AJOFIA IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S METAPHORICAL PRESENTATION: A CASE FOR SACRED SPACES IN IGBO TRADITIONAL ECOSPIRITUALITY

Abstract

This work viewed Aj? ?hia from the prism of its ecological value which translates to religious, social and economic benefits and from the etymological and morphological significance of the words that make it up – “Aj?” and “?h?a”; and gave a dimension that has always missed out in the understanding of that space among the Igbo. It also explored through literary analysis, the metaphor of Ajofia, the chief masquerade among the Egwugwu of Umuofia in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The conceptual framework of the research is taxonomical, in a sense that it weighed Aj? ?hia in the scale of the entire conservation and preservation systems among the Igbo using socio-religious tools and in other cultures of the world which are empirically proven. The work understands “Aj? ?hia” as an Igbo code name to designate a space whose preservation is critical to the survival of species and the integrity of the human environment as could also be found in many ancient cultures, like the “The Cedars of Lebanon” and “The rain forests of Amazon”. Aj? ?hia is the most imposing symbol of Ns? among the Igbo, whereas Ns? is the nucleus of Igbo morality and spirituality. True to its African-ness, all aspects of Igbo life are dependent on human-spirit dynamics. The work, therefore, questions “Evil Forest” as the proper translation of “Aj? ?hia” and averred that the elimination of Aj? ?hia is predicated upon a mistranslation/misunderstanding and spells the devastation of Igbo ecospirituality. Data collected from literatures and reading of the human and environmental codifications in the Igbo environment was accessed through participant observation, consulting with existing texts and oral interviews; assessed through textual analysis and multidimensional approach.