NOT EVERY EXTRAMARITAL SEX IS ADULTERY: AN ETHNO-HISTORICAL SURVEY OF THE IGBO OF SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA

Extramarital sex is culturally abnormal among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria. This is not to say that it does not exist. Olaudah Equiano was the first Igbo indigenous historian who researched Igbo life when he published his narratives in 1789. Unfortunately, most of the parameters he used in measu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trames (Tallinn) 2019-03, Vol.23 (1), p.41-50
Main Author: Okonkwo, Uche Uwaezuoke
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achebe, Chinua
Adultery
African studies
Equiano, Olaudah (1745-1797)
Ethnography
Gender
Husbands
Narratives
Nigerian literature
Prostitution
Sex industry
Sexuality
Slavery
Society
Studies
Wives
Women
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Summary:Extramarital sex is culturally abnormal among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria. This is not to say that it does not exist. Olaudah Equiano was the first Igbo indigenous historian who researched Igbo life when he published his narratives in 1789. Unfortunately, most of the parameters he used in measuring and reconstructing Igbo life have been questioned by many leading Igbo academics and one of such areas is the Igbo view of extramarital sex. Equiano saw every act of adultery among the Igbo as culturally unacceptable. This is not true in every circumstance. In this paper, Equiano's claim about adultery among the Igbo is seen as inconclusive and thus the present writer provides historical insights, which insist that not all extramarital sex among the Igbo implies adultery.
ISSN:1406-0922
1736-7514
DOI:10.3176/tr.2019.L04