Nze na Ozo
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The Nze na Ozo society (pronounced Nzeh nah Orzoh), otherwise known as the Agbalanze society, is the highest and most important spiritual,
History
Initiation into the
Taking Ozo title is extremely expensive with the lower grades costing in excess of US$25,000 in initiation cost and up to another US$2000 in annual subscriptions. Although there is hegemony across Igboland on the notion of Ozo,[8] categorisation and grades of Ozo titles are different across Igbo communities. For example, with the exception of the Onitsha and Delta Igbo, certain titles of the Ozo such as ‘Ezeana’ may not be taken until the candidate was seen to have been ‘a man’.[9] Being that Igbo’s are gerontologic in outlook,[10] the basic pre-condition for such an assessment was to ascertain whether the father of a candidate was still alive. If a candidate’s father was still alive, the title could not be taken. This rule however does not apply to Onitsha Igbo’s who can take Ozo title while a candidates father is alive. In other Igbo communities, especially those in the Awka-Nri axis, some exceptions are made where the candidate completes the initiation rites into Ozo, but is referred to as ‘Nze-agbala’ until the father dies. Such a person may however not be allowed to dance to Ufie music which is a sacred music danced by Ozo holders on special Igbo religious festivals such as the New Yam Festival. Another major difference in taking of Ozo title in Igboland relates to the pre-requisite for the candidate to have earlier taken Ichi title (gbue Ichi).[11] While taking Ozo title in most Igbo communities in the Awka-Nri axis requires the candidate to have taken Ichi title, in Onitsha, Ichi is not a recognised institution and is therefore not undertaken by the Onitsha Igbo and some of the Delta Igbo.[12] The Nze na Ozo society does not exist in most southern Igbo communities such as the Aro. Instead, these communities have masquerade societies such as Okonko [13][14][15] and Ekpe.
In most parts of Igboland, there are generally two major classes of Ozo. The first is nnukwu Ozo (big Ozo). Within nnukwu Ozo, there are three grades consisting of Dunu, Dim and Ezeana. In the second class of Ozo referred to as obele Ozo (small Ozo), again there are generally three grades consisting of Eyisi, Ezuzo and Okpala.
See also
References
- ^ Meek, C. (1937). Law and Authority in a Nigerian Tribe, Pub. London
- ^ Basden, G. (1921). Among the Ibos of Nigeria, Pub Nonsuch, p. 211-213
- ^ Jeffreys, M. (1951). The Winged Solar Disk, or Ibo Ichi Scarification, Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 93-111
- ^ Agbakoba, J., and Nwauche, E. (2006), African Conceptions of Justice, Responsibility and Punishment, Cambrian Law Review, Vol. 73, pp. 73- 84
- ISBN 0-9755208-1-4
- ^ Jeffreys, M. (1951). The Winged Solar Disk, or Ibo Ichi Scarification, Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 93-111.
- ^ Jeffreys, M. (1951). The Winged Solar Disk, or Ibo Ichi Scarification, Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 93-111.
- ^ Finds, M., and Onwuejeogwu, B. (1977), The Search for the Missing Links in Dating and Interpreting the Igbo–Ukwu, Paideuma, Bd. 23, pp. 169-188
- ^ Achebe, C. (1957). Things Fall Apart, Pub. London
- ^ Arth, M. (1968). Ideals and Behavior. A Comment on Ibo Respect Patterns, The Gerontologist, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 242-244
- ^ Jeffreys, M. (1951). The Winged Solar Disk, or Ibo Ichi Scarification, Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 93-111.
- ^ Odukwe, M. (1985). The ozo title in Onitsha: A brief Historical Study, MA Thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
- ^ Green, M. (1958). Sayings of the ỌkọŊkọ Society of the Igbo-Speaking People. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 21, pp 157-173
- ^ Cookey, S. (1980), Reviewed work(s): Trade without Rulers: Pre-Colonial Economic Development in South-Eastern Nigeria by David Northrup, International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 364-369
- ^ Nwosu, P. (2010), The Age of Cultural Hybridisation: A Case Study of Okonko, Anthropologist, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 161-165
- ISBN 978-32422-0-2, p. 75.
- ^ Odukwe, M. (1999). The Okpala Institution in Onitsha: 1900-1999, PhD Thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka