OHAZURUME - Unizik Journal of Culture and Civilization

This study of Ndubuisi George’s Woes of Ikenga examines cultural aesthetics, by exploring the cultural values, traditions, norms, beliefs, superstitions, cultural practices, rituals, ceremonies and cult societies in Nigerian fiction, and worldviews of the people within the settings of the work. The study aims at exposing the beauty of African culture, the beliefs and customs of the people, especially the culture that we should be proud of. The novelist set out to portray the beauty of the rich cultural heritage of the people, the belief of systems and the influences of the supernatural in human lives. The data for this study is from both primary and secondary sources. The novel forms the primary sources, while library texts, journals and internet are the secondary sources. The theoretical framework adopted in this study is Archetypal Criticism. It was discovered that Africans, indeed Nigerians have a rich cultural heritage they should be proud of in this contemporary time, despite the negative aspects of the culture. The study therefore exposed us to the various values, norms, heritage and beliefs that are uniquely African and the implications of these practices which form the crux of the study.

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