JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

Cosmology contextualizes the world of the people and links their identity to their world of being. It is the perception of the world of the cultural people that provides interpretation to the complex issues that confront them. The Ogbanje phenomenon is one such complex theme in the Igbo world-view. The pervasiveness of the phenomenon makes it a household name in Igbo communities. The high endemicity explains the reference to it as a phenomenon within the ethnic settlements alongside the amalgam of its characteristics. A lot has been written about Ogbanje, some of which endeavoured to affirm the reality of the phenomenon. It has to be underscored, however, that knowledge is not always static. The revisiting of known cosmological themes in different research may be an occasion for uncovering new perspectives on what was known earlier. These may provide opportunities for the deepening of understanding, the alteration and, or modification of earlier held views in the light of discoveries. The impact of epistemological insight on culture, and their correlation respectively is understandable. This underlines the reality of cultural dynamism. The import and even contents of cultural givens may give way in the context of new finds that charts the course for a more accurate interpretation of the reality therein. The current work undertakes to investigate the Ogbanje phenomenon on purely rational grounds. This simply refers to the logic of the presenting problem followed by its intricacies and matrixes. The research surveyed the spread even beyond the Igbo geographical enclave; attempted an explication of the meaning vis-a-vis the grand narratives of its origin; the views of other scholars on Ogbanje and the characteristics of the social-cultural presentation as observed in its victims. Finally, the research offered contextual analysis and criticism of Ogbanje as regards our conventional state of knowledge which unfortunately provides a platform for operation as a reality of the people’s existential and phenomenological encounter with Ogbanje. The work proffered fresh insight that may lead to a paradigm shift in conventional understanding and lived relation with the Ogbanje phenomenon.