Ndi Igbo are extremely ethical. Morality comes to them so naturally that it is a part of their daily living. Ethics is such a part of their life that the Igbo vernacular has no word for it. Morality is not enforced (by the law enforcement group), yet, everyone is considerably moral because every action is either rewarded or punishable by the ancestors. Every unethical behavior has pancosmic effect on one’s children and on one’s children’s children. A book on Igbo metaphysics by Fr. Mph Edeh stated that morality is such an integral part of Igbo cosmology that the Igbo word for man is “Mma du” which means, “Let goodness be.” Ofo and Ogu are used to symbolize justice, fairness and more. Ogu is the repeated chances that Igbo people give their offenders prior to retaliation. Ofo, like retribution, is the actual vengeance that is done in a fair manner as obtainable in just wars Igbo proverbs and short stories are used to delineate, depict and illustrate the concept of Ofo Na Ogu as follows: PROVERBS: Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other let his wings break. The sun will shine on those who stand before it, before it shines on those who sit under it. Short stories: Once upon a time there was a fight between two neighboring tribes. One was governed by a king and the other by a queen. Later they reconciled and the king paid her peace-accord visit. They dined and talked and decided to forgive each other, put the ugly past behind themselves and move forward. She offered him kola-nut as a gesture of hospitality. Rather than eat it there he decided to take it home to his advisory board. On his way home he saw the most beautiful young woman. He stopped, praised her and offered her the kola-nut given to him by the queen. She ate it there, got home, collapsed and died. She was the queen’s only daughter. She was the love of her life. She was meant to take over leadership from her mother. Upon further investigation it became clear that the kola-nut was poisoned by the queen, the original giver. What is the ethics, the lesson or the moral of this famous Igbo short story? citation.allacademic/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/4/8/4/0/5/p484055_index.html?phpsessid=1l962t4hdsu5fh5rfmggqjoi76
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 23:53:14 +0000
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