Oral African Literature

Oji Presentation
Rhetorics in Orsu
LGA, Imo State

Joseph Okey-Ogunjiofor
180102156
Table of Contents
1. Abstract
2. Oji in Igboland: A Symbol of Cordiality
3. The History of Oji
4. Rhetorics and the Igbo Culture
5. Oji Presentation Rhetorics

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Abstract
Ójí Ìgbò is highly reverenced by the Ìgbò people. This reverence comes from their considering it
as a rare gift from God Almighty. For them, it is a gift of life and as such must be celebrated. This
paper discusses this gift in terms of the methods by which ndi Igbo expresses it. It presents the
interpretation given to it by the people. Again, it describes the ójí Ìgbò according to the number
of lobes it may have and looks beyond this to reveal other things about it. The highlight of the
discussion is the account of how the ójí Ìgbò is celebrated orally. On the whole, the goal of
eating the ójí Ìgbò is determined; it is to energize, enhance and protect the life given by God.

Oji in Igbo Land: A Symbol of Cordiality

The breaking of Oji, a fruit called Kola nut in the English language, is one of the most important
and venerated traditional practices in Igboland and Igbo culture. While most argue that Oji stands
as a symbol of hospitality among Ndi Igbo, the sacred concepts behind the observance of this
ritual are more thoroughly encapsulated in the rephrasing of this argument—to the Igbos, Oji
presentation is a symbol of cordiality.

But why does "cordiality" do a better job than "hospitality"?

The Cambridge Dictionary of English defines the word "cordiality" as behavior that is friendly but
formal and polite. This is an exact description of the ideal atmosphere for any group to engage in
the breaking and presentation of Oji.

Due to the versatility of function that the tradition has—in that, while Oji can be broken and
presented casually between friends and family, it can also be presented at highly official settings
and events involving revered and respected cultural leaders—the actual process of Oji
presentation has become one with many variants and ad-hoc practices.

For example, while it is culturally the right of the oldest person present in any gathering to bless
the Oji before it is passed around to the other members of the group, modernization, and
integration of other now-ingrained societal concepts have caused this to evolve. The oldest
person in the group can—and recently has been more likely to—defer this privilege, granting it
instead to an ordained minister or one consecrated to God.

Traditionally, there would be an individual tasked with the role of carrying the Oji on the special
wooden platter reserved for presentation. He would transport the sacred fruit from the stores to
the one who would bless it, and then over to each valid member present.

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In times past and according to pristine culture, should this designated person—in error or
otherwise—happen to botch this process, they would be dealt with according to the specific
stipulations of their precinct or region. More recently, this is no longer the case, as it is no longer
considered such a grave offense.

The Role of Oji In Bridging a Spiritual Gap

The Igbos hold a strong sense of reverence for their ancestors and the sacrifice of material life
that every single one of those ancestors made to achieve transcendence. This awed respect and
loyalty to their forefathers, tethered to the ritual of breaking the Kola nut, is displayed by Ndi Igbo
very often—Oji can be presented as many times as one gets a visitor in a day, for example.

The host, or the one to whom the gathering is owed, will take the first lobe of Oji and raise it to
his lips to signify the absence of malice and purity of intention towards the other individuals
present. However, because Oji has to be presented even at the commencement of a meeting to
settle disputes, this is more symbolic of the potential for peace than an actual statement of peace
itself. It is believed this is observed because “the ancestors have a way of seeing every man’s
heart."

Essentially, Oji gives the ones still here a chance to appease the ones that have gone ahead to
prepare a place for them. It almost serves as a gesture of gratitude towards the sleepless eyes
that watch over their affairs and intercede with the gods on their behalf.

This is why, before any kind of discussion is carried out in any Igbo gathering, there must be a
formal Oji presentation.

The History of Oji and Ndi Igbo

Although it has been established that the kola nut is indigenous to West Africa and that it has
many species, the most common species in Nigeria are Cola nitida and Cola acuminata. Cola
nitida (gworo) has only two cotyledons.

According to Ukaegbu, in Igbo traditional rituals and ceremonies, gworo (Cola nitida) is not valid;
only the Igbo kola (Oji Igbo) Cola acuminata is acceptable. The reason for this distinction will
become clear when we treat Igbo kola nut symbols and interpretations. To be sure, most
regions in Africa depend on oral traditions for the reconstruction of their early histories.

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African history was oral until the 20th century, when African historians started documenting the
history of their people by themselves. Thus, oral tradition and sources can be described as
historical events of previous generations handed down and narrated from generation to
generation. The beauty of oral tradition is that it offers insights into the cultural values of a people
and adds information about the past for the historian.

Therefore, the historical origin of the kola nut among the Igbo is largely based on oral sources.
According to the tradition of the origin of the kola nut among the Igbo, there was a special
relationship between humans and spirit beings.

Obineche, apparently quoting Onwu-Otuyelu, asserts that at the beginning of time, the living
world (man) was related to the spirit world and that man and spirits were interacting to the level of
exchanging ceremonies and festivities like sports competitions. In one of these competitions
(wrestling), one spirit called Aji Ike Ugburuoba stood unconquerable by any human wrestler.

In those days, sports heroes easily attracted the love and affection of the opposite sex. As such,
women within the human world began to fall in love with this spirit hero, Aji Ike. Prominent
among these women was Ugo Onobo, who was so obsessed and madly in love that she eloped
with Aji Ike Ugburuobato, whose spirit abode was located at the depths of the Cross River at
Okwuruike.

This sudden disappearance of Ugo Onobo posed a nightmare not only to her two elder brothers,
Agala and Ogbu Onobo, but to the entire community, which did not give up in the search for her.
To the two brothers, the search became more imperative when they were openly ridiculed in the
village square for being weaklings because of their inability to locate their one and only missing
sister, Ugo.

This challenge became so unbearable that Ogbu Onobo and his brother Agala vowed to stop at
nothing until they had found their only sister, Ugo. The search led them to a diviner (dibia) to
inquire about her whereabouts. Their hope was elated when the diviner told them this: By the
time chicks start returning to their roost and the sun is gradually sinking toward setting (about 4
p.m.), go to the brink of the Cross River Okwuruike during ebb-tide there, stand, and call loudly
the name of your sister, Ugo Onobo, seven times, and she will answer.

Then follow the echo of her voice; it will lead you to the bottom of the Cross River. There, you will
find her living with Ajike Ugburuoba, the Great Spiritwrestler. The two brothers complied strictly
with the directives of the diviner, and lo, they found their sister with Ajike Ugburuoba. On entering
the house, they found their sister pregnant.

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In excitement for the visit of his brother-in-law, Ajike went into his room and came out with native
chalk (Nzu), coconut water as a drink, and kola nuts. The chalk, which he gave them to smear on
their wrists as a welcome gesture; the coconut with its water, which he gave as drink and food;
and the nut, which he gave as jewelry for their sister, Ugo.

In anger, the two brothers rejected these offers but demanded to take their sister home, even
with the pregnancy. The helpless Ajike consented to their request but pleaded with them to
accept his gesture of hospitality. He told them to go home with the royal sister's wishes.

"Use the chaegin'k to welcome your users as I did to you, to tell them how glad I was when you
visited me." When the coconut grows an avocado, take one, break it into four parts, and leave it
on the road.

"By this act, you have given me my share of it, and then you can eat the rest of it and subsequent
harvests with your families and guests." Concerning the kola nut, he instructed them to give
thanks with their right hand and their left hand.

Ajike said, “You have given me my share." Then break and share the rest with your guests." "Just
as I have presented you the kola nut as dowry on the head of your sister, Ugo, so must you
present the kola nut at every marriage in every human home as the celebration between the
worlds of the living and the living, and the spirits?"

Although Ajike took the baby back from Ugo through miscarriage on the NdeleBridge, the two
brothers performed the rituals as Ajike directed. As for the red color of the kola nut, the legend
attributes it to Agala Onobo’s blood, which turned red in the process of breaking through to the
land of the living. While some of the white-colored seeds are called after Ugo Onobo, who was
the first woman ever to have kola nuts as a bride price,

From this myth on the Igbo origin of the kola nut, one can therefore understand why there is a
popular etymology among the Igbo that Oji (kola nut) means O = Omenala (custom); J = Jikotara
(that unites); and I = Igbo. Thus, oji means “omenala jikotara Igbo," that is, "custom that unites the
Igbo."

Therefore, the kola nut is articulated among the Igbo as a valuable fruit of great importance to the
whole livelihood of the Igbo community, for it offers to play a role of unity, harmony, and solidarity.
Another significance associated with the myth is that it gives credence to the Igbo preference for
Cola acuminata, the species that has more than two cotyledons, and further explains why the
species has two colors: white and red.

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The white is called Oji Ugo. Ugo means eagle in Igbo, but this does not mean the eagle kola;
rather, Ugo here represents the legendary Ugo Onobo, the first human wife of the spirit wrestler,
Ajike, for whom the kola nut was presented to the living brothers by the spirit husband.

The red color of the kola nut is attributed to the legendary Agala Onobo’s blood, which stained
some kola nut seeds in the process of breaking the very product of the kola nut harvest in the
land of humans.

Rhetorics and the Igbo Culture

The Igbo Rhetoric
The Igbo rhetoric does not share the same traditional pattern as the English, Greek, and Roman.
Igbo traditional and political oratory is uniquely different from English and other Western cultures
and traditions. The communicative strategy of Igbo traditional literature is not only oral but also
has divergent connotations that call for extra caution and mastery in its interpretation.

According to Duckworth, "evidently, the search for the rhetoric of non-Western culture has
become a crucial scholarly and political endeavor, as people seek bases for dialogue across tribal
and national boundaries." The true rhetoric of any age and of any people is to be found deep
within what might be called attitudinizing conventions, precepts that condition one’s stance
toward experience, knowledge, tradition, language, and other people. (rhetoric).

In analyzing the rhetoric of Igbo traditional verse, there is a need to be acquainted with the basic
stages of the content (i.e., the issue communicated). Form connotes a kind of physical
appearance, manifestation, shape, or exactitude of a given substance.

According to Burton, rhetoricians divided form and content not to place content above form but
to highlight the interdependence of language and meaning, argument and ornament, and
thought and its expression. It means that linguistic forms are not merely instrumental but
fundamental—not only to persuasion but to thought itself.

(“Silva Rhetoricae”) The points above can be further traced to Aristotle’s idea of distinguishing
the logos (i.e., the logical content of a speech) from lexis (i.e., the style and how a speech is
delivered) or to Quintilian (a Roman author) who equally makes the difference in what he terms,
that is, a division of consideration of things or substance and verbs, which have to do with proper
examination or analysis of verbal expressions.

The different natures of form and content can be tabled as below:

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 Form Content

(i) How the issue is communicated ( i) The issue communicated via language

(ii) The physical appearance, shape, and (ii) The kernel of a substance or a microcosm
exactitude of a substance of the macrocosm

(iii) Language (iii) Meaning

(iv) Argument (iv) Ornament

(v) Thought (v) Expression of thought

(vi) Instrumental (vi) Fundamental

(vii) Logos (vii) Lexis

(viii) Res (viii) Verba

(ix) Means
(ix) Matter

(x) Okwu (x) Ka esi ekwu

The major issue to consider while studying the form of the rhetoric of Igbo traditional literature is
to emphasize the oral content of this discipline and to also spell out the Igbo understanding of
what constitutes poetry. Igbo traditional poetry was communally owned and was transmitted by
word of mouth before the encounter of Igbo scholars with the colonial masters.

The era of literacy has made it possible for some Igbo traditional poetry to be documented in
written form at present. Those poems that were traditionally or communally owned and
transmitted before being later documented in the written form are studied here as purely oral
traditional poetry, while the others that are composed by single individuals out of their creative
ingenuity are regarded as literary or written.

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The point at which this traditional poetry had autonomy is from the pre-colonial period. Some
poems collected and annotated after the colonial experience may still maintain their traditionally
oral nature and are treated as such.

An example is The Igbo Traditional Verse, compiled and translated by Romanus Egudu and
Donatus Nwoga. For the average Igbo, most poetry is closely associated with songs. These
songs are functionally used in praises, prayers, writing, wars, masquerade displays, celebrations
of activities like child naming, ozo title taking, burials, initiation, etc.

This paper focuses on the form of rhetoric and rhetorical devices (like personification, metaphor,
simile, analogy, euphemism, hyperbole, litotes, and others) used in Igbo traditional poetry. Various
aspects of phonetic forms (like intonation and free verse) are studied, as are the uses of
repetition (like chants, magical effects, etc.). Other literary devices are equally studied while
doing the analysis of Igbo traditional poetry.

Proverbs as a form of Igbo Rhetoric

Proficiency in the use of Igbo proverbs is the hallmark of a seasoned Igbo rhetorician. It is often
referred to as the "condensed wisdom and experiences acquired over many years and
expressed in a compressed manner." The proverb is to the Igbo man a school of sorts.

It can be compared with grammar, logic, and rhetoric, which were classified in the medieval
period as three of the several liberal arts that university students should study for the first four
years of their admission. Other liberal arts then included music, geometry, arithmetic, and
astronomy.

Latin was then the official language of education. A proverb is usually deep and pithy and also
incorporates artistic statements that have the ability to generate many meanings. An Igbo
proverb is patterned in such a way that one proverb can be explained through many other
proverbs.

It is not purely like Transformational Generative Grammar (T.G.G.) because each proverb has
the total ability to stand on its own and can equally make complete sense and a sentence.
According to Nwadike, “the proverb is a form of speech that is pregnant with meaning."

"More often than not, it confounds the unintelligent and even the intelligent who are not used to
the form.” An Igbo grammarian, Okonkwo, in his study of Igbo proverbs, came up with the
following observations:

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 1) An Igbo proverb is often used to begin addresses.

2) One who cannot understand proverbs is generally looked upon as inexperienced, naive, or
even foolish (i.e., ofeke).

3) Igbo proverbs reveal a lot about the Igbo themselves.

4) A number of proverbs reveal the unrecorded history of the Igbo.

5) Igbo proverbs are also based on Igbo customs.

6) Igbo proverbs have three levels of meaning: the philosophical, the literal, and the contextual

As a physical form of rhetoric, the argument has raged among different scholars over the years
about whether Igbo proverbs can be accepted as an authentic genre of literature, especially as
poetry.

The argument about proverbs and their position in poetry is not the main concern of this study,
but the uses of proverbs in both traditional and oral literary works by Igbo writers are essentially
noted as parts of the contents of Igbo poetry. According to Chukwuma, “the proverb realizes its
full form and meaning when it is applied to situations outside itself, that is to say, its contextual
aptness.”

The following proverbs give contextual meanings because of the occasion or situation in which
they are used:

The pursuer after the innocent fowl

Is doomed to fall down;

The stick used for removing a millipede

Is often thrown away with it;

One who has not eaten the udala fruit

Never suffers from the disease caused by it;

For one who holds on to owho

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 Is never lost in a journey;

Oji Presentation Rhetorics

Using the kola nut as a reference point, it is evident that language and culture are inseparable.
The kola nut is a unique cultural element that falls under material traits, specifically food, but that
has special application and resonance in all the other cultural indicators. It is embedded in the
Igbo language, in which the word "oji" is a key common noun with specific and generic
applications.

The rituals surrounding the kola nut are characterized by a repertoire of proverbs, idioms, and
other linguistic forms. As a ritual object, it is a crucial component of key family and communal
ceremonies as well as religious observances.

It is one of the most recognizable Igbo symbols. It is an economic as well as an occupational

product. Therefore, in its various cultural roles and applications, the kola nut is a great ally and
purveyor of the Igbo language.

This is in line with Dell Hymes' concept of the ethnography of speaking or ethnography of
communication. In Igbo philosophy and worldview, the Kola nut represents a mark in his society.
Each lobe (ibe) of the kola nut is seen as a complete whole, yet it must integrate with the other
lobes to form the whole nut (mkpuru oji), and only as a nut can it reproduce itself.

The republican Igbo valued highly the individual's liberty, independence, and ability to achieve
(ike otuonye, ike mmadu), yet they underscored and insisted also on collegiality and a communal
ethos or team spirit (onye aghala mwanne ya, igwe bu ike).

Emekaekwue captures this view clearly when he notes that the Igbo see a person as an "integer"
who, to fully realize his personhood, must "integrate with others in a family, a community, a race,
or humanity."

Kola nut is a symbol of peace, respect, goodwill, acceptability, and indeed everything that
stands for peace and unity. Kola nut is a unique and important aspect of Igbo culture. This has
been cherished and preserved by the Igbo forebears.

Kola nut is an important aspect of Igbo culture, and given that language and culture are
inseparable, the presentation of kola nut should be made to consistently reflect those Igbo
cultural elements, especially as they affect the Igbo language.

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The Kolanut as a Unique Cultural Element and Linguistic Agent
In the Presentation and Breaking of Kola Nut, the dualism in the Igbo worldview is captured in the
saying “kwuru akwudobe ya," which means that things exist in pairs.

In the world of kola nut rituals held in public gatherings, it translates to the practice of presenting
the 5-centimeter reddish-purple nuts in multiples of two (2, 4, 8, 16, etc.). This does not however
apply to the lobes, cotyledons, or parts of the kola nut when broken, which must not be two or it
is interpreted as portending ill will.

Rather, it is believed that the more lobes or parts the kola breaks up, the more prosperity it gives
to its presenter and visitors. In the words of an informed commentary,

Four parts coincide with the four market days of the Igbo
week. Five or more broken parts mean prosperity for the
family. In some parts of Igboland, when the kola breaks into
six, a separate celebration is required, sometimes even
including the slaughter of a goat.

While discussing the presentation, Osuji states, "If a person makes a visit to someone alone and
the host is by himself also, the presentation is simple." The host puts the kolanut in a wooden dish
and presents it directly to the visitor. The visitor receives it and returns it, usually with the phrase:

"Oji eze laara ere"

That is usually returned to the host. Usually, if the visitor is a more elderly person than the
presenter, the host may ask the visitor to bless it.

Is it any surprise that one of the earliest scenes in the iconic novel Things Fall Apart is one in
which Okonkwo's father, Unoka, offers kola to his guest, Okoye, and breaks it at the end of the
day? The exchange is interesting.

Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned

with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut, some alligator pepper, and a lump of white chalk.
"I have kola," he announced when he sat down, and

passed the disc over to his guest. "Thank you. He who brings kola brings life. But I think you
ought to break it,'

"No, it is for you, I think," and they argued like this for a few moments

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Before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola, Okoye, meanwhile, took the lump of
chalk, drew some lines on the floor, and then painted his big toe.

As he broke the kola, Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health and for protection
against their enemies.

From the above citation, it is clear that an ideal kola nut presentation has to be accompanied by
what Okoye and Umeodinka term "acknowledgement rights." It is also attended by verbal
exchanges, often laced with proverbs and idioms.

In some cases, the actual igo oji or prayer over the nuts is preceded as well by "ikwa ikiri"
(clearing of the throat) to enforce silence and attract the attention of both the human audience
and the spirits. In so doing, the language gets reinforced among witnesses to the ritual. The
actual breaking of the kola nut is followed by the announcement of the number of lobes it
contains, the implications of which may be highlighted by the person presiding or any perceptive
observer.

The presentation and breaking of the kola nut, "iche oji ihi oji," offers ample opportunity for
introduction and a closer knowledge of the people present. Chukuezi & Chukuezi describe
seniority and age as priceless factors in Igbo land. It

is associated with experience, honor, and respect and therefore can command the ability of igo
oji (the blessing of the kola nut). The above citation buttresses the fact that the blessing of kola
nuts should be the sole business of elders or ranking traditionalists who, by virtue of their age,
are competent to speak the language of kola nuts.

The issue to be underscored here is communicative competence arising from experience and
exposure.

In traditional families, the head of each family ensures that kola is blessed at the earliest
opportunity in his household. As the prayers are offered with accompanying idioms and proverbs,
the children of the household learn the arts of the language from the elders performing the
rituals.

Oji Anaghi Anu Bekee: The Kola Nut Does Not Understand English
One of the most perceptive and patriotic coinages in Igbo after the arrival of the British colonial
government with its language of imposition is the saying, "Oji anaghi anu bekee" (kola nut does
not understand English).

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This popular saying, which implies that all activities in the course of kola nut presentation and
sacrificial blessing should be carried out in Igbo, obviously emerged as a determined bulwark
designed to protect the besieged and oppressed language from its rapacious adversary,
English, in one vital area of its cultural practice: the sacred ritual of igo oji.

The Kola nut ritual involves vocalized prayer with the psychomotor action of the sacred right
hand holding the sacred bitter nut and ends with the consumption of the "blessed" nut by all
present. This must rate as one of the highest forms of prayer for the Igbo man, who places so
much premium on life when he intones, "Onye wetara oji, wetara ndu!"

If the all-conquering foreign language were to also invade this sacred space of the Igbo, that
would probably amount to a great sacrilege and the coup de grace against the Igbo language
and culture.

Perceptive Igbo people, who first settled in cosmopolitan towns and cities, adopted this
injunction when there were non-Igbo speakers in attendance at public functions hosted by Igbo
speakers. This gave a lot of pride to the language, which otherwise was often playing fourth
fiddle to English, Hausa, and Yoruba in public affairs in Nigeria.

Wedding, child naming, birthday, and new yam ceremonies are some of the events during which
Igbo speakers in the cities adopt this dictum in introducing the kola nut rituals before mixed
audiences. This practice has lasted till today, but, unfortunately, it is beginning to come under the
onslaught of revisionist and iconoclastic Igbo descendants in the cities who cannot speak the
language fluently or who are not proud of the language and who now make excuses for violating
the norm.

This has in turn given speakers of other languages the impetus to begin to challenge the
hegemony of the Igbo language over Kola nut rituals at public functions. In this one area of
Nigerian national culture where the Igbo language held sway by established tradition, as greatly
validated by the novels of Chinua Achebe and other early Igbo authors in the African Writers
Series, why should it now lose ground as a result of the laxity of pre-existing Igbo people?

According to Finch, all societies have their own rules and conventions about how language
should be used in social interaction. Furthermore, God, the father of all races, recognizes and
interacts with people through the instrumentality of their language.

Therefore, it is important that effective use of the Igbo language be employed while using Kola
nut to commune with God. The traditional Igbo see in the kola nut a medium of contact with the
deities and with "Eze Enu" (Chukwu). It is through it that God hears people's voices.

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It is a great gift to man and has a way of putting people on the same wavelength with the
supernatural; it can reveal the mind of the divinities. Thus in the kola nut, the divinities and
human beings come together and relate to one another.

The Decline of Kolanut Ritual: The Role of the Christian Religion

It is sad that the present generation of Igbo has come to neglect the kola nut ritual and its
accompanying language (Igbo). In other words, igo oji is no longer done elaborately, as used to
be the case, with the accompanying benefits to the Igbo language.

In private and public functions, grown men and even elders struggle to articulate a few of their
fellow coworkers in Igbo over the kola nut. They also do not observe some of the conventions,
motions, and cadences that make the ritual interesting to both Igbo and non-Igbo speakers alike.
As this happens, it becomes obvious that the young digital-age children emerging now will be
even worse off learning nuanced Igbo as they come of age.

One important angle to this decline is the growing usurpation of the function of igo oji in
gatherings and public functions by Christian ministers. This phenomenon occurs often regardless
of the ages and skills of the ministers concerned or those of the people in attendance, some of
whom are elderly people versed in the art and lore of igo oji.

The result of this development is that sometimes we have one pastor or priest say the usual
opening prayer for a function and, soon after, repeat more or less the same kind of prayer over
the kola nuts presented. The rhythmic, nuanced, and proverb-laden traditional prayer over kola
nuts is therefore virtually lost as more people lose interest in the function and cede the
responsibility to Christian ministers.

There is no disputing the fact that priests and pastors, by virtue of their ordination and duties, are
regarded as "elders" in the church, irrespective of their biological age. They routinely bless
everybody, everything, and every occasion as the need arises.

Therefore, some people assert that they should also have the prerogative and competence to
bless the kola nut at public functions. The purveyors of this view should also call to mind the fact
that cultures and societies assign roles to categories of persons who are best suited to perform.
The Kola-nut ritual is surely one of those vital aspects of Igbo culture that were and are also
specific.

Although prayer and sanctification are key values in igo oji, linguistic and traditional norms are
also key values transmitted in the process. Perhaps for this reason, Igbo society allotted the igo

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oji function to the most elderly persons, or the highest ranking traditional title holders, in a
family or gathering, because they were the ones generally more gifted with the gift of the garb
and the lore of igo oji, apart from the religious quality of being closer to the ancestral and spiritual
world.

When the blessing of the kola nut fails consistently to adhere to or represent all those critical
qualities that the Igbo envisaged for it, it amounts to a dereliction of duty and those qualities
consistently. whittle and atrophy over

It bears repeating here the authoritative dictum of Finch that "all societies have their own rules or
conventions about how language should be used in social interactions." This paper does not lose
sight of the fact that there could be some Christian ministers who are at the same time competent
to preside over the kola nut ritual and should therefore do so as a matter of traditional right.

Such ministers are those who qualify by virtue of age as well as those possessing the linguistic
dexterity and artistic quality required or expected of an Igbo oji. Even in traditional Igbo settings,
elders with limited linguistic endowment have been known to sometimes cede their igo oji
function and privilege to younger persons who are precocious in the act while retaining the duty
of iwa oji (breaking of the kola nut), which is ordinarily performed by the youngest in the group.

Or he simply assumes the role of an umpire or compere, directing who does what to ensure that
the best quality erudition, lore, and blessings are offered to the audience, especially one that has
children in attendance that could learn from the event.

One strong argument that could be advanced for why some Christian ministers seem intent on
appropriating the kola nut blessing ritual in public events is the dread of syncretism. They fear, as
explained by one who has had such an experience, that allowing traditionalists to bless the kola
nut might backfire when they recite the "litany of deities," as they are wont to do in typical igo oji
sessions.

Such ministers seem to be at ease if they are certain that the elder concerned will give sole
reverence to Jesus Christ or God, as many tradition-minded, devoted Christians do, rather than
to traditional deities.

On the one hand, this calls for more evangelization and re-orientation by Christian ministers to
win more people over to the Christian vision of God without using their cultural and linguistic
skills. On the other hand, it may call for greater research and reflection by Christian theologians
to more clearly identify and isolate what is innately idolatrous and what is merely cultural in Igbo
traditions such as igo oji. For instance.

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The referencing of the Igbo week is "Izu," and the Igbo days are "Eke." Oye. Afo and Nkwo in
some kola nut blessing sessions are frowned upon by some Christians, even when the speaker is
merely reverencing the supreme God for the gift and wonder of the Igbo calendar, which guides
the seasons and events in lives.

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