Ndi Igbo, much like other African peoples, had a soundtrack for every
occasion in their life. They had songs for children being born, songs
for marriage, and for when people were being laid to rest. They had
songs for work and for play. They had songs to prepare for war, songs to
celebrate or call for peace, and songs to show discontent.
One such way of showing discontent through song was demonstrated
through the act of “sitting on a man”, which Igbo women used to protest a
man who they had felt that wronged them. “Sitting on a man” or a woman,
boycotts and strikes were the women’s main weapons. To “sit on” or
“make war on” a man involved gathering at his compound, sometimes late
at night, dancing, singing scurrilous songs which detailed the women’s
grievances against him and often called his manhood into question,
banging on his hut with the pestles women used for pounding yams, and
perhaps demolishing his hut or plastering it with mud and roughing him
up a bit. A man might be sanctioned in this way for mistreating his
wife, for violating the women’s market rules, or for letting his cows
eat the women’s crops. The women would stay at his hut throughout the
day, and late into the night, if necessary, until he repented and
promised to mend his ways.Although this could hardly have been a
pleasant experience for the offending man, it was considered legitimate
and no man would consider intervening. (van Allen, Judith.
“Sitting on a Man”: Colonialism and the Lost Political Institutions of
Igbo Women. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des
Études Africaines, Vol. 6)
Songs dedicated to the birth of children were a bit more positive
than the ones that dealt with “sitting on a man.” These songs, which
were referred to as omumu nwa songs are sung by groups of women after a
successful childbirth. It is also usually accompanied by a dance. Below
are two contrasting examples:
Uha (Lies)
Ye-ye-ye-yeo mumuo ma (Ye-ye-ye-ye good childbirth)
Uha-a aha we uha, uha (Lies, they are telling lies, lies)
Omumu otuotuo oluilu (Childbirth sweet and bitter)
Uha-a aha we uha, uha (Lies, they are telling lies, lies)
Omumuo ririu darao cha (Childbirth eater of ripened udara fruit)
Uha-a aha we uha, uha (Lies, they are telling lies, lies)
Aha we uha ekwu we r’ezi (Whether they are lying or telling the truth)
Uha-a aha we uha, uha. (Lies, they are telling lies, lies)
According to the article, “The Birth Song as a Medium for
Communicating Woman’s Maternal Destiny in the Traditional Community” by
Grace Okere: “This song is an expression of joyful disbelief by the
mother of a woman who has successfully and safely delivered her child.
They must be telling lies, she sings, although she wishes and knows that
they are telling the truth. Apart from the rhythmic effect of the
repetitive refrain, “uha-a aha we uha, uha” (“lies, they are telling
lies, lies”), the song exploits the literary devices of paradox and
imagery to effectively communicate meaning. Childbirth is paradoxically
said to be “sweet and bitter.” This is so because it can bring boundless
joy to the household into which a pregnant woman safely bears a child.
On the other hand, it is “bitter” if the woman dies in childbirth. Then,
there would be no songs of joy but sorrow and tears. Childbirth is also
personified as “eater of ripened udara fruit.” This is an apt image
used to communicate the fact that childbirth can kill a woman in her
prime. This euphemistically expresses the sorrowful side of childbirth,
when a woman dies in the process. The song brings out the antithetical
qualities of childbirth- it is sweet but can be bitter, good but can
send a young woman to an early grave” (Okereke, Grace Eche.
“The Birth Song as a Medium for Communicating Woman’s Maternal Destiny
in the Traditional Community” Research in African Literatures, Vol. 25,
No. 3, Women as Oral Artists (Autumn, 1994), pp. 19-32)
This song offers a very different perspective:
Ah Nwa (The War of Childbirth)
Aha nwas u r’abalii si, osur ‘ogorowu
(If the war of childbirth happens in the night, it happens in the afternoon)
Niyi aso egwu, oha era
(Do not be afraid owners of breast )
Aha nwaa yie jebekwae je
(The war of childbirth we must go)
Ejem eje, ala m ala
(I will go, I will return)
Aha nwaa yie jebekwae je
(The war of childbirth we must go)
Ma m’eje aha nwa
(If I don’t fight the war of childbirth)
Mbia ji agbu enyi nkwu?
(Shall I use rope to climb palm tree?)
Aha nwaa yie jebekwae je
(The war of childbirth we must go)
Ma m’eje aha nwa
(If I don’t fight the war of childbirth)
Mbia ji egbe eje ogu e-e?
(Shall I use gun to fight e-e?)
Aha nwaa yie jebekwae je
(The war of childbirth we must go)
Aha nwa bu ogu egbe ndi iyom
(The war of childbirth is the gunfight of women)
Aha nwaa yie jebekwae je.
(The war of childbirth we must go.)
Regarding this song, Okereke states that: “a stylistic analysis
of the song reveals a rich exploitation of literary devices like
metaphor and imagery, rhetorical questions and reversal of word order.
All these combine to generate a solemn effect on the audience,
especially the women themselves. The epithet “oha era,” literally
meaning “owners of breast,”is a synecdochic expression used to praise
women and challenge them to action in matters of grave importance
affecting them or the entire community. By aptly using the image of war
to describe childbirth, the song brings out the physical strength and
valor required of women in parturition . It also brings out the
suffering and danger of losing one’s life during childbirth as in
war.The women’s courage, confidence, and determination to achieve
victory in this “war” are brought out in the repetitive emphasis of and
resolve in the words” I will go, I will return.” This determination and
certain victory derive from the fact that most women throughout history
have fought the war of childbirth and have returned victorious-alive
with their babies. This positive mental attitude can go a long way in
aiding a woman’s safe delivery.
The reversal of the word order in the refrain,”ahan wa ayi
ejebekwa eje” (“the war of childbirth we must go”) gives the song a
militant rhythm, which raises it to the status of a war song. This
befits the war situation of childbirth….The rhetorical questions “If I
don’t fight the war of childbirth/ShalI l use rope to climb palm tree?/
…/ Shall I use gun to fight e -e?,” not only spur woman to victory, but
further reinforce woman’s view of her relevance in the traditional
community as being anchored on childbearing. The double metaphor in the
expression ” the war of childbirth is the gunfight of women” shows how
highly women value this duty, and how they see it as their “crowning
glory,” as the greatest of all their achievements. Like men in war,
childbirth is the arena in which women prove their worth and valor; it
is the achievement that will etch a notch on a woman’s bow of honor,
just as the number of human heads a man brought home from battle
determined the number of notches in his bow in the old days o f
inter-ethnic wars. (Okereke, Grace Eche. “The Birth Song as
a Medium for Communicating Woman’s Maternal Destiny in the Traditional
Community” Research in African Literatures, Vol. 25, No. 3, Women as
Oral Artists (Autumn, 1994), pp. 19-32)
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It is my opinion that music is the most effective and efficient way of
transmitting a culture. From this single tool, you can transmit a
language, history, proverbs, mythology, dances, rituals and much much
more. Music is perhaps the one thing that people of African descent have
not regressed on, in fact, its the one area that I believe we have even
outdone our ancestors in. Despite the abominable state that we have
found ourselves in worldwide , nobody can say that we are not the best
in the world at making music. If we are to create the new systems that
can meet the needs of our people and elevate us to a higher level, music
must play a critical role in their development and implementation.
by Omenka Egwuatu Nwa-Ikenga
