SENKELEMA TRADITIONAL TROUPE OF URUALLA.

Описание: Traditional wake keep of Chief Fabian Ochuba @ Umuezeyaka village in Obodoukwu clan of Ideato North Local Government Area in Imo State.

We – Igbos – strongly believe in life after physical death. Akwamozu is one of the ways we express that strong belief. Akwamozu can be said to be the igbo traditional funeral rite performed when an Igbo adult person dies in order to facilitate a smooth transition of the departed soul into the ethereal world or the world beyond our physical senses – the other side of life.

While Ili ozu (burial proper) is marked by sorrows and mourning, akwamozu is usually a feast to bid a departed soul “Safe trip” into the beyond. Traditionally, Igbos do not perform akwamozurites for every deceased Igbo person. For instance, we don’t perform akwamozu rites when a child dies, because we believe the soul of that child has not yet unfolded on earth like that of an adult. This means, in Igbo cultural belief system, the soul of a child is predominantly still anchored in the beyond from where it came. The soul is unfolded and anchored within our physical world only when the child reaches full maturity on earth as either a man or a woman. Unless a soul attains that unfolding and anchorage can that soul be held responsibility for his or her deeds while on earth. Only on that condition can akwamozurites become a necessity when an Igbo person is deceased.