The Continuity of Traditional Values in the African Society

About the Book

In this stimulating book, an experienced professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology of Africa and a missionary discovers in the Igbò of Nigeria some very positive pre-colonial African philosophy of life and system of thought which blended so well with Christianity that it helped the ancestors survive some of the unwanted colonial upheaval of their days, and are still relevant to our day.
       The Continuity of Traditional Values in the African Society is a comprehensive work that digs deep and guides us to the essential factors that could help a human group to sustain and preserve its values in the midst of various upheavals through the centuries. In this typical example used, the book penetrates into the fabric of the culture of the ancestors of the Igbò people, their cultural ethos and ideologies and how they fought to defend their culture and traditions in the midst of aggressive and sustained colonial invasion. It gives an overview of the family, lineage and demographic structures, socialization patterns and traits, the socio-economic institution and industry, and the famous direct democracy political setup that would have earned them a particular recognition in the present modern world avid hunger for democracy. The book points dwells also on the religious beliefs, language, concepts and philosophy of life, which were behind their openness to Western possibilities while at the same time they preserved their essential values.

About the Author

Her previous publication, The Continuity of Traditional Values in the African Society, confirmed Pauline Aligwekwe's thoroughness and down-to-earth approach to reality. This present book pins down readers and researchers to view Africa in its reality and not as has been exploitatively imagined, fabricated and taught. Aligwekwe refutes the viewpoint of Maura O'Donohue (expatriate physician and missionary at a corner of Black Africa) who rightly stated the scandal of clergy sexual abuse as a global problem affecting many countries; but then committed the anthropological and historical blunder to single out and refer to the African situation as "culture bound". A Missionary of many years experience Aligwekwe denounces ethnocentrism and self-conceited colonial/neo-colonial mentality- the root of O'Donohue's oversight and rashness. Over simplification and ethnocentrism in global world issues, do not make the world a better place. Transparency and objectivity are paramount regarding the true cause of the contemporary alarming sexual moral decadence. Advance in science and technology should not mean advancement in evil, and insensitivity to guilt. Retracing of steps towards genuine Christian sexual morals is essential. Dr Aligwekwe is author of three preceding books and many journal articles. After B.A. English, French and Philosophy (Ethics), National University of Ireland, and B.A. Comparative Literature, University of Dijon, France, she studied and got her doctorate degree, Social Anthropology and Ethnolinguistics at Sorbonne, University of Paris, France. She is a well known university professor of Anthropology in Nigeria and is presently residing a while in the USA, preoccupied with intensive interdisciplinary research work.