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The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land - Culture (3) - Nairaland

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Osu(out Cast) And Real Born In Igbo Land Discrimination / Origin Of The Osu Caste System? / Let's End The 'Osu' Problem (2) (3) (4)

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by rhymz(m): 9:40pm On Apr 22, 2010
The people of Umuaka community in Imo State , Nigeria , categorize one of their ten villages Osu. Other minor lower caste groups found in many kindred are given the pejorative Igbo expression of ndi ejiri goro ihe, meaning those who are sacrificial lamb to the gods. They are slaves to the gods of the community and kindred. As is the case in Umuode in Oruku community, the discrimination of the Diala against the Osu in Umuaka affects marriage and relationships of love with the Osu and the rest of the community. The Diala is traditionally and socially abhorred and forbidden to marry an Osu; intermarriage with Osu is an abomination. In the late 1980s, the Osu people in Umuaka revolted, as they could not take the humiliation from the Diala any more. They physically assaulted a couple of women from the Diala section of the community, with the intention of transforming the women to Osu so that the Diala would reject them. It has been noted in the preceding sections that the Diala interact less with or avoids the Osu completely. In some communities in Igboland an Osu is regarded as a worthless human being. As Chinua Achebe, in Things Fall Apart, notes, a conversation, which ensued over the question of admitting outcasts to a local little church in the village of Mbanta, between Mr. Kiaga, a missionary teacher, and one of the converts, the Osu is: a person dedicated to a god, a thing set apart – a taboo forever and his children after him. He could neither marry nor be married by the freeborn. He was, in fact, an outcast, living in a special area of the village, close to the Great Shrine. Wherever he went, he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste – long, tangled dirty hair.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by ChinenyeN(m): 9:48pm On Apr 22, 2010
First thing's first. . . source?

rhymz:

The discriminatory Osu practices involves inequality in freedom of movement and choice of residence, inequality in the right of peaceful association, inequality in the enjoyment of the right to marry and establish a family, (and) inequality in access to public office.
All of the above, I have yet to see happen as a norm. As I stated before, nowadays, the Osu interact and associate without a doubt. Seamless integration has been going on since. What you've posted seems like old news, mainly being based off old documents about remote areas where the practice is heavily institutionalized and enforced.

rhymz:

The people of Umuaka community in Imo State , Nigeria , categorize one of their ten villages Osu. Other minor lower caste groups found in many kindred are given the pejorative Igbo expression of ndi ejiri goro ihe, meaning those who are sacrificial lamb to the gods. They are slaves to the gods of the community and kindred. As is the case in Umuode in Oruku community, the discrimination of the Diala against the Osu in Umuaka affects marriage and relationships of love with the Osu and the rest of the community. The Diala is traditionally and socially abhorred and forbidden to marry an Osu; intermarriage with Osu is an abomination. In the late 1980s, the Osu people in Umuaka revolted, as they could not take the humiliation from the Diala any more. They physically assaulted a couple of women from the Diala section of the community, with the intention of transforming the women to Osu so that the Diala would reject them. It has been noted in the preceding sections that the Diala interact less with or avoids the Osu completely. In some communities in Igboland an Osu is regarded as a worthless human being. As Chinua Achebe, in Things Fall Apart, notes, a conversation, which ensued over the question of admitting outcasts to a local little church in the village of Mbanta, between Mr. Kiaga, a missionary teacher, and one of the converts, the Osu is: a person dedicated to a god, a thing set apart – a taboo forever and his children after him. He could neither marry nor be married by the freeborn. He was, in fact, an outcast, living in a special area of the village, close to the Great Shrine. Wherever he went, he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste – long, tangled dirty hair.
All isolated incidents of places where the practice seems to be heavily institutionalized and enforced (reference my #5, where I accounted for such an occurance). So how does that qualify as the stamp to label the rest of Igbo?
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by ifyalways(f): 10:05pm On Apr 22, 2010
I'm rather surprised ppl are still discussing abt Osu caste system in this day and age` shocked grin
People,the Osu caste system has fizzled out and 'almost' died in Igboland,lets leave it to RIP.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by ChinenyeN(m): 10:18pm On Apr 22, 2010
Daa Ify, that's what we're telling them.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by rhymz(m): 10:55pm On Apr 22, 2010
@Chinenye
I intentionally had to paste this article to make U understand the gravity of Ur arguement that it is not a problem. Although, I agree with U that these days, they are not as stigmatized as they were back in the old days.But U cant honestly argue that it is not a problem that a person is refused marriage and discriminated against not based on the content of his character but based on some weird superstitous religeous traditional belief he or she didn't even know about? Your arguement is biase and i find it self-delusional that U think all is well with a system that sweeps serious issues under the carpet of pretense and move on like all is well. . This makes me want to ask U, since U dont think it is a problem in igboland, would U go against the threat of being Ostracized by Ur kit and kins and marry an Osu woman? I want to believe U wont see the stigma and ostracism as problems. Fact is, a lot of igbo youths are ready to marry osu or non-osu as long as the osus are going to be given thesame consideration as the so-called Diala. Until that happens, my brother, the existence of Osu caste system is a big slap across the face of every right thinking igbo youth who seek for justice, equal right and equal opportunity in life. I rest My Case. . .

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by ChinenyeN(m): 2:30am On Apr 23, 2010
I guess that's essentially where we differ then, Rhymz. You, and many others, still think it's a "problem", while I, and many others, simply don't see it that way (and with good cause). We both though do agree that there is no Osu oppression, and that the Osu are well-integrated into society, right? Or am I misunderstanding where you're coming from?
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by Abagworo(m): 6:49am On Apr 23, 2010
rhymz:

@Chinenye
I intentionally had to paste this article to make U understand the gravity of your arguement that it is not a problem. Although, I agree with U that these days, they are not as stigmatized as they were back in the old days.But U cant honestly argue that it is not a problem that a person is refused marriage and discriminated against not based on the content of his character but based on some weird superstitous religeous traditional belief he or she didn't even know about? Your arguement is biase and i find it self-delusional that U think all is well with a system that sweeps serious issues under the carpet of pretense and move on like all is well. . This makes me want to ask U, since U dont think it is a problem in igboland, would U go against the threat of being Ostracized by your kit and kins and marry an Osu woman? I want to believe U wont see the stigma and ostracism as problems. Fact is, a lot of igbo youths are ready to marry osu or non-osu as long as the osus are going to be given thesame consideration as the so-called Diala. Until that happens, my brother, the existence of Osu caste system is a big slap across the face of every right thinking igbo youth who seek for justice, equal right and equal opportunity in life. I rest My Case. . .

@bolded.you are so wrong.i have never heard of anybody being denied justice or equal opportunity in life just because of osu.the only thing that brings about the osu issue is just marriage.if i am osu and dialas refuse my hand in marriage,i will just marry a fellow osu and move on.even anambra refuses to marry from imo.do you see that in the same light?solution is to marry from the rest of nigeria minus diala and anambra.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by ChinenyeN(m): 7:07am On Apr 23, 2010
Oh, I didn't even notice that. So Rhymz, you believe that the Osu are being oppressed (something I disagree with entirely)?
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by Mortiple(m): 11:41pm On Apr 23, 2010
Let me start by saying that
I AM FROM MBAITOLI LGA. Coincidentally, my community goes by the name EZIAMA OBIATO. It is NOT in any way related with EZIAMA ORODO. My community and Orodo are among the nine communities that made up MBAITOLI. Both are not far from each other; just separated by Afara Community. Meanwhile there are several towns, villages, communities, etc that go by the name EZIAMA, that are not OSU but may have few families that are ,
Having said that, I have to say that Osu Caste System is still prevalent in most part of Igbo land especially Imo State. Whoever thinks otherwise is ignorant or betterstill has lost touch.
I really sympatise with these people and wish the nonsense can be abolished so soon. Making legislations over the issue, openly condemning it, and such can only do a little. Since many believe it is a spiritual problem, let's think of solving it divinely.

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by dsaynt: 2:05pm On Jul 03, 2011
So coincidentally does any one know of any other community apart from eziama in orodo in imo, umuaka in imo and umuode in enugu state. Or are these the only communities with osu? from what I've heard majority of the communities in the owerri area are osu and until the state government takes action this form of apartied would continue to exist. The fact that osu can't buy land or trade etc can be controlled and helped by the government. its not like in the olden days that land buying etc was strictly on family basis. So over to u government!
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by deadie(m): 2:28pm On Jul 03, 2011
ChinenyeN:

I guess that's essentially where we differ then, Rhymz. You, and many others, still think it's a "problem", while I, and many others, simply don't see it that way (and with good cause). We both though do agree that there is no Osu oppression, and that the Osu are well-integrated into society, right? Or am I misunderstanding where you're coming from?

ChinenyeN:

Oh, I didn't even notice that. So Rhymz, you believe that the Osu are being oppressed (something I disagree with entirely)?

You again, Mr. Osu-promoter. You don't know they are being oppressed and discriminated against? That tells how smart you are.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by ChinenyeN(m): 2:54pm On Jul 03, 2011
haha. . Osu-Promoter, ehnkwa? I don't care about the Osu. That's not my problem. Also, since I don't know who is and isn't Osu, there is no way that I could seriously promote the Osu practice. For all I know, my childhood best friend (still my best friend 'til date) could be Osu, but we do all the things best friends typically do. It's basically like this for almost everybody. Most Osu don't even know that they are Osu. Those uninformed Osu are going about, associating with, dining with, and sleeping with non-Osu. Even now, as we speak, an Osu and non-Osu could be gettin' it on. In short, Osu and non-Osu interact heavily. They do nearly EVERYTHING together. So, come again. . . which oppression and discrimination are your 'oh-so-precious' Osu facing? Abegi.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by Abagworo(m): 5:50pm On Jul 03, 2011
ChinenyeN:

haha. . Osu-Promoter, ehnkwa? I don't care about the Osu. That's not my problem. Also, since I don't know who is and isn't Osu, there is no way that I could seriously promote the Osu practice. For all I know, my childhood best friend (still my best friend 'til date) could be Osu, but we do all the things best friends typically do. It's basically like this for almost everybody. Most Osu don't even know that they are Osu. Those uninformed Osu are going about, associating with, dining with, and sleeping with non-Osu. Even now, as we speak, an Osu and non-Osu could be gettin' it on. In short, Osu and non-Osu interact heavily. They do nearly EVERYTHING together. So, come again. . . which oppression and discrimination are your 'oh-so-precious' Osu facing? Abegi.

That is the exact case scenario until a marriage proposal is made and the Parents go on an enquiry.So the discrimination is basically in marriage.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by chimbuz: 2:57pm On Sep 06, 2011
I am from[b] UBAHAEZE[/b] ORODO in Imo State, I live in Lagos and grew up in Onitsha Anambra State. The issue of Eziama town in Orodo and Osu caste is historical. History has it that their forefather was an Osu thereby making all of them Osu. I also watched that episode on Moments with Moo. Some of the issues raised in that episode were exaggerated and some outright lies. It is also true the whole town is osu but its a topic nobody talks about until when marriage comes up, even then its hushed. That non osu's dont buy from Osu's in the market its a lie. I buy things from Nkwo Orodo market whenever i travel home and nobody has ever told not to buy from any person.

On the fight that occurred, the man that was interviewed on Moments with with MOO programme was economical with the truth. The fight that ensued was not one sided as the man made us to believe. It was between Amaukwu town(my maternal town) and Eziama town. The altercation started when an Amaukwu Orodo man allegedly referred to an Eziama Orodo man as osu at the Nkwo Orodo Market. The man from Eziama reportedto his townsmen and they mercilessly beat up the Amaukwu man, took him to their shrine, stripping him naked and proceeded to forcibly administer some juju oath on him purporting to making him an osu and leaving him almost dead. The incident did not go down well with some youths of Amaukwu town who beat up some of Eziama people. This led to the burning of houses on both towns aided by a retired police man from Eziama who allegedly took active part in the fracas. The moments with moo report was one sided as they did not get the views of people outside Eziama.

Nobody is in support of Osu caste system and it will not stopped by trading blames on fora like this.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by dsaynt: 9:44am On Sep 09, 2011
I always knew that stuff on Moments with Mo was on sided cos they never got inputs from the other parties involved. Anyways It seems that the Osu issue is restricted to a few certain parts of Imo and Enugu states.
Though people generalise a lot e.g. calling all people from Owerri in Imo Osu and Orodo in Imo Osu. As it is, it's only a few villages that are Osu.
The issue is that there is heavy interaction btw everyone till marriage comes up. In Igbo land marriage involves the extended families so even if the couple is okay with it they have to consider their extended family who wouldn't want to become Osu by association.
So therein lies the problem
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by greatpaulo(m): 8:02am On Jun 04, 2013
Sincerely posting, if I should find a girl, and one person come to stop her with the obnoxious claim that she is an osu, my dear, I will go ahead to marry her. I am an Amadi or Diala, but strongly against the osu caste system. People should learn how to tolerate the misfortune of others. That our forefathers were fortunate enough not to suffer what their forefathers suffered does not make them or us superior over them, we are all equal before God.

Calling our brothers osu is barbaric and offenders should be treated as criminals in the society.

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by OdenigboAroli(m): 5:02am On Jun 06, 2013
metal-gong:
@Poster

Do you know the reason why the forefathers of those people were regarded as OSU?

Good question,right there. There is no smoke without fire. By the way we have Osu in Umuoji and no we can't marry from there,eat with them nor socialize with them. Its a serious issue and I don't see it ending soon. It takes a lot before a village decides to banish somoeone and declare them and Osu. For instant a PAEDOPHILE is identified in America and nobody associates with them...Why ? Osu people aren't. Paedophiles but their forefather commited some atrocious and heinous crime that made the town to banish and excommunicate with them. Like when one rapes her blood sister....think of things in that line.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by OdenigboAroli(m): 5:14am On Jun 06, 2013
rhymz: The people of Umuaka community in Imo State , Nigeria , categorize one of their ten villages Osu. Other minor lower caste groups found in many kindred are given the pejorative Igbo expression of ndi ejiri goro ihe, meaning those who are sacrificial lamb to the gods. They are slaves to the gods of the community and kindred. As is the case in Umuode in Oruku community, the discrimination of the Diala against the Osu in Umuaka affects marriage and relationships of love with the Osu and the rest of the community. The Diala is traditionally and socially abhorred and forbidden to marry an Osu; intermarriage with Osu is an abomination. In the late 1980s, the Osu people in Umuaka revolted, as they could not take the humiliation from the Diala any more. They physically assaulted a couple of women from the Diala section of the community, with the intention of transforming the women to Osu so that the Diala would reject them. It has been noted in the preceding sections that the Diala interact less with or avoids the Osu completely. In some communities in Igboland an Osu is regarded as a worthless human being. As Chinua Achebe, in Things Fall Apart, notes, a conversation, which ensued over the question of admitting outcasts to a local little church in the village of Mbanta, between Mr. Kiaga, a missionary teacher, and one of the converts, the Osu is: a person dedicated to a god, a thing set apart – a taboo forever and his children after him. He could neither marry nor be married by the freeborn. He was, in fact, an outcast, living in a special area of the village, close to the Great Shrine. Wherever he went, he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste – long, tangled dirty hair.

some of them were people that commited a very bad act and as such was forsaken and used as a sacrifice to the gods and nobody touches anything that belongs to the gods including but not limited to animals and persons. You are declared and Osu in Umuoji is you stayed in an Osu persons house till cock crow. Its quite unfair but that's how things are just like how PAEDOPHILES are treated in the USA.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by OdenigboAroli(m): 5:17am On Jun 06, 2013
greatpaulo: Sincerely posting, if I should find a girl, and one person come to stop her with the obnoxious claim that she is an osu, my dear, I will go ahead to marry her. I am an Amadi or Diala, but strongly against the osu caste system. People should learn how to tolerate the misfortune of others. That our forefathers were fortunate enough not to suffer what their forefathers suffered does not make them or us superior over them, we are all equal before God.

Calling our brothers osu is barbaric and offenders should be treated as criminals in the society.

Look dude,nobody is stopping you from marrying whoever you like but you will be in that marriage by yourself. Fine if it works for you.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by OdenigboAroli(m): 5:59am On Jun 06, 2013
Today in Umuoji,the only thing we don't probably do with the Osu is marriage. We buy food from them,date them and more but marria remain the line that hasn't been crossed.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by OdenigboAroli(m): 6:04am On Jun 06, 2013
Guyman02: The truth is that our forefathers inadvertently (Dumb) sacrificed the MOST Healthy, Brilliant, Beautiful and Handsome young people to serve the gods in the shrines as Osu (you cant give a deformed item to the gods to avoid their wrath) That means Osus are among the best stocks from the Igbo specie?

ChinenyeN, I want to be proven wrong in my post with constructive argument not telling me its not my problem.
Sonya4all as a good Nigerian is only trying to help you guys out of your STEREOTYPIC upbringings (Pls open up your hearts).

Can I hear you say truthfully that what I have posted are lies. No you cant! I stand by the FACTs. (Nothing funny there)

Igbos can do better by allowing their youths to marry whoever the fall in love with whether Diala or Osu and families must stop deciding whom their children must marry. This is a new millenium, we are no longer in the dark ages whence our forefathers were sacrificing their best kids to the gods as Osu.

Any Igbo person in the house? Please contribute to this thread and save the future of your youths by helping them see themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus and not Diala or Osu.

THANKS

You are very ignorant of this issue.

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by OdenigboAroli(m): 6:29am On Jun 06, 2013
sonya4all: Imagine him, 'defining my culture for me',u talk as if u are the C.E.O of Igbo nigeria ltd,scumbag,@abotean,i and other sons of ika are proud of u,just like in other threads about the ika issue,i have tried but if fell on most block headed igbos chaird by andre. They are trying 2 make matters long.And u knw silence is the best answer to a fool,as to no matter what we say here can change their perceptiom,and for those saying that ika has no oil,i wuld like 2 let u knw that my village umunede is blessed with crude oil,my grand mother and my mother said that it sprang up in their farm and til date dat land is unproductive,also in owa,few years ago oil was discoverd there,so i see no reason why u have 2 keep say that the igbons hav nothing 2 gain fro claiming ika,we knw wat u want,u want to add delta,rivers,edo cros river to ur day dreaming biafra so as to be knwn as a small oil rich nation,any way keep dreaming,ika is not and wil never be igbon(slaves),i had all my education in the east and even wrote igbo in my waec and had a pass,i hav many igbo guys,but dat doesnt make me igbo,talking about ohaneze ndigbo havin people frm ika joining them,i tell that it is a lie,here in aba,we have a meeting for ikas called otu ika,another is O.N.I.A(oshimili,ndokwa,ika and aniocha)meetings,in ph,we have u.p.u.(umunede progresive union)all these stil exist abroad.So ur claims are baseless,i can never be an igbon,IKA FOR EVER.Thanks.@other ika guys i have a thread created at the culture section we can meet there.Nwe ebon.Ika rii nma! Ori ni enyile

You are completely incoherent...lol
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by pazienza(m): 5:49am On Jun 07, 2013
Odenigbo Aroli:

some of them were people that commited a very bad act and as such was forsaken and used as a sacrifice to the gods and nobody touches anything that belongs to the gods including but not limited to animals and persons. You are declared and Osu in Umuoji is you stayed in an Osu persons house till cock crow. Its quite unfair but that's how things are just like how PAEDOPHILES are treated in the USA.

Are u by any means supporting the osu caste system?

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by pazienza(m): 5:55am On Jun 07, 2013
Odenigbo Aroli:

You are very ignorant of this issue.

He is not ignorant of the issue,he is rather seeing it from a different perspective,as an insider who had witnessed the trauma these osu people undergo in issues of the heart,i understand where he is coming from.

Osu caste system is not a family issue,it's an issue every igbo person should be concerned about,for some important reasons.

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by OdenigboAroli(m): 8:12am On Jun 07, 2013
pazienza:

Are u by any means supporting the osu caste system?

Left for me,we should abolish it,for good because the Osu of today are surfering from what they barely know about. And NO I'm not in support of Osu and even back home my family never treated them as such but we have to accept that it exist and the stigmization is still there.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by pazienza(m): 5:11pm On Jun 07, 2013
Odenigbo Aroli:

Left for me,we should abolish it,for good because the Osu of today are surfering from what they barely know about. And NO I'm not in support of Osu and even back home my family never treated them as such but we have to accept that it exist and the stigmization is still there.

Thank you very much. Igboland needs more people like you.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by greatpaulo(m): 6:51am On Jun 09, 2013
I am laughing at those you claiming that the forefathers of the Osu people committed untold atrocities that made them to be banished from the land. Hahahahahahaha... Fools are fast in judging the sins of others without minding theirs. Our girls (the dialas or amadis) commits abortion as if there is nothing wrong about it, and we still accommodate and marry them. Some of our boys are cultists, armed robbers, murderers and serial rapists, yet we do not banish them. The forefathers of the people you call Osu never committed half of the sins you are committing today, and you still claims to be dialas and amadis.

Lets not visit the sin of the forefathers upon the Children. Most the Osus did not commit any crime. Some of them where traded during the slave trade era, some were victim of superstitious believe - those who were banished because of the mysterious death of their parents or siblings.

Some people are dumb fools anyway... You will have sex with the girl you call Osu, nothing will happen to you, but when it comes to marriage, your parents will remind you that it is an abomination to to marry her. WISE UP MY PEOPLE! The more you call them Osu, the more God blesses them with knowledge, wisdom and riches. As far as I'm concerned, we are all one with equal rights and opportunities.

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by ezeagu(m): 1:24pm On Jun 09, 2013
greatpaulo: I am laughing at those you claiming that the forefathers of the Osu people committed untold atrocities that made them to be banished from the land. Hahahahahahaha... Fools are fast in judging the sins of others without minding theirs. Our girls (the dialas or amadis) commits abortion as if there is nothing wrong about it, and we still accommodate and marry them. Some of our boys are cultists, armed robbers, murderers and serial rapists, yet we do not banish them. The forefathers of the people you call Osu never committed half of the sins you are committing today, and you still claims to be dialas and amadis.

First of all abortion isn't a crime. Well if no one sacrifices anyone to Osu anymore then it's pretty obvious why a lot of diala are not Osu after committing crimes. After committing a crime Osu was jsut one of the options which included exile, slavery, and execution. People still get punished today, no?

greatpaulo: WISE UP MY PEOPLE! The more you call them Osu, the more God blesses them with knowledge, wisdom and riches. As far as I'm concerned, we are all one with equal rights and opportunities.

Well, that kind of thinking is why there's a stigma attached to osu in the first place, that their the property of a deity. I don't know what else to say.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by Kenecee(m): 9:42am On Jun 19, 2015
Some of us are very ignorant and we make blind argument. The ugly osu system is very much in existence even though nobody will come out publicly and say it. Branding a fellow human being an osu is not only barbaric but ungodly. I am a full bred igboman a diala for that but I am strongly and vehemently opposing this satanic osu issue.
Our forefathers started this practice out of utter ignorance. It wasn't like this when Igbo people started their lives. The founders of igbo ethnic group did not have osu in their mist. This barbaric system was brought into existent by somebody and it will surely be ended by somebody too. It will be recalled that osu system is not only tradition that was seen as abomination "aru". Killing of twins was also one of them. In today's world one should be thinking of how to advance further and not holding on on some barbaric practice that is rooted deeply in paganism. If we say we are Christian then let us live like a Christian and not half Christian and half pagan.
Normally if we are to follow the issue properly, being in contact with an osu in whichever manner makes u automatically an osu. Now how can we interact with them and refuse to marry them. Are we not deceiving ourselves by doing so. In otherwords we modified the system to suit us or serve our purpose. What a height of self deception!
Most annoying part of it is that even the elites among the dialas are in support of this barbaric system.
Anyway the first black president of America emerged after three hundred and something years. We should not forget that blacks were also stigmatised like osu back in those dark days. They were giving such names as niggers, black monkeys,savages etc just like an osu. But today it is a serious crime for a white man to call a blackman nigger. We are not better than Americans or more civilised than them. Let us not delude ourselves.
If the love of my life happens to be an osu so be it. Time has passed when parents have strong hold in the matters of marriage. Parents should be more concerned on the happiness and love for their children and not enforce some olden days rules upon their children. People should marry cos of love and not cos Of parents desires. cos that is the main cos of many broken homes today. I am so surprise that many people are so blind to se see this.
Funny enof if u ask somebody why do u rejects osu? He will not be able to say a meaningful thing.
Therefore I am calling on all igbos to come out with one voice and denounce this issue.

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by humble4all: 11:13pm On Sep 13, 2015
Abagworo:
i'm from imo state and i know orodo near owerri.the documentary is stage managed and cannot therefore be real.the issue of diala,diali,dieli,diani,diana and osu,ume,ohu,oru,agwu dichotomy is widespread but not as alarming as some people are made to think.the osu issue comes to light mainly if marriage is about to occur.no one knows who is an osu until marriage enquiries is made.the reason for refusal to marry osu in present day is not same as in the past.it is purely a family issue.it is a dying tradition and should therefore be left till it finally phases out.
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Pls my bros and sis kindly advice.Am a student in America and in a serious relationship with a guy I met here in school from owerre nkworji in imo state .AMaegbu precisely while am from anambra.We have been dating for 2yrs and now he has proposed and wishes to officially come and see my people.My family made enquiries and got informed that he is an Osu(outcaste).What rubbish..msthew.However,another source said no that amaegbu has no osu meaning my bf is not one.Pls brothers and sisters am so heartbroken and confused.I do not know why such inhumanity will still be in existence as my family said its a big no that am on my own if I decide to go ahead.Pls any1 who knows the history of amaegbu owerre nkworji should pls say as am bent on marrying him Osu or no osu.
Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by Nobody: 6:34am On Sep 14, 2015
humble4all:
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Pls my bros and sis kindly advice.Am a student in America and in a serious relationship with a guy I met here in school from owerre nkworji in imo state .AMaegbu precisely while am from anambra.We have been dating for 2yrs and now he has proposed and wishes to officially come and see my people.My family made enquiries and got informed that he is an Osu(outcaste).What rubbish..msthew.However,another source said no that amaegbu has no osu meaning my bf is not one.Pls brothers and sisters am so heartbroken and confused.I do not know why such inhumanity will still be in existence as my family said its a big no that am on my own if I decide to go ahead.Pls any1 who knows the history of amaegbu owerre nkworji should pls say as am bent on marrying him Osu or no osu.

I think you've shut the case yourself when you said, "...am bent on marrying him Osu or no osu." So do it. Marry him.

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Re: The Superstition Of The Osu Cast System In Igbo Land by Ostella2: 7:46pm On Aug 15, 2017
Osu is so much in existence and it's a big shame. I have seen relationships broken in this 21st century because the man or girls is osu and the family of the free born said no. I am a free born but just started a movement of the free born s who ready to set them free. Our fathers were unfair to their fathers. This 21st century. It's evil and inhuman. Their forefathers were either stolen, or kidnapped and sold into slavery and osu. No time to tell you the full history here. The UN abolished it but the igboman says no. The Nigerian constitutions stopped it but and igboman says no, the government of the eastern states abolished it 50+ years ago but and igboman still says no, yet we want biafra or restructure. You can't bound a man with one hand and seek for your freedom with one. He that goes to equity should go with clean hands! A more forceful law needs to be enacted. They are not allowed to take chieftency titles too

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