Women in Igbo Life and Thought

A Member Of The Igbo People Of Nigeria Who Became A Nun And Trained As An Anthropologist, Sister Joseph Therese Agbasiere Had A Unique Opportunity To Transcend Some Of The Preconceptions And Subjectivities Inevitable When An 'outsider' Studies Any Society. Her Richly Detailed Ethnography Examines Kinship Practices, Marriage Customs, And Women's Responsibilities In The House And The Community, Establishing The Tremendous Influence That Igbo Women Wield In Public Affairs. Igbo Ideas About The Universe, The Person And Spiritual Considerations Are Also Discussed And Shown To Be Primarily Centered Around Women.--jacket. Introducing Igbo Women -- Ibi: A Traditional Community -- Political Organization In Ibi -- Igbo Women: Socio-political And Religious Status -- Igbo Cosmology -- The Igbo Idea Of Person -- Kinship Relations And The Position Of The Women -- Traditional Marriage Rites -- Married Life: Moral Relations -- Widowhood -- Concluding Remarks. Joseph Thérèse Agbasiere ; With A Biographical Note By Shirly Ardener. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [175]-182) And Index. A member of the Igbo tribe of Nigeria who became a nun and trained as an anthropologist, Joseph Therese Agbasiere had a unique opportunity to transcend some of the preconceptions and subjectivities inevitable when an 'outsider' studies a native society.
Her richly detailed ethnography examines kinship practices, marriage customs, and women's responsibilities in the house and the community, establishing the tremendous influence that Igbo women wield in public affairs. Igbo ideas about the universe, the person and spiritual considerations are also discussed and shown to be primarily centred around women.
This fascinating work is a testament to the combination of personal insight and academic detachment which the author brought to her study of Igbo women before her death in 1998. It will be a valuable resource for students and scholars in anthropology, African studies and women's studies. "A member of the Igbo people of Nigeria who became a nun and trained as an anthropologist, Sister Joseph Therese Agbasiere had a unique opportunity to transcend some of the preconceptions and subjectivities inevitable when an 'outsider' studies any society.". "Her richly detailed ethnography examines kinship practices, marriage customs, and women's responsibilities in the house and the community, establishing the tremendous influence that Igbo women wield in public affairs. Igbo ideas about the universe, the person and spiritual considerations are also discussed and shown to be primarily centered around women."--BOOK JACKET. This study sets out to consider, by way of ethnographic description, the regard, ideas and expectations the Igbo hold of womanhood in their traditional communities; in other words, women in Igbo life and thought.