4 Important Things that Happen during Omugwo (The Igbo Perspective)
This tradition is as old as Igbo civilization. This is the period when the mother of a pregnant woman comes in to stay with her for the birth and at least 2 months post-partum. Her mother (the grandma) bathes the baby, does all the cooking, and also bathes the new mother helping her massage the necessary areas with hot water. In this write-up, I will be outlining 4 Important things that actually happen during this period.
1. The Grandmother (The woman’s mother) is vested with the responsibility of cooking the Ji mmiri oku (Yam pepper soup). This pepper soup is prepared specially with 2 special spices called uda and uziza.
In Anambra area, it is called ofe nsala, a very light thickener (e.g. a piece of mashed yam) is used and is usually eaten with pounded yam. The soup is filled with dried fish (mangala), stock fish (okporoko) and sometimes beef. It is hot and the hot pepper alongside the uda and uziza they say is expected to help the woman’s body heal from the stress of childbirth. You can imagine the immense knowledge the forefathers had about health and nutritious food even before the coming of our colonial masters.
2.The new mother is not expected to lift a finger during omugwo or go outside. She just eats and nurses her baby and others take care of the chores, the reason behind this is to ensure that the new mother rests a lot after the whole stress of pregnancy and delivery. Most of the women put on weight during this period. The Igbos must be very intelligent people they have a well-structured post-natal plan.
3. During this period, she cannot have sex with her husband
At this point, it’s a break on sexual activities. It is no longer business as usual, as the woman is trying to recuperate. This sex strike is essential for proper family planning to avoid another baby with an existing one already in the mix! How wonderful, how the forefathers knew even before medical science about family planning.
4. When the visit is over, the Grandma will be rewarded
The grandma or whoever did the omugwo, after the visit goes home with new wrappers, blouses and a lot of other goodies because it’s assumed that the new baby has ruined all her wrappers with urine and feces. The grandma will be rewarded extensively for her services because the man who blows the trumpet is supposed to clean his mouth.
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