Omumu: Disassembling Subordination, Reasserting Endogenous Powers

Abstract Colonial/neocolonial/postcolonial patriarchy advanced a myth of the “proper woman” to whip African females into line. At the same time, post-1970s feminist literature characterised power as patriarchal and critiqued it for its oppressive domination of women. Because the conceptions of power underlying both positions are inimical to the well-being of women, we must radically transform masculinist societies into female-affirming ones. A reconceptualisation of power is necessary, but where does one look to for female-affirming models of power? I begin by highlighting a contestation of power between Ikporo-Onitsha, a community-wide organisation of adult daughters, and the modern state, with the aim of explicating the nature of power possessed by Ikporo-Onitsha. I then examine Euromodernity’s conception of power and feminists’ responses to it. The goal is to provide an understanding of how omumu power—the creative, life-regenerative force at the core of Ikporo-Onitsha’s power—disassembles female subjugation and clears the way for the re-emergence of the “proper African woman”.