The Sociolinguistic Implications of Body Marks in Ngwaland

Abstract

Africa has a rich culture of body markings, which is an integral part of its society, history and traditions. Body markings were and are both temporary and permanent modifications of the body, which transmit complex messages about identity and social status. In some African communities, body markings were like wearing one’s identity card on the face or having them printed on one’s skin. The study was carried out in Isiala Ngwa in Abia state, where a corpus of about 30 different body marks was documented and 20 participants were interviewed on the types, motivation, cultural significance, ranking, perception of body marks and reasons for the subsequent decline in the use of indigenous body marks in the Ngwa society. The data collection method involved semi-structured interviews, participant observation and formal conversations on the history and use of body marks in the target group. The Semiotic theory of identification was used as the basic framework for the analysis. The research findings reveal that body markings in Ngwaland are sources of traditional medical intervention, aesthetics/beautification, spiritual fortification/protection, identification, preventing death through reincarnation and warding off aggression. The work concludes that the undeniable roles of body marks in Ngwa land cannot be allowed to go into extinction, as the story of the Ngwa people would be incomplete without body marks, which is the window through which political, social and religious organizations in the past were dissected. Thus, a sociolinguistic, anthropological and documentary approach to body markings in Ngwa land is necessary towards the exploration and preservation of traditional communication patterns, identity formation and semiotic values of this aspect of embodiment.