Editorial comment
Welcome to the maiden edition of the Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (JHUCS) from the Centre for Arts Culture and Humanities (CACH) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
In the spirit of the journals scope of interest, the first article by M. Chibu Onukawa and E. Ngozi Onukawa examines the grammatical phenomenon of interfixation in Igbo. The authors not only analyse this peculiar grammatical feature, but they also demonstrate how the feature turns out to reflect the binary division that has long been identified in Igbo studies as an aspect of Igbo traditional thought.
In the second article, Ndubuisis Nnanna adopts a reader-response approach in his phenomenological close reading of Femi Osofisan’s Women of Owu and comparison of Osofisan’s play with Euripides’ Trojan Women from which it as adapted. Through this, the author arrives at the conclusion that Osofisan misrepresented the African woman and her cultural background in such manner that demonises them.
The third article is also on women, but with a focus on their position in Igbo proverbs. The authors, Chris Uchenna Agbedo, H C Obiora, and Ndubuisi Ogbonna Ahamefula, argue against the denigration of women by Igbo men by using specific Igbo proverbs. Explicitly, they use the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach to identify the male as being dominant over the female amongst the Igbos. In the light of this, they argue that there are some elements in Igbo proverbs, which the men folk use as instruments for the expression of their dominance over women. The authors’ conclusion is that there is need for a change in this practice for good gender balance.
The next article by Rowland C. Amaefula uses the moral issues that arise in the film Hunted Wealth to draw attention to the growing inclination towards pornographic films, obscenities and debauchery in the Nigerian home videos. The paper first identifies these tendencies as an influence from without, and consequently advocates a moderation in the acquisition of foreign cultures in the area of film production in Nigeria.
The next article is also on the Nigerian home video. Here the authors, Emmanuel Onyeka Ebekue, Somtoo Arinze-Umobi and Henry Chigozie Duru, use the example of the two films, Bloody Night and Somewhere in Africa, to argue that Nigerian films can play a positive role of enlightenment on human rights. Through an application of the Focus Group Discussion approach, the authors demonstrate the relevance of the chosen topic of human rights to the Nigerian audience.
The fifth paper by Norbert Oyibo Eze is on myth and the exploitation of myth in the plays of Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi. The author gives insights into how both Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi weave myth motifs in the fabric of their plays.
In the last article Modestus O. Orji and Benjamin A. Anyim take up the issue of the Osu caste system in Igboland. They recognise the various opinions on the possible origins of the Osu in Igboland; nevertheless, argue that the conflict and final separation between the Ocho ukwu – Ocho nte dichotomy amongst the Umuocho kindred of Ebonyi State could also be seen as a possible origin of the Osu caste system in Igboland. After all, this separation is akin to the Osu/Diala dichotomy in the wider Igbo community.
Finally, we hope that this maiden edition of our journal shall be welcome to both the academic community and the general audience.
Dr. Chinedu Uchechukwu
Assistant Editor