WHY MANY IGALA MEN PREFER TO MARRY IGALA WOMAN
WHY MANY IGALA MEN PREFER TO MARRY IGALA WOMAN
Igala people have many taboos, and going against them or one can lead to déath or danger especially in marriage issues.
These were enacted in those days by our ancestors in order to keep the society clean. One of the reasons why Igala parents don’t want their son to marry another tribe is because of the obedience to the traditional rules and regulations. For instance, in some tribes, a woman can insult a husband or return any insult to the man including the forbidden one. But how will another tribe know the forbidden insults or statement of Igala people? A married Igala woman is not to be hugged or touched intimately by another man.
But this may not an issue in another tribe. In Igala, if another man tells a married woman that he likes him in intimate way, the woman would have to go home and tell the husband who will think about it if it is what that will take her to the elders for cleansing or not. If the woman refuses to tell, she will later fall sick. Or her children will start falling sick, and may go until she confesses. The worst is that, in some tribes, chéating may not be a problem even if the woman is caught.
In Igala kingdom, na déath. From that moment, the woman ceases to be the wife of the man. He can never eat the food in that house or drink water in that house from the same pot. Touching her on the bed is a fast lane to his déath. This is not a hidden thing as those who tried it had the results. They all diéd because they didn’t tell the woman to go home for cleansing or just let her go to look for another husband early.
Igala ancestors called Ibegwu (Ibo-egwu: People of the dead or dead people) don’t play even if you are his only son. But this is not an issue in some tribes. But that could be part of their own culture as we have our own too, so, I would not say it is bad or good. But, this is one of the reasons why Igala men prefer to marry Igala women because they know what is forbidden or not in Igala culture.