There was one significant thing that happened in the early 70s when the then Catholic Bishop of Owerri Diocese, the late Rt. Rev. Mark Unegbu visited the Umuekwune Catholic community. He was received by all members of the community: Catholics, non-Catholics, and traditionalists.
After this visit, it was noted that almost all the traditionalists and priests of the local deities and goddesses from Umuogii to Umuezom started bearing Christian names. Record shows that they were baptized in the church even though they did not leave their deities. They participated in major church activities such as harvest, Easter, Christmas, and canonical visits. These included the priests of deities such as Agochaaekwe, Egolu, Amadioha, Adaorum, Nwalozieuwa, Ala Umumo, Ala Umuogii, Ala Umuapu, Ala Imokoche, Omukwu, etc. They were given Christian names such as Charles, Daniel, Michael, Peter, and Anthony. Others were Cyprian, Dominic, Sylvanus, Aloysius, Julius, and Damian. When asked why they agreed to adopt a new religion, a good number of them explained that there was no difference between their traditional religion and the Christian religion. The only significant difference was that the Christian God had a mother and a son. Their own God had messengers and representatives.
Before the full discourse on the relationship between the traditional religion practised in Umuekwune and the new Christian religion, it is important to know what culture and tradition entail.
Culture is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, language, arts, food, dressing, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups. Culture is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenge of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic, and religious norms, thus distinguishing a people from their neighbors. Culture serves to distinguish a people from others.
According to Aziza (2001), “Culture refers to the totality of the pattern of behavior of a particular group of people. It includes everything that makes them distinct from any other group of people, for instance, their greeting habits, dressing, social norms and taboos, food, songs and dance patterns, rites of passages from birth, through marriage to death, traditional occupations, religious as well as philosophical beliefs.”
On the other hand, tradition refers to a particular event or practice within a group of people. Traditions are a part of culture that have been passed down throughout generations. It is an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (such as a religious practice or a social custom), a belief or story, or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical, though, in some cases, not verifiable.
From these definitions, it can be seen that there is absolutely nothing fetishistic or evil about people’s culture and tradition. It is also a way of life which can be seen as dynamic. This shows that whatever was practiced by ancestors in Umuekwune and other parts of Igboland as at the time they were practiced was not evil, and referring to it as such is mischievous and misleading.
The Umuekwune ancient community was a homogenous and close one with its unique characteristic features that set it apart from other cultures of Igbo land. Some of their beliefs and practices, such as iri ji, iwa akwa, ilo uwa, igbu ejima, ishi eze, igu aha, ofufe chi, ohu, osu, igba nkpe, ilu nwanyi, etc, that appeared to be evil in contemporary society, and because of what is seen as a superior religion, should not be seen in that light.
It is known that most Christian cultures originated from the Jewish culture and tradition. The founder of Christianity also practiced Judaism and believed in most of their culture and tradition. He also participated in most of them during his life on earth. Umuekwune, right from inception, had her own culture and tradition, which was accepted by all the people of the time and guided, guarded, directed, united, and protected them at different periods.
From the ancestral heritage, Umuekwune is believed to be the children of Ekwuneoche, who is said to have come from Umuokanne. It has not been verified whether it was through marriage or migration. It was also said that while living in the current geographical location, she came with a relation, Ovuakali, while Ekwuoke ( the foremost settler) and Okweketaa ( early migrant) were previously living in the land. Out of the nine children born by Ekwuneoche, Okweke was said to be her first son, while Ezom was her first daughter. There are other versions of the story of unification.
This set of people, from the beginning, like the Jews, believed in one supreme God (Chiukwu). Other goddesses and deities existed and performed various other functions during that period. There were also priests, prophets, seers, and mediators between the supreme Chi and the people. It was believed that Ekwuneoche was human till she passed on beyond and became deified. So she was not an idol or Satan as some people painted her.
Umuekwune also believed in life after life. It was believed that after death, the ancestors congregate in the spirit world, where they still perform roles in the affairs of men. This place was referred to as Ala umuagbara. This belief was also shared by the Jews. They refer to ala umuagbara, in their language, as Hades or Sheol. You remember that Jesus was said to have gone to Sheol, after death, to liberate those held in the bondage of death (Ephesians 4:9, 1Peter 3:18-22). There is a difference between Hades (a place of the dead) and Hell (a place of punishment for sinners). Hell came into existence after Christ, while Hades had been existing as a place of the dead. This will be a story for another day, especially for those who follow the teachings of The Qoheleth on The Qoheleth TV.
Umuekwune ancestors believed in the spirit and the spirit world. They believed in reincarnation, punishment for sinners, destiny, karma, as well as reward for goodness and righteousness. They punish evil people. These included those who killed, stole, committed adultery, incest, and perpetrated falsehood. They had a method of verifying the truth by swearing in the presence of a deity. The prophets had the power of seeing the future, while the seers were initiated into a cult with the power of discovering what is lost. The Jews also had these things enshrined in their culture.
Umuekwune had different festivals and celebrations that were performed at various times in the year. There was the new yam festival (iri ji), which was preceded by the rite of purification (igbu omu), ewhe mmaa, and isu uzo. Umuekwune celebrated purity, initiation into manhood, and wrestling matches between villages. From such events, young men use the opportunity to pick virgin maidens as wives. There were dances: alija, abigolo, nwaokorobo, agbachaa ekuru nwa, ojionu, mmanwu, ulaga, nkwa di kwere nwanyi, etc. These were practiced and publicly presented on particular festive days.
Just as there were priests within the community, there were also warriors who defended the community from external aggression. There were titled men (oji ofo) who represented every village when meeting at the place of worship, ihu Ekwunoche. There was the law of Ekwunoche, which was like the commandments (iwu Ekwunoche). Those who defy such laws would face the punitive measures after being judged at the Ekwunoche shrine. The place, like the Jewish tabernacle, was sacred, feared, and revered. There were other sacred and revered lands, rivers, and forests within the community. The forest was referred to as “evil forests,” but there was nothing actually evil about such a place. They were sacred places of invocation of the gods for justice, vengeance, and retribution. The same is done in modern churches and adoration grounds.
There were powerful men in those days who were known to have performed miracles by healing the sick, disappearing into the spirit world, whose bodies could not be penetrated by hard objects such as knives, spears, and bullets. Such a powerful warrior as Nkworayi of Ekwuoke was said to have walked on the river and raised from the dead one of his slaves.
There were herbalists, bone setters, and midwives. Umuekwune was an agrarian society and celebrated the produce of the land, especially yams. Notable farmers had large barns and farmland. They also reared animals: goats, chickens, and cows. Some fishermen and hunters also celebrated their game.
From all indications, you can see that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the ancestral culture and tradition. At the particular period under review, there were good people as well as evil people. Some used the deities, priests, and goddesses for evil purposes. Some abused the laws and practices. This is not different from the Christian community. There are good and evil Christians. Some use the name of Jesus Christ for good and evil purposes. Some abuse the moral and spiritual laws. There are a lot of hypocrites and fraudsters among Christians. But the abuse of what is right does not make it wrong. Some areas of culture and tradition might have been abused due to ignorance and mischief.
Unfortunately, Christianity led to the demise of the African customs, which it viewed as pagan and evil. The total condemnation of African culture and tradition by the early Christians as evil was mischievous and, to an extent, evil. The Church has realized its mistakes and has started accepting the same culture and tradition it condemned in the Christian society. Some have been inculcated into their liturgy and regular practices. These include language, dressing, music, food, religious practices, harvest or new yam festival, naming ceremony or baptism, life after life, deification of man, superstition, mysteries, and miracles. The Church should therefore apologize to the Umuekwune people in particular and Africa as a whole for condemning their culture in the first place out of ignorance.
