Nwa Nza story the
Nwa-Nza is the smallest bird in the animal empire in the Igbo tradition. The story goes that he was bullied and intimidated by all the bigger animals. He became so frustrated that he decided to ask God why He made him so, so small. He toured to the ends of the globe but never saw God. He met challenges in his search; the rain and wind were great obstacles to him. He later prayed and picked up courage again to move on and finally came back to the cotton tree where he began this journey.
Cover of the Igbo podcast on SoundCloud, featuring lessons and cultural items in Igbo languages.
How this folklore relates to Ndi Igbo and some of their culture especially their industrious and meticulous nature is what we are going to be tracing in this essay.
Nwa-Nza achieves self-confidence and circles the whole world in flight despite his size. The Igbo culture does not believe that your inherited wealth can make you better than your pals. You can have an edge above them just for a time. They believe in themselves, and what they can achieve as a person. So, whether born rich or poor, big or small, it does not matter; what matters is who you are.
MIND-BLOWING QUESTIONS The size of Nwa-Nza was a worry to him. Just like the family background of most Igbo people could constitute a challenge to survival. Family backgrounds can make one cower among his mate whose background looks better. Just as Nwa-Nza took his worries to God, the Igbos believe that Chineke (God) has the answer to all his mind-blowing questions. Nwa-Nza had many questions which only God could respond to. Questions; such as ‘why am I very small,’ ‘why are big birds bullying me,’ ‘why, why, what did I do to offend God?’ are some of the secret questions in the minds of many from humble backgrounds or those in the habit of pondering.
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Nsbidi symbol cards on Pages 141-143 were put together by Sumy Sarfaraz using symbols provided by Nigeria’s XpertVector via Fiverr.
SIZE DOES NOT MATTER
