I'm sorry for not putting up posts for the past few days. I have been unavoidably unable to use the internet as I have been at my village and the cell reception there is too weak to do anything with except make calls and send messages.(NCC what's up now?) But I'm back now.
And I'm glad I took this week to relax in the village! It has been almost eleven years since the last time I made it to the village and that was with my family and under sad circumstances. But this time, I went on my own and under better circumstances.
I arrived at the best time possible as lots of people had left the village for their homes, both in and out of Nigeria, and most of the celebrations were yet to begin. After visiting and catching up with everyone I knew, I went on to do almost all the things that villagers do. I ate every kind of food available, went to the stream, went visiting with relatives... Best of all? I spent some time with my grandma who, in her old age, insisted on cooking for me, and even packed somethings up for me to travel with. She took such good care of me, I felt bad I had not been visiting her as much as I should have. That has got to change!
Anyway, one of the major events that took place during the time I was at the village was an event my people call 'Igba Ekpe'. The Ohafia people and people of some other parts of the Igbo-speaking states of Nigeria call it 'Igboto mma'. It is the same event, just called different names in different places. Control or government of the ancient Igboland was mainly by age-grades and family-heads. At a certain age, members of the oldest age-grade are considered too old to be in such age-grade and eligible to be considered as elders. Hence, the Igba Ekpe/Igboto Mma ceremony, which is a sort of passing-out or graduation ceremony for those members of the oldest age-grade and those who consider themselves old enough to not be identified with any age-grade to be considered as elders. The ceremony which takes a number of months, if not years, to prepare for runs through a number of days, usually a minimum of 2 days. The ceremony is marked with lots of food, music, dance, and extravagant show of clothes, shoes, and jewelries.
Traditionally, a masquerade, the Ekpe, which is usually a member of the age-grade dressed up as a masquerade, dances around the village square. Afterwards, he is given a machete which he ought to use, with just one strike, to cut the head of a goat that has been brought for that reason off. If the person who has been dressed up as a masquerade does this successfully, the 'new elders' can proudly call themselves elders, celebrate, and dance around the village. But if he fails to cut the head off the goat, he has to go in shame and refund every money that everyone had spent in preparation for the ceremony. In recent times, as a result of the growth of Christianity in Nigeria, some people, rather than participate in the traditional festivities, choose to go to church for thanksgiving, in celebration of their lives and growth.
Whichever way one chooses to go about it, whether traditional or Christianity, the bottom line and reason for the ceremony is the celebration of the life of a person while the person is alive, before the celebration of the life of that person by his loved ones at his funeral. So, regardless of the culture and/or religion of a person, the attitude of being thankful for life and celebrating life is not to be overlooked. Life is worth relishing, celebrating, and being thankful for.
P.s: Whenever you can, try visiting any of the villages in the Igbo-speaking states of Nigeria, especially Abia State, to experience this ceremony for yourself. Best to go with friends and/or family from that part. You will be thrilled!!
- The Lady
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:”
Psalms 103:2
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