By
Obododimma Oha
The indigenous Igbo society - - and indeed, other indigenous groups of Nigeria's South-East, value fattening, which involves a person adding weight. There may be good reasons for this addition of weight, for the human is assumed to be given a body to look after, to give it what it requires , but adding weight seems to have become the life in many parts of Africa now, even if not for the practice of fattening. In my Igbo society in recent times, "iripụta ahụ" (Eating to bring out the goodness of the body or just bringing out the body), seems to be so much desired that people just have to check it about a person who has stayed away from home for many years, like anyone who has been living overseas. People look at the person steadily, but are checking if the person has added weight and would voice it out (just as they have to confirm whether he or she speaks "supri-supri" like the White person, after staying away for long!). So, obese and fat people have an occasion to rejoice.
Even an obese God is to be celebrated:
Otú a chi anyị ra,
Agịdịgba o!
(This is how big is our God is,
Extremely fat!
But, of course, we know that fatness and obesity are serious health problems. If a person consumes a lot of junk food, it is most likely that the person would pay with either obesity or fatness. Or a person will just begin to overeat, become a gourmand, devouring a whole chicken alone!
But away for long! Was that the same as drying up "like stockfish" on the fire?
There is one funny belief - - based on ignorance, though - - that eating to excess means that one is wealthy or has a lot. Thus, one person would try to devour a whole chicken in the name of showing that one has. But the body would just take the little it wants and leave the rest of the excess luggage to be passed out as a waste from a human being. At most, in carrying the excess luggage around, a man may look pregnant or as we say politely, have a pot-belly. But I wonder what a while pot is doing inside his belly.
But, there is one very important presupposition we must deal with. The idea of "bringing" out something means that all along it was inside. Also, being inside means being hidden and therefore not displayed for other people to see!
Bringing out the body is, therefore, considered a good thing, even an obligation. Bringing out the body
* becomes a justification for what is consumed
* is what one must do to be admired
* is an action in readiness for other actions
* is a cultural expectation
* is a good way to help in creating the self.
One can see that it would appear to be a great disappointment to the ideologues of eating to bring out the body for an Obama to finish his tenure as president and his stomach would go in, and he does not have a pot belly! Why could he not eat America? Why? He looks gaunt and hungry! Why? Why couldn't he just eat the enemies of America? He was not wise!
In other words, elevated office is for eating, even literally. The bodies of these office holders have to be brought out for others to see and agree that the persons are in money or have seen money. The body brought out is an important indexical sign of affluence and is being performed. Also, wise individuals should fear the large!
Bringing out the body reminds one about frightening an antagonist. The wildness of the eyes. The bare body that sports muscles. The threatening language. Are you still there? Why not just run for your dear life? "Ndị akpụ obi" (Stalwarts of muscled chest). Just run.
Bringing out the body reminds one about such performances of the body as dance, dramatic displays, rituals, sex, etc. In other words, bringing out the body brings out other important cultural performances.
So, bringing out the body is generally the new reinvention of food in the articulation of power and shift of power to the domain of the body. But it is also an important cultural statement. It is a return to might is right and the ideology of this fish swallows that fish in order to grow bigger, as well as the eloquence of seemingly mute significs of humanity.
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