It was around 1960s, he told his friend, Ụgbana that he saw a woman he wanted to marry. Ụgbana had followed Ngwoke to see his new girlfriend and about to be married wife. She looked exactly what he wanted for a wife. But he was already married. Second wife isn't bad.
As the bride price payment day drew closer, Ụgbana wasn't happy at all. He never believed such a beautiful woman could accept his friend, Ngwoke.
Something must be done about it. His head roaming up and down like a mad man in the street. Deep in thought. Hand on the jaw.
It was the D-day. The bride was preparing. Cooking was ongoing in her father's house.
Ụgbana was the right man of his friend, Ngwoke—the groom. He took him to a place and began to give him drink. Kaịkaị, ogogoro, wụkụwụkụ. Ngwoke was drinking. He drank until he got drunk.
He couldn't stand up. Ụgbana his friend, lifted him and placed his ass on top of his bicycle, then dragged the bicycle to the bride's father's compound.
He brought him down, Ngwoke fell yakata on the ground. Talking in the nonsense. He mentioned Eke, Orie, Afọ and Nkwọ.
Ụgbana screamed:
"Come and see who wants to marry your daughter oo. A drunk. Onye aṅụrụma. Today is his day, look at him drinking to stupor".
That was how Ngwoke lost his sweetheart. Ụgbana his friend later married the said lady, as his second wife.
Bad friends, avoid them
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Abụ Nwa: A Cultural and Linguistic Implications of Lullaby on Igbo Children
Olunne is an Igbo word for Mother's tongue. There are many reasons it is called Mother's tongue. The mother carries her baby in her womb. The baby stays with its mother for 9 months.
Scientists believe that a baby in the womb understands language. Ndị ọcha sing to the babies in the womb; they read to them. Some fathers would put their mouth on the pregnant woman's stomach and speak to the baby inside the womb.
Igbo mothers in the past might not have carried out the same research as foreign linguists or language scientists did, but they had such mindset that a child in the womb understands a certain behavioural pattern. In most cases, while washing,
I want to talk about the etymology of this word. How does ịnyịnyaigwe mean bicycle?
Let's break the compound noun.
Ịnyịnya= horse
Igwe= iron
What's the connection with bicycle? You ask
Horse was once a means of transportation from place to place.
The Igbo bought horse, they rode on horse. Horse was so significant in Igbo land, but I don't want to deviate from this topic. I will make a separate post on that.
There was no other means of transportation except horse. It was only what we had. There was donkey too.
Donkey is called ịnyịnyaibu.
ịnyịnya= horse
ibu= load or luggage.
It's a specie of horse that carries load from one place to another. It wasn't ridden as normal horse.
When the whiteman brought bicycle, it was strange to our ancestors. They only knew horse, then this.
This was me many years ago, going from schools to schools donating my Igbo books as a way to promote the language.
I had to give back to the community. I started from Nsụka, the community I studied. It was in my dream I got the inspiration to go to schools and donate books.
But, it was going to cost me. I used my money to publish the books. Donating them means I was going to lose.
I didn't mind.
I had to.
I started with schools closed to where I lived. Each school I went to, 10, 10 copies would be donated. I wanted them in school libraries.
I should be 23 years old that period. Then I had already 15 published books in Igbo.
Some schools were shocked. Why would I be dashing books around? Is there any government sponsoring me? Who was behind it? Many questions begging for an answer.
I had a friend back in Nsụka reading Pharmacy. He's from a well-to-do family in Anambra. We always discussed about life. Let me say we inspired ourselves. He often read my Igbo books. He is so passionate about Igbo Language.
He did something that struck my brains.
During each holiday, he would never go home but Ogige market became his home. Ọgbọ ọgwụ. Those chemist lines in the market, he would humbly go and meet those who undergone apprenticeship to learn different drugs and prescriptions.
During ASUU strike of 6 months in 2013, his parents had called for him to return, he refused. He was with these guys, learning many practical and business aspect of pharmacy.
"Guy, school dey different from wetin dey outside", he told me.
It's in our nature to be competitive just as everyone else. But our competition is embedded on the concept of Ọkwụrụ mịịrị m, mịara nwunyedi m. We want others to also gain what we have gained. Monopoly is not in our culture.
Have you wondered why you go to a market, Igbo people in the same line are selling the same thing; communicating in Igbo, belonging to the same union?
They are in competition. When a customer surfaces, they try wooing the person to buy from them. Customer finally follow one.
When what he/she needs is not there, the Igbo man will go to the the same guy they dragged the customer together, take the goods from his shop, run out and sell. It keeps going.
There is competition. But healthy competition. It makes one to work harder. It gingers one.