In all #Ahaba traditional rites, ceremonies, events, feasts and other happenings in town, Kolanut plays vital role as no meaningful part of the occasion will commence without an elderly male person, with utmost faith in his #Chi not lifting one up for sound faith-filled prayers, uttered in confidence, one of firm assurance to prayers offered at the function, first upon the celebrants, their family members, loved ones, invited guests and all well wishers present at the function.
From keen observations, one can attest that Kolanuts are not always used in churches for prayers, one can also affirm, most of the times, it is at purely traditional settings and occasions that Kolanuts are used for prayers in Asaba, and asking about prayer patterns either in churches or at #Asaba traditional arenas or settings, is not out of place, this prayer pattern is one chief reason that midwifed this media piece/article.
With the above situation now well established, now to the concern or issue which necessitated this essay.
It is with mixed feelings that this essay is caused and called for, as are elaborated beautifully at the last few paragraphs of this essay.
Yes, we had established that in Asaba, Kolanuts are used for prayers during traditional occasions and that this traditional practice was handed over to us many years ago by our forefathers with well streamlined practical simple procedures, should such procedures for any reason, situation or circumstance get negated, believe this one fact, folks like yours truly must seek the post proactive and gradual result oriented means of addressing such anomaly, with a view at correcting same anomaly.
At many traditional functions, granted opportunities to attend, participated in, one of the most solemn moments within the event's lifespan is that moment, an elderly male leads all in attendance into the #HolyCommunion phase of the event, with a Kolanut as the blessed communion emblem with which, he binds all participant's collective best wishes and uses same Kolanut to send all prayers to each participant's individual #Chi for eventual manifestation of their prayers over time.
I can vividly recall a face to face training, I once had with my spiritual mentor and guide, Chief Dr. D.N Maduemezia, where he taught me how and what his grandparents refer the Kolanut to and the import they attached to it.
According to him, Kolanut is ascribed with a notion thus, "Oji, bu nwa eze osisi, wa na ezi ozi elu nmou".
Of course, you can see, the royal status, our forebears attached to the Kolanut, amongst all trees in the land, now if this is the case, it follows that handling the Kolanut well at traditional settings is a very important subject matter to our forebears and should we continue to perpetuate the traditional path, they left behind, it then becomes automatic that the handling of the Kolanut, as a matter of urgency and expedient corresponding actions, must matter a great deal to us their offsprings.
If our forefathers, decreed it to be used during our traditional events, then using it well at the commencement and end of the prayer session is an important issue, today, this essay's concern is about how our elders end their prayers with the Kolanuts.
Why under the sun, will an elder with a Kolanut in a pure 100% traditional settings, after praying, will want to end it by saying, "anyi ekpe ekpele ndi ninee na afa Jesus Christ and folks there will echo, amen", hell no, such is an anomaly in a 100% traditional settings, we have to make these issues clear and be certain about whether the prayers should be done traditionally or not and adopt the already laid down prayer pattern, if not for anything, at least to make room for spiritual sanity in our #Ahaba societal orderliness.
If the prayers must be done traditionally, then, it will be great to have our elders after praying with Kolanut, end it thus or in any similar fashion, "Odi goo nma ka anyi sii kpee, ka anyi sii kpee, ka oga si emeh, then the elder will echo olo ku toor, while the rest participants will respond, ipoor, with these call and response positive affirmations from the elder and participants, the
prayers with Kolanut are over"
From my recent research works carried out at various 100% traditional events, it is very clear that some of our elders are not conscious about to what particular #Ahaba spiritual essence or divine reality, their prayers with Kolanut in the first place must be challenged to, a careful observation, unveiled that most of our #Ahaba folks don't understand where or unto what to address their prayers with Kolanut to.
Of a truth, so long as the prayers with the Kolanut is about an #Ahaba traditional events, the elder holding the Kolanut must know that at such setting, he is not called to address or channel his prayers to #Chukwu, the Christian divine reality, no my dear elder, in the same manner, it is not his spiritual duties or responsibilities call upon or summon #Ani, #Anyanwu or #Agbala, (although, there are very rare situations, were the elder can directly address or call upon Ani, Anyanwu or Agbala, such as during our annual festivals, at such cases like that of performing #IdoziAni rites, be it Ani Ebo or Ani Ogbe, where the elder with a Kolanut in his hand can call Ani Ebo or Ani Ogbe into active consciousness, as well as presenting items needed for purification of the said sacred ground in question, recall that in my past posts, I had stated it that our #Ahaba forefathers never worshiped #Ani, #Anyanwu or #Agbala, soonest, I will do more detailed presentation on this issue as I am permitted to do so) no, but with the Kolanut in his hand, as he raises the Kolanut, he is supposed to call upon his #Chi, saying his prayers as will have the rest participants present to also attune their consciousness towards their individual #Chi, because according to #Ahaba spiritual order, no two persons under the Sun has the same #Chi, hence, an #Ahaba adage holds that, "Ofu Nne Na Amu, Ma Na Ofu Chi Adi Ekee".
As an #Ahaba traditional affairs scholar, researcher, pro-Ahaba media enthusiastic fellow, am of the opinion that in as much as, the enlightenment, civil and educated realities embedded in each #NwaAhaba had carved out of us a blessed and innate passion for religious tolerance and freedom of worship, it will not make sense as well, if under these globally acclaimed best practices and circumstance, we as a people and before our very eyes, watch as our well cherished traditional ethos and values fade away at the speed of light or are swallowed up by the ideals and practices of another foreign religious systems in our land for that matter too, that does not show that we are a sufficient conscious folks, who are supposed to be ever ready to preserve what was gloriously and laboriously handed over to us, tufia-kwa, #AniEkweKwaNa.
My #Ahaba elders, if you want to say your Christian religious prayers publicly, it is a welcome development, but bringing it into 100% traditional settings, is not a matured line of action, as we all know that for different cases conventions differs, so returning the right protocol to it's rightful place is the best action to take for a fast progressing state capital city like #AhabaIboOkwe.
Obviously, the Church has a well established prayer pattern, it is also safe to say that our #Ahaba spiritual ethos has it's prayer pattern too, for folks of spiritual like minds, how one ends prayer is very important subject matter.
For once, let's imagine how the atmosphere will be, if you were invited to say a prayer in a church and at the end, you failed to close it "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen".
I am very confident that such action will spring up a lot of questions, controversies, queries to the church authorities concerning what possibly led to such spiritual embarrassment, as such is a complete departure from the already laid down religious conventions with respect to prayer patterns, in same vein, similar controversies will be created or take center stage, if our elders don't end their prayers with Kolanut properly, during any pure traditional setting, because at such events a host of our #Ahaba unseen departed beloved ones and our ancestors, who are special guests of honour and active participants from their unseen divide of existence, in the point of fact and to some extents, these are some micro reasons, why in our communities, there are unnecessary turbulent cases amongst brethrens, all because in their attempts to socialize with us during traditional occasions, we create unnecessary divides between us and our ever willing and ready to participate ancestors, especially, during the most solemn moments of Kolanut breaking and prayer session.
For more enhanced and sustainable peace, progressive #Ahaba, let us keep traditional events, purely traditional, knowing that our beloved departed ancestors are our unseen guests ever ready to mingle and socialize with us harmlessly.
If you are not ready to say the prayers as our #Ahaba traditional patterns demands, why not when the plate of kolanuts are presented before you, it will be great, if you can just lightly touch the plate and have who can say the prayers in our traditional pattern, say the prayers, as my South-East Igbo brothers have it in their proverbs that, "Ochie dike weli Oji guaa ofor, odi ka o weli ya nye ndi nmuo na aka".
Brethrens, imagine how and what will eventually become the place of #AhabaUjom, once we recommit ourselves at making sure that our prayers with Kolanut commence and end properly, indeed, with our prayers with Kolanut at pure traditional settings done well, the least verbal description of such's resultant effect is akin to the reality that we had place #Ahaba into the best spiritual path that will yeild the best physical outcomes, as best enshrined/captured in the above mentioned South-East Igbo adage.
It is this essay writer's best wishes and prayers that our elders will turn a new leaf with respect to praying with Kolanut at pure traditional settings, so that corresponding blessings, advancement and progressive tomorrow will be attained, this is his faithful prayers, ka anyi si kpee, ka oga si emeh,
olo ku toor, ipoor, iseeh ya bu Oji.
With lots of love, from me Okonta Emeka Okelum to you, #NwaAhaba.
