The Anglican Church and Widowhood Rites in Igboland

Abstract

The work centres on the Anglican Church and Widowhood Rites in Igboland. Widowhood is a condition in which a woman lost her husband by death. It is a state in which a woman or widow has lost her husband by death and has not remarried. The death of a man automatically plunges his wife into widowhood. Widowhood rites pose ordeal which every widow must pass through at the demise of her husband. In a patriarchal society, widows are subjected to inhuman treatment at the death of their husbands. Widowhood rites thrive in a society where there is suspicion of widow over the death of her late husband. The church equipped with pastoral care is saddled with the responsibility of alleviating the plight of widows in the society. Therefore, the work examined the role of Anglican Church in alleviating the plight of widows in Igboland. The researcher collected data through primary source like observation and secondary sources which consist of books. It used phenomenological approach. It was descriptive and analytical. The writer discovered that the church has not addressed the major challenges that confront the widows which include, psychological trauma, anxiety, stigmatization, loneliness, poverty, expensive burial ceremonies, low self esteem that are associated with widowhood. There is need for the church to teach her members that death is both inevitable and natural. The widows should be given assurance through teaching that non-observance of widowhood rites does not attract the wrath of their late husbands.

Keywords: Marriage, Widowhood, Death and Church