THE WAY WE WERE

When a child begins to walk, a special ritual called Igba Nkoko is necessary to thank “the god of walk.” This is generally regarded as a low key ritual considering other forms of initiations a child will receive as he advances in age. However, this ritual is significant and must be performed for a child. The Bende Igbos believe that every step in a man’s life is a gift enhanced by nature. For this reason, there are ritual ceremonies for every period of growth or advancement a child experiences.

 

Igba nwanta nkoko is initiated by the mother of a toddler who has just started walking. Upon learning that her child has taken its first steps, our tradition  requires that she must perform this ritual ceremony. The requirement for this ritual is seven live nkoko [crabs] to be sacrificed and eaten by the toddler and the rest of the village children. This ritual takes place only during the morning hours between the hours of seven and nine. It cannot be performed in the afternoon nor should it be done at night. The mother of the toddler summons the children of the village to inform them of her plan to have this ritual. She brings out a basket called Mkpo containing at least seven nkoko. The children of the village then examine and count them to make sure there are seven nkoko. The mother of the toddler who is conducting this ritual takes out one healthy live nkoko, holding it in front of her child while expressing a wish for her child to walk and run like nkoko.

           

After making her wish, she drags the live nkoko, causing its legs to touch the child. First, she begins from the child’s head straight down to the feet in one motion. Then she repeats the same ritual, this time starting from the back of her child’s head straight down to the back of the feet in one motion. At the end of this ritual all seven nkoko must be cooked and prepared with manu-ngu, a specially prepared palm oil mixed with limestone. The first nkoko must be fed to the child who is receiving this ritual. Then the rest of the nkoko is shared by the village children. Nkoko is the only creature used in this ritual because the Bende Igbos believe that nkoko is a balanced creature that can run both forward and backward without physically reversing itself to change direction. They also believe that nkoko will never fall while walking or running. These mystical characteristics of nkoko make it the only logical creature of choice to deputize the god of walk for the Bende Igbos.