ABSTRACT
This is a study of the influence of the Supernatural in Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine and The Great Ponds- an x-ray of men and women living in a universe teeming with God, gods, goddesses, spirits, deities, the transcendental, and natural phenomena like sacred animals, birds, hills, and rivers.
They all share the of the supernatural. Unfortunately, man’s vaunted ambition to satiate his quest for the best of everything has always run to the dictates of the supernatural, leading as it were, to untold hardships, deaths, and total of the gleam.
The leave us with an enduring lesson that the gods are inscrutable and have a hand in all affairs of the human world. The study reveals that man’s destiny and affairs or existential struggles are dictated and controlled by the supernatural.
Furthermore, the study portrays that man is a pawn in the hands of the supernatural. However, man’s conscious effort to counteract his destiny often results in tragedy as exemplified in the novel under study.
The theory of myth was adopted to investigate the influence of the supernatural in the affairs of the characters in the two novels as no other literary theory explains the mystery of life and death.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page – – – – – – – – – – i
Certification – – – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – – – iv
Abstract – – – – – – – – – – – v
Table of contents – – – – – – – – – vi
CHAPTER ONE:
1.1 Introduction – – – – – – – – 1
1.2 Background of the Study – – – – – – 1
1.3 Statement of the Problem – – – – – – 3
1.4 Objectives of the Study – – – – – – 3
1.5 Significance of the Study – – – – – – 3
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study – – – – – 4
1.7 Methodology – – – – – – – 4
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Review of Related Literature – – – – – – 5
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Theoretical Framework – – – – – – – 21
3.2 Myth in Society – – – – – – – 21
3.3 The Supernatural In Igbo Cosmology – – – – – 34
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 The Supernatural in Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine – – – 28
4.2 The Supernatural in Elechi Amadi’s The Great Ponds – – – 36
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Summary / Conclusion – – – – – – 48
5.3 Works Cited – – – – – – – –
INTRODUCTION
The idea of the supernatural exists in every traditional society all over the world. The ancient Greeks saw man as being a victim of the supernatural. It is however in the oral tradition that the supernatural has its strongest hold.
Geoffrey Parrinder in his text African Traditional Religion says; “To Africans, the spiritual world is so real and near, its forces intertwining and inspiring the visible world that, whether pagan or Christian, man has to reckon with things invisible to mortal sight”(10).
Thus, the supernatural occupy an immense position in the minds of the Igbo society as in Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine and The Great Ponds. In traditional society, some animals are treated with reverence and some birds are regarded as ominous.
When a particular stream or wooded landscape is found unique, it is a supernatural manifestation. These unique places are seen as the abodes of communal deities or local spirits identifiable with the destiny of the different communities.
All these establish that beyond nature, there are the supernatural.
REFERENCES
Amadi Elechi, The Concubine. London: Heinemann Publishers. 1966. Print.
—. The Great Ponds. London Heinemann Educational books. 1969. Print.
Abraham, Rosman and Paula, A Rubel. The Tapestry of Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropolgy. (4th Edition) MC graw-Hill Inc. 1992. Print.
Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms (Seventh Edition). Mcpeak: Cornel University Press.1999. Print.
Aguwa, Jude C.U, The Agwu deity in Igbo Religion. Enugu Fourth dimension publishers Ltd.1995. Print.
Amadi Elechi, Ethics in Nigerian Culture. Ibadan Heinenmann Educational Books. Ltd. Print.
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