Non-Human Agency in Igbo Cultural History: Affective Entanglements between Humans, Animals, Spirits, and Technology
Conference: ISA 22nd Annual International Conference (2025)
Presenter(s): Rosemary Akpan
Abstract
This study examines the emotional connections between people, animals, spirits, and technology in Igbo cosmology, literature, and modern culture. The paper tends not to completely separate humans from non-humans in Igbo thought. It acknowledges the agency of spirits (mmụọ), sacred animals, ancestral artifacts, and things like ọfọ and ikenga, which have emotional, spiritual, and political importance. This article examines how emotional connections with non-human entities influence Igbo affective relationships by utilizing, folklores, colonial records, and contemporary narratives. It examines the role of sacred creatures such as the python, spiritual forces, and technological innovations as intermediaries of emotions, authority, and social advancement. Colonial and postcolonial disturbances, including missionary vilification of sacred groves and the advent of technology, may have altered Igbo perceptions of non-human creatures and their emotional importance. However, the Igbo tradition of viewing non-humans as powerful has not disappeared; they have rather formed similar relationships and, in most cases, adapted to modern technology and digital spaces. It is against this backdrop that I examine the intersection of traditional beliefs in non-human agency with contemporary technology breakthroughs, including films, social media and mobile devices, via the lens of Igbo cultural studies. This study ultimately demonstrates that the distinctions between humans and nonhumans are often ambiguous in Igbo society. It illustrates how affective personal links to spirits, animals, and technology have historically influenced and shaped contemporary Igbo social and emotional life.
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