Why Anambra community use masquerade chase woman comot?
Wia dis foto come from, Screenshot/ Harrison Gwamnishu
Anambra State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare don begin investigate di circumstances wey make one community for Ogbaru local goment of Anambra State, South Eastern Nigeria, use masquerade pursue one woman comot from di community.
Dis dey follow one video of di incident for social media wey show two masquerade, some pipo and di woman as dem dey pursue her comot from Umunankwo community to di land of no return.
Di state commissioner for women affairs, Ify Obinabo say di ministry dey on top di mata.
Di woman, Nneka Uzoh explain to BBC Pidgin say di whole tin happen after her brothers allegedly accuse her say she be witch and dem allegedly mobilise di community to disgrace her by using di traditional way to drive her away with di masquerade.
Nneka Uzoh say her brothers always dey call her witch and wetin make her vex dat day be say e call her mad.
''Dis tin wey im tok pain me but I no fit tok becos I dey outside. So I go inside di compound and call one guy, Anochie say you hear weyin my brother dey tok about me, e dey proper?
So di guy surprise come say e go ask my brother but my brother say make di guy comot say im no dey do mad pipo tins, abi im no know say I dey mad?
Di sand wey I pack to wash di back of pots, I come pour am inside wetin dem cook say oya, see how mad pipo use to behave." Nneka add join.
End of Di one wey oda users dey read well well
Na after dis event, Nneka say dem come drive her comot.
''Di masquerade already dey stand by door say dem come to lead me out of di community. So I ask dem wetin I do as I no know anytin about di traditional masquerade as I no join dem''. She tok.
Wia dis foto come from, Screenshot/ Harrison Gwamnishu
"I want goment to intervene for me. Make dem find out wia Laz (her broda) go wey dem tell am say I be witch becos dis na my community, my home town, my village and dem don spoil my face wey be say now I no fit waka for di village again.
She add say her two grown pikin, dey helpless and dey cry sake of wetin happen.
Why community use masquerade drive her comot- broda
Nneka broda Lazarus Uzoh, tell BBC Pidgin say di reason why dem drive her away na becos she allegedly poison di food wey di community suppose chop.
"She poison di food wey di community go eat and dem catch her red-handed. Di community don gada to eat di food during di festival period so e dey assumed say we dey lucky say dem catch her. Dem catch her, she no go fit deny am.
Oga Uzoh accuse say Nneka get bad antecedents she don do before dis time and add say she no be widow as she claim as pesin never marry her before.
Di palace secretary of Umuankwo community, Valentine Okwuosa say, "na taboo for our community for somebodi to poison food wey di general public suppose consume."
E explain to BBC say di Uzoh family bin wan appease dia late father according to dia tradition, by cooking and inviting dem family and village pipo to come chop wit dem.
"Immediately di food ready, Nneka poison di food. Na di mother naim discover am come ask, Nneka why you do dis you wan crucify me? Pipo begin shout wetin dey happen and dem tell dem say Nneka poison di food so nobody eat di food.
Dis matter come reach di Palace and after deliberation, di family decide to ask Nneka to leave di community for di time being until she show remorse say she dey sorry. Den Nneka do dat and leave.
After about two days, she return, no sign of remorse.
So di family decide say dem go use masquerade, wey be di goment of di community wey be say any pesin wey commit taboo we use dis masquerade to banish di pesin until di pesin show remorse, come back and dem tell am wetin e go do as sacrifice before dem go re-admit am back to di community again.
Di traditional council support di decision of di family say Nneka go leave di Town until she show remorse. For now she never show remorse. If she show remorse today or tomorrow, she go dey admitted back.” E tok.
Okwuosa add say nobody molest her or maltreat her, dem only escort her out of di community.
Di hairman of International Federation of Women Lawyers FIDA Rivers State, Adata Bio-Briggs say ''dis act dey against her fundamental human rights'' and ''she suppose seek redress for court.''
Wetin go make a community use masquerade drive pesin comot for Igboland?
To understand why a community fit use masquerade drive pesin comot, Prof. Chigozie Nnabuihe, a professor of Igbo Language and Culture for University of Lagos say evri community get dia culture wey dey guide di behaviour of di pipo.
E say for di culture, e get tins wey pipo go do and wetin pipo no go do. E get certain taboos and e also get taboo wey reach to be abomination.
Prof. Nnabuihe come give example of some tins wey fit make a community for Igboland drive pesin comot with masquerade:
- Poison: Wen pesin Poison anoda pesin and dem notice am or pesin die and dem find out say na pesin use Poison on am, di community fit pursue dat pesin for a particular period of time . E fit be seven years and after dat time, di pesin fit come back wen di anger of di pipo don calm down.
- Adultery: For some pipo, adultery na abomination. No be for evri part of Igboland but for certain places, di community fit drive a woman wey commit adultery comot, but na back to her parents house, no be to just go live on her own or anyhow. Di belief na say if she commit adultery and dem no take such measures, she fit run mad.
- Murder: If pesin commit murder weda man or woman, dem go either kill di pesin or pursue di pesin with masquerade comot from di community, as e happen to Okonkwo for Chinua Achebe book, 'Things Fall Apart.'
- Abortion: If woman wey never marry go commit abortion, for some community dat na big taboo. For one Community, dem get a traditional rite of passage for women. If woman never perfom dat rite of passage and she gets pregnant, dem go chase her out of di community and her mama go put dorti for her room.
All dis, Prof. Nnabuihe say depend on wetin di pipo accept as dia norm and wetin dem see as anti-culture or something wey dey against dia culture.
To bring di pesin back also depend di community, Prof. Nnabuihe add, but di pesin gatz show remorse say e dey sorry and dem go give am sacrifice wey e go do before e fit come back.
