By Anayo Okoli, Vincent Ujumadu, Chidi Nkwopara, Steve Oko, Ugochukwu Alaribe, Alumona Ugwueze, Emmanuel Iheaka, Jeff Agbodo, Chimaobi Nwaiwu & Nwabueze Okonkwo
Kolanut is vital to Igbo tradition and culture. It is needed in any social gathering of Ndígbo. No important Igbo ceremony, big or small, proceeds without the presentation and breaking of kolanut.
In Igbo land, kolanut is a symbol of peace, hospitality, and goodwill.
In fact, without kolanut, any ceremony in Igbo land is deemed incomplete. Besides, Igbo attach importance and meanings on the number of lobes each nut carries, connoting varying meanings such as good and bad omen, productivity, prosperity, among others.
However, in spite of this respect and recognition accorded kolanut in Igbo land, women are not allowed to perform the rituals and to break kolanut.
SEV spoke to some Igbo traditional rulers and leaders who are the custodians of culture and tradition on this.
Kolanut is more of spiritual matter, it will be an abomination for women to break it – Ebonyi Monarch
The traditional ruler of Nkaliki Unuhu Achara autonomous community in Ebonyi State, Ezeogo Sunday Oketa said that it is an abomination for a woman to break kolanut in Igbo land. He said men are revered with matters of tradition and custom, and use kolanut to communicate with the ancestors.
“We use kolanut to communicate with the ancestors and pray to our gods. Women cannot pray with kolanut because of their monthly menstrual period. So, our ancestors forbid women from performing such functions. That is why at women’s occasions, they will call a man or little boy in their midst to break the kolanut.
“The foundation of Igbo land is laid by the man. The man is the head of the family recognised by God and if a woman breaks kolanut, she violates the custom and tradition and the ancestors will not accept the prayer. It is an abomination for any woman to break kolanut in Igbo land no matter the position she occupies.
“It is the kolanut that is used to seek for solution when there is problem or disaster in a community. It is used for divination and sanctification of our land. No matter the level of Christianity or politics, women cannot pray with kolanut because of their impurity by nature”, Oketa explained.
Women’s monthly menstruation makes them impure to perform the traditional rituals involved in breaking kolanut – Enachoken Abiriba
The traditional ruler of Abiriba Ancient Kingdom, Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu (Enachoken Abiriba IV), attributes it to spiritual reasons. He said though there was actually no known reason behind the ancient tradition, but opined that it could possibly be because of their monthly menstruation. “Breaking of kolanut is deemed a spiritual thing, therefore a woman menstuating can’t perform that. And because the thing could come at anytime, it was best to avoid women in this traditional spiritual process.”
He argued that in Igbo land, since a menstruating woman should not touch sacred things, it would not be proper to allow women get involved in kolanut breaking rituals.
The monarch, however, argued that there was nothing wrong with menopausal women breaking kolanut.
Kolanut breaking is a sacred ritual which invokes the blessings of ancestors and deities – Enugu monarch
On his own part, the traditional ruler of Igga Ancient Kingdom in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, Igwe Herbert Ukuta, explained that the rituals of kolanut breaking is an exclusive reserve of the men folk because it invokes the blessings of ancestors and deities of the land.
He further explained: “Women generally do not break kolanut due to cultural and spiritual customs rooted in ancestral and patriarchal practices.
“The kolanut holds profound spiritual significance in Igbo culture, symbolizing respect, hospitality, and a connection with the ancestors. The act of breaking the kolanut is considered a sacred ritual that invokes the blessings of the ancestors and deities.
“Traditionally, men, especially elders, are seen as the primary intermediaries in these spiritual communications.
“Igbo society has historically been patriarchal, with men occupying most spiritual, leadership, and ritual roles. Since breaking the kolanut is a ceremonial act involving prayers and blessings, it is reserved for men, particularly the eldest male or the host.
“Certain spiritual taboos dictate that only men can perform this ritual to maintain spiritual order and avoid perceived negative consequences.
“In some communities, it is believed that women handling the kolanut in ceremonial contexts could bring misfortune or offend the ancestors.
“However, customs can vary slightly from one Igbo community to another, and some contemporary practices are beginning to challenge these traditional norms.”
Head of the family breaks kolanut, a woman is not the head of the family – Eze Mbakwe
The traditional ruler of Umuosu Okaiuga Nkwoegwu Autonomous Community in Umuahia North, Eze Sir Nzenwata Mbakwe, said women should have no business with kolanut presentation and breaking rituals.
He said: “Man, and not woman is the head of the family. Men stand to urinate signaling headship but a women bend to urinate. So, no matter what a woman is, you cannot give her kolanut to break. Doing so is anti-Igbo tradition”.
Kolanut symbolises the deepest things of the Igbo tradition, women should not break it – Imo monarch
The paramount ruler of Isiama Autonomous Community, Isiala Mbano Council of Imo State, Eze Oliver Ohanwe, said that kolanut means much more than seen physically.
He noted that the number of lobes of the kola nut represents different fortunes in Igbo land.
The monarch stated that kolanut symbolizes the deepest things of the Igbo tradition, adding that there should never be a time it will be contemplated that a woman should break it.
“A woman should never break kola nut in Igbo land. It should not also be presented to a woman.
“Kola nut represents the deepest thing in Igbo land. If you come to my palace and break kola nut, when I look at the number of lobes, I will tell you the reason you came. The number of lobes represents different fortunes.
“For instance, kola nut with seven lobes signifies great blessings and is highly celebrated. The one with two lobes is a bad omen and not to be eaten.
“If Christianity had not started in Igbo land, we would be using kolanuts for the holy communion because of what they represent”, he submitted.
Women with chieftaincy titles such as Omu title in Delta Igbo can break kolanut – Igwe Obosi
The Chairman of Anambra State Council of traditional rulers and traditional ruler of Obosi Kingdom in Idemili North Council, Igwe Chidubem Iweka also stressed the importance of kolanut in Igbo tradition and custom. He noted, however, that women with certain level of title can break kolanut as is obtainable in some parts of Delta Igbo.
The monarch who disclosed that he has written a book on kolanut in Igbo land, declared: “The peculiar thing about kolanut is that Ndigbo regard it as a special nut among other nuts. We use it for prayers. In a very special ceremony, we ensure that it is presented and broken with necessary prayers offered to God and our ancestors.
“Another aspect is knowing who is in the rightful position to perform the kolanut ceremony. Like I said earlier, kolanut is a special tree planted by God Almighty. Somebody must have to pray before kolanut is broken.
“Sometimes, a kolanut can have two, three, four, five, six or more lobes. Having six or more lobes calls for special celebration with a goat or at least a big fowl.”
On those who have the right to break kolanut in a ceremony or in public, the monarch explained that in a gathering, age and title matter a lot in determining who will break the kolanut for others.
Iweka said: “When a king is not around, the most senior titled man will break the kolanut; seniority here is measured by title not by age.
“Women with chieftaincy titles such as Omu title, as applicable in Delta Igbo can break kolanut because such a revered title has almost brought her up to level of a man.
“So, she can break kolanut in the presence of men where there is no king or titled chief whose title surpasses hers around”,
An indigene of Owerri, Chief Chidi explained that ‘breaking of kolanut is seen as a ritual that must only be performed by men who have come of age. In Owerri, the process of breaking kolanut is not compromised, it is strictly done by qualified men.”
A Catholic priest, Monsignor Theophilus Ibegbulem Okere said women are not allowed to break kolanut because there is the belief in parts of Igbo land that since men remain heads of families.
“In Igbo cosmology, it is believed that no woman goes to her husband’s home with the gods in her paternal home. Such gods are deemed to be completely powerless in foreign lands.”
In an interview with Elder Onyeneke Nnorom, now late, of Umuoyima Village, Owerri, he had said: “A woman can pray over the kolanut, if the event is totally a woman affair or that the woman is a spiritualist (Dibia) and she can eat with her spiritual forces or collaborators.
“It is a taboo in Igbo land for a man to eat a kolanut broken by a woman. It does not matter if the woman is a spiritualist or not.”
According to Chief Okenwa Ndubuisi, the main reason for banning women from breaking kolanut is to attach great respect to it. He said if women are allowed to be breaking kolanut at gatherings, there is the tendency to be claiming equality with men.
He said: “Breaking of kolanut in public gatherings is to show that men and women are not equal. Where there is no man, a woman can break and eat her kolanut. But once there is a man, even if he is her son, she will give the kolanut to him to break for her.
“It is a tradition and nothing can change it, not even the so-called women liberation. A woman cannot even pick kolanut from a plate where there is a gathering of women.
“It is something every Igbo man or woman grows up to understand and it has stuck in the minds of everybody.”
A professor of African Fiction, Damian Opata, however said that initiated Umuada, can break kolanut even in the midst of men. He also said that women can break kolanut if there are no men in their midst.
He however stated that women don’t usually break kolanut in Igbo tradition because it is a ritual act done on behalf of the family, community or group where deities of the land are usually invoked.
“The major reason, I imagine, why women don’t break kola is that breaking kola is essentially a ritual act done on behalf of a family, a community, or a group. This ritual act entails the invocation of Ala, deities, and ancestors. It is a tradition passed from one generation to the other.”
An Igbo leader, Barr. Nnanna Ukaegbu explained that women don’t break kola in Igbo land because the Igbo society is patrilineal and doesn’t confer such rights to women. He said the Igbo culture also bars a man from presenting kola nuts to a woman when she visits him.
“Women don’t break kola nut in Igbo land because the Igbo culture is patrilineal; male based. Women can’t pour libations because the Igbo deities only recognize the male as the head of the family, just as the Almighty God made it too. Women can eat kolanut but they cannot break it.
“However, it is the youngest person that breaks kola nut in any Igbo gathering while the eldest pours libations to the ancestors. This is the standard practice everywhere in Igbo land”, he explained.
A lawyer, Prince Christopher O. Muo said it is even a misconception to say that women are not allowed to break kolanuts in Igbo land, saying the “correct position is that a woman is not allowed to hold Kolanuts, pray over kolanuts, make incantation onto it, bless and break it in the presence of a man even or even a baby boy.
“It is forbidden for a woman to perform such a role. It is considered a taboo. It is considered as spiritual pollution of the man for a woman to break kolanuts and give to a man. It is a sacrilegious act for a woman to do same.”
He however explained that women who are initiated into certain level of Igbo groups or have chieftaincy titles can break kolanut.
“It is in the same spiritual stance that the church does not allow a woman to give Holy communion in church.”