A Glimpse into the Age Grade Tradition

Many centuries ago, before the colonization of Nigeria by the Europeans, the Igbos lived in colonies. These colonies consisted of separate groups of people that possessed the same beliefs and systems. They hunted and gathered food together and also collectively watched over their younglings.

Among these colonies, there was something called the “Age Grade.”. This term refers to a group that was formed by people born within three to five years of each other.

Age grades served as a means of creating a peer group, fostering unity and responsibility, and acting mainly as a socio-cultural institution. Communities were segmented into different age grades, and with years passing by, the younger groups ascended the ladder and took over the role of the older grades. - Read more

In recent times, this tradition seems to have fallen off the reins in some Igbo states—my paternal home town, for example. But in the case of my maternal home, the opposite is true. You see, in the minute village of Umudioka, in Uru-owelle town, Dunukofia, Anambra State, age Grades are still very much alive and thriving.

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In fact, during the festive periods, you can almost never pass by some streets without seeing them singing and chanting. Either they just recently installed a leader or they are retiring the older sets.

In this case, they were retiring the oldest sets, except they weren’t on the streets. And guess what? My grandpa, who’s 96 years old, by the way, was one of the celebrants. And in normal Amuta family fashion, we all pulled up to celebrate with him.

The event took place at the village town hall in an open field. There were four other elders, alongside my grandpa, that were also being celebrated. I had never been to such an event before, so I was kind of clueless as to what to expect.

My Cousin & I	Another Cousin of Mine

^{My Cousins}

After my cousins and I took up space in one of the canopies set up, some women dressed in uniforms tried to take our spot; apparently the chairs weren’t enough to accommodate them. We politely told them the seats belonged to us and they should probably look somewhere else.

And the event started. It was filled with a lot of dancing and singing. They called each celebrant individually, and their family would come out, take pictures, and donate money to the cause. Then other miscellaneous groups would also come out to pledge a certain amount of money as well.

We basically had to wait till it was my grandpa’s turn. When they finally called on him, we all proceeded towards the center of the field to accompany and represent him. They gave him his well deserved award for having served as a noble member of his age group and bid him farewell in his future endeavors.

^{Grandpa Sporting his White Senator Outfit with a blue sash around his neck}

After that, we all went back home and continued the celebration at our family house. It was quite a pleasant occasion.

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