JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

The Igbo cultural milieu is pervaded by numerous ritual activities. Since for an Igbo and indeed the African, religion and culture are strictly interwoven, almost every major phase of man’s existential reality passes through the crucible of one ritual activity or the other. These rites range from rites of passage, circumcision rites, rites of naming, purification rites, burial and funeral rites, and the rites of widowhood, among others. The ceremony surrounding the ritual activities is usually performed with the devotion it demands. Every aspect of life is initiated or concluded thanks to one ritual activity or the other. Owing to the religious worldview of the Africans, these rituals, when not fully understood by outsiders, could be casually dismissed or judged to be irrational. At the death of one’s husband, the widowhood rite is expected to be celebrated through the instrumentality of some kinsmen/kinswomen. In the African global community, there is an evident setback in development based on the uninformed understanding even by promoters of some of these rites that even at times infringes on one’s freedom of worship. The researcher intends to explore a rite of widowhood and to what extent its dialogue with the Christian faith will help to arrive at a healthier understanding of the rites of widowhood. In this research, the researcher will use the descriptive method of investigating the rites of widowhood and its intricacies. The analytic approach will be used to give a critical examination of how through the dialogue with the Christian faith, the widowhood rites will minimize the setback it has created in some African communities.