OKUONINE(BURIAL RITES)
OKUONINE (Burial rite)
This means burial, and it is in two contexts which are interment and funeral.
In Etuno custom the emotions generated by death depend on the age of the deceased. The death of a teenager or youthful person at the prime of his life evokes sadness hence the relations of the deceased are greeted "a nyari ishi' which in English means "condolences on your misfortune". On the other hand, the death of a fulfilled elderly person at ripe old age may generate a mild sense of loss of company in his relations and close friends but it is generally welcomed with positive feelings hence the bereaved are greeted 'a nyari yo' which in English means accept my sympathy.
In Igarra, it is against the customs for the interment of a youthful person to be witnessed by either his parents or relations older than him. Likewise, a man is forbidden from being present at the graveside during his dead wife's interment.
Burial ceremony in Igarra is embarked upon only on the death of an elderly person who dies at ripe old age and it comes in two stages. The first stage is the interment which is handled by the concerned age groups, while the second stage is the funeral which the surviving children of the deceased may wish to embark on at a later time depending on how economically convenient it might be for them. This stage usually takes the form of a more elaborate celebration of the memories of the life and times of the deceased amidst continuous entertainment of guests to food, drinks and music after performing certain traditional burial rites like aiyo-oziza, aviochichaka, ikede (a special dance procession), etc.
Again, to be considered for traditional burial rites, the dead must have attained Opoga Age grade. For any Opa (age grade) below, the deceased is considered Oku-orere (untimely sorrowful death) and burial of such is usually conducted soberly without any form of dance.
The burial arrangements for an elderly man include:
1. Osiseroku
2. Ovarage to announce the passage
3. Internment with his family dance and Osomokwuru procession if he belongs to the cult group).
4. Okukune: another traditional procession the evening of same day of internment (with the designated family dance)
5. Irashi Irafu (Traditional wake): This features irashe-ooye (the traditional dance of the clan of each and every son-in-law of the deceased. The non-native sons-in-law are required to stage a dance native to their individual places of origin.
6. Irashobe or Ishoko (Hunters Dance) if he was a hunter.
7. Ogugu Dance
8. Osiozanofu/Aiyo
9. Eva Ozi/Ishika(Oracle) to close the burial ceremony.
For the aged woman the burial arrangement is almost the same, the only difference being the Agada Dance in place of the ogugu and hunters dance reserved for only men.
An Okuza male folk who dies before azebani or irepa title taking, or has not celebrated Aazi is not carried on the head by undertakers(Opa enechemoku),
rather the corpse is carried on the shoulder Evuozi (a she goat) is slaughtered and distributed to the public by the family of the dead together with his grandchildren. It is believed that in doing so, God and the ancestors receive the soul and spirit of the dead. Oveshe is a dance procession to the market usually at night by the deceased's immediate family members believing that he will be seen and heard farewell greetings given to him. The song:
"Oo ve eshe o (x2), oo na aa vo n'ne" is chanted.
The following day the family members leave for oracle activity.
‘Iyakoko’ is the practice of throwing coins after all burial rites are concluded.
The first son of the late man then gathers the coins from the ground, proceeds to ‘Ofuamomo’, climbs on ‘Iretuba’, sprays the coins amidst youths competition to catch them in flight or outdo one another in picking those that fall to the ground.
‘Aiyo oziza’ is the carrying of a circular dish by the first female ( Opashi) of the deceased. In the dish are four small calabashes with contents ranging from tiny beef, urhi, ahzi, (red and white chalk respectively). "Ayio, ayio . obebe" is chanted along meaning "look at the final rites". On reaching the market square, the deceased's surviving eldest son picks each of these calabashes one after the other, sounds a gong (isue), shouts "Ido adami anavo onim va me nee", and throws out the contents into the open space. ‘Igede’ dance is usually arranged to accompany this procession at first instance before this tradition is completed.
