By
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Obododimma Oha
The mythologized and personified antagonism between the
moon and the sun, or sometimes a star, is very
important in ancient Igbo understanding of the heavenly bodies. We are
also in the skies and may have a name, even different from what we call
ourselves. We may even be seen as an uninhabited landmass up there! Perhaps the
name, “Gbueremonwa”(“Kill the moon for me") properly belongs to Igbo astrology
and not astronomy. There may be another narrative about its role in creation. But
the point really is the Igbo ancients named and interpreted the objects in
space in human terms and wove one narrative or the other around an object in
space, at least as a way of accountting for its presence. The name, “Gbueremonwa”
is given to one of the stars, the pole star, which shines very bright like the
moon. Naturally and scientifically, the earth’s moon is nearer the earth and so
should be bright to those on earth. A star could be in another galaxy, with planets going round it, just like earth is going round the sun, its star, and has a moon, and so a star is many
light years away from the earth. Its light, therefore, shows as a mere twinkle.
Further, the light of the moon is not its own. It is mere reflection of the
light of the sun itself. The brightness
or reflection, seen as a signifier of challenge thrown to the moon, serves as a
source of the name.
Are the ancient Igbo naive? They were obviously limited in scientific knowledge,
superficially and simplistically viewing the brightness of the star as a
challenge. This interpretation they had, albeit naive, is seen as a statement
bordering on a deliberate attempt to pull somebody or something down. In that
case, the onomastics still serves as an important signifier in discourse.
When we move from the denotative to the connotative
plane, we begin to see the seriousness attached to the name. To request or
demand the killing of a luminary (“ọnwa”) is a serious matter. Many rich people who provide amenities in
their communities are metaphorized as “ọnwa.” The request for their “killing,”
figuratively speaking, can only be in terms of out-shining them, doing more
they are able to do. If a businessperson in any other part of the world, maybe
doing drugs, is able to out-shine the existing “ọnwa,” that new husband of
money becomes the real “ọnwa.” The old “ọnwa,” having lost the shine, is no
longer “ọnwa.” The name, “Gbueremọnwa,” can only be used in criticising the
challenge thrown at an existing “ọnwa.”
In the light of competition for brightness among politicians and
business people in a country like Nigeria, there could be serious conspiracies,
kidnappings, murders, and terrible acts of blood-letting. It is “gbueremonwa” in
its darkest shape. It seems that some would be uncomfortable with the idea of “let
each ọnwa give its shine and let the community have a very bright ilo!”What is rather the culture is
having only one shine, one brightness on the ilo, and that brightness could have epilepsies!
Kill this moon for me. Is that not one hears in the context of violent business
or politics? Little wonder answering an “ọnwa” could make someone sit at the
edge of the chair and look at the referent again. There could also be petty
jealousy simmering. So, he wants to
shine? So, he wants to be ọnwa. Let
us then see how he can shine. Let us see him shine. Gbueremọnwa!
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