CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NSUKKA: THE CATHOLIC FAITHFUL AND WATCHING OF MASQUERADE (AKATAPKA) OR TAKING PART IN ITS CELEBRATION
NOTE: I am not a priest or a theologian to talk authoritatively on issues concerning Christian faith. I am only a philosopher; therefore, this write-up is purely based on my personal ratiocination: It may not be a right source for reference purposes.
Culture from its very
primary meaning is the people’s way of living. Therefore, from this, culture is
understood as the life of the people: the way they do things. In as much as all
people in the universe is not living within a geographical setting or (out of
Christian religious explanation) from one ancestral lineage, culture is
diversified. Anthropologically, most anthropologists would define culture as
the shared set of implicit and explicit values, ideas, concepts, and rules of
behaviour that allows a social group to function and perpetuate itself.
Culture is not static
but dynamic because as human reason grows, he sees things that are not moral
and says it is immoral. Reason, becomes a watchdog for cultural practices. In
the light of the popular Latin adage, “Bonum faciendum et malum vitandum”- Good
is to be done and evil avoided, reason acts on culture in order to remove the
evil part of it and encourage the good part of it. The reason why evil is seen
in some cultures is that culture itself, is the invention of man who is a
contingent being, not perfect in nature and therefore, can create good as well
as evil.
Akatapka which is a
type of masquerade that is popular in Nsukka, particularly, very unique to people
living in Udenu which is a local government in Enugu, Nigeria, is a cultural
traditional heritage of the people from their forefathers. According to my
findings, Akatakpa, in its traditional purpose as invented by the forefathers,
is a creation mainly for entertainment and relaxation. It is used to celebrate
different traditional festivals like Onwa-esaa (7th month festival)
of the obollo-afor people in Udenu local government area, Nsukka, Enugu. It is
regarded as a spirit, representing a particular deity (Maaa as Obollo-afor
people call it). It does not hurt people who are good or flog people for not
giving it money; it only punishes those who have done sacrilegious things or
taboo. Women are not expected to come closer to the Akatakpa but to be afar and
watch it.
There are different
types of Akatakpa:
·
Ochi/okpo Ajagba (cane holder): It is
another type of Akatakpa, known for its warring spirit. Its costume is tattered
and for this, it does not attract people to watch it. It gets jealous whenever
it sees people watching Owa Egara and will normally come with its canes to stop
people from watching Owa Egara.
· Gburuguru or kpurukpuru: It is another type of akatakpa that is adorned with different shades of colours, but it is always known for its yellow colour. It is of two types: Owa Egara having the attribute of Owa Egara Akatakpa and Ochi Ajagba also having the attributes of Ochi Ajagba Akatakpa.
CULTURAL PRACTICES AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Roman Catholic Church,
a church established by Jesus Christ is a church that was greatly influenced by
the Roman and Jewish culture. Majority of the vestments and Objects used for
their rituals and ceremonies were taken either from Roman culture or Jewish
culture. It is a church built on culture and tradition, hence, does not do away
with the people’s culture or even tradition. The salvavic mission of God was
done not outside the people’s culture but it is all a cultural activity.
Nevertheless, amidst
the aforenarrated, the church also discovers that the mandate of Christ to
proclaim the gospel to the whole world (cf. Mark 16:15 or Matt. 24:14) can be
best actualized through cultural accommodation. Hence, the second Vatican
Council encourages INCULTURATION: the incarnation of the Christian message in
particular cultural context, in such a way that this experience not only finds
expression through elements proper to the culture in question, but becomes a
principle that animates, directs and unifies the Church and remaking it so as
to bring a new creation.
According to
International Theological Commission (1988), in their letter “Faith and
Inculturation”, in consideration of the importance of the people’s culture in
the proclamation of the gospel, recalled Pope John Paul II’s writings in the
subject matter of their discussion. For them, Pope John Paul II has to heart in
a special manner the evangelization of cultures which for him, the dialogue of
the church and cultures assumes a vital importance for the future of the church
and the world. Relying on the conviction that "the incarnation of the Word
was also a cultural incarnation", the pope affirms that cultures,
analogically comparable to the humanity of Christ in whatever good they
possess, may play a positive role of mediation in the expression and extension
of the Christian faith.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NSUKKA AND WATCHING OF MASQUERADE (AKATAPKA) OR TAKING PART IN ITS CELEBRATION
The church sees culture,
which is always a concrete and particular culture, as something that is open to
the higher values common to all. Thus the originality of a culture does not
signify withdrawal into itself but a contribution to the richness which is the good
of all. In as much as the church encourages right culture through
inculturation, it also discovers that the Gospel quite often demands a
conversion of attitudes and an amendment of customs and traditions where it
establishes itself: Cultures must also be purified and restored in Christ. Culture,
when pure, reveals and strengthens the nature of man. The Church preaches the
evangelization of cultures, inspired by the love of man in himself and for
himself, especially in those aspects of his being and of his culture which are
being attacked or are under threat.
As day pass by, years
upon years, the Akatakpa tradition changed from its very purpose of creation to
a medium to perpetuate evil. Criminals and cultists nowadays, hide in the shade
of Akatakpa tradition to block roads, beating and extorting money from people
who are going about their legitimate businesses in the name of masquerading.
They also use it as a searching engine for people they view as their enemies to
deal with them.
On March 29 2017 for
instance, a seminarian serving in Nsukka diocese, Lawrence Ezeugwu, was beaten
into coma by a group of masqueraders who blocked the road at Ugwuoyia, Nsukka.
On June 10, 2018, at Ogbodu-Aba, two Catholic priests of Nsukka Diocese, Rev.
Fr. Peter Udaya and Rev. Fr. Daniel Akubue were beaten mercilessly by Akatakpa
masquerades. Many ugly incidents have been reported of Akatakpa and also of another
form of masquerade called Oriokpa Nsukka. It is believed as many people have
witnessed that people have been visited with many forms of sicknesses through
the activities of Akatakpa. Others have been beaten mercilessly by akatakpa to
the point of death. Some have lost their lives in an accident when they went to
watch Akatakpa. Satan has taken charge of Akatakpa celebration in Udenu part of
Nsukka.
According to Comrade
Cosmas Odo from Ogbodu-Aba who is a prominent indigene of the area, “Akatakpa
threw their community into crisis as they continued to cause confusion in their
community, leading to a high rate of insecurity–everybody was living in fear.
It is evident that Akatakpa has been hijacked by evil people as a means to
carry out their evil activities. In many part of Udenu, people use Akatakpa as
part of deity worship: Akatakpa is now used to worship idols.
The church following
the prayers of Christ in John 17:12, “While I was with them, I protected them
and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one
doomed to destruction”, like Christ does not want any of her child to fall a
prey of the wickedness and devilish activity of Akatakpa, forbids her children
from watching or taking part in its celebration. The church took this action
just to be calm and vigilant as Peter (1 Peter 5:8) warns Christian. This is because
their adversary the devil through Akatakpa, is roaring round like a roaring
lion, seeking for whom he may devour, hence, the Church stood up to him, strong
in faith.
For Akatakpa has been
turned into idol worshipping, the church in heeding the word of God does not
want the faithful to be involved in anything relating to idol worshiping for Deuteronomy
12:30 says, “Do not fall into the trap of following their customs and
worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, how do these
nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.”
An Igbo adage would say, onye ya n’ ekwensu n’eriko nri na-eji ogologo ngaji (Anyone in a banquet with the devil must use long spoon for eventuality sake) and one many from buying snuff for his parent and enter into the market while in Christ’s word, If your right hand makes you stumble and leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell and if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away (Mtt. 5:30). The church prevents anything that will make Christians turn away from their faith in God.
CONCLUSION
In as much as the
Catholic church in Nsukka bans watching of Akatakpa or taking part in its
celebration, following Pope Paul VI’s urgeness of the church to evangelize
man's culture and cultures (not in a purely decorative way, as it were, by
applying a thin veneer, but in a vital way, in depth and right to their very
roots), in the wide and rich sense, has created program within the church
called CULTURAL WEEK where many good cultures of the people of Nsukka are
showcased to encourage good culture and to teach the villagers the real essence
of those traditions. Thus, the church loves good cultures and dispels bad ones
or finds a way to refine them.
©️ Abonyi Hyginus Ebuka
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