slam7000:

quote from htajz,
wow wow wow , igbos people are really shamless people, in this 21st century     the worst part is the way you wash your dirty linen on public forums, you might as well post it on facebook chai , you people should stop posting such depressing topics on public forums, keep you poo to urself yack. now am begining to reason with those yorubas that keep bashing you . nawa oo na so we for dey with una for biafra.
We are proud of who we are, and that includes discussing topics like this,just like female ggeenniittaall mutilation practiced by several cultures,topics like this shld be brought up and discussed,why shld you hide it when you know its there, BTW whats your ethnic group??say it if your are proud of who you are.i dare you to say where you are from.

U must be silly 4 making such a comment. U don't just come here and insult a group of people that make up more than 25% of the Nigerian population. If u don't know anything about the topic shut ur silly mouth and listen, u may learn something nice when u listen. If u don't like the line of discussion then act like the 3 wise monkeys, do no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

well since we cannot identify those who are osu why waste our time on this. if anyone is an osu say it then we know how they look to enable us answer the question.
but for me I wont intentionally give my unborn children a disadvantage.

I see this nonsense in few igbo movies i've seen in the past, so it's true!
All of these villages have Representatives and senators i believe, why can't one of them sponsor a bill to outlaw this discrimination?
We are still backward in Nigeria.

@drnoel, I am right and ur informants are wrong. I have both oral tradition, written history and everyday observation to buttress my position. I go to Arochukwu at least 4 times every year, Easter, Ikeji (New yam) Christmas, New year and at least one burial. I also relate witht the elders because i am from Isiogo (Eziogo) (which means nothing happens without someone from my compound being there) and inspite of western education (which in all modesty i have had a fair share) i am still traditionally inclined, so i can tell you whatthe real truth is. Your uncles either do not know the history or they are trying to hoodwink you into believing the wrong. Which reminds me, the non-Amadis are generally known (not referred to) as Ohu. But it is only the elderly ones that dwell on such topics and it hardly ever comes into play when some decisions are taken. we relate without any distinctions or demarcations save as i had already outlined in my earlier post. If you want further clarifications, please ask and you shall be satisfied.

dayokanu:

[size=18pt]Abeg, Who sabi any correct OSU girl, Pls introduce

INFACT NA OSU I WAN MARRY NOW[/size]

Ifyalways come to my aid

hardbody:

@drnoel, I am right and ur informants are wrong. I have both oral tradition, written history and everyday observation to buttress my position. I go to Arochukwu at least 4 times every year, Easter, Ikeji (New yam) Christmas, New year and at least one burial. I also relate witht the elders because i am from Isiogo (Eziogo) (which means nothing happens without someone from my compound being there) and inspite of western education (which in all modesty i have had a fair share) i am still traditionally inclined, so i can tell you whatthe real truth is. Your uncles either do not know the history or they are trying to hoodwink you into believing the wrong. Which reminds me, the non-Amadis are generally known (not referred to) as Ohu. But it is only the elderly ones that dwell on such topics and it hardly ever comes into play when some decisions are taken. we relate without any distinctions or demarcations save as i had already outlined in my earlier post. If you want further clarifications, please ask and you shall be satisfied.

sure if u have any information pls share.

Whatever.

Its not just about the Ibo's, there is anoda, A christian not marrying a Muslim and vers versa. U all are here talking abt equality of the human Race.Prejudice everywhere mtcheww

I'm grateful that my Ngwa people[b] NEVER[/b] subscribed to this foolish practice(same goes for Aro, all of Ebonyi and many others), and I'm of the opinion that this osu corruption does not mesh well with true Igbo philosophy or omelala. As Nri-priest rightly posited, to cut back on human sacrifices(which many other cultures also did), and as a penalty for some atrocities, people were cast into 'evil forests', perhaps to die there. Those that survived started their own lineages, but for religious reasons could not associate with the rest of society, and those who associated with them were also cast out to join them, and thus the osu caste system was born.
   Now, it would be an anachronism to believe that this is the status quo in Igboland. As far as I know, in the areas where this practice existed, it would take some serious investigation by someone who really cared, to discern who is an Osu or not. Besides, the so-called Osu are hardly some people suffering in one corner of the village that no one cares about, but are usually the most successful ones in the community. While the rest of Igbo society doggedly resisted the arrival of the Europeans, the much maligned Osu were very receptive of the intervention, and quickly got a head start in western education before the rest.
     In addition, Igbo tradition has always been dynamic enough to rid itself or adopt practices as the people see fit for their progress in a changing world. . . .these are people that would routinely get together and rid themselves of a god that did not meet their expectations. There is really no room for this  osu crap in contemporary Igbo society, and for the few Igbo communities where people still care about this, the nonsense needs to stop.  To the question at hand, yes I would gladly marry an Osu. . . give me two sef!!!

@NRI-PRIEST, are you saying there is Osu in Nri or not?

What is the meaning of an osu? Why discriminate?

lol Kc3000

htajz:

thats what am trying to say , with such topics those that dont know might start asking when they could have lived their life not knowing or caring.

Exactly. It's that simple. All this dust-raising does nothing more than re-awaken what is apparently already dead/dying.

sinie:

I totally agree with you chinenye! Really its nt a big deal at all anymore! Infact when you come to villages you don't even know those that are osu s anymore except maybe from their names! ( Names like nwosu or anagor) bt those that their families changed names a long time ago u can't even tell cos there is absolutely no discrimination anymore! So a big yes, I ll marry the one I love, osu or not!

Actually, it would interest you in knowing that even names cannot help in identifying Osu. Names like Nwosu, for instance (I don't know what Anagor is), are not even remotely associated with Osu caste. So there is no way of ever knowing who is Osu, unless you are one of the very few who knows the family lineages well (and those very few are becoming even fewer, sef). Long story short, there is no discrimination, because how can someone discriminate against something he/she cannot even identify?

@Dayo,ask Afam.I've never seen an Osu,dont know how or where to get one either.

Thread finally made the homepage,Hope that keeps the OP's boat floating.Folks just get so bored they open senseless threads.

All the zillion "Osu" threads on here were created by ignorant bored entities.Strange we've not had a thread opened by the "so-called" Osus themselves to give us first hand details of what it feels like to be an Osu.Twa

dayokanu:

Abeg, Who sabi any correct OSU girl, Pls introduce

INFACT NA OSU I WAN MARRY NOW

I knew you'd be on this thread. Lol you are so meek now.

[size=18pt]Afam

I beg you, I dey prostrate, Forgive all my sins of the past

Can you pls introduce me to two correct Osu girls[/size]

Kc3000:

I'm grateful that my Ngwa people[b] NEVER[/b] subscribed to this foolish practice(same goes for Aro, all of Ebonyi and many others), and I'm of the opinion that this osu corruption does not mesh well with true Igbo philosophy or omelala. As Nri-priest rightly posited, to cut back on human sacrifices(which many other cultures also did), and as a penalty for some atrocities, people were cast into 'evil forests', perhaps to die there. Those that survived started their own lineages, but for religious reasons could not associate with the rest of society, and those who associated with them were also cast out to join them, and thus the osu caste system was born.
   Now, it would be an anachronism to believe that this is the status quo in Igboland. As far as I know, in the areas where this practice existed, it would take some serious investigation by someone who really cared, to discern who is an Osu or not. Besides, the so-called Osu are hardly some people suffering in one corner of the village that no one cares about, but are usually the most successful ones in the community. While the rest of Igbo society doggedly resisted the arrival of the Europeans, the much maligned Osu were very receptive of the intervention, and quickly got a head start in western education before the rest.
     In addition, Igbo tradition has always been dynamic enough to rid itself or adopt practices as the people see fit for their progress in a changing world. These are people that would routinely get together and rid themselves of a god that did not meet their expectations. There is really no room for this  osu crap in contemporary Igbo society, and for the few Igbo communities where people still care about this, the nonsense needs to stop.  To the question at hand, yes I would gladly marry an Osu. . . give me two sef!!!

@NRI-PRIEST, are you saying there is Osu in Nri or not?

They were osus in Nri but am not sure if they still exist up to today,however,I am not directly from todays Nri but UMUOKODU(NKPOR,ABATETE AND UMUOJI) are decendants of Nri. Point is that ppl from Nri of today might have more knowledge of the present condition than me. But osu is still very much alive today but ppl are beginning to mingle and make friends with them but the marriage line is still very tough to cross. . . Once a time a very popular musician from there started dating a very beautiful non-osu  chic buh ol'boy hell let loose when he decided to marry her. . .her family completely disowned her but they eloped and got married in the north. . .The guy himself said nobody will stop him from marrying the chic because he is a bonafide NWAFOR !! well,some said he has some serious juju!!

@Ify
I don't know what exactly your problem is. Why do you think I opened this thread just to jerk off. This is a serious matter that needs urgent attention. OSU and OHU exist. Stop pretending like they're fictional. They do exist.

I will marry an osu.

My grand dad once asked me this question a month before he died.

I replied him saying "that will even increase the likelihood of me marrying the girl"

He did not utter a word thereafter and the discussion ended there

ifyalways:

@Dayo,ask Afam.I've never seen an Osu,dont know how or where to get one either.

Thread finally made the homepage,Hope that keeps the OP's boat floating.Folks just get so bored they open senseless threads.

All the zillion "Osu" threads on here were created by ignorant bored entities.[b]Strange we've not had a thread opened by the "so-called" Osus themselves to give us first hand details of what it feels like to be an Osu.[/b]Twa

Thank you.

Kc3000:

I'm grateful that my Ngwa people[b] NEVER[/b] subscribed to this foolish practice(same goes for Aro, all of Ebonyi and many others), and I'm of the opinion that this osu corruption does not mesh well with true Igbo philosophy or omelala. As Nri-priest rightly posited, to cut back on human sacrifices(which many other cultures also did), and as a penalty for some atrocities, people were cast into 'evil forests', perhaps to die there. Those that survived started their own lineages, but for religious reasons could not associate with the rest of society, and those who associated with them were also cast out to join them, and thus the osu caste system was born.
   Now, it would be an anachronism to believe that this is the status quo in Igboland. As far as I know, in the areas where this practice existed, it would take some serious investigation by someone who really cared, to discern who is an Osu or not. Besides, the so-called Osu are hardly some people suffering in one corner of the village that no one cares about, but are usually the most successful ones in the community. While the rest of Igbo society doggedly resisted the arrival of the Europeans, the much maligned Osu were very receptive of the intervention, and quickly got a head start in western education before the rest.
     In addition, Igbo tradition has always been dynamic enough to rid itself or adopt practices as the people see fit for their progress in a changing world. These are people that would routinely get together and rid themselves of a god that did not meet their expectations. There is really no room for this  osu crap in contemporary Igbo society, and for the few Igbo communities where people still care about this, the nonsense needs to stop.  To the question at hand, yes I would gladly marry an Osu. . . give me two sef!!!

@NRI-PRIEST, are you saying there is Osu in Nri or not?

They were osus in Nri but am not sure if they still exist up to today,however,I am not directly from todays Nri but UMUOKODU(NKPOR,ABATETE AND UMUOJI) are decendants of Nri. Point is that ppl from Nri of today might have more knowledge of the present condition than me. But osu is still very much alive today but ppl are beginning to mingle and make friends with them but the marriage line is still very tough to cross. . . Once a time a very popular musician from there started dating a very beautiful non-osu  chic buh ol'boy hell let loose when he decided to marry her. . .her family completely disowned her but they eloped and got married in the north. . .The guy himself said nobody will stop him from marrying the chic because he is a bonafide NWAFOR !! well,some said he has some serious juju!!
BUT YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT OSU WASNT PRACTICED BY MOST EASTERN AND SOUTHERN IGBO CLANS WHILE THE SLAVE TRADE WAS DECLARED ABOMINATION BY THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN IGBOS CHAMPIONED BY NRI KINGDOM!! so, nobody holy pass!!

Ghali,

Geeze Lois,

Now I see why Nigeria is still a THIRD WORLD NATION and probably will always be,

This issue about Osu has nothing to do with civilization. If you are civilized, go and marry as an example to others

Ecalos:

Ghali,

Geeze Lois,

Now I see why Nigeria is still a THIRD WORLD NATION and probably will always be,

Firstly,I will like you to tell me where you are from before we continue.
I notice most ppl come to critise the Igbos are too scared to reveal their identity. . .haha. . .COWARDS!!

Although a blessed Yoruba woman, I'd do/MARRY an Osu (whatever the Bleep that is in this age and time).

Like they say, Yorubaland is at the center of civilization.

In fact, Igbos should even thank the osu's for our European-styled sophistication.

Osu's and Ohu's being an outcast are the 1st to embrace western culture.

When most of our fore-father's are resisting modernization.

They are the first to embrace western education.

They are they first to embrace Christianity.

My grandfather once told me a story of one Bishop Okagbue who was an ohu from Abatete(not so sure), bought/adopted by Okagbue family of Onitsha. Then donated to the church as a cathechist where he arose to become a bishop.

Osu's are one of the richest group in Igboland.

Osu's are one of the most enlightened group in Igboland,

Osu's are the first to reject the bad aspect of Igbo culture.

Osu's opened the eyes of Igbos to the merits of western modernization.

Without Osu's, Igbo's would have been as backward as the north.

My grandfather once told me a story of when he wanted to marry into the Osuji Njemanze Royal family of Owerri. But dropped the idea after strong resistance from his mother based on osu caste system.

In my town in Anambra, there is no discrimination based on osu caste system. But the issue gets unearthed during marriage rites. That's why marriage by the so-called osu daughter's are always impromtu. Inorder not to give room for bad belle people to pour sand into garri. But at Ozubulu and Oraifite, the discrimination is palpable. They see it as taboo for u to walk down the street with a daughter from the so-called osu family.

In Ozubulu, the area populated by the osu's are the most developed, rich and high class neighbourhood.

Our continual practice of osu caste system is dealing a blow to the issue of internal cohesion. My uncles complain of saboteurs during the civil war and Igbos acting as agents to the Gowon govt. But none of them has bordered to ask about the motivation behind their actions. I believe that the discrimination based on this ill-defined caste system called osu played a major role.

I warn Igbos and I warn umunnem again that if we don't abolish the osu caste system in Igboland. We will continue to have an army of saboteurs within u that are willing to sabotage our collective effort.

I commend Igwe Orizu of Nnewi for setting the precedence in abolishing the osu caste system in Igboland.

I enjoin the State assemblies and Ohaneze socio-cultural group to abolish the practice in the whole of Igboland.

Ukpana okpoko gburu, nti chiri ya

In fact, Igbos should even thank the osu's for our European-styled sophistication.

Arent Igbos also Osu? Abi, are they not the same ethnicity?

So Igbos (Osu) should thank "OSu" for their fast embrace of the Western culture or else they'd still be running after bushbabies with their leaf/grass clothing abi?

My close friend is married to an Osu girl from Imo state.
They are still living with 3 correct pikin.

F0rk Osu or whatever it is associated with it.

I had an Osu gf but we broke up not because of her been an Osu but on mutual consent. One funny thing be say we no even dey practice am for my village.
I can count up to 9 people wey get osu as husband or wife for my village.

Nothing do them, one self con be grandparent self after his son give his gf belle.  

Fork you all who look down on osu people.
You f0rking discriminate! BastardDS!
No apologies!

It is very funny say na these set of s/hediots go marry other people from other countries come their house wey dem no even no their background or family history.

Anyone calling the Osu issue things like bygone,irrelevant and uncivilized, are way off the mark. Not only do you display a staggering ignorance of history and culture you also belittle the people whose everyday lives are being tarnished by the stigma.

Love it or loathe it,the Osu matter is alive and well in Iboland,FACT!! Now do i think any man or woman should be stigmatised for something their forefathers allegedly did? Certainly not! As Martin Luther King said people should be judged by the content of their character. However that is not the issue here,the issue is WILL YOU MARRY AN OSU?.

Before you even think of answering that question,take a step back and analysis what marriage entails between Ibos in Iboland.(Specifically Imo State per d Osu thing). You have to have balls of steel and incredibly thick skin,because you are about to enter a public relations storm of the like you've never seen. And even if you love that your partner greatly,have you considered the disadvantage in which you'd be putting your offsprings?

I personally know an "Osu" who had to marry outside of the tribe because of these matters. I think it sad and wrong, but what i and you think, means absolutely nothing in the face of centuries worth of Ibo history.

Unless you intend to live out your days in foreign soil and severe all family links there ain't much choice in the matter. It isn't fair,but when have you known life to be fair

people no get brain these days. problem occurs when people dey think packs.

while most people personally may not have anything against Osu, they will practice am because the unwritten rule no be gone from the past. it is also the case of parents/elders hammer their kids with propaganda against Osu people.

all in all, as people start marry Osu, people will start to accept, but it takes a strong individual to go against society. i feel sad oo, for people who still practice this. i hope someday stupid thinking like this will go away. and yes, if the opportunity was there, i would not hesitate to marry an Osu or any other person for dat matter.

[b]Historical records also have it that late Nnamdi Azikiwe fought vehemently against the Osu caste system as he told members of the defunct Eastern House of Assembly on March 20, 1956 that, “it is devilish and most uncharitable to brand any human being with a label of inferiority, due to the accidents of history”. While seconding the motion for the second reading of the abolition of the Osu caste system, the late Owelle of Onitsha noted, “The objects and reasons for the bill are humanitarian and altruistic.” According to Zik, “The bill seeks to abolish the Osu system and its allied practices including the Oru or Ohu system, to prescribe punishment for their continued practice, and to remove certain social disabilities caused by the enforcement of the Osu and its allied system.

“I will not join in the encouragement of a system of society where one stratum can superciliously claim to be descended from the best brain and would therefore consign the others to a scrap heap of their own invention and ostracize them socially”, he added. But, why has Osu caste system continued to exist in Igboland despite the fact that it was abolished by the Zik government? Are the proponents of the Osu caste ignorant of the Abolition of Slavery Act of 1806 and the Magna Carta of 1215? To non-Igbos, the story that an Igbo stock is treated as a social pariah in Igboland sounds strange, particularly in the 21st century. Even during the late Dr Sam Mbakwe government in Imo State, the civilian regime of Nigeria Peoples Party ( NPP) banned the Osu caste system but the law did not prevent the existence of the savage custom.

Defiant as some could be, a spinster from Enugu State, who simply gave her name as Nkechi, said she would never marry an Osu even at gun point, stressing that she preferred remaining single to living with an Osu as husband and wife. “I do not care if I remain single all my life instead of me marrying an Osu. I cannot stand the humiliation in my village. No matter how wealthy an Osu could be, I will not marry him. It is an abomination in my village to go out with Osu as friends, how much more to talk of going to the altar with him”, she stated. As a matter of fact, eastern government at various times in the past had tried to use legislation and sometimes, coercion, to abolish the Osu caste system. Apart from the Mbakwe regime, late Air Commodore Emeka Omeruah while serving as the military governor of old Anambra State moved against the Efuru deities in Ukehe in Igbo-etiti Local Government Area, destroying the shrines with bulldozer.

But the irony of it all is that the people referred to as Osu flourish in business and politics to the extent that some of them occupy exalted positions in government as governors, commissioners and permanent secretaries, to mention but a few. Interestingly, in Arochukwu, the traditional base of the slave merchants of the old, the issue of Osu caste system is not well pronounced as both the Amadis (freeborn) and the non-Amadis (settlers) inter-marry and live together. Mr. Chris Oji, a journalist, said that Aros, however, only allow Amadis to be in-charge of their ancestral deity at Arochukwu known as “Ibinukpabi” otherwise called “Long juju” by the white man.
[/b]
[b]According to Oji, the Aros during the slave trade went into the evil forest at Arochukwu to “liberate” the Osus who were thrown away to die for alleged capital offence. They were subsequently sold into slavery. “ The intelligent ones were sent back to their communities and planted as surrogates to serve the interest of the Aros, especially in slave trading. Today, the Aros are scattered all over the eastern states and even beyond the Igbo enclave”, he added. ST learnt that many traditional rulers in Igbo land also shy away from discussing openly the issue of Osu caste system as they regard it as a matter that could create disaffection in their domains.

A paramount ruler in Enugu-Ezike, Igwe Simeon Itodo, who did not talk much on the caste system, told ST that Osu system should be rejected and cast to the dust bin of history as all men are equal before God. Barrister Celestine Abugu, a law teacher at the University of Abuja, wondered why wherever issues of segregation around the world are discussed at international level, the Osu caste system in Igboland is never mentioned. Abugu who hails from Amachalla, Enugu-Ezike in Igbo-eze Local Government Area of Enugu State, described the Osu caste system as not only dehumanizing but outdated and should be discarded by every right thinking member of the society.

Will the indigenous traditionalists allow the Osu caste system give room to a civilized way of life? The Igbo traditional beliefs, no doubt, have some positive influence on the culture and social lives of the people, but, the truth is that Ndigbo needs a rebirth in this millennium. [/b]

@NRI PRIEST, thank u jare. No mind dem!

@afam4eva, i taya o! Civilised freaks indeed. Lol

Is the Jewish linage in igbos DNA if you look at the Jews,they have the same segregation in their culture they see Arab Jews as inferior too but when it comes to war they all remember that they are all descendant of Abraham and fight their enemies,but in this case osu/ohu should be abolish totally, it doesn't  make any sense to us to our ancestors it might but they are gone,part of civilization is to let go the old rules or abolish it cus as time goes on our own children will end up not understanding the reason behind it as most of us don't.

So whats the sense of it? i know for sure that this stigma will die off cus our generation don't care anymore the older generation knows that and they are now even relax on that issue, cus i believe they themselves can see their is no reason for it to continue.

All the pretty igbo girls i have banged O boy when the blood is hot OSU na last thing for your mind abeg leave that side ehehehehehehehe  like i said may be i don become one because i don slam enough chicks

Oh no! Not again!