Female Kings and Male Priestesses: A Study of Nsukka Igbo Gender Conceptions and Manifestations by Nwando Achebe. Review by Felicia Ihuoma Nwalutu Michael Onyedika Nwalutu.
Author Dr. Nwando Achebe presents women as active participants in the making of history, using “gendered” history to challenge the orthodox African historiography that characterizes women as both subservient and subordinate to their male counterparts. She frames her reconstruction of Nsukka-Igbo history using an indigenous chronology. Finally, through the individual experiences of women, she explores the religious, political, economic, and social structures of Nsukka communities which empowered women to rise to high positions of social and political authority in the pre-colonial and colonial periods. The most serious flaw in the book is a failure to address the complexity of Igbo gender constructs manifest in the position of ‘male priestesses’ associated with female deities. Nonetheless, we think the book represents a significant contribution to the understanding of Nigerian women’s history in particular and African historiography in general. The writing is succinct, the arguments are as convincing as they are logical, and the cases reflect an in-depth study and understanding of Nsukka Division as well as Igbo cosmology.
Female Kings and Male Priestesses: A Study of Nsukka Igbo Gender Conceptions and Manifestations by Nwando Achebe. Review by Felicia Ihuoma Nwalutu Michael Onyedika Nwalutu.
Author Dr. Nwando Achebe presents women as active participants in the making of history, using "gendered" history to challenge the orthodox African historiography that characterizes women as both subservient and subordinate to their male counterparts. She frames her reconstruction of Nsukka-Igbo history using an indigenous chronology. Finally, through the individual experiences of women, she explores the religious, political, economic, and social structures of Nsukka communities which empowered women to rise to high positions of social and political authority in the pre-colonial and colonial periods. The most serious flaw in the book is a failure to address the complexity of Igbo gender constructs manifest in the position of 'male priestesses' associated with female deities. Nonetheless, we think the book represents a significant contribution to the understanding of Nigerian women's history in particular and African historiography in general. The writing is succinct, the arguments are as convincing as they are logical, and the cases reflect an in-depth study and understanding of Nsukka Division as well as Igbo cosmology.
Tagged as:
African Women,
Literature
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Thank goodness a new crop of African women who resolutely refuse to be bound by the old subservient ways is slowly emerging. I just read a most refreshing posting titled “Defining myself” on the blog of Rosemary Ekosso, a relatively new entrant to the African blogosphere. This is a must-read for every African woman… and Man. Check it out at http://www.ekosso.com