There are two types of cola nut in Nigeria, kola nutida
otherwise referred to as ngoro are widely consumed in the northern part of
Nigeria, kola acuminata also referred to as igbo cola which is or local origin
and occupy an important post in social religious, economic, political and
sacred live of Igbo society
Kola nut has been seen as a vital and sacred commodity. It
has a lot of functions.
Kola nut seed is enclosed in its case that contains many
kola nuts and each kola nut contains many cotyledons unlike kola nucida which
contains little cotyledons. The number of cotyledons contained in a kola nut
has its significance in Igbo culture and tradition
In Igbo religion, it is believed that the spirit of the
death plays vital role in their daily activities. The Igbo people use kola nuts
to commune with the spirit of their ancestors. With kola nut, the Igbos invites
the ancestors to come and pray for the living.
Since the kola nut is regarded as sacred and holy, the tongue
is believed to contain life and serve as the major instrument of prayers to the
ancestors.
The Igbos have a lot of respect for kola nuts. During the
prayers, the tongue is carefully removed with fingers and split into smaller
pieces while the prayer is going on. The split pieces can be thrown on the
ground in bits while praying or thrown out together at the time of the prayer
It is believed that while praying with kola nut, you are
telling the ancestors that you’ve come to make a request. Praying with the
tongue of the kola nut is exclusively reserved for people who are believed to
be pure. For instance; chief priest, titled men, traditional rulers and perhaps
eldest son of the family
Mayor basic things requested for during prayers include good
health, long life, good offspring, wealth, peace and love.
After the prayer, there is a uniform response by all present
“iseeeeeeeee!” Which means the five
fingers of the hand have come out to accept the prayer.
Kola nuts are the fundamental bedrock in Igbo philosophy
|
Get free daily email updates! |
Follow us! 
|
0 comments:
Post a Comment