Enugu Community Where Green Snakes Are Kings & Queens, Battle Men Of God

8 years ago

Enugu Community Where Green Snakes Are Kings & Queens, Battle Men Of God

When extant cultures and traditions are gradually being eroded, some communities are still stuck to their old ways and are constantly in conflict with modern worldviews and cosmology, especially Christianity. This is particularly the case of Mpu in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State.

DAILY POST reporter, David Ujah Abakpa, who visited the community, observed that the status of green snakes is equivalent to their traditional gods, and just like other ancestral worships in African religion, green snakes are sacred.
The Aninri people believe that their ancestral fathers were protected by the green snake during the civil war. The rules therefore are that no one kills the snake under any circumstance. Residents must welcome green snakes any time they crawl to their homes, and whoever kills any of them must give it a befitting burial or faces grave consequences.

This development, according to most visitors in Aninri who spoke with DAILY POST has become a major challenge to the development of the area as it’s difficult for most visitors to cope under some rules tied to some species of snake.

Mpu is the country home of the Nigeria Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. The entire people of Mpu and/or Aninri LGA in general, hold the green snake (Aka) at high esteem. Most times, they see those snakes as their fore-fathers.

Narrating her experience in the community, a youth corps member who pleaded not to be mentioned in print told our reporter that she was shocked when the rules were reeled out to her while she was still at the orientation camp in Awgu. She said she was also privy to an incident that happened during a Sunday Mass celebration at St. Joseph Catholic Church, where the parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Orjiene, killed one of the green snakes popularly called ‘Aka’ in the local language. The Reverend Father purportedly saw the snake crawling on the altar while Mass was being celebrated and he waved the tradition aside, killed the snake and put it in a bottle.

According to the corps member whose Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) was the Modern Secondary School (MSS) Mpu, built by Senator Ike Ekweremadu in fulfillment of his electioneering campaign to his people, immediately the Rev. Father, who was not from the community sighted the green snake on the altar, he was terrified, but later summoned courage and smashed the head of the snake with his shoes. She added that, ‘’Fr. Ojiene did not just kill the snake and continue with the Mass but went further to put the snake in a bottle to be taken to the Bishop of the Diocese (Awgu).’’

She said, “We were in the church on that faithful morning and while taking the Gospel reading, the Rev. Father screamed. We saw him struggling with “Aka”. He killed it and put it in a bottle and later continued with the Mass. In his preaching, he condemned the culture and tradition that still upholds the worship of green snakes in this age. Adding that snake was a cursed creature and as such, God placed enemity between it and man.”

“Immediately Fr. Joseph killed the snake, the Igwe and other elders of the community in the church stood up, called out their family members, including the Principal of the Community Secondary School, (CSS), Mr. JT. Chukwuonu and they all left the Church. They never came back to that church again till I finished my service,” the corps member said.

“As if that was not enough, the youth and the women of the community upon hearing the news that the Rev. Father had killed their ‘fore-father’ on the altar, stormed the church while Mass was still ongoing and vandalized the church in protest, while also demanding for the proper burial of the snake as it was the tradition.”

“Later in the evening of that day, the community summoned the Priest to the Igwe’s palace and gave him list of items to buy. They also prescribed cash amount to be paid to appease the gods of the land. The Rev. Father who stood his ground, refused to observe any burial for the snake which he described as accursed creature by God.”

The corps member narrated that, “a petition was sent to the Bishop of Awgu Diocese demanding for the priest’s compliance and immediate transfer; else he will face the consequences. The Bishop however supported the Priest and a panel was set up to look into the case and it was ongoing before our final POP,” She narrated.

The corps member disclosed further that earlier at the NYSC Orientation camp, Awgu, the first orientation they had was on the green snake. ‘’We were asked never to kill it. We were told that they were harmless and that we could see them around our rooms and everywhere, but that we should not panic as they would not hurt us and indeed that was how the snakes were, and they were equally everywhere. Each time we saw them in our rooms, we would call any of the community members to send them out for us. Sometimes, they sprinkled water on them and sometimes they picked them with their bare hands. We were also told that even if one secretly kills “Aka”, he or she must confess his or her action; otherwise one would be troubled by the spirit. ‘’

She recalled a story of a police officer who served at Ndeabor Police Station. She said the officer accidentally killed one of the snakes but did not confess but worked out his transfer from the area in fear. Yet few months later, he came back to Ndeabor and confessed to the act and carried out its burial before he got his peace back. She said ‘’ In short, there were series of stories about even passing vehicles that accidentally killed Aka and it was either they paid money above a hundred thousand naira for its burial or they were burnt alive in their cars. I thank God for my successful year in this place. It was a wonderful experience,” she said.

A resident of the Community who simply identified himself as Okoro also told our reporter that the people hold the tradition at high esteem. He said it’s better to kill other domestic animals than killing those snakes that strangers may see to be harmful. He also narrated how a Pastor of one of new generation churches in Mpu who also did not support the worship of the green snake killed one of them in his living room and threw it out. He disclosed that when the community got the information, they approached the said Pastor, demanding for a befitting burial but he declined. He narrated that the community consequently set the church ablaze, including the Pastor’s house and car, while the Pastor narrowly escaped being burnt alive.

A youth leader in the community who does not want his name in print also told this reporter that those condemning the tradition were blind and had refused to see that every community has its own deity tied to its existence. He said even in another world, he will pay homage to those snakes. He said his success as a trader and farmer depended solely on his respect for those snakes. He said, ‘’ because I have favoured them, I have equally found favour in them. This is really not about being a Christian or a Muslim. Whoever you are, so long as you live in this community, you need to respect our tradition. Just like we won’t stop you from going to church, so you shouldn’t also come and debase our tradition. For heaven sake, these snakes are not harmful. We did not say don’t kill snakes, we are saying killing of green snakes is forbidden. It’s now left for you to respect this tradition, otherwise, you will have yourself to blame,’’ he said.

Responding to whether the tradition was inimical to the development of the place, he said ‘’ Even in the Western world, we have such rules. The only difference is that those rules are not tied to any particular tradition. We have rules in most of the advanced countries where certain Animals are reserved and not meant to be killed. It’s similar to what we are doing. What will the snake do to you if you allow it to pass? These are harmless creatures, ‘’ he argued.

DAILY POST investigation further reveals that another strong point of the people’s tradition is the bond they share with the Akineze people of Ebonyi State. Our reporter was told by a community elder that it is a bond of love that was established centuries ago and has been passed on from generation to generation. The tradition of the people forbids that an Mpu person sees an Akineze person suffering any form of injustice both home and abroad without intervention. They are prepared to die for each other. They forbid seeing each other’s blood. According to the elder, an Akineze student/teacher is forbidden from punishing erring student from Mpu and vice versa, even in formal schools.
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