By Orji H. Chijioke
Among Ndi Igbo (the Igbo speaking people) the kola nut is revered and used for traditional ceremonies like marriage, funerals and anything of paramount importance.
If you ever visit an Igbo man, the first thing he does to welcome you is to offer you kola nut. If by chance he has none at home, he offers copious apologies and presents something else in lieu. If he does none of these, then chances are you are not welcome to his abode.
The kola nut is used to offer prayers before it is eaten. These prayers are offered only in the Igbo language and never in any other language, national or otherwise. If in a gathering, the prayer is offered by the oldest person around who comes from the home of the person that presents the kola nut or the host.
At various stages in the course of prayer, it is greeted with choruses of “Ise” (Amen in Igbo). Depending on which part of Igbo land, the word may vary from IHAA to ISE.
The word “Ise” also generally means 5 in the Igbo language. In parts of Igbo land, because ISE means 5 as well as AMEN, during the prayer over kola nut, 5 things are demanded of God.
These 5 prayer points are namely; Longlife, Prosperity, Good Health, Good Children/Successors, as well as Love and Peace in the family and community. These are what I now describe as the traditional prayer points of Ndi-Igbo.
Longlife :
God is requested to grant longevity to all. This is to enable them enough time to achieve their aspirations in life.
Prosperity :
In the realization however that a person who lives long without the means to sustain good living will live miserably, a second request for the wherewithal to live well is made.
Good Health :
It is held that a healthy life can make life worth living for anyone who lives long and has the resources to live well. So the third prayer point is for good health.
Good Children/Successors :
According to the epistemological beliefs of Igbo people, when a man dies he continues to see what is going on in his home but lacks the capacity to change it. Without good children and descendants to guarantee peace at home then, the departed could live in misery. Hence the fourth prayer is for good Children who will successfully take over the management of home following one’s eternal departure.
Love and peace:
The fifth prayer and by no means the least is for the reign of love and peace in the home without which life can be rough, uninteresting and unpleasant. This prayer point is usually extended to cover the community, nation and the world since none exists in isolation.
In these simple and routine prayers, the Igbo worldview is aptly captured and its sound philosophical foundations revealed.
Orji H. Chijioke
Legal Practitioner, Notary public,Writer and Social Engineer
