Authors : John Chidubem Nwaogaidu, F. Chigozie Ugwuanyi and Thank God Ikenegbu
Abstract: In Africa, mobility is an important aspect of identity struggle that is understandable through external domains of social relationship. Individuals or groups engage in a competitive struggle for affluence and influence through movement. That would perhaps give them the potentials to compete and demonstrate their strength with other members of the society. Besides, there is never a permanent relocation in African society. Periodic returns to the land of origin are encouraged which ‘keep’ people abreast with their socio-cultural environment. The returns are mainly during festive periods such as Christmas, new yam festivals, Muo festivals, marriages and funerals. The article explores the interconnection between the ‘moved’ and the ‘stayed’ in the society that ‘keep-on’ the kinship network. Ethnographical studies on Igbo kinship and many other exploratory research studies done on Igbo culture and tradition served as theoretical and methodical framework. Through the intersection of Lee’s theory on migration, this study therefore analyzes the rationale behind the concept of ‘moving while keeping-on’ in Igbo society by identifying and qualifying their values in socio-cultural expansion.
John Chidubem Nwaogaidu, F. Chigozie Ugwuanyi and Thank God Ikenegbu, 2020. Moving While Keeping-on-a Social Anthropological Study of Mobility in African. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 17: 77-84.