THE ‘ISE’, AffIRMATIONS IN IGBO TRADITIONAL PRAYERS

GISTERNEWS

Natives lgbo people of west Africa Nigeria, have varieties of rich cultural heretage in their daily activities, which they has being nurturing as a special and unique people. Speaking about lgbo people cultural heritage, you cannot separate their daily traditional and cultural mode of prayers, from their belief system or pattern of life. The lgbo traditional and cultural ways or mode of their daily prayer, is naturally enshrines in their traditional belief system or their pattern of life. This is partly revealed, when you take a critical look to the proper meaning of ‘lse affirmation at the end of every traditional good-will prayer of the lgbo people, without diverting our attention to other area of interest in this very important topic, let take an expository look to the proper meaning of the ‘lse’, affirmation at the end of every traditional (cultural) lgbo prayer by the audience (congregation) of the lgbo people.

The ‘lse’, means the number five (5) in English language, so traditionally for the lgbo people, every prayer made by the people, will be followed up by the affirmation of ‘Ise’, by the natives witnessing the good-will prayers. Categorically “lse” affirmation represents five essential things every lgbo man, ls praying for in life, all over the world, south America, north America, Asia, Africa and the Europe. The ‘lse affirmation, is the five things every lgbo man is asking God for in life, in their daily prayers, and they are as follows as listed below.

(1) LONG LIFE: The lgbo people believes, that life is a sweat gift from God. So the prayer of every lgbo man to God (nature) is the grace for longivity, which can be achieved through the observstion of one’s life styles, expecially during the youthful age, reasons because after these age, ‘one’ is expected to amend his or her bad ways of life, and try as much as he can to be at ease with nature, peace with one another and people you have wrong.

Here Socrates would say that’, ..’’an unexamined life is not worth living’’. The lgbo as people hates untimely death (premature death) for them old age is a great blessing from God, and it is celebrated by the people, when they live, to see their grand- children and great grand-children and also live a good life, that will grant them reincarnation after death.

These goes in line with what, O.A.A. Anado said (UJAH No2 2009/215 ) ‘’Onye lgbo mmara na o bu naani so na omeziri ndu ya, ga-eme ka o loo uwa ma nwe, udo n’uwa ozo’’. This is simply because reincarnation is part of the people belief system ( ilo uwa).

(2) WEAITH: The lgbo’s as a people, strives to live a life styles, that’s worths living, and so they, don’t to entertain a life of dependency, in other words they don’t like depending on other people to make or live good life. This is partly the reasons why every lgbo man is working-hard, to chase poverty out of their door step (life) because for them is a very serious disease that’s needs not to be toyed or played with, it is also partly the reason’s why any where they are, you see them striving working very hard and they are often regarded as industrious people in their various works of endeavour.

(3) UP SPRINGS: The lgbo natives, believed in the bearing of more children’s, before now because traditionally more children they said will be of eminent support in the family, in the cultivation of farm land, and the improve agricultural productions. They also considers it necessary and the important, to have children that’s will care for them, during their old age and who will also bury them, when they are dead. No lgbo man will want his family lineage to be closed, because of childlessness, and the peoples sees children as a special gift from God, because of the above reasons and many more, every lgbo man is praying for the gift of fruitfulness of children and it also partly the reasons why they are traditionally polygamous in their life style, mostly before now.

(4) PEACE: The lgbo’s as a people, love and cherished peace, that is the reasons why, when any lgbo man is praying with Kola-nut, Ofor and Palm-wine etc, he will be asking God for peace, withing himself, family’s, neighbours and people he has dealing with, because they understand that’s wherever there is peace, there is also progress. So the always pray for peace in their daily prayers, when they affirmed the ‘lse’, at the end of every prayer made.

(5) TREAT ME THE WAY, YOU WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO TREAT YUO:

In other words, treat somebody, the way you will like to be treated. The core message here is love, for us to love one another, people around us and also love our neighbours and the world around us. ‘’Nwa mmuo emegbu kwala nwa-mmadu, nwa-mmadu emegbu kwala nwa-mmuo. The above adage is similar to, what A.A. Anedo’, reminds us ( UJAH 2009/216 ) ‘’O doro ewu na okuko anya na mgbe mmadu anya doro bu uzo tuo onwe ya mbo, o fuo ya ufu, o gaghi amazi ama tuo ya mmadu ibe ya’’. Therefore wherever you see ayi lgbo man, people, groups, globally praying in their traditional ways and paterns of prayer, and you heared them saying ‘’lse’’, ‘’lse’’, oo ‘’lse’’, ee, then you now know that they affirming the above five things, they needed so much in their life as a people.

Therefore, the affirmation of ‘lse’ !!, is the above five things, they are asking God in their daily prayers in as a people.

Gi bu onye guru edemede a, onwe kwara otutu ezigbo ihe imutara bayenre usuro ekpere ndi igbo?.