A RELIGIO-SOCIO ASSESSMENT OF IGBO NAMING CEREMONY AMONG THE ANAEDO PEOPLE OF IGBO ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The present researcher undertook an ethnographic assessment of the Igbo naming ceremony in Anaedo Anambra state. The aim was to identify the vector quantities implicated in the practice of this ceremony as well as the symbolic acts and fixed expressions that constitute the fabric of the ritual process of the iba nwa afa (naming) ceremony. Also explored were the principal myths underpinning its practices and the extent to which the study of the ceremony could be used as a ladder into achieving a holistic understanding of the basic tenets of Igbo religion. The research paper argued that it is by means of this ceremony that a newly born Anaedo child gets to become defined as an individual human being through the ritual act of being assigned a name by which to identify him or her in the course of his or her earthly existence. Hence, the findings of this research confirm Horton’s assumption that the benefit tenets of African Traditional Religion could be discovered through a comprehensive study of the important rituals and ceremonies of the various African peoples. Both primary and secondary methods of data collection were executed in this paper.