Change and Continuity in the Funerary Ritual for Widows in Igala Land: A Reading of Mbachaga Jonathan s Widows Might .

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to x-ray the plights of widows and their rights in the
current wave of poverty, health challenges, and security facing them and their
children. This work also looks at the role of drama in societal development
widows. At the death of their husbands, women (widows) do not only
experience the psychological trauma, they are left to cater for their children
with their rights to the properties of their late husbands denied. Jonathan
is used to showcase
Might portrays the obnoxious widowhood practices which debase the women
whenever they lose their spouses. The play therefore calls for reorientation of
the society to eschew the obnoxious ritual performances that bedevil widows
and their children and diligently rehabilitate them. In an attempt not to gloss
over some of their plights oral interviews were also used by the author to
buttress the facts stated in the play text. Suggestions have been given at the
end of this work on positive steps to be taken to extirpate social inhumanity to
widows globally