IGBO BELIEFS IN TABOOS AND OATHS TAKING: AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

The Igbo people of Nigeria believe tenaciously that violating of taboos and oath breaking are part of the mystical causation of diseases and environmental harzards as against the western germ theory of disease. The aim of this paper is to examine this Igbo belief in causation and its implications for the environment. As a qualitative study, it adopts a Phenomenological research design and descriptive method for data analysis. Personal interviews form the primary method of data collection while the secondary sources are the library materials. The findings reveal that, in Igbo cosmology, the violation of taboo and breaking of oath, may account for untimely deaths, diseases like swollen legs, strokes etc., and other related ailments which are believed to be mystical in origin. The study among other things recommends that hospitals in Nigeria and beyond should take into account such mystical agents like violation of taboo and breaking of oath alongside other pathogenic agents that caused diseases for better management of diseases and the environment.

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