Constructions of Belonging: Igbo Communities and the Nigerian State in the Twentieth Century (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora, 23)

Constructions of Belonging provides a history of local communities living in Southeastern Nigeria since the late nineteenth century, examining the processes that have defined, changed, and re-produced these communities. Harneit-Sievers explores both the meanings and the uses that the community members have given to their particular areas, while also looking at the processes that have shaped local communities, and have made them work and continue to be relevant, in a world dominated by the modern territorial state and by worldwide flows of people, goods, and ideas. Axel Harneit-Sievers is a research fellow at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies, and director of the Nigeria Office of the Heinrich B?ll Foundation in Lagos. In Times Of Globalization, The Study Of The Local Has Gained Relevance. Once A Seemingly Unproblematic Concept Of The Unit Within Which Everyday Life Is Set, The Local Can No Longer Be Taken For Granted. It Has To Be Analyzed As A Result Of Historical Change. African Studies Have Long Focused On Local Communities And Their Respective Peculiarities And Traditions, Sometimes Reifying Their Very Character. In Recent Years, African History And Anthropology Deconstructed Many Old Core Concepts: Ethnicity, Community, And The State. Constructions Of Belonging Applies These New Approaches To The Study Of Local Communities In The Igbo-speaking Areas Of Southeastern Nigeria From The Late Nineteenth Century To The Present. Combining Regional History With Local Case Studies, The Book Analyzes Interactions Between Localities And The Modern State.--jacket. Pt. I. Igboland : The Historical And Ethnographic Evidence. The Igbo Local Community : Historical And Anthropological Approaches -- Trans-local Connections And Precolonial Spheres Of Influence : Nri Hegemony And Arochukwu -- Pt. Ii. Creating Community From Outside. Drawing Boundaries, Making Chiefs : The Colonial State -- Town People And Church People : The Impact Of Christianity -- Making A Larger Community : Igbo Ethnicity -- Federalism And Fear : Impact Of Postcolonial State And Society Since The 1970s -- Pt. Iii. Creating Community From Within. Institutionalizing Community I : Town Unions -- Institutionalizing Community Ii : Traditional Rulers And Autonomous Communities -- Reconceptualizing Community : Local Histories -- Pt. Iv. Common Themes, Diverse Histories : Three Local Case Studies -- The Politics Of Competition And Fragmentation : Umuopara And Ohuhu -- History As Politics By Other Means : Enugwu-ukwu In Umunri Clan -- Post-slavery And Marginalization : Nike. Axel Harneit-sievers. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 343-376) And Index. CONTENTS 6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 8 NOTES ON ORTHOGRAPHY AND PLACE NAMES 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10 INTRODUCTION 12 PART I. Igboland: The Historical and Ethnographic Evidence 26 1 The Igbo Local Community: Historical and Anthropological Approaches 30 2 Trans-local Connections and Precolonial Spheres of Influence: Nri “Hegemony” and Arochukwu 54 Part II. Creating Community from Outside 76 3 Drawing Boundaries, Making Chiefs: The Colonial State 80 4 “Town People” and “Church People”: The Impact of Christianity 102 5 Making a Larger Community: Igbo Ethnicity 122 6 Federalism and Fear: Impact of Postcolonial State and Society since the 1970s 143 Part III. Creating Community from Within 160 7 Institutionalizing Community I: Town Unions 162 8 Institutionalizing Community II: Traditional Rulers and Autonomous Communities 182 9 Reconceptualizing Community: Local Histories 204 Part IV. Common Themes, Diverse Histories: Three Local Case Studies 224 10 The Politics of Competition and Fragmentation: Umuopara and Ohuhu 226 11 “History” as Politics by Other Means: Enugwu-Ukwu in Umunri Clan 245 12 Post-slavery and Marginalization: Nike 269 Conclusion: Making the Igbo “Town” in the Twentieth Century 292 NOTES 308 SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 354 INDEX 388 Applies new approaches to the study of a small, densely populated region of West Africa, integrating them into a regional history that analyzes interactions between localities and the modern state.Constructions of Belonging provides a history of local communities living in Southeastern Nigeria since the late nineteenth century, examining the processes that have defined, changed, and re-produced these communities. Harneit-Sievers explores both the meanings and the uses that the community members have given to their particular areas, while also looking at the processes that have shaped local communities, and have made them work and continue tobe relevant, in a world dominated by the modern territorial state and by worldwide flows of people, goods, and ideas. Axel Harneit-Sievers is a Research Fellow at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies, and Director ofthe Nigeria Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Lagos. Applies new approaches to the study of a small, densely populated region of West Africa, integrating them into a regional history that analyzes interactions between localities and the modern state. Constructions of Belonging provides a history of local communities living in Southeastern Nigeria since the late nineteenth century, examining the processes that have defined, changed, and re-produced these communities. Harneit-Sievers explores both the meanings and the uses that the community members have given to their particular areas, while also looking at the processes that have shaped local communities, and have made them work and continue tobe relevant, in a world dominated by the modern territorial state and by worldwide flows of people, goods, and ideas. Axel Harneit-Sievers is a Research Fellow at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies, and Director ofthe Nigeria Office of the Heinrich Bll Foundation in Lagos. Constructions of Belonging provides a history of local communities living in Southeastern Nigeria since the late nineteenth century, examining the processes that have defined, changed, and re-produced these communities. Harneit-Sievers explores both the meanings and the uses that the community members have given to their particular areas, while also looking at the processes that have shaped local communities, and have made them work and continue tobe relevant, in a world dominated by the modern territorial state and by worldwide flows of people, goods, and ideas.

Axel Harneit-Sievers is a Research Fellow at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies, and Director ofthe Nigeria Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Lagos. Constructions of Belonging provides a history of local communities living in Southeastern Nigeria since the late nineteenth century, examining the processes that have defined, changed, and re-produced these communities. Harneit-Sievers explores both the meanings and the uses that the community members have given to their particular areas, while also looking at the processes that have shaped local communities, and have made them work and continue to be relevant, in a world dominated by the modern territorial state and by worldwide flows of people, goods, and ideas. Axel Harneit-Sievers is a Research Fellow at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies, and Director of the Nigeria Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Lagos The origin of the Bill and Melinda Gates Children's Vaccine Program A look at the world that the Children's Vaccine Program had to deal with The birth of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization The Children's Vaccine Program on its own terms Some observations on the nature of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.