Content uploaded by Jackson Tamunosaki Jack
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Jackson Tamunosaki Jack on Apr 21, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
99
African Journal of Social Sciences
Volume 4 Number 2 (2014) 99-108
ISSN 2045-8452 (Print)
ISSN 2045-8460 (Online)
Publishers: Sacha & Diamond, England,
United Kingdom
www.sachajournals.com
Cumulative Impact Factor: 45.01
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE FEMINIZATION OF GOD AMONG THE
IJAW PEOPLE OF NIGERIA
UZOBO Endurance
1
; OGBANGA Mina Margeret
2
and
JACK Jackson T.C.B
3
1
Dept of Sociology, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
2
Dept of Sociology, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
3
Dept of Sociology, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
This study seeks to establish the way the Ijaw people of the Nigeria
conceptualize God as having a Feminine characteristics and the socio-cultural,
economic and political role given to women in the area because of this notion.
The study mainly made use of secondary sources of data by reviewing
relevant literatures relating to the study. The key argument in the study is that
unlike most cultures in the world that ascribe a low status to women because
of religious beliefs, Traditional Ijo societies have given women a higher
social, political and economic status due to the fact that the Supreme Creator
is seen to possess those attributes peculiar to a woman. The study revealed
that women in the area are given higher socio-cultural, political and economic
roles compared to their Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba counterparts in Nigeria,
because of the feminization of God among the Ijaw nation.
Keywords: God, Feminism, Ijaw people, Religion.
1. INTRODUCTION
In this paper, the words Ijaws and Ijos are used interchangeably. Stratification could
be seen in almost all facets of the social system. In fact, it exists right before the origin of
man, as the spiritual world is said to be hierarchically organized. One of the worst effects of
stratification is against women. One burning issue in the discourse of Gender studies is the
Idea that women are inferior human beings and that their contributions are never given due
recognition or weighing by the male dominated society. Attention has been drawn to such
sayings as: “a woman’s place is in the Kitchen, a woman cannot respectably exist outside a
husband, no matter how old a woman is, she cannot traditionally break kola-nut or take
custody of the family staff of office or headship, and women are meant to be seen, not heard”
Onwuzirike(2003:59). It has been argued that the current status of women stemmed from
religion. That is to say religious stratification placed women in their current position of sub-
servient beings to their male counterpart. Hence, Sarkar (1995:45) stated that: “However,
many people might indulge in tall talk, in no country or age were women given full freedom
in religious and social matters, nor are they given their rights even to this day.”
Almost every religion existing today discriminates in some way against women. The
scripture of all religions degrade and denigrate women, put them down and designates
women as being inferior to men. This means a society with religion that venerates women,
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
100
are more likely to give a higher role to the women in terms of participation in social,
political, cultural and economic activities.
Most of the world worst discriminatory practices meted out on women are as a result
of this religious belief system. These belief systems preserve the patriarchy at the expense of
women’s right. Such practices included but are not limited to; preference for male children
leading to female infanticide in some culture, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Pawning of
Daughters in Marriages, including giving them out in forced marriages as child brides,
paying to acquire husbands for daughters through the dowry system, patriarchal marriage
arrangements, allowing the husband control over land, finances, freedom of movement,
husband’s right to obedience and power to discipline or commit acts of violence against his
wife, including marital rape, family honour killings by the shamed father or brothers of a girl
who has been sexually violated whether with consent or by rape, Witch-hunting, compulsory
restrictive dress codes, customary division of food leading to female malnutrition, and
restriction of women to the roles of housewives and mothers, without a balanced view of
women as autonomous and productive members of civil society (Cerna and Wallace
1999:623).
The practices brought about by religious beliefs has no doubt constrained women in
utilizing their full potential in the socio-economic development of their respective societies.
This to an extent could explain the backwardness of some societies that are die-hard in
releasing women from religious and cultural practices to perpetuate the position of women
and keeping them in perpetual bondage, hence limiting their chances to economic, social and
political prosperity.
Among the Ijos, women seem to occupy positions which normally would have been
seen as a taboo among some ethnic groups in Nigeria. For instance, women have been
reported to participate more than men in traditional economic activities as most women
among the Ijos serve as the forces that sustain traditional economic systems. Beyond the
economy, women are forces to be reckoned with in the political and religious spheres among
the Ijos. It is based on this premises that this study has been designed to explore the major
factor behind the high status accorded to women among the Ijos which happens to be the
belief in a supreme creator who poses a woman’s attribute.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The dominant religious beliefs in the world are patriarchal. They have male gods at
the centre of their cosmologies; favour men to be their officials on earth; and frequently
devise ways of excluding women from both church and society. Many more recent cults and
sects emerging seam to keep this patriarchal order, Macionis and Plummer (2008: 614).
While many Christians revere Mary, the mother of Jesus, the new testament also
contrasts men made in ‘the image and glory of God’ with women, made for ‘the glory of
man’; professing: ‘for man was not made from the woman but woman from man: Neither
was man created for woman, but woman for man’ (1 Corinthians 11:7-9). Another passage
proclaims: ‘wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of
the wife as Christ is the head of the church’ (Ephesians 5:22-24). While the writings of
Timothy declare: “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep
silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman
was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet woman will be saved through bearing children,
if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.”(1 Timothy 2:11-15)
The attitude of early Christianity towards women is clearly seen in the case of
Hypatia. Hypatia (370-415) was the head of the Neo-platonic school of philosophy in
Alexandria. She was famous for her research in mathematics and astronomy. She saw the
world famous library of Alexandria burned down by Christian mobs, causing priceless work
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
101
to be lost forever. She spoke out against this, saying: “Reserve your right to think, for even
to think wrong is better than not think at all”. She also said “To teach superstitions as truth is
a most terrible thing”. Because of this and because she was beautiful and unmarried, Bishop
Cyril denounced her as immoral. At that time there were many men who devoted their lives
to intellectual research and did not marry, but they were never condemned. Bishop Cyril then
incited a Christian mob to kill Hypatia, drag her body into the church and cut her into small
pieces. Charles Kingsley, a Victorian Anglican clergyman, wrote a novel on Hypatia to point
out to the women of his time the dangers of overstepping their ordained place in society,
Ghista (2013:2).
Furthermore, Martin Luther (cited in Ghista 2013:2), writing on the status of women
said “if they (women) become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in
childbirth, that’s why they are there”. Similarly, John Calvin maintained that political
equality for women would be a “deviation from the original and proper order of nature”.
Thomas Aquinas also said, “As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and
misbegotten, for active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect in the
masculine sex while the production of woman comes from a defect in the active force or
from some external influence” Aquinas ( cited in Ghista 2013:3). Likewise, the Qur’an; the
sacred text of Islam contends that men are in charge of women. Tuffana (1985:97) in
discussing the place of women in Islam stated that:
“If a woman offered one of her breasts to be cooked and the
other to be roasted, she still will fall short of fulfilling her
obligations to her husband. And besides that, if she disobeys her
husband even for a twinkling of an eye, she would be thrown in
the lowest part of hell, except she repents and turns back”.
In addition, Tuffana stated that among the Buddhist monks, a female body is
associated with evil, lust, and greed; therefore it is not possible for a woman to become
spiritually realized. Buddha himself said, “the female’s defects… greed, hate, and delusion
and other defilements are greater than the male’s”. He further stated that; ‘because I wish to
be freed from the impurities of the woman’s body I will acquire the beautiful and fresh body
of man’ Tuffana (1985:97). In a similar vein, Kaufman, (1976: 163) tried to show the
position of the Jewish religion when he stated that; Male orthodox Jews use to recite these
prayers; “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, king of the universe that I was not born a
woman.” The above passage summarizes the position of Jews, women in their religion.
Historically, the major world religions have barred women from serving as priests.
Islamic groups, orthodox Jews and Roman Catholic Church continue to exclude women from
the religious hierarchy, but a growing number of Protestants denominations, including the
Church of England and Methodists, have overturned historical policies and now ordained
women. In 1992, the Church of England voted to allow priesthood to be open to women
despite much opposition. Reform Judaism has elevated women to the role of rabbi (and is the
largest denomination to ordain gay and lesbian people). In 1985, the first woman became a
rabbi in the conservative denomination of Judaism, Macionis and Plummer (2008:614).
Challenges to the patriarchal structure of organized religion – from the ordination of
women to the introduction of gender – neutral language in hymns and prayers – has sparked
heated controversy, delighting progressive while outraging traditionalists. Propelling these
developments are a lively feminism within many religious communities today. Feminist
Christians contend that the rigid patriarchal traditions in many churches stand in stark
contrast to the biblical image of Jesus Christ as ‘non-aggressive, non-competitive, meek and
humble of heart, a nurturer of the weak and a friend of the outcast – traits patriarchy
associates with feminine; Woodward (cited in Macionis and Plummer 2008:614).
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
102
Feminists argue that unless traditional notions of gender are removed from our
understanding of God, women will never have equality with men in the church. Theologian
Daly (1973:15) puts the matter blunting: ‘if God is male, then male is God’. Mary Daly is
perhaps the most outspoken feminist critic (and was herself originally a Catholic). She sees
Christianity as a patriarchal myth. For her, the Christian story served to eliminate earlier
goddess religions and women. “There is no female presence involved in this monogender
male automotherhood”, she claims (Daly 1973:15).
Several thousand years ago in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and also in India and
surrounding cultures, female deities were the main object of reverence. Those cultures have
been described as Matrifocal, Agricultural, Egalitarian and peaceful, (Ghista 2013:6). Daly
(1978:17) further argued that Christianity is rooted in male ‘sado-rituals’, with its ‘fortune
cross symbolism’, and that it embodies women-hating. This leads her to mount a full-scale
critique of male religions. In a similar vein, (Ghista op. cit) opined that; by 4500 B.C,
Matrifocal religious beliefs changed to a patriarchal, stratified and warlike culture. Most
feminists have contended that it was this patriarchal culture from which Christianity, Islam,
Buddhism, Judaism etc emerged.
The preponderance of references to God in most world religions is in the context of a
masculine reference, after “Father”. In the Hebrew and Christian view, God is usually
characterized as male in biblical sources, with a female analogy in Genesis 1:26-27, Psalm
123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10; a mother in Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13,
Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14:14, Psalm 131:2 etc, Pagels (1976). Although God is referred to in
the Hebrew Bible with masculine imagery, and grammatical forms, Jewish philosophy does
not attribute to God either sex or gender. At times, Jewish haggadic literature and Jewish
mysticism do treat God as gendered, though these are not uniformly masculine or feminine.
However, classical western philosophy believes that God lacks a literal sex because
it would be impossible for God to have a body (a prerequisite for sex). Nevertheless, they
stated that God should be referred to (in most contexts) as masculine by analogy, (catholic
encyclopedia 1913). The catechism of the Catholic Church specifically states that “God is
neither man nor woman: He is God’ Bordwell (2002:27).
Among the Muslims, Allah is most often referred to with the pronouns ‘Hu or
Huwa’, and although these are commonly translated as ‘him’, they can also be translated
gender-neutrally as ‘it’. It is considered blasphemy to Allah to be placed in a human or
animal sexual gender category. Qur’an 112:3-4 states:
“He begets not, nor is he begotten. And none is like Him (it)”.
Other references include the first person pronoun, and relative
pronoun, and the relative pronoun “ma” (that which), is in the
phrase “the heavens and that which created them’’ (Qur’an
91:15).
Among the Hindus scriptures is the Rigveda (2
nd
millennium BC). The first word of
the Rigveda is the name Agni, the god of fire, to whom many of the verdict hymns are
addressed along with Indra the warrior. Agni and Indra are both male divinities. The Rigveda
refers to a creator which is often identified to be Brahma, born of Vishnu’s naval. Brahma is
said to be a male divinity that has a female consort; (Saraswati). However, there are other
simple forces of nature who posses complex character and their own mythology. Some are
gods whereas others are goddesses, Witzel (2001). Some beliefs in Hinduism, especially
Samkhya school, views the creator of the cosmos as the result of the play of two radically
distinct principles; the feminine matter (Prakriti) and the masculine spirit (Purusha).
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
103
The Guru Granth of Sikhism religious beliefs consistently refers to God as “He” and
“father”. However, it also says that God is indescribable. Thus, God in Sikhism has no
gender. The Akal purakh (Timeless man) is referred to as one of the genders, simply because
the Granth is written in north Indian Indo-Aryan languages (mixture of Punjabi and dialects
of Hindi) which have no neutral gender (Wikipedia, 2013).
Polytheistic religions, almost always attribute gender to their gods, though a few
notable divinities are associated with various forms of epicene characteristics – gods that
manifest alternatively as male and female gods with one male and one female “face” and
gods whose most distinctive characteristics is their unknown gender, Nath (1920:46).
3. DICUSSIONS
Just like other world religions, traditional religious beliefs often associated powerful
gods to being men and some lesser spirits and goddesses to be female. For instance, among
the Yorubas; Sango, Ogun, Ifa etc. are all believed to be possessing male attributes. Among
the Igbos also, Amadioha and other powerful gods are often associated with male; that is
why the masculine pronouns; “him” “he” and masculine Noun “father” is often used to refer
to these gods. On the other hand, water spirits, earth goddesses and lesser beings at the base
of the pyramid are mostly associated with female goddesses and spirits. These perceptions of
the creators and powerful beings regarded as males could be found in the cultural and social
cum political and economic organizations among these groups of people. This is why women
perform sub-servient roles among the traditional settings of these societies; examples; A man
can marry as many as he wants, women are not allowed to farm certain crops, women are not
allowed to make inputs in matters concerning the development of these societies, women are
never right in any disagreements that arises from the family, they have no choice in any
matter agreed by the male. Most times, when a woman rises up to defend herself or family,
the husband would often say, “why are you disgracing me” or the father will hide his face in
shame. These and many more examples abound concerning practices against women
principally drawn from male dominance perceptions about religious belief system.
In contrast, the Ijos of the Niger Delta of Nigeria deviate from such patriarchal view
of God as a male being or having masculine characteristics. According to traditional Ijo
beliefs, human beings originate as disembodied spirits, or teme in the relam of the creator,
wonyinghi (our mother), and returned there after dying (Anderson 1999:67). Central to the
religio – cultural tradition of the people is the belief in the existence of the Supreme Being
which is God, God is Teme arau (she who creates), Ziba arau/ziboarau (she who gives birth),
Igina-arau/ogbono-arau/suoarau (creatress who dwells in the firmament). The general
feminine conception of God is no doubt reflective of their matrilineal system, (Horton
1962:197, Alagoa 1972:20, Okaba 1995:35). Main (cited in Okaba 1997:135) reports on the
(western) Ijos conception of God in the following words:
Temearau is god who lives in the sky; she is woman because it
is woman who bears and produces. Her presence and interest in
the world is not as great as that of the spirits. She has no shrine,
fetishes or priest. Her assistance in times of great need can be
invoked, however by prayer and her protection is procurable if
white chalk is rubbed on the head and then blown from the palm
of land upwards into the air.
Okaba and Appah (1999:151) further portraying her attributes stated that:
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
104
The universe owes its existence to her great power… Her
supreme qualities and attributes are reflected in some common
names given to children. These include; Temearau agono emi
(God is up above), Temearau preye (God’s gift), Ayibanaghan
(Thanks to God), Oginarau-ebi (God’s kindness), Oyingi-Ogula
(God’s judgment).
The above conception of God by the ljos gives more credence to the fact that the Ijos
has its historical origin from Ancient Egypt who worshipped goddesses instead of gods. The
ancient city of Annu or Onnu of kemet or ancient Egypt is of importance to the origins of the
ancestors of the Ijo people, as this city was the site of the temple dedicated to Tem (the
supreme being as the creative essence) and Atum or Atumu (the supreme being as the
creative intelligence) founded by ancient Khem-Anu. Its relevance lies in the fact that the
Izon canological system of Tem which was developed by ancient ancestors and had its
headquarters at the ancient Egyptian city of Annu or Onnu (United Ijaw.com 2013).
The supreme mother, however, is believed to have other aliases; Mutu or Mata (or
Amata). The supreme mother goddess has two creative faculties; Temeoru’s (male and
female) other faculties which were responsible for the birth of the physical universe, and
trance prophecy. Worship and prayer was directed to either the mother goddess herself or to
any one of her faculties. She was also symbolized by special clay molded into cosmic womb,
(United Ijaw.com Ibid). This notion of referring God to a creator having feminine attributes
has put women in a pride of place among the Ijos, socially, economically, politically etc.
Socio-culturally, women's groups preserve a large portion of tradition, culture and
history. They are looked upon as the authentic voice of the communal traditions. In basic
social functions like marriage and funeral, women dominate the entire affairs. In some
communities among the Ijos for instance, it is women from the families of the brides and the
bridegrooms who initiate and finalize the necessary protocols and in the negotiation process
of bride wealth, (Sokari – George 2003). Furthermore, women are most of the times the
custodian of family inventory as they can trace the genealogy of a particular family. Among
the people of Ekpetiama as observed by Appah (2003:67), the first condition for marriage
was to investigate the character and status of mother-in-law’s family; whether they were
problematic or not.
Writing on the social important role women in the Ijo communities play, Alagoa
(2003:12), observed that respect for motherhood remains high and has played a central part
in the development of Niger Delta society, especially in the practice of matriliny or
matrilineal descent. Among the Nembe people and some Ijo communities, decent is mainly
reckoned through mother’s lineages. However, ego can also inherit movable properties from
father’s side, but landed properties and chieftaincy titles could only be obtained from
maternal communities. It should be noted, however, that the matrilineal descent system does
not place women above men in public affairs; it only meant that the dominant male still
identified himself through the lineage of his mother.
Religiously, women in Ijo communities are given significant roles to play because of
the concept of God being mother. Women are usually the means through which most gods or
goddesses communicate to others. Among the Kalabari people, for instance, women are thus
possessed by the spirit of these gods who communicate through them. They are called
Orukoro ereme or Owudogi ereme. When possessed, usually at the visit of the guest-spirit,
(Oru), the victim is made to exhibit ecstatic behaviour with utterances made in an unfamiliar
language, usually believed to be a corrupt form of some Ijo dialect (Sokari – George op.cit).
Women also feature as heads of religion. Some popular communal cults in Kalabari have
women as their chief priestesses. In Tombia (Rivers State), for instance, the head of the
powerful pulo-ombia cult is a woman.
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
105
In the arts of the Ijo people, men are the dominant figures, however, traditional
accounts have given the creative contribution of women. For instance, the Ekine masquerade
society of Kalabari according to Horton (1975:25) has its origin in a woman called Ekineba
who later became a water spirit after introducing the plays to the community. Still, women
have been accounted to be the originators and leaders of most prestigious men’s society. The
central element in the mythology of the Sekiapu masquerade performances of Nembe is also
a female spirit, called Owuaya (mother spirit or mother masquerade). More so, the Ijo
women excelled in giving themselves a cultural identity through the designing of their
apparels and other body decorations. They design their cultural cloths such as; Indian
mandras, bilangidi, loko and indiya. In architecture, especially in the area of interior
decorations, Ijo women excel. They design the room, especially the inner rooms (biokiri and
kalabio) and occasionally, the reception room or palour called warikubu, (Sokari – George
op. cit).
Economically, women were not only significant in the subsistence economy, but also
served in the development of the long distance trade between the delta communities and
those of the hinterland, and in terms of items such as pottery, also across the delta from east
to west. Archeological findings and oral testimonies have revealed a great deal of pottery
was manufactured locally but was usually supplemented by supplies from outside. Thus,
women made pots for cooking, fetching and storing water, cosmetics, for ritual use, and for
industrial uses, such as the manufacturing of salt, (Alagoa op. cit). The Art of going fishing
is commonly found among the Ijo women. Whereas the men folk go for deep sea fishing, the
women engage in supplementary sea-foods such as isem (periwinkle), ngolo (thais
haemostoma) and mgbe (oyster). Other types of fishing that is exclusively feminine
prerogative include; netting of shrimps (asan buka), and using of line gear to catch ikilioto
(angel fish). Another economic activity that women mainly participate in; is weaving.
Woven materials produced; include; akasa (fish rackets), ekete (basket), opili (storage
container) and okrika (thatches).
One area where women in Ijo have wielded great influence is in the area of politics.
Politically, men are most dominant. Nevertheless, the contributions of women can never be
overemphasized. In fact, Ijo land is one of the few places that have witnessed an actual
monarch being a female in Nigeria. Bonny oral traditions and king list have Queen Karibasa
or Kamba as the only woman ruler in Bonny history. She was famous for her military
prowess. She trained a permanent army which she personally led against Opuoko which she
sacked and brought back canoe load of trophies, comprising the heads of war victims, with
which the house of skulls was constructed, Jaja (2003:52). Kambasa is remembered as one of
the most effective rulers both in domestic and foreign relations.
Another woman that is worth of mentioning in the political system of the Ijos is
Madam Oruguta of Iju – Jack house of Abonna. She was a feminine figure whose political
career is not in doubt. This lady competed healthily with her male counterparts in amassing
wealth, slaves and other properties through trade. In the end, Oruguta founded her own house
and established her chieftaincy stool. Other women who have been recognized as forces of
political power in traditional Ijo society include; Ine – Okuma who is referred to as “woman
amidst men”, Ayinba – Orupumbu, Amadiba, Aguba – boni, Ngeleba – Orubiyan, Sukuta.
In the nineteenth century Kalabari, one woman with political feat was Ayimba –
Orupumba, popularly called Orupumbu of Tariah House of Buguma. She participated fully
in long-distance trade between the coastal states and their mainland neighbouring
communities along the courses of the new Calabar, Sombreiro, and Orashin rivers. Out of the
proceeds of her trade, Orupumbu established her own house and chieftaincy stool. She also
acquired an area to settle the members of her House. Till date, that section of Buguma is
known as Orupumbu-polo (Sokari – George 2003:38).
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
106
In addition, some Ijo women in history are known to have single handedly sponsored
wars even though they did not go to the war front. In Elem-kalabari, for instance; during the
19
th
century, a woman, Asikogobakala-Ngu; sponsored the war on the side of Kalabari when
the latter was involved in a fierce conflict with their Ibani neighbours. According to
tradition, she supplied both men and ammunition need for effective execution of the war
which Kalabari triumphed. Also, in Elem – Abalama, another woman salvaged the
community from a severe military assault from Bonny in the 18
th
century (Sokari – George
2003:38).
Sex or gender parity among Ijo women was no hindrance to their social and political
ability even in the face of male chauvinism. In recent times, Ijo women have begun to style
themselves as chiefs, whereas in most communities, they do not sit in council with their male
counterparts during deliberations at city-council meetings, in some communities, they do.
Tamuno (1967:42), in writing about the “House Rule” system of government, stated that
women of outstanding ability, sagacity, influence and wealth among the Nembe could take
part in the deliberations of a “House”. It could be deduced that women in Ijo communities
were not barred from taking active part in politics because of the fact that female deities
founders and guardians were adopted among traditional Ijo societies originators of the Ijo
political system.
4. CONCLUSION
Whereas most traditions in Nigeria and the world at large relegate the position of
women in their societies to mainly domestic duties, such as; a full time housewife, giving
birth to children, being obedient to male family members etc, traditional Ijo societies
incorporate the female folk to holistic activities in the social system giving them a more role
to play than any other major ethnic group in Nigeria. The Ijo people acknowledge the
contribution of women to the development of their societies. Women played active and
recognized roles in the polity, economy, religion, social, cultural etc systems. The position of
women in the Niger Delta communities cannot be said to be one of abject neglect or
oppression. Their position in religious thought and social system was established, and they
had a dominant role in sections of the subsistence and developing local economy. Their
creativity was fully acknowledged in the traditions and mythology. In summary, women
played a significant part yet to be fully detailed in study, in the developments that were most
central in every field, exercising domestic economic power, the power of combined opinion
in politics, and through combinations such as the Egbele-Ereme, through the force of moral
and group persuasion.
It should be noted that their playing important role in all facets of the social system
occasioned by a religious belief system did not stop them from carrying out their domestic
roles and other social and civic responsibilities which other societies isolate women too. In
fact, their full participation in other facets of the system gave them a better opportunity of
performing their domestic duties as in most cases; they don’t wait for a husband to supply
the necessary economic resources before providing for their families. In essence, they don’t
totally rely on their husbands to give them money before taking care of their family, rather
they rely mostly on themselves in the provision of food for their household. This does not
mean that the men don’t provide for their families, but that the women are not totally
dependent on their husbands as is the case of other ethnic groups.
In modern times, more women from Ijo are being given chieftaincy titles and their
opinion sought before important decisions are taken. We have women like Chief Mrs.
Patience Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Prof. Mrs. Rose Izonbodor and others. Finally, it is
worthy of noting that in as much as women played important roles in all ramification of the
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
107
Ijo communities, they were never equal with men and certain duties were still exclusively for
men.
Conclusively, the position of women in the Ijo communities was no doubt derived
from the religious status of women which ascribed a feminine status to God. This is so stated
because in almost all traditional societies in the world, religion laid the basis for social status
acquisition. Hench, a religion that ascribes male characteristics to God is more likely to be
biased towards women, while those that incline their beliefs towards female gods or
attributes God to possess motherly qualities are more likely to give women more role to play
in the society and accord a great deal of respect to the women folk.
REFERENCES
Alagoa, E. J. (1972) A History of the Niger Delta: An Historical Interpretation of Ijo oral
tradition. Ibadan: University Press.
Alagoa, E.J. (2003) “God is mother: A Historical Review of Women in The Development of
Niger Delta Communities”. In Ejituwu, N.C. and Gabriel, A.O.I (eds). Women
in Nigerian History: The Rivers and Bayelsa State Experience. Port Harcourt;
Onyoma Research Publications.
Appah, S. (2003) “Women in Ekpetiama”. In Ejituwu, N.C. and Gabriel, A.O.I. (eds).
Women in Nigerian History: The Rivers and Bayelsa State Experience. Port
Harcourt; Onyoma Research Publications.
Bordwell, D. (20020 Catechism of the Catholic Church Continuum International Publishing
Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Cerna C.M, and Wallace J.C.(1999) “ Women and Culture”. In Askin, D.K. and Koenig,
D.M.(eds) Women and International Human Rights, 623, 630-640.
Daly, M. (1973) Beyond God the Father, Boston MA: Beacon Press.
English Version of the Holy Qur’an.
Ghista, G. (2011); The Status of Women in World Religion: Retrieved on the 10/11/2013
from www.proutglobe.org/2011/05/the-stat...php.
Horton, R. (1962) “The Kalabari World-view: An outline and interpretation” Africa vol.
XXXII NO.5.
Horton, R. (1975), “Ekineba: A Forgotten Myth in Oduma: Journal of Rivers State Council
of Arts and Culture, Vol. 2, No. 2 pp. 23-36.
Jaja, J.M. (2003): Women in Ibani History: Examples from the Realm of Politics; Economy
and Religious Order. In Ejituwu, N.C. and Gabriel, A.O.I (eds). Women in
Nigerian History: The Rivers and Bayelsa State Experience, Port Harcourt;
Onyoma Research Publications.
Kaufman, F. (1976) Existentialism, Religion, and Death. New York: New American Library.
Macionis, J.J. and Plummer K. (2008); Sociology: 4
th
Edition England; Person Education
Limited.
Nath, G. B. (1920) “Hellenism in Ancient India.
Okaba, B. O. & Appah S.T.K. (1999) “Religious Beliefs and Practices; in Alagoa E. J. (ed);
The Land and People of Bayelsa State Central Niger Delta. Port Harcourt,
Onyoma Research Publications.
Okaba, B. O. (1995) Ijo eschatology and social structure Port Harcourt: Liberty Press.
Okaba, B. O. (1997) Ijo Kinship and Socio-Political Organization; in Onwuka and Ahiawe
(eds) Nigerian Heritage. Owerri: Whyten Publishers.
Onwuzirike, E. (2003) “ The Status of Women in the Traditional Niger Delta Society.”In
Ejituwu, N.C. and Gabriel, A.O.I (eds). Women in Nigerian History: The Rivers
and Bayelsa State Experience, Port Harcourt; Onyoma Research Publications.
African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4 Number 2 (2014)
99-108
108
Pagels, P.H. (1976) “What Became of God the Mother? Conflicting Images of God in Early
Christianity” Signs, vol. 2, No. 2 pp. 293-303.
Prabhat, R.S. (1995) The Awakening of Women, Ananda Marga Publications.
Sokari – George, G. (2003) “Women in Kalabari History” In: Ejituwu, N.C. and Gabriel,
A.O.I. (eds). Women in Nigerian History: The Rivers and Bayelsa State
Experience. Port Harcourt, Onyoma Research Publications.
Tamuno, T.N. (1967) “Native House Rule of Southern Nigeria,” Nigeria Magazine, 93, pp.
159-168.
The Holy Bible: King James Version.
Tuffaha, A. Z. (1985) Al-mar’an Wal-Islam, Dar alkitab al-lubnani, Beirut, First Edition.
United Ijaw.Com (2013) “What is Egbesu”? Retrieved on the 20/10/2013 from
www.unitedIjaw.com.
Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia 2013 – Retrieved on the 10/08/2013 from;
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_of_God.
Witzel, M. (2001); The Autochthonous Aryans; Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts;
Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 7. 1-118, 23.
© 2010-2014 Sacha & Diamond Academic Publishers,
Meridian Centre, 258 Kingsland Road, Hackney, London E8 4DG, England, United Kingdom.
In Compliance with the Standards Approved by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council
Abstracting and Indexing in:
GIGA - The Electronic Journals Library of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies,
Information Centre, Hamburg; Google Scholar; Global Development Network (GDNet);
Social Science Research Network (SSRN);
Econlit - The American Economic Association's Index; EBSCO
IndexCopernicus USA; British International Libraries; Anton’s Weekly Digest;
Econlit (USA);
International Abstracts in Operations Research
· Environmental Science and Pollution Management
· Research Alert
For the Advancement of Knowledge to the World. www.sachajournals.com
