My Hometown : The Ancient blacksmith City And Rich Cultural Heritage

I am from Awka, the capital city of Anambra State in the southeastern region of the Giant of Africa. My hometown is known for many things, such as hospitality, cooking, and the most popular aspect of it is blacksmithing and craftsmanship. Outside these facts, we are hardworking, very industrial, business minded people with a very rich cultural heritage.

This image is mine

Awka is surrounded by over 22 villages, embedded with beautiful traditions and fertile land mass, respecting boundaries and fulfilling cultural socialisation. We do observe a four year's compulsory homecoming channelled towards family reunion, togetherness and development.

We have a four day market (Eke, Orie, Afor, Nkwo) and a major market named Eke Awka where people from all walks of life come to buy foodstuffs, crafts and gold. The crafts and gold are locally made in my hometown.

Furthermore, my hometown is blessed with two popular universities and a technical school amongst others namely Namdi Azikiwe University, St Paul University which also houses a theology school, and Technical College located at Nawfia. Those schools are well known for their prowess locally and internationally in the technical field.

Outside the academic prowess, we have a rich tradition and cultural heritage which include the Imo Awka day, Onwa Asa, Eze Uzu Day, also known as Awka Festival Day and other cultural traditions. We also have the cabinets of the Eze(king) which includes the Ozo, Onowu, and others. During the Imo Akwa Day, which normally happens every December, masquerades together with their faithful’s, visitors, and tourists gather at the town square to celebrate the year with cultural dance from all the villages.

Again, we also celebrate the Yam festivals around August of every year. During this period, no mourning programme is allowed because it is regarded as a period of joyfulness and thanksgiving for a good harvest of Yams. Prayers are also offered for a better harvest in a traditional setting.

Image source Fshh on Unsplash

Additionally, blacksmith and craftsmanship are the bane of our hometown, our males and even females are skillful in molding earrings, necklaces, artifacts and several ornaments that are exported to other countries in their quantities. One cannot take away the hospitality aspect from my hometown, we accommodate people, friendly and can travel to places where we can thrive business and cultural wise. Our rich food menu also endears people to our land. The Onugbu, Oha and Nsala soup are part of our rich food culture.

However, in all these goodies, erosion is our major challenge, we have a red mud land mass and once it rains, everywhere becomes muddy such that it is difficult for vehicles and people on foot to navigate properly. The drainages are not well connected and taken care of. As a result, the area is always prone to serious erosion due to heavy flooding.

Above all, there is a saying that the soup my mother cook is still the best amongst all. Therefore, while we hope and look forward to good interventions from the appropriate quarters that will reduce the impact of erosion in my hometown, I am happy to welcome anyone who will need a stop over to my village next time they visit the southeastern region of my country. We are located in between Onitsha and Enugu State. The hometown of the ancient blacksmith and modern craftsmen.