The Osu in Igboland

 

 

The Osu In Igboland 

 Some people say the meaning of "Osu" in Igbo is slave; a bit like the Ohu or even the Umeh. In fact these are wrong definitions. Ohu for instance is no slave - he is an indentured servant. Strictly speaking, slavery does not exist in the Igbo world, because there is nothing final to that relationship. For instance, the Ohu can work themselves out of their indenture; in manyinstannces, the Ohu may even become fully adopted into the family to which it is indentured, after a particular ritual to ala, which confers a ritual link -amadi - to the individual, who is then accorded all the rights of the Diala. 

But speaking specifically about the Osu - there were two phases: in the first phase, the "Osu" was part of the complex priestly system to the Igbo ritual world. It is not easy to go into detail in a very short space, but the Igbo world was a highly spiritual system in which all the four elements in nature were recreated and symbolized: Ala (Earth) Ogwugwu/ Ime muru ochie/ Idemili (water) Agwu ( wind) Anyanwu ((Fire) Sun) 

In a later phase, as a result of a historical accident in which an Igbo tyrant and King (Amadi-oha) tried to domesticate energy as an instrument of war and was blown skywards, the Igbo instituted the rites of Amadi-Oha as a reminder against the use of force, or the domestication of energy for deployment in war. Amadi-oha was an engineer, and that is why, you have the symbolic piece of iron at every shrine of Amadi-Oha. It was part of the covenant with Chukwu, and it was also the beginning of the pacific idea in Odinala, that the Igbo would never use such instruments of massive force which this famous Igbo tyrant was attempting to produce, this experiment with "ike" - energy/electricity. Amadi-oha, blown skywards and trapped between the sky and the earth is supposed to remind us never to succumb to the rule of one man or king or tyrant. The serpent of fire - the sign of Ogwugwu - is said to guard Amadi-oha from returning with his fiery energy to earth. It is also said, that whoever commits the high abomination on earth suffers the fate which Amadi-Oha exemplifies, which is what gave rise to the myth that Amadi-Oha is the earth's messenger in the event of alu. The Igbo had shrines to all these forces in nature. Every community had the shrine of
Ala, Ogwugwu, Agwu or Amadi-oha (which gradually replaced "Ihu-Anyanwu").

The priests of these shrines were called Ezeala, EzeOgwuwgwu, Eze Amadioha, or EzeAgwu - ndi "isi mmuo". Each had specific rituals and specific seasons all connected with the movement of the nature; or with the celebrations, festivals, or according to the covenants of each clan. There were traditionally in the Igbo world, those who dedicate themselves, or are dedicated to the service of these shrines: they were called Osu. It does not quite mean "slave." The closest example of the function of the Osu in the traditional Igbo world is what monks do in Catholic church or the in Buddhist temples. They chose a life of complete surrender to the deities. 

Traditionally, they were regarded highly. In fact, the names, Osuji, Osuagwu, Osuala, Nwosu, etc; did not confer extraordinary negation; it was a declaration of piety. To this day, many Igbo bear these names, and they are not "osu" in the caste notion of the word. However, the second phase of the Osu system, when it became endowed with increasing negative connotations was at the height of the slave raids in the Igbo world in the 19th century. By this time, the Osu had begun to be seen as largely a parasitic institution - they were immune from too many things, they had the best portion of the land, they did not work - and they became subjects of both envy and derision in a most difficult era in the Igbo world which demanded hard work and enterprise for survival. At the height of the slave raids, some very vulnerable people chose to dedicate themselves to the service of deities, or were dedicated by their families to the altar, so that they would become literally "untouchable." 

In time, these group morphed into isolation from the rest of the community, and became subjects of both fear, envy and disdain. This was the state of affairs until missionaries entered the Igbo world late in the 19th century. The first group of people to be evangelized were the Osu, and the missionaries of course saw in their ritual isolation, a condition akin to the Indian caste system, and propagated the dubious picture of a ritually isolate, ritually ex-communicated caste community, and gave the Osu the bad name that it bears today in Igboland. In fact traditionally, there was no hereditary Osu. Aside from the fact that it contradicted the Igbo view of the individual and the world, it also totally negated the very principle of the ritual purity of those traditionally dedicated to the altar of Mmuo. Osu in Igbo did not mean slave, and  traditionally, it had no negative connotation; it was in fact a privileged institution, until its desacralization both by evolving political and economic reality and by the transformations in the ritual meaning endowed upon it by Christianity.

It is Ichafu not Gele

Biko nu, Umu Nwanyi Igbo (Igbo women and ladies), it is Ichafu [Ichafu Isi] not Gele.

Wherever this Gele expression was borrowed from is what I can not tell. It is already threatening to take over our identity. Please let Ichafu Isi dominate your tongue and everyday expression and do away with the alien word in order to preserve ihe eji mara anyi–our cultural identity.

Daalu nu.

The Concept of Evil in Igbo Thoughts

Introduction

          The problem of evil remains the most potent attack on religion, especially on the existence of God. In philosophical discourse, this problem is understood as being a consequence of the contradictions involved in the infinite characteristics of God such as being all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving. The problem of evil, which presupposes that the co-existence of evil and God is unlikely or impossible, states that given the reality of evil in the world, it is either the case that God does not exist or there is an equally powerful force in charge of evil.

There is no doubt that the problem of evil has gained serious attention in Western philosophical and theological discourses. However, in the African philosophical context, the debate on the philosophical problem of evil is just emerging, despite some uniquely interesting trends and perspectives within the diverse cultural philosophies in Africa. For example, in Igbo philosophy, as well as in the Akan philosophical context, it is a given that the problem of evil is a substantive philosophical problem only within the Western conception of evil and that such a problem does not hold much weight when situated within the African notion of evil. Thus far in the literature on the African perspectives on the problem of evil, little is known on the real and possible similarities and dissimilarities on the notion of evil in African cultures and whether or not such an understanding allows for a solution of the philosophical problem of evil either in the popularly known sense or in a new form.

This writing is an attempt at such a comparative understanding of the problem of evil in African cultural contexts. Such a philosophical comparison is important for giving directions to cross-cultural comparison of thoughts in African philosophy, which is yet in the making. Beyond the immediate imports for the growth of African philosophy, such comparison would avoid the false suppositions about a general African viewpoint on a conceptual matter or belief, especially as it concerns the notion of evil and the philosophical problem of evil in bringing such philosophical comparison into focus, this text shall focus its discussion on the Igbo viewpoints.

The Igbo notion of evil 

The metaphysical problem of evil, despite being a perennial problem in Western philosophy, can be meaningfully discussed within the Igbo cosmological thought. The Igbos have attempted to discuss how the presence of evil can be reconciled with the attributes of Chi-Ukwu (the ultimate spirit). Such an attempt has divided Igbo philosophers into three major camps, namely: the Igbo cosmological optimistic view; Personal God and destiny view; and middle course view. The first view states that man is solely accountable for the evil in the world; the second speaks of personal god and destiny, while the final camp combines the two views together and includes some spirits as responsible for the evil in the world. But it still begs the question how all these can be explained in the face of an almighty and benevolent God, Chi-Ukwu. We shall explain the three broad views briefly and the conclusions that could be drawn there from.

(a) Igbo cosmological optimistic view 

According to this view, God as ‘Okike’ (creator) is essentially good in himself and that his creation is intrinsically good: evil is something external to it in the sense that evil is the consequences of some moral evil committed by man. The upholders of this view point to the myths of God’s withdrawal, proverbs and other cultural expressions as traditional grounds for insisting on this view. Nwala, for example, stated that:

There is a belief in a created universe which is controlled by creator, Chukwu-Okike. Man is in the centre of this creation. He is endowed with freedom and its attendant responsibility. There is belief in the unity among beings, belief in the original cosmic (universal) harmony and order which unfortunately the action of the human being upsets (in this case as in the Bible story the woman starts confusion).

For the likes of Igbo scholars such as Nwala, evil is the function of man himself, who is at the center of God’s creation. Man is therefore responsible for every evil that happens in this world because of his actions and mode of being in the Igbo world. This view consolidates the African notion of evil that God can never be the proximate cause of evil in the world. Although man is responsible for the evil in the world, remotely, God causes it, not as evil as such but in the sense that out of the good man causes, evil comes as part of it. However, it has been argued that this view dissociates God from the problem, clings to the assumptions of the goodness of God and keeps quiet about the supposed power of God, which He could have used to stop evil if he truly wanted it.

(b) Personal god and destiny view 

According to this view, evil is not linked directly to man but with the personal god of each man. That personal god chooses man’s destiny package at the moment the individual is born into the world. This view states that each person’s personal god and destiny are responsible and accountable for both avoidable and unavoidable evils and mistakes in life. The belief here is that the Supreme being assigns a personal god (Chi) to an individual, whose Chi in turn brings to man all his good and sometimes bad fortunes as well as poverty and sickness by choosing the destiny on which one’s lot depends to such a degree that every good and bad thing are attributed to it and also blamed for individual’s mistakes in life. To buttress this view, they even point to names such as Nkechinyere (lot given by personal god); Chibueze (personal god makes and unmakes one); Chibuoke (personal makes one famous) etc. Some Igbo proverbs also support his view like “Ebe onye dalu ka Chi ya kwatulu ya” which means “where a person falls there his personal god pushed him down”.

Despite the criticism of the ambiguity or the equivocal nature of the concept of Chi, the traditional Igbo believe that God does not commit evil against his creation. They also believe that any misfortune or evil suffered by man is interpreted as punishment for the misbehavior of man or his kin in his present or previous life. This holds because the Igbos believe that the actions of men have consequences whether in this life or the next and also not only on those who commit them but on those who live after them. The importance of this view lies in the fact that it “sees evil in the world in such a way that it does not detract from the goodness and omnipotence of the Divinity.” God in this view transcends the moral and the ontological orders and understands Him as the ultimate source and guarantor without any of His essential characteristics being compromised.

(c) The middle course view 

According to this view, personal god and destiny of humans together with some other known and unknown spirits, particularly some spirits who specialize in mischief making, are originators of evil in the world. Many modern Igbo scholars support this view and conceive evil in the world as being contingent upon the actions of man and the spirits, once again absolving God of any involvement or blame in the problem of evil. For Okafor, “the apparent evil in the world and imperfection in the world are not intrinsic. They are rather the negation of the perfect cosmic order usually caused by the actions of men and of the spirits.”

Edeh, on his own part, asserts that God cannot be the proximate cause of evil and blamed man and the spirits for the existence of evil. He said: “…..judging from our treatment of the causes of evil… the three proximate causes of evil are the evil spirits, the element gods and human beings.”

This view does not sacrifice or detract from the goodness and omnipotence of God. God is still considered as the Supreme Good, all-powerful and the cause of all things which are good in themselves. The point here is that even if God is spoken of to be the remote cause of evil in the sense that he created the proximate causes of evil, but it must not be in the sense that he caused evil as such. Rather it will be constructed in the sense that because of the good he created, evil comes as a necessary part of it.

Akwamozu, the traditional funeral rite performed in Igbo land

The Igbos strongly believe in life after physical death. Akwamozu is one of the ways we express that strong belief. Akwamozu can be said to be the Igbo traditional funeral rite performed when an Igbo adult person dies in order to facilitate a smooth transition of the departed soul into the ethereal world or the world beyond our physical senses – the other side of life.

While Ili ozu (burial proper) is marked by sorrows and mourning, akwamozu is usually a feast to bid a departed soul “Safe trip” into the beyond.

Traditionally, Igbos do not perform akwamozu rites for every deceased Igbo person. For instance, we don’t perform akwamozu rites when a child dies, because we believe the soul of that child has not yet unfolded on earth like that of an adult. This means, in Igbo cultural belief system, the soul of a child is predominantly still anchored in the beyond from where it came. The soul is unfolded and anchored within our physical world only when the child reaches full maturity on earth as either a man or a woman. Unless a soul attains that unfolding and anchorage can that soul be held responsibility for his or her deeds while on earth. Only on that condition can akwamozu rites become a necessity when an Igbo person is deceased.

Other examples of categories of people we don’t honour with akwamozu when they die are; those who drowned in deep waters, those who died through suicide, and those marked as unrepentant evil persons while there were alive on earth. The corpse of those who die by any of those means are not buried but thrown into an evil forest.

Like other aspects of Igbo culture, we do not perform the akwamozu rite the same way in all Igbo communities. Also, the akwamozu rite for a rich and great man is not the same for a pauper. However, today, let’s highlight those basic aspects of akwamozu that must be performed irrespective of the socio-economic status of the deceased person or, the community he/she hails from:

Planning:
Akwamozu is an expensive affair in Igbo land. For that reason, careful plan is designed by the deceased’s relative in order to gather items needed for the akwamozu.

Announcement of Date:
This involves sending out messages to inform friends, in-laws, associates and well-wishers of the deceased that a date slated for the performance of akwamozu rites has been chosen and fixed. Obituary posters are produced and distributed as direct invitations to friends and well-wisher and the general public, but the use of obituary posters alone are not to be seen as sufficient for inviting people for akwamozu. Word-of-mouth invitation especially among neighbours or close friends is very important.

Wake Keep:
The night preceding the date fixed for formal condolence visit to the deceased’s family is the wake keep night. A little feast is usually organized at the deceased person’s family compound. Several dance groups and masquerades are also invited to perform their acts and arts all through that night which heralds formal condolence visit.

Formal Condolence visitation by In-laws, Friends, and Well-wishers:
On the day following the night of wake keep, as from around 10 am, visitor’s, in-laws, friends, well-wishers etc are all expected to come to the deceased’s family home with all manner of condolence gifts; cow, goat, local wrapper, drinks etc depending on the socio-economic status of the deceased.

Akwamozu Proper:
Akwamozu proper is the chief traditional rite in Igbo funerals. It is a very significant rite, because it entails the making of a formal separation between the departed soul and people still leaving on earth. It is usually a small and private activity but a very spiritual and culturally important one. It is carried out on the 12th day or, 3 exact weeks (according to Igbo calendar) after the day of formal condolence visitation by friends, in-laws, and well-wishers.

Culled from odindigbo page.

Nke Onye Chiri Ya Zaa!(On Igbo Titles)

To the uninitiated, Ndigbo are a show-off race, what with their big titles and ceremonies but such allegations are far from the truth. Ndigbo are proud and traditional people and so are other races, but in the case of Ndigbo not even the ‘civilisation’ brought by the Whiteman as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart  could rob them of their Omenani. Agreed the Whiteman may have desecrated the land and committed alu upon alu in Alaigbo but Ndigbo as a people have always produced several Okonkwos who have ensured that the flames enkindled by their ancestors never burn out.

While some may say that tradition is gradually disappearing in some areas or aspects of Igbo culture, it is still thriving in several others especially in the taking and bearing of titles. Sometimes titles are given, and taken to reflect the character of the title bearer or holder. In some other cases the titles are just symbolic, and become a mere symbol of greeting during social interactions. In typical Igbo communities, people are not known, called or greeted by their names but rather by their titles. Some of these titles are self explanatory, but majority require hard thinking to fully decode their meanings, but still each title signifies something or else it becomes a mere nickname.

The titles are a deep reflection, and an extension of another aspect of Igbo culture, that of speaking in parables or communicating with proverbs. Just like the proverbs which are not expected to be translated else as Ndigbo would say, it would be deemed that the bride price paid on behalf of the mothers of the persons requiring translation of the proverb is in vain. The meanings of titles are not meant to be interpreted either by the title bearers, especially to fellow Ndigbo. An exception of the rule may be applied if the persons/people requiring interpretation are non-Igbos.

In Igbo land, titles could be either assumed without any ceremony or fuss, or taken through elaborate feasting and fulfilment of other conditions. Hence Ndigbo would often say that there are titles and there are titles whenever they wish to mock an Ofeke who they feel has not merited the huge or bogus title he or she bears.

The average Igbo man by tradition is expected to have a title, either given to him by his father or one that he assumes and takes up himself. However, there are titles that one can only bear after going through some traditional rituals and practices such as Nze na Ozo, Ichie, chieftaincy or other Igbo traditional titles. Any one who successfully goes through the stipulated processes would have been considered to be fully initiated, and his peers will no longer have any inhibition in giving him the traditional Igbo 3 – back hand slap and hand shake (ina ito) - a social greeting ritual that is reserved only for the initiated.

During formal title taking events, the titles are symbolised through sticking a feather or feathers in red caps (red capped chiefs) and then placed on the recipients head, by hand beads (Iga) made out of elephant tusks or by a piece of woven thread tied to the title takers ankles (ata). Title holders may also be presented with a specially carved working stick (Mkpo), or a metal staff (Oji) in addition to a fan made out of animal skin (Akupe) with the person’s name and title engraved on it. Women receive thick arm bracelets carved out of elephant tusks (Odu).

It is customary to hear Ndigbo making expressions such as Ichi zu lu echi zu; such people (the initiated) are accorded more respect within their communities and have more opinion in traditional matters including traditional marriages etc.They may also have a say during land disputes, especially if such a community has no constituted Ojiani group.During feasts and other ceremonies, the fully initiated title holders are rewarded with extra portions of thighs of goat or tubers of yam and other items, and their food which must include pounded yam and soup stocked with anu mkpo and azu mkpo are usually prepared separately by umu nwanyi di ocha.

Although there is no general expectation for people to formalise their titles, there is however a class system within the Igbo cultural system. More respect and honour are accorded to those who have formalised their titles. The act of formalising one’s title is indeed not something for weak hearts and requires some elaborate preparation which culminates in series of events. The title holder will be expected to fulfil certain conditions including feasting his Umunna, Umuada, initiated title holders and other relevant stakeholder groups in the community .

In the olden days, such feasts will cost lots of cowries, manilas, and shells. It would require regular trips to the village market where the cowries will be exchanged for goats, tubers of yams, jars of nkwuenu and other food items. Depending on the title being taken, it may sometimes involve wrestling with (killing) a lion or any other task that may be assigned by the custodians of Omenani. Fable has it that bearers of the Ogbuagu title, Maverick politician Francis Arthur Nzeribe’s title, would normally be expected to have either wrestled with a lion, or killed one with a spear, they would then peel the dead animals’ skin which would be dried and hung in the title holder’s Obi as evidence. Many would have lost their lives during this process but for those that succeed, the honour and respect they receive afterwards makes it worth it as their stories are told far and wide.  In the end, such people are applauded and congratulated by all, including the initiated and non-initiated for as Ndigbo would say Odiro Ofele.

Some titles are also hereditary, passed on from generation to generation, in such cases while all the male children born to a family may be addressed commonly by such titles by which their father or grandfather was known, in the long term it is only the eldest male child that eventually retains the title. Preference in this instance always goes to the first born son. The younger siblings will be expected whenever they can, to assume or take their own titles.

In Igbo land, there is no compulsion by any native law or custom for men or women to bear titles; however any one who does not may find himself being the odd person during age grade, community or village square meetings, and during other community festivals and events where people are only addressed by their titles.

The culture of titles in Igbo land has often been chided by certain commentators who call it a craze, but in fairness there is really nothing wrong with it. By doing it, Ndigbo are only trying to uphold their tradition, just like other cultures would in other ways. On the subject of titles in Alaigbo, Charles Ikechukwu Okoli, an Awka indigene who goes by the traditional title of Nwa Ezeoku says that it is good that the Ndigbo have carried on with the practice, “Perhaps an aspect of this that Ndigbo should look at is in the abuse of titles, which sometimes sees less deserving members of the society being rewarded with big titles. Such practices usually send the wrong signals to the younger generation”, he concludes.

Some Igbo titles offer a mirror or parody into life, especially when the titles are juxtaposed with the personal circumstances of the bearers. A few ones come into mind here especially titles that suggest that the bearers are people of great financial and material means but in reality they may not be, examples include such grandiose titles such as Udu ako mmiri, Aku n’ata ka si, Okpata ozuo oha, Akuluouno, Ide ji ogwugwu, Ono n’ikpo aku, Ide, Eselu enu ego, Eze ego, etc.

Titles can also be restraining tools, for example, I have found that my title Ezeudo has on several occasions served to restrain me from acting when provoked, it serves as a reminder to me always to ‘watch it’, else I will be ridiculing myself, title and culture.

I know a man who goes by the title of Ome mgbe oji, in retrospect I think that the title is quite befitting, a very clever chap he is as his title forecloses any expectations relatives may have of him for financial assistance, he would make promises but with a clause that the promises can only be fulfilled whenever it is possible, a smart title indeed.  

There are also absurd cases, for example when known charlatans or cowards in the community bear titles that are too big for them such as Ochi agha, Ekwueme, Dike ana agbara izu, Aka gbajiri igwe, Dike eji eje mba. In some other cases, some titles may be considered off-putting in an increasingly modern Igbo society which has largely embraced Christianity, such titles connote the impression of idol worship for example titles such as Agbara ahuru gbuo okuko, Alusi n’ejere onye nwe ya ozi, Eze Udene, etc. 

As with men, so also with women, there is no evidence of discrimination against women in the Igbo culture with regards to title taking; in fact the women are holding their own and giving the men a run for their titles. They do have their class system as certain titles can only be taken by the initiated, usually into the much revered and influential Iyom society.  If you are an Igbo woman looking for a title, perhaps the following may get you thinking; Oso di eme, Agbala nwanyi, Oche eze, Mkpulu nma, Nwanyi gbue efi, Asa mpete, Nwanyi ma uche di ya, Ugogbe, Ola edo, Ada eji eje mba, etc.  

Interestingly, men and women do not normally bare similar titles in Alaigbo as they would some Igbo names such as Uche, Ngozi, Chinyere, Chika and Udodiri which are unisex names, but it does seem from the sound of some Igbo traditional titles, that both the women and the men already know which titles they could bear and which is exclusive to the opposite gender.

Ndigbo are also very accommodating and have been known to show their appreciations of friendships and beneficial relationships with other races through the bestowing of honourary titles, some Igbo in-laws are known to have bagged titles such as Nwanne di n’mba.

Afa otutu will continue to play prominent roles in the cultural and social lives of Ndigbo, and no matter who you are; Onye Igbo, Ogo, or enyi Ndigbo – Zaa kwa nke ichiri!

By Uche Nworah

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Article Word Glossary Alu – Sacrilege or abomination  Afa otutu - Title Alaigbo – Igbo land Alusi n’ejere onye nwe ya ozi – The deity that does the bidding of its owner  Agbara ahuru gbuo okuko - The deity that triggers the killing of a hen (n allusion to a person’s supposed ‘great’ standing in the society) Agbala nwanyi – An elegant and powerful woman Ada eji eje mba – A daughter/woman that can be relied on in far and near places. Asa mpete – A beauty Akuluouno – Only repatriated wealth are safe. Aku n’ata ka si – A ‘money-miss-road’ (one in possession of excess wealth) Aka gbajiri igwe – the strong hand that bends the iron Dike eji eje mba – A warrior that could be taken on journeys to other lands (one who is to be trusted, brave and courageous) Dike ana agbara izu – A brave man and warrior that enemies conspire against Ezeudo – King of peace or someone that makes/likes peace.  Ekwueme - One whose word is his bond (‘talk-and-do’ in popular parlance) Eze Udene – The king vulture (Vultures supposedly signify bad omens in Alaigbo) Eselu enu ego – The Literary meaning is to peel off a slice from a cash bundle or pile, but is actually an allusion to the fact that what the title bearer is spending is still ‘chicken change’ to his overall worth. Eze ego- King of money (this title is no longer popular in Alaigbo since the death of Victor Okafor, an alleged 419 kingpin who made the name very notorious) Ichi zu lu echi zu – You are fully initiated. Ide ji ogwugwu – Wealthy stronghold   Ide – wealthy person Ichie – a revered title for elderly men in the community Ina ito – A special form of greeting in Alaigbo, requiring 3 back hand slaps and a hand shake. The uninitiated are not expected to be greeted in this manner. Iyom – A revered society of women requiring initiation. Omenani – Culture or tradition  Obi – A small outpost in a compound usually used in receiving visitors. Ola edo – This means gold but is used to adulate the tile holder as being precious.  Ogbuagu - A traditional title. The literary meaning is killer of lion.  Okpata ozuo oha – A person who extends his wealth to others.  Ome mgbe oji – He who does, or helps out when he is able to Ojiani – Overseers of community lands and traditional holders of title deeds, they have the last say in land disputes in most Igbo communities and were very powerful in the days when there were no law courts.  Odiro Ofele – It is not easy at all (no mean feat) Oso di eme – The husband’s helper Oche eze – The throne of royalty Ofeke – A wayward person Ochi agha – Battle commander Ono n’ikpo aku – He who dwells in wealth Mkpulu nma – Epitome of beauty  Nwanyi ma uche di ya – A loyal woman who knows and respects her husband’s heart desires and wishes Nze na Ozo – A highly revered ancient Igbo traditional society  Ndigbo - Igbo people Nwa Ezeoku – A child from a wealthy man/family Nwanyi – Women Nka ona adi – The rightful place (Things never cease to be where they belong) Nkwuenu – Undiluted Palm wine (known as ‘Upwine’ in local popular parlance) Nwanyi gbue efi – The literary translation means a woman that has killed a cow (or caused one to be killed), because cows are expensive in the old days, women who achieve such feat are very much revered. In modern usage, it means a woman of mean. Nwanne di n’mba – The relative in a foreign land Nke onye chiri, ya zaa – May each answer to his/her title Umunna – Kindred relatives  Ugogbe – Mirror Udu ako mmiri – The earthen pot that is always full of water Umuada – Women born within a particular community or kindred Anu Mkpo - Dried roasted meat Azu Mkpo – Dried roasted fish Umu nwanyi di ocha – (Clean women) Women who are not in their menstrual cycle

The Igbo age grade system

The age grade system has long been in existence in Igboland, and has been recognized and used by Igbo traditional leaders to champion causes for the social, cultural, political, infrastructural and economic development of communities.

The main objective of this article is to get the Igbo youths, to become accustomed to Igbo culture and tradition as well as the role, which they play in community development through the age grade system. In fact, this piece is written to motivate the younger generation to actively participate in community development.

Age grades are groups of persons who, according to societal norms and values, are regarded as people of the same age. But, they do vary from one community to the other. For instance, they go by several names such as OtuOgbo, NdeUke or NdeEbiri according to the community where they are practiced.

In some communities, persons within a specific period of three, four or even five years age bracket form an age grade. Each age grade is given a special name that helps define its position in the community, relative to other age grades.

In some communities, they are gender segregated while in others, like in Obinwanne Age Grade in Atani-Arochukwu, they are mixed (men and women). But each age grade is clearly distinguished from one another.

However, as years pass by, the younger groups ascend the ladder and takeover the older age grades.

According to Ugiagbe and Uguagbe (2015), “The Igbo of Eastern Nigeria, for example, have a culture of segmenting into different age grades which can be likened to teams in management and platoons in war games”

Among the members of these different age grades can be found those with different roles which enable them to act as teams.

Generally, age grades serve as avenues for social interaction among members and, more importantly, as agents of community development.

In some communities, entry into an age grade, often gender separated, is usually marked by an initiation rite which may be the crowning of a long and complex preparation.

In the pre-colonial period, the newly formed age grades had to prove themselves for maturity by defending the community against hostile neighbours or enemies.

Members of each age grade are meant to know one another fairly well, to choose leaders among their members, to meet regularly to discuss issues of mutual or communal interest, to willingly help one another and defend the community when the need arises.

Despite the onslaught of modernization, industrialization and urbanization, the roles of age grades in Igbo land remain significant and impactful chiefly as a symbol of unity that is; unity among members.

Some of the roles of age grades play in Igbo land include: maintaining security of lives and property, enforcement of law and order, developers/executors of community initiatives and projects, crime control which is a growing area of need in many communities today, conflict resolution within the age grade/within the entire community, and community warfare in both physical and spiritual affairs.

Other roles of age-grades include; serving as agents of change and modernization and sophistication; role models and community conscience; educators and socializing agents; managers of projects; advocates of best practices; power balance in community initiatives; providing voice and support to the poor and the disadvantaged; enforcers of ancestral wishes and protectors of cultural values and norms; power balance in community initiatives; and pulling the community ahead and ensuring good value orientation.

Where there is unrest, high level of criminalities and social dislocations in communities, the age grades are trusted and called upon to bring about sanity.

In any Igbo community where there is unrest, high level of criminality and social dislocations, the first question to ask is “Where are the age grades?”

Imagine what would be the situation of many Igbo communities if our ancestors did not come up with this social engineering mechanism called age grades.

The cost of burial ceremonies in Igboland

Sitting with both hands neatly tucked in between his laps, a foot tapping to what his mind thought, and a teary-eye staring into space as though seeking the last traces of hope, Ibe Iheanacho let out with a voice obviously couched with anguish, "God, please don't let my mother die! I cannot afford her burial rites now."

Ibe is a petty trader with a titled mother. The woman, who suffers from diabetics, and had just suffered a second stroke attack that left her paralyzed and highly sick. Seeing his position and hearing his outcry, one would have thought that his heart was rent in sympathy for his ailing mother and not the underlying financial implications of the possible aftermath.

Sadly, he is not alone in this disposition to an ailing loved one. Amaechi Uzokwe, a business man, had threatened his brothers saying that, "I will run away and abandon all of you, should papa fail to recover from this illness and die as a result. I don't have even N1.00 for his burial rites."

The dispositions of the above mentioned people, leave much to imagine. One, what really is the immediate or intermediate cause of the "heaviness of heart" or "deep sense of loss" that precedes the "with gratitude to God almighty" one finds legibly written in posters of various sizes and colours announcing the death of a loved one? Two, is it really a heavy heart arising from losing the dead or the financial costs that will be directly or indirectly involved in giving the departed a befitting funeral? Three, along what lines does one begin to define a befitting burial?

In Igbo land, burial rites vary from one community to another as even within the same cultural zone, burial ceremonies are not uniform. However, the fundamental issue is that be it in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu or Imo State, the cost of a burial ceremony is becoming high as the bereaved spend fortunes to give a befitting burial to the dead. Thus, for some people, despite the fact that the whole essence of a burial is to commit the dead to mother earth, and even coupled with the biblical injunction to "let the dead bury the dead," various activities and communal rites (Omenala) seem to have made the actual burial secondary.

However, regardless of the laid out procedures and requirements for the performance of obsequies, the level of honour varies and is dependent on the background, title, gender, relationship within the family and circumstances of death. Though this does not, however, change or alter the standard requirements, this is the plight of Ibe and Amaechi. Though they do not have the financial strength to meet up with these demands, necessity is laid upon them to do so.

In Ibe Ihenacho's village and its neighbouring communities in Imo State, you cannot even tell the kinsmen of a deceased woman that their daughter is dead. It will be assumed that you killed her. You only send word to her people, telling them that she is seriously ill and they should send someone to come join send her to a good hospital.

After seeing for themselves that she is dead, her children and members of their family will go at various times, in groups of male and female, with assorted types of drinks, food, kolanuts and all the stipulated items to inform their maternal relatives officially of their mother's death (though they are already aware). This is usually before any other rite can be performed and even the burial itself.

Ndi ogo- in-laws especially sons-in-law, are usually also compulsorily required to contribute and to a large extent finance the burial. The husband of the first daughter, the ada usually pays the highest. In Umuezearole in Onitsha, Anambra State, for instance, the husband of the first daughter of a titled man, the ozo title in this case, is required to present N1, 000,000 to the group to inform them of their colleague's death before any further arrangement can even be made towards the burial.

In some cases especially in Njaba, Isu and Orlu Local Government Areas of Imo State for instance, they may be required to present a cow and other items stipulated by the community. In parts of Mbano, Imo State, there is usually what is called iha akwa wherein in-laws of the deceased give gifts of various types of choice wrappers that are customarily presented to their sister-in-law, who is the daughter of the deceased as well as other female mourners in the compound of the deceased. And this is not usually without the aim of wanting to make them show how much they value the dead.

Further investigations revealed that in some parts of Nsukka in Enugu State, horses and native cows are used for burial ceremonies to earn the traditional title "Ogbuzuru", meaning the person has killed everything expected of him as far as burial rituals are concerned. Each horse cost over N70,000.00 while cow is between N120,000.00 depending on the size.

In Ozalla community in Igbo-etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, sympathizers who pay condolences to the bereaved family stock different denominations of both foreign and local currencies on dry stick of palm fronds and present them as gifts.

In Nkanu land, masquerades entertain the people during burial ceremonies with each group trying to outwit the other to draw attention of the audience at the occasion. Sometimes, a member of the troupe climbs a palm tree with bare hands, apparently to show how gallant he is.

Burial ceremonies in Igbo land are usually a colourful and communal fanfare. Hence whenever and wherever an Igbo male or female dies especially adults, he or she is usually taken back to the village for burial. This no doubt witnesses a mass exodus to the village. Indigenes of the town, in various states and regions, are usually represented at the burial ceremony depending on the distance; so long the deceased was a member of the town union. These members also lend a helping hand in the preparation of food items and the cost of footing the burial where necessary.

During the ceremony proper, guests seat under canopies and sheds to indicate first of all, the families of the various in-laws, kinsmen, maternal relatives, indigenes of the town and other classes of guests, according to the wish of the chief mourner.

Expectedly, the chief mourner and his siblings as well as the in-laws organise food, assorted drinks, and traditional dance as well as live musical band depending on the financial strength of the host to receive the people who will come to the occasion.

According to their seating arrangement, food and drinks are served. In Njaba, Isu and Orlu local government areas, it was gathered that the feeding arrangement at the ceremony is usually never complete without fufu and any native soup being served.

It was gathered that in some instances, the chief mourner and his family, spend money in two ways Christian burial rites always precedes the traditional rites consequently doubling the budget for the entire burial ceremony.

And prior to the burial ceremony, the quantity of items such as the number of kegs of palm wine, brewed drinks, tubers of yams, goats, fowls and cows to be used for the event are read out to the chief mourner to avoid embarrassment on the day of the ceremony.

Interestingly, all of the costs and items enumerated by the kinsmen or clan for the burial of the deceased, do not include other compulsory items like caskets, the services of the undertakers, payment for the morgue where the body is kept until burial, and the hiring of funeral parlour among others.

Investigations by Saturday Tribune shows that the average 6 by 4 casket cost about N70, 000 while the average morgue will charge at least N10, 000, (with a certificate of death), to keep the body for two weeks before counting extra charges. There is no gainsaying that these amounts are probably beyond the reach of the average Igbo man.

It is even worse when the deceased (females especially) was not duly married according to traditional rites before death. In this case, the husband is usually made to perform the traditional marriage rites, including the payment of bride price to the full as part of the burial rites before actual burial can take place. Of course, this eventual burial does not disregard the full rites that guide it.

Thus, just like in the past when the hike in bride price came under sharp criticisms prompting the defunct Eastern Region under Late Owelle of Onitsha, Dr Nnmadi Azikiwe, to pass a law pegging bride price in Igbo land to enable Igbo youths marry at the right age, the high cost of burial seems to have become another emerging social problem in the region. Some have even argued that if the trend remains unchecked, burial ceremonies will be solely reserved for the rich that can afford the cost.

But authorities appear not to be perturbed by the nagging issue as investigation revealed that no state or local government area in the South-East, has any customary or state legislative law pegging the cost of burial ceremonies.

A top government official in the office of Chieftancy Matters in Enugu State, who preferred to remain anonymous, said even if there was law reducing the cost of burial in Igbo land, it will die a natural death like the one passed into law by the late Azikiwe's regime.

Mazi Sam Onwudiwe, a trader, who said he lived in Awka, told Saturday Tribune in Enugu that the high cost of burial was more pronounced in Anambra State because of their robust economic power, stressing that huge sums of money is spent by mourners in the areas like Awka, Nnewi and a host of others. "Go there and see things for yourself. The kinds of wine, gifts you will see on display. It is traditional burial but a lot of money is involved, buying of cows notwithstanding," he added.

Against the above backdrop, saying that burial ceremony is expensive in almost every part of the Southeast geo-political zone, is stating the obvious. Many of the bereaved persons often go into huge debts in order to give their dead the stipulated befitting burial and this poses another question; where does one begin to draw the line between befitting burials and bankruptcy?

Ikperikpe Ogu - Ohafia war dance

"The Flesh Melts"

"Kpah-kpah-kpa kpah-kpah-kpa kpah-kpah-kpa..." the sharp clicking of bamboo slats cuts through the din of the crowd gathered for the burial of an eminent chief. The hot midday air is heavy with red dust raised by hundreds of feet: dust mixed with the rich aroma of sweat and the fragrant vapor rising from large pots of palm wine. Several young, robust men in short, coarsely woven blue loincloths begin to move into the center of the large clearing in front of the village meetinghouse. Their muscular arms are draped with the long white hair of ram's manes, and on their heads are "leopard caps," each pierced with an eagle feather. They move with confidence and pride, but their leader seems even more imposing. Balanced on his head is a brightly painted board upon which human heads sculpted of wood are displayed. The heads also are flanked with ram's mane and wear leopard caps-okpu agụ. The commons is crowded with people of all ages, some talking, greeting, laughing, others maneuvering to find a good place from which to view the dancers. The dance leader, holding a small palm shoot in his mouth and a short flared cutlass in his right hand, stares fixedly ahead as he dances with short deliberate steps.
Three percussionists sit on a wooden bench defining one edge of the dance space. With casual concentration they tap out the heartbeat of the dance with bamboo slat instruments known as akwatankwa. A drummer begins to play an ikperikpe ọgụ (war drum). It is not a dance rhythm, but drum language that is echoed by the opu, the antelope horn played by one of the dancers. The voice of the drum calls:

"Everyone should come forth!
Those in the bush come out!
Those on the road come out!
The day is charged!"

An old man, dressed in a faded wrap-cloth of Indian madras, sits on a nearby stool and begins to shout: "Utugokoko kwe nụ!" and a response resounds from the crowd: "huh!" He shouts again, "Akanu kwenụ!! ... Ohafia kwe nụ!! ... Igbo kwe nụ!! ... Nigeria kwe nụ! ..." and each time the crowd responds with urgent approval. Then the old man begins to sing the legend of Elibe Aja, the story of a brave hunter who kills a leopardess that is terrorizing the neighboring Aro people only to eventually meet his own end trying to stop a wild boar from destroying farms in Amuru. The music is fast, driving, insistent. The dancers in the circle are joined by other men, some mature, some mere boys. Each moves his feet in a rapid sidestepping pattern. They roll their shoulders in tight circles flexing their chests. Gradually, deliberately, the tempo builds. As the pace of the music increases the pectoral flexing accelerates. The men's chests pulsate with rippling undulations. This phenomenon is called ọfụfụ. As Joseph Agara put it, "when the music takes fire, the flesh melts.""

– John C. McCall (2000). Dancing Histories: Heuristic Ethnography with the Ohafia Igbo. University of Michigan Press. pp. 53–54.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75dksZNvGJA 

Taking a female chieftaincy title in Igbo land

Taking a female chieftaincy title in Igbo land used to be a practice exclusively reserved for wealthy, married, and elderly women. But these days, age is no longer a criteria as younger women with sound education, success in politics or business, and high corporate achievements are allowed to  take up female chieftaincy titles.

When a woman wants to take up a female chieftaincy title in Igbo land, she must buy several items such as coco-yams, kola-nuts,  pepper etc which she must take, in addition to a substantial amount of money, to the league of female chiefs in her husband’s community informing them of her desire to join them. This initial expression of desire to become a female chief must be done through the leader of the league of female chiefs in the community.

The leader of the league of female chiefs in the community summons a meeting of the league, and during the meeting, the items and money brought by the aspirant is shared and distributed among members of the group according to hierarchy (which means that leaders will receive a slightly higher portion than others) after they have certified her worthy of taking up a female chieftaincy title in line with the peculiar traditional standard operational in that particular community.

At such a meeting, the aspirant for the female chieftaincy title will take charge of providing and assortment of drinks for refreshment. After this initial meeting, the aspirant will sponsor a second meeting, and provide more items – tubers of yam, bags of salt, drinks, etc for distribution to members of the league of female chiefs. The reason for the stringent screening and presentation of gift items before a woman can take up a female chieftaincy title in Igbo land is to ensure she has the financial and material means to cater for other less privileged women, children and orphans when times become hard in the community.

If any female aspirant can prove herself worthy of this high calling, she can then be given the right to take up a female chieftaincy title in her husband’s community. This implies she will receive the right to assume a new name that fits her nature and how she wants the community to perceive her.

Afterwards, private activities are performed by the aspirant and other female chiefs before she is publicly presented to the public through a formal ceremony.

During the formal presentation of the new female chief to the public, she is expected to perform a majestic dance in public twice, with other female chiefs of the community who received portions of the gift she brought to their league singing and dancing behind her to show their support and solidarity.

Who sponsors the public presentation ceremony? It is the new female chief that does so.

From that day of the public presentation, the new female chieftaincy title holder in Igbo land is expected to support, help, and promote the efforts of the male chiefs towards ensuring the survival and progress of their community.

Most  wealthy men in Igbo land, when taking up chieftaincy titles for themselves in their various communities also sponsor their wives for a female chieftaincy title too. In the end, male chiefs in Igbo land feel proud when they and their wives are addressed “Chief and Chief Mrs…”in public.

Igbo culture recognizes women as equal entities to men but of a different specie. That is why female chiefs are equally celebrated and respected in Igbo land.

Finally, despite the perceived equalities Igbo culture holds for men and women, female chieftaincy title holders cannot partake in traditional activities reserved for men such as breaking of kola-nuts, going for war, climbing palm trees, performing masquerades etc. So, also are male chiefs forbidden from meddling in activities and functions exclusively reserved for females.

The cultural beauty and dignity Igbos lost to British colonization

                By Obindigbo

Before the incursion of Europeans (British colonialist) into Igbo land, we naturally cultivated and practiced customs and traditions that were adapted to our own soil, our own climate and our own blood. The Igbo customs and traditions we developed helped us, at that time, to actualize our fullest potentials as a people. They were what every Igbo man or woman was known for.

Igbos thought with one mind, we spoke with one voice, and performed diverse but similar deeds through the common customs and traditions we shared amongst us. We were held as one by Omenaala (the Igbo traditional religion). We flourished and enjoyed the true beauty and progress our minds and souls attained.

But things changed in the 19th-century when British colonization effort in Sub-saharan Africa spread to Igbo land and increased the encounters between us and other ethnicities near the Niger River. We proved decisive and enthusiastic in our embrace of British colonization, because the increased encounters between us and other ethnicities boosted our commercial activities.

But then, during the colonization of our land, It was not only commercial activities that the British expressed strong interest in. They were also interested in our administrative system and religious lives. While we enjoyed the wealth and power that came to our people through the colonization process, the religious imperialism the colonialist engineered upon our collective psyche was not-so-good.

At first, the British missionaries penetrated the hinterlands of the Igbo nation, and established all sort of church denominations each with a handful of ardent followers and converts. The churches struggled for a footing in our traditional society which was, at that time, bounded by strong age-long traditions, taboos, and expectations. As a result of that early struggle of the churches, the European missionaries aimed at yanking off the cultural traditions and customs of Ndigbo with a view to supplanting it with both logical and illogical church doctrines and rituals.

The British missionaries were clever. They came quietly and peaceably into Igbo land – our land – with the Christian religion. We, the Igbos, were amused at their “foolishness” and allowed them to stay. But not-so-long afterwards, the European missionaries put a knife on the things that held us together (our revered Igbo culture and traditions), and yanked off as many of them as hindered their ulterior motives, which made the centre of our cultural existence no longer able to hold together as one, and things indeed fell apart for all of us. This same idea was echoed in Chinua Achebe’s classic novel; “Things Fall Apart.”

The missionaries won over our brothers to their side through evangelism and indulgence, and ever since, the Igbo nation could no longer act like one. Omenaala was fought hard and fast by the colonialists who used both schools and churches as effective platforms for socially controlling and Influencing the minds of our people and twisting it to support their whims and caprices.

Following that “negative” success engineered by the missionaries against our cultural psyche, the God-willed beauty of our Igbo nation became a mighty pipe-dream. As long as the leaders of our people try to force upon us foreign clothing, and foreign architectural styles in the illusion that this makes for the progress of the Igbo people, our cultural and spiritual beauty and dignity will remain lost. Imitation is not uplifting.

I am reminding those of us that argue that we’re in the information age and as such, the media has shrunken the world into a global village, know nit today that there is no personal cultural achievement for Igbo people in the uniformity of the world through copying other cultures at the expense of our own.

The Igbo nation can only progress through the upward development of what culture, customs, traditions, and language we already possess. In so doing, we can find and regain the beauty and dignity of our culture which was lost through the not-so-noble efforts of the missionaries during the colonial era. We can never achieve that by adopting a culture and religion that is borrowed. Taking something over is not progress, for progress shows itself in the improvement of what already exists.

Let me conclude by saying once again that true progress for our people – the Igbo people – lies solely in the development of our own culture which is naturally adapted to the Igbo soil, Igbo climate, and Igbo blood. We must all become indigenous in the purest sense of the word, if we ever wish to develop our cultural and spiritual beings as well as expect help from Chukwu.

To be rooted in our native soil and all its nuances is a basic condition, and it, alone, guarantees that we can regain the cultural beauty and dignity we’ve lost to British colonialism. If we ever succeed in achieving that, we can expect only peace, unity, robust health, strength, beauty, and spiritual maturity for our people.