AMAMIHE Journal of Applied Philosophy

This research examines a phenomenon in Igbo world experience referred to as ?gw?ego. It is the secret of money-making sometimes regarded as occult, clandestine and hideous. Many wealthy Igbo have been understood by the members of their immediate or remote community as ritual performers and occultists who go through some paranormal ?gw?ego practices to make their wealth. There is scarcely a wealthy Igbo, especially those whose rise to wealth is phenomenal, who may not have been smeared with the stigma of ?gw?ego practice, one way or another. A lot of speculations have been used to reveal ?gw?ego gambits, processes, functionalities and dynamics. Even as majority of Igbo people believe and accept the reality of ?gw?ego, the basic questions that underlie this phenomenon makes the truth of it at the same time curious, scary, worrisome and ridiculous. This paper takes the realist’s and empiricist’s position in examining the phenomenon of Igw? ?gw? in general and ?gw?ego in particular while offering a rational explanation of what ?gw?ego may really be. The work examines the formational morphology of the relevant words used to express this phenomenon, the symbolism and mystical significance of ?gw? in Igbo cosmology to ascertain their ontological significance. It applied a multi-dimensional approach which includes ethnological, phenomenological and hermeneutic method to analyze the data of this research. The work aims at offering a deeper insight into a phenomenon that has broken families, disorganized communities and brought the downfall of many progressive and successful Igbo persons.

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