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Papers by ONYIMA N BLESSING

The increasing consequences of the introduction of Christianity, its values and practices in Afri... more The increasing consequences of the introduction of Christianity, its values and practices in Africa are manifold. Resulting to, clash with pre-existing traditional beliefs and practices. This has necessitated the need to ask; at what point can a young man and a woman who has agreed to marry, be socially described as a married couple? In Nigeria, some Pentecostal Christian churches do not allow the bride to immediately go home with the groom and his people after traditional marriage rite has been performed. Some Nigerian Pentecostals argue they are not husband and wife until white wedding has been performed. Hence, there is need to probe why? This is a qualitative study that employed key informant, in-depth interviews and participant observation to elicit data from respondents. Findings reveal this clash as recent and unnecessary, individual choice should prevail and not church tenets. Sexual consummation should begin immediately after traditional marriage rites but this is unacceptable to some Pentecostal Christian churches. People agreed that traditional marriage rites should be compulsory but performance of white wedding should not be made compulsory by Pentecostal churches. This did not go down well with key informants of both sides of the argument. Study recommends a reassessment of the essence of both ceremonies and compromise to ensure hitch-free marriage negotiations in contemporary Nigerian societies.

Anigbogu Kingsley & Onyima Blessing Nonye, Jun 3, 2013

Abstract The blacksmithing technology is as old as human civilization itself. Indeed the develop... more Abstract
The blacksmithing technology is as old as human civilization itself. Indeed the development of different human civilizations has been linked to the discovery and use of metal to manufacture tools and implements that supported an agrarian lifestyle. In Awka, Anambra State Nigeria, this occupation has come under intense threats associated with modernity. The paper attempts a theoretical analysis of threats associated with modernity as it affects the local blacksmithing industry, using the skill discretion model as analytical tool.
Keywords – Blacksmithing, New Technology, Entrepreneurship, Awka

Blessing Nonye Onyima, Jun 18, 2013

Differential domestic debris management has implications on health security in cities. Within the... more Differential domestic debris management has implications on health security in cities. Within the last four decades, Ibadan has retained the identity of a dirt city. The Ogunpa water channel constructed after the devastating flood of the 1980s remains
attractive for domestic wastes disposal. This multi-site comparative ethnographic study employed qualitative anthropological methods as data collection tools, using rational
choice model as an explanatory framework to unravel covert factors responsible for the protracted dirtiness identity. Ethnographic data reflect disparity in private and public waste management efforts across high, middle and low income residential areas. Persistent poor wastes management due to rational choices, poor urban policy and lack of proper public environmental health education, resulting in unwholesome
health problems in Ibadan, render the attainment of community health security a mirage. As such, the study recommends among other things, a more balanced waste management execution policy across board in cities.

Blessing Nonye Onyima, Jan 17, 2014

The human-environmental relations is an intricate one as evident in the 2012 flood that lasted f... more The human-environmental relations is an intricate one as evident in the 2012 flood that lasted for three months in Nigeria and it was not without some indelible effects and changes in the life style and culture of communities inundated by the flood. Agadama is an agrarian coastal community in Uwheru clan, Ughelli North LGA, Delta state, in the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The community had its own share of the devastating flood incidence and since then had not remained the same again. This is a qualitative study which employed ethnographic methods of data collection - Key Informant Interview (KII), Participant observation and In-depth Interview (IDI), adopting a purely descriptive method of analysis. The study reveals the interplay between human-environmental relations. There is also an alteration in their traditional way of life and the entire socio-cultural milieu. Uncontrollable environmental changes/hazards which the people were unprepared for, steered up drastic change in behavior, social structure and general cultural practices, no matter how autochthonous these practices may have been. Flexibility of the people’s culture was an adaptive strategy against the rampaging flood. The marginal status of most flooded rural communities led to complete or partial collapse of their subsistence base, especially for those operating an agricultural local economy.

The increasing consequences of the introduction of Christianity, its values and practices in Afri... more The increasing consequences of the introduction of Christianity, its values and practices in Africa are manifold. Resulting to, clash with pre-existing traditional beliefs and practices. This has necessitated the need to ask; at what point can a young man and a woman who has agreed to marry, be socially described as a married couple? In Nigeria, some Pentecostal Christian churches do not allow the bride to immediately go home with the groom and his people after traditional marriage rite has been performed. Some Nigerian Pentecostals argue they are not husband and wife until white wedding has been performed. Hence, there is need to probe why? This is a qualitative study that employed key informant, in-depth interviews and participant observation to elicit data from respondents. Findings reveal this clash as recent and unnecessary, individual choice should prevail and not church tenets. Sexual consummation should begin immediately after traditional marriage rites but this is unacceptable to some Pentecostal Christian churches. People agreed that traditional marriage rites should be compulsory but performance of white wedding should not be made compulsory by Pentecostal churches. This did not go down well with key informants of both sides of the argument. Study recommends a reassessment of the essence of both ceremonies and compromise to ensure hitch-free marriage negotiations in contemporary Nigerian societies.

Anigbogu Kingsley & Onyima Blessing Nonye, Jun 3, 2013

Abstract The blacksmithing technology is as old as human civilization itself. Indeed the develop... more Abstract
The blacksmithing technology is as old as human civilization itself. Indeed the development of different human civilizations has been linked to the discovery and use of metal to manufacture tools and implements that supported an agrarian lifestyle. In Awka, Anambra State Nigeria, this occupation has come under intense threats associated with modernity. The paper attempts a theoretical analysis of threats associated with modernity as it affects the local blacksmithing industry, using the skill discretion model as analytical tool.
Keywords – Blacksmithing, New Technology, Entrepreneurship, Awka

Blessing Nonye Onyima, Jun 18, 2013

Differential domestic debris management has implications on health security in cities. Within the... more Differential domestic debris management has implications on health security in cities. Within the last four decades, Ibadan has retained the identity of a dirt city. The Ogunpa water channel constructed after the devastating flood of the 1980s remains
attractive for domestic wastes disposal. This multi-site comparative ethnographic study employed qualitative anthropological methods as data collection tools, using rational
choice model as an explanatory framework to unravel covert factors responsible for the protracted dirtiness identity. Ethnographic data reflect disparity in private and public waste management efforts across high, middle and low income residential areas. Persistent poor wastes management due to rational choices, poor urban policy and lack of proper public environmental health education, resulting in unwholesome
health problems in Ibadan, render the attainment of community health security a mirage. As such, the study recommends among other things, a more balanced waste management execution policy across board in cities.

Blessing Nonye Onyima, Jan 17, 2014

The human-environmental relations is an intricate one as evident in the 2012 flood that lasted f... more The human-environmental relations is an intricate one as evident in the 2012 flood that lasted for three months in Nigeria and it was not without some indelible effects and changes in the life style and culture of communities inundated by the flood. Agadama is an agrarian coastal community in Uwheru clan, Ughelli North LGA, Delta state, in the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The community had its own share of the devastating flood incidence and since then had not remained the same again. This is a qualitative study which employed ethnographic methods of data collection - Key Informant Interview (KII), Participant observation and In-depth Interview (IDI), adopting a purely descriptive method of analysis. The study reveals the interplay between human-environmental relations. There is also an alteration in their traditional way of life and the entire socio-cultural milieu. Uncontrollable environmental changes/hazards which the people were unprepared for, steered up drastic change in behavior, social structure and general cultural practices, no matter how autochthonous these practices may have been. Flexibility of the people’s culture was an adaptive strategy against the rampaging flood. The marginal status of most flooded rural communities led to complete or partial collapse of their subsistence base, especially for those operating an agricultural local economy.