Oral Poems of Igbo People in Nigeria: Categories and Functions — Oluchi Eugenia Nebolisa and Ebele E. Okafor

ABSTRACT: The oral tradition of Igbo poetry is as old as the history of the Igbo people.They have anonymous authorship and are composed to depict and express the lives ofthose engaged in different human activities. They also express deep emotions and denoteprofound and didactic ideas. Oral forms of poetry have suffered neglect and are notformally documented, even though these oral poems reveal the great verbal mystery oftheir composers and convey profound philosophies of life. One, therefore, feels obliged tocontribute to the development of Igbo oral poems. This paper revealed that there are manycategories of Igbo oral poems and their functions, which include abuakwamozu (deathpoems) or abu iru uju (songs for general mourning), abu nwa (birth poems), and abu ofufe(worship poems), among others. This is survey research. The theory adopted was the NewHistoricisms. It was concluded that this research will help reawaken people’s interest inoral poems, because these poems deeply reflect the Igbo people’s way of life.KEYWORDS: Igbo People, Nigeria, Oral Poems, Categories, Functions