Ceremonies, Social Gatherings, and Rituals
The Ibo clan of Umuofia practices many common tribal tradition such as worship of gods, sacrifice, communal living, war, and magic.
First, A woman that has child after child only to see them die is said to be inhabited by the spirit of an evil child who will re-enter its mothers womb only to be born and then die again. This horrible cycle can only be broken if the child's iyi-uwa, the stone that links it to the spirit world, is found and destroyed. Often medicine men would try to discourage the child from returning by mutilating the dead body and burying it in the Evil Forest, but occasionally, the children were known to return with the scars of that mutilation at their birth.
The uri is an engagement like ritual in which the suitor, or man asking to marry ones daughter, presents palm-oil to everyone in the bride’s immediate family, her relatives, and her extended group of kinsmen. For this ceremony, primarily a woman’s ritual, the bride’s mother is expected to prepare food for the whole village with the help of other women whom wish to attend the ceremony. The palm-wine ceremony begins in the afternoon as soon as everyone gathers and begins to drink the first-delivered wine. The bride's family present the groom's family with fifty pots of wine, which is a lot. The uri festivities also include a lot of dancing and music.
Since Umuofia is a hunting and gathering society, the Ibo lived on vegetables, with yams as the primary crop. Yams were so essential to them that the Ibo celebrate each new year with the Feast of the New Yam. The festival thanks Ani, the earth goddess and source of all fertility, whom would be responsible for the growth of the yams. The Ibo prepare for days for the festival, and the celebration itself is so important that it lasts for two days. Next, yams also play a part in determining a man's status in the tribe—the more yams a man has, the higher his status. In addition, cowries, or small sea shells, is the main currency between different tribes.
The Ibo worship gods who protect, advise, and punish them and who are represented by priests and priestesses within the clan. For example, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves grants knowledge and wisdom to those who are brave enough to consult him. No one has ever seen the Oracle except his priestess, who is an Ibo woman but who has special powers of her own. Not only did the gods advise the Ibo on community matters, but also they guided individuals. Each person had a personal god, or chi, that directed his or her actions.Each man kept a separate hut, or shrine, where he stored the symbols of his personal god and his ancestral spirits.
In Umuofia, the eldest man in the family having the most power. On matters affecting the whole village, an assembly of adult men debated courses of action, and men could influence these assemblies by purchasing “titles” from the tribal elders, whom were typically in charge just as they were in charge of their families. This system encouraged hard work and the spread of wealth amongst the people. Ibo's who transgressed against the laws and customs of the village had to confront the egwugwu( pictured above), an assembly of tribesmen masked as spirits, who would settle disputes and hand out punishment. Essentially, the Egwugwu were the Ibo's court system. Individual villages also attained various degrees of political status. In the novel, other tribes respect and fear Umuofia. They believe that Umuofia's magic is powerful and that the village's war-medicine, or agadi-nwayi, is particularly potent. Neighboring clans always try to settle disputes peacefully with Umuofia to avoid having to war with them.
The ritual of the kola nut is a ritual of hospitality . In this ceremony, the kola nut is passed around between the person who owns the home and their guest, each urging that the other should be the one to crack the nut, but the host eventually does the honors in most cases. They say that he who offers the kola brings life, and that is one of the predominant rituals of the story. This particular ritual pleases the gods and ancestors of the Ubuofians.
Added by Kyle Bolden
First, A woman that has child after child only to see them die is said to be inhabited by the spirit of an evil child who will re-enter its mothers womb only to be born and then die again. This horrible cycle can only be broken if the child's iyi-uwa, the stone that links it to the spirit world, is found and destroyed. Often medicine men would try to discourage the child from returning by mutilating the dead body and burying it in the Evil Forest, but occasionally, the children were known to return with the scars of that mutilation at their birth.
The uri is an engagement like ritual in which the suitor, or man asking to marry ones daughter, presents palm-oil to everyone in the bride’s immediate family, her relatives, and her extended group of kinsmen. For this ceremony, primarily a woman’s ritual, the bride’s mother is expected to prepare food for the whole village with the help of other women whom wish to attend the ceremony. The palm-wine ceremony begins in the afternoon as soon as everyone gathers and begins to drink the first-delivered wine. The bride's family present the groom's family with fifty pots of wine, which is a lot. The uri festivities also include a lot of dancing and music.
Since Umuofia is a hunting and gathering society, the Ibo lived on vegetables, with yams as the primary crop. Yams were so essential to them that the Ibo celebrate each new year with the Feast of the New Yam. The festival thanks Ani, the earth goddess and source of all fertility, whom would be responsible for the growth of the yams. The Ibo prepare for days for the festival, and the celebration itself is so important that it lasts for two days. Next, yams also play a part in determining a man's status in the tribe—the more yams a man has, the higher his status. In addition, cowries, or small sea shells, is the main currency between different tribes.
The Ibo worship gods who protect, advise, and punish them and who are represented by priests and priestesses within the clan. For example, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves grants knowledge and wisdom to those who are brave enough to consult him. No one has ever seen the Oracle except his priestess, who is an Ibo woman but who has special powers of her own. Not only did the gods advise the Ibo on community matters, but also they guided individuals. Each person had a personal god, or chi, that directed his or her actions.Each man kept a separate hut, or shrine, where he stored the symbols of his personal god and his ancestral spirits.
In Umuofia, the eldest man in the family having the most power. On matters affecting the whole village, an assembly of adult men debated courses of action, and men could influence these assemblies by purchasing “titles” from the tribal elders, whom were typically in charge just as they were in charge of their families. This system encouraged hard work and the spread of wealth amongst the people. Ibo's who transgressed against the laws and customs of the village had to confront the egwugwu( pictured above), an assembly of tribesmen masked as spirits, who would settle disputes and hand out punishment. Essentially, the Egwugwu were the Ibo's court system. Individual villages also attained various degrees of political status. In the novel, other tribes respect and fear Umuofia. They believe that Umuofia's magic is powerful and that the village's war-medicine, or agadi-nwayi, is particularly potent. Neighboring clans always try to settle disputes peacefully with Umuofia to avoid having to war with them.
The ritual of the kola nut is a ritual of hospitality . In this ceremony, the kola nut is passed around between the person who owns the home and their guest, each urging that the other should be the one to crack the nut, but the host eventually does the honors in most cases. They say that he who offers the kola brings life, and that is one of the predominant rituals of the story. This particular ritual pleases the gods and ancestors of the Ubuofians.
Added by Kyle Bolden
