What Igbo tradition says on suicide as 84-year-old man kills himself in Enugu

Lasun Alagbe

There is confusion in Ezere community, in the Agwu Local Government Area of Enugu State, as an 84-year-old man has committed suicide there.
The action of the man who hanged himself – the police have confirmed this – has provoked thoughts about the disposition of Igbo tradition to suicide.
As some people who have reacted to the development note, the Igbo culture forbids suicide and this affects the way the corpse of a person involved is handled.
A man from Enugu, Uche Okoro, told Phenomenal.com.ng that such a corpse is not buried at home.
He said: “Suicide is a taboo in Igboland. It is not acceptable. If a person commits suicide, his corpse is thrown out, not buried at home in a normal way. It is usually taken into the bush.
Sometimes the people will investigate to ascertain which spirit is behind the death. If it is one deity or the other, the corpse can be taken to the vicinity of that deity.”
This will, indeed, remind fans of legendary writer, Chinua Achebe’s creative perspective on how the death of Okonkwo is reported (to the white man) at the end of the canonical ‘Things Fall Apart’.
Also buttressing what Okoro said about the action of the 85-year-old man, a commentator on Linda Ikeji Blog said, “Aru his entire family would have to go in exile and the land cleansed by Nri and aro people, I’m from Agwu I know this to be true, Igbo law forbid suicide. That land won’t be used for farming again and probably forbidden for house construction as well.
“This happened in Enugwu mmaku, where someone killed his child and carried it from farm land home, because the corps was heavy he decided to stop and rest near home, once he dropped it and said his carrying his sons dead body the entire farmland was forbidden to be used as farmland for Abacha. Reason abacha he used abacha to cover the corps, for generations we were warned never to build or farm cassava in that beautiful farmland near home. I know another family who’s brother killed each other they went exile. Both extend family share the stigma. This is heavy.”