has left you.³⁶ Care for him as usual.

4. If you see that he is late in coming home to his hut, ask him about it: he has sense and will tell you.

5. Be patient and forgiving with your boy. As he goes out with his equals (i.e., peers), he will get into trouble and you should rescue him and forgive as well as console him.

6. Remember to watch over his health. Give him medicine when he is not well.

7. Do not forget that as he grows up, he will do what you did. Desire will come upon him to seek a wife so that he may build a household for his very own.

8. Now that your son is one who eschews such-and-such things, never knowingly give him what he should not have, lest he sin.

To A Newly-Wed Husband

As the boy develops into adulthood and takes a wife in order to start his own family, there was a set of instructions for him, for his wife, and for their various parents:

Listen, oh husband: you have lived with your father and mother. They brought you to birth, they nourished and fed you, they clothed you and looked after you well until you matured, right up to the point when you desired and sought a wife. Today here is the wife that Mulungu has given you. Just as yourself. she has lived with her old folk who brought her to birth, fed and cared for her, as was the case with you. Today, you note her beauty and, desiring her, have caused her to separate from those people of hers so that she may be truly yours. You ought to pay heed to my words, to hear them and to act by them:

1. You must bear affection to her with the whole heart.

2. You must care for her, even as did her own people.

3. Let her want for nothing.

4. You must seek the medicines for her, should she be ill.

5. If you want that people should hold you and your wife in esteem you yourself should esteem her.

6. Do not forsake her for another.

7. Honor her parents and her friends.

8. Love your wife's relatives as your own, and be obedient to them.

9. Never despise your family and fellow villagers.

10. Continue as you have been, that you bring no cause of separation between your father's people and those of your in-laws: so that both may be made one large community through you.

To a Newly-Wed Wife

1. You must love your husband.

2. You must listen to what he says, and do it.

3. You must have that care for him that his parents had.

4. You must be friendly to your husband's guests as with your own and those of your own people.

5. You must not leave your husband and love others.

6. Honor the parents of your husband and all his kin.

7. Let your kindly feelings for your husband's circle be as if to one large community with your own people.

8. Defend your husband from any frightening things which are within your knowledge.

9. Never despise parents or kin.

10. Continue as you have been, that you bring no cause of separation between your father's people and your in-laws, that together they may be one, single, large community.

To the Parents of Newly-Weds

1. Love your children and guide them rightly in this their home.

2. Honor their household, that others too may honor them.

3. Listen to their troubles and help them with their difficulties.

4. Do not be the cause of unhappiness in your children's home life.

5. Unite your own home with that of these your children, so that you will make one large community together.

6. Hasten to their aid whenever they complain in any sort of trouble.

There are some important features that manifest themselves in this code. More than anything else, it concentrates on the family unit and could easily pass as a set of instructions for successful family living. There is great premium on forming a large community (See #10 for the newly wed young man and woman; #5 for their parents) so that the individual gets little or no consideration. The ideals of unity and reciprocity in rendering honor and respect run very strongly throughout. The ideal of solidarity in times of trouble is another important feature. Lacking, however, are injunctions of a religious character, a sexual ethic, and some guideline for social interaction. The deity is only sparsely, if not indirectly, introduced. All these are important elements that could not safety be ignored in any serious attempt at moral education.

METHODS OF TRADITIONAL MORAL EDUCATION

Even though there were no systematized, formalized, school-type methods of moral education, educators in traditional Nigerian society had at their disposal a variety of tools for effective moral education. By far the most pervasive was emulation, by which the educand learned to do things by actually doing them. The educator accomplished his or her task by a repeat-after-me approach. This was the way of apprenticeship. It was applied in practically every field of endeavor--professional, recreational, educational. Thus, one learned to be a herbalist or fortune teller by actually being an apprentice to an already accomplished herbalist or fortune-teller, and doing as the master craftsman would direct. The same applied in learning a new dance or song or game. Besides apprenticeship other approaches included stories with fictitious characters, proverbs, riddles, aphorisms and other words of wisdom, and the so-called "negative way" of caution and prohibition. Though generally arranged to cater for various stages of development, they are by no means isolated from each other; their effect is intended to be cumulative rather than occasional.

Learning by Doing: Apprenticeship and Emulation

The quick Nigerian child learned not only from his or her parents, but even more by using eyes and ears and all faculties. Children were not isolated from the activities of their elders. There was no baby-talk in the home; parents talked to their children as though they expected them to understand normal adult speech. They also expected them to behave in the normal manner within their level of development. There were things which were supposed be avoided: there were words, gestures and demeanours which were considered to be in bad taste for any young person. The child saw how his or her parents, elder brothers and sisters behaved towards each other, towards strangers, or seniors or those of the opposite sex and was expected to imitate them. In instances not previously clearly defined, it was through their manifest approval or disapproval of certain things he or she did that the child was able to know if they were right or wrong, permissible or impermissible. In general, the great facts of human life and the origin of things were introduced into the child's mind by means of his or her incorporation into the daily activities. It was the manner rather than the amount of instruction that was of prime importance.

The initiation ceremonies described above were peak learning experiences. Nigerians showed themselves to be good practical psychologists. They knew that the child was very impressionable and therefore took every measure to ensure that the impressions children received at initiation were so strong and positive as to serve as a beacon in their later life. At the appropriate time, the boys were taken away into a camp by themselves and isolated from the villagers. No woman was permitted to enter the camp.³⁷ The same was true of the girls, too, whose camp males were not allowed to enter. It was important to maintain an atmosphere of seriousness and mystery as a safeguard against levity of mind. Special costumes might be worn, and men representing terrifying monsters (i.e., masquerades) would confront the boys at the most unexpected instances. The aim was to teach them courage and resilience in the face of the fearsome, the unusual and the unexpected. The initiates were subjected to the severest disciplines and would emerge as "new" beings--strong, brave, confident and courageous--having overcome fear, infantile dependency and timidity.

Use of Stories

It was common practice in traditional Nigerian society for the family to gather to tell tales which illustrate human activity and the consequences for good behavior as well as the penalties for misconduct. Moral lessons often were drawn at the end of each story. Sociological facts were illuminated in the same way to explain the origins and consequences of divorce, murder, incest, friendship, courage, treachery, etc. Edwin Smith, reflecting on the content of African stories, credits them with moral and religious content that go a long way to forming the young people's attitudes towards their environment.³⁸

Stories are molders of ideals, since they inculcate a high code of social ethics and are excellent in combining entertainment with moral lessons. Another important feature of the stories was the high degree of participation they engendered. Since the tale was combined with song and the teller acted as soloist, the participants had the opportunity to take the refrains. Often the audience was questioned by the story-teller when a character had to justify the behavior he manifested, and interpolations of assent from the audience as the tale unfolded were regularly heard. Edwin Smith gives his assessment of the instructive value of African tales: "African tales not only amuse and express feelings; they are educative." Through parents have always realized its value in practice, in recent years the educative value of storytelling has come to be more recognized. Tales are seen to be the natural forms for revealing life, the natural carrier of a culture's tradition or information and ideals. They have two functions: to mold ideals and to illuminate of facts.³⁹

The following two stories illustrate the use of tales to draw moral lessons as well as achieve other educational goals:

Story 1: The Bride with Stained Teeth

A certain father found a bride for his eldest son and sent him off with the bride-wealth to bring her home. As they were returning, the girl began to sing: "I am a beautiful girl, but I have no teeth." He looked into her mouth and was horrified to find a black ridge where the teeth should have been. And he took her back to her father and claimed the return of the cattle he had handed over.

On hearing what had happened, the second son went to get the girl, for he thought that his brother must have made a mistake. But once again on the road the girl sang her song, the black ridge was revealed and she was rejected with scorn. Then amidst the jeers of his friends, the youngest son of the family set out to try his luck. He handed over the cattle, and on the road the girl sang her song again.

When he looked into her mouth, lo! the black ridge, and he knew his brothers had not been mistaken. But he acted differently. "Never mind," said this magnanimous or less fastidious young man, "Let us go on." They came to a river, and as they were crossing he seized her, told her to open her mouth, and he scrubbed her mouth vigorously with sand. To his joy the black came away and beneath there shone a set of beautiful, white teeth. The father reproached his son for wasting good cattle. But to his delight and to the utter chagrin of the brothers, the girl smiled and showed that her teeth were as beautiful as the rest of her comely person.

At the end of a story like this, participants were invited to give their reactions and share any lessons they could draw from the story. A broad variety of lessons could be drawn from the story as a few samples will illustrate: heaven helps those who help themselves; do not cry with horror over a bad situation, do something about it; better light one candle than curse the darkness. On the negative side: a girl's beauty is severely tainted by carelessness over the rules of hygiene; a little diligence enhances almost anything. Since everyone was expected to come up with his or her own lesson deriving from the story, passive listening would be completely out of the question, as no one would like to be exposed to the ridicule of others for inability to draw a simple lesson from a story.

Another important feature which adds to the merit of this method was that each participant was able to view the story in accordance with his or her own experience and situation and everyone benefitted in the end from the sharing. A final point here is that each person's appraisal subtly revealed his or her own kind of psychology and would help those around better to understand and appreciate him or her more.

The foregoing story has been a contrast between the good, the better, and the best; between judgment and prudishness; between practical resourcefulness and lethargy. We shall consider another type of moral lessons--not the contrasts of opposites this time, but the awareness that through cooperation, virtues can and do complement and enhance each other. On the other hand they could hardly stand in isolation from one another.

Story II: Who is the Hero?

A certain man had five children, four sons and a daughter. Sometime after his death, the daughter disappeared. The mother called the sons together and set them to finding their sister. They were remarkably gifted men. The eldest was able to see things at a very great distance. On casting his eyes around he discovered his sister 50 miles off in the clutches of a lion. The second brother had the power of transporting himself through space unseen, and he rescued his sister from the lion's claws.

On missing his prey, the lion went rampaging about, but the third son killed him. The girl was brought home dead; and the fourth son, by virtue of his powerful medicines, restored her to life. The mother was overjoyed, and taking a large piece of meat she gave it to her sons, saying: "Eat, my sons. I give it to you in gratitude for your cleverness and faithfulness." But the brothers said: "No, give it to only one of usthe one who did most in restoring our sister to you, safe and sound."

The brothers in the story pass all tests and have shown themselves to be optimally formed, well-disciplined characters. They cooperate in solving the problem using the best of brain and brawn. None tries to claim the credit to himself alone. When their shrewd mother tests them for vanity they come out with flying colors by throwing their mother's challenge back to her. They are not about to accept rewards for doing what they consider to be their bounden duty towards their sister. Their preoccupation is to save their sister, and having successfully accomplished that there was no point in getting lost in such trivialities as fighting over a piece of meat.

The two stories make use of fictional characters and fictional circumstances that are in some respects true to life and in other respects unreal. The important issue is not the verifiability of the facts of the story, but the applicability of the principles behind the actions and attitudes of the characters depicted. In many stories of this instructive nature animal characters often are used and given human roles and words. In that way the message is graphically delivered without the risk of anyone taking it as a personal affront.

At the end of each storytelling session each child had homework to do, namely to pester a parent or uncle or any senior person to teach him or her a new story for the next day including the moral lessons and the responsorial songs that usually accompanied and punctuated each story. Apart from the formalized customary introductory greetings, the story-teller built up self confidence and at the same time drew the attention of the listeners by posing a series of rhetorical, aphoristic questions to which the audience were expected to respond Mba! (i.e., an emphatic No!)⁴⁰ Such questions involved truisms of daily experience like whether the most skillful climber ever attempts climbing an opete,⁴¹ whether fish ever drown in the river or a frog ever trips in the mud, whether one could crack a nut with an egg, whether the weight lifter ever lifts the ground, or the child in the womb ever speaks, etc. These aphoristic one-liners were an important tool used in highlighting moral impossibilities, or rather, moral improbabilities. They were designed to sharpen the moral sense of the little ones by drawing attention to the folly of one who would attempt the impossible or the inadvisable. The simple principle being demonstrated by them is, in a word, that one should know oneself, one's limitations and possibilities, and act within the realms of possibilities rather than exposing oneself to the folly of attempting the ridiculously impossible.

From time to time in the course of play and interaction children would intone a whole range of such aphorisms with their friends chorusing the second half of each. In traditional society it was a mark of erudition to be able to invoke strings of apt aphorisms to match any point of discussion. More importantly people seize the opportunity of even seemingly inconsequential occurrences like sneezing, to reaffirm their rule of life or what might be called a secular creed. Upon sneezing, those around will say the equivalent of "bless you!", but the one who sneezed will proceed with a barrage of "spontaneous" affirmations of a rule of life called iju-ogu.⁴²

In many ways the casual but effective process of internalizing and applying the content of these aphorisms without the stress associated with formal schoolwork, has something to say to Western formalized methods of inculcating ideas. By effortlessly invoking the appropriate "principle" to match a given situation, a child manifests a thorough grasp of the principles, their implications and their connections with one another with respect to daily moral determinations.

Use of Proverbs and Riddles

Intimately related to folktales are proverbs and riddles. The moralizing aspect of the tales is expressed in the terse statements of proper behavior appended to them, often as the culmination of the action, but sometimes only as an admonition that seems to have but little to do with the sequence of events leading up to it. Riddles, for their part, while not a part of the tales, form the prelude to storytelling sessions, where some of them are usually "pulled up" as a brain-teaser to sharpen wits for intelligent and participatory listening. A few examples will illustrate:

Question: What is it that tortures you in the presence of your parents?

Answer: Hunger.

Question: What happens to the fly that could never be advised?

Answer: He is buried with the carcass.

Question: What happens to the despot to whom no one dares to speak?

Answer: He could never be informed when his ceremonial clothes are soiled.

The use of proverbs involves an interesting methodological point for, while it is not difficult to record a long series of these short, pithy statements, it is quite different when one attempts to discover their significance. This can be achieved only by employing the technique of question-and-answer, where a hypothetical situation that seems to be in accord with the meaning of a given saying is presented to the informant, and then varied until the addressee is able to identify the understanding that most accurately reflects the meaning of the saying in the particular instance.⁴³ Proverbs are used to warn, to admonish, to reprove, to guide, to praise, to encourage. Facility in their use is a mark of erudition and elegance in speech. They reflect more clearly than other forms of folklore the deepest-set values of the people, showing the drives that motivate behavior and the controls that regularize the relations of an individual to his or her fellows. Here are a few samples:

1. Just one soiled finger and the entire hand will be rendered soiled. (Warning about the social implications of misconduct).

2. If the ear persistently refuses to hear, when the head is cut off, the ear goes with it. (Admonition against obstinacy).

3. When one resembles what he is caricatured with, laughter becomes irrepressible. (Reproof against foolishness of conduct).

4. A child is never scalded by a piece of yam given him by his mother. (Exhortation to trust and confidence).

5. When one is told to "keep it up," this means that his or her work is being appreciated. (Compliments for actions performed).

These proverbs flow freely in the course of daily speech and conversation. One is expected to understand them by applying them in the context. Some, however, are highly charged with meaning--sometimes ironical, sometimes cynical, and sometimes humorous. The addressee must do the homework him or herself and apply the message accordingly. The wise person will draw the lesson, the foolish will fail to see the point. Here are some examples:

1. "The lazy man eats little" is used to chide one who is eating heartily, but who had earlier refused to work.

2. "When an oil-palm nut is eaten in a hurry, ants get the lion's share" is used to bring back to reason one who is given to precipitous actions.

3. "Taking out with one hand and replacing with the other keeps the store stocked for tomorrow" is a thoughtful reminder for injudicious spending or use of things.

An important feature that renders such proverbs effective in driving home the moral message is, as has already been shown, that they could be attributed to an animal or even an inanimate object such as tortoise, or lizard, or python--anything whose characteristics could demonstrate the point being made. If the addressee chooses to take offence, let him or her refer to the animal quoted.

In style, Igbo proverbs employ terse and archaic terms for maximum effect. Such archaic words as ogori, ogodo, nnekolochie, umu-nnadi, are preferred to the more modem equivalents of nwanyi, akwa, oke-ibiri nwanyi ndi-mmadu, and mean respectively woman, clothing, old woman, and people. Thus the truant child is often warned: "Nwata a naghi agbalaha mbembe ya n'oso"no matter how fast or far a child tries to flee, he could never outrun his buttocks. That means that one's task, though unpleasant could never be escaped by flight. (In contemporary language mbembe or buttocks are expressed by "ike").

When one manages to pull through some personal difficulty in spite of a neighbor's refusal to help, the former is likely to declare as follows: "ihe a woro nwanyi a gbaala n'ahia"literally, what tantalized a woman has glutted the market, i.e., what was vaunted as being beyond anyone's reach has turned out to be something commonplace. The preference for archaic terms is dictated by the need to strike the chord of antiquity with the attendant authority it lends the principle being invoked, and to show that it was there before the speaker referred to it.

The Negative Way of Caution

Victor Uchendu points out an important method of instilling traditional morality through deterrence from laxity. He observes that Nigerians "tend to wash their dirty linen in public." Thus the fact that all eyes are watching and all tongues are ready to wag places a strong check on people's tendencies to laxity. When women quarrel, for instance, they mercilessly expose each other's follies and foibles--as they might have gathered from local and domestic gossip. Yelling at the top of their voices they narrate with graphic details each other's darkest sides. Uchendu calls this a transparent orientation, and anyone who would not have his or her sins told in the market place had better watch his or her conduct.

The negative way, though prevalent at the level of speech is not limited to speech alone; it applies also at the level of action and daily living. In daily social interaction, for example, food and drink are tasted by the host prior to their being offered to a guest. This is to show that they are free of any harmful contents. The host thus manifests his or her good will in first tasting what he or she has to offer. Not to taste food before presenting it can be construed as not to vouch for its wholesomeness. More importantly, to refuse something offered even after it has been tasted speaks volumes about how the host's moral, social and spiritual standing is perceived by the guest. Usually words are not required to make the point. ⁴⁵ Anyone that must enjoy the confidence of those around him or her must be seen to be beyond guile. This goes beyond an individual's clear conscience, for the clear conscience must manifest itself in ways that are identifiable by the community or it is as good as no conscience at all.

The concept of the good life is so built on transparency that the individual would dread anything with the potential to bring about shame or loss of face in any form. It is the people that give praise or blame and they base their judgment on what they know, see, hear, or in any way perceive about a person's external conduct. Thus the major deterrent of crime, concludes Uchendu, is not feeling guilt but feeling shame.⁴⁶

CONCLUSION

Traditional moral education in Nigeria has been able to provide comprehensively for all facets of human conduct and interpersonal relationships. It may lack the complexity and sophistication of the nuclear age, but its very simplicity has been its great strength. In its pure form, it has been free of the assaults of casuistic rhetoric that has characterized many modem ethical theories. The theories are often criticized. Barry Williams and Donald MacKinnon, for example, in their book, Soundings, claim that on closer inspection a great deal of what Christians often call virtue turns out to be cowardice.⁴⁷ Paul Tillich speaks of the moral law as too intolerable to be borne. John A. T. Robinson criticizes the idea of moral laws which come down directly from heaven and are eternally valid for human conduct.⁴⁸

Considered from those points of view, both the Judeo-Christian decalogue and the Kantian universalism of moral law will be found to be in instant trouble. Hegel would argue that nature and the moral agent are governed by separate sets of laws. In his view nature has no concern with moral consciousness, and the moral consciousness has no concern with nature. Nothing matters to the moral consciousness except its own inner purity. The moral agent, nevertheless, has to act and carry out purposes in the world, with the result that he cannot dislocate himself from the world altogether, but must in some measure at least subordinate it to himself.

J. D. Mabott goes further to argue against Kantian universalism: he insists that universalization produces a self-contradiction, since no new rules would be possible. According to him, if everyone said what was false, no one should expect the truth and so no one could be deceived. Therefore, "universal lying" is a self-contradiction, and so would be universal stealing.⁴⁹

I. Philip Wheelwright, The Burning Fountain (Gloucester, MA: Smith, 1982), pp. 33-34. See also Timothy Rogers Martin, "Andy Warhol as Artist and Teacher" in Religious Education, 84 (no 2, Spring, 1989), p. 285.

2. Theophilus Okere, "The Role of Religion in Moral Education," in New Perspectives in Moral Education, edited by O. A. Nduka and E. O. Iheoma, p. 52. Etymologically the term omere-ala can be broken down into omere = "maker of, that which constitutes;" and ala = literally "the soil" or "land," but in this instance it signifies human society.

3. Okere's interpretation, while significantly differing from the common usage of the term omenala is not necessarily contradictory to it. Omere-ala or "maker-of-society" would refer not to the order of material, but to that of efficient causality in the Aristotelian sense. It is "that-which-puts" human society on its way by giving it the nudge it requires precisely to be human. Okere's interpretation is therefore quite in order. On the other hand, it would be a mistake to consider the common usage omenala, in its literal sense of "what-obtains-in-society," "what-thrives-in-society," for that would limit it to the merely conventional sense of practices of whatever type and rob it of its primary meaning of "the-ought-of-society." It is thus a value-studded system of mores, ideals and standards that undergirds the people's behavior. Therefore its role in society is in the order of final causes: that which confers on human society its raison d'être precisely as a human society. It is this meaning that gives the term "omennala" the crucial place it has in the moral education of the people.

4. Edmund Ilogu, Christianity in lbo Culture (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1986), p. 123.

5. Ibid., p. 128.

6. What Ilogu seems to suggest here is that the Igbos separate duty from the realm of virtue, almost in line with the Kantian idea of duty for the sake of duty. This point of view, though plausible, is quite debatable. A detailed discussion of its deeper implications is, however, not within the scope of this exercise. Since the sense of achievement is highly cherished among the Igbos, one who falls short of this ideal could hardly expect any esteem in society.

7. See Gerhart Piers and Milton B. Singer, Shame and Guilt: A Psychoanalytic and Cultural Study (New York: W. Norton & Co., 1971), p. 99.

8. The question of Osu and diala distinction is steadily losing importance. People now mix more freely without ever bothering to find out whether the ancestors of their frield were osu or diala. And it does not make much difference in the relationship if they turn out to be the former. The twilight of the Osu-diala institution has arrived. The last hurdles will have been surmounted when the marriage barrier is finally broken. It is social pressure more than anything else that prevents most people from seeking to marry across this social barrier. A few have tried it though especially among the born-again Christians and charismatic groups. Practically no one believes in the deities anymore.

9. A widow was considered to be in ritual danger until she had performed the cleansing rite, normally after one calendar year. Indulging in sexual relationships was considered a blatant act of indiscipline and one capable of spreading pollution in society.

10. See Edmund Ilogu, op. cit., pp. 125-126. The 24 "commandments" as described by Professor Ilogu have been slightly rephrased in some cases for the purpose of clarity and for the benefit of a reader not familiar with the issues covered.

11. I had the occasion to hold hours of discussion of the real import of these injunctions with some very senior citizens of my home community. These people lived through the traditional society as well as the present. They were always glad to draw useful contrasts, sometimes nostalgic and sometimes with gratitude for the changes. Up to the 1930s and 1940s these laws were largely intact. Among the people I talked with were Nze Agwulonu, Samuel Asagwara Njoku, Peter Chima, David Nwachukwu, and my father Raphael Onyeocha Chukwu. These were very knowledgeable people. Most of them have now passed away in their 80s. The explanations that follow are a fruit of the insights gathered from the discussions that spanned from 1977 through 1987.

12. Jesus' opponents cynically attributed his miraculous deeds to the power of Beelzebub the prince of devils [Mt 12:24-27] and he reproached them for attributing the work of God to the agency of the devil.

13. The laws of nature presuppose the author of nature itself with whom there is no discussion or dispute, but before whom there is to be unquestioning obedience.

14. S.F. Nadel, The Black Byzantium (London: Oxford University Press, 1981), p. 165. The incest taboo is still very strong in contemporary Nigeria. The Western legal system would recognize marriage as valid within the third degree of consanguinity but in most parts of Nigeria so long as any blood relationship could be traced between the prospective intendeds, marriage would not be permissible, and sexual union would be considered more or less incestuous according as the relationship is close or remote.

15. Ibid.

16. This state of affairs has long ceased to be in vogue.

17. S.M.E. Bengu, Chasing Gods Not Our Own, Natal, (Republic of South Africa: Shuter & Shooter Pietermaritzburg, 1975), p. 72.

18. Ibid.

19. Flora Nwapa, Idu, (London: Heinemann Publishers, 1987), pp. 34-41.

20. Ibid.

21. Wole Soyinka, The Interpreters (London: Heinemann Publishers, 1987), p. 106. Cosmetic slimness was not particularly appreciated in Nigerian women. Preference was for the plump, rounded figure that was considered evidence of good living. Lanky women were thought to be the nagging type who, because of ceaseless inner conflict of soul were unable to derive proper nourishment from the food they ate.

22. "A woman shall be saved by childbearing", wrote St. Paul to Timothy. I Timothy 2:15.

23. John Munonye, Obi (London: Heinemann Publishers, 1987), p. 99.

24. Ibid.

25. It was possible for women to have concubines, especially if they were widowed. This was not reckoned as adultery. The concubine provided for the woman, maintained her hut, did the masculine jobs in her farm, and was a source of emotional and physical support and protection. If any children resulted from the liaison they bore the deceased's name and not that of the concubine. For more on the phenomenon of concubinage in its institutionalized form see Victor Uchendu, "Concubinage Among Ngwa Igbo of Southern Nigeria," Africa, vol XXXV No. 2 (1965), pp. 187-197.

26. James M. Hake, Child-Rearing Practices in Northern Nigeria (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1972), p. 39.

27. Ibid.

28. See John Kambalame, et al; Our African Way of Life, translated by Cullen Young & Hastings Banda (United Society for Christian Literature, London & Redhill: Lutterworth Press, 1946), pp. 48-54.

29. See E.A. Ade Adegbola, ed., Traditional Religion in West Africa (Ibadan, Nigeria: Daystar Press, 1983), pp. 34-45.

30. Ibid., p. 34.

31. Ibid., p. 38.

32. Ibid.

33. Ibid., p. 39.

34. Ibid.

35. The entire citation reads: "I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," (Galatians 2:19b-20a).

36. At about the age of seven a boy was considered too old to remain an inmate of the parental hut. See Kambalame, p. 50, note. This is hardly surprising since in traditional Nigeria, once a child was seven years of age he was treated almost as an adult and often would be brusquely reprimanded for misconduct: "You are not going back to your mother's womb, are you?" It was not uncommon to procure wives for 9 year-olds who gradually grew into it.

37. See Instructions for 12-14 year old lads, number 5.

38. E.W. Smith, Knowing the African, p. 138.

39. Ibid., pp. 157-158.

40. In the first few lines of exchange the storyteller (S) begins by calling on the participants' (P) attention the same way as a fan solicits a roar of support by shouting "Hip-hip-hip!" which promptly draws the response: "Hurray!

S: Takwru chee! (This means nothing specifically beyond the onomatopoeic sound that draws a response).

P: Eeh!

S: Takwru chee!

P: Eeh!

S: Ote elu o na-ete Opete?

P: Mba! . . . etc.

41. Opete is a flimsy, pulpy, leguminous reed that crumbles under the slightest pressure. The accents are here supplied to aid pronunciation.

42. See Chapter Seven for details on iju ogu.

43. See Simon & Phoebe Ottenberg, eds., Cultures and Societies of Africa (New York: Random House, 1960), p. 452.

44. V.C. Uchendu, The lbo of South Eastern Nigeria (London: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1985), p. 17.

45. The host should draw his own inference. If he feels he has been misunderstood he could either approach the guest and explain himself or invite the neighbors, state his case, and make a public declaration of his innocence of any wrongdoing or bad intentions. Following his declaration special ceremonies are performed that restore communion between him, his former guest, and the community. (Woe to him, however, if his declarations prove to be false, for his ostracism by the community would become total!).

The usual reasons for rejecting such victuals range from the host being perceived as guilty of either doubledealing, tendency to perjury, known tendency to apply poisons in foods for those he disagrees with or fears or hates, scandalous living, e.g., being associated with incestuous conduct. This includes any sexual activities involving people of the same village since people of the same village are considered blood relations and are not supposed to be sexually involved with each other.

46. Ibid.

47. Alec Vidler, ed., Soundings (London: Cambridge University Press, 1962), p. 81.

48. J.A.T. Robinson, Honest to God, p. 106

49. J.D. Mabbott, An Introduction to Ethics (London: Hutchinson University Library, 1986), p. 39.