A Comparative Analysis of the Iwa-Akwa Festival in Uboma, Imo State of Nigeria and the Rites of Christian Initiation in the Catholic Church

Abstract

The crux of this paper is: A Comparative analysis of the Iwa-Akwa Festival in Uboma, Imo state of Nigeria and the Rites of Christian Initiation in the Catholic Church. The proper ordering of things in any given society is very important. For some time now, Iwa Akwa in Uboma has not been as orderly as it is meant to be. In addition, some indigenes of Uboma still regard Iwa-Akwa as a devilish festival when it is not. Therefore, this study aims at presenting a comparative study of Iwa-Akwa in Uboma and Catholic Initiation Rites with the intention of encouraging the people of Uboma to be as steadfast as possible in appreciating and enriching this culture of theirs by maintaining the intricacies involved in its rightful celebration and also by perceiving it as a God-given culture. The research employed both primary and secondary sources of data collection which were applied in the use of historical, phenomenological, sociological and participant observation methodologies. The research discovered that this very culture has certain procedures just like Catholic Initiation Rites. Procedures which when maintained, brings out the profound richness of the culture. In addition, it equally found out that Iwa-Akwa is quite a decent culture having nothing to do with any kind of devilish ritual. The result of this research suggests that there is need for the Church to encourage pastors in-charge of Christ’s faithful in Uboma to look closely into the Iwa-Akwa festival so that they can adequately instruct the faithful on the areas of convergence between the festival and the Sacraments of initiation. When this is done, the people of Uboma will definitely stand a better chance of appreciating Iwa-Akwa festival as God-given, and this in turn will not only help in the maturity of their Christian faith, but also, it will enhance the celebration of Iwa-Akwa in Uboma.