Revue des arts et des sciences sociales

Topic: Tiv Traditional Conception of the Human Person

Abstract

Okwa Felix Agbo

Among the Tiv people, the human person is constituted by four basic components: The Or which refers to the human person, man or woman. The Iyol, which is the body and material part of the human person. The Uma, which is life and the Jijingi which is the spirit that is demonstrated by the shadow the body radiates. The other important aspect of the Human person for the Tiv is the Ishima (heart). In this work, we bring out the intricacies involved and evident in the divisions of the human person by the Tiv culture which in turn brings about the beauty of the African culture and the eschatology of the Tiv Culture. The question however is, does all these divisions of the human person appeal to logic and reason? How do all these work together harmoniously to form a perfect being? Are there moments of conflicts between the aspects of the person? All these are the many aspects been interrogated by this work.