Jude Ossai: Python is a snake specie dreaded by many people across the country. However, Jude Ossai writes on the people of Idemili clan in Anambra State who see living with the dangerous-looking animal as a way of life. In some parts of Igboland, the specie of snake called python is treated with utmost respect and dignity while in some other areas in the same Igboland, python is regarded as a dreaded reptile because of its venoms. Idemili clan is a conglomeration of towns that make up the present Idemili North and Idemili South Local Government Areas of Anambra State. Nigerian Tribune gathered that in Idemili clan, people worship pythons to the extent that it is a taboo to harm or kill the snake. In a situation where the snake which goes by the name Eke Idemili, in the local parlance, is killed by someone, the wrath of the community where the incident took place is always brought to the person who committed the crime and he or she is compelled to accord the snake a befitting burial like that of human being. To the people of Idemili, the killer of the snake has committed a sacrilege and to avert the wrath of the goddess, all the necessary rites and tradition associated with a burial of human being in the area are given to the dead snake. For instance, the python is wrapped in a cloth and carefully put in a coffin and buried in the ground. There are mourners as the killer and his friends are compelled to cry for the departed snake. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Victor Mbah, a public analyst, said the history of how the people of Idemili began to worship the short pythons was linked with the river in the area called Idemili River which cuts across towns like Obosi, Ogidi and Ojoto, adding that the river has a network. According to him, the name, Idemili, was derived from the river, while the snake called Eke Idemili lives in the river. The people of Idemili regard the snake as a representative of their deity and therefore, a custodian of their culture and tradition. There is a story that says that when a child is born in Idemili, the short python crawls to the place where the baby is kept and curls around the child harmlessly to the admiration of the parents of the little child. It was also gathered that the visit of the snake to people’s homes could mean different thing as the snake is said to have the power to bring good or bad tidings. If, for instance, a noble person is about to pass on, a python could visit a relation of the person by dying in the house of the person. The mythology of the pythons is that the first man that founded Idemili came from the deity and, as a result, people should worship the godess. It is not amazing to see people in Idemili sleeping with the reptile in their beds or playing with it as if they are snake charmers. There are so many of the python specie in Idemili shrine. Investigations firther revealed that Idemili is not the only area where people worship pythons as the people of Orlu do not eat or kill such kind of snake. There is a popular belief that in Orlu area and a good number of villages and towns where pythons are reverenced, people transform into the short reptiles. So, harming such a specie of snake meant that a human being is hurt. Further investigation also showed that the kind of pythons worshipped by the people of Idemili and others, are quite different from the more dangerous- looking long pythons found elsewhere. The specie of snake found in this area is small in size unlike the long pythons usually found in zoos and other areas. Indeed, another astonishing phenomenon in Igbo culture is that of Amizi community in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State where indigenes claim to have the power to transform into lions. It was learnt that the people in Amizi community worship lions, just as the Christian faith does not prevent any person from the area from transforming into the wild animal. In Amizi, lions are friendly and don’t devour people. “In Amizi community, a person could transform into lion without the person knowing it. The body of the people does not transform but his spirit. The situation in Amizi culture is very strange as a man who is angry could roar like a lion to the hearing of whoever is around,” a source revealed. Just as there is a cultural belief in Amizi that a man could turn into a lion, in Idemili clan, there is an assumption that when a person dies, he is transformed into a python. What fascinates strangers in the Idemili culture is that both the pythons and the people in the area live in harmony as there has not been any reported case of the snake biting anyone, either as an indigene or as a visitor. “In fact when you are fed up with the visit of the snake to your home, what you do is to carry it with a bamboo stick outside your compound. The mystery in it is that when throw away the snake you also have to throw away the stick. If not, the snake will crawl back to your house where you kept the stick,” the source added. But, how far has modern civilization and Christianity influenced the culture of not killing pythons and lions in Igboland? Nigerian Tribune learnt that, although some people still have high regard for their culture and tradition, but many others are gradually of the opinion that it is a mere superstition to believe that people originated from an animal such as snake and lion. To the people of Nkanu in Enugu State, pythons are dangerous reptiles that should be killed as preys. The people of Nkanu and some other parts of Enugu State including Nsukka hunt for such reptiles. The contrast in Igbo culture as regards the issue of snakes and lions brings to fore the popular adage that; “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”. Be that as it may, the culture of not touching snakes and lions could be strange to many people especially those outside the Igboland enclave.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:25:16 +0000
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