Ala Di Mma in Umuohiagu ― An Igbo Concept of Reconciliation and Peace

Njoku develops the themes of the religious, cultural, and social values surrounding the importance of the Igbo "Ala," the earth goddess of the entire Igbo people, He focuses mainly on Ala-dimma and its associated cultural ritual methods of achieving reconciliation, justice, and peace. These methods are known as Ikwa-ala na Oriko, he says, and are regarded by the Igbo people as valuable cultural concepts that originate from the moral design to respect life, to unite, to love, and to revere the giver of life Himself. He covers the religio-socio and anthropological structure of the Igbo, the meaning of sin in Catholic theology, and the theological evaluation of the relationship between the Oriko concept and the sacrament of reconciliation. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Gerald Chukwudi Njoku is a priest of the Owerri Catholic archdiocese in Nigeria. He holds a diploma certificate in Latin and studied philosophy and theology at Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu, an affiliate of Pontifical Urban University Rome. The author earned his doctorate in theology from Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Germany).