Ikwu Matri-clans Among the Afikpo Igbo: A Historical Overview
Ikenna Ukpabi Unya.
“Ikwu Matri-clans Among the Afikpo Igbo: A Historical Overview.”
Igbo Studies Review (ISR)
, Goldline & Jacobs Publishing
, no. 6, 2018
, pp. 18-35
.
0781192
Abstract
Ikwu matrilineal system is one of the social realities among the Igbo that shaped group identity and achieved cohesion in communities where it formed part of the social system. The earliest practice of ilauu system was highly obnoxious in the sense that parents cherished their matrilineal relations more than their own children both in training and inheritance. However, with western influence and Christianity, the system purged itself of those excesses and became a stronger tool for group integration. The assesses the historical origin of ilauu system in Afikpo village-group and evaluate the contemporary relevance of the system to the development of Afikpo and Igbo society in general. The study reveals that culture is dynamic and purging itself of those variables that can lead to its extinction. The study recommends that constant reforms of the ilauu system in line with the changing and dynamic environment is important in order for the system to continue to serve as instrument of social cohesion among the people.