OKAZI FESTIVAL IN EMII

EMII TOWN UNION (FED) LAGOS

THE OKAZI FESTIVAL IN EMII{IMO STATE}

Okazi akuruoche festival is an annual event the commenced centuries ago by “OCHE, he is the legendary father of Emii {OMENYI} and his ten sons continued these through ages.

“Okazi Akuruoche” is a feast to show the end of “Akuruoche” season which spans from the end of a farming season to the beginning of another farming season. This is from October to January of a new year. During this of “Akuruoche”, Emii people are required to keep absolute peace. They are forbidden from violence, fighting, quarreling and even litigations. During this period burials are done on a low key, with absolute absence of certain rites. The violation of these rules attracts the penalty of “Nde oha Akuruoche”. These are the old people in the area who represent “Oche” and his ten sons.

Oche is believed to be one of the early men, the wanderers that sojourned many forests and finally settled at the old Orie-emii forest. Although his genealogy could not be easily trace.

While in the forest the most important thing that gave Oche the greatest joy was the general presence of Okazi vegetables. He identified this vegetables in his early life, as a wanderer through a bird named “Okpo”. This bird is one of the largest  bird and it’s only found in thick forests. It’s food is mostly Okazi leaf, the wanderer watch at how the bird devoured this leaf and concluded that if the leaf was poisonous the bird would have died. Instinctively but cautiously too, oche plucked some Okazi leaves, tasted them and started eating them. The taste of the Okazi was so palatable as it was appetizing and nourishing. The more oche  ate the leaves the healthier he became. He then made it his best vegetable. The Okazi leaves looked very green, he ate this vegetables more than any other vegetables in his entire life. He was the first person tha discovered Okazi among all other vegetable to be special. He provided the adage that of all leaves in the forest it’s only Okazi leaf that was chosen. Before he died, he summoned all his ten sons and every body in his domain to his affairs.

To the ten sons “Oche“ said that he would give his blessings to them and give them parting gift.

To all his dependant i.e. those he acquired during hunting expeditions and inter communal wars, “Oche” promised libration but all these he said will take place on the condition that, there will be absolute peace and tranquility during the period now known as “AKURUOCHE” season.

The ten sons of Oche today has metamorphosed into ten villages in order of seniority. UMUORISHA, UMUDULU, NKPEHI, MGBAHIRI, UMUOLU, EZIALA, UMUEBE, UBAH, UMUAWUKA, and EMEOHE.   

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