1- Biafra in the Present: Trauma of a Loss
African Sociological Review,
Vol. 13 No. 1 (2009): African Sociological Review
Abstract
This paper forms part of a wider attempt at engaging the issues of nation building, war, and trauma within the context of a developing sociology of trauma. It focuses, specifically, on Biafra, a recurring issue in the political and economic discussions in Nigeria. It delimits the focus to trauma. The Igbo perception of their increased marginalisation in the scheme of things
in contemporary Nigeria brings to the fore the idea of Biafra, an Igbo attempt to create an Igbo nation-state which subsequently resulted into the war which foreshadowed many of the conflicts that would threaten to ‘shatter’ many post colonial Africa. The war was traumatic:
it inflicted fear and suffering. With the use of cultural trauma and the notion of the loss of assumptive world, the paper suggests that its loss was more traumatic because of the shattering of the cognitive representation of Biafra, an entity which was to bring a sense of belonging and connection that would cohere the Igbo being. In the wake of the loss of Biafra, the assumptive world of the Igbo was shattered. The paper suggests further that current recollection of Biafra by the Igbo serves as an illustration of the ‘collective trauma’ of its loss. The theoretical basis for the argument in this paper is that Biafra is rooted in the psyche of the Igbo.
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- Ademoyega, Adewale 1981, Why We Struck: The Story of the First nigerian coup.
- Ibadan: Evans Brothers Nigerian Publishers Alexander, J. C. 2004, “Toward a Theory of Cultural. Trauma”, pp 1-30 in cultural Trauma and collective identity, edited by J.C Alexander, R.
- Everyman, B. Giesen, N.J. Smelser, and P. Sztompka. Berkely, CA: University of California Press. Amadiume, Ifi 2000, The Politics of Memory: Biafra and intellectual Responsibility, pp. 38-55 in The politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice, edited by Ifi Amadiume and Abdullah An-Na’im. London: Zed Books Becker, E. 1962, The Birth and Death of meaning: A perspective in psychiatry and anthropology. New York: The Free Press.
- Becker, E. 1971, The Birth and Death of meaning: An interdisciplinary perspective on the problem of man New York: The Free Press.
- Becker, E. 1973, The Denial of Death, New York: The Free Press Becker, E. 1975, Escape from evil, New York: Free Press.
- Chukwuezi, Barth 2001, “Through thick and thin: Igbo rural-urban circularity, identity and investment”, Journal of contemporary African Studies 19 1, pp. 55-66.
- Caruth, C.1996, Unclaimed Experience:Trauma, narrative and History.Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Cronje, Suzanne, 1972, The World and nigeria: The Diplomatic History of the Biafra War. London:
- Sidgwick and Jackson de St. Jorre, John 1972, The nigerian civil War. London: Holder and Stoughton
- Diamond, Stanley, 2007/1970, Who Killed Biafra? Dialectical Anthropology, 31, pp. 339-362.
- Dudley, Billy 1982, An introduction to nigerian Government and politics. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Press.
- Ekwe-Ekwe, Herbert 1990, The Biafra War: nigeria and the Aftermath. Lewiston: in Mellen Press.
- Erikson, Kai 1994, “Notes on Trauma and Community” pp. 183-99 in Trauma: Explorations in Memory, ed. Cathy Caruth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Everly, G. S. (Ed), 1995, psychotraumatology New York: Plenum Press Eyerman, Ron 2004, Cultural
- Trauma: Slavery and the Formation of African American Identity pp. 60-111 in cultural Trauma and collective identity, edited by J.C Alexander, R. Everyman, B. Giesen, N.J. Smelser, and P. Sztompka. Berkely, CA: University of California Press.
- Fortes, Meyer, 1978, “Parenthood, marriage and fertility in West Africa”, Journal of Development Studies, 14, (4), pp. 121-148.
- Harneit-Sievers, Axel and Syney Emezue 2000, Towards a Social History of Warfare and Reconstruction: The Nigerian/Biafran Case in The politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice, edited by Ifi Amadiume and Abdullah An-Na’im. London: Zed Books.
- Ikpeze, Nnaemeka 2000, Post-Biafran Marginalisation of the Igbo in Nigeria in The politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice, edited by Ifi Amadiume and Abdullah An-Na’im. London: Zed Books.
- Isichei, Elizabet 1976, A History of the igbo people, London: Macmillan Janoff-Bulman, R. 1989, Assumptive worlds and the stress of traumatic events: Application of the schema construct. Social cognition, 7, pp. 113-136.
- Janoff-Bulman, R. 1992, Shattered Assumptions: Towards A new psychology of Trauma, New York: Free Press.
- Kansteiner, Wulf 2004, Genealogy of a Category Mistake: A Critical Intellectual History of the Cultural Trauma Metaphor, Rethinking History, Vol. 8, no 2, June 2004, pp. 193-221.
- Kauffman, J. 2002, Introduction in J. Kauffman, (Ed.) Loss of The Assumptive World, pp. 1-9, New York: Brunner-Routledge.
- Landsman, Irene, Smith 2002, “Crises of Meaning in Trauma and Loss” in J. Kauffman, (Ed.) Loss of The Assumptive World, pp. 1-9, New York: Brunner-Routledge.
- Leys, R. 2000, Trauma: A Genealogy, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Lietchy, Daniel 2002, “The Assumptive World in the Context of Transference Relationships: A contribution to Grief Theory” in J. Kauffman, (Ed.) Loss of The Assumptive World, pp. 1-9, New York: Brunner-Routledge Lifton, R. J. and G. Mitchel, (eds.) 1995, Hiroshima in America: Fifty years of Denial. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Son Niemeyer, R.A. (Ed.) 2001, Meaning reconstruction and the Experience of Loss, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association 001, Rumours of Mass Poisoning in Biafra, Obasanjo, Olusegun 1980, My command: An Account of the nigerian civil War 1967-70. London: Heinemann.
- Olick, J. K. 1999, “Collective Memories: The two Cultures” Sociological Theory, 17 (3): 333-48.
- Oloyede, O. 2002, Mental illness in culture, Culture in mental illness;: an anthropological view from South Africa, Medische Anthropologie Vol 14, 2, pp 251-274.
- Parkes, C. M. 1971, Psycho-social transition: A Field of Study. Social Science and Medicine, 5, pp. 101-115.
- Payne, J. D., L. Nadel, W. B. Britton and W. J. Jacobs. 2004, The Biopsychology of Trauma and Memory, pp. 76-128 in Memory and Emotion, (Eds) D. Reisberg and P. Hertel Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Piver, H. L. and Prigerson,, H. G. 2005, Traumatic Loss, complicated grief and terrorism. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 10, pp.277-288.
- Reisberg, D. and P. Hertel (Eds.) 2004, Memory and Emotion, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Smelser, Neil 2004, Psychological Trauma and Cultural Trauma pp. 31-59 in cultural Trauma and collective identity, edited by J.C Alexander, R. Everyman, B. Giesen, N.J. Smelser, and P. Sztompka. Berkely, CA: University of California Press
- Smith, Daniel Jordan 2005, Legacies of Biafra: Marriage, ‘Home People’ and Reproduction Among Igbo of Nigeria, Africa, 75 (1).
- Stocks, Claire 2007, Trauma theory and the singular self: rethinking extreme experiences in the light of cross cultural identity, Textual practice 21, (1), pp. 71-92.
- Uwazurike, Chudi 1997, The Search for Stability in Post Civil War Nigeria: On the Prospects of the Rotational Presidency Idea, Dialectical Anthropology, 22, pp. 265-302.
- Wolff, Stefan 2006, Ethnic conflict: A Global perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Zelizer, B. 2002, Finding Aids to the Past: Bearing Personal Witness to traumaticedia, culture and Society 24: 697-714.
References
Ademoyega, Adewale 1981, Why We Struck: The Story of the First nigerian coup.
Ibadan: Evans Brothers Nigerian Publishers Alexander, J. C. 2004, “Toward a Theory of Cultural. Trauma”, pp 1-30 in cultural Trauma and collective identity, edited by J.C Alexander, R.
Everyman, B. Giesen, N.J. Smelser, and P. Sztompka. Berkely, CA: University of California Press. Amadiume, Ifi 2000, The Politics of Memory: Biafra and intellectual Responsibility, pp. 38-55 in The politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice, edited by Ifi Amadiume and Abdullah An-Na’im. London: Zed Books Becker, E. 1962, The Birth and Death of meaning: A perspective in psychiatry and anthropology. New York: The Free Press.
Becker, E. 1971, The Birth and Death of meaning: An interdisciplinary perspective on the problem of man New York: The Free Press.
Becker, E. 1973, The Denial of Death, New York: The Free Press Becker, E. 1975, Escape from evil, New York: Free Press.
Chukwuezi, Barth 2001, “Through thick and thin: Igbo rural-urban circularity, identity and investment”, Journal of contemporary African Studies 19 1, pp. 55-66.
Caruth, C.1996, Unclaimed Experience:Trauma, narrative and History.Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Cronje, Suzanne, 1972, The World and nigeria: The Diplomatic History of the Biafra War. London:
Sidgwick and Jackson de St. Jorre, John 1972, The nigerian civil War. London: Holder and Stoughton
Diamond, Stanley, 2007/1970, Who Killed Biafra? Dialectical Anthropology, 31, pp. 339-362.
Dudley, Billy 1982, An introduction to nigerian Government and politics. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Press.
Ekwe-Ekwe, Herbert 1990, The Biafra War: nigeria and the Aftermath. Lewiston: in Mellen Press.
Erikson, Kai 1994, “Notes on Trauma and Community” pp. 183-99 in Trauma: Explorations in Memory, ed. Cathy Caruth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Everly, G. S. (Ed), 1995, psychotraumatology New York: Plenum Press Eyerman, Ron 2004, Cultural
Trauma: Slavery and the Formation of African American Identity pp. 60-111 in cultural Trauma and collective identity, edited by J.C Alexander, R. Everyman, B. Giesen, N.J. Smelser, and P. Sztompka. Berkely, CA: University of California Press.
Fortes, Meyer, 1978, “Parenthood, marriage and fertility in West Africa”, Journal of Development Studies, 14, (4), pp. 121-148.
Harneit-Sievers, Axel and Syney Emezue 2000, Towards a Social History of Warfare and Reconstruction: The Nigerian/Biafran Case in The politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice, edited by Ifi Amadiume and Abdullah An-Na’im. London: Zed Books.
Ikpeze, Nnaemeka 2000, Post-Biafran Marginalisation of the Igbo in Nigeria in The politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice, edited by Ifi Amadiume and Abdullah An-Na’im. London: Zed Books.
Isichei, Elizabet 1976, A History of the igbo people, London: Macmillan Janoff-Bulman, R. 1989, Assumptive worlds and the stress of traumatic events: Application of the schema construct. Social cognition, 7, pp. 113-136.
Janoff-Bulman, R. 1992, Shattered Assumptions: Towards A new psychology of Trauma, New York: Free Press.
Kansteiner, Wulf 2004, Genealogy of a Category Mistake: A Critical Intellectual History of the Cultural Trauma Metaphor, Rethinking History, Vol. 8, no 2, June 2004, pp. 193-221.
Kauffman, J. 2002, Introduction in J. Kauffman, (Ed.) Loss of The Assumptive World, pp. 1-9, New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Landsman, Irene, Smith 2002, “Crises of Meaning in Trauma and Loss” in J. Kauffman, (Ed.) Loss of The Assumptive World, pp. 1-9, New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Leys, R. 2000, Trauma: A Genealogy, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lietchy, Daniel 2002, “The Assumptive World in the Context of Transference Relationships: A contribution to Grief Theory” in J. Kauffman, (Ed.) Loss of The Assumptive World, pp. 1-9, New York: Brunner-Routledge Lifton, R. J. and G. Mitchel, (eds.) 1995, Hiroshima in America: Fifty years of Denial. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Son Niemeyer, R.A. (Ed.) 2001, Meaning reconstruction and the Experience of Loss, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association 001, Rumours of Mass Poisoning in Biafra, Obasanjo, Olusegun 1980, My command: An Account of the nigerian civil War 1967-70. London: Heinemann.
Olick, J. K. 1999, “Collective Memories: The two Cultures” Sociological Theory, 17 (3): 333-48.
Oloyede, O. 2002, Mental illness in culture, Culture in mental illness;: an anthropological view from South Africa, Medische Anthropologie Vol 14, 2, pp 251-274.
Parkes, C. M. 1971, Psycho-social transition: A Field of Study. Social Science and Medicine, 5, pp. 101-115.
Payne, J. D., L. Nadel, W. B. Britton and W. J. Jacobs. 2004, The Biopsychology of Trauma and Memory, pp. 76-128 in Memory and Emotion, (Eds) D. Reisberg and P. Hertel Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Piver, H. L. and Prigerson,, H. G. 2005, Traumatic Loss, complicated grief and terrorism. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 10, pp.277-288.
Reisberg, D. and P. Hertel (Eds.) 2004, Memory and Emotion, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Smelser, Neil 2004, Psychological Trauma and Cultural Trauma pp. 31-59 in cultural Trauma and collective identity, edited by J.C Alexander, R. Everyman, B. Giesen, N.J. Smelser, and P. Sztompka. Berkely, CA: University of California Press
Smith, Daniel Jordan 2005, Legacies of Biafra: Marriage, ‘Home People’ and Reproduction Among Igbo of Nigeria, Africa, 75 (1).
Stocks, Claire 2007, Trauma theory and the singular self: rethinking extreme experiences in the light of cross cultural identity, Textual practice 21, (1), pp. 71-92.
Uwazurike, Chudi 1997, The Search for Stability in Post Civil War Nigeria: On the Prospects of the Rotational Presidency Idea, Dialectical Anthropology, 22, pp. 265-302.
Wolff, Stefan 2006, Ethnic conflict: A Global perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Zelizer, B. 2002, Finding Aids to the Past: Bearing Personal Witness to traumaticedia, culture and Society 24: 697-714.