Okunano Voices (Culture Documentaries)

Name: Ngozika Regina Occupation: Fashion Designer Email: reginacaeli247@yahoo.com

In the olden days, our history reported that the female folks were not given the opportunity to to school. The parents believed that women were meant to be married out and we're of no good use them hence the corresponding saying: " Nwanyi bu obodo Onye ozo'" Please comment on this,while comparing those days and nowadays.

"Umah" means extra, more or surplus as the case may be. This is the pet name given to the last son born to Akegbe Ogwugwueze, the pet name was drawn from the fact that Akegbe Ogwugwueze and his wife were not expecting any more issues as at the time of his birth. According to our research which is very mobile and adaptable to any credible source of information about our history, his real names were " Ngwuta Ewae" Umah or Ngwuta Ewae settled in the present day Amechi Uno, Where we currently have the shrine of " Ani- Obeagu na Amechi" at Ugwuagba because of the wealthy condition of the vegetation. It was rich with fruits and crops, medicinal herbs and flowers. A great mass of Savannah grass land and loamy soil for farming the greatest occupation of that age. He bore two sons whom he named " Chi-ukwu and Ani-ukwu. Chi-ukwu  Ngwuta Ewae being the first of the sons of Umah settled at the place that later became popular as " Obodo - Chi-ukwu " His ...

This is observed in the entire Okunano clan at different periods or months. Some parts of Okunano observes AniOha festival during the month of August and September. Traditionally, Every family must appease the spirit of their deceased father's , this is known as " igo iyi" and every person according to their abilities will buy either cocks, goats or rams, people who are very well to do may offer their own sacrifices with cows. Men and women exchange social invitations with friends from different parts of Okunano Who do not observe theirs the same month. Ubo music, Enewechi, Okanga, Ekom masquerade dance groups feature their latest steps on the last two days of the festival I.e. Eke and orie- days usually known as " Eke-Mkpofu" and " Orie- Okanga"

So why are we here? It's not to celebrate the inevitable passage of time but something more. Everyone has birthdays but not everyone is my friend, Uche Ede. Uche, you've reached the 50 milestone. 50 birthdays, that's a whole lot of living. Enough to establish the character of a man, to know who he is. And I've known you through about 30 of them. Uche, you are unique. And today I'm gladly putting aside my grumbles about birthday speeches, balloons, presents and politics, to honor you. But seriously folks, aside from his lamentable quirks of character Uche is a friend - a real one. He's there when you need him - offering practical advice on just about everything, from how to play with the big boys to how to meet personal tragedy with courage. And Uche's not a mere theorist who has read the books. He is patient, very patient. He walks his talk and walks it tall. He is also a comedian with a great sense of humor as some of you who are his friends on Faceboo...

Obuoffia , Akegbe-Ugwu, Amodu and Umah were the four sons of Akegbe Ogwugwueze(a.k.a. Okunano or Osagwede Osawuwa) as recorded by our history. Should there be any more children born to him this wasn't mentioned in the Oral and documented history available to us for the now. These four sons as siblings united to form a protective wall and boundaries around themselves to wade of enemies, intrusion and encroachment as was the case in those days hence the name "Oku' na'ano'" which means four bloc's or four plates. By order of arrangement, this narrative is supposed to follow the sequence of seniority in Awkunanaw accordingly. But certain facts and figures are yet to be confirmed, unless this is done, I am afraid our researches and publications will surely have gaps that may further alienate us with our history. This is our designed order of presentation: 1. The story of Obuoffia(... loading) 2. The story of Akegbe-Ugwu(... loading) 3. The story of Amodu ...

NTUEGBENESE: The Ntuegbenese clan consists five brothers whose origin has been traced to Ntuegbe, the ancestral father of the clan. According to history, Ojene was the father of Ntuegbe who migrated from a place called Akaeze in Okigwe, following some serious communal clashes at the time. Ojene's father was Orjiaka - Omee. Ojene had two sons: Ntuegbe and Ewaa. Ntuegbe apparently had five male children namely Ogwugwu, Owelli, Ihe, Agbogwugwu and Akegbe Ogwugwueze. These were referred to as " Ntuegbenese". At our ancestral home at Ogwugwu, there are till date, five stones of different sizes known as" Nkpumenese" arranged in chronological order of sequence signifying the order of birth of the brothers....... It was believed their father, Ntuegbe allotted those stones to each of the children. Although Ogwugwu was the oldest, his symbolic stone was the smallest. But the one representing Akegbe Ogwugwueze(a.k.a Okunano or Osagwede Osawuwa) is the biggest. It is not...