In the Igbo traditional "costume", Dawn and dusk greetings/pleasantries hold a deep connection to the Igbo philosophy of life.

In Igbo traditional setting, "Good morning, good night or good afternoon" do not carry the emotionality of "wishing someone a good time" instead it carries the emotionality of a prayer for a certain phenomenon to occur in the sense that the occurance of this phenomenon gives us the assurance of tomorrow. Igbos are naturally spiritual people which is very evident in the concept of Chi.

Good morning is translated as ututuoma in Igbo, which is an anglacized Igbo with English as the origin of definition. But in the traditional setting, the morning greeting in Igbo is "I boola chi?" While the Night version is " ka chi foo" with a response "ka o boo".

Now I want you to understand the words that make up this greeting and the root logic behind the Igbo adoption of it as their mode of greeting.

Chi: Chi in this context, doesn't mean a person's personal god, chi doesn't mean day. Chi in this context means a phenomenon that ought to occur for nature to experience change in the natural process of timing. I boola chi? Literally translates to "have you awoken?" But a word by word breakdown translates to "have you opened chi?" Boola means to open, to uncover or to unearth. When you unearth your chi (the chi phenomenon can also be personal or compound, for instance, a person that couldn't unearth his chi means the person died at night ) , the chi will last from the time of unearthing (that is why you say "chi ka di, chuo ewu ojii mgbe chi ka di, because chi is like the sun that will still fade to rise again) until your chi fades (chi ijii, chi ejiele ?means chi has darkened) after darkening, you say "ka chi foo" which means "may chi grow, or may chi sprout with a response "ka o boo" which translates to "may it unearth" or "may it harvest".

This teaches us the progress our ancestors made in their learning and understanding of timing and how the process of timing affects our daily life. The Igbos believed that the natural process of timing affects a person's day to day life.



Onye odee ihe ogugu bu

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Beautiful

ibksiv:
Beautiful

Thanks onyeishi

PericomaNwankwo:


Thanks onyeishi

I don't know if you are insulting me or not, but I perceive it is a compliment. If it is, then, ALOBAM.

I have always wonder why or how we left our beautiful religion to what we have now

To pray as an Igbo man you have to prove you are clean

If I have killed let me be killed
If I have stolen let my own be stolen
If I have taken another man's thing let my own be taken

Despite the strength of the igbos we never attempted to take any tribe land ...we never conquered anyone ...instead it was through equity and justice that the igbo nation grew

Life and freedom is two things the igbos value ...
U can steal n be forgiven but if u kill that's it ...u won't be killed but banished as igbos never believed in prison

That's why igbos where bad slave ....they committed suicide anyhow than to be slave


When I look at tribes trying to make igbos bow I laugh ...even England it took them 18 years without us being organized ...and it was our acceptance of Christianity that made us accept ...you can never bend an igbo man ...he only bends on his own

ibksiv:


I don't know if you are insulting me or not, but I perceive it is a compliment. If it is, then, ALOBAM.

Lol onyeishi means the master. Ndewoo