THE MYTH OF OZIDI AS MONOMYTH: THE INDEX OF DAVID ADAMS LEEMING

Abstract

Among the different procedures in mythic scholarship, classification and comparison are the most universal. Classification and comparison are frequently deployed because mythology often involves the analysis of a wide corpus of data collected from diverse regions and cultures of the world. Consequently, different categories of myths have emerged some of which include myths of origin, myths of heroic conquest, myths of death and the scapegoat, et cetera. This study is concerned with the category described as monomyth, which comprises myths whose plots explore the developments in the life of the hero from birth to apotheosis, a life considered to be a journey of the hero figure from the known to the unknown worlds and back. By deploying the qualitative research methodology and the simplified monomyth theory of David Adams Leeming, the study locates the Ijaw myth of Ozidi within the monomyth category. It arrives at this conclusion through a comparative study of the Ozidi myth and other world myths, gauging both by the events provided inLeeming’s framework.