CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Culture has been described as

The patterns of behavior and thinking that people living

in social groups learn, create, and share. Culture
distinguishes one human group from others. It also
distinguishes humans from other animals. A people’s
culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language,
rituals, art, and technology, styles of dress, ways of
producing and cooking food, religion, and political and
economic systems1

Bodley in the above description succinctly described Igboland in general and

Umunomo in particular. This is so because Igboland of which umunomo is part of
is an enclave that is punctuated with numerous cultures. These cultures vary from
places to places and give the adherents a sense of identity and belonging.

Umunomo, which is an integral part of Ehime Mbano, is found in Imo State

(a state in South Eastern Nigeria). It has numerous cultural heritages that were in
practice from time immemorial. Some of these cultural practices include Iri-Ji,
Mbom-Uzo, Iru-Mgbede, Agbagwu, Okonko, Ugadazu, Iwa-akwa and so on.

In the midst of these cultural heritages are those considered as major and
those seen as minor cultural festivals. Iwa-akwa being one of the major cultural
festivals of Umunomo has been a cherished institution from the earliest time. But
as time pass by, some changes that resulted in some levels of decline occurred.
Some of these changes may be seen from the spectacles of modernization.
Notwithstanding, the culture has persisted till date because of its meaning and
significance to the people of Umunomo.

The institution of Iwa-akwa has been explained by different people and

in different ways. For instance, in his description of the festival, M.O. Ijere wrote
“it is an initiation ceremony meant to introduce youngsters into adulthood. 2This
means that the target of the festival is to bring the young men into the fold of adults
in a given community. On his own explanation of the ceremony, Ezennaya Ijeoma
wrote “Iwa-akwa is a mandatory entry into manhood” 3 . This is true of the festival
because from the explanation given by Ijere, the ceremony is the only way of
admitting young men into adulthood (for communities that practice it). Then
Ijeoma made it clearer that it is a ‘mandatory’ ceremony. That is to say that in any
community that practices Iwa-akwa, someone cannot be regarded as an adult till he
engages in the festival. This was what Onyekelu saw that made him summarized
thus

Iwa-akwa means ‘wearing cloth’. It is a ceremony

performed by youths especially boys in Agbaghara
Nsu, to initiate them into manhood/adulthood in
the village. Until this ceremony is performed, the
individual is not recognized or referred to as an
adult. He is referred to as a boy notwithstanding
that he is grown up or rich. He is not invited to any
meeting of the elders or adults. He is not expected
to make any financial contribution for the
development of the village4
Furthermore, Onuoha confirmed the importance of this festival in Igboland.
Thus, she had this to write

In the case of Iwa-Akwa, at an attainment of a certain age

of maturity, grown up male will join his age group in the
community and prepare for the next Iwa-akwa ceremony.
No matter how rich a grown up male may be, his
decision will not be heard in the community. If he has
not performed the Iwa-akwa rite, he is seen as immature.5
Literally, Iwa-akwa means wearing cloth. According to Korie Doris, “the
ceremony derived its present name from ‘Akwa-Mmiri’, referring to the covering
of one’s nakedness”6 it is believed that all men are naked and cannot reason like
men until they wear cloths of manhood. Thereafter, on the day of Iwa-akwa, they
(the celebrants) are cladded with clothing material to show that they have grown
into maturity and can as well, be seen as men.

Noteworthy is that Iwa-akwa is different from Ima-Ogodo; although both of

them are literally translated to English as ‘wearing cloth ceremony’. In order to
clarify between these two ceremonies, Kenneth Obiekwe wrote that

Iwa-akwa as a rite of passage is a rite of initiation

into the state of maturity (manhood). Iwa-akwa is
open to both male and female folk and entertains
no discrimination between a free born and outcast
(Osu). Iwa-akwa should not be mistaken with Ima-
Ogodo rite, which can be translated also as
‘wearing cloth ceremony’, also, a rite of initiation.
Ima-Ogodo is a pregnancy rite and so exclusively
for women. Iwa-akwa on the other hand is open to
both male and female folks as an initiation into the
stage of maturity. However, Iwa-akwa bears the
picture of more of men’s affairs as not many
women are unmarried before the age minimum.7
From the foregoing, one can see that Iwa-akwa is a mandatory festive rite,
used by communities (where it is practice) to bring into manhood youngsters who
are initially neglected in the affairs of the community. It is an old age ceremony in
some towns in Igboland particularly in Old Okigwe District. 8 It is the forerunner of
Age Grade system in igboland. Writing about this in 1937, P.A. Talbot noted that

There are usually special rites when the first age

class is entered, especially, if this coincides with
the age of puberty, and among some tribes feast is
given at every promotion of a company9
To clarify the word company as used in his work, Talbot wrote

Each age class contains all the persons of the same

age in the town-or if this is a large one, the
‘quarters’. The English one which by which it is
usually described out here is a company and there
are separate ones for males and females10
Writing in the 18th Century A.D, Olaudah Equiano described Igboland as a
‘nation of dancers, musicians, and poets’. He further said that every great event
such as a triumphant return from battle or other causes of public rejoicing is
celebrated with songs and music suited for the occasion. 11 Iwa-akwa is such
occasion, and music of all kinds is always played on the Iwa-akwa day. But then,
celebration differs from place to place.

STATEMENT OFTHE PROBLEM

From the existing literature, many works have been done on Umunomo.
Some have also been devoted to the cultural lives of the people. An example of
Umunomo’s culture that has received much attention is Iri-ji festival. But
unfortunately, little have been done on Iwa-akwa, which is one of the most
pronounced cultural activities of the people.

More so, Iwa-akwa as a cultural festival is highly embraced by

communities that practice it. Thus, it was held at a very high esteem from time
immemorial. But as time pass, the fame started dwindling. People had queried if
there is any impact that the ceremony had on the social and economic lives of the
people. This has posed a great challenge to Umunomo especially, in recent times
when the question started gaining ground.

Again, from time immemorial, market squares were filled with

structures; almost all adults of a given society were involved in policy making,
thereby promoting democracy. In addition to the above, unity existed among
peoples of the same age-grade.But with time; all the above social contributions and
so on were no longer there as before. Then comes the question-“what is the cause
of these loopholes?”

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study is to examine the Iwa-akwa ceremony in

Umunomo. With particular emphasis on the economic and social impacts of the
ceremony.

It also aims at clearing some doubts and misconceptions about this

prestigious culture like demonizing the culture, alienating its positive values from
it, seeing it as a ceremony where young people spend their hard earned money
extravagantly, while losing sight of the future.

Finally, the work will enumerate some causes of changes, in the activities
of the institution in Umunomo. This will in return vindicate and promote this rich
cultural heritage.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research hopes to contribute significantly to Igbo cultural

development in general. This it hopes to do in so many ways.

One of the many benefits that this work will provide is adding to existing
literature. This will thus provide fertile ground for researcher in such fields as
Sociology, Anthropology and so on who may want to find out some aspects of
Igbo cultures.

In addition, a success in this research will help to provide a clear picture

of social life in Umunomo, thus placing the region among other communities of
the world that have rich socio-cultural heritage.

As said earlier, the fame of Iwa-akwa is tremendously declining because

people lack clear knowledge of the ceremony and its impacts. This work which is
devoted to bringing to limelight the social and economic impacts of Iwa-akwa will
speak volume for the ceremony and thus, go a long was in restoring its lost glory.

Finally, the success of this endeavor will help to improve democracy by

increasing the number of decision makers in Umunomo in particular and Nigeria in
general. This is so because when the festival is well known to people, they will see
reasons to embrace it. By so doing, the number of youngsters to be initiated will
increase, and rich suggestions in village councils will be made, thereby leading to a
better society

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The territorial scope of this work is Agbaghara Nsu and Umuakagu Nsu.
The choice of these two communities is because: Agbaghara is a well known
community in the region and was among the first to experience European
occupation and embrace Christianity in the region. These to a great extent shaped
the ceremony in the community within the time covered in this research.
Umuakagu Nsu similarly is geographically located at a strategic part of Umunomo.
It also has the largest market in the local government, and these greatly affect the
ceremony in the area.
The time scope of this work is 1996-2022. This time is very important in
the growing trend of misconceptions in Iwa-akwa. This recorded the time where
two sets were being initiated at the same time after the Nigeria civil war. This trend
has been in ascending order till 2022 which was the last time Iwa-akwa festival
was held in these two communities before this work commenced.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The need to find out the history of the people of Umunomo and their
neighbors have posed a great challenge to historiography. 12 This also include the
areas of the cultures such as Iwa-akwa . As a matter of fact, scholars especially of
Umunomo origin have made frantic efforts to unravel and document the history
and culture of the area. Therefore, in reviewing the literature consulted in the
course of this research, my emphasis will be on the history of Umunomo and any
other work done on Iwa-akwa, including Age Grade System, irrespective of the
locality.

In their bookFrom Land of Hope to Eastern Heartland: Government and

Peoples of Imo State from1976-2006, Felix Uzochukwu Emenalor and Pearl
Chidimma Akanwa observed that “the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area was
carved out of the old Mbano Local Government Area in 1989 and that it has
administrative headquarters at Umuezeala, a town transverse by Okigwe-Aba
Branch-Orieagu-7½ Umuahia road”13. The book focuses on the political
arrangement of Imo State between 1976-2006. Although it has helped me in
tracing the recent creation of the area called Umunomo, but it did not provide
information about the culture of the region under my study.

Similarly, M.O. Ijere in his book Nsu Past and Present: An Account of its
Economic, Social, Educational and Political Development summarizes almost
everything about the Iwa-akwa ceremony ranging from selection of Age Grades to
the initiation ceremony. But the work focused on Nsu, which is a clan in Ehime
Mbano; thus, it failed to capture an overall picture of the ceremony in Umunomo
as a whole. More so, his work was published in 1965 which largely fall behind the
period covered by my work.14

Doris Korie in the same vein has written on Socio-Economic Aspects of

Iwa-Akwa Ceremony in Umuariam Obowo. She did a grand work on the topic, but
her focus was Umuariam Obowo, and not Umunomo which I studied.15

Ijeoma Ezennaya worked on The Role of Age Grade System in the

Historical Growth and Development of Umuchu Aguata L.G.A., Anambra, from
the topic; one can see that the focus of the work is on Anambra State. More so, she
wrote on Age Grade System, not on mode of initiation nor the impacts of it in the
socio-economic lives of the people.16

Under the title- Economic and Social Changes in Ehime Mbano Since
1970: Historical AssessmentChidimma Ugo stated that Iwa-akwa is a pronounced
ceremony in Ehime Mbano. She also noted that neighboring villages such as in
Obowo, Ihitte Uboma also copied from Ehime. Beyond this, she did not go further
to show how the ceremony goes and its impacts on the people.17
Like other researchers cited above, Chioma Onuoha wrote on the title An
Economic History of Ehime Mbano. In the work, she devoted some pages
explaining the concept of Iwa-akwa and the mode of celebration. But she did not
go deep to dig out the impacts on the people.18

Kenneth Obiekwe wrote on Place of Culture in Human Rights: A

Theologico-Moral Study of Iwa-akwa. His focus was to vindicate Iwa-akwa from
the shackles of demonization that people have enshrined it with. The author also
projected Iwa Akwa as a religio-socio-cultural tool for promotion of human rights.
In the summary of his work, he linked Iwa-akwa to the Christian initiation
(baptism). But in all these wonderful work done by this priest, the place of Iwa-
akwa in the economic lives of the people was not given attention.19

Some Aspects of Cultural and Political History of Ehime up to Colonial

Period was the title of the work done by Ugo Columba. Under the aegis of this
work, the author emphasized the importance of Age Grade. He stated that each
grade has name, plays a very important role in the society and so on. But this work
said nothing about Iwa-akwa which is the mode of initiating age mates into a
grade. The areas of economic and social impacts of Iwa-akwa were also given no
attention by the author.20

More so, Romanus Ejiaga has written on A History of Ehime Before

1906. The author devoted a reasonable number of pages to Age Grade system and
Iwa-akwa. But lacking in his work is the social and economic impacts of the
ceremony. More so, his work covered up to 1906. This falls behind the purview of
my research.21

All these and many more works on Ehime Mbano not umunomo and its
social and economic impacts within the time frame of this research. Even when
some attempts were made, they were not on historical perspective. All these have
created a gap in the history of Umunomo and her cultural heritage. Thus the need
to fill this gap has necessitated this work.

METHODOLOGY

In order to drive home the aims of this research, the method employed is

qualitative research approach. Then for easy understanding of the report of my

findings, I used thematic and chronological fashion. More so, I used descriptive

method to narrate certain issues.

SOURCES AND ORGANIZATION

This work is based on both primary and secondary sourced materials.

Oral interviews, archival materials, letters, and were examples of primary sources
used. While textbooks, project works, and made up of the secondary sourced
materials used in this work.

In terms of organization, this work is thematically partitioned into five

chapters arranged in chronological order. The first chapter deals with the
background to the study; chapter two was devoted to the origin, evolution and
mode of celebration. Chapter three is concerned with social and economic impacts
of the ceremony, chapter four talked about the changes and continuity in this rich
cultural heritage. The finally, chapter five contained the summary and conclusion
of my research.
End Notes
1
Bodley, John H. "Culture." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation,
2008.
2
M.O. Ijere, Nsu Past and Present: An Account of its Economic, Social, Educational and Political
Development (Onitsha:Etudo Limited, 1965) 51.
3
Ijeoma Ezennaya, The Role of Age Grade System in the Historical Growth and Developemt of Umuchu
Aguata L.G.A Anambra”, Unpublished B.A. Project, Department of History and International Studies,
Imo State University, Owerri, November 2008, 28.
4
Onekelu Collins, The Iwa-akwa Ceremony in Agbaghara Nsu, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area
of Imo State. Nigeria:Agbaghara Voice Magazine (January-March Edition, 2015) 9.
5
Onuoha Chioma, An Economic History of Ehime Mbano, Since 1970, Unpublished B.A. Project,
Department of History and International Studies, Imo State University, Owerri, September 2008, 37.
6
Korie Doris, The Socio-Cultural Aspect of Iwa-akwa Ceremony in Umuariam Obowo, 1970-2000,
Unpublished B.A. Project, Department of History and International Studies, Imo State University
Owerri, September 2008. 34
7
Obiekwe Kenneth, Place of Culture in Human Rights: A Theologico-Moral Study of Iwa-akwa
(Owerri:Faycan Limited, 1998) 13.
8
Ijere, Nsu Past and Present, 52-53.
9
P.A. Talbot, The People of Southern Nigeria Volume 3, (London: Frank-Cass Publishing Company,
1937) 343.
10
. Talbot, The People of Southern Nigeria Volume, 343-344.
11
Paul Edwards (eds.), Equiano’s Travels, (London, 1967), 3.
12
Ndudi Enwereama, A History of Ehime Peoples Of Mbano and their Neighbors, Unpublished B.A.
Project, Department of History and International Studies, Imo State University, Owerri, November
2008) 19.
13
Felix Uzochukwu and Pearl Chidimma Akanwa, From the Land of Hope to Eastern Heartland.
Government and People of Imo State from 1076-2006 (Owerri: BAF Communications, 2007)285.
14
Ijere, Nsu Past and Present.
15
Korie, The Socio-Cultural Aspect of Iwa-akwa Ceremony in Umuariam Obowo, 1970-2000, 25.
16
Ezennaya, The Role of Age Grade System in the Historical Growth and Development of Umuchu
Aguata L.G.A., Anambra,34.
17
Ugo Chidimma, Economic and Social Changes in Ehime-Mbano since 1970: Historical Assessment,
Unpublished B.A. Project, Department of History and International Studies, Imo State University,
Owerri, November 2007. 15
18
Onuoha Chioma, An Economic History of Ehime Mbano, Since 1970, Unpublished B.A. Project,
Department of History and International Studies, Imo State University, Owerri, September 2008.
19
Obiekwe Kenneth, Place of Culture in Human Rights: A Theologico-Moral Study of Iwa-akwa
(Owerri: Faycan Limited, 1998).
20
Ugo Columba, Some Aspects of Cultural and Political History of Ehime up to Colonial Period, An
Unpublished B.A. Project work, Department of History and International Studies, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka. 1979, 23.
21
Romanus Ejiaga, A History of Ehime Before 1906, unpublished B.A. Project, Department of History
and International Studies, University of Nigerian, Nsukka, June 1983.