Class, Social Status and Power Relations in Death Proverbs of Nsukka Igbo

Abstract

This paper focuses on class, social status and power relations as seen in proverbs on/about death among the Nsukka Igbo of South East Nigeria. The proverbs are collected from two communities in Nsukka: Edem and Obollo. It investigates these proverbs as sites of power, domination and control. The research is anchored on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) because of the theory’s interest in discourse, domination and power asymmetry. The relations of class, social status and power manipulation are undertaken without ignoring their place and function in the system within which they operate. The study discovers that death proverbs contain ethical values with which these communities are guided away from chaos, but some of them legitimize domination, the most common being in terms of age and social status.

Key words: death, proverbs, Igbo, Nsukka, discourse, power, class, social status, CDA.