The Phenomenon of Reincarnation in Traditional African Society: A Reflection on Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood and Gracy Osifo's Dizzy Angel

Abstract Reincarnation is a concept with a plethora of literatures in the field of research. Despite this, it has remained abstruse, skeptical, thorny and something of esoteric philosophical knowledge to many. This stems from the variety of hypothetical stance of scholars and opinion molders on the topic. While the western world regards it as a primitive belief of the ignorant heathen based on their logic of the new ‘resurrection orientation,’ according to the Christian tenet, the traditional African society is wedded to the belief. Based on this, the research attempts to ascertain the veracity of reincarnation as a phenomenon and its influence in traditional African society. This it does through reflections on two selected texts by Africans, which are: The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta and Dizzy Angel by Gracy Osifo. The reflections are based on Plato’s philosophical proposition(s) on reincarnation. The paper discovers that in traditional African society, reincarnation is not only seen as a cultural significance but also an eternal verity. However, it urges more objective researches on this topic so as to unravel the mystery behind born-to-die children’s reincarnation which this paper notes in passing as a controversial rarity in traditional African setting.