Female Genital Cutting in Ịjọland: Context, Performance, and Songs

Abstract

Female genital cutting is a vexed issue which has generated a considerable body of scholarship in both the humanities and the sciences. In this study, I focus on the ritual among the Ịjọ of Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region. The paper is purely a cultural analysis of the practice and not one where an argument is put forth, as it were. As such, it gives detailed attention to the performance of the tradition. It also examines some of the reasons why the practice was held in high esteem. The paper further considers some of the subjects of the songs associated with the ritual, including love, sorrow, education, identity, and the supernatural, among others. Data for the study was gathered through observation and interviews.