By Uka Felix Senior Correspondent, Abakaliki
Mbaise community, in Imo State is one of the most populous and popular tribal group in Igbo land. Even if you have not been to the community, which seats on a table land, you would have heard about the Mbaise people, their women, men and culture.
Mbaise masquerade
The romantic, sonorous language of the Mbaise people distinguish their traditional songs in Igbo language as exemplified in the old Oriental Brothers musical band, led by Sir Warrior of blessed memories. That makes the Igbo songs done in the Mabise dilate, the choice of persons from other parts of Igbo land, and even those who do not understand the verbal communication.
Obviously referring to the Mbaise people, Bright Chimezie, a popular local musician once sang: “They do not greet you good morning and go away, they will ask you about your Mama, about your Papa and about children. That is to the extent of their cordiality”.
The typical Mbaise man is widely travelled. They could leave his community for anywhere in the world in search of greener pastures, hence the axiom that anywhere you arrive without seeing an Mbaise man or woman may not be fit for human habitation. When they arrive anywhere, they would gradually bring into the new found community their kinsmen and would live there like they are at home, indulge in the development and culture of the people for which reason you have Eze Ndigbo (Igbo traditional ruler) virtually every where across Nigeria and abroad.
Hospitality
When you visit even the poorest Mbaise man, sure, he would serve you kola nuts, sometimes, cups of fresh palm wine that would be consummated after he blesses you, pouring libation and praying their gods to bless your mission.
Marriage
Though they live in those communities, there is the notion of the Mbasie man that it is better to marry from among his people. So, at the ripe age for marriage, he departs the place of sojourn to look for a wife in his homestead.
Many reason, they say account for this, one being that they believe that their women most fit their life styles, are hard workers, and could hardly leave the marriage, even if the husband goes poor or faces any challenges.
In as much as the Christianity brought into Africa by the British colonial masters tends to have swallowed up African cultures, the Mbaise man still sticks to the tradition of going to his homestead, among his kinsmen and women, to undertake certain traditional rites before taking his wife-to-be to the church wedding.
In Igbo land, the tradition differs from community to community. But, in all cases, bride prices are paid. To Ndi Mbaise, the credence is that no amount of money or materials could be adequate for giving their daughter away to the man. In this guise, they give a list of materials that could be mind-boggling, but not really with the intent of the groom-to-be procuring everything on the list.
No known marriage agreement had failed because of the inability of the intending groom producing this or that material or money. It is all about negotiation and demonstration of the value for their daughters.
Nze Ozichoma Chukwu, a palm wine tapper in Amumara Mabise explained that it is only a man that should marry a woman and that any persons who advance the excuse of high cost of marriage are yet to mature for marriage.
Ironically, there exists an erroneous belief that it costs relatively much to marry Mbaise girls. Wrong as that opinion could be, indications are that those who ventured to marry from among Mbaise people more often than not have blissful testimonies of the marriage.
Crave for western education
The other thing that stands the Mbasie man out is their crave for western education. No matter how poor anyone of them could be, he labours with the wife to ensure that their children go to school, at least the basic level. For this reason, Mbaise, which has within it three substantive local government councils, Aboh, Ezinihitte and Ahiazu council areas, has the tradition of communal training of their children. Under the arrangement, the Village Heads could announce that nobody should harvest his or her palm fruits for a given period. At a given date, the fruits are harvested, sold and the proceeds used to train those who are due for enrolment in schools. With that you could hardly see a family in the area without graduates.
Community of Reverends
It is also a known fact that almost every family has a Reverend Father of the Catholic Church. For them, it is more admirable to be called Mama or Papa Father than be called the mother or father of a millionaire.
Just recently, the Mbaise people stood out against the ordination of a Bishop for them in Ahiara Diocese insisting that the Bishop should be a son of their soil. Whether that is right or wrong, it paints the picture of the determined Mbaise man. To some people, the opinion is that they are crafty, probably meaning that they are clever crop of people.
How Mbaise celebrates yam
In Mbaise, yam is acknowledged as the king of all crops. Though women participate in the cultivation of yam, it is said to belong to the men as the crop is addressed as the man’s crop. Traditionally, a woman is
not qualified to go to the yam ban and collect yam to prepare meal for the family. She would inform the husband of the plan to cook yam, so would wait by the side while he goes into the ban, selects and hands over the tubers of yam to the woman.
The cultivation and planting of farm crops starts between January to end of May. By the second month of the year, yam holes are dug and crammed with compost, as to make for good harvest. Early in the morning hours, children are seen carrying to the farms, wastes from the kitchen to fill the yam holes in the nearby farm lands.
By the time the planting of the crops start the families witness shortage of food. Families would feed on little available food. This famine period would continue through the end of July when the first species of yam called Ji-Igwe would be harvested. This particular species of yam is nicknamed “cut and come again” because when you dig and cut off the early tuber leaving the head underground, it will grow
and produce another tuber which will be planted in the next cropping season.
The fathers of the households in the villages and towns would be very happy and thankful to God for having survived the famine. To them, this wonder of nature calls for celebration hence a day would be set aside for the celebration named Iriji-Ohuo (New Yam Festival).
Ahiajoku
This is also to fulfil God’s law to his people of Israel to celebrate three festivals a year to Him. Celebrate the harvest festival when you begin to harvest your crops. The festival of the new yam is a thanksgiving celebration.
In Mbaise, Ahiajoku is the fêted as the god of farm crops especially yam. During the celebration of yam festival, prayers and libation would flow in praise and thanksgiving to god of yam. Before the advent of Christianity, early inhabitants of the Mbaise Nation, “our great grandparents” had Ahiajoku shrine in every household where food and drinks were offered to the Ahiajoku god. Fowls, goats, sheep were used as sacrifice. They had the notion of mini gods and one supreme God, the Almighty and Creator of all things.
On August 15 every year, Mbaise people all over the world celebrate this thanksgiving event individually or collectively with friends and well wishers. They come together to celebrate their achievements and accomplishments over the year with special thanksgiving to God.
Ezeji cultivates the yams, owns the yams, harvest the yams and gives them to people to eat. It is the role of the Ezeji to roast and cook yams enough to feed the masses that attend the ceremony. The Ezejis are great and powerful land owners.
An Ezeji title holder is expected to be an outstanding personality in the community. Ezeji people play important role in the settlement of land disputes.
They pray and bless the new yam, taste it and give it to others to eat. Iriji annual event attracts people from all over the world. It has attracted chief executives, top government officials, governors and vice presidents over the years. It has become a symbol of unity and home coming for Mbaise sons and daughters.
Location
Mbaise is a region of people located in Imo State South Eastern Nigeria and set in the heart of Igboland with several towns, cities and villages. The name Mbaise was derived from the five cities that make up the region namely: Agbaaja, Ahiara, Ekwereazu, Ezi na Ihite and Oke Uvuru. The areas of Mbaise (the three Local Government Areas) are about 404 km: Aboh Mbaise (185 km), Ahiazu Mbaise (111 km),
Ezinihitte Mbaise (108 km).
Religion, music and dance
In the area of religion, the people are firmly rooted with about 90 per cent of them as Catholics, while the remaining 10 per cent are Protestants and other religions. As lovers of the African culture and tradition the Mbaise people hold their culture in high esteem as can be seen in their disposition in celebrating the Iri ji Mbaise (the annual yam festival) for propitiating the yam god, Ajoku (Ahanjoku) with the Nkwotile dance (rump dance) common among the Mbaise Villages. This dance has been modified over the years to ekpe, mmanwu (masquerade), Iroko, ekereavu, abigbo to mgba (wrestling).
Other music and dances include: “A gbachaa E kuru Nwa”, Alija, Edere, Egwu Onu Nwa, Ekwirikwe Mgba, Ese, Nkelenke, Nkwa Ike, Nkwa Udu, Ogbongelenge, Uko, etc, in addition to other festivals which attract both locals and foreign tourists – the Iwa Akwa, “Oji-Mbaise” (kolanut festival) to the area. Indeed, there is a famed adage that the fifth person in any Igbo gathering is an Mbaise person or that person knows an Mbaise person as a friend or inlaw.
Even in the political circles, the Mbaise people are prominent. In the current era, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, the incumbent Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is a titled Mbaise man.
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