Abstract
THIS book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the Ibo, not for the facts it contacts but for the very clear exposition Miss M. M. Green gives in Part 1 (Village Organisation) of the general, almost conscious, tendency of the Ibo people to disperse authority over as many groups as possible —whether based on age, sex, occupation or anything else—rather than to concentrate it in the hands of any central organisation. There are, as she points out, no recognized bodies, either judicial or legislative, that function to the exclusion of other groups, for any group “can take the initiative and win the day if they can secure enough popular support”. Many of the difficulties in establishing indirect rule in this part of Nigeria might have been lessened, if not avoided, if this had been fully appreciated earlier.
Ibo Village Affairs
Chiefly with Reference to the Village of Umueke Agbaja. By M. M. Green. Pp. xi + 262. (London : Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., 1947.) 10s. 6d. net.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
FIELD, J. Ibo Village Affairs. Nature 163, 858 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/163858b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/163858b0