Proverbs in TFA (Things Fall Apart) (1958) should not only be seen as unique performances, but also as specific encapsulations of ideological and sociocultural accretions of the Igbo people in Nigeria. The avalanche of proverbs in TFA and their representations give the novel an amazingly peculiar and attractive outlook. Those may be some of the reasons why the book has a global critical acclaim and has been translated into 36 languages with more than 80 million copies sold in 50 languages. Although the proverbs call special attention, because they constitute landmarks in the plot development of the novel, their ideological underpinnings are not readily discernible. Nevertheless, a great preponderance of works done on proverbs usually indicate the proverbs' functions within contexts of application giving little or no attention to their ideological foundations. Therefore, beyond the functional application, this write-up uses the sociosemiotic approach to CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis) and Black's interaction view of metaphor to critically investigate the proverbs found in TFA with the intention to account for the imagery, unravel opaque structures, sociocultural bases, and power relations that underpin the sustenance of the proverbs or otherwise. Findings indicate that the proverbs originate from Igbo spirituality. Through the use of floral, faunal, socioeconomic, and political discourses, the life experiences of the people are summed up in the wise sayings.
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female cutting and female circumcision, is the ritual removal of some or all the external female genitalia, typically carried out by a traditional circumcised with a blade or razor, with or without anaesthesia. FGM is practiced by ethnic groups in 27 countries of which Nigeria is one. The practice is rooted in gender inequality, attempts to control women's sexually, idea about purity, modesty and aesthetics , ànd a sense of obligation. FGM has been outlawed or restricted in most of the counties where it occurs, but the laws are poorly enforced. Nigerian, due to its large population, has the highest absolute number of female genital mutilation (FGM) worldwide, accounting for about one quarter of the estimated 115-130 million circumcised women in the world. Type I and Type II are more wide spread but less harmful compared to type III ànd then Type IV. There is need to eradicate FGM in Nigeria.
Native mushrooms are valuable non-timber forest products used worldwide, although they are under-exploited in Africa. This study focused on evaluating ethnomycological practices in Nigeria. The study was based on structured questionnaires in three of Nigeria's six geopolitical regions. Findings revealed that mycophagy is not a gender-based activity (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.05) in all the sites assessed. There were no significant differences (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.05) between the sites evaluated, but the responses were quite different. Most interviewees (75.6%) ate mushrooms. Mushrooms were predominantly associated with delicious taste, exotic aroma, and flavor (37.0%), a meat substitute (37.0%), medicinal resources (20.3%). Among the principal medicinal mushrooms are <i>Lentinus squarrosulus, Pleurotus tuber-regium, Ganoderma lucidum, Auricularia auricula-judae</i>, and <i>Agaricus campestris</i>. Among the most important edible mushrooms are <i>L. squarrosulus and Termitomyces titanicus, Russula meleagris, A. campestris, and A. auricula-judae</i>. The main edible and medicinal dual-use mushrooms are <i>L. squarrosulus, P. tuber-regium, Lactifluus inversus, Polyporus officinalis</i>, and <i>T. titanicus</i>. Women and children (78.2%) are the major collectors/gatherers of mushrooms. The mushrooms are utilized to treat skin problems (21.5%), high blood pressure (12.3%), as blood tonic (9.2%), to treat fever and measles (13.8%), and diabetes (13.1%). Preservation practices include mainly direct sun-drying (48.7%) or washing and then sun-drying (27.8%). Mushrooms are consumed with 'fufu' (cereal-boiled cakes) (48.0%), and 'gari' (cassava-boiled cakes) (15.7%). Mushrooms are often made in soup (44.1%), cooked with meat (15.3%), or with vegetables (28.0%). Respondents were able to differentiate between toxic mushrooms and were familiar with some mushroom-related myths.
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