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Crossroads: leprosy, Igbo cosmology and cultural worldviews

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2024

Odinaka Kingsley Eze
Odinaka Kingsley Eze*
Affiliation:
History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, USA
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This research examines the continuity and changes in Igbo thoughts on leprosy by exploring Igbo cosmology and its relationship with Christian and colonial ideas about the disease. The perception of leprosy in precolonial Igboland reveals a shocking similarity with the later Judeo-Christian identity and the perception of leprosy that dominated the area during colonialism. It argues that colonial and Christian missionary ideas did not radically transform the perceptions of leprosy in south-eastern Nigeria. Instead, what happened was merely an adaptation and continuity of prevailing thoughts about the disease. Using oral evidence, archival materials and existing anthropological works on Igbo worldviews and cosmology, this research shows the changes in the colonial socio-cultural knowledge of leprosy. After careful analysis, it concludes that, while colonial medicine and the missionaries’ idea of leprosy healed leprosy sufferers and transformed their identity, most Igbo people continued conceptualizing the disease as an aberration and maintained the stigmatization of sufferers.

Résumé

Résumé

Ces travaux de recherche examinent la continuité et l’évolution de la pensée igbo sur la lèpre en explorant la cosmologie igbo et son rapport avec les idées chrétiennes et coloniales sur cette maladie. La perception de la lèpre dans l’Igboland précolonial révèle une similitude choquante avec l’identité judéo-chrétienne ultérieure et la perception de la lèpre qui prévalait dans la région pendant le colonialisme. Cet article soutient que les idées missionnaires chrétiennes et coloniales n’ont pas radicalement transformé la perception de la lèpre dans le Sud-est du Nigeria. Au lieu de cela, ce qui s’est produit n’est qu’une adaptation et une continuité des idées dominantes sur la maladie. S’appuyant sur des données orales, des documents d’archives et des travaux anthropologiques sur les visions du monde et la cosmologie igbo, ces travaux de recherche montrent l’évolution des connaissances socioculturelles coloniales sur la lèpre. Après analyse, l’article conclut que, alors que la médecine coloniale et l’idée des missionnaires sur la lèpre guérissaient les lépreux et transformaient leur identité, la plupart des Igbo continuaient à conceptualiser la maladie comme une aberration et à stigmatiser les personnes qui en souffraient.

Resumo

Resumo

Esta investigação examina a continuidade e as mudanças nos pensamentos Igbo sobre a lepra, explorando a cosmologia Igbo e a sua relação com as ideias cristãs e coloniais sobre a doença. A perceção da lepra na Igbolândia pré-colonial revela uma semelhança chocante com a posterior identidade judaico-cristã e a perceção da lepra que dominou a região durante o colonialismo. Argumenta-se que as ideias missionárias coloniais e cristãs não transformaram radicalmente as percepções da lepra no sudeste da Nigéria. Em vez disso, o que aconteceu foi uma mera adaptação e continuidade dos pensamentos prevalecentes sobre a doença. Recorrendo a provas orais, materiais de arquivo e trabalhos antropológicos existentes sobre cosmovisões e cosmologia Igbo, esta investigação mostra as mudanças no conhecimento sócio-cultural colonial da lepra. Após uma análise cuidadosa, conclui-se que, enquanto a medicina colonial e a ideia que os missionários tinham da lepra curavam os doentes de lepra e transformavam a sua identidade, a maior parte do povo Igbo continuava a concetualizar a doença como uma aberração e mantinha a estigmatização dos seus portadores.

Type
Igbo studies
Information
Africa , Volume 94 , Issue 4 , November 2024 , pp. 556 - 574
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African Institute

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