| Iwa Akwa or Aju | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location(s) | The Eastern Part of Nigeria |
| Country | Nigeria |
Iwa Akwa or Aju Festival which can also be translated as Cloth Wearing is a traditional ceremony that is practised by the Igbo people to indicate that a boy has become a man. [1] [2] Iwa Akwa ceremony is a triennial festival that occurs in Obowo, Ihitte/Uboma, the Ehime Mbano, Ahiazu Mbaise local government areas of Imo state in Nigeria. [3]
Iwa Akwa Festival is part of the ancient history of Igbo. Whoever dies without performing the rites would be regarded as a child and would be buried the same day just like a child. [3]
The members of the community would investigate the boys who are going to participate in the initiation. The age of the boys, the mother of the boys and the father of the boys would be investigated. [4] The boys are supposed to be between the age of 21 to 26 years, the mother must have been married and known by the community and the father must have passed through the process. [4] [2]
After the investigation has been completed, the family of the participants go to the market to buy high quality clothes that would be used for the initiation and also make sure that the reception venue is ready for the guests. [4] [2]
The participants are to follow strictly what the elderly men who have passed through the process dictate for them. The families of the participants are expected to spread wrapper in front of their compounds to receive the blessings of a spiritual leader who walks barefooted along the streets. [4] [2]
The boys who participated are regarded as men and they can take up governance or any other traditional title in the community. [4]
Odinani, also known as Odinala, Omenala, Odinana, and Omenana, is the traditional cultural belief and practice of the Igbo people of south east Nigeria. These terms, as used here in the Igbo language, are synonymous with the traditional Igbo "religious system" which was not considered separate from the social norms of ancient or traditional Igbo societies. Theocratic in nature, spirituality played a huge role in their everyday lives. Although it has largely been syncretised with Catholicism, the indigenous belief system remains in strong effect among the rural, village and diaspora populations of the Igbo. Odinani can be found in Haitian Voodoo, Obeah, Santeria and even Candomblé. Odinani is a pantheistic and polytheistic faith, having a strong central deity at its head. All things spring from this deity. Although a pantheon of other gods and spirits, these being Ala, Amadiọha, Anyanwụ, Ekwensu, Ikenga, exists in the belief system, as it does in many other Traditional African religions, the lesser deities prevalent in Odinani serve as helpers or elements of Chukwu, the central deity.
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role. Examples of initiation ceremonies might include Christian baptism or confirmation, Jewish bar or bat mitzvah, acceptance into a fraternal organization, secret society or religious order, or graduation from school or recruit training. A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites, such as those depicted in these pictures, is called an initiate.
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