Igbo women rise against desecration of Igbo values, accuse fellow women

By Jeff Agbodo & Ugochukwu Alaribe

ENUGU — Based on recent reports, Igbo women, particularly organised groups like the Umuada and traditional leadership, have taken stances against what they perceive as the desecration of traditional Igbo values and cultural practices.

In Igbo land, there are certain cultural and traditional inheritance, rites and lifestyles that are exclusively reserved for men. Such things as holding the Ofo, a very sacred staff symbolising ancestral authority and moral righteousness, usually is vested exclusively in the male lineage of holders. And lifestyles such as three times backhand greeting, among others, have always been the exclusive practice of qualified men. These symbols are not mere ornaments or gestures; rather, they symbolise and embody deeply rooted spiritual, social, and historical meanings within Igbo cosmology.

The ofo represents, for instance, ancestral justice, truth, and moral authority passed through patrilineal custodianship, while specific greeting styles denote status, gender roles, and respect within the community.

The red cap signifies chieftaincy and title-taking rites conferred through rigorous traditional processes. The appropriation or misuse of these sacred symbols, regardless of intent, constitutes a serious cultural violation that risks eroding the values, identity, and spiritual foundations of the Igbo people.

However, traditional and cultural abuses have set in, and women now indulge in such practices to the extent that an Igbo women’s group has raised serious concerns against it. Igbo Women Ambassadors, which prides itself as an organisation firmly rooted in the preservation and promotion of authentic Igbo tradition and culture, has noticed the desecration and anomalies being exhibited by some fellow Igbo women; and condemned in strong terms, the effrontery of some unscrupulous Igbo women to attempt to desecrate Igbo culture and tradition.

The group insists that such acts fundamentally contradict established Igbo customs and has therefore called on the traditional rulers, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, all relevant custodians of Igbo customs, and other cultural authorities across Igbo land to urgently address this situation. They warn that silence or inaction may set a dangerous precedent that further undermines Igbo tradition and culture under the guise of modern expression.

Ebonyi monarch calls for urgent, drastic measures to tackle the anomaly

Reacting to this, the traditional ruler of Nkaliki Unuhu Echara autonomous community, Ebonyi State, Ezeogo Sunday Oketa, condemned such overreaching acts from any Igbo woman, insisting that Igbo tradition and culture are too sacred to be toyed with.

He called on Ohanaeze Ndigbo and South-East Traditional Rulers Council to look into it and take very drastic measures to stop such practices. Ezeogo Oketa said that the Igbo apex body and traditional rulers council should convene a meeting where stringent sanctions should be imposed on any woman violating the traditions and culture of Ndigbo.

The monarch said that the desecration of Igbo culture started when Western culture was introduced and infused into Igbo culture, blaming the colonial masters for disregarding and desecrating Igbo culture and tradition.

“The solution to the problem is for Ohanaeze Ndigbo to convoke a meeting with the traditional rulers in the South-East to look inward and sanction women who indulge in such abominations.

“The western culture has influenced the Igbo culture so much. Our people now prefer to live like white people rather than Igbo people. The women now want to be equal to the men with their slogan of “what a man can do, a woman can do even better.

“As far as I am concerned, those women holding Ofo and wearing red caps are wearing it as fashion and not as titled people; there is no way women can equate themselves to men. There are many functions in Igbo land that women cannot perform, or else the gods will strike them dead.

“We should caution our women to desist from desecrating our culture and tradition because the wrath of the gods will descend on them. It is an abomination for women to equate themselves to men. They can only hold the tail of a cow or horse, signifying that they killed a cow or horse, and not to hold ofo; for me, they are holding ordinary stick not ofo.

“You know that some of the activities of some women in Igbo land today are the cause of atrocities being committed in some places by young men and women due to the negligence of our culture. This has led to some people dying very young because the gods have turned their backs on us because of abominable acts in Igbo land,” Ezeogo Oketa warned.

Rate of desecration of Igbo culture by women is alarming—Azumara

Speaking on the matter, the President-General of the Nzuko Ukwu, Ngwa Ukwu cultural group in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, Chief Victor Azumara, noted that the rate of desecration of Igbo culture and tradition by women’s groups had become alarming.

He warned that if left unchecked, the culture of the Igbo race as a male-controlled society, would be in great danger. He also noted that women are not the only group involved in the desecration of the culture, but equally, some men, youth and some foreigners are also guilty of the misdemeanour.

Azumara, who retired from the Abia State Civil Service as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, called on the Ministry and other relevant government agencies to assist with public enlightenment to preserve Igbo culture.

He said: “Igbo land, though highly republican, is a male-dominated society, notwithstanding the fact that women are accorded respect and given some rights. There are many cultural practices which are exclusively reserved for men.

“Such practices include presiding over shrines and traditional sacrifices, the holding of the Ofo (a sacred staff which connects the living with the ancestors), and the back-handed greetings, the pouring of libations and other rituals associated with establishing a new homestead and burials.

“Except in some Igbo societies, which practice the Omu system, where women are authorised to wear the red cap, special armbands and other chieftaincy paraphernalia, women are generally excluded from these practices, which are reserved for men.

“However, some of these time honoured practices are being misused and misappropriated by women, especially the educated, exposed and highly regarded ones.

“The misappropriation of these values is gradually eroding the cultural values and spiritual principles of the Igbo race.

“Instances abound where some women wanted to perform the traditional breaking of the kola nut, and trouble broke out as a result of resistance by men. In order to halt the further erosion of Igbo cultural values by women, traditional rulers and all those involved with the traditional institutions must carry out a massive reorientation of their people. Igbo artistes and celebrities must join in the campaign by not displaying the wearing of red caps and other traditional apparel which Igbo tradition frowns at, in their movies.

The Ministries of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Information and Culture and other relevant agencies of government, such as State Orientation Agency, should assist in publicity and enlightenment. With coordinated efforts, the threat of erosion of Igbo cultural values by women will be checked, and those values will be fully restored.”

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