The Igbo: Comments about the Myth.
A myth can simply be defined as a traditional story accepted as history and serves to explain the world view of a people. Myths also are meant to enlighten people on a view of their traditional background. The myth about the Igbo people is very clear and self explanatory to an extent. It is of great significance in our society as well as in our lives today. In our society today, food production is very essential to sustain human’s day to day activities. In the first part of the myth, Ale who is the mother of the earth gave herself up and became one with the earth. The growth of crops started from here. Also we can see also bring up the issue about why humans are buried in the earth when they die. The second part of the myth also brings up a situation whereby when the son and daughter of Eri were buried; yams and coco yams grew on their graves. From this, we can say that without them being buried in the earth, growth of crops would not have been possible. This is a major role this myth is playing in our society today; One of which why man is buried in the earth today and the other, why growth of crops occurs from such burials.
Speaking about the time, place and geography surrounding this myth, there is not much to talk about but it is evident that they started living in areas from the foothills of the mountains of Cameroun to the delta of the Niger. We can also say that this myth is a pure reflection of a pre-modern society where religious beliefs are very strong. The existence of sacrifices is a good example of such beliefs. There is also the fact that this myth was long after the death of Jesus because during his time, there was nothing like the Igbo society.
As we all know, myths are supposed to explain things of which sounds abstract in form of story. There is a clear difference between pre-modern society and modern society. So also is the myth. Myths from the pre-modern society talk about how certain things came to being and there about but speaking about our modern myths, they are based on facts of which should be scientifically and historically accurate. The myth about the Igbo people has nothing to do with science. Also it is not proven historically accurate so we cannot say that it is similar to myths of today. Therefore, we are lacking such myths. We cannot be exact about whether our myths of today exist in other forms similar to those of the olden days but we know that the old myths are based on origin while myths in our modern societies are geared towards what actually is going on around us.
Furthermore, the myths which we have today always want to make us look back into the past and draw a close evaluation between them. Also, there are also very old myths of which cannot be compared with other myths between such periods. This myth about the Igbo is talking about how Ale became one with the earth and also how Eri buried his family also in the earth and from there the growth of crops started. There are various myths about creation. According to Christians, God created the world and everything in it; everything including crops. So how therefore did growth of crops start growing from spots where dead people were buried? I don’t think there are similarities between these two myths I am talking about here.
The modern society in which we inhabit now is based on hierarchy. The structure, of which the society is setup, is an organized one. To better explain the role of this myth in the society, I will narrow it down to the Igbo society. In the Igbo society for instance, there are kings, chiefs, local government area leaders and many more. The Igbo myth explains to us how Eri was subject to a master that is Chukwu. Also, the myth explains to us how the Eze title was formed. The Eze in an Igbo village hierarchy oversees everybody in that society. In the Igbo society today, the Eze title is still in existence. Therefore, we can say that this myth plays a very important role in the structure of the society today.
Finally, apart from the fact that myths are meant to impact knowledge about the history of certain things in our various traditions, they also have sense of values of which can have influence on different people. The myth about the Igbo is one in which draws great attention to many. People begin to ponder on the question; why would crops grow from where humans were buried. It is important to note that this myth also makes us understand disobedience comes with a consequence. When Eri tried to deceive Chukwu, the ichi scar-marking was introduced to differentiate the children of Eri from the slaves. Also, we should not forget that the myth also brings to our understanding the reason why humans are buried in the earth. Ale who is the mother of the earth mixed and became one with it. The myth says “this is why crops come from the land and why humans return to earth when they die”.
Speaking about the time, place and geography surrounding this myth, there is not much to talk about but it is evident that they started living in areas from the foothills of the mountains of Cameroun to the delta of the Niger. We can also say that this myth is a pure reflection of a pre-modern society where religious beliefs are very strong. The existence of sacrifices is a good example of such beliefs. There is also the fact that this myth was long after the death of Jesus because during his time, there was nothing like the Igbo society.
As we all know, myths are supposed to explain things of which sounds abstract in form of story. There is a clear difference between pre-modern society and modern society. So also is the myth. Myths from the pre-modern society talk about how certain things came to being and there about but speaking about our modern myths, they are based on facts of which should be scientifically and historically accurate. The myth about the Igbo people has nothing to do with science. Also it is not proven historically accurate so we cannot say that it is similar to myths of today. Therefore, we are lacking such myths. We cannot be exact about whether our myths of today exist in other forms similar to those of the olden days but we know that the old myths are based on origin while myths in our modern societies are geared towards what actually is going on around us.
Furthermore, the myths which we have today always want to make us look back into the past and draw a close evaluation between them. Also, there are also very old myths of which cannot be compared with other myths between such periods. This myth about the Igbo is talking about how Ale became one with the earth and also how Eri buried his family also in the earth and from there the growth of crops started. There are various myths about creation. According to Christians, God created the world and everything in it; everything including crops. So how therefore did growth of crops start growing from spots where dead people were buried? I don’t think there are similarities between these two myths I am talking about here.
The modern society in which we inhabit now is based on hierarchy. The structure, of which the society is setup, is an organized one. To better explain the role of this myth in the society, I will narrow it down to the Igbo society. In the Igbo society for instance, there are kings, chiefs, local government area leaders and many more. The Igbo myth explains to us how Eri was subject to a master that is Chukwu. Also, the myth explains to us how the Eze title was formed. The Eze in an Igbo village hierarchy oversees everybody in that society. In the Igbo society today, the Eze title is still in existence. Therefore, we can say that this myth plays a very important role in the structure of the society today.
Finally, apart from the fact that myths are meant to impact knowledge about the history of certain things in our various traditions, they also have sense of values of which can have influence on different people. The myth about the Igbo is one in which draws great attention to many. People begin to ponder on the question; why would crops grow from where humans were buried. It is important to note that this myth also makes us understand disobedience comes with a consequence. When Eri tried to deceive Chukwu, the ichi scar-marking was introduced to differentiate the children of Eri from the slaves. Also, we should not forget that the myth also brings to our understanding the reason why humans are buried in the earth. Ale who is the mother of the earth mixed and became one with it. The myth says “this is why crops come from the land and why humans return to earth when they die”.
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