Totemic ontology Inchukuwemekaike’s <i>The Bottled Leopard</i> and Chịkodịlịemelụmadụ’s <i>Dazzling</i>

Abstract

This paper is a comparative study of Chukwuemeka Ike’s The Bottled Leopardand ChịkodịlịEmelụmadụ’s Dazzling. The thrust of the paper is found in the study of the protagonist’s transformation from adolescents into their roles as leopard personalities. The crucial aspects identified of their development include: the unity of life in the Igbo worldview and their understanding of the cosmological realities depicted in the novels. The theory adopted for the study is magical realism. The findings reveal that the transition into their inherited roles is made easier with the knowledge of Igbo traditions, mythology and initiation rites. Second is that Emelụmadụ’s story shows evidence of individualism and syncretism in the depiction ofcosmological realities.