From Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki

While the rest of the world is waiting for December 31 to end 2021 and usher in a new year, the people of Okposi in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have celebrated their entrance into another year going by their traditional calendar.

Okposi Ezinasato, as they are fondly called, comprising three autonomous communities, could be said to have crossed over to 2022 on Thursday October 7, 2021. The grand event was their annual Aju festival which signifies a new year in their traditional calendar. It was to them, some form of passover, a festival of purity.

Daily Sun gathered that the annual Aju festival of Okposi is usually celebrated every October to usher in the new year in the clan.

Chief priest of Aju festival, Chief Aja Mkpuma, would not speak on the rituals involved because of their sacredness and should not be divulged.

But coordinator, Okposi Ezinasato Cultural Advisory Council, Chief John Agwu, told our correspondent that the oye (orie) Aju is the last day of a year in Okposi traditional calendar.

He said: “It is Okposi’s solemn feast of Passover to crossover to a new year. It is a solemn day in which all those living in Okposi take time to reminisce on the whole year, a stocktaking day, a day of vigil, petitions, requests and prayers to Almighty God, the gods and our ancestors. It’s a solemn day of justice, where all who have taken traditional oath for alleged crimes or for land disputes are expected to die or declared free if they crossover to Avo Afuta Aju. It’s a day of apprehension for evil doers as they are pounded away and rejected with mortar and pestle in one accord by all men and women of goodwill throughout Okposi clan.”

Agwu, who is also the chief priest of the new yam feast (Ezeji) in Okposi, explained that the Oye Aju is a day the curtains of the year is drawn to a close (Isechu Ava) by a virgin maiden (signifying purity and holiness) after appearing before the spirits to answer questions (isa aju ju), probably from where the name ‘Aju’ emanated.

He noted that the ritual of Isechu Ava is when choices for the new year are made on behalf of Okposi people and their land, pointing out that it is a very tough sacred aspect of the Aju festival

“A day all old, bad omens are wished away, all wicked and evil spirits/men are rejected and cast away with burning firewood (otovoroku), a day only peace, unity, fruitfulness, love, increased prosperity, God’s protection and long life is wished to be chosen by the virgin maiden from the spirits and our ancestors for the new year,” he said.

Emphasising the sanctity of the Aju festival, Ezeji Agwu stated that it is a day both traditionalists, Christians and other religious faithful, be they indigenes or non-indigenes but have something to do with Okposi should take stock, pray for mercy, peace, unity and progress of the land and people as “we keep vigil for the new year irrespective of one’s belief, status or abode and not a day of religious condemnation and desecration of our land and culture in the name of any acclaimed superior belief or self-righteousness.”

Another cultural enthusiast, Christopher Agwu, corroborated Ezeji Agwu but added that anyone who died within the period when Aju is officially announced, especially within the traditional “Tridium” Nkwo Inine Aju, Eke Aju and Oye Aju, died a bad death. It is believed that the ancestors would punish him/her and compel the person to carry the dungs of all the animals killed in every compound during the Aju.

Related News

He explained: “Avo Afuta Aju is the first day of a new year characterised by conviviality – drinking and making merry. There used to be dancing groups showcasing their new dresses. Everyone is dressed in his best attire, especially women and children that would carry food and meat to their parents wishing them happy new year (Agbarava).

“It is the day that every kindred (Ikwu) would come together with the hand of the goat or fowl which they had slaughtered the previous day to the house of the oldest man in the kindred to be shared among all the males within the kindred. That is Oke Ikwu/ Oke Ngidi. That is a kind of communion and census among brethren. It is important to note that anyone who has the means to slaughter animal during the Aju and bluntly refused risks being taken by the ancestors in place of the sacrificial animal for negligence.”

He further explained that it is the day those that took oaths the previous year that ended in Oye Aju celebrate their innocence by firing gun shots and rob nzu all over their bodies announcing their innocence.

Traditional ruler of Okposi Okwu autonomous community, Onyibe Chukwu Agwu, told Daily Sun that the “Aju festival is as old as Okposi. It is one of the cultural and traditional heritages handed over to us by our forefathers. It is usually celebrated in October every year. What this Aju festival means is that in Okposi, we have entered 2022.”

On the activities associated with the festival, the royal father said the Ichu Ava was when anything bad in the passing year was wished away so that they will not follow Okposi people into the new year.

“Aju is a period every family in Okposi returns home to eat, drink and celebrate with their loved ones. During the celebration, every married woman is expected to cook food and take it to her father, siblings and people to mark the celebration and wish them a wonderful new year. A lot of Okposi people have been coming since morning to check on me and wish me happy new year; that is the spirit.”

Also, his counterpart of Okposi autonomous community, Onyibe Cosmas Agwu (Enechi Ekuma IV of Okposi), noted that the festival is a four-day event beginning from Nkwo market day known as Nkwo Inine Aju. He said the festival is very dear to the hearts of every son and daughter of Okposi Ezinasato because “it’s a festival of thanksgiving. It is a period we thank our forefathers for keeping us and helping us to pass through the turbulence of the past years and helping us to enter a new year.

“Apart from being used to calculate our yearly calendar, it is also used to know someone who has or hasn’t committed abomination in Okposi land. In Okposi Ezinasato, anyone who has committed any kind of sacrilege or abomination normally does not live to witness the Afo Aju, which marks the beginning of a new year in Okposi; that is if that person has taken any oath. In Okposi, if you are accused of doing something wrong and you take an oath, if you are guilty, you will surely die before the Afo Aju, but if you are innocent, you will live to witness the Aju Day.”

The royal father assured that he will continue to work with all traditional and opinion leaders in Okposi to ensure the preservation of the cultures and traditions of the community.

“Our culture brings us together in love and in unity. Communities that abandon their culture are in trouble today. We cannot abandon our culture and traditions because the consequences of doing so are severe. It is one of the causes of untimely deaths and tragedies in many communities,” he said.

A traditionalist on the trail of the Owo cultural troupe which paid homage to Ndi Onyibe, the highest traditional title holders in Okposi, Ogbonnaya Chukwu Umanta, faulted those who shunned the Aju festival because of their religious beliefs as, according to him, “there is only one Chukwu Okike who created the heavens and the earth and the people there in.”

He, however, said despite the division caused by Christian religion that the Aju festival and other traditions in the community will continue to be observed.