THE MEANING OF OLI UDAGO

If you speak Igala and you do not know the meaning of “OLI UDAGO”, it is not just important for you to read this, you must read it carefully and have a good understanding so that you don’t suffer what a child of 13years is expected to suffer.

As a matter of fact, it is only a child below the age of 13 years that is prohibited from knowing the meaning of Oli Udago. As soon as an Igala child grows out of childhood, he/she is expected to know several secrets and one of them is the Oli Udago secret. That is how interesting growing up as an Igala child used to be but regrettably; most of these things are fading away with the speed of water vapor.

Though I am going to tell you the meaning of Oli Udago in a short while, I strongly feel you are now trying to imagine what this Oli Udago of a thing looks like. That is exactly the thought that occupies the mind of an under 13 child who is sent by his parents to borrow Oli Udago from a neighbor’s house.

MEANING OF OLI UDAGO

For avoidance of doubt, Oli Udago does not mean anything, in fact, it does not exist. It is merely a fiction. It can only be imagined just like you may have been doing.

Despite the fact that it does not exist or mean anything, parents will still send their children to go and borrow it. The reason a child may be sent to borrow what does not exist is the crux of this piece.

The Oli Udago trick is just a means of keeping a restless child busy doing nothing. This is how it works. If a child decides to stubbornly constitute nuisance in the house, the best solution is to keep such a child busy and by so, the parents may have rest of mind. The best way to do this is to send such a child to go borrow Oli Udago from the next house. Such a child who has never had the opportunity of seeing an Oli Udago in his entire life will be occupied with the anticipation of knowing what it looks like.

The trick does not end with the sender alone. Every Igala adult knows that a child coming to ask for Oli Udago is being sent out of the house so that his parents can have little peace. Therefore, in what could be termed as conspiracy, such a child is sent further. He is told the Oli Udago was borrowed by the woman in the next house. If he gets to the next house, he is still sent further to the next house and so will he continue moving from house-to-house in search of the non-existing Oli Udago until he gets tired.

There is a rule that governs this trick, if a child comes to ask for Oli Udago in a house, the first thing the adult he meets does  is to assess the child to determine if he is tired already or he still has strength to go further. Then, the adult must also ask the child how many houses he has been to in search of it.

It is upon this enquiry that the adult will decide whether to send the child further or to send him back home to go and rest. 

If such an adult is convinced that the child is tired and needs rest, he will simply tell the child that the Oli Udago has just been returned to his parents and therefore, he should go back home.

The unfortunate part for the victim of this trick is that once he is told the Oli Udago has been returned to his parents, he hurries home to behold this Oli Udago which he has never seen in his entire life. On reaching home, his parents; knowing that he is expecting to meet the Oli Udago in the house will not give him the chance to ask for it. They will simply tell him that they have used it and another person just came to borrow it. Such a tired and frustrated child usually finds his way to the bed and it is followed by a sound sleep. 

This is the secret of Oli Udago I just revealed to you. Please don’t let your child that is below the age of 13 to read about this interesting, funny and dubious trick.

By: Inedu Opaluwa via igalaproject@yahoogroups.com