History and Culture of Ozuitem People
Ozuitem with a population of about 15,000 according to 1963 census, is a town in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State of Nigeria. The town is so strategically situated at the centre of the Local Government Area that she shares common boundaries with most of the towns in the area. This won her the enviable status of the former headquarters of the defunct Elu-Elu County Council. Ozuitem is bounded to the North and North West by Igbere and Alayi respectively; to the South and South East by Bende and Amaeke Abam respectively; to the East by Umuhu; and to the West by Uzuakoli. A road of six kilometers from Ozuitem joins the Umuahia – Arochukwu Road at Uzuakoli.Like many other Igbo towns and villages, Ozuitem took its name from the individual who founded the town. Ozuitem qualifies to be called a town because according to Forde and from an anthropological point of view, it is composed of some village groups of local communities, typical of the Ibos and composed of a number o semi- autonomous segments. So we have three main villages with other subsidiary villages. The first is Isiegbu comprising Obuofia, Ofiavu, Amaeke and Amakwu. The second is Agbua comprising Amankwu, Ndiagbo, Ebem, Amagbo, Umuabia, Ogboko and Ndiambe. The third is Mba made of Mba, Eluguumba, Mgbele and Ndiobu. According to oral tradition the origin of Ozuitem can be traced to Ntu, a place near ugwueke in Bende Local Government Area. There had been an earlier movement from Okpanku in Afikpo to Ntu. Omaka and Item Okpi were brothers. From Ntu they both journeyed to the present town of Item. Here Omaka's wife delivered twin babies which was then regarded as taboo. Consequently, Omaka was banished from the town. With his wife Bolombi and their twin babies came to Agbugbo near Amiyi in Igbere and later to Avu (Ofiavu). Omaka decided to rest in the present domicile of Ozuitem people, hence the name "OZUZU IKE ITEM' (the place where Item's rested). The name was later shortened to Ozuitem. The authenticity of this account can be attested to by relationship between Item and Ozuitem people and are united by many cultural ties of consanguinity.
TRADITIONAL LIFE MARRIAGE
Marriage in traditional Obuofia is an indispensable function to be performed with as little delay as possible after reaching the age of puberty. A bachelor is usually married and to die unmarried is to rank foolishness. A marriage involves a whole series of presentations (payments, gifts or services), the acceptance of which constitutes a formal betrothal.
BIRTH:
Birth and the ceremonies associated with it play a big part in the customs of our people. When the child is born, usually in the back of the mother's house, a sacrifice, which formally admits the child in the family, is performed. If a child does not cry when it is born, or within a few minutes, it is not brought into the house, and there is no rejoicing. When all the conditions have been satisfied, the father brings many pots of wine, and guns are fired while the women sing, dance and make merry. Certain customs must be performed before a child is taken outside. The mother and the child are not allowed to come out for four days.
DEATH AND BURIAL
This seems to be the most important custom in Obuofia. It is the custom in which all aspects of life in Obuofia come into play. When a prominent person dies, the first thing is for the relations to wash and dress the corpse properly according to custom. The dress will include wrapper usually "GEORGE", war hat (okpu ozu Nji) with an eagle feather and some "NKPOLA". The war dance "ikpirikpe" will also be performed. It should be noted that in this burial a horse and cow will be added to the goats and fowls. Rice, yams and foofoo are prepared in large quantities to feed all the quests.
FESTIVALS:
(a) NEW YAM FESTIVAL – "IRI JI" This festival takes place on the "ORIE NTA" market of the first week of September and usually lasts for eight days. Few days before the festival, major reads connecting the villages as well as those leading to the farms are cleared. Bundles of firewood are collected. The new yams are harvested first on the Orienta market day. They are not washed until after the sacrifices in "NFIJIOKU". Only the children are usually allowed to eat the yam for the first four days and normally converged in every family in the house of the most recently married women. The real custom begins on "EKE styled "EKE- IGBA NGU". On this day several fowls and hens are slaughtered at the "NFIJIOKU" for the annual sacrifices. The following "ORIE IKPA OKUKU" marks the day when the elders will taste the yam. On the following day "AFO IGBA EKPE" the climax of the ceremony is reached. Early that day the "IKORO" drum will sound with the booming of den guns. Young men with bells and gongs of various sizes will sing running round the entire town. Later in the day girls and women gaily dressed will come out with their prepared songs. Men move about in their war dance and masquerade group known as EKPE OJORONKWA. These continue the following day until the last day "EKE IGBA UBI" when more new yams are harvested and people merely continue drinking wine.
(b) AJU-UGBOGHO "Aju-Ugbogho" is the feast of 'first fruits of harvest. After the planting season the first harvests include maize and vegetables called "Ugbogho" in Obuofia. This feast normally marks the end of planting season and so serves for resting and relaxation. It is a wrestling festival competition. The wrestling drums, "EKWO NGBA" are usually brought out in April of every year. From thence children play and wrestle until the official ceremony period arrives in the first week of June. Customarily an egg from "NFIJIOKU" is taken and broken on the drums imploring the gods to protect the wrestlers in the season.
ARTS, SHRINES AND CRAFTS GODS AND HOLY PLACES:
The people of Obuofia believe that god is everywhere but controls the universe from the sky. He is "IGWE-KA-ALA". Today this god is worshiped through the major shrines which form the centre for the entire people. These are Kamalu Nkwomahia, Kamalu Ndi Edede and Ala- Ukwu Isiegbu. "Kamalu "Chi- ukwu's" anger with retributive justice of thunder and lightning to taboo breakers. The shrine consists of a big tree. The objects of sacrifice include an egg, "odo", fresh palm fruits. Rituals include the killing of a white cock. "Alaukwu Isiegbu", the earth deity, checked poisonous people, incidence of theft, lying and other aberrations from the moral norms of the society. The old people at meals used to offer the first morsel of food to the ancestors and to pour libations to them daily. They believed that success and prosperity in their life depended on the favour of the ancestors. At the family level each lineage had its blackened stool called "NFIJIOKU". On the srhine the head of the lineage during the festivals of AJU-UGBOGHO, "IKEJI, IGWA MMAM and OMUME-OLAZI, offers cooks, food and drinks to the ancestors. CRAFTS Farming is the mainstay of Obuofia people. As a result most of their traditional crafts reflect this, one of them is making of a special long baskets – "ABO" – designed for the conveyance of the harvested crops from the farm to the hourse. It is the craft of men. It is usually done during the period after the planting of yams. All aspects of the work require special skill and concentration.
FOLK TALES, RIDDLES, PROVERBS AND SONGS FOLK TALES
In Obuofia there are songs, proverbs, folktales, and games through which the people express their belief systems and which portray their social life. There are tale myths associated with the ancestor worship. There are other astrological tales which explain why female sheep have no horns, why the bear has no tail and why dogs and cats look at each with suspicious eyes. Most of the folk tales are told to children in the moonlight, animals especially the Leopard (Agu) and the tortoise (Mba) are the principal characters, hence the common saying – "ILU AGHA MBE" – which means that folktales must involve the tortoise. It should be noted that stories are frequently punctuated with songs usually led by the story teller white the audience respond with the chorus. The rhythm, melody and the people's participation heighten the interest. RIDDLES: Riddles are part of our culture which we still cherish. Generally they are for amusement and have a question and answer pattern. The answers are expected to identify the objects indicated in the allusive general statement. PROVERBS "Among the Igbos proverbs are palm oil with which words are chewed". The use of proverbs is high in Obuofia especially among men. In finnegan's words "they are a rich source of imagery and succinct expression on which more elaborate forms can draw". One notices their frequent use in general conversation and in oratory and they appear to be poetic, figurative and metaphoric in nature. SONGS AND GAMES: Like folklore, riddles and proverbs, songs and games are vehicles through which the beliefs and customs of Obuofia people have been brought down from the ancestor to posterity. They are embodied, conserved and transmitted through the oral tradition
MODERN CIVILIZATION
– CONCLUSION Obuofia, like many communities in Abia State, has taken very long strides in educational development and in other processes of modernization. Five full fledged primary schools and a new modern secondary school exist in Obuofia. Enrollment of Obuofia youths into secondary schools, universities and other institution of higher learning has increased tremendously. Although these social changes have affected the traditional life immensely, it is immensely, it is rather the Christian religion that has posed the greatest danger over the years. With the advent of Christianity, two religious systems emerged. The traditional religion had been the custodian of the people's existence. But this emergence brought conflicts in three main dimension, economic, moral and psychological. There were of course socio-religions as well as political undertones. The conflicts hinge on those aspects of Christian practices which conflict with the cultural norms of my people. These include marriage customs, oath – taking, burial ceremony and purification of adulterers among others. Things got worse with the civil war which almost obliterated any traces of our remaining arts, shrines and crafts. Today the concept of FESTAC may well descend on Obuofia people as we are faced with the problem of reviving our cultural heritage from the ravages of westernization and in the face of modern civilization. Therefore, it has not been the aim of this paper to portray the cultural heritage of Obuofia as ideal. But realizing that no culture is ever static but always dynamic, the objective has been to stimulate thought and bring about further research that will ultimately lead to the retrieval of what is left of our cultural heritage.
Written By Roklyn Chigoziem Amos
You try so much I wish to know more about my village Ozuitem
ReplyDeleteI perceived a mistake at your point of Ozuitem migration, cause and settlement. I therefore submit that the origin of Ozuitem is not correct.
ReplyDeleteGood effort but the migration story is not very clear at least for the sake of younger generation. Mention should also be made of the leadership structure
ReplyDeletePlease who's from ogboko and know their traditions well.befor I make mistakes
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDeleteWelcome
DeletePlease can I get to talk to you direct
ReplyDeleteI’m working on a project topic concerning ozuitem 🙏