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OTTENBERG, Simon, Boyhood Rituals in an African Society, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1989, 344 pp., illus., maps, appendices, $30.00, 0 295 96575 4

OTTENBERG, Simon, Boyhood Rituals in an African Society, Seattle, University of Washington Press,... 284 Reviews OTTENBERG, Simon, Boyhood Rituals in an African Society, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1989, 344 pp., illus., maps, appendices, $30.00, 0 295 96575 4 This book on ritual process represents an important contribution to African ethnography and to our understanding of the various Igbo groups in southeastern Nigeria. Ottenberg sets his ethnographic description of Igbo boyhood rituals within a psychoanalytic framework. He argues that there is a conflict between the social experiences of Afikpo boys and the expectations of their society for adult males. Male infants have intimate relations with their mothers over a long nursing and ween- ing period, during which time the relationship between them is of an erotic nature. For Ottenberg, 'mother's sons' must be turned into adult males, masculine and with strong egos. The shift from mother to father begins with the naming of children soon after birth and the naming of reincarnating spirits when the child starts to walk. The major goal of Afikpo socialization from the age of two to five is the weakening of the boy's ties to the mother, a process com- plicated by the Oedipal complex. Ottenberg stresses male circumci- sion as an important element in the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Religion in Africa Brill

OTTENBERG, Simon, Boyhood Rituals in an African Society, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1989, 344 pp., illus., maps, appendices, $30.00, 0 295 96575 4

Grinker, Roy Richard
Journal of Religion in Africa , Volume 21 (3): 284 – Jan 1, 1991
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1991 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0022-4200
eISSN
1570-0666
DOI
10.1163/157006691X00087
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

284 Reviews OTTENBERG, Simon, Boyhood Rituals in an African Society, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1989, 344 pp., illus., maps, appendices, $30.00, 0 295 96575 4 This book on ritual process represents an important contribution to African ethnography and to our understanding of the various Igbo groups in southeastern Nigeria. Ottenberg sets his ethnographic description of Igbo boyhood rituals within a psychoanalytic framework. He argues that there is a conflict between the social experiences of Afikpo boys and the expectations of their society for adult males. Male infants have intimate relations with their mothers over a long nursing and ween- ing period, during which time the relationship between them is of an erotic nature. For Ottenberg, 'mother's sons' must be turned into adult males, masculine and with strong egos. The shift from mother to father begins with the naming of children soon after birth and the naming of reincarnating spirits when the child starts to walk. The major goal of Afikpo socialization from the age of two to five is the weakening of the boy's ties to the mother, a process com- plicated by the Oedipal complex. Ottenberg stresses male circumci- sion as an important element in the

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Journal of Religion in Africa – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1991

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