The
colanut, whose botanical name is “Cola Acuminata” or
“Cola Nitida”, has been an important item in African
societies for millennia. Colanut trees have been utilized for various
purposes. Some traditional herbal healers use the pods to ease labor
pains. The seeds are deployed to relieve diarrhea, nausea and hangover
while the tree bark is used to heal wounds. The nuts are chewed
as a stimulant and the roots can be used to clean teeth and sweeten
breath. The colanut can be processed into a dye which is used in
indigenous garment industry, body art and as an ingredient for cosmetics.
The colanut tree is indigenous to the African rain forest. It can
thrive in the wild but it is deliberately cultivated in most parts
of Africa. A colanut tree variety was discovered to cohabitate quite
well with cocoa plants, particularly when the latter in seedling
stage. This lead to a massive propagation of colanut trees in vast
cocoa plantations that were developed in many West African countries
since the early days of European colonial rule. The cocoa beans
are harvested for export to beverage and confectionery manufacturers
overseas while the proceeds from the colanut tree are mostly consumed
locally. The colanut is ubiquitous throughout tropical Africa. It
is, however, amongst the Igbo cultural group in Nigeria that this
nut conjures a meaning that transcends its material utilitarian
value.
For
reasons that cannot be fully explained by historians and anthropologists,
Ndiigbo venerate the colanut as a ritualistic food that reinforces
interactions in both their physical and metaphysical world. Presentation,
breaking and sharing of the colanut are central to consummation
of interpersonal relationships as well as solemnization of group
undertakings in many formal or social settings in Igbo society.
At the personal level, individuals who maintain homesteads or live
by themselves are expected to offer and share the colanut with their
guests as a symbol of goodwill toward them. Within the context of
authentic indigenous Igbo values, it is considered extremely unusual
for one to fail to offer the colanut to a guest, particularly in
one’s own home. In the rare circumstance where the host may
have temporarily run out of his supply of the nuts, the guest usually
expects a profuse apology for the lapse. It is the normal etiquette
for this apology to precede any other offerings that might be made
as a substitute for colanut such as drinks, snacks and other refreshments.
Some title groups in Igbo society may decline to partake in further
proceedings in the residence of a host who cannot present the colanut
to welcome his quests at the first instance.
Colanut
is usually presented with other accompaniments as the case may be.
Most commonly, the colanut is presented with “alligator”
pepper, a hot spicy fruit from the ginger family, which mixes quite
tastefully when chewed together with cola. Some prefer the accompaniment
of hotly seasoned peanut butter made from dry-roasted groundnuts
and pepper. To accommodate the taste and preferences of some who
may not tolerate colanut well, other vegetables and fruits can be
presented together with the colanut. Some people, who can afford
to do so, accompany the colanut with palmwine, hot drinks and non-alcoholic
beverages. Whatever is presented with the colanut takes a subordinate
role when it is time to make the actual offering to the guest. The
colanut, with its condiments and other accompaniments beside it
in a plate or platter, is what is handed over to the guest while
the other items are placed elsewhere in everyone’s view. Where
the spouse of the head of the household is available, the wife usually
delivers the colanut platter to her husband who then makes the presentation
to their guests.
Colanut
is not only presented to strangers, but to all guests. The Igbo
connotation of a guest is anyone who resides outside the host’s
homestead. The next-door neighbor or even a close relative, like
one’s sibling, is regarded as a guest as long as he resides
outside the host’s homestead. It is only a fool, according
to an Igbo saying, that fails to regard his relatives as guests
in his own homestead. The colanut is usually presented with a brief
remark by the host to welcome the guests. If there is only one guest,
he should receive the platter, acknowledge the presentation of the
colanut with thanks and hand the platter and its contents back to
the host to oversee the ritual of breaking the cola. In most parts
of Igbo society, it is the prerogative of the male head of the household
to perform the ritual for breaking the cola. This is more so if
the male head of household has not broken any cola since daybreak.
In some areas, such rites may be the task of the oldest or titled
man present. In some situations, the youths are called upon to perform
the actual breaking of the colanut and sharing the cola out to guests
after the appropriate person has completed the libation ritual.
In
a large gathering, presentation, breaking and sharing of colanut
take a different format. The principal aim of the colanut ritual
is the reenactment and solemnization of human relationships, proceeding
from the host to encompass all the guests present. The male head
of household or his surrogate first presents the colanut to the
next of kin for onward transmission to rest of the guests. If the
number present is not too large, the colanut should be passed around
the guests bearing two things in mind: guest’s age and relationship
to source of the cola. The colanut should pass from the hands of
younger to older individuals and from closely related to distant
relatives and finally to strangers, in meticulous order. Errors
are destined to occur during this intricate process. That is why
anyone, with platter of colanut in hand, is given the liberty to
consult as he wishes before making the next move. The inquisitive
traveler, an Igbo saying goes, rarely misses his way, even in a
very strange land. This saying is put to practical use during the
presentation of the cola. The average Igbo is unlikely to acquiesce
to a gross error in the custody of colanut during its presentation.
Every protestation regarding a breach of protocol is usually fully
explained and necessary amendments made before proceeding further.
Even
guests from distant places or even foreign lands are not left out
of the colanut ritual. The farthest in relationship to the source
of the colanut usually gets to handle the platter at the end of
making its rounds through the guests. Before the colanut platter’s
journey is deemed complete, every constituency that is entitled
to handle it must have been given the opportunity to do so. An astute
observer should be able to trace the relationship of the colanut
presenter to various individuals and groups present. To the initiated,
this is a reaffirmation of family and ancestral lineage. To the
uninitiated, this exercise could be a subtle unspoken lesson in
human interconnectivity and geopolitics from an Igbo perspective.
The last person to handle the colanut platter is expected to return
it to its original source; to the head of household who made the
offering. Before doing so, it is considered a polite gesture to
inquire from all assembled whether anyone who feels entitled to
handle the colanut platter was omitted or inadvertently bypassed.
A positive response should require an acknowledgement of error and
an open apology to the offended. A negative response means that
the colanut has touched all bases and therefore now ready for breaking
and sharing to all present.
By
design, many more colanuts are usually offered than would be adequate
to share for immediate consumption amongst the number of people
present. Besides, once the colanut is formally broken, the cotyledons
of the nut can be cut into as many pieces as the sharer wishes.
Ndiigbo say that only the lack of a thumbnail can be the limiting
factor in ensuring that the broken cola reaches everyone present.
It is the usual practice for anyone with a portion of colanut to
pinch off a piece in his possession to share with those around him
before eating what is left. At this phase of the colanut ritual,
the emphasis is on sharing, no matter how minute the piece available
may be. Before breaking the cola, a handful of choice nuts are picked
out by whoever is performing the ritual for distribution to some
guests for them to take home unbroken. Guests from most distant
places and also the last persons to handle the colanut platter are
the first beneficiaries of these selective handouts. The Igbo says
that when the colanut reaches the guests’ homes, it gets the
chance to tell where it came from. If enough nuts are available,
dignitaries and titled men present could be offered whole colanuts
as a sign of recognition.
The
act of breaking the cola is the climax of the colanut ritual. Before
separating the nut’s cotyledons, the person performing the
ritual usually starts by reciting libations and extending good wishes
to all present. The Almighty, the land and its deities as well as
ancestral spirits are invoked upon to come and commune with all
gathered. Brief remarks are made on key societal issues of the day.
The good and favorable ones are lauded. The bad and unfavorable
experiences are wished away, never to recur. Expectations for the
future are expressed for individuals, groups and the society at
large. As the recitals proceed, all those present intermittently
concur in unison by responding “ise-e”, Amen, “ya
gazie” when appropriate, depending on individual preferences.
Most colanut-breaking rituals are concluded with a short prayer
that is formatted to the performer’s taste. A resounding refrain
of approval at the end of the colanut-breaking ritual is a confirmation
that the nuts are ready to be shared and consumed by all present.
The person breaking the cola finally separates one colanut into
its cotyledons with his thumbnail or other instrument with a sharp
edge. As of right, he retains one of the nut’s cotyledons
while the other pieces are sent to the pool that will be shared
to all and sundry.
The
Igbo society is a highly decentralized one. As should be expected,
there are variations in details concerning the presentation, breaking
and sharing of the colanut amongst Ndiigbo. In some places, cash
is routinely added to colanut platter before the head of household
makes his presentation. On special occasions like during traditional
marriage ceremonies, relatives and friends of the host often contribute
publicly to the colanut pool that is eventually offered to the guests
who are mostly made up of the entourage of the host’s in-laws.
For some people, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, fruits,
vegetables and snacks are acceptable substitutes for cola. No breaking
ritual is considered appropriate for any “cola” presentation
that does not include actual colanuts. It is, however, not unusual
to encounter occasions where libations are recited while opening
a bottle of hot drink, wine or champagne. The distribution network
for ethnic foods has improved markedly these days that items like
colanuts are easily found in most parts of Africa and large population
centers of Europe and America. Use of inappropriate substitutes
for colanut by Ndiigbo is rare nowadays, even amongst its Diaspora
populations.
Colanut
ritual is probably as old as Igbo culture itself. The Igbo sees
the colanut as a ritual food which, by sharing with fellow humans
in the ambience of the spiritual forces that define our cosmos,
mends and reinforces cohesion of the greater society. Within the
indigenous Igbo value system, the colanut has such a spiritual power
that breaking and eating it at the consummation of a deal is considered
as a more binding pledge by the parties concerned than written signatures
or fingerprints. Signatures and fingerprints can be corrupted by
forces external to man. But partaking in the breaking and sharing
of colanut after performing associated ceremonial rituals is regarded
by the average Igbo as taking a solemn oath that remains immutable
for life. The colanut ritual has proven to be a powerful instrument
for transmission of cultural values to succeeding generations of
our people. To the non-Igbo, it provides a clue to understanding
the inner workings of the Igbo culture and its people. Consumption
of the colanut is not unique to the Igbo. In fact, the Yoruba grow
the bulk of the colanuts produced in Nigeria and the Hausa eat a
greater tonnage of the mild stimulant than Ndiigbo. Beyond growing
and consuming the colanut like most Africans do, Ndiigbo also break
the cola.
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