The Image of the Woman in Ịjọ Praise Poetry

Over the years, scholars have shown considerable interest in how women are portrayed in African oral traditions. This article joins that discourse by focusing on how women are represented in the praise poetry of the Ijọ bard, Chief Adolphus Munamuna, the Ọụbẹbẹ Kẹnị Ịjọ Ibe (The Chief Oral Poet of the Ịjọ Nation). Specifically, the study is based on a close reading of “Ebi Ere Kulebọ” (The Praise Titles of a Good Woman), a praise poem supplied by Munamuna and translated into English by the researcher. This article argues that such stereotypes of women, including temptresses, evil, jealous, wicked and cantankerous, which recur in much African verbal folklore, are largely absent in the chants of the oral artist. Women, it further contends, are instead celebrated for their knowledge and wisdom, which make them indispensable to society. The study concludes by positing that this characterisation of women in the poetry of the Ọụbẹbẹ Kẹnị Ịjọ Ibe aligns with the comments of scholars about the female gender in the Ịjọ community.