₦airaland Forum

Thank you all for sharing your powerful stories. I am now led to believe this saying: I mee elu mee ala, Igbo ga di.

But come, Maazi GenBuhari, how pikin take learn intimacy?

I was unable to find a decent photo of an ekpe lodge so I decided to illustrate one myself. Sorry for the crudeness, lol.

This is supposed to be a 19th century lodge. Around the 30s, people began using zinc and stone to build these lodges instead of the traditional mud and grass.

This is how people dress in Eastern Igboland. Notice how these boys are either wearing okpu agu or okpu mboko.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdiTZf4wTbk&feature=youtube_gdata_player



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ukeYcIEaY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

NRI PRIEST: I strongly disagree with you. All the Igbo elites wear the red hat except for "Ojukwu". Can you explain that ?

In Abia and southern Ebonyi, the red hat is not regarded highly. Today, what little significance it may hold (if at all any) was spread by "Igbo consciousness": as things like Isi agu spread throughout Igboland, so did the red cap.

However, I must say that people don't usually wear red caps in my side of Igboland. Politicians wear okpu mboko (if they're ekpe members) or okpu agu. My own father, who used to be involved in Abia politics always wore his okpu mboko; I have never seen him wear a red cap.

NRI PRIEST: Nwokem,are you drunk or what? Do you even know the true meaning of the "okpu nmee" ? The hat was orininaly made for the "mburuchis"(apostles of the Nri religion). When you take the "Ozo" you become a holy man just like the "iyom"(for the females). You arent suppose to tell lies,sleep with another man's wife,bear false witness,take your neigbhors land,,kill someone unjustly,stay out late at night,get drunk in the public. Nobody is allowed to whistle at an "Ozo" man's house at night,disrespects him and an "onye Ozo" isnt suppose to engage in a fight. There are many rules that guides the "Ozo" traditions. The "Nze na Ozo" hat is not the only Igbo hat available. You are encouraging the bastardization of our beloved Nri tradition and I will advice you to step away! Obviously,you are very ignorant of the implications of that your stupid suggestion! Go to your Enugu land and create a hat so that all Igbos can wear it! I met a man in a trsditional wedding in Houston who had the red hat on. I approuched him politely and asked him if he is an "onye nze" and to my utmost surprise he doesnt even know what it is but he is wearing an "okpu nmee"! I told him to his face that he has no right to wear that hat if he is not an "onye nze" or an "Igwe" and he was looking at me in a crazy way. I got upset and walked out on him! If anybody wants to wear the red hat they should firstly learn the principle,go to "Agukwu Nri" or any of the "Umunri" towns and we will be more than glad to bestow one on them. My grandfather gave me and my younger brother the "Ozo" title at 18yrs and my greeting name is "Nwadialor" while my kid brother's is "Nwa no na ukpo eze". Do not insult the most holy and sacred "NRI" tradition. Ekeneem unu ncha.

Oke-nmanwu Nwadiani Nri ekwusigo ife melu eme!

On a serious note....
I agree with what that you said. I would have reacted the same way if I saw a non-ekpe member parading an okpu mboko and an ukara wrapper.

The answer to this problem is, as Ezeagu put it, onyenye zawa ava nna ya.

oturugo: . Have you not seen people wearing a neclace with cross yet they are not xtians. Why not go and preach to them.

Lmao

I don't think the bible should be taken literally when discussing the origin of human beings. The bible gives two creation accounts: one detailed and the other not. In the detailed one, the origin of humanity was said to be inbetween the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Mesopotamia). However, science tells us that it's in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.

Not to choose sides, but people shouldn't take the bible word for word because it's purpose is to use stories to explain certain truths. In the Creation Story, the moral was simply that God created man.

I stand solidly behind the statement that the red cap only carries great significance in places where Nze na Ozo (and other titles) are present.

In Igboland, places without title taking are replaced by masquerade societies and in these places, the okpu agu replaces the red cap. However, nowadays, inter-subcultural diffusion has blurred things up; you'll find people wearing okpu agu in Anambra and people wearing red caps in Abia (thereby dilluting the once-stronge cultural significance of these hats).

Abagworo: You are wrong bro. That red hat is kind of universal across Igboland and even into controversial Igbo areas like say Ikwerre. The red cap has respect everywhere but the differences lies in there significance. In much of the Southern Igbo they have "Okpu agu" which I feel is better of as an identity for Igbo than the red cap. The "okpu agu" is generally worn by youths and non-titled men as well.

In Abia state and in southern Ebonyi, reverence for the red cap is virtually non-existent. In southern Imo, people wear the red hat (for lack of a better word) carelessly and do not attribute much significance to it.

The only places where the red hat is strongly regarded are the Nri-Awka cultural zone (Anambra, bits of Imo, part of Enugu) and Delta.

You said you'd prefer the okpu agu to be the Igbo identifier, but remember that the same okpu agu is worn throughout Akwa Ibom and parts of Cross River.

Most of these problems are caused by our own customs officials. These people make it very hard for people to have rest of mind when shipping to Lagos.

A relative of mine, who owns a shipping company, nearly went through hell at the hands of the shipping and clearing agents in Lagos. A few years ago, he shipped a few containers filled with cars and other packages from the US to Lagos for his clients who were planning on using them for Christmas.

The goods were supposed to arrive a few weeks before Christmas and were supposed to be cleared in a few days, however that didn't happen. Even though he paid his clearing agent (and other port officials), they purposefully used the money for their own enjoyment. In a short time, my relatives clients started hassling him
because they hadn't recieved their goods. When he called his clearing agent, the guy would tell him that he was in the process of clearing the goods (this happened for nearly two weeks).

Finally, my relative was forced to fly to Nigeria and see how things were going. Upon arriving at the warf, he discovered that his agents had squandered the millions of Naira he had given them and, without haste, he had them arrested.

It is things like this that deter many from shipping to Nigeria (and especially Lagos).

OP

Not all Igbo communities partake in Nze na Ozo or title taking. The red hat's significance is negligible in Abia, Rivers, Ebonyi, parts of Enugu, and in most of Imo.

O'boy, at first this was amusing and interesting, but now it's just annoying. There are some things that you wrote which people might easily take offense to.

Don't talk so much about you're not familiar with.

Ekwuom o gwu. Mkpuru okwu olu zuuru ndi nwe ako n'uche.

walcolm: YES, being a christian means you cannot worship other gods unless deep down inside you, you never really believed in the God of the Christian faith and you were only doing it because your mum said you should follow her to church

Chai chineke mee .

When did I ever say anything about worshipping other gods?

Let me explain further. These masquerade societies are cherished by all in my hometown (Christians and pagans alike). I have relatives who are now clergymen and women who enjoyed watching these masquerades in their youth. I also have relatives who are members of these societies but are still strong Christians.

What I'm concerned about is the ignorance people display when they automatically label anything remotely related to their tradition as evil.

In the end, it all depends on one's relationship with his God.

Abasi mbok!

How now?

rgp922: Why do you keep banning me??!!! This is the third times today! and please, stop hiding my post omg this is getting on my nervs

/RAGE!!!!

You were banned by the spambot which confused your post as spam.

FACE, Abouzaid, and Eziachi thank you all very much for your contributions.

Our joy is that we have come back stronger than we were before and, off course, we are all alive.

Mazi Eziachi, I must salute you for your service. Thank you.

tpia@:
theory: thread is for easterners.

fact: this is a public forum so anybody will post.


interpret those two sentences.

Threads such as these do not require your presence. If you don't like what you see, simply click back and move on.

Kobojunkie: The way we rationalize? the way we tolerate others around us? Are you suggesting that the high levels of racism in Africa is CULTURAL?

I never in any way hinted to this.

Bekee melu anyi ife.

Nice thread, Ezeagu.

Ekpe Lodges

In pre-colonial times, Ekpe lodges were one of the most important buildings that existed in Eastern Igbo communities. They were situated at the heart of villages and were symbols of autonomy. Once a village had an Ekpe ledge, it was considered autonomous since the presence of the lodge suggested that it was capable of governing itself.

The lodges were centers of government, learning, and diplomacy. Within them, court cases, communal affairs, law legislation, and diplomacy were discussed. It was forbidden for non-Ekpe members to enter them (especially women and children). Even during European colonization, Ekpe lodges were used as temporary government houses until permanent structures were built. Nowadays, they are still significant because Ekpe members still gather within them.

The lodges were built with mud bricks and their exterior walls were decorated with Nsibiri ideograms. Their roofs were made of raffia palms and grass roots.

I will post a picture of an Ekpe lodge soon.

emmatok: Well, there is noting wrong about partaking in our tradition and cultural heritage.

But what Christianity is against is IDOL-WORSHIPING of any form.

Exactly.

inwu enwu - shining; glowing; incandescence.

icha acha - shining; glowing; incandescence.

I respect you guys' opinions, but I must say that some of you have wholly misunderstood the purpose of tradition.

There is nothing evil in tradition, masquerades, or masquerade societies. In the pre-colonial days, masquerade societies were used to keep order and law within the communities they existed (such as the egwugwu masquerade of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart). However, Christianity has given many the false impression that anything practiced by Africans before the advent of Europeans is evil and this is what I'm worried about.

The Ekpe/Okonko masquerade societies are simply socio-political tools used to keep law and order. The Ekpo masquerade is simply a masquerade in which we, the living, use to celebrate and remember the spirits of our ancestors. All of these things formed the backbone of our cultural identities centuries prior to the coming of the Europeans. I never said that I am worshipping an idol, nor did I say I am going to become a native doctor; I am still a Christian (a Catholic for that matter).

I sincerely dislike when people portray culture/tradition as devil-worshipping because it shows true ignorance on their part.

ChinenyeN: So essentially, a noun equivalent for labor would be pointless.

Exactly.

To the best of my knowledge, the word oru is used to express the idea of work in all degrees.

However I do know of the following terms in my dialect:

ita avuvu - to suffer.
ivaka nvaka - to try hard; to endeavor; to toil.

In other dialects, these:

igba mbo: to try hard; endavor.
igbali mgbali: to endeavor.

ChinenyeN: I know the word, in the Ngwa-Etche axis. I was just curious to see if others could think it up, either in their tongue or Izugbe(and if not, come up with something new). Anyway, I guess we can move on from that.

How about labor (not the same connotation as "work")?

I wish this topic had more activity though.

Could you define this particular sense of labor?