Old wine in new bottle: civil society, 'iko mmee' and conflict management in southeastern Nigeria

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Periodical article

Title:	Old wine in new bottle: civil society, 'iko mmee' and conflict management in southeastern Nigeria
Author:	Onwuzuruigbo, Ifeanyi
Year:	2011
Periodical:	African and Asian Studies (ISSN 1569-2094)
Volume:	10
Issue:	4
Pages:	306-322
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	conflict resolution Igbo rituals civil society
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1163/156921011X605571
Abstract:	Africa boils on account of intractable communal conflicts. Strategies adopted to manage the conflicts usually conform to Western approaches of conflict management. Traditional forms of conflict resolution have rarely been applied. This has prompted initiatives which emphasize traditional tools of conflict management. On the basis of interviews and archival documents, this paper examines the deployment of 'iko mmee' (blood covenant) rituals by local civil society organizations in managing the Aguleri and Umuleri communal conflicts in Nigeria. It catalogues the failure of Western models, explains the principles underlying 'iko mmee', which are important instruments in Igbo cosmology, and how these were used to facilitate peace in Nigerian communities. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]