LANGUAGE, IDENTITY AND IDEOLOGY IN SELECTED ẸDO (BINI) GUILDS

Abstract

The Ẹdo guilds system is a professional body associated with the Edo (Bini) socio-cultural and political institutions revolving around the monarch. Extant studies on this system have essentially concentrated on its historical development and cultural features, with little attention paid to members’ discursive practices. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate the forms of expressions used among the guilds’ members, with a view to identifying and describing the markers of self identity and the ideological underpinnings behind language use. van Dijk’s Socio-cognitive Representation Model of Critical Discourse Analysis and Bucholtz and Hall’s Sociocultural Linguistic Approach were adopted as framework. Ethnographic design was used. Three guilds (Ematon ‘iron’, Ẹrọnmwọ’ bronze’ and Ogbelaka ‘singers’) out of the 46 that exist in Bini were selected using purposive sampling, while taking cognizance of traditional political restriction. Key informant interviews were conducted with five coordinators of the guilds, two each from Ematọn and Ẹrọnmwọ and one from Ogbelaka as the first two had two coordinators each, while the latter had one. Non-participant observation was used with other members of the guilds in their respective workshops and meeting places. Data were subjected to discourse and register analyses. The òtù ìgún (the Association of craftsmen) term, as opposed to ogboi (non-members), is a generic marker of self identity among the different guilds in Bini. The guilds expressed the following ideologies: patriarchal, gender, ethnic, purist and relevance. The first two were expressed thus: Ne imẹvbe ta ọvbehe, ovbidigun ruẹ ọre emọ okpia ne ọ́ rrọ nọ, emọ ikhuo I ruẹ ọre.ọ̀mọ́ ne okpia biẹẹ̀rè nọ, ẹ̀rè ọ̀mọ́ ne ikhuo bi ẹvbe ẹgbẹ igun, Íràn I kue. ọ́ má u ruẹse (that it is only the male children of the guild (idigun), who are from the father’s side, that can learn this craft). This is a reflection of the patriarchal nature and gender restriction associated with the guilds’ ideological and identity projection.The ethnic ideology expressed by the guilds consists in their employment of figurative and complex constructions in order to conceal their activities from other members of the Ẹdo public. This is illustrated by the expression, Ìtán à fí mà rẹ́n Ẹdo, ògbòí á gbé ẹ̀ró má (One uses a proverb when speaking to an Ẹdo person but it is a novice that needs further explanation of the meaning of the proverb). The purist ideology is conveyed through the use of certain termsidentifiable with the older variety of Ẹdo as a linguistic strategy for the expression of the groups’ identity. Gbè (to spread), Rùẹ́ (to fix or arrange), Àkpá (a coil of bronze), Òná (art work) are some of the terms from the guilds’ register.The relevance ideology is portrayed by the use of the term, ùkọ̀ ọ́bá (the monarch’s representative) to the Ẹdo public. The guilds’ interactional strategies exist to maintain the prestige of the group and project their relevance in Bini as associates of the monarch. The Ẹdo (Bini) guilds system portrays linguistic identity and ideological structures that demonstrate its sociocultural significance.