Abstract

This paper undertakes an ethno-philosophical analysis of the soul (‘teme’) as conceived within the Kalabari Ijaw worldview of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Despite the richness of Kalabari metaphysical thought, it remains largely absent from mainstream comparative philosophy. This study addresses that gap by positioning the Kalabari conception of the soul alongside the Western philosophical tradition, with particular attention to Plato's account in the Phaedo. Within the Kalabari framework, the body (‘oju’) functions as the vessel of the soul, while the soul itself transcends physical death and begins a new phase of existence. Death is therefore not an end but a transitional point within a periodic system of being, orientated towards ancestral return and cyclical continuity. Whereas Plato's theory was developed through abstract reasoning and individual intuition, the Kalabari Ijaw understanding emerges from collective wisdom, ritual practice, and communal acceptance. This contrast reveals differing epistemic foundations: one rooted in rational deduction, the other in shared cultural experience. The paper argues that the Kalabari conception offers a philosophically coherent and distinctive contribution to metaphysical discourse — one that affirms the immortality of the soul while grounding human existence in embodied, divinely ordained destiny. By examining these perspectives side by side, the study emphasises the philosophical significance of indigenous African thought and its rightful place in broader debates about the nature of the soul and the meaning of human mortality.

How to Cite