The Igbo Culture When a New Baby is Born||Pay 10% to @hive-111293

The Igbos are migrants from Israel during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman' army led by Gaius in 607BCE. Many survivors migrated to Africa and dispersed to different countries. A tribe trekked down to Nigeria and continued journeying until they settled in the Eastern Region of Nigeria.

They maintained the Jewish religious beliefs though with the passage of time, some of those beliefs and customs were abandoned due to the introduction of Christian religion by the Whites. Still they tenaciously hold some ingrained practices among these are those that have to do childbirth.

So let me tell you what the Igbos do when a child is born just in case you traveled to Nigeria and found yourself amidst the Igbos.

Child bearing is a pride of every African couple and of course a every Igbo family setting. It's expected that once a couple got married, they should be having their first baby at least after nine months of marriage. In fact on the day of marriage, the first blessings pronounced by the parents is usually "OMUMU" (bearing of many children). So if the woman is fortunate to have become pregnant, wao! She is adored by all.

Then came the day when she goes into labour, they'll be tension in the house. But once a sound of a baby cry is heard, the culture begins. The husband, the woman's mother set to work.

The wife's mother will pick up a wooden bowl containing a mixture of local creamy powder called NZU (white chalk). She goes outside shouting Owoworomo Owoworomo from one compound to another. Fellow women will join her in the shout which soon turns into a song. Everyone who cares will come to rub the powder from the wooden bowl to their hands, neck and face. If you rub, you put money inside the bowl which at the end of the day will be taken to the new mother and baby.

Today one young man whose family lives opposite our house, received the news that his wife has put to birth a bouncing baby girl. It was very early in the morning, everyone in the compound started making loud noises shouting Owoworomo Owoworomo. Around 7:30am, the shouting intensified, soon the whole residents in the little street we lived in came outside.

Since the NZU has been replaced with modern powder in recent time and men now take over what usually is the women's dance, the guy was running here and there pouring powder to everyone.

Then his brother, sisters and some neighbors joined in the dance. It was laughter and shouting all through. While I was busy taking shots of the events. I changed the song to a raw one that left all of them jumping up.

The guy was asked to give us drinks, he quickly rushed to a nearby bar and carried a carton of beer.

The shout and dance continued.

That is our culture when we have a newborn baby. How does your people react to a successful delivery of a baby? I would like to know please.

Thanks for checking in on my blog.

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