When the Yoruba stop ogboni and its fetish practices (to which at least 70 % of Yorubas belong), stealing Nigeria's money by their elites and burying Obas with human heads; and the hausa stop sharia and religious riots, almajirism and marabouting, they (eg Laudate) can advise the Igbo who practise Osu to end it. Balderdash

Osu is not the same thing as all those things!

@ laudate, it is like you have a lot of time on your hand. Your post here seem massive. Please if you do not mind, i have one of my many blogs begging for attention.

I beg with all the time you have as i perceive you can do a lot writing stuff on one of the blogs. Let me know if we have a deal.

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No offence, broda.

Holla me for admin [at] agloconigeria.com

That system is almost dead but I am surprised the way folks are painting it here, like it's the big parcel of Igbo culture. I know and I have heard (and read) about the Osu business and for all the 22 yrs I spent in Igbo land from Anambra to Abia, I didn't see any Osu, not even once. Those who find it odd (Igbo man/woman that's never seen an Osu) have formed their own idea of the Osu problem and will try so hard to cling to the product of their twisted imagination.

docokwy:

When the Yoruba stop ogboni and its fetish practices (to which at least 70 % of Yorubas belong), stealing Nigeria's money by their elites and burying Obas with human heads; and the hausa stop sharia and religious riots, almajirism and marabouting, they (eg Laudate) can advise the Igbo who practise Osu to end it. Balderdash

I don't see the connection with Osu. Any Igbo who still practices that abominable concept should stop it! It doesn't matter if the advise came from Sanni Abacha or Awolowo.

I can't believe that this is still as pronounced as it was in the 40s and 50s. At times I wonder if Christianity has not been reserved for the church and formal occasions; isn't this what the power of Christ came to destroy? At times we wait too long for the whites to come in to take credit for what we know is barbaric. Like the killing of twins; I see an end in sight

Nite Angel:

I can't believe that this is still as pronounced as it was in the 40s and 50s. At times I wonder if Christianity has not been reserved for the church and formal occasions; isn't this what the power of Christ came to destroy? At times we wait too long for the whites to come in to take credit for what we know is barbaric. Like the killing of twins; I see an end in sight

No, it is not as pronounced as it was in 40s and 50s. Pray tell, where exactly did you get that erroneous information?

Here, on this thread. I know that's hasty generalization but I have always believed that a present experience is indicative of the present situation. I'd speak to my friends and read more. I'd also have my friends in the print media look into it.

wow.

The osu system is still very much with us and prevalent. Truth is we hardly discuss or mention the matter in the communities, & this gives the (erroneous) impression that it is getting extinct. Also the osu are relocating to safer havens where they will not be haunted by their 'history'. BUT WE KNOW THEM. That's part of the reasons why we investigate the background of an intending spouse; xcpt you don't want to bring the person home for us to see/endorse. Many years ago, my cousin was about to get married to her heartthrob when the family discovered he was osu. The marriage did not hold, and both of them left our shores for (we learnt) France. And she has not gotten in touch ever since- not even pictures. I wish she would so we can hug and laugh as before again. Apparently that was an action the family would have wished it didnt take.
Is this practice bad? Yes it is and evil. Would I allow my kids to marry an osu? wont stop them but would wish they didnt- yes I admit to being old school. I will trust GOD to help me love their spouses as my own kids. Is the practice dying? I suppose so, esp as we are better educated and exposed, but I admit that the feeling is still there esp among many of us in our middle ages and over. Cant we end the practice? Yes we can, though difficult. My kids know nothing of osu; that's one way. Discussing the problem - in a forum like this - rather than shying away, is another. I am not bitter with the person who raised the topic; like other social malaise - ogboni et al - it should be discussed and condemned. The Igbos are part of the Nigerian society and like others, have some bad cultural practices that should not be swept under nor defended. Openness to one another will enable us help each other so we can move forward. I recognise that we have mockers ready to laugh; that doesnt move me - the world is full of them, and sincere people too. I trust we have a great many sincere friends in nairaland - and it is to them I make this post.

docokwy:

When the Yoruba stop ogboni and its fetish practices (to which at least 70 % of Yorubas belong), stealing Nigeria's money by their elites and burying Obas with human heads; and the hausa stop sharia and religious riots, almajirism and marabouting, they (eg Laudate) can advise the Igbo who practise Osu to end it. Balderdash

The Yorubas are not the only ones known for fetish practices, other groups such as Edo/Delta, Igbo are also know for such. Each culture has it's share of cults and secret societies. Money Laudering is a national problem not confined to any tribe, so all parties are guilty.

@Topic,

The Osu issue may have been blown out of proportion. It may be a dying custom hence some people claim not to have heard of it. Also as we have been told on this site that the Igbo group is diverse, it is very possible the custom is only application to parts of Igboland. Let's be careful not to generalise when there is not enough evidence.

when it comes to rituals the igbos and Yoruba's take the cake on this .remember the ogboni founders are from Oyo state. the ogboni was Awolowo time and now.the rituals reported on the news are mostly from the yoruba region.i think babalawo,ogbomo-ogbomo,voodoos and buying seven heads for The obas are part of the yoruba culture.as for the Bini's they have similar culture with the Yoruba's during the oduduwas time.

mohadana:

when it comes to rituals the igbos and Yoruba's take the cake on this .remember the ogboni founders are from Oyo state. the ogboni was Awolowo time and now.the rituals reported on the news are mostly from the yoruba region.i think babalawo,ogbomo-ogbomo,voodoos and buying seven heads for The obas are part of the yoruba culture.as for the Bini's they have similar culture with the Yoruba's during the oduduwas time.

Won't you go join your brothers in catching fishes in atlantic ocean,Or go carry Ak 47 and whine that we are using your oil and get your behind blown away.
ewu bayelsa!

babyosisi:

Won't you go join your brothers in catching fishes in atlantic ocean,Or go carry Ak 47 and whine that we are using your oil and get your behind blown away.
ewu bayelsa!

Bwahahahahaha! Chineke God of Umunwanyi. . .lolol!

Nite Angel:

Here, on this thread. I know that's hasty generalization but I have always believed that a present experience is indicative of the present situation. I'd speak to my friends and read more. I'd also have my friends in the print media look into it.

That's pretty much a better way of getting some accurate information. Nairaland is full of people with disturbing hatred towards other ethnic groups. . . makes it extremely difficult to sift facts and genuine concern from a putrid pool of prejudice and malice.

This's been an issue really but the truth is that just like most people have acknowledged in this thread, its a system that is fast fading away especially with people finding out that all the embriglo about you or your children dying if you marry an osu is nothing but what has existed in people's minds from story tales of generation before them.
We on our part can learn from this and help put an end to this archaic practice.

@Laudate

I really do think you should make your contributions allign with a post in question. You almost made me believe we were contributing on how to let the osu sytem hold sway since it seems 'every Igbo is osu' instead of our own efforts to disassociate ourselves at least from such practice.

calyx:

@Laudate

I really do think you should make your contributions allign with a post in question. You almost made me believe we were contributing on how to let the osu sytem hold sway since it seems 'every Igbo is osu' instead of our own efforts to disassociate ourselves at least from such practice.

Calyx, kindly let me know one thing: "In what way did my post fail to align with the topic in question?" I made a comment, I-man jumped on it and accused me of  'keenly looking for the unsavoury aspects of Igbo people'. I responded. He went further to accuse me of using the phrase "how odd," in a reply dripping with condescension. Again, I replied by citing facts to show that other Igbo people had made similar remarks, which reveal that the 'osu' practice existed, so why castigate me for pointing out something other members of your ethnic group, have described in great detail?

Now to babyosisi:

babyosisi :

By the way laudate,I would like to know those villages you claim have 60 to 70 percent osu.
This will be an adult education for me.

Osu is nothing but a remnant of a pagan culture where one group claims superiority over another for whatever reason.
It is fast dying, and has been greatly reduced in significance,it has been outlawed legally by the Eastern Nigerian laws of 1956 and 1963 and denounced vehemently by all Churches in Igboland

Answering this question, may be misinterpreted by folks who have an axe to grind with Laudate. Anyway, here goes: The villages I heard include Umuaka in Imo State where their people still categorise one of their 10 villages as 'osu,' as well as Umuode in Nkanu East Local Government, Enugu State.

From what I have heard, this practice is not found among the Delta-Igbo or those Igbo from Rivers State and Abia.

As for the laws that you cited, since its' promulagation no one has been prosecuted under this law. Kindly do some research on this law and its' aftermath.

I am not Igbo, so this practice does not affect me in one way or the other. But saying that I haven't seen it, just because some folks haven't had an encounter with an 'osu', would be like trying to deny that racism exists in parts of the Western world, just because I have not been a direct victim.

Anyone wishing to attack me for making this observation can have the floor. It is your call.

Laudate, you heard wrong. The Delta Igbo also practised the osu system. I'm beginning to get clueless as to the purpose of this thread - to discuss a social malaise that belongs to the dustbin or to ridicule another ethnic group?

feelgood:

Laudate, you heard wrong. The Delta Igbo also practised the osu system. I'm beginning to get clueless as to the purpose of this thread - to discuss a social malaise that belongs to the dustbin or to ridicule another ethnic group?

Oh, so the Delta Igbo practised it? Thanks for the correction. For your information, various folks have discussed this 'social malaise,' to borrow your own words, in other threads. Both Igbo & non-Igbo alike. But I noticed that when a non-Igbo makes a comment, it attracts all kinds of condemnnation. But when an Igbo person makes that same comment, on the same issue, most folks are silent. Why?

As for the purpose of this thread, kindly ask the person who started the thread.

On a final note, nobody is ridiculing any ethnic group. _*Hiss* And am beginning to get tired of repeating myself. Go back to the begining of this thread, and read all the posts, so that you can get the direction of the whole story.

I-man made an accusation. I responded & defended my point of view. Others jumped on the bandwagon, to now imply all sorts of stuff. That's their own problem. 

Like I said before, the 'osu' issue does NOT affect me in any way, since am not Igbo. I guess too many people on this thread, feel offended by the fact that a non-Igbo passed a comment, on something they consider to be personal.

I am so sick of the tribal bashing in nairaland. Why is it that many topics bordering in culture or tradition end up as wars between the different tribes? the concept of " one Nigeria" is obviously still a very big pipe dream

feelgood:
Many years ago, my cousin was about to get married to her heartthrob when the family discovered he was osu. The marriage did not hold

If your family decided to hold on to an archaic tradition, why ascribe your lack of courage to your community. As I said in an earlier post, it's an individual family call and many Igbo communities has moved on. Your family decision of "many years ago" is not prevalent in Igbo land, at least not in my community.

sweetchick:

I am so sick of the tribal bashing in nairaland. Why is it that many topics bordering in culture or tradition end up as wars between the different tribes? the concept of " one Nigeria" is obviously still a very big pipe dream

Please tell them. Maybe they will listen to you.

I think we've got very few enlightened people on this forum. Using the internet has really made it worse cos illiterates and semi-literate feel really cool and adjourn themselves to be among the enlightened people simply because they can browse and post topics on Nairaland! I wonder how Ogboni issue compares with the Osu issue. And for those of them that havent seen an Osu person, i wonder if they expect the Osu people to put a tag on their head proclaiming they are osus (as if it's something to be proud off).
Talking about fetish practices, it's not a Yoruba problem, the last time i checked Okija is in Anambra not in any Western state and if what they practice there is not fetish then i wonder what is then (maybe we shld check from Chris Ngige).
Quote from: babyosisi on Yesterday at 12:48:48 AM
Won't you go join your  brothers in catching fishes in atlantic ocean,Or go carry Ak 47 and whine that we are using your oil and get your behind blown away.
ewu bayelsa! It's really a shame that some of us can reason this way
@Laudate, Imani etc kudos to you guys, really enjoy your contributions.

Quote from: docokwy on June 14, 2007, 10:20 PM
When the Yoruba stop ogboni and its fetish practices (to which at least 70 % of Yorubas belong), stealing Nigeria's money by their elites and burying Obas with human heads; and the hausa stop sharia and religious riots, almajirism and marabouting, they (eg Laudate) can advise the Igbo who practise Osu to end it. Balderdash

Let's talk more docokwy, check out the true meaning of marabout, almajiri and sharia etc what you listed are not meant to discriminate among people of the same stock!
Lastly, i'm just so glad that you have made the yorubas nigeria's elite now, kudos. Please check your facts b4 u start blabbing.

gbeborun:

And for those of them that havent seen an Osu person, i wonder if they expect the Osu people to put a tag on their head proclaiming they are osus (as if it's something to be proud off). @Laudate, Imani etc kudos to you guys, really enjoy your contributions.

I think you are getting it all mixed up. Nobody here ever denied the existence of the Osu system, they were merely trying to correct the erroneous concept of "Osu has taken over Igboland" and this simply means, "If Osu has taken over Igboland as you claim, how come I have never seen/experienced such a discrimination?". This by no means does not suggest denial, it simply lends credence to the fact that the Osu system is not as widespread as it is touted and that it is a despicable practice that is fast slipping into oblivion. I have heard tales of Osu but have never actually experienced such a discrimination especially in my home town, you know how close knit Nigerian communities can be, words fly , everyone knows each other so there is no way anyone can hide such a sickening discrimination from people.

The bottom line is: Osu is a reality. Is it a wide spread practice in Igboland? NO. Is it as prevalent as it used to be? NO it is fast slipping into oblivion and may as well be a down low practice since you're bound to draw fire from everyone around you. That's the reality.

Like I said before, the 'osu' issue does NOT affect me in any way, since am not Igbo. I guess too many people on this thread, feel offended by the fact that a non-Igbo passed a comment, on something they consider to be personal.

Even honesty eludes you.Not only did you,a non-Igbo,inform us that it is "odd" that any Igbo who lived in Igboland does not know an Osu.You went on to make the following crass remark

So if an Igbo woman who has spent most of her life inside (not outside) Alaigbo, says she hasn't seen an 'osu' person before, then she must have either lived a very sheltered life, or must be in some sort of denial, or she might even be 'blithering', to use your own words.

You are not Igbo,nor have you lived in Igbo land yet you think its sensible to cast aspersions on an Igbo person who is telling you her personal experience.According to you,she either lived a very sheltered life,is in denial or is blithering.And you know this because. . . . you have Igbo friends.

I-man:

Even honesty eludes you.Not only did you,a non-Igbo,inform us that it is "odd" that any Igbo who lived in Igboland does not know an Osu.You went on to make the following crass remarkYou are not Igbo,nor have you lived in Igbo land yet you think its sensible to cast aspersions on an Igbo person who is telling you her personal experience.According to you,she either lived a very sheltered life,is in denial or is blithering.And you know this because. . . . you have Igbo friends.

And obviously, you wouldn't know what the truth looked like, even if it came and hit you right in the face. Yes, I said it was 'odd'. So what?? What is your blinking problem? I call it, the way I see it. That was my first impression when I read that post, and I will not 'doctor' my responses just to suit your twisted imagination. What was crass about my using the word "odd?" And why the heck, does it offend you so much? Look here, I cannot be held responsible for your imaginary fears or trauma. See a shrink!

Secondly, in what way did I cast aspersions on someone who claims not to know anything about the 'Osu' issue? What derogatory words, or uncouth language was used? Kindly stop being paranoid, and stick your head where the sun doesn't shine!    I stated quite clearly for the record, how I came across the word 'Osu' for the first time outside Alaigbo, despite the fact that I was resident in the South-West. So what is your beef? The fact that I actually knew people who had been cast as such, or the fact that I had been a witness to the stress that was sparked off, by the mere mention of that word? Or was it the fact, that you felt offended by a non-Igbo mentioning the word, like I had earlier said? Ah yes, I guess it must be the fact that when I used the word "how odd," you thought in your deluded mind, that I was somehow infering that she was being economical with the truth. Let us know which of the scenarios listed above, played itself out in your mind when you read my initial post!

Finally, so bloody what, if am not Igbo? So it is now a crime on nairaland, for a non-Igbo person to pass a comment on something that happens in Alaigbo? Please spell it out for us in chapter & verse o, so that we can know who died & made you the chief of Nairaland. Rubbish! 

I have stated several times, that I have visited parts of Igbo land, spent holidays there & I even have relatives from there. Yes, am not Igbo and so what? Oh, you feel it would have sounded better, if the word "how odd" was used by an Igbo person? Set up your own website, if that is the case.

I have seen Igbo folks using far more sinister & derogatory words to get their points across when discussing this topic, yet you never jumped down their throats, you coward! Laudate uses a harmless two-word phrase, that would make no one bat an eyelid, and you come in here frothing at the mouth, throwing insults around and threatening fire & brimstone. Oya, go ahead & commit suicide, since my comments do not fit in with your warped mentality. *hiss*

grafikdon:

I think you are getting it all mixed up. Nobody here ever denied the existence of the Osu system, they were merely trying to correct the erroneous concept of "Osu has taken over Igboland" and this simply means, "If Osu has taken over Igboland as you claim, how come I have never seen/experienced such a discrimination?". This by no means does not suggest denial, it simply lends credence to the fact that the Osu system is not as widespread as it is touted and that it is a despicable practice that is fast slipping into oblivion. I have heard tales of Osu but have never actually experienced such a discrimination especially in my home town, you know how close knit Nigerian communities can be, words fly , everyone knows each other so there is no way anyone can hide such a sickening discrimination from people.

The bottom line is: Osu is a reality. Is it a wide spread practice in Igboland? NO. Is it as prevalent as it used to be? NO it is fast slipping into oblivion and may as well be a down low practice since you're bound to draw fire from everyone around you. That's the reality.

Grafikdon, thank you so much for your understanding, and your grasp of the basic issues at stake. And thanks once again, for spelling everything out in such clear, lucid terms. No one is saying the "'Osu' concept has taken over Igbo land." No. All am saying, is that some of us are aware of its' existence, even if others are not. It doesn't matter, where you live. Those who are aware of its' existence are not wrong, neither are they right. Neither are those who are unaware of it, right, or stuck on the wrong path. The issue transcends all that.

But it seems as if those who are unaware of it, take delight in insulting those who claim to have encountered it, because they feel those people[i] (especially if they are non-Igbo)[/i] are trying in some way, to conduct a smear campaign against them, when nothing could be further from the truth! Why??

Every part of Nigeria has some inherited, ancestral practice that is morally repugnant, and to which solutions must be found. It doesn't matter if that community is in the North, South, East or West. But a solution does not come forth, when people launch attacks on those who speak about the problem, neither will a solution drop down from thin air, by acting as if it doesn't exist.

Like I said earlier, am not Igbo so this 'osu' issue does NOT affect me one way or the other. Period!

gbeborun:

I think we've got very few enlightened people on this forum. Using the internet has really made it worse because illiterates and semi-literate feel really cool and adjourn themselves to be among the enlightened people simply because they can browse and post topics on Nairaland! I wonder how Ogboni issue compares with the Osu issue. And for those of them that havent seen an Osu person, i wonder if they expect the Osu people to put a tag on their head proclaiming they are osus (as if it's something to be proud off).
Talking about fetish practices, it's not a Yoruba problem, the last time i checked Okija is in Anambra not in any Western state and if what they practice there is not fetish then i wonder what is then (maybe we shld check from Chris Ngige).Quote from: babyosisi on Yesterday at 12:48:48 AM
Won't you go join your  brothers in catching fishes in atlantic ocean,Or go carry Ak 47 and whine that we are using your oil and get your behind blown away.
ewu bayelsa! It's really a shame that some of us can reason this way
@Laudate, Imani etc kudos to you guys, really enjoy your contributions.

Ijebu babalawos are legendary.
The voodoos and hoodoos of Haiti,New Orleans and Caribbeans have their roots from Yorubaland,it is a fact they all claim,none of them have ever called okija.

Youruba spiritists movement is worldwide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santer%C3%ADa
http://yorubapriestess.tripod.com/

The enormous impact of the Yorùbá religion on the New World African diaspora has been well established by scholars, especially when referring to the heavily Yorùbánized popular Creole belief systems of Cuba (Santería/ Lucumí, Palo) and Brazil (Umbanda, Candomblé). Far less known are the connections between the Yorùbá faith and the African-based religions of Haiti (Vodou ) and New Orleans (Voodoo/Voudou). This article seeks to fill these lacunae and explores the Yorùbá influences on these two neo-African religious traditions both from a contemporary and historical perspective, sorting through many misconceptions attached to the confusing and, for the most part, derogatory English term Voodoo. Interestingly, it is the powerful warrior spirits Eshu/Elegba and Ogun who proved to be the most resilient survivors of Yorùbá cosmology in the Haitian and New Orleanian diaspora. http://jbs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/37/5/775

The ritualists who spoke in Yoruba while rummaging through the wreckage of the crashed plane last Sunday regretted that there were no children’s parts which they could take away ostensibly for rituals

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/viewpoints/vp626102005.html

Let me hear another person accuse Igbos of rituals because of Okija.
Okija is a town in Igboland.
The Yoruba ritualists are internationals,nonsense.

what does any of that have to do with osu?

cant you people just talk about one topic without bringing in other tribes that have nothing to do with the topic at hand? Pathetic.

I was merely responding to several like ogboberun who keep mentioning Okija shrine as evidence of anything when we all know this devilish act is not alien to any part of Nigeria.