Published Article

ABSTRACT

This paper examines Ndoni taboos concerning the monitor lizard (O?ni?te??) and cocoyam (àka?shi?) as structured communicative practices within the community of Rivers State, Nigeria. Using the ethnography of communication framework, the study analyzes how ritualized speech, metaphorical expressions, and culturally sanctioned forms of silence and avoidance function as discourse resources. Expressions such as Nígb? nígb? nígb? nígbò (addressed to the monitor lizard) and cocoyam-based blessings reveal how Ndoni speakers encode moral instruction, social norms, and communal values within language. These taboos operate as face-saving speech acts, enabling indirect guidance, affirmation, and social regulation without confrontation. The findings demonstrate that Ndoni taboos are not merely prohibitions but performative linguistic tools that maintain cultural cohesion, transmit shared knowledge, and sustain ethical interaction within the community.