TABOO AND WOMEN EDUCATION IN OWERRI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF IMO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Human behaviour is not only governed by rational decision making, sometimes often have shared values and standards of acceptable behaviour that members of the society are encouraged to follow. A culture of a society guides the behaviour and the thoughts of their members by agreed upon expectations and rules. The list of behavioural guidelines is typically referred to as social norms, while the unacceptable behaviours are tagged taboos (Fershtman, 2011).

A taboo is a prohibition against a certain act for moral or religious reasons. The word ‘taboo’ came from the Polynesian language where it means a religious restriction, or to break which would entail or attract some automatic punishment (Douglas, 2009). In simple terms, a taboo is a prohibited act.

Taboos were introduced to regulate the moral order of the society. They took their origin from the fact that people discerned that there were certain things which were morally approved or disapproved by the deity (Chukwuka, 2012). These are not contained in any written law but are preserved in the tradition. Taboos and superstitions were often regarded as integral part of traditional education. Taboos are put in place to safeguard the earth. Ekpunobi and Ezeaku (1990) opined that taboos are central to the socialization process, and thus ensure public peace, unity and stability of the society. In religious taboos, the forbidden item is believed to be unclean or sacred, and the taboo is imposed for protection against the item’s power. Violation of these prohibitions is considered moral, spiritual and social pollution of the land, requiring appropriate ritual for the purification of the offender and the community in order to appease the earth goddess (Obika, 2013).

In the traditional Igbo society, taboos were held in high esteem for the sake of preserving the land. Contravening any of them is regarded as abomination (nso ala or aru). According to Arinze (1970), abomination in the first place embraces serious personal and moral crimes according to Igbo morality. Taboos are not strange or new, it is a common thing for every town, culture or village to have one form of taboo or the other. Taboos actually vary from culture to culture, town to town and sometimes village to village. The people of Owerri North in Imo State are not any different. There abound some rules and regulations including taboos which are observed by the people of Owerri North. As well known, human behaviour is not governed by only rational decision making, every society (Owerri North inclusive) often has shared values and standards of acceptable behaviour which members are encouraged to follow. There are certain behaviour or attitudes that people of Owerri North regard as taboos. Some of them include marrying an outcast popularly referred to as “Osu”, a woman leading or controlling a man, women owning lands or building houses (in their names), sleeping with one’s blood relation among others. Each of these behaviours are regarded as taboo as far as people of Owerri North is concerned. Such actions attract punishment either from a deity or the people of the land.

However, Ikedioha (2008) noted that some of these taboos are no longer taken serious or effective because of the influence of Western Education and Christianity on the entire system of human existence for instance, the birth of twins is now being celebrated in most part of the world including Africa (Owerri North a part) where it used to be a taboo.

Western education brought with it great enlightenment and understanding. In the views of Ocho (2005), education is the process of enlightening one’s mind and intellect to be able to reason meaningfully and achieve his goals in life. Education is the process of acquisition of traits, skills, competencies and capabilities which are necessary for meaningful living in the society. It is equally a potent tool for achieving national objectives (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2004). Education is meant to enlighten and to be empowered. It equally leads to empowerment. Though there are two types of education; formal and non-formal, each of them are meant to help recipients become better citizens by making meaningful contributions to the society. Though education is a basic right of all citizens (women inclusive), many women are not educated as some men Nwosu (2013) observed that some taboos in Igbo land seem directly against women. She maintained that there are certain taboos that are meant to frustrate a woman especially in the area of education. Offorma (2009) earlier noted that many women have been educationally disadvantaged due to certain taboos. It is against this background that the present study is set to examine taboos and their effect on women education in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Taboo is as old as mankind. Since the time of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, God himself placed some rules (dos and don’ts) to Adam and Eve, in which violation attracted a curse to mankind. As part of the curse pronounced by God, the creator to Eve, as a result of violating the rule was that her desire shall be to her husband. Since then till date, women have suffered terrible denials, consequences based on this age-long declaration by God, the creator, most. Communities in Igboland have held on to this and had made several rules (taboos) that are inimical to women advancement and empowerment.

In Owerri North, certain taboos are observed which are binding on everyone. Most times, these taboos are seen to affect the women negatively than the men. Some expressions/words are condoned if used by men but regarded as taboo when used by women. Again, a situation whereby if a man is caught in adultery, his wife does not divorce him but if a woman is caught in same adultery, the marriage automatically ends. With the introduction of Western education, and its attendant influence in changing some age-long held norms, it seems there may be an effect of women education in observance of some taboos. Now, the problem of the study is embedded in this broad question “how does taboo affect the education of women in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State?