Cross cultural comparison of practices relating to widowhood and widow inheritance among the Igbo and Yoruba in Nigeria

Bereavement is a social fact in any culture but reaction and practices relating to this vary from culture to culture. The Igbo people live in the South Eastern part of Nigeria, covering four states while the Yoruba live in the South Western part of Nigeria covering six states in Nigeria. This study explores the differences and similarities in the issues relating to the death of a woman’s husband among these two culturally different people in Nigeria. Among the issues explored are the reporting of the death, rites and sacrifices involved, the care of the properties left behind, including the children and the wife (or wives). The inheritance of the widow(s) and the rites and conditions surrounding these across these two cultural communities are also explored.