AGE GRADE CULTURAL CEREMONY IN NGURU MBAISE: THE OPARA NA OKWE IHE-EBIRI EXAMPLE

Abstract

From the primordial past to the digital present, the people of Opara Na Okwe community in Nguru, Mbaise of Imo State Nigeria have held tightly to their unique heritage including Ihe Ebiri cultural ceremony. This ceremony which is an Age grade celebration is usually observed by a worthy and upright male member of this community. It is a-once-in-a life-time ceremony which is usually marked with lots of pomp and pageantry. However, some critics have begun to frown at the ostentatious and high cost implication of this ceremony; they opine that the time, energy and resources which the ceremony entails can be channeled to human and physical development of the community, especially in the contemporary era of unemployment and hunger in the Nigerian nation at large. This study is, therefore, an inquiry into the details and implication of the ceremony and an evaluation of this criticism, particularly as it obtains in Opara Na Okwe community of Mbaise. Data were collected through the study of related literature and oral interviews of key players in the ceremony. The Data collected are analyzed using Emile Durkheim’s Functionalist theoretical paradigm in order to bring to the fore the important roles of development, social cohesion and stability engendered by this age long cultural ceremony. The study finds out that despite the human and material resources involved in the ceremony, it promotes such values as protection of Igbo language and culture, diligence, generosity, fraternity, socialization and good morals of their male folks, as the ceremony is not for vagabonds ( ndịefulefus). This research, therefore, recommends that this cultural ceremony be retained and transmitted from generation to generation due to its historical implication and its inherent enhancement of human relationships. It is also recommended there should be a downward review of its cost implication, long and complex preparation process as well as the need to expunge its seeming fetish and primitive aspects.