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Daughters of seclusion : the revelation of the Ibibio fattened bride as the icon of beauty and power / Imo Nse Imeh.

Penn Museum Library HQ1815.5 .I56 2012
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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Imeh, Imo Nse.
Contributor:
George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.
Series:
Black studies & critical thinking ; v. 29.
Black studies & critical thinking
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Women, Ibibio--Nigeria--History.
Women, Ibibio.
History.
Nigeria--Social life and customs.
Nigeria.
Manners and customs.
Initiation rites--Admission age.
Initiation rites.
Physical Description:
xxiv, 312 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
Place of Publication:
New York : Peter Lang, [2012]
Summary:
Imeh (art and art history, Westfield State U.) explores mbopo, a women's ritual among the Ibibio people of southeast Nigeria that involves ceremonial seclusion, corpulence, and ornamental extravagance as principal components in female identity construction. He first considers uyai mbopo revealed through time, transformation, and transition; then mbopo theater, corporeal dialogues, and the revelation of the bride. A number of black and white photographs, many from private collections, support the text and a glossary and lengthy bibliography are provided. Imeh has a family connection to mbopo, as his grandmother participated in the ritual. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Contents:
Foreword
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Preface: the beauty/character binary : a note about "beautiful maidens"
Introduction to Mbopo ritual
Anatomy of beauty : uyai mbopo revealed through time, transformation, and
Transition
The puppet and the girl
Time : a culture of initiation and aesthetics of seclusion
Ekuk Mbopo
Nwo-nwo : the seclusion of little girls
Ekuk Mbopo at the Ebiene Atai village
The school for womanhood
Transformation : Mbopo as the portrayer/progenitor of sanguinity and extravagance
Body inscriptions and the wellness performance
Adorning comfort
Transition : from the enclosure to the marketplace : indelible marks of femininity
Impressions of seclusion
The clitoridectomy rite
The staging of a female icon
The scepter and the flywhisk : Mbopo theatre, corporeal dialogues, and the revelation of the bride
Mechanisms in Uyai : rewriting her body with accouterments of beauty and power
Power symbols
The crest and the crown
The Uyai anointing
Mbopo nation : returnee mbopo and the emergence of objective interpretation
The story of Akon Ekwere
Contemporary iterations and bride residue
Conclusion: new possibilities in Mbopo discourse
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Local Notes:
Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.
ISBN:
143311531X
9781433115325
1433115328
9781433115318
9781453905425
1453905421
OCLC:
778636704
Publisher Number:
99948275704

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