REFLECTIONS ON THE WAYS OF ND’ EHUGBO (AFIKPO)
(By G A Agwo)
OKOKORIKO
Originally published in AFIKPO TODAY magazine: Vol. 1 No. 4 (Jan – Dec, 1993)
In this issue, let us reflect on the common-place shouts of joy, (ululation) whenever a woman is delivered of a child. It starts with, Okoko-ri-koooo…..ho-o……, and terminates with either, Ulo mu-e if a girl, or Onye oke mu e/Onye nke nke mu eh/Akpagbara-mu-e, if a boy which is peculiar to Ndibe of Nkpoghoro Community only.
The concoction, OKOKORIKO, is said to emanate from the expression: “OKU EKURU NA UKO” meaning A CALL THAT WAS MADE FROM WILDERNESS (Uko) Wilderness here refers to an uninhabited area, an uncultivated farmland or an area of land that has not been cleared – bush.
Story has it that pregnant women probably in search of firewood or wild fruits or place of rest went into labour for child delivery. Within minutes after ‘pushing out’ the child she mustered some strength to call out for help to disengage her from the baby. “Any women around, please come, come quickly and help me with my newly born child”.
OKOKORIKO – O HOO
OKOKORIKO – O HOO
IRO BIA EKELEM IRO KELEKWEM NA OKWARI GI E
EKELE ONYE IRO, MMAA O, NJOO O
ONYE OKE MU E – for a male child
(MA OBUGU)
ULO MU E – for a female child.
Literarily this means:
This call made from the wilderness
This call made from the wilderness
Any enemy, come and greet me, (if) you greet me, it will be with you
The greeting from an enemy, whether it is good or bad
It is a male child, it is a female child.
This clarion call at child birth is traditionally mandatory on EVERY WOMAN – foe or friend to answer and be part of the ululation and emergency child delivery meal, “NRI OKOKORIKO”.
Put in a layman’s language, the ululation is to announce the delivery of a live child. The first woman to arrive at the scene summons other women with that joyous cry. Subsequently, any women wishing to spread the information particularly to the husband and families of the woman recently delivered of a child has to do so using this ululation medium.
Usually, this chant is repeated several times. Other relevant birth songs, dances and demonstrations follow. They depict mock love-making by the duo, birth trauma of the mother, and the community’s high expectations of the newly born child.
Traditionally, immediately after the child delivery and back at home, all the women around, native and non-native, are treated to an emergency feast of pounded yam and oil–less soup (ohe sarara) (for nri okokoriko). This is an exclusive meal for women only.
The writer’s inquiry into these summarizing shouts of joy revealed that they are deeply rooted in the maternal and paternal lineages of the community. However, Akpagara mu e is peculiar to Ndibe village in Ehugbo. Akpagara is a pathway at ‘’agbo ogo’’ Ndibe and every male child is qualified to pass there for traditional war activities.
If the new child is a girl, the heralding word is “ULO-MU-E!”, literally ‘my house!’ But in practice meaning ‘an expansion of my family roots! Since the lineage in Ehugbo is matrilineal, it is the female child that is the adventitious root of the family, hence the expression ‘ulo-mu-e’.
The expression, “onye oke mu-e” or “Akpagara-mu-e” (my side) is used when a male child is delivered. Literally, it means one who stands to have a share for the family. The man is a reference point and represents the family in all public affairs. As far as the family tree is concerned the man is the terminal bud. He cannot increase the size of the family for, in Ehugbo tradition, his biological children are not of his lineage. He is only helping his wife to extend her family root. He is the “suffer man” who labours for his wife. At death, and during the burial ceremonies, the distinction becomes very clear on either side.
EXPLANATORY NOTE:
In Ehugbo, all children – male or female – relate to their mothers. The lineage is matri-lineal, and inheritance is therefore automatic along this line. This justifies the ‘ulo-mu-e’ tag at birth. Inheritance on the father’s death is subject to a number of restrictions which are outside the scope of this present discourse.
Any child in Ehugbo who is of the same ‘ikwu’ with his father must be as a result of one of the following causes:
- A man through genuine mistake or culpable ignorance marries a female relative of his, and they beget children. At any point that this is discovered, custom demands that an expiation (cleansing) be done. That done, the marriage must be broken up. If by reason of age or mutual consent, the woman stays on in the man’s house. Custom and tradition place sexual intercourse taboo on them as they have become brother and sister. The children and father become one Ikwu.
- Two or more ‘Ikwu’ may, in the course of time, trace their lineage to one root, and therefore decide to merge. As a result, some couples may be affected by the merger. In consequence, their marriages must cease at once. The children begotten already adopt the new lineages to which both parents now belong.
- If an Ehugbo man gets married to any woman outside Igbo area where the ‘Ikwu’ system operates, custom requires the woman to assume the same lineage as the husband. This is a special dispensation probably to make the woman ‘belong’. This is the only instance where normal married life is permitted and the children resulting from the marriage are of the same ‘ikwu’ as their father.
