In recent past, in my village the leadership of women groups would mobilize the women to the village stream to clean it up. They pick off dirts: plastics, debris, and clear weeds. This is an Ancient practice, for the Waters is primarily the abode of females.
The waters: rivers, stream, seas should consciously be kept clean, this is the best Way to honour Owu Mmiri or Mmụọ Mmiri. When was the last time you went to a river to clean it up as part of your Ọrụ mmiri.
How can you claim to be nwa mmiri but every other day you are by the River to dump all manner of non bio degradable materials in the water: Plastic soft drinks, sweets in Plastic Wraps, Plastic plates, toys, etc in the name of Aja.
Many of us dump these plastics into the Water thereby dishonoring the Powers that govern that Element, the same Powers we have come to commune with. This could be one of the reasons why most ọrụ mmírí fail.
As scavengers eat up land offerings, thereby taking it back to nature and making our Sacrifices one again with the Forces, so should the fish and all marine lives be allowed to devour your water offerings to Owu Mmiri, but how would they when they are locked in Plastic bottles that litter the face of waters….we cannot Continue this strange practice of polluting the same water we consider Sacred with materials that might release substances that could harm the Lives in the Water.
Water is beautiful, water hates dirt , water is pure. We must honor her by keeping her watery presence pure.
When there was no fanta what did our Ancestors take to Mmụọ Mmiri? Fanta is the name of a white man’s product. Its only but the correspondence of sweetness.
We must not lose focus of the true symbolism of fanta…ihe ụtọ.
When Christianity came, they declared War on Nature, for them, “every thing has been given for food”, but for us every meat is an animal, but not every animal is meat.
For them, the Earth has been given to them to “subdue”, but for us, the Earth is for us to interact with-” nwa mmụọ e megbuna nwa mmadụ, nwa mmadụ e megbuna nwa mmụọ”.
So we must Stop treating our waters like a lifeless things, we must Stop behaving like conquerors before Owu Mmiri. Our Rivers are alive and it is the responsibility of Ndị Ọdịnanị to protect them from every form of pollution, both industrial and Individual contamination.
Therefore, we must consider using other degradable materials like ụgbọ ajà, a woven palm frond to carry Sacrifices, ọbà -calabash, outer later of plantain or banana stalk etc. (You can suggest other alternatives). We can pour the sweet drink on other items rather than throw the entire Plastic into the river, or use honey, or any other natural sweet drink.
we should remove the sweets and biscuits from their raps rather than throw them into the river or place them by the side of the river where the waves can wash them back into the Water.
We must understand that these items are simply Symbols to correspond with what we desire in life. We must not lose the essence.
My name is Oziọma Ọdịnanị I bring good news from our Ancestors.
By Oziọma Ọdịnanị
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