By
Obododimma Oha
When you
visit a true Igbo man's house, the man welcomes you by offering you kolanuts.
With the nuts, the host and the guest pray together, provided
the person holding the nut and leading is the elderly or authorised one. In other words,
there is a special discourse that is tied to the administration of the nuts,
rigidly defined and policed by culture. An essential part of this discourse is
the assertion which is an invocation of the voice of culture proverbially to
grant legitimacy to the kolanut administration. The assertion is couched as:
"Onye wetara ọjị, wetara ndụ," which is often translated as:
"The person that brings kolanut (to offer another visiting), implicitly
brings life." The backing provided is that the "bringer"
expresses goodwill, and is the one causing the participants in the ritual to
pray for LIFE. Life, ndụ, is seen as
the most important thing in Igbo culture. Hence, the name, Ndụbụisi (Life is the most important). If the person authorised to
pray with the nut, is, logically speaking, responsible for praying for life, is
the person responsible for life, metaphorically speaking? Thus, I would like to
extend the implication in the backing by arguing that it actually invites us to
think of the one who brings life or causes life to emerge. Is that force not onye wetara ndụ?
The person
who brings the kolanut is not really the host who tries to express goodwill
symbolically. The person who brings the nut into existence is the maker. There
was initially nothing like a nut to offer visitors. It could have been a cup of
coffee or water. It could have been a bottle of beer, with no prayer for
company. But the nuts now cause the desire to ask for life, which is already in
existence! But praying for what is already in existence is an expression of simplicity
and humility for it to be given more to the individual, the individual's family
members, to community, etc. The person who brings the nut is just the errand
person who happens to be playing host. It is worthwhile to think and be
grateful to the one who has actually produced the nut and has sent the errand
person with a message!
Igbo people,
in praying with the nuts celebrate their wonderful emergence in the act of
creation. They actually celebrate creation and the fact that it is mysterious,
complex, and forthe expression of oneness in the maker.
Onye wetara ọjị, wetara ndụ. Is life or ndụ actually from our host? Can the host
have the courage of vocalizing and recognizing self as the "bringer"
of life? I doubt it. Honour to whom honour is due, not undue! The
"bringer" of kolanut is the "bringer" of life and all users
of the expression should know this as what they are actually saying, what they
are acknowledging!
Onye wetara ọjị, wetara ndụ! And we thank
onye wetara ndụ for ndụ is amazing!
So, kolanut
is life? It talks to human society through its lobes about human society. Yes;
its lobes. Life, indeed, has lobes. Am I being literal? Poetic? The lobes of
life are broken and picked at the appointed junction! And each lobe, a
narrative, can turn to a road and lead somewhere.
The lobes of
life are to be picked up cautiously and nibbled at. No rushing! No hurry! Why do you even have to hurrry? Are you
hurrying in licking yor fingers, will you hang them up in the rafters? The end
is waiting for you!
That is ndụ,
of many lobes, picked up cautiously and with a narrative, as a
narrative. Nibbled at. Yet, a narrative. And chewed as and with deep sayings.
Indeed, onye wetara ọjị, wetara ndụ and its
narratives and its complexity!
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