Eucharistic Communion and Rituals of Communion in Igbo Culture

Mary-Reginald Anibueze's excellent multi-disciplinary study brings together liturgical studies, ritual studies, and theology into a wonderful synthetic approach to the question of inculturation and accommodation within the Igbo culture of southern Nigeria. As one who knows this culture intimately, Anibueze describes and interprets various indigenous rituals, especially sacred meal rituals, and their Eucharistic overtones and their potential implications for celebrating especially the Roman Catholic Eucharist in this cultural context. This will be of interest to anthropologists, ritual theorists, and, not least, to liturgical scholars. -Maxwell E. Johnson, Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA In her comprehensive, integrative scholarly research Mary-Reginald Anibueze relates neatly the theological aspects of Eucharistic Communion in terms of thanksgiving, meal sharing, fellowship, reconciliation, and unity to the current traditional rituals of commensality among Ndigbo of Nigeria. These traditional Igbo rituals underscore the necessary link between the Christian faith and cultural practices, thus forming the basis for an authentic liturgical inculturation that is truly Christian and fully cultural. -Rev. Fr. Dr. Patrick C. Chibuko, Professor of Sacred Liturgy, Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria