Written by Egwuibe Mike with contribution from Dr. Achonna A. Umunna
Preamble
My Community is rich in culture.
The progenitor, Oboro who begat Ebule among others, left his brother Bendi (at so-and-so place) in search of independence, honour and greener pastures and that was how he came to this place to found a distinct clan, Ogbuebulle. Oboro was a hunter of great repute and often veered into animal husbandry tending sheep, goat and cattle, even as he cultivated crops, especially yam. He was a ‘much travelled’ man on account of his hunting expeditions, and as he traversed many lands, he picked some of the cultures of the host communities, which he integrated into his own, and they all became part of the cultural heritage of our land today.
It is sad that many of these values, experiences, beliefs, and worthy practices, handed over from generation to generation, are being relegated to the background to point of becoming extinct. Our distinct language is gone. Not even a single word of xyz tongue is heard anywhere again in Ogbuebulle. Nobody now remembers the wrestling contests for which our great warriors were known -the leopard-style hold, the lock, the throw, the jump and leap, that distinguished De Nwamba (of blessed memory) from the pack, are all but forgotten. The interior decor that made our women the envy of other communities, especially during the Afo Amaghi Onuma festivals, can hardly be reenacted by any of our women folks today. The traditional architecture deployed in building, as well as the intricate moves and steps associated with edere dance, are now some remote history. Indeed, we are on the verge of losing our collective identity as a people, no thanks to that acculturation called modernization.
This article is an attempt to recapture one of our varnishing cultural practices called “Ibo Uzo”. Literally, this means Clearing or Weeding of Pathways (or footpaths).
The Town Crier
“Ko-kom, ko-ko-kom, ko-kom, ko-kom” – the familiar sound of the Town Crier’s gong rang out with an ominous urgency, piercing the silent moonless night. “Geenu nti o” meaning, listen attentively to me. And the town-crier began his message:,
“I have been directed to announce that:
Nke mbu, (first) – On the next Afo-Nta market day, there will be clearing of all the footpaths in the village. All those from Umu Nka Age Grade to Ikemba Age Grade are expected to answer this call. Also, men who have attained the age of manhood or age of puberty and women who have seen their flower, and are not married, must also come out. Nobody is excluded from this announcement including foreigners living in our land.
“Secondly, all men should come with their machetes and shovels while the women should come with their hoes.
”Thirdly, all mothers should prepare one plate of eba and a bowl of soup while the men should bring half jar of palm-wine. All these must be brought to the Children Sunday School hall of the Methodist Church by 2pm.
“Fourthly, all those concerned shall gather at Ahia Nma by 7.00am.
“Lastly, any youth who fails to come out shall pay a fine equal to twice the sum of the prevailing daily wage for working at the farmland. Any man who fails to bring his half a jar of palm-wine shall pay a fine equal to twice the prevailing cost of a jar of palm-wine while mothers who fail to bring the required eba shall be fined the equivalent of a daily wage.
This announcement has been approved by the Council of Elders. Anyone who does otherwise does so at his own risk. The wrath of the laws of our land shall be fully visited on offenders. Do not say, you have not been warned. “Onye Ugbo gburu, O bu Nti chiri ya; Agwa Nti ma-onughi, egburu Isi, Nti esoro ya”.
Ko-kom, ko-kom – the gong again is sounded, signaling end of message.
In Ogbuebule, the voice of the town-crier identifies the target audience of any information. Messages meant for each segment of the community – the men as well as the women have separate town-criers bearing their distinct gongs, even if the sound of the gongs are not clearly distinguishable. Once the town-crier is seen, the target for the message is already known. The audience youth being defined by chronological age (as determinable in growth and maturity such as puberty) and the age grade they belong to. For the women, their marital status is additionally used.
“Dindu, did you hear what the Town Crier said”, Nmafo asked her son, who had run out to listen to the town-crier. It was normal for children to troop out once the sound of the gong is heard. Mothers and guardians made sure of that. It was like as we have it in the University today; ignore the notice board at your own academic peril: Every fresher learns to watch out for information on the departmental/faculty notice board as failure to do so could mean failure in a course because of some lecture or test or assignment missed. Nobody ignores the town crier.
Trooping out to hear the town-crier was fun for the children; an opportunity to extend the playtime; a sort of variety to the run of the activities for the day. So after each announcement, children would usually take liberty to indulge in extended play.
Again, Nmafo called out, this time, her voice becoming more strident, “Dindu, has the god of the twilight taken you along”.
Dindu, like every other child who ran out and was being called by Mama, knew there would be trouble if there was a third call. His response was therefore earnest, even as he hastened home. “Yes mother, there will be Ibo Uzo by the Youth on the next Afo-nta market day. He said every woman must cook and bring one plate of eba and a bowl of soup to the Methodist Church while the men should come with half jar of Palm wine”, Dindu volunteered his ‘privileged’ information.
Since clearing of the village squares was the responsibility of women, Dindu had to stress that this particular exercise is by the Youth. In those days, rice was not commonplace. Most families ate rice only during ceremonies such as Christmas, Easter and sparingly on Afo Nta Church (whenever Afo Nta falls on a Sunday, it was treated as a special day by the Churches). It was not unusual for some women to bring a bowl of rice to church on such a day. The Youth leadership would normally go for it. Others can only murmur.
Usually, for every path-clearing exercise, letters are written to all the churches in the Community; the Community and law enforcements agencies are copied. The letter is not only about the civic duty but also to request cooperation of the law enforcement in collecting the levy or fines that might be imposed. The letter is then copied to the Zonal Commander of the security agency as well as the traditional ruler of the community who is made a signatory to the letter. This is an indirect way of seeking Police cover for the work the taskforce will do thereafter. This step gave the Youth the required audacity to chase offenders boldly.
Importance
Ibo Uzo
Ibo Uzo, usually undertaken by the Youth to keep the footpaths in the Community clean and free of weeds, was both a civic duty and a cultural requirement of the gods of the land in Ogbuebulle.
Ibo Uzo could be organized at the village or, community levels. But, nothing stopped the hamlets from carrying out the exercise. Indeed, any major activity involving a large group of people could trigger the call for Ibo uzo. In the event of the death of a warrior, for example, or that of the Community Head or visit by an important personality from another community. Call for Ibo Uzo was normal.
Ibo Uzo heralded the farming season or any of the major festivals in the community such as the Ekpe and Afo-Amaghi Onuma (New Yam) festivals. For the farming season, the focus was normally on the paths leading to the farm-lands, to make the farms easily accessible and less dangerous and free of attacks from snakes and other dangerous reptiles and animals. It could also be organized as part of the annual wrestling contest in the village.
The communal activity could also take place to herald major conferences held by the community. Generally, these meetings involved all sons and daughters of the community, at home and in the diaspora. There were three such convocations in the year: Easter August and December.
The footpath targeted, and the timing of the activity depended on the particular reason for organizing the pathclearing. The Ekpe Festival marked and still marks not only the beginning of a new year, but also heralded and still heralds the farming season. It is celebrated in the first month of the year. The footpaths linking all the kindreds, hamlets and villages on the one hand; and the roads connecting the community with other communities or villages on the other hand are cleared and widened. The New Yam festival, Afo-Amaghi Onuma, ushers in the harvest season. It is observed during the tenth month of the year.
For the Ekpe festival, the inner connecting roads were cleared. The paths leading to the wrestling arena would also be cleared preparatory to restling contests, which would take place between the end of the farming season and the start of a new harvest season. If it was a major wrestling contest in which neighboring villages were participating, then the roads connecting the community to neighboring villages were equally cleared.
During the festivals, there was usually an influx of visitors into the community either just to witness the Ekpe festival or to felicitate with friends and in-laws. So, the youths were charged with the responsibility of ensuring that this task was accomplished. Secondly, the wearer of the Ekpe mask would pass through these paths to pay homage to the gods and elders of the land: tradition demands that the pathway the representative of the gods would tread must be made clear.
The D-Day
On the appointed day, as day begin to break, the gong would be heard all over the community as the leadership of the youth would go round all hamlets to remind all who might have forgotten that the communal work was taking place that day. This announcement would continue till the specified time when they the people would have trooped to the village square.
Ogbuebule has three principal public places of meeting – Mbara Edere, Ahia Nma and Mbara Nta Ocha. Any one of them could be chosen for any event at any season of the year. But Mbara Nta Ocha by tradition, a place of blood, where hard decisions relating to life and death were taken, is reserved for men only. Indicatively, it was where the Council of Elders met to pass sentences relating to life; or when war would be announced; or when the Ikoro summoned the warriors to battle. Women may not meet there. Mbara Nta Ocha could also be referred to as the place of justice as any unfair decision taken there has adverse consequences. It is a revered zone where the gods forbid noise. Noise making is visited with severe repercussions by the gods. Not even the gong could be sounded there either. Hence, the youths, who by nature hardly cannot meet in quietness, never ever gather there.
The youth normally gather at either Mbara Edere or Ahia Nma. The choice depended on the proximity to where the work would be done. At the village square, the youths would be divided into distinct teams made up of people from particular villages. Each team was assigned a definite track. “Umukpabi, you will weed from the main road to Mbara Edere”. “Umuchukwu, your responsibility is to weed from De Onyemachi’s compound through the path passing behind De Isaiah’s compound and ending at Mbara Araghi Nsi near Ukala Ukwu”. This continued until all the footpaths earmarked for clearing would have been assigned. After sharing responsibilities, leaders would be designated to supervise each village team and ensure a thorough job was done.
Once the allocation of work to teams was concluded, each hamlet was expected to quickly mobilize to its own site and commence work immediately. Sometimes, singers would emerge from each hamlet encouraging their team with their tunes. You could hear songs such as:
“Onye gbuwe achara, onye gbuwe
Onye a kpola ibe ya onye egbugbu…
Onye gbuwe achara, onye gbuwe
Onye a kpola ibe ya onye egbugbu”
These songs made the work fun. As the songs were sung, machetes were swung to the rhythm of the percussion. Elders passing by would usually tarry to exchange greetings, appreciate and encourage the good work the youth were doing. “Ndi Oru Owara nu o” meaning more grease to your elbows, they would say, and the response in acknowledgement would be “E-ya, Nna ayi, Ndewo”. That is, “Thank you, our father”.
Each team was expected to cut, cart away the grass and hoe the area so it would not block the pathway or eventually rot close to the pathway. Drainages, where appropriate, must be opened too. By noonday when the weather began to get unbearable, most teams would begin to round off their activities and all roads again would lead to the Sunday School Hall of Methodist Church as announced by the town-crier.
Refreshment
Religious facilities were used by the community as might be required without much fuss. The churches, as it were, were seen as partners of the community, especially as the leaders of the community were also leaders in their various churches. So, obtaining permission to use any religious facility was hitch free.
At the Sunday School Hall, the cacophony of voices, as everybody shared experiences was ‘something else’. Everybody was talking to every other person. It was fun as the youths waited to be entertained. First would be to ensure that the food could go round. Usually, the food was dished at each plate for two. Sometimes, food would be shared without complaints; at other times, mothers would try to influence the process of sharing and while some had much to eat, others might go hungry. Usually, the unfortunate ones were those who had no mother or were many from the same family.
The older boys, old enough to drink would go for palm-wine. Most times, problem arose either because some got drunk whereas some had had nothing to eat. In the event of the latter case, those who had had nothing to eat could challenge the leadership. The ensuing altercation sometimes resulted in fisticuffs, requiring parents to intervene. It should be mentioned that most women would stay around to collect their plates or risk losing them as they might be converted to weapons for the ensuing fight. Similarly, some men especially the younger men would wait to join in the drinks or just to retrieve their empty kegs of palm-wine.
Sometimes, there was a comic side to the entertainment. Women whose food dishes were not delicious might get ridiculed. Naturally, their children would not sit back and watch their parents insulted by other kids. This might also lead to physical exchanges and/or simply only end in the bantering of chants of ridicule.
Enforcement
After refreshments, the entire youth would be constituted into a Taskforce going from house to house after those that either of their peers who had not come out for the work, or parents that did not bring food and drink as stipulated. In each house, they would confiscate anything of value, in lien, regardless of the owner, as long as it was found within the premises of the defaulters’ house. The seized item was kept with the community head. If it was a life animal, the owner might, additionally, pay for its upkeep.
Women groups usually would go for cooking utensils such as pots or the brazier. Mostly, parents made haste to retrieve the impounded item the same day after paying the stipulated fine. Otherwise, these items were usually disposed off in auction after two market days and the amount realised was paid into the youth purse.
For live animals, the keeper was compensated from proceed of the auction. Payments made after one full day attracted demurrage on a daily basis
It is not unusual for this part of the exercise to get violent as resistance was often encountered. But, trust the youth to match ‘violence’ with ‘violence’. At the end, the youths always prevailed; especially since they had the blessing of the Council of Elders. Of course, the Elders usually warned that there must be no shedding of blood, to avoid intervention by the Police.
To strengthen the position of the youths, permission might be obtained from the police, prior to the exercise. This was usually granted on its merit. In some cases, those seeking permission were made to do their share of the work before the path-clearing day. Government workers were usually excused from any work done on a week day.
Conclusion
Ibo Uzo was both a civic duty and a requirement from “Ala” the god of fertility, which ensures bountiful harvest. Ala demands clean environment from our people, prelude to every farming season. All footpaths were cleared of weeds and kept clean. This practice, like many others, is unfortunately disappearing. Many of the laudable practices that constituted our way of life are quickly joining the list of blurred history. Ibo Uzo is one. Which will be the next?