COMMUNICATIVE FEATURES OF IGBO PROVERBS USED IN SELECT TRADITIONAL IGBO EVENTS

Abstract

This study investigates the communicative features of Igbo proverbs as employed in traditional cultural contexts, specifically during Ichi Ọzọ (Ọzọ title-taking ceremony) and Ili Ji (New Yam Festival) in Enugwu-Ukwu and Nawfia communities of Njikoka Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria. While existing documentation of Igbo proverbs often includes projected or assumed usage contexts, this study focuses on real-time performance to capture authentic contextual applications. Proverbs were extracted from audio recordings made during the selected events using a Zoom digital recorder and analysed within a sociopragmatic framework, with particular emphasis on the speech act concept. Each proverb is glossed morpheme-by-morpheme, translated literally, and interpreted figuratively to reveal its full semantic and pragmatic dimensions. Findings show that Igbo proverbs typically perform assertive direct illocutionary acts that affirm cultural truths and shared values. Indirectly, they function as expressives, directives, or commissives, conveying emotions, advising, cautioning, or encouraging certain behaviours. The study concludes that the communicative value of Igbo proverbs lies in the relationship between language, culture, and context, making them powerful tools of cultural expression, social regulation, and transmission of indigenous knowledge. Future research is encouraged to extend this analysis to other traditional Igbo events to deepen understanding of the functional scope of proverbs across diverse sociocultural domains.