CEREMONIES

 

CEREMONIES

 

Azi Ceremony.

This is the grand child festival celebrated by the grand parents. Members of both the woman's and the man's age group usually co-operate with the celebrants. Its special significance is the joy, which the birth of a grand child gives to the grand parents. It has since been regarded, as women's Irepa festival because it is the only particular one in which women play greater parts than men. A woman who has not been able to celebrate it is never happy, particularly when her age group members who have performed it snub her.

Azii is celebrated in three phases. The first phase is when the grand child is born. All members of the grandmother's age group are quickly summoned to dance through the streets thus heralding the news of the birth of the grand child. The second phase is jointly organized by both grand-parents. A large basin with pounded yam is prepared for the family members to which beer and pitto have to be added. On that day it will be formally announced the date fixed for the Azil grand finale. After sharing money among members of their age groups, the couple will be informed officially of the date fixed for it. Ikede music is then staged by the woman to Utua quarters or vice versa.

The third and last phase is a very costly one considering the articles to be purchased and the general expenses to cover important aspects of it. The preparation of different dishes including the dominant pounded yam, moinmoin, rice, akara, etc accounts for one of the major items of expenditure. Pitto and beer come under costly miscellaneous expenses.

Monetary gifts to be made to two or three clan members including members of one's age group is the third aspect of heavy spending. Between two and three hundred kola nuts have to be shared.

After the financial transactions, members of the age group will send for the Eze-Anova music drums. The drums are beaten and the songs will follow. The celebrants are carried shoulder high while the dance moves to Utua or Uffah as the case may be. They are accompanied by members of their age groups, clan members and other well-wishers. Osi ze yimi waye, waye kosi ze yimi is one of the popular songs of Anova dance. On getting to Utua or Uffah, Ikede music takes over. An invited artiste gives a number of songs in praise of the celebrants. The men will leave the women who now control the Ikede dance. On the following day the woman goes round with a bevy of ten to twenty girls to thank her mates, friends and relations for the good turn done her. In the evening of the third day different dishes are prepared for sharing among the female age group members.

 

Iresha Oriri (Azebani/Ipoje title taking ceremonies)

Both ceremonies have uniform patterns as they are being conferred on celebrants by their respective Clan heads (Oshis) in their palaces. The (Azebanis) elders take ‘Azebani’ title while the middle age group takes the ‘Ipoje’ title. Each celebrant is given a special day ‘Amomo’ for his clan head to confer the title of his choice on him. Titles are borne according to seniority in each clan. The Azebani title starts not earlier than the fifth day after Ukuokiku and undertaken by each of the celebrants in a specified customary order.

Some Clans have special Azebani titles in which other clans cannot adopt for instance Eziezu clans have the Okomayin titles while Anonyete has Oseh title and Eshimozoko has Ukanah title. There are common titles any member may choose from or he may decide to choose any name they so deem fit. This occasion is marked with a costly feast. There is need for celebrants to have another complete set of agbada for the occasion for those who can afford to buy. Family members also join in sowing new attires to make it more colorful.

As the man moves on the streets accompanied by his wife who carries a horse tail (omu) including youths and members of his clan singing and dancing to the ‘ogamoza’ dance, he makes monetary gifts to elders who come out to cheer and congratulate him.

Organized youths in the community usually at night come up with a masquerade dance to visit intending Azebani who graduated from Opoze who in turn gift the youths money. It is a stock taking of members due for the title and a way of keeping records of those who take the title in a particular dispensation. However this practice has given way to modern methods of documentation which mainly involves the compilation of albums featuring pictures and biographies of the celebrants.

The Azebani constitute the council of Elders and are held in high esteem in the community as they say prayers in gatherings and have authority to ratify, modify and annul laws made by the opozes.

The ipoje title holders constitute the influentuial members of the community and are palace chiefs in their respective clans. Ipoje chiefs are mostly recognized by their wearing of blue beads around their wrist and neck, straw hats on their heads which parrot feather could be fixed.

Ozioyiyiresha

This means child naming ceremony.

By Igarra customs, a new born baby is christened on the seventh day. The ceremony starts with prayers and the rites of naming are performed by an elderly man who is usually specially invited for that purpose. After the opening prayers, the parents of the baby hand it to the elderly man who puts very tiny quantities of water, palm oil, salt and sugar or honey into the baby's mouth in turns as he offers prayers that align with the significance of each of these ingredients in Igarra customs.

This is followed by a whispering of the baby's proposed name very silently by the parents into the ear of the elderly man who then announces it aloud to the audience after which the parents are called upon to explain the basis for their choice of the name or names. Refreshment follows before closing prayers.

Sugar or honey signifies prayer that the child may live a sweet pleasant and fulfilled life; while palm oil signifies a prayer that the child will not be harmed by whatever he will ingest in his life time, and salt signifies a prayer that the baby's life time shall be preserved full of joy and happiness. Water signifies life in abundance.

Aviochichaka (Bush adventure)

This ceremony is actually one of the rites of the funeral of any illustrious Igarra son who, irrespective of the clan he belongs to, demonstrates an unprecedented or superlative level of accomplishment in any kind of human endeavor or discipline. It takes the form of a carnival which involves members of the community climbing on a large rock, named Iretoji and dancing to his funeral songs being sung on it posthumously in his honor. It is a way of inspiring and encouraging commitment to hard work, tenacity, perseverance, resilience, dedication and excellence among the people.

Iretoji is an Igarra traditional monument composed of a very expansive boulder located deep inside a forest behind the stretch of rocky hills that traverse the entire length of Momodu Ajayi Road. It could be assessed from the Ubobo, Utua and Uffa axis.

 

 

 

Okuonine (Burial rite)

This means burial, and it is in two contexts which are interment and funeral.

In Etuno custom the emotions generated by death depend on the age of the deceased. The death of a teenager or youthful person at the prime of his life evokes sadness hence the relations of the deceased are greeted "a nyari ishi' which in English means "condolences on your misfortune". On the other hand, the death of a fulfilled elderly person at ripe old age may generate a mild sense of loss of company in his relations and close friends but it is generally welcomed with positive feelings hence the bereaved are greeted 'a nyari yo' which in English means accept my sympathy.

In Igarra, it is against the customs for the interment of a youthful person to be witnessed by either his parents or relations older than him. Likewise, a man is forbidden from being present at the graveside during his dead wife's interment.

Burial ceremony in Igarra is embarked upon only on the death of an elderly person who dies at ripe old age and it comes in two stages. The first stage is the interment which is handled by the concerned age groups, while the second stage is the funeral which the surviving children of the deceased may wish to embark on at a later time depending on how economically convenient it might be for them. This stage usually takes the form of a more elaborate celebration of the memories of the life and times of the deceased amidst continuous entertainment of guests to food, drinks and music after performing certain traditional burial rites like aiyo-oziza, aviochichaka, ikede (a special dance procession), etc.

Again, to be considered for traditional burial rites, the dead must have attained Opoga Age grade. For any Opa (age grade) below, the deceased is considered Oku-orere (untimely sorrowful death) and burial of such is usually conducted soberly without any form of dance.

The burial arrangements for an elderly man include:

1. Osiseroku

2. Ovarage to announce the passage

3. Internment with his family dance and Osomokwuru procession if he belongs to the cult group).

4. Okukune: another traditional procession the evening of same day of internment (with the designated family dance)

5. Irashi Irafu (Traditional wake): This features irashe-ooye (the traditional dance of the clan of each and every son-in-law of the deceased. The non-native sons-in-law are required to stage a dance native to their individual places of origin.

6. Irashobe or Ishoko (Hunters Dance) if he was a hunter.

7. Ogugu Dance

8. Osiozanofu/Aiyo

9. Eva Ozi/Ishika(Oracle) to close the burial ceremony.

For the aged woman the burial arrangement is almost the same, the only difference being the Agada Dance in place of the ogugu and hunters dance reserved for only men.

An Okuza male folk who dies before azebani or irepa title taking, or has not celebrated Aazi is not carried on the head by undertakers(Opa enechemoku),

rather the corpse is carried on the shoulder Evuozi (a she goat) is slaughtered and distributed to the public by the family of the dead together with his grandchildren. It is believed that in doing so, God and the ancestors receive the soul and spirit of the dead. Oveshe is a dance procession to the market usually at night by the deceased's immediate family members believing that he will be seen and heard farewell greetings given to him. The song:

"Oo ve eshe o (x2), oo na aa vo n'ne" is chanted.

The following day the family members leave for oracle activity.

‘Iyakoko’ is the practice of throwing coins after all burial rites are concluded.

The first son of the late man then gathers the coins from the ground, proceeds to ‘Ofuamomo’, climbs on ‘Iretuba’, sprays the coins amidst youths competition to catch them in flight or outdo one another in picking those that fall to the ground.

‘Aiyo oziza’ is the carrying of a circular dish by the first female ( Opashi) of the deceased. In the dish are four small calabashes with contents ranging from tiny beef, urhi, ahzi, (red and white chalk respectively). "Ayio, ayio, oveve" is chanted along meaning "look at the final rites". On reaching the market square, the deceased's surviving eldest son picks each of these calabashes one after the other, sounds a gong (isue), shouts "Ido adami anavo onim va me nee", and throws out the contents into the open space. ‘Igede’ dance is usually arranged to accompany this procession at first instance before this tradition is completed.