Agunze Azuka Onwuka wrote:

Growing up in my hometown Nnewi, we had a custom
similar to a passage read in the Bible in church today:
Deut 24:19 - "When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (King James 2000 Bible).

In our case the practice was limited to yam, the king of crops. After harvest, any yam tuber missed out belonged to whoever found it. After the first rain, forgotten or broken yam tubers in the soil began to sprout. We little boys (or any adult who cared) would visit farms with machetes and sacks searching with eagle eyes for yam tendrils emerging from the soil. Whoever saw a yam tendril first would point at it and shout: "Kpata m ji!" That confered ownership to him. He would bend down and dig up the yam with joy and pride. If the owner of the farm passed by at that time, he would not say anything to the boys. His son could even be among the searchers. The best he could do was to be more careful next harvest. But it was impossible not to miss out some yam tubers during harvest.

It gave boys great joy to find and own these yam tubers. I kept mine in my father's barn, well tied artistically to poles. I did not allow anybody to eat any of them. During the planting season, my dad allowed me to plant my yam tubers in a part of his farm, and I paid a special attention to those yam tubers.

A similar custom was that concerning the udara. It was a taboo to climb an udara tree or pluck its ripe fruits (even by the owner). The ripe fruits must be allowed to fall by themselves, and whoever picked them owned them. As early as 4am, people would take lamps and torches and visit udara trees known to produce sweet fruits. Early birds would go home with basket or basin filled with udara.

These were customs our forefathers put in place to ensure that the poorest or orphans had something to eat, even if they were surrounded by stingy kinsmen.


Our forefathers were wise!

confirmed... Igbo people are migrant Jews

and some people say we are not jews

confirmed!

Even before Christianity came to Africa, Igbos have been into circumcision, harvest and bazaars are as old as Igboland, animals and plants conservations have been in Igboland before America and WWF started dreaming of saving the endengered species.
The first European expedition that arrived Aboh wrote that the type of houses they saw at Aboh were better than most in the streets of Lisbon.
Igbos have their calendar which are religiously followed till tomorrow, market days in Igbo are rotational to make sure no community is left out, such is the concept of Igbo wealth is evenly distributed among everybody.

Igbos dont believe in Kingship, they said "Kings are enemy", their Kings are symbols of authority but they wield no absolute power.

Igbos are not jews o. Igbo culture pre-dates the compiled bible. Igbo's have their dynamic way same as other tribes.

But what happens now? If anyone sees you digging left over yam in your farm here in imo, they call you a thief. The udara own deh make me cry, when i was little, and we travel to our hometown we deh do competition who go 1st pick Udara for morning, but nowadays people now plug it from the trees and sell them, and you hardly see sweet udara now.
We're killing our culture.

Wise indeed! It's also practised by almost all the communities in Enugu state and I guess this practice extends across the whole of Igboland.
.
Way back then, the yam-searching spree was best enjoyed barefooted. Lol

missberrypop5:
But what happens now? If anyone sees you digging left over yam in your farm here in imo, they call you a thief. The udara own deh make me cry, when i was little, and we travel to our hometown we deh do competition who go 1st pick Udara for morning, but nowadays people now plug it from the trees and sell them, and you hardly see sweet udara now.
We're killing our culture.

I agree on the udara part. It has totally lost its value.

in my place udara hasn't lost its value because most udara trees are owned by the community so its no personal property....i miss NSK xo much....

That yam practice is so fun....akpatam ji...lol
The udala thing is still very much alive in Idenmili.

I enjoyed the yam search so much, I always look forward to it anytime I went to the village.

igbos traditionally are obsessed with keeping themselves,their society,free from abomination.The new yam festival is still celebrated heavily in places like abia, anambra and enugu state though at a particular time of the year the various igbo clans celebrate a feast that is akin to the biblical feast of Passover.We have oriri achicha which i observed in many occasion in igboland this is because a very important igbo clans still observes it annually
I remember a particular feast during which igbos make small booths of palm fronds and straw,and dwell in them for a number of days;i have noticed most gate houses restaurants with star of David symbols on it, when i was very young never knew the meaning of those symbols till i grew older is very common in igboland even a famous club called "peoples club" then have star of David in their signs am talk about in the 90s

Ka chukwu ABIAMA mezie okwua

The need for a purely igbo bible is needed more and more. That bible only has few verses . Imagine a Igbo bible that give the full explanation of many of the ancestor laws that you just explained.

swagwu:
in my place udara hasn't lost its value because most udara trees are owned by the community so its no personal property....i miss NSK xo much....

in my place children climb the tree and pluck it! imagine, when I was young nobody dare climb Udala or Ukwa tree, this days na freestyle something.

jamaicanoshu:
The need for a purely igbo bible is needed more and more. That bible only has few verses . Imagine a Igbo bible that give the full explanation of many of the ancestor laws that you just explained.

i have igbo bible version for a long time you can buy one from book shops is everywhere, when i read psalms 35, 91 in igbo bible version you can actually feel the devil screaming for help looking for the exit but i don't allow them to escape i make sure they perish once i add psalm 149 is over for the devil

CoolKizzy:


in my place children climb the tree and pluck it! imagine, when I was young nobody dare climb Udala or Ukwa tree, this days na freestyle something.

is true no bdy have time now to guide it again thats why

I've been researching the traditions of the ancient Hebrews deeply and came across soo many similar traditions between the ancient Hebrews and Igbo of Southern Nigeria. I believe though, that the Igbo may not be the exact Hebrews of the bible at the time it was recorded but a breakaway branch later in the annals of history, who branched away retaining the traditions of their people and ancestors intact. I have been doing a lot of research on the true race of the ancient Hebrews and came across so many bible and physical evidence that indicate that ancient Hebrews were dark-skinned.

I'll be opening a new thread on the Ancient Hebrews and Black Jesus very soon.

CoolKizzy:


in my place children climb the tree and pluck it! imagine, when I was young nobody dare climb Udala or Ukwa tree, this days na freestyle something.

FAT lie, the udara tree is not like any other tree, it has a big, long and almost smooth trunk, and the branches are very high for even giants let alone kids, you think its is like the guava tree?

cocoduck:

FAT lie, the udara tree is not like any other tree, it has a big, long and almost smooth trunk, and the branches are very high for even giants let alone kids, you think its is like the guava tree?

You should know that not all Udala tree is 100yrs old. there is one in my father's compound and my little cousins conveniently climb it, even the very old trees has outgrowths, deep scars and other materials that makes climbing it easy, the only reason my cousins don't climb the one at the farmland area is because of those yellowish ants that stings. before u dismiss someone's contributions as a lie ask some questions first. u sound uncut.