He who has no gun should sell his mother and buy one... Sounds barbaric, doesn’t it? Well, not for the average Nsude man, especially during the period of Nkwa festival, the famous celebration of the town’s legendary exploits in warfare centuries ago, and it is a tradition that survives till today. Once every two years, Nsude and its brother communities that make up the Oshie-Anugwu clan of Enugu State, converge in the Eke-Uto square in Nsude, Udi Local Government Area, for the historical ceremony performed in remembrance of Uto, one of the greatest war generals in Igbo history. Nkwa festival, like a magnet, draws people from all corners of the globe to pay symbolic respects to Uto. This celebration and remembrance of his glorious past, has become a tradition that has survived and defied the vociferous onslaught of Christianity and modernity, and has become one of the greatest celebrations of valour in lgboland. But for government’s lack of interest in developing its potential in tourism, it would have rivaled the popular Zulu war festival in South Africa. Because of the symbolic essence of Nkwa, guns, machetes and battle gears are integral parts of the celebration: in fact, the most important since they are the most essential instruments of war. Even as I write, my mind’s ear picks the booms of long dane gun-shots that reverberate across the length and breath of Nsude as the festival is celebrated. Looking back into time, I remember as a young man how I spent hours with my friends before the actual celebration day, carving guns out of wood. For a male son of Nsude, nay Oshieland, celebrating Nkwa without a ‘gun’ is like not taking part at all, and as one grows older, one graduates from wooden to real dane guns. The older still, the longer the barrel of the gun. And those who cannot afford to acquire one are advised to sell their mothers in order to buy one, or otherwise hide under their mothers’ beds to avoid the shame of facing their peers, empty-handed on that day that valour is celebrated. Anyway, that is to underscore the importance of guns, not that any one has ever sold his mother for that reason. The Concept of Utology Simply put, Utology is the concept of being one’s brother’s keeper. Utology translates to onye aghana nwanne ya, which Uto demonstrated by being fiercely protective of his kith and kin in times past. The concept derives from that selflessness and valour. Apart from waging wars in defence of his native Nsude, Uto is recorded as having led the Oshie clan (a cluster of five communities) successfully in 36 battles across Iboland, up to Igalaland in present-day Kogi state to the North and Benin Kingdom in present-day Edo state to the West. For a man born and raised in mysterious circumstances, and who obtained the “prestigious” human head at five, he has remained the symbol of bravery and courage for the Oshie clan. In his time, no one dared attack any Oshie clan because he would pursue such aggressors, literally, to the end of the earth. And indeed, for the appreciative Igbos of the Udi highlands, he has since become a deity, just as his former homestead in Nsude has become a Mecca of some spiritual sort. The utological concept of being one’s brother’s keeper has largely become generalised in the entire Igboland. It became in the late 1960s, the inspirational call for Biafrans fighting the Civil War, just as it became the wake up call in the years of rehabilitation thereafter. Many Igbo men and women, but especially the businessmen across the globe, have also become utologists by default. One of the first lessons young Igbos learn in their business is to always be his brother’s keeper. It may be one of the keys to their successes in business. The Mystery of Nkwa Festival The origin of Nkwa festival is pre-historic. Legends have in recent decades tried to unravel its mystery and how it came to become one of the most intriguing aspects of Oshie tradition and culture. According to Oshie history, Nkwa originated following the death of Uto the warrior and it is celebrated to sustain the memory of his famous conquests. Like all celebrations in Igboland, Nkwa has also assumed a social dimension. On its day, thousands of people troop to Nsude, the cradle of Oshie clan, from all parts of the country to witness the one-day carnival, families exchange visits and food and drinks are provided in abundance. On the day proper, people wake up as early as 5 a.m. to get ready. Getting ready involves kitting oneself in those traditional costumes and fearful war attires, testing the dane guns and disguising oneself with painting that will make Bill Mascaras look like a joker. Hours later, the jingling noise of the hundreds of iron bells (called ikpo) worn around the waists, dane guns in the right hands and the gun powder bottle on the left, the celebrants will file out in thousands, chanting war songs and gyrating to the Eke-Uto Square where the famous Ikpa music will be reminding everyone who comes to dance, to ensure he brings along a human head. The procession is conducted village by village, with Umuaka, where Uto’s mother comes from, leading the rest of the villages in Nsude. It is only after all the villages of Nsude have taken their turns that other communities of Oshie (originally Nsude’s siblings) take their turns too, starting with Eke, Oshie’s second son after Nsude. In centuries gone by, it was abominable to dance to the Ikpa except you are an accomplished warrior who had obtained a human head from one of the several inter-communal battles. Surprisingly, (in fact, it remains one of the mysteries), despite the dangerous weapons employed during the celebrations, rarely are serious accidents recorded. Another notable thing about Nkwa is that it has also defied the tendencies of foreign religions, especially Christianity. Even though pockets of critics have tried to label it a pagan tradition, it has continued to attract people from all religious persuasions. Little wonder that of all days in the calendar. Nkwa is celebrated only on (Afor) Sundays, preponderantly in the month of November of every leap year. Another surprise is that despite the significance of the celebration as an activity of a historical and cultural relevance, subsequent state governments in Enugu – even since its days as a regional capital-- have only paid lip service to the promise to internationalize it. Besides being an activity that can be exploited to boost tourism like the Hausas have done with their Sallah Durbars (Hawan Bariki), Nkwa is also unique to the Igboman for the rich historical perspectives it portrays. Uto’s Death And The origin Of Nkwa Uto Nsude, in his lifetime was reputed to be the greatest warrior in the entire Oshie clan of the present Enugu State in particular and Igboland in general. His exploits in battles and his near superhuman powers were legendary. He is reputed to have obtained a human head at the age of five, and on his death shortly after in his prime, he had obtained the greatest number of human heads from inter-communal battles. At a period when there were no wars to engage Uto’s attention, he resorted to being a ‘mercenary’ warrior, travelling far and near to help prosecute one war or the other. In one of those expeditions in the present day Benin , Uto was said to have fallen into a trench dug by a strange medicine man. He fell into it and contracted a strange disease. The disease manifested fully on his return to Nsude, and it was later found out to be ‘omelumma’ (chicken pox) which could not be cured by the local medicine men. To suffer from such a disease was a curse and to be afflicted with it was abominable at that period. Despite Uto’s standing as the district’s major inspiration, he was still subject to the tradition and custom which demands that those suffering from such cursed diseases are ex-communicated in an isolated place. Uto was consequently carried to the wilderness (iwhe egu) in the outskirts of Nsude, the highest point of the Udi hills and around the ‘Agu Ajali’ where the community has common boundaries with Owa. He had a small thatched hut built for him at a point presently called Akpata Uto and his belongings were carried out to him there. There he died of chicken pox and as custom demanded, he was not given a ceremonious burial befitting his stature. Consequently upon his death, many mysterious things happened in Nsude and other nearby towns in Oshie clan that were founded by his siblings, and for the first time, they suffered defeats in inter-communal battles. When consulted, native doctors revealed that Uto was angry at the ignominious way he was buried. His son, Ugwu also expressed anger that his father who accomplished so much for Nsude and his Oshie kinsmen, was not accorded a ceremonious burial and was in fact being forgotten so soon. Thereupon, the Oshie clan consulted with each other and agreed to accord Uto a befitting funeral ceremony and to repeat it every year in his honour and in remembrance of his exploits and valour. It was also to be an occasion where the latest weapons of war as well as human heads brought from recent wars would be displayed and gallant warriors honoured. They agreed to celebrate this every year. Actually, the promise of a yearly celebration was kept for a number of years. After some years, the yearly honour which had metamorphosed into a festival and a carnival of sorts became too tasking for the people because of the high material cost. After consultations with Uto by his priests, it was agreed that ‘Nkwa’ be held every two years. That agreement is still adhered to and the festival has today become one of the few revered celebrations in Igboland. It should be noted however, that even though Uto commanded a lot of respect and was even being ‘worshipped’ by some people in his lifetime, Uto actually became a deity few years after his death. The Nkwa festival was the major factor that deified him, as another god of the Igbo people. This piece was first published in the DAILY SUN newspaper of Nigeria in January, 2010 but updated and adapted for this blog. Reactons are welcome at sheddyozoene@yahoo.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment