Iwa oji (breaking of kola nut) is a wide spread tradition in Ibo land, including
\nObosi. Kola nut is an edible fruit\/nut from from a tropical tree indigenous to
\nWest Africa. Offering of kola nut to a guest (or apologizing if none is
\navailable) is the very first thing done by a host at Obosi after welcoming a
\nguest to their home. Kola nut is used as a symbol to offer prayers to God and
\nour ancestors depending on ones religious belief.<\/p>\n
There is an extensive traditional protocol to determine who will have the honor of breaking a kola nut in Obosi. The first kola nut broken in a house in the morning each day is usually done by the head of the house-hold with few exceptions. In general, the
\noldest male present will have the honor of breaking the kola nut except in the
\npresence of his maternal relatives or his in-laws (relatives of his wife). If
\nany of the above mentioned people are present they will have the honor of
\nbreaking the kola nut. After deciding who the rightful person to break a kola
\nnut is, the kola nut (served in a small plate or wooden platter) is given to the
\ndesignated person.<\/p>\n
The designee, while holding the kola nut will pray to God and invoke our forefathers to also intercede on behalf of everybody present (and other relatives) in granting them health, prosperity, and their other desires. The kola nut is then broken or cut into small pieces so that everybody present will get a piece. The person that broke the kola nut will take the first piece and give a piece to the person sitting to his right-hand side (this is a
\ntradition called Ada-ogbe) before everybody else get their piece. The kola nut
\nwill be served to everybody starting from the oldest to the youngest by anybody
\npresent whose mother is from the family where the kola nut was broken or by
\ndefault the youngest person present. Each person will take a piece of the kola
\nnut and eat.<\/p>\n
As you can see from the above protocol, if you have a small group it might take some time sorting out how everybody is related to each other and hence who should break the kola nut (the highest honor) and who should serve the kola nut after it is broken. People never get upset with the debate and negotiation that precede kola nut breaking because it gives everybody present an opportunity to know how their are related to everybody else if they are not aware of the information already. After the process of breaking the kola nut is
\ncompleted other businesses could now be discussed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iwa oji (breaking of kola nut) is a wide spread tradition in Ibo land, including Obosi. Kola nut is an edible fruit\/nut from from a tropical tree indigenous to West Africa. Offering of kola nut to a guest (or apologizing … Continue reading