Inochi and Ndu)The notion of life among the Japanese and Igbo people of Nigeria
2024/09/16
Ankei Takako and Yuji Ankei wrote two articles having the same title: Ki ni mo Inochi ga aru, meaning "Even trees have lives".
The first was from Iriomote Island, Japan (https://ankei.jp/yuji/?n=2711), and the second from Kakamega Forest, West Kenya (https://ankei.jp/yuji/?n=32).
So, we were not very surprised to find the following article. We are not so sure if the notion of inochi and that of ndu correspond so closely, African-Japanese-European comparison will surely bring us to a new vision with which we can be freed from an Asia-Europe dichotomy.
African Concept of ‘Inochi’: A New Paradigm for Peace Education In the Contemporary Society
OKORO, KINGSLEY N (Department of Philosophy and Religion, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki –Nigeria)
Abstract: What should constitute the core of peace education curriculum has become a thorny issue among scholars of peace studies. This controversy has resulted to mottled curricular. Being divided in disciplines, orientations, methodologies and interests, scholars have proposed biological, sociological, philosophical, political, anthropological and traditional approaches to the building curriculum for peace education. These approaches as good as they may be, have not really proffered solution to peace needs of the contemporary society. This is because they emphasize partial and disintegrated aspects of human reality. Thus they fail to touch on the core aspect of existence that is shared by all. Hence they anchor peace education on aspects of peace making, peace keeping, peace enforcing, peace arbitration etc. Notably, these methods fail to yield the expected dividends and the overall consequence has been tension, crisis and avid violation of human and non human members of the world community. It is therefore against this backdrop that this paper proposes a new paradigm for peace education, which emphasizes peace building. It also takes seriously the common factor that is shared by all as the core of peace education. The new approach is centered on ‘Life’ as the nucleus of all existences. This idea is anchored on the African ‘Inochi’. ‘Inochi’ is a Japanese word for life and its equivalence is ‘Ndu’ in Igbo ontology. African Inochi embodies the idea of cosmic unity of all things and all beings. It underscores the sacredness of life and does not see life merely as material. The concept projects the idea of human responsibility, protection and care as it underscores the fact that all lives have a mono-origin. The paper therefore opines that if peace educators shall adopt the Inochi paradigm as the core of peace education curriculum, the ideal new world order of our dream will soon be realized as the conflict and crisis that have created a schizophrenic situation in the minds of global citizens will soon diminish.
On page 95, Okoro wrote:
Overtly, Inochi is an irreplaceable thing equally present in human, animal and plant. Inochi therefore is the only thing that all humans and perhaps non-humans possess equally. In Igbo category, inochi means Ndu! Ndu does not simply mean life as in English concept. It means the essence of existence; hence we have “Akwukwo Ndu” Living Leaves, ‘Mmiri Ndu’ living water, nma ndu. (Madu) “Living Beings, ‘Oku Ndu’ living fire, ‘Anu Ndu’ living animals etc. Ndu-Inochi is what inhere all things, material and non material components of life. Thus all living creatures, including humans, animals and plants have Inochi and this is given in equal proportion to all (Masahiro 1991:83-113). In other words, humans and all creatures are equal from the view point of Inochi. So we live, simply because we have Inochi. Inochi keeps everyone and everything alive. (Ohama 1984:17) Against this Background, Africans, just like Asians-Japanese, accept that the life force of the creator is present in all creatures.
On page 107, he describes that our modern civilization has destroyed innumerable Inichis, instead of supporting them. Thus putting the notion of Inochi in the core of peace education.
So if the global citizens, like traditional Africans, are taught the moral aspect of Inochi paradigm, it would have suppressed the detrimental facts of our global existence. Some of the facts are:
We usually waste the Inochi of animals, fish and vegetables, as the function of our highly industrialized society depends on these wastes of Inochi for energy. We treasure our Inochi and take care of that of our community but we do not care about human Inochi in other communities/ nations.
Our modern civilization has dominated nature and destroyed innumerable Inochis, instead of supporting them. We have been using a great deal of fossil energy for our own sake and live an affluent life without regard for future generation. The global citizens shut away senile aged people and handicapped people into old peoples’ homes.
There is security threat in every quarter of our world, wars, conflicts and terrorist attacks, genocide and homicide are just our contemporary experiences. The cheap labour, exploitation, human trafficking, prostitution and child labour are all our contemporary experiences
A small correction:
Masahiro should have been written Marioka because the former is the given name of the author.
Marioka1990ReviewOnInochiIJ0204.pdf (1,988KB)