Igbo folklores are Igbo story and tales that focuses on human and animal characters to provides moral lesson on different areas of everyday life. It plays a crucial role in the traditional Igbo society in representing vital information around creation, faith, belief, God, history, spirits, life, after life, marriage, courage, leadership, hard work, death etc
Folktale sessions takes place after twilight (after dinner and after completing domestic chore) because it is meant for relaxation and education. The choice of folklores sessions at night time is built around enjoying the fantasy-induced aura of the moon, the scintillations of the stars, and the anticipated glow of the log-fires. It is reserved after the twilight to discourage laziness amongst children who may intend to swap their domestic tasks for tales. The Igbo Ore market nights are exempted from folklores session to further reduce idleness and unmerited relaxation, and telling folklore in the day time was considered an anomaly.
The tales usually takes place in the village square or family/kindred compounds with children and youths gathered to listen to the elders, and the elders with the most of tales are often considered wise. Folklores were not only the most performed and enjoyed artistic practice in the typical Igbo villages, it was also practiced in some urban areas where there are large concentration of Igbos as a way preserving the Igbo values, culture and brotherhood. Folklores enjoyed a great popularity amongst Igbos back in the days because it provided entertainment values, didactical teaching and learning, and also offered memorable artistic genre. It is a useful moral teaching tool that encouraged positive behaviour amongst young people.
The beginning and closure of Igbo folklore tales are very attention catching and are characterised by distinctive symbolic phrases. The narrator starts by drawing the attention of children and youths followed by enthusiastic response from eager audience as follows:
- Narrator: Umuaka, o nwere akuko m ga akoro unu. (Children, I have a tale forl you)
- Audience: Kooro anyi, ka obi di anyi nma (Make us happy with the tale)
The beginning of the tale is then preceded another narrator-audience engagement phrase:
- Narrator: O ruru otu mgbe (Once upon a time)
- Audience: Otu mgbe e ruo (Time, time).
The narrator then proceeds with the tale and some of the folklores are punctuated with related songs referred to as akuko na ifo which constitutes the entertainment and memorable aspect of the tale and are greatly valued by the audience for their poetic qualities. Folklores with accompanying songs shared between the narrator and the audience are preferable to those with song sang only by the narrator. The songs also help in building rapport between the storyteller and the audience. The folklores are also enriched by the use of transitional expressions to gain undivided attention of the audience (i.e unu o mara ihe mere nu, do you know what happened?). The Igbo folklore is concluded with a summary of the moral lessons of the tales which guides the audience reasoning, behaviour and conduct
Western influence and civilisation affected the place and role of folklores in todays Igbo custom, particularly with modern education system considerably removing education and entertainment from family gathering and the folk community to formal schools and online media. Despite this influence, most elderly Igbos till date are still holding on to this great Igbo value and culture and still combines the use of proverbs, folktales and folk narrative of Igbo culture and tradition in speeches to the amazement of young Igbo and non Igbos alike. Ndigbo, it is time to rekindle the folklore to for the moral regeneration of future Igbo sons and daughters. Cheta nu na onye gbakaa ute ya, orahu na ala.
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