The i bu nwoke festival was a ceremony celebrated by the people of Mbachi village, it was the ceremony that celebrated the translation of boys to men, it was very exciting for the boys coming of age because many of them couldn't wait to join the Mmanwu, a secret society whose duties ranged from seasonal celebrations to protecting the village. Their identities was only known to members of the society.

The I bu nwoke was celebrated annually, every year boys that came of age were celebrated, it was a thing of pride for the twenty year old boys, they got to enjoy certain privileges and were no longer regarded as children.

The village was alive with activity as they prepared for the festival, households having boys to be celebrated were preparing, the sound of mortars pounding and mothers calling to their children could be heard. The village square was being swept and decorated by select maidens.

Esomchi's house was not to be excluded from the preparations, his mother Akunna shouted at his sisters to be careful with the decorations, his younger brother Uzo was pounding yam in the kitchen and he was not saved from the commotion either, Akunna popped into the kitchen to give him directions every minute like it was his first time pounding yam.

"Where is this boy?" Akunna called with her hands on her waist. "He knows how important it is to get things right today of all days and he is nowhere to be found."

She paced again as she retied her wrapper properly on her chest and clutched at the part of the cloth around her hips. She was a short woman with very unique features, she always seemed to be smiling so people rarely knew when she was angry, however she had very expressive eyes and right now those eyes could kill.

"Akunna, you worry too much. You know your son he would be here, he is probably making sure everything is in other on his part, you forget he is now a man." A tall built man said as he placed his hand on Akunna's shoulder, he had a large forehead and deeply set eyes, a broad nose and wide mouth, he wasn't traditionally handsome but his features were quite striking, standing together they painted a funny picture. Akunna barely came up to his chest and he towered over her like a giant. The man turned towards the entrance of the compound then smiled brightly, revealing even teeth though brown now because of the amount of tobacco consumed over the years.

"See I told you," he pointed towards an approaching figure Akunna strained to see. "Trust your son."

"Papa, you are here." Esomchi said as he bowed in greeting to his father before relieving himself of the burden he was carrying. "Mama, don't tell me you have been worrying again."

He smiled at his mother in a patronizing manner.
"Tell her o!" Esomchi's father Obidike hugged his mother. "She was about to bring the wrath of the goddess on us, you were just in time."

"Chim o!" Akunna exclaimed with her hands tucked into her armpits  “Obim you exaggerate, i just want everything to be perfect." 

"Go and get ready, your wrappers are on the line in your father's hut." Esomchi made his way towards his father's hut, Obidike was a successful farmer and quite wealthy too, his compound has huts scattered left and right with more than enough space to spare, his barns towards the south end of the compound was ever full with yams.

Before long, night fell and the village square came alive, the people were gathered in a circle with a sort of stage in the middle, torches illuminated the square sending shadows dancing, drums were beating and everyone was in an elevated mood. To one part of the circle the Igwe,the traditional ruler of the village could be seen seated on his throne, the lolo his wife by his side and the council of elders.

Directly behind the igwe, was a short lanky man with decoration of uli all over his body and a red wrapper with black decoration wrapped around his waist, the cloth stopped at his ankles. The most outstanding thing about him the staff with elaborate markings he held in his hand, it was much taller than the man with colorful feathers attached at the top, there was a white circle drawn around his right eye and he had white palm markings on his upper chest and back.

His posture projected boredom but a closer look at him showed he was quite alert, watching the affairs of the square like a hawk. Currently the Mmanwu were performing, the tall structures were covered from head to toe in dried grass with a red cloth covering where the head should be, they were adorned with beads and little bells that jiggled every time they moved, producing quite the melody as they danced and performed acrobatics eliciting cheers and shouts of excitement from the crowd.

A band of several young men played in the background, the harmonic melody of the ichaka, ogene, opi, ekwe, igba and oja floated around the atmosphere causing not only the Mmanwu to dance but the crowd to join in as well.

A particular young man stood in the middle of the circle some ways away from the dancing Mmanwu, rendering eulogy and singing praises in a coarse voice causing the structures to move in a rhythmic pattern .
Suddenly the man seated behind the Igwe stood up, his right arm held at an angle in the air with his hand in a fist, the music died and the dancing stopped, silence fell like a cloud upon the square. Slowly he made his way to the center of the circle, his staff jingled with every step he took, in the middle of the circle he stood and looked around, the flames from the torches around making him look terrifying.

"Ndi Mbachi kwenu!" he suddenly roared his hand in a fist as he moved a little to the left
"Ya!" the entire arena thundered with the voices of all present.

"Ndi Mbachi kwenu!" He moved again to the right, again the people roared in response.

"Ndi Mbachi kwenu!" He roared for the last time and the crowed answered.

"Igwe , Ndi Iche, people of Mbachi, ana m ekele, you are all welcome." He smiled and his face softened looking less terrifying "We all know why we are gathered this evening, the I bu nwoke is a festival we all look forward to, it is the time when men are separated from boys. Tonight they become pillars in the society to contribute and defend."

He took two steps forward,  “You all know I am a man of few words and we want to hurry with this section of the ceremony so we can get to the part that brought us all here–" laughter rose from the crowd t the joke.
“–Bring them in.” he roared and applause rose from the crowd as the band began playing again. Young men danced into the arena with smiles on their faces ,after some minutes the man still standing called for silence.

"I am happy to see all of you standing here, you all look the epitome of maturity. I call on Igwe Akudiya to say a few words.”

Thunderous applause rose as the Igwe rose to his feet, his wrapper flowing from his waist to his ankles in a splendor of colours, his crown sparkled in the night as it reflected the light from the torches dancing in the night around his neck was the skin of a lion and two necklaces of red beads, his wrists had brackets of the same red beads as those on his neck adorning them, in his hand he held the Ofo, the staff of office,a symbol of power and authority.

He was a tall, built man in his early sixties however he didn't look it, he was very agile and had a smile for everyone. He was a good leader and he loved his people dearly. He took a step forward before waving to his people who listened with rapt attention even though he has said nothing yet.

"Ndi ebe anyi, ana m ekele unu.” He cleared his throat before continuing, "Boys from today you are now regarded as men, you ought to be the pillars of society, you are now protector to the weak and helpless, it is said to whom much is given much is expected. In a few moons some of you would get married. I advise you all to be responsible, be slow to speak and quick to listen. I pray from the gods to keep you all and give you all wisdom. Onwuchekwa has said it all." He turned to look at the man who opened the floor earlier.      "Eye of the gods, you may proceed." With that Igwe went back to his seat.

Onwuchekwa took some steps forward, struck the pointy end of his staff into the earth so that it stood on its own. He clapped twice then began humming as he moved around the boys. Two boys ran into the square one bearing a calabash and the other a tray with a bundle of leaves tied together.

Onwuchekwa stood at a point and began singing in the native tongue before he gestured for both boys to come to his side, when the arrived he picked the bundle of leaves and began incanting, he moved to the first boy in the line circled him before dipping the bundle in his hand into the calabash and sprinkling the boy the liquid clinging to it. On and on it went till it got to Esomchi's turn, he stood tall and proud in his new wrapper with a smile on his face, he felt proud and honoured as the liquid fell onto him he felt a sense of uplifting. On Onwuchekwa continued till the last boy in the line.

"Mbachi, I present to you men of Mbachi." Applause followed his declaration and the singing, dancing and merriment continued, through all of this Ada watched with joy,she hurried with her mother to meet Esomchi and congratulate him.

Hi guys, I hope you had fun reading this chapter, feel free to ask me any questions you might have, to make things easier i will be explaining some things in the text above below.

Mmanwu- this directly translates to masquerade.... They were believed to be the link between the ancestors and the living
Chim o - My God , this is an exclamation popularly used
Obim- my heart, its a term of endearment
Igwe - king
Lolo- queen
Uli - a white substance used for decoration on the face .....it looks like wat is seen on the face of the girl in the cover picture
Ndi Mbachi - people of Mbachi
Ekele m unu - I greet you all
Ndi iche - chiefs