Widowhood in Igboland – Five Things You Need To Know

In Igboland, the widow’s mourning of her deceased husband is viewed as a very important tradition which the living spouse must observe in honour of the dead. When the husband of the woman dies, the mourning begins from that moment of his final breath and goes on for months, even up to a year. Sometimes, the consequences are eternal. In sum, widowhood in Igboland is a big deal.

Widowhood in Igboland – Five things you be

However, the following are the most general practice that is more readily recognized as widowhood practices in Igboland. That is to say that, whenever one hears the mention of widowhood in Igboland, these are the things that easily come to mind and there are as follows.

The woman’s hair is shaved

In Igboland, it is a common belief that the beauty of a woman is for her husband only. Her hair is therefore shaved to show that woman is no longer in need of her beauty, at least while the mourning is ongoing. Most widows on their own see it as an outward show of their grief and so the majority of widows shave their hair voluntarily. 

The widow is not shaved by just anybody but a fellow widow. From that moment the husband died, in some Igbo clans, the widow is believed to be unclean, and likely to contaminate others. Therefore, for these areas, no one touches her except her fellow widows.

Some Igbo villages go as much as cut off the widow’s fingernails and toenails.

The reasons for shaving the hair vary from place to place. In some places, the haircut is a symbol of breaking off all links between the widow and the deceased husband. In other places, a woman who loses her husband is seen to have lost her glory and her hair is one way to show this loss.

Conversely, the shaving of hair is generally believed to be a sign of mourning, love, respect, and honour for the dead.

Dropping of condolence gifts on the ground or a bucket

Monetary presents are dropped on the ground for the widow. She is not expected to stretch out her hands to receive them because she is too unclean to receive gifts from other people’s hands.

In some clan. this goes to demonstrate her unwillingness to benefit from her husband’s demise.

That way she is also forbidden from shaking hands with anybody.

The widow is not allowed to eat any food bought for the funeral

She is also not allowed to eat any food bought for the funeral ceremony. lt is feared that she will die if she eats such foods. Hence, her food during the funeral ceremonies is cooked separately.

In rare cases, in some villages, the widow would eat with unwashed plates for up to 28 days and even three months, as part of the mourning.

Wearing of black or white mourning outfit

Black is often associated with evil and the widow is expected to wear this outfit first to be noticed as a widow and
secondly as someone who has an evil omen. The Christian mothers now insist on wearing white instead of black. Whether it is black or white, there is no difference, since mourning outfits are the same because they have the same interpretation.

Fixed period of mourning

In some, if not most, Igbo clans, traditionally, a widow is expected to mourn for a stipulated time. She is not expected to just mourn for as long as she wants – she mourns for as long as she is required by the people and it could be as long as one year. 

Due to the changing times, the widow now has a say in how long she could carry the mourning. Some now mourn for as short as one month. Some do not mourn beyond the burial of their husband.

Other widowhood practices

Here are other widowhood practices that can be considered common or rare depending on who you ask.

Ritual Seclusion (Ino na nso): This practice involves the widow being secluded in a most restricted manner because the widow is regarded as unclean. She does not enjoy the company of other “free” human
beings until she is “purified”.

Programmed Wailing: The widow wails early every morning before and after the funeral to the hearing of people in the neighbourhood to demonstrate the depth of her grief over the death of her husband.

Sitting on the floor: The widow is compelled to sit on the floor by the “Umuada” as a sign of the dethronement of the widow who has lost her status and pride by the death of her husband.

Extreme widow practices in some Igbo clans

The following practices are increasingly becoming rare that you could travel through random villages and not seen anywhere these practices are carried out. Christianity, education, and modernity have gotten rid of these practices in virtually all parts of Igboland. 

Here’s a more traditional view of Igbo widowhood 

However, the vindictiveness of the husband’s people, their greed, and general backwardness can see them reach into the sack of forgotten culture and unearth these, mostly humiliating practices.

Washing of her hands with scrubs: Soon after the interment of the late husband’s body, the widow will be
made to wash her hands with shrubs known as akoro or ujiji for four times so as to absolve herself from the deceasea’s death. She is not expected to eat with her defiled hand until this ritual is performed.

Disinheritance of a widow: This is a situation where a widow is not allowed to inherit any property of her husband. Igbo land is mainly a patriarchal society in which a widow is seen as a chattel of her husband and his family. As a chattel, she is incapable of owning or inheriting a property but she qualifies to be inherited herself.

The only exception is if the woman has a living male child who can inherit part of his father’s property and through him, the mother may benefit. It is worse in a matrilineal society where the members of the man’s family particularly the man’s brothers, sisters, and their children dispossess the dead man’s biological children of their father’s property.

Widow inheritance (forceful remarriage): This is called (nkuchi nwanyi). It is a forceful remarriage of a
widow to her husband’s younger brother or a close relation. This way the widow is assured that she will not be disinherited of her husband’s properties or be driven out of her matrimonial home.

Oath ritual: The widow is subjected to this practice by being forced to drink the water used in bathing the corpse. It serves as a show of innocence from either the widow killing her husband or hiding his property from his family. 

Some villages see the woman forced to lie down for night(s) with her husband’s corpse.

Tying up of hands in rags: The widow’s hands are tied up in rags in the manner of the boxer’s gloves for three months. During this period, the widow does not eat with her hands, thus she experiences a period of
starvation unless she is fed by another widow. This is to show the widow that she has lost her freedom.

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