Pedagogical Aspects of Riddles: A Critical Examination of Igbo Riddles

Abstract

This paper is based on a critical examination of pedagogical aspects of r i d d l e s a m o n g t h e U m u o k i r i k a community of Mbaise Igbo. The study posits that riddles play an important role in the education system of not only children but also in adults. Focusing on r i d d l e s f r o m t h e U m u o k i k r i k a community and contending that riddles have various functions to play in society such as cultural, social and historical, the study interrogates pedagogical values embedded in riddles. Primary data for analysis was obtained from a field work conducted among children and adults purposively sampled from the Umuokirika community. The researcher engaged participatory and observational approaches in data collection. Anchored in deconstruction theory as its theoretical framework, the paper explores various education values and skills inherent in the riddles and shows that both the riddling process and the riddles embody educational values. In this regard, the author emphasizes that riddles should be embraced as an important teaching and instructional method. It is for this reason that the writer concludes that participating in riddling is not a futile exercise but an educative one based on the pedagogical empowerment in riddles and the riddling process. The study proffers new ways of studying riddles and how they can be utilized in teaching and learning processes in Nigerian schools for integration purposes.