Ojemba Ndigbo

THE SHIVERING ELEPHANT FOLKTALES FROM IGBOLAND Written by Mazi Michael Ngozi Osuji. Email;  osujimichael60@gmail.com , Tell; +2348033865418. Once upon a time there was a certain elephant that was feeling terribly cold and feverish in the jungle. The cold was so much that the elephant could no longer contain it, and so he needed a shelter and warmth It was the great season of harmatan, and the season had brought with it some form of unbearable cold, and chilling dews, were falling from the sky with the atmosphere covered in thick black smoke.  The chilling cold, forced people to remain indoors within their houses. The people also made fires in their houses in order to keep warmth and to fight the raging cold weather. Meanwhile, there was a hunter who lived in the jungle. He built a hut in the jungle where he lived with his family. Like other families, the hunter also made fires in his hut in order to keep the hut warm and to combat the ragi...

OGWOLOGWO THE GREEEDY DOG FOLKTALES FROM IGBO LAND Written by Mazi Michael Ngozi Osuji. Email; osujimichael60@gmail.com , Tell; +2348033865418. Once upon a time; there was a greedy dog named, Ogwologwo. Ogwologwo is a name sarcastically given to rascals in the society. So the dog in this story was indeed a rascal to other dogs in the village. Ogwologwo was a slave dog to the gods. He was used   in sacrificing to the gods as a puppy before he grew into a big   and mighty dog. Everybody in the village knows that Ogwologwo was owned by the gods of the land; what was popularly known as ,”Nkita Amadioha”, that is, Amadioha’s dog..Amadioha was the Igbo goddess of thunder and lightning. In those days live infant animals and fowls were offered as sacrifices to the gods. These sacrificial animals and fowls were always left to fend for themselves and roam the village as nobody owns them but the gods. It was believed that the gods who owns them would always ...

IKORO THE GONG OF THE LIVING AND THE GODS   Written by Mazi Mike Osuji, email; osujimichael60@gmail.com ; Tell; +2348033865418 Powerfully and aesthetically made, Ikoro is a slit wooden gong which is significantly symbolic of spiritual power, priesthood, royalty, and unity of purpose within the realms of Igbo traditional and cultural anthropology. This wonderful instrument is handcrafted and symbolically made from the trunk of a special tree known as Ụ кọr, and, of course, from other trees which are known to possess similar spiritual powers and characteristics as the Ụкọr tree. The Ụкọr tree, of which the Ikoro gong is carved is uniquely, a special tree which represents a deity commonly referred to as “arụsị”, in this context, meaning, angel, goddess, deity or spirit; which is why Ikoro commands maximum respect and equal admiration within a typical Igbo society.   Ikoro usually commands...

Ǫ Ϻ Ụ GW Ǫ CEREMONIES IN IGBO LAND Written by Mazi Mike Osuji, email; osujimichael60@gmail.com ; Tell; +2348033865418 Ǫ Ϻ Ụ GW Ǫ is a period of post natal house confinement of a new-born mother and her baby for special food and clinical administration. Special foods and food condiments and herbal medicine play very key roles once a woman is ushered into the Ǫ Ϻ Ụ GW Ǫ incubation system with more emphasis laid on foods supply, herbs, and general hygiene for the newborn mother and her baby. Most of the infant and maternal mortalities occur during the first four weeks of childbirth due to lack of organized postnatal care systems like the ǪϺỤGWǪ , but with this system in place the newborn mother and her baby enjoy the privilege of adequate sleep, rest, and relaxation from tiredness and fatigue, house chores and errands. As a room incubation system for a newborn mother and her baby, ǪϺỤGWǪ , makes it possible for relatives and friends to lend help...