According to the custom of the Yorubas, an Abiku is any. child who dies and is reborn several times into the same. family; hence, the life-span of an Abiku is characteristically. very short indeed. Owing to the ephemeral nature of its life, an Abiku com-
What are the characteristics of Abiku?
Abikus are described as spirit children whose mercurial treatment, even rejection, of their parents (mothers especially) leave the mothers in most pitiable state (Soyinka, 1981; Okri, 1995 and Ogunyemi, 1996). Abiku children inflict a lot of pain and agony on their mothers.
What does emere mean?
An emere is a spirit in disguise, misrepresenting death as life, and is clever enough to disguise its objectives. Believed to be more powerful than witches, they most often die on a particular day of joy.
What is an Ogbanje spirit?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. An ọgbanje is a term in Odinani (Igbo: ọ̀dị̀nànị̀) for what was thought to be an evil spirit that would deliberately plague a family with misfortune. Belief in ọgbanje in Igboland is not as strong as it once was, although there are still some believers.
What is the Yoruba tribe famous for?
Yoruba communities traditionally live in agricultural compounds, and many practice their native religion featuring a vast pantheon of deities. The Yoruba are also famed for their music, define by one of the most complex drumming cultures in the world.
What is an Ogbanje child?
Ogbanje is an Igbo ( Nigeria) expression meaning a repeater or one who comes and. goes (Ilechukwu, 1990/1991). It is a term commonly used to describe a child or. adolescent that is said to repeatedly die and be repeatedly born by the same. mother.
What is English name of Abiku?
Abiku is a Yoruba word that can be translated as predestined to death. It is from (abi) that which was born and (iku) death.
How do I know if I am an Ogbanje?
This is the most common understanding. Ogbanje that don’t die the during infancy are believed to grow up to be very attractive and rebellious. Often troubled or troublesome children that will ultimately die early if measures aren’t taken. Because of this, many rebellious or vain children are called ‘ogbanje’.
What is the theme of the poem Abiku?
Summary: The poem is about the concept of the child that dies while still only a child, then gets reborn by the mother only for the child to die again. It is believed that it is the late child that comes back to life. This belief cuts accross Africa. The Yoruba people calls this child ‘Abiku’.
What are water spirits called?
In Germanic mythology: The Neck (English) or the Nix/Nixe/Nyx (German) are shapeshifting water spirits who usually appear in human form. The Undine or Ondine is a female water elemental (first appearing the alchemical works of Paracelsus).
Is Agbala male or female?
In Igbo culture, women are considered weaker than the men and thus it’s an insult to men to be called an agbala. Okonkwo is acutely aware of what it means to be a man in the Igbo tribe and is ashamed that someone might call him or his male relations agbala. “He belongs to the clan,” he told her [Okonkwo’s eldest wife].
Why is Okonkwo exiled?
Because killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, Okonkwo must take his family into exile for seven years in order to atone. He gathers his most valuable belongings and takes his family to his mother’s natal village, Mbanta.
Can Igbo marry Yoruba?
Despite the fact that Igbos and Yorubas aren’t in too good terms, there are typically contentions and hutches when Yoruba and Igbo couples marry out of their tribe. There are many who chose to do inter-marriage, damning all consequences involved. … The Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups are two significant tribes in Nigeria.
Is Yoruba hard to learn?
The Yoruba language is probably the most scholastically studied indigenous West African language, which makes it one of the easiest African languages to learn. The Yoruba people are well-traveled and scattered across major continents in the world.
How do u say hello in Nigerian?
Sannu! A traditional Nigerian greeting used by the Idoma in Benue State area, Abole translates roughly as “How are you?” or simply “Hello”. Literally translated as “how are you?”, Mavo is the way the Urhobo’s say “hello”. It can be used in formal situations, or in cases where you are more relaxed with acquaintances.
What do the Igbo believe in?
Traditional Igbo religion includes belief in a creator god (Chukwu or Chineke), an earth goddess (Ala), and numerous other deities and spirits as well as a belief in ancestors who protect their living descendants. Revelation of the will of the deities is sought by divination and oracles.
What is ogbanje in Yoruba?
‘Ogbanje’, ‘Abiku’, ‘Eka-Abasi’, ‘Fon’ and ‘Danwabi’ among the Igbo, Yoruba, Efik and Hausa respectively refer to those children who are born and die shortly after or later in their youthful age. It belongs to the variety of undomesticated spirits who do not have shrines or temples.
Why did nwoye convert to Christianity?
Nwoye converts to Christianity largely to reject the excessive standard of masculinity his father wants him up to uphold. Nwoye is not at all like his father, and Okonkwo constantly punishes him for being different. Stifled by his father’s expectations, Nwoye runs away and joins the European church.
What does Aina mean in Yoruba?
DEFINITION: Aina in Yoruba is a female child that has her umbilical cord tied around her neck at birth. Ojo is the opposite of Aina.
What is the meaning of Ilori in Yoruba?
Special Treasure Ilori (meaning Special Treasure in Yoruba) is a surname.
When was Abiku written?
three literary texts by three Nigerian writers namely, J. P. Clark- Bekederemo’s poem Abiku (1965), Wole Soyinka’s poem also enti- tled Abiku (1967) and Ben Okri’s novel The Famished Road (1991), where the protagonist is an abiku child (see the two poems in the appen- dix at the end of this article).
What are ogbanje and what is done with them?
An ogbanje is an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, a kind of malevolent trickster, whose goal is to torment the human mother by dying unexpectedly only to return in the next child and do it all over again.
Why is ogbanje important?
Ogbanje is what the Ibo believe to be a wicked child. This child is born, then dies in infancy, and then enters his mother’s womb to be born again. This belief caused dead babies to be mutilated to try and stop the wicked child from returning. … This story helps to reveal some of the tribal culture and belief.
What does Egwugwu mean?
egwugwu: a masquerader who impersonates one of the ancestral spirits of the village.
What is the theme of the poem to my first white hairs?
Wole Soyinka’s poem shows the differences in his heritage. His spiritual ideas are common, especially, the Yoruba pantheon of deities, and Christian, and his social training draws from African cultures, as exposed to modernization, and Western cultures. The poet explains that she was waiting for white hair to appear.
What is stylistic analysis of a poem?
Stylistic analysis of a poem can show how poetic style creates meanings and effects (Bradford, 2005). It is not only about the poet’s style, but how the poet chooses certain patterns in a stanza, for instance, can be used as linguistic evidence to draw the meaning of a poem.
Who is the author of the poem Abiku?
Abiku by Wole Soyinka for Poets of West Africa Workshop. Wanderer child. It is the same child who dies and returns again and again to plague the mother. And repeated time.
Graduated from ENSAT (national agronomic school of Toulouse) in plant sciences in 2018, I pursued a CIFRE doctorate under contract with Sun’Agri and INRAE in Avignon between 2019 and 2022. My thesis aimed to study dynamic agrivoltaic systems, in my case in arboriculture. I love to write and share science related Stuff Here on my Website. I am currently continuing at Sun’Agri as an R&D engineer.