The Supernatural and Igbo Cosmology in Chigozie Obioma’s An Orchestra of Minorities

The corpus of African literature has witnessed the pursuit by writers to project the motif of the supernatural and its connection with mankind, and the results of these attempts are mostly dependent on the relics of culture conjured in the memory of the writer. In this regard, this paper investigates the various manifestations of the supernatural in Chigozie Obioma’s An Orchestra of Minorities within the Igbo cosmology using the theoretical template of Raymond William’s cultural materialism. The paper engages such elements of the supernatural as reincarnation, dual identity, evil spirits, and ancestors, and also highlights how words are aesthetically used in the novel to further amplify the discourse on the supernatural among the Igbos. It reveals that even if humans were to live in constant denial of the supernatural, the inseparable connection between them and what theydo not know remains unscathed. Through the Igbo cultural lens, Obioma successfully weaves the fabric of the supernatural through his representation of the inseparable bond between man, his chi, and the Creator.