MARY N K E C H I OKADIGWE

The recurrence of similar characters and thought in play texts written by diverse playwrights who lived at different times and spaces motivated this research. Although these play texts are written by varied authors, they apparently appear to share significant similarities in terms of character-type and thoughts. It thus becomes imperative to investigate the factors and situations that inform the creation of play texts that seem to be archetypal in theme, thought, character and narrative. Using Carl Jung’s ideas of psychoanalysis, the researcher investigated the essence of archetypes and “collective unconscious” in Tracie Chima Utoh’s Cauldron of Death . The researcher discovered that the archetypes found in Utoh’s Cauldron of Death exist in the “collective unconscious” of the playwright. Coincidently, these archetypes have proved to be innate, hereditary and universal. The researcher therefore, concludes that the archetypal characters found in Cauldron of Death are models of real pe...

People of all cultures have remarkable emotional attachment to the stages of physical or social transformations that occur in their lives. These notable transitions such as initiations into adulthood and marriages are celebrated with fanfare, which often varies in degree, from one culture to the other. This study examined the pre-marriage tutelage phase of girls' passage rites of the Igbo people. The Ine-Ezi girls' passage rites of the Anam people of Igboland were examined as an example of Igbo girls' passage rites. Primary and secondary sources were employed to understand and the meanings, import and essence of the Ine-Ezi girls' rites of passage among the Anam people of Igboland.

Semiotics is a theory developed in Linguistics for studying the structure and meaning of language. It is the study of signs and symbols and the way they generate meanings. Although semiotics was developed in the field of Linguistics to study the structure and signification of language, it has also been used to study various non-linguistics signs systems. In this study, we make a semiotic analysis of costumes and how they express the user’s sociocultural attributes. We demonstrate the phenomenal role that costume as a form of communication plays within the cultural and social society, specifically in video films. This paper makes use of semiotic theory and film analysis through qualitative methodology in order to analyze selected Nigerian video films. This form of analysis has been found to allow costume a distinct voice in words dominated film. It reinforces costume as communication through motifs, lines, shape, colour, fabric and texture. This work has been able to create a semioti...

It is taken for granted that Igbo cultural motifs are pivotal to the formation of Nollywood costumes. The researcher thus finds the examination of the evolution of Nollywood costumes an important subject that requires urgent attention. The aim of this examination is to assert the dominance of Igbo cultural motifs in Nollywood costumes. Qualitative research method was adopted for the research. Using ethnographic research approach, the researcher had sought the opinions of experts in traditional Igbo aesthetics and symbols. The study finds semiotic theory appropriate model for the costume analysis. Findings from this research reveal that Igbo dress culture was pivotal to the development of Nollywood costumes and has continued to play significant roles in costuming Nollywood characters. This research recommends that Nollywood costume designers should focus more on the communicative essence of costumes and their effectiveness in preserving culture. Costume designers should also be given...

This research studied the performance of the Igu-Aro ritual of the Umueri people of Anambra state to investigate its processes in terms of its viability as a model of active and positive social change. Igu-Aro is the Igbo annual communal festival of the prognostication of the year's events. The performance of the Igu-Aro of the Umueri people was perceived as an essential mechanism for transmitting the people's cultural identity and a route to collective participation in the structuring of fair leadership and a progressive economy. Victor Turner's ideologies on rituals, liminality, and social change were adopted for the research. The researcher believes that the understanding and integration of the insights gained from the transitory and collective nature of the performance of Igu-Aro Ndi-Umueri will be beneficial to the understanding of how the Nigerian political system could be bettered. This is because in recent times there seems to be an increasing clamour for the restructuring of the Nigerian political system with a major emphasis on the devolution of powers, duties, and responsibilities to component states. This study has provided insight into the Umueri people and their historical links with others within their common communities.

People of all cultures have remarkable emotional attachment to the stages of physical or social transformations that occur in their lives. These notable transitions such as initiations into adulthood and marriages are celebrated with fanfare, which often varies in degree, from one culture to the other. This study examined the pre-marriage tutelage phase of girls' passage rites of the Igbo people. The Ine-Ezi girls' passage rites of the Anam people of Igboland were examined as an example of Igbo girls' passage rites. Primary and secondary sources were employed to understand and the meanings, import and essence of the Ine-Ezi girls' rites of passage among the Anam people of Igboland.

It is taken for granted that Igbo cultural motifs are pivotal to the formation of Nollywood costumes. The researcher thus finds the examination of the evolution of Nollywood costumes an important subject that requires urgent attention. The aim of this examination is to assert the dominance of Igbo cultural motifs in Nollywood costumes. Qualitative research method was adopted for the research. Using ethnographic research approach, the researcher had sought the opinions of experts in traditional Igbo aesthetics and symbols. The study finds semiotic theory appropriate model for the costume analysis. Findings from this research reveal that Igbo dress culture was pivotal to the development of Nollywood costumes and has continued to play significant roles in costuming Nollywood characters. This research recommends that Nollywood costume designers should focus more on the communicative essence of costumes and their effectiveness in preserving culture. Costume designers should also be given ample time and budget to carry out an ethnographic research in order to employ motifs appropriately. The case studies used for the research were Ijele, My Rising Sun, Living in bondage and The Priestess.

Semiotics is a theory developed in Linguistics for studying the structure and meaning of language. It is the study of signs and symbols and the way they generate meanings. Although semiotics was developed in the field of Linguistics to study the structure and signification of language, it has also been used to study various non-linguistics signs systems. In this study, we make a semiotic analysis of costumes and how they express the user's sociocultural attributes. We demonstrate the phenomenal role that costume as a form of communication plays within the cultural and social society, specifically in video films. This paper makes use of semiotic theory and film analysis through qualitative methodology in order to analyze selected Nigerian video films. This form of analysis has been found to allow costume a distinct voice in words dominated film. It reinforces costume as communication through motifs, lines, shape, colour, fabric and texture. This work has been able to create a semiotics distinction of costumes in films using the socio-cultural and conventional interpretations of colours, fabrics, styles and textures of clothes and accessories. It has attempted to understand how colours, fabrics and textures convey meaning in film. We discover that costume aids us to form individual opinions about characters and at the same time reconstruct their sociocultural realities. Based on this discovery, semiotic analysis can be Semiotic Reading of Costumes in Nigerian Video Films 83 recommended as a useful adjunct to traditional idealistic research, particularly when the film costume being studied is so complex that objectivity is hard to maintain.