Different ritual symbols in Igbo traditional religion and their functions

Abstract

Symbols change in their value and functions and as a result of the changes in cultural appreciation. The change in the emphasis on the role of symbolism in general is partly consequence of cultural intellectual, social and economic transformation. All our actions are symbolic and we cannot do without interacting with each other and it is through interaction that our behaviour to life changes. Symbol in a place may mean nothing to other people and symbol is what the people using it interpret. Maccuary (2001) says: Clan or ethnic leaders generally put on old regalia and sit on the old stool or chair used by their predecessors. The regalia are usually made of skins of a Lion or Leopard which symbolizes the appreciation of the attitudes of this leaders, namely, to be powerful and fearless like the lion and calm, cool and precise in their decisions and action like the leopard.(p. 169).