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Towards a deconstruction and reinterpretation of the Ogbanje Myth in Gracy Osifo’s Dizzy Angel
Abstract
Belief is integral to humanity and, to a greater extent, shapes a people's worldview. In Africa, especially among the Igbo of Nigeria, many believe that every event has a spiritual undertone. The Ogbanje mythology, a belief among the Igbo in the cyclical, repeated births and deaths of malevolent children from the same mother, attests to the spiritual significance of events in Nigeria and Africa at large. Ogbanje causes sorrow and death before ultimately returning to the spirit realm. This belief system, deeply rooted in Igbo culture and characterised by a complex interplay of spirituality, folklore, and traditional practices, has been explored by many scholars in African cultural discourse to situate its cosmological significance. Through Deridda’s Deconstruction theory, which contends that all texts have ambiguity, the paper deconstructs and reinterprets the Ogbanje myth in Osifo’s Dizzy Angel as a superstitious belief. The paper argued that children can live better if the causes of their (cyclic) deaths are critically examined and tackled.
