IN FAVOUR
OF
WOMEN
Discovering Nigeria
One hundred and twenty million inhabitants and a rich history. Our three religious communities: the houses of Mafoluku and Ibadan are in the area of the
Yoruba tribe, while the one in Abatete is in the Igbo area. The characteristics of
these two groups, from the clothes they wear to their behaviour, including also
those of the Hausa tribe. Religion as an integral part of the women’s world.
Motherhood as a social cornerstone. The complex path towards understanding
the value of choosing a Consecrated Life, which is a growing reality.
N
igeria, famously known as
the “Giant of Africa” forms
part of the West African region. It is
made up of many cultures, ethnic
groups, tribes and peoples with
their rich histories and traditions. It
is also the most heavily populated
country in Africa, with an estimated
population of 120millions. History
has it that some of the people now
in Nigeria came from the East or
North East of Africa.
Most of the tribes are tattooed with
a “tribal mark” as a sign of belonging to that tribe, so that they can
easily recognize each other. There
are over 250 languages in Nigeria
but the commonly spoken, or the
official, language is English.
There are three major tribes in
Nigeria: the Igbos in the East, the
Yorubas in the West and the
Hausas in the North. There are also
many smaller tribes like the Efiks
and Ibibios in the Calabar area, the
Ikweres in Port Harcourt, the Tivs
etc.
Our three communities are found in
the heart of the two major tribes.
The first community in Nigeria that
of “Our Lady of the Holy Rosary” in
Mafoluku, Lagos, and the Novitiate
in Ibadan are situated in the heart
of Yoruba land, while the second
community at Abatete is in
Igboland in the Eastern part of
Nigeria.
THE YORUBA
The Yoruba people are largely concentrated in the south-western part
of Nigeria. Both the language and
the people are known as Yoruba.
The Yorubas dress simply. The
women rarely wear blouses; instead
they wear a buba, a free-fitting top
and wrap, with a large turban.
Ibadan, religious and lay people celebrating the first Profession of a group of Sisters.
27
table or when giving them water to
drink. These traditions still exist and
are wonderful to experience. An
admirable fact about Yoruba greetings is that there is a way of expressing almost everything that happens
under the sun with a greeting. Thus,
for example,: there is a greeting for
when it rains, “Oto jo meta” or “Eku
ojo”; “Eku alejo” when receiving
visitors; and when a person has not
been seen for about three days or
more, the greeting is “Eku jo meta”
and so on.
THE IGBOS
Yoruba child dancing
Greetings
Respect for elders is very important
among the Yoruba. People of different ages know where they stand in
relation to others and respect their
elders. Elders are treated with
respect and are looked up to in
Yoruba tradition. Even if there is
only a day’s difference in age, it is
the tradition that the younger one
should address the older one in an
appropriate manner and with the
right word. Every word of greeting
is used according to the age of the
person being greeted. It is mandatory for a young female to kneel
down for the elders when greeting
them, and that she greets them first.
The elder, similarly, answers her with
love and respect, sometimes with
arms out-stretched, as a sign of loving welcome and blessing. The
elder may also responds to the
greeting with words like ‘Omomi’,
my child and ‘Aburo’, my little one.
The young male bows or lies prostrate for elders, as a sign of respect,
while the womenfolk kneel for their
husband when greeting them or
when placing their food on the
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The Igbos occupy the South-East of
Nigeria, although some of them
can also be found around South
Mid-West, most especially in the
Delta states. They are highly industrious and business orientated –
this keenness in business explains
their nomadic life. A proverb has it
that a country where an Igbo is not
found, is a dead country.
Mode of Dressing
The Igbos dress more expensively.
The women are fond of using tight
fitting blouses on top of two wraps.
It is an abomination for a married
A young Igbo lady with her child (Lagos)
An elegant Yoruba lady wearing
a colourful head dress
woman to use only one wrap which
is common among other tribes. It
has to be two. Men are fond of
wearing big, expensive shirts,
called “Jogi” on top of their wraps,
and they carry a walking stick – sign
of importance and honor, wealth,
pride...
The Igbos merely exchange hearty
greetings. They do not bow or
kneel down as a sign of respect like
the Hausa or the Yoruba. The
young ones greet the elders first.
Where the elders greet first, the
young ones must immediately
apologize and explain why they
refused to greet first.
One very peculiar aspect of the
Igbo which is worth knowing is the
concept of marriage. This is generally very expensive, which is different from the other tribes. The contract can only be signed after the
groom has paid heavily and generously in cash and materials. One
unique feature of Igbo marriage is
that divorce is almost impossible
and some narrow-minded individuals have attributed this merely to
the heavy amount of money and
material paid by the groom. Mar-
RELIGION IN THE HEART OF
NIGERIAN WOMEN
Two young people from Ibadan
riage is a sacred bond; a woman’s
pride, it is believed, is in her husband’s house. Faithfulness to one’s
husband and one’s home is inculcated from the beginning. Marriage is the pride of a woman...
THE HAUSA
The Hausa group occupies the
North part of the country. The common spoken language is Hausa.
The Hausa can be identified easily
by other Nigerians by their looks,
by their dress, and by their dancing
patterns. The men, for example,
usually dress in flowing robes while
the women tie wrap and shawl
around the neck. Something interesting about the Hausas is their
style of greeting: there is a great
respect for elders. Women kneel
down while men bend or squat to
greet elders. It is customary for
men to place their right hand on
their chest after greetings as a mark
of respect, love and unity, and as a
sign that the greeting of the other
is cherished and therefore preserved jealously in the heart.
THE
As ethnic groups and tribes vary so
also does their perception of, and
relationship with, God. The fact
that Christianity advanced into
these cultures at different times
and at a different pacemeant that
the practice of African Traditional
Religion endured in some areas
longer than in others, (in some till
quite recently) and this also affected their perception of Christianity
and of Christian religious life in particular.
Generally, it is strongly believed
that religion and faith are the key
points to understanding the everyday life of a Nigerian, particularly a
woman. Religion, it is also said, is
the “glasses” through which the
whole existence: the life style,
thinking pattern, behaviour, belief
and laws; the concept of death, sorrow, and joy, are viewed.
Several religions co-exist in Nigeria
but the major ones are Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Religion (ATR).
Catholicism pre-dominates in the
Igbo of Eastern Nigeria and the
closely related areas, while Islam
dominates the North and Protestantism and local syncretic Christianity are mostly evident in Yoruba land.
Religion is as dear to the Nigerian –
particularly to women - as air is to
life. In fact, it is often difficult to
think of a person except in the light
of his/her relationship with God. It
is difficult to single out an atheist,
particularly among women.
God is strongly perceived as a
great God, “Olodumare” in Yoruba, “Chi-ukwu” in Igbo, but he is
also a God who is close to his people: a God who takes interest in the
affairs of his children, and who is
not just a distant spectator. He is a
personal God: the various names in
the local languages reflect this.
Women, like many other Nigerians,
are very religious. Their religion
envelops the whole of their lives
and their circumstances. Mothers
know and feel deeply that their reverence to God is lived out in being
good, kind, and faithful to him and
to their neighbors, as well as in and
in the good upbringing of their children.
MOTHERHOOD
Motherhood is so important and so
“divine” that a childless marriage is
almost termed an abomination and
therefore frowned at by the society
particularly among the Igbo. The
women see themselves as the pride
of the family when they can bear
children, and they refer to themselves as “the tree that bears fruit”
just to denote the procreative
power of a woman and to recognize
the fact that it was through the children they bore that the survival of
the individual, and the future of the
entire community, depends.
They do not only give birth to their
offspring, they also see to their
Love of a mother carrying her baby on her
back in a traditional manner
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A Nigerian landscape
upbringing. The mother is the child’s
first educator. She is able to socialize
the child most effectively right from
the beginning. She supplies a greater
part of both its physical and emotional needs. She transmits the customs
and beliefs of the land to the children. Referring to this unequivocal
role of women in Nigeria, the author
of the life of Shanahan writes: “What
a book a mother’s heart and life is for
each of us to read and ponder over,
meditate on and imitate and live in
our own lives. It is God’s life revealed
to us in the hearts and lives of our
mothers...and sisters”.1
The early missionaries understood
this role of women in the family and
also understood that evangelization
would be effective if the potentialities of women were harnessed. This
is the reason behind the founding of
the first local sisters. Even at the
church level, and till today, women
hold a great responsibility towards
the building up and consolidation of
the Catholic faith and doctrine, and
see that it is systematically imparted
to their children. Their duty is that of
planting firmly the basic Christian
virtues, principles and ideals which
bear fruit in adulthood.
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PEOPLE’S
PERCEPTION
OF RELIGIOUS LIFE
From the traditional perspective of
African cultures, and especially
when Christianity was first introduced, there have been mixed attitudes towards Religious Life. Perception differed according to the
particular culture and the understanding of Christianity achieved by
the recipients; above all, it depended on how Christianity as a whole
was received in a given area.
In some parts, it was unimaginable
that any positive value could be
given to the Consecrated Life
chiefly because of the Vow of
chastity. This was based on the
assumption that a woman is primarily valued as a life bearer, the prolongation of a generation of children. Why a woman should want to
sacrifice herself to a life without
child-bearing was inconceivable or
unimaginable to the minds of many.
This view is not limited to mere biological reproduction. What is perhaps even more significant is that
the life that the woman passes on is
not seen as her own, but as that of
her people. A child, in fact, never
belongs only to the parents, but to
the whole people.
One of the greatest difficulties that
local population had in accepting
the Religious Life, originates in the
understanding of why any person
would freely choose to sacrifice
his/her life in the commitment of
chastity. It seemed hardly possible
to fathom the purpose of total continence.
This attitude of incomprehension is
still felt today.
However, the most common perplexity today has to do with economics. The question no longer
concerns the vow of chastity but
the vow of poverty. People wonder
why some energetic, healthy, goodlooking people would choose to
end up being poor in religious life
instead of struggling to achieve
something very tangible and material: to own a good house, to drive
the best car, to prosper in business…
THE
APOSTOLATE
OF THE SISTERS
The Sisters’ apostolate has helped
to mitigate the hostile attitude to
Religious Life. The fact that many
sisters are teachers of children at
various stages of education and
faith, and that they also work in
hospitals caring for the sick, helps
to explain and justify a choice of life
which is not based on bearing children, but is nevertheless a positive
alternative way of living and not
merely a denial of motherhood.
The sisters themselves explain their
motive for becoming members of a
Congregation in terms of maternity
of a kind that makes them “mothers
to all the people” and not just of a
few children.
The evangelical lifestyle of unity in
diversity, communion and love witnessed to by religious communities
speaks more directly to the hearts
and minds of a people made up of
different cultures, tribes and even
nationalities, and helps towards an
understanding and welcoming of
the nature and value of such a life.
However, Consecrated Life was not
strange or so new where Christianity had found deep roots and
where, as among the Igbo before
Christianity, it was sustained by
strong pre-Christian beliefs which
themselves inculcated special dedication and consecration to the
gods and setting apart things as
belonging to them. In such places,
Consecrated Life was welcomed,
appreciated and supported. It was
and is still seen as a blessing. Families consider themselves fortunate
when a son or daughter or even
both manifest the desire to serve
God. And some even yearn to have
a priest or Rev. Sister in their family
because it is a concrete sign of
God’s presence and blessings.
Dominican life is highly valued by
the general population. People
feel, Dominican life to be different;
they see Dominicans as simple,
humble people who love and
respect everyone whatever their
social standing. One of the first
comments young people make
coming in contact with us is: “Sisters you are different, you are not
like others!”
That which makes a Nigerian to feel
at home immediately with a
Dominican lifestyle is the strong
community life. It is a life that gives
room to individual development
and fulfillment in God, and also
encourages the best of oneself. But
it is also a life in which each person
feels strongly bound to the other in
the community spirit. Dominican
life is like a continuation of that
spirit of extended family into which
1
a Nigerian grows and lives.
People marvel at the simplicity and
humility they see in Dominicans.
For example they are not able to
distinguish who is a superior and
who is not. They seem to see a holy
competition among us. Each one
seems to try to outdo the other in
doing good. People are really
stunned by this
They even admire the use of language: no forceful words, but
polite words, no command but
please...they simply believe there is
God in the Dominican community.
THE
BOOM IN VOCATIONS
The reasons for the vocation boom
in Nigeria has been attributed to
many factors like economic problems; the fruit of war; and hardship
which apparently spurs young people to see religious life as a better
alternative means of survival.
Undoubtedly, all these may be reasons, but not the whole reason.
One fact to bear in mind at this
point is that there is a great reverence for God in the heart and belief
of the Nigerian. Religious or priest-
ly vocation is seen as God’s call.
And it is clear, if it is God, no one
ever dares question it or oppose it
for fear of finding himself fighting
with God. Though there is opposition here and there in families, nevertheless what God desires in the
life of a person still stands as an
absolute.
Other factors contributing to the
boom of vocations are: the
advancement of Christianity in various part of the land. Evangelization
is penetrating deeper and deeper.
Awareness is therefore being created of the love of God for humanity and of God’s desire for men to
follow him. There is more freedom
of choice, people know that marriage is one of the ways one can
serve God but that Religious life is
also another way. There are more
Consecrated men and women than
there were in the past. People associate with them, work with them,
experience their goodness and
love and in turn desire to do the
same.
Sr. M. Paulina Chioma o.p.
Sr. M. Juliana Okafor o.p.
Postulants and novices in the cloister of the Ibadan convent
Cf. Mary Joseph-Ann, The Igbo Woman and Consecrated Life: Effective Key, Onitsha. 1994 P. 6.
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