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Post date: Aug 10, 2014 1:20:49 AM
31 March 1964 Happy Easter
Ah, this our very Arochuku. As went to a wedding this morning at the local Catholic church, which is (during the week) a primary school building. The primary schools here are all just roofs with a four foot wall around and an enclosed room at one or both ends for supplies. Anyway, nuptial mass began at eight am, followed by a group photo of all the guests (very popular}. Thence came a very formal, and strange to us, ‘reception’ at which the bride and groom were totally ignored. This formality seems to be an Igbo tradition. It opened with the appointment of one of the chiefs as chairman, then presented the kola nut, a traditional sign of welcome, which in less-western ceremonies is taken very seriously, the youngest (male) present breaking the kola then distributing it eldest man first in order of age down to the youngest. This requires a fantastic memory and big palavers arise over mistakes, etc. After the kola came a legacy of British rule—wine, toast, and wedding cake. Then, to get things going properly, we had beer (in the morning, yet) followed by palm wine. Incidentally, Arochuku has by far the best palm wine in all of Nigeria. It is sweet when fresh, and has a good flavor not unlike soda pop. Some of the palm wine, mostly that of the raffia palm has a soapy appearance and a bad odour. The best wine comes from the oil-palm tree in regions near rivers. The fan palm does not have enough sap to be tapped; so there is no palm wine in the Northern regions.
Back to the wedding: during the drink we had bits of the cake, peanuts, and chin-chin (fried bits of dough) passed to us, while the wedding presents were offered, announced, and received. This is a most amazing tradition to a westerner. The presents were all money, and the amount and name of giver are called out as each is presented. They must have collected fifteen pounds at this affair. During all this the newly-weds sit up front, taking no part, and looking bored.
The master-of-ceremonies is collecting the gifts while another is totaling up the take. This whole thing is topped off by some closing remarks by the chairman, with a short reply by the groom. It took four hours—all in Igbo!
According to Pius Igboko, the uncle of the groom (who, incidentally, paid for all of this) this is just to satisfy the white man. All the arrangements, bride price, and traditional ceremony are completed before this day. And afterward, this evening, after the men have had time for some serious drinking, comes singing and dancing which last far into the night. A good night, too, for there is a full moon. I took my tape recorder and recorded some of the doings this morning, all in the vernacular, and will take it again this evening. The grandfather of the groom is the oldest man in Aro, tho he is still very healthy and extremely sharp. He remembers all that goes on at an event like this and can recall any incident at any future time. He remembers details of meetings of chiefs twenty and forty years ago. Precedent is very important in Igbo law, and this requires someone to remember all that went before. The Aros evolved a simple pictograph written language to help their memories, but most of the history is oral, and must anyway be interpreted by some in the Ekpe Society who knows the symbols. The Ekpe Society had little to do with Juju, but was primarily for keeping the history and traditions in the community.
Funny thing happened the other day on the way to the forum... The workmen who work on the new classroom building on the compound came over to tell Mick and me that the roof had fallen in after they took out the supports. This is very funny, as Fr Henley, Mick, and I had all predicted this event, but I didn‘t think it would be quite as disastrous as it was. No one was hurt but the one room is a total loss and the other rooms will fall as soon as the supports are removed there, also. The walls all collapsed under the weight of the (concrete) floor above.
Just think what would have happened if they had completed the second story before it collapsed! The walls are made of blocks pressed from an almost dry mixture of cement and very fine, dirty sand. Fr Henley predicted the collapse on the basis of the span to be supported, but I based my prediction on the quality of the blocks. The blocks crumble in your hand—easier than the mud when it dries hard. I don't know whether the contractor or the Principal will have to bear the cost of rebuilding, but at any rate, we will not have a new building before next year.
Mick and I just returned from the house or Chief Igboko, the man whose grand-son was married this morning. About eight old men were singing in the end of the room, accompanied by drums and occasionally assisted by dancers. I took my tape recorder and got some good recordings.
This weekend I travelled out to Idem, a miniature Calabar, where I saw at Agbokim a waterfall which is probably the most beautiful sight in all of Nigeria. It is about a 100 foot drop over a rock wall 500 feet across, deeply undercut. The falls come in several streams, not too strong at this season, but much more in the rains. Plants grow from the roof of the over-hang, and one can walk under the falls.
The weekend before I was in Bori (Ogoni area) and Opobo. The people in Bori and Ogoni are river tribes, who live quite a bit differently from the Igbo. They live in tight villages and the men do not leave the compound to become traders. In the compound I visited, there were 13 married men living, and only two of the 'brothers‘ were living ‘abroad’. Most of the men are farmers, tho there is a good compliment of fishers and traders, also. I was shown about the village for a while, then ferried across to Opobo, a trip of about an hour in a dugout canoe.
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