The breaking of Kola nuts
Among the Igbo is a ritual
And some of its principles crucial
It doesn’t speak foreign languages
Says of the Kola nut among the Igbo
And so should always be blessed in Igbo
In every gathering of this nation
There should absolutely be a Kola nut
No matter what or who comes fort
It is really, they say
That who brings Kola nut, brings life
Even though they often cut it with knife.
Kola nut is even offered to a stranger
And its need, absolutely stronger
When a friend calls in the house
Any failure to offer a Kola nut to a guest
Is for this tribe indeed a serious insult
But that’s when the guest is an adult
Because of its position in the society
the Kola nut is treated with piety
And shared according to ages
When the guest is from another land
They return with one to their motherland
Because when Kola nut reaches home
It says where it came from
The blessing of the Kola nut among the Igbo
Is the right of the men, always the eldest
But the sharing is reserved mainly to the youngest
Or anyone to whom the elder, the honour may bestow
Kola nut, among the Igbo, is not just a piece of fruit
It is not just giving to the visitors and friends
For the joy of it or an expression of our mood
But a sacred ritual that, bonds, cements
