Friendship and Solidarity in the Igbo Communalist Living: Issues in Selected Nigerian Texts

摘要

The spirit of oneness and togetherness is a distinct trait in the culture of the Igbo people. The Igbo communal living fosters closed relationships in which people empathize and get involved in the concerns of one another. Friendship and fellow feeling in the form of solidarity are valued as much as of blood relationship. It is therefore no wonder, also that the women (among the Igbo) unreservedly rally support for one another at times of need. Therefore, the Igbo ideology offriendship and solidarity is one of the hallmarks of the people coexisting with less strife and high regards for their kits and kins. Friendship is an important relationship throughout a person’s life span, and is therefore highly valued and upheld among the people. Narratives in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God; Flora Nwapa’sEfuru, and IfeomaOkoye’sBehind the Clouds reveal the bonds of friendship, women helping women and fraternal supports among the people. Although, literary scholars have critically studied these texts, this work veers a different direction to examine the issues of friendship among the men and women helping women solidarity. Using the framework of African Communalism as a moral philosophy and way of life that promotes cultural values, relationships, rights and responsibility, this paper makes a literary analysis of the patterns of relationship among the key characters in the selected texts. Specifically, the paper highlights the roles of women supporting women, and fraternal love among the men in stabilizing distressed individuals in the texts. The paper advances the Igbo ideology of togetherness that teaches the individuals in the community to have the moral attitude of contributing to the wellbeing of others, especially at the times of need