Igbo Cosmology, Spirituality, and Cultural Continuity in Selected Nigerian Narratives

Abstract

This paper examines how the Igbo cosmology has been presented in the works of Nigerian writers, and how this has helped in the reconciliation of the spiritual and physical worlds in the face of modernity. The texts selected are Chukwuemeka Ike’s The Bottled Leopard (1983), Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch (2011), and Achalugo Ezekobe’s Mmirinzo (2022), a combination of traditional and modernized texts to show how the Igbo spiritual axioms are developed and reclaimed in the 21st century. The analysis uses myth criticism and Afrocentricism as theoretical approaches with the focus on universal archetypes such as the wise elder and threshold guardians and focuses on African epistemologies. The methodology of a qualitative approach is closed reading of texts, finding themes and incorporating other secondary sources on Igbo beliefs. The findings show the role of ancestral spirits, dual identities, and rituals as the mechanisms to maintain the culture, criticizing colonialism and globalization. The study concludes that these writings reiterate the strength of Igbo cosmology as they propose decolonial readings that incorporate both tradition and modernity in seeking identity and balance.