Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Yoruba (African people) Igbo (African people) Nigeria'

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on month day year) Includes bibliographical references.

The study explored the cultural dynamics of construction of sexual intercourse within gender constructions of masculinity and femininity among the Yoruba people of South western Nigeria. The Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC/ETIC) framework, a cultural explanatory social analytic framework with guides to looking at the insiders' perspectives, was used as the theoretical base to the study. The study was conducted to broaden understanding of sexual relationships in order to generate culturally relevant programmes that can promote sexual health, control sexual coercion, sexual violence and reduce the transmission and spread of HIV. It explored information about the conceptions of sexual relationships, social dynamics of sexual negotiations in marital and non-marital relationships, the expressions and process of knowledge acquisition as such translates to sexual behaviour by men and women. The prevalence of consensus, coercive and forced sexual intercourse and sexual morbidity were determined. Perceived link of sexual coercion and sexual violence to HIV transmission was also explored. Traditional practices, including regulatory mechanisms for the control of sexual behaviour of men and women in the culture were also explored. Equally focused in the study were differences in the conceptions of sexual relationships among the study population as moderated by sex, age, educational background and marital status, along with experiences of sexual coercion, forced sex, and sexual intercourse related morbidity. Adopting the ethnographic method, qualitative data from historical review of existing information about the Yoruba people, focus group discussions, in-depth individual interviews and observations were complemented by quantitative data generated through a survey in a sample Yoruba community of lIe-Ife. Findings showed the conception of sexual relationships and sexual intercourse built around the conception and social constructions of active masculinity and passive femininity. Conceptions of sexual relationship evolved as a transitional phenomenon that individuals were expected to learn informally instinctually and as they attain sexual biological maturity through language use and observations of practices among older people. Two typologies of masculinity and femininity were discernible in the study population that also give specifications to social and sexual behaviour of men and women. There appeared a changing conception of femininity especially among young people below 30 years, which is also informing sexual behaviour of young women. Relationships were moderated by age, economic status and marriage, which invariably put women in subordinate position to men either in social or sexual relationships. Behaviour of men and women were dictated by social role assignment of leadership through economic provisions for family and control of sexual act by the man. This was within a contractual relationship of older men with younger women with the primary motive of procreation in traditional orientation. Sexual intercourse was seen as a compulsory act for both men and women especially as it results to procreation though the initiation and control were part of the social responsibility of the man. It was socially approved within marriage but pre-marital and extra marital relationships were tolerated more for men. The act was also used "as a prove of self", for economic gains, to demonstrate love, for enjoyment and as a tool of punishment of women by some men. Knowledge acquisition about sexual relationships and sexual intercourse tended to be inadequate throughout the life span. There was never a time when individuals, even after marriage, have access to correct information about sexual intercourse. There was gross assumption of what sexual partners know about sexual intercourse in the population. Within the context of 13 identifiable topical knowledge areas desirable for sexual health, more than 50% of males and females expressed lack of knowledge. There were significant differences in expressed knowledge by male and female respondents of what sexual intercourse is and the motives of sexual intercourse
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

This study is a critique of Aso Ebi in Owambe social uniform and social performance phenomena of the Yoruba culture of Nigeria in West Africa. The Aso Ebi phenomenon is a social uniform that is inextricable from the Owambe spectacle of the Yoruba culture, which, in itself, is a social performance. Aso Ebi is a fabric that is selected, made into garments and worn by groups of people who are related to one another in various ways such as family, friends or comrades. The uniforms are worn for social gatherings, especially celebrations, which are popularly called Owambe. These celebrations are very elaborate and loud, much like a grand spectacle put on to show wealth, unity and flamboyance. The research is the explanation of how the Aso Ebi and Owambe social uniforms manifest themselves and this manifestation is presented through a body of artworks. The artworks seek to expose the unseen actualities involved in participating in these social performances and issues of social survival within these cultural phenomena. The analysis addresses the impacts and influence of conformity in cooperative behaviour by an individual within his/her social identity and relationships. The main question this study addresses is whether the positive factors of unity, social order and expressive visual flamboyance of the social phenomena outweigh the negative impacts particularly on the individuals who participate in these social performances. This is done by acknowledging the experiences of the participating individuals in the conformity and transmission modes of these phenomena in this culture. The visual productions of the concepts in the research are achieved through performance, collages, photography and a sculptural installation. The significance of these emergent visual productions is that they shift the focus from the impression of the group to the conformity by the individual. This highlights the problems faced by the participating individuals in the pursuit and participation of this cultural phenomenon.
Department of Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology
M.A. (Visual Arts)

A research project submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of arts in psychology through the Faculty of humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Socio-cultural factors and contexts influence sexuality and associated practices across the life course. Few studies have questioned what constitutes sexuality, sexual pleasure, and notions of risky sexual practices, and how elderly people engage in help-seeking for sexual health promotion and problem-solving. In response to the dearth of such research in Africa, this thesis explores the cultural interpretations, values, beliefs, and embodied practices associated with sexuality and help-seeking behaviour among urban-dwelling elderly Yoruba people (60–80 years and above) in the city of Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria. In addition, it investigates healthcare providers’ (biomedical and traditional) perceptions of sexuality and the prevention, treatment, and promotion of sexual health in old age. The thesis is rooted in Bourdieu’s social practice theory, Harré and Langenhove social positioning theory and an anthropological perspective on age-graded sexualities. From an interpretative constructivist framework, the thesis adopts an exploratory sequential mixed design. The design entails collecting and analysing qualitative and quantitative data in a single study. The choice of research design was informed by the perspective that diverse but relevant methodological positions opens the window into contextual understanding of sexuality in old age. The qualitative data consists of 12 vignettes based on focus group discussion (FGD) with three categories (60-69, 70-79 and 80 years and above) of 107 elderly men and women. From a thematic analysis, the FGD findings informed the conduct of 18 semi-structured interviews on equal proportion with elderly men and women (60+) and 11 semi-structured interviews with 2 healthcare providers (biomedicine and traditional medical systems). Subsequently, the thematic findings from the FGDs and interviews informed the development of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered among 252 elderly Yoruba people (60+). The findings reveal a dominance normative beliefs and cultural expectations around bodily changes characterised the gendered differences in sexual experiences and expectations in old age. From the exemplary perspective, the ‘good old age’ connotes compliance with normative sexual orientations, beliefs, and practices. The qualitative and quantitative results affirmed the existence and engagement in penetrative and pleasurable sex at differentiated degrees for elderly men and women. The qualitative findings reveal a lack of consensus regarding the age elderly women or men should disengage from sexual activities. The survey shows that more women (75.8%) than men (54%) agreed that elderly people of their age should stop having sex. The qualitative findings also reveal that health challenges, psychosocial satisfactions in marriage, differences in sexual prowess, and financial independence affect engagement and desires in sexual activities. Two-thirds (60.3%) of the survey respondents also agreed that elderly men and women should engage in sexual activities if their health allows. The body as a ‘site of moral action’ places elderly women and men at differentiated positions within heterosexual normativity. From a disadvantaged stance, sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman can result in a folk sexual dysfunction known as idakole (poor erection and quick ejaculation) for men. Furthermore, sex with menstruating or menopausal women could cause loss of spiritual powers for men. These views resonate with some taboos on sex and efficacy of some traditional medicine. As a form of contestation, bodily changes during menopause represent a period of abstaining, suppressing or disengaging from obligatory sexual duties. It also affords women the avenue to avoid the experience of oyun iju (a socially constructed folk pregnancy). As a counter reaction, menopause also provides valid positions 3 for some sexually active elderly men to seek new intimate relations with younger women. By expounding on the privileged position of men, the findings portray a normative view that elongates men’s sexual retirement until death. Without doubting the possibilities of losing sexual prowess with age, the use of traditional aphrodisiacs was perceived to improve sexual performance and pleasures. Such measures are scarce for women, except those that could aid male’s sexual pleasures when used by women like ado dun (pleasurable and irresistible vagina sex). In this light, the thesis argues that the differentiated gendered framing of bodily changes and sexuality take the body as a moral and health site to arrive at an interpretation of old age that could influence ageing experience as ‘good’ or ‘miserable’. The findings also show that the premium on penetrative sex and pleasures create differentiated opportunities for elderly men to contract sexual infections. The possibilities of contracting sexual infections among sexually active elderly people was not doubted. Gonorrhoea, syphilis and magun (a folk sexual infection) emerged as common examples of sexual infections among old and young in the study settings. Gonorrhoea and syphilis can be treated via biomedicine and traditional medicine. Magun and HIV are untreated sexual infections but are preventable through sexual abstinence and use of traditional medical measures. Traditional preventive measures such as onde (amulet), ajesara (incisions and digestible concoctions) perform dual functions: prevent disease and guarantee pleasurable sex. Both qualitative and quantitative results reveal that condom use can prevent sexually transmitted infections. However, condom use was also conceived to reduce sexual pleasures for men and women. In this direction, the survey results affirm that condom use can reduce sexual pleasures for elderly men (77.8%) and women (22.2%), respectively. More than average (55.7%) of the female and about one-third (44.3%) of the male respondents also perceive the condom as more useful for younger people. 4 With the possibilities of contracting sexual infections, the qualitative findings affirm that aetiological explanations around a sexual health problem can act as a constraint and also facilitate medical help-seeking. Also, shameful feelings, stigma, and unstable or poor financial conditions inhibit responsive help-seeking. More than one-third (49.6%) of the survey respondents perceived doctors’ indifference as a constraint. This was followed by shame (22.6%), neglect from other family members (10.7%) and neglect of children (10.3%). Contraction of sexual infection in old age can also lead to withdrawal of quality support from significant others. The thesis argues that the social framework of the exemplary elder influence post-reproductive sexual health outcomes within the study context. Healthcare providers from the two medical systems acknowledged the need for post-reproductive sexual health care services. Such services were, however, perceived along the gender divide as more elderly males than females expressed and sought help from both systems. The provisions of post-reproductive sexual health services within the biomedical system attracted some pluses. A few of the female participants acknowledge the efforts of biomedical trained physicians and nurses in creating awareness on how to overcome menopausal challenges. The findings highlight that socio-cultural understandings of the intersections among ageing, sexuality, and gender influence framing of sexual health needs and unequal sexual health outcomes in old age. The possibility of such influences lie in cultural conceptions of the ideal body and the appropriate timing of sexual activities. Such normative views therefore influence how elderly people make sense of bodily changes, their sexuality, help-seeking, and response to sexual health needs from health care providers. Healthcare professionals from both medical systems are also prone to the influence of normative social frameworks in responding to post-reproductive sexual health needs. With the need to achieve a healthy ageing population and the 5 existing gaps in post-reproductive sexual health services, this thesis argues that normative beliefs, values and practices around sexuality influence sexual experiences, practices, dispositions to sexual infections, availability and access to post-reproductive sexual healthcare services within the study settings. Public enlightenment around sexual rights across the life course are needed to complement a review of existing sexual healthcare services in Nigeria. It will also improve the therapeutic relations between professional healthcare providers and their elderly clients. These initiatives can position professional healthcare providers for responsive diagnosis, prevention and management of post-reproductive sexual health needs and a possible realisation of healthy ageing population in Nigeria.
GR2017

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Translation.
Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-165). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11817

This thesis is divided into two main parts. Part one is the presentation of the ethnomusicological research study on Abigbo choral dance music, and indigenous music type found in the Mbaise area of Ibgo land in Nigeria. This part is made up of three chapters. Chapter one present the research out line for this work, which contains the Background of the study, personal motivation for the study, need for the study, methodology and value of the study. Chapter two presents a study of Abigbo music and the musicians. In this chapter, the researcher discussed the socio-cultural and creative milieu of Abigbo musicians, the creative performance process, the theoretical content of Abigbo music, and the artistic criticism as well as social aesthetics normative in Abigbo music appreciation. Chapter three of the work discussed transcription and analyses of traditional Ibgo music. Some problems of transcription and analyses in Ibgo music are argued from the perspectives of other writers and the researcher’s experience. The transcription and analysis techniques are then applied to selection Abigbo music repertory. This part of the thesis is, therefore, an Ethnomusicological study of Abigbo music and musicians in which identifiable musical elements, compositional principles and the stylistic forte of Abigbo choral-dance music are discussed. The research-study enables the researcher to identify seminal compositional materials for the modern symphony orchestra composition deriving from the creative principles of Abigbo music. Part two of this work is, essentially, an original creative work for the modern symphony orchestra applying the musical elements, compositional principles and style of Abigbo choral-dance music. This part is in three chapters: four, five and six. Chapter four is the composition of “Abigbo for Modern Symphony Orchestra”. It is a three movement orchestral work in contrasting tempi, in which the second movement introduces a male chorus with the orchestra. Chapter five is a detailed analysis of the work and its compositional procedure. Chapter six presents the conclusions and projections emanating from the study. Part II then presents a perspective in the creative continuum of African music informed by Abigbo choral-dance music. It is a study of Abigbo choral-dance music of the Mbaise people in Igbo land of Nigeria and the application of its elements, compositional principles and style in the composition of modern art music for a modern symphony orchestra.
Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2006.
Music
DMus
unrestricted

CPE is Western in origin, it can be transplanted and adapted to the Igbo soil and be fedb with the local nutrients. In the view of the researcher, this can bring about a new CPE model which is called the "Family/Community-Based CPE Model." The above mentioned model puts the family and community at the center of the CPE program. The CPE center will be located in a community-based setting that will enable the CPE students to visit different families and experience community life and to learn how the people respond to different events in their lives. The students can also visit ceremonies that give meaning to the people's lives such as marriage, naming, funerals and other events through which the people express their communal life. Inter-professional collaboration can take place between the CPE center and different professionals, as well as the local practitioners. All these experiences will form part of the verbatim reports and reflections during the program. The already existing actionreflection- action model of CPE will be remodeled to be theory-observation-action-reflection. It is this CPE model that the researcher proposes for the Igbo society.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The pillars on which this study is based (stands) could be compared with the observations of Ejiofor (1981: 4), who says the modern-and-African political models have not been sufficiently discovered, developed, and operated in African states. One thinks that the social and political behaviour of African people are in conflict with the present day political structures and institutions. Political and economic actors fail to harness the knowledge, attitudes, and responses with the indigenous values. Own to these reasons the present political dispensations in Africa are misconceived and ill-adapted to their reality. Hence, the call for detailed study of home-grown African values as a means to redress these imbalances has become inevitable. This study is based on Igbo cultural solidarity as a means to address and achieve rural development in Africa. Meanwhile, this study attempts to re-ignite and re-echo ‘people-based’ and understood ‘home-based’ models of achieving rural development as focused on Okigwe-Owerri-Orlu political divisions among the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)

The pillars on which this study is based (stands) could be compared with the observations of Ejiofor (1981: 4), who says the modern-and-African political models have not been sufficiently discovered, developed, and operated in African states. One thinks that the social and political behaviour of African people are in conflict with the present day political structures and institutions. Political and economic actors fail to harness the knowledge, attitudes, and responses with the indigenous values. Own to these reasons the present political dispensations in Africa are misconceived and ill-adapted to their reality. Hence, the call for detailed study of home-grown African values as a means to redress these imbalances has become inevitable. This study is based on Igbo cultural solidarity as a means to address and achieve rural development in Africa. Meanwhile, this study attempts to re-ignite and re-echo ‘people-based’ and understood ‘home-based’ models of achieving rural development as focused on Okigwe-Owerri-Orlu political divisions among the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)

The thesis explored the story of the healing of the ten lepers by Jesus in Luke 17:11-19 for its potential to facilitate a conversation between the Jesus context and the Yoruba context, to bring about a new praxis in the attitude of Yoruba Christian to people living with HIV and AIDS. In view of the fact that the context is a major determinant in the interpretations that ecumenical theologians make with the Bible, it calls on the interpreter to re-read the text in the culture of the people. And in a bid for African biblical scholarship to locate itself within the social, political and ecclesiastical context of Africa in the age of globalization and the scourge of HIV and AIDS crisis, a contextual reading of Jesus’ attitude and compassionate response to the wish of the ten lepers as presented in Luke for healing and restoration is not only desirable in this research but an opportunity to reflect on the contribution of contextual exposition of the miracle story to the contemporary attitude of Christians in an HIV and AIDS era. HIV and AIDS is a disease which not only plunders human bodies but also invades the attitude and behaviour of societies generating a kind of social pathology. Hence the definition of social phenomena is culturally determined and therefore the explanation and the attitudes of health and illness is a function of culture. As a result this has great implications for the attitude and behaviour of people towards sick people especially people living with HIV and AIDS in this era. Drawing insights from the model of the body as social map by Mary Douglas in which the concern and fight around social boundaries are linked with purity rules and taboo; and the labeling/deviancy theory of Becker, this research reads the Gospel of Luke with a social-scientific lens selected texts in Luke’s Gospel depicting the attitude of Jesus to outcasts (lepers). It also raises the question, whether being a Christian, having the Bible as a resource in the Yoruba context does or can make a difference to the way Yoruba people respond to sick people in an HIV and AIDS era. The empirical study was carried out in the Yoruba community of Ijebu Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria employed research methods which include the Tripolar exegetical method, an ethnographic study through focus group discussions, non-participatory observation and the contextual Bible study method.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

This dissertation is concerned with the restoration of relevance of the Church ministry into the family system, in a given cultural area. The Igbo people of Nigeria are the principal foci for the research. They have experienced difficult times which this research considers to be the source for their emotional depression. One of the greatest problems which a family can face is being in crisis. Under this condition, it is completely disorganized. Such a family cannot think constructively nor plan together as a family for ways ahead, unless they are assisted. The joy and happiness of family life is lost. This study considers emotional depression to be a crisis faced by a dysfunctional family. Despite the presence of many Churches in Igboland, more families are still facing crisis. This points to the idea that the Church is not yet responding well to the caring needs of her members. The researcher believes that if the Anglican Church in Igboland can adopt the concept of the death and resurrection of Jesus after three days, which she teaches, in her caring ministry her services to the families will be more relevant. To succeed in this, the socio-cultural background of the people must be put into consideration. The main discussion on the crisis faced by the Igbo families is in chapters four and five. Chapter two gives the social, political, religious and economic background responsible for the crisis of the Igbos within Nigeria. Chapter three deals with the family system, highlighting both the functional and dysfunctional family system. Chapter six looks into the meaning ofthe Church and pastoral care by the Church, while chapter seven considers ways and means of restoring hope to a depressed family. The researcher believes that a sincere giving of pastoral care and counselling within the Anglican Church in Igboland will bring about the healing, sustaining, reconciling and restoring of the already depressed families. This will mean resurrection of family life. There will be true reconciliation among individuals within a family and between the family and God.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

Text in English
Through an in-depth analysis of selected texts, this study engages with the ways in which Ogun is reimagined by recent selected Nigerian playwrights. Early writers from this country, influenced by their modernist education, misrepresented Ogun by presenting only his so-called negative attributes. Contemporary writers are reconceptualising him; it is the task of this thesis to demonstrate how they are doing so from a decolonial perspective. These alleged attributes represent Ogun as a wicked, bloodthirsty, arrogant and hot tempered god who only kills and makes no positive contribution to the Yoruba community. The thesis argues that the notion of an African god should be viewed from an Afrocentric perspective, not a Eurocentric one, which might lead to violence or misrepresentation of him. The dialogue in the plays conveys how the playwrights have constructed their main characters as Ogun representatives in their society. For example, Mojagbe and Morontonu present Balogun, the chief warlord of their different community; both characters exhibit Ogun features of defending their community. The chosen plays for this study are selected based on different notions of Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron and war, presented by the playwrights. A closer look at the primary materials this thesis explores suggests Ogun’s strong connection with rituals and cultural festivals. These plays exemplify African ritual theatre. Being a member of the Yoruba ethnic group, I have considerable knowledge of how festivals are performed. The Ogun festival is an annual celebration among the Yoruba, where African idioms of puppetry, masquerading, music, dance, mime, invocation, evocation and several elements of drama are incorporated into the performances. The selected plays critiqued in this thesis are Mojagbe (Ahmed Yerima, 2008), Battles of Pleasure (Peter Omoko, 2009), Hard Choice (Sunnie Ododo, 2011), and Morontonu (Alex Roy-Omoni, 2012). No in-depth exploration has previously been undertaken into the kinds of textual and ideological identities that Ogun adopts, especially in the selected plays. Therefore, using a decolonial epistemic perspective, this study offers a critical examination of how the selected Nigerian playwrights between the years 2008 and 2012 have constructed Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron. Such a perspective assists in delinking interpretations from the modernised notions mentioned above, in which Ogun is sometimes a paradoxical god. Coloniality is responsible for such misinterpretation; the employed theoretical framework is used to interrogate these notions. The research project begins with a general introduction locating Ogun in Yoruba mythology, which forms the background to how the god is being constructed in Yorubaland. Also included iii in this first chapter is a discussion on a decolonial perspective, the principles of coloniality, the aims and objective of the study, and the relevant literature review. Thereafter, chapter two focuses on Battles of Pleasure and argues that the play re-imagines Ogun as a god of peace and harvest as opposed to a god of war and destruction. Chapter three discusses how Ododo’s Hard Choice reconceptualises Ogun as a god of justice, in contrast to him being interpreted as a god who engages in reckless devastation of life. Chapter four explores Ogun’s representation in Yerima’s Mojagbe as a reformer who gives human beings ample time to change from their wayward course to a course that he approves. In chapter five, Ogun’s reconception as a remover of obstacles in Roy-Omoni’s Morontonu is examined. The study concludes with a discussion on how Africans should delink themselves from a modernist Eurocentric perspective and think from an Afrocentric locus of enunciation.
English Studies
D. Litt. et Phil.(English)