THE VILLAGE LIFE

I WANT TO RETURN TO THE VILLAGE


Welcome to village life. I am going to talk about life in a typical village in Igboland of old and not compromised modern village where things have been made to stand on their heads. A typical village resembles one another in appearance, vegetation, occupation, economic trees, domestic animals and even buildings. When travelling, you may not know when you move from one town to another except by name because they look alike. It does not matter whether it is Abatete or Eziowelle in Anambra State, Mbaitolu in Imo state or Izzi in Ebonyi or Amokwe in Enugu state, even Ngwa in Abia state also look similar. Your own village may have changed a lot into a sub-urban and urban center but it remains a village to you when compared to major towns where we have gone to search for better life. The difference is known to all who grew up there.

The glory of the village life has not left me at all and I know that it remains in you too. Though many may think that living in the village is a sign of being local, poor or not being civilized, the truth remains that the village is more glorious than the township except in wealth and opulence. There may not be so much money circulating there or good roads or electricity or wonderful modern facilities but it remains what it is. The village is our root, the location to find our parents and kith and kin. It is where we go when we want to remember how we began, when we were toddlers and innocent, how we have changed. No matter how you neglect or try to forget it, it is the last place we shall visit when we become motionless, shortly before return to mother earth. In the village, their lifestyle is simple, virgin and they rely mainly on the land and what it could give them. Those who live there may not have any bank account, latest dress or car, not even a big or beautiful house but they are happy and contented with what they have. That is where find native intelligence, tranquility, peace, brotherhood, wisdom, hard work and love dwell. It is our root.



When you live in the village, you do not think about the house rent or expensive meal. It could be just roasted yam or plantain with red oil and salt, vegetable cocoyam, crayfished onugbu soup, or plane oha soup garnish with smelly but desired ogiri and without meat or fish but it can be very sweet. After eating it, you can get not only satisfied but refreshed especially when it was prepared by your own mother, grandmother or that old aunt you visited. A typical village woman can spend one whole month with less than one thousand naira. This is because she does not need to buy everything in the market. In the village, you have many farmlands from where you can collect many things you need for the next meal. These include yam, cassava, cocoyam, breadfruit, pepper, fresh vegetable, palm oil is already in the house. You can even walk down to the stream and hook up with some fresh fish if you are from the riverine. Your neighbor can give fish or salt if you notice that your own has suddenly finished. You can walk into your neighbor’s house and take a cup of fresh palm wine if he is wine tapper and his wife could even serve you fresh breadfruit or roasted yam if she is around. This will help to oil your stomach linen before drinking the palm wine. Remember the Igbo proverb that says that a person who visits the outhouse ‘obi’ without alerting the kitchen ‘mkpuke’ will end up drinking palm wine without oil in the belly. Again, when you are cooking in your house, you do not know how much of the food will eventually get into your stomach because a neighbor of friend may walk in anytime and it is unimaginable that you will eat it without inviting him or her.

In the village, neighborhood relationship is very strong and it is monitored and reinforced by conventions and unwritten expectations. You dare not see your neighbor in the morning without greeting him or not to answer when you are greeted. It is a serious signal that all is not well and he can report you to the extended family or village meeting because of that. It can go to the extent of telling the meeting that ‘my family is in your hands’ and may be called to explain yourself. For a young boy not to greet an elder on the way is a sign of irresponsible parentage and naughtiness on the part of the boy and your parents could be traced. That is after you have been summon, reprimanded, queried or even flogged by the elder. In the township, not to greet anybody is a sign of gentleman and minding your business and if anybody dares to caution your child, he could receive a serious warning alert and a threat.

If there is death in the neighborhood or in the village, man or woman, nobody goes to the market or farm that day as all roads will lead to the bereaved homestead. There, they will use their eyes to do a role call and take note of all the absentees. You must explain why you were not there or they pay you back in your coin when you need them. Some will donate foodstuff and cooked food to the bereaved to entertain far-away guests especially ‘ụmụokpụ’, the returnee women from the village who have to mourn with their kits and kin. This will cushion the stress of the family who lost a dear one. The youths will take up the duty of digging the grave and mounting an emergency exit house for the dead man, ịma akpata. It is these young men will carry the corpse on their head to her father’s house if it is woman. Every person will to sit down in the bereaved house every morning and evening as if he or she has nothing else to do in his own house. This is called ịnọ ọnọdụ or mourning sit out to encourage the mourner. Not to do this can be interpreted that you are not touched by this death or you are rejoicing over the loss. The reaction of the people can only be imagined.

In the village, everybody knows everybody else including what you do for a living, where you live, the type of person you are and the testimonial of your character. He cares to know your in-laws, the number of children you have both boys and girls and how they behave. That is how they know whether you have ‘a person’ or not. That is why some may say, nwoke a enwekwanụ nwa literally meaning that you don’t have a child even when you have many of them but they are not responsible, lazy or naughty. Any stranger that enters the village must be identified immediately by the first or second who met him and may as him whom he is looking for to ascertain his mission. He could quickly raise alarm if he is not satisfied.

In the village a person’s problem is the problem of everybody. There, everybody is a stake holder as there was no social class or rich and poor. A village meeting alert could be issued if a young man beats his mother or father and the wrath of his age mates will unleashed on him as may directed by the elders. He could be ordered to be given thirty-six lashes or be compelled to go and work in the village palm tree plantation for days. When a rainstorm blows off your house or your compound fence, your friends, in-laws and immediate neighbors will gather to fix it for you without charge only that you feed them twice that day with swallow and fresh palm wine to go with it.

To be continued.

From the Village Elder,

Okenye

Ụkọchukwu Osebụrụwa
Igbo Proverbs

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THE VILLAGE LIFE PART 2