People And Culture: See The Hilarous Controversy Among Nigeria Tribes About the Choice Of Edible Meat

Please note the purpose of this post is not base on tribalism, it’s just a simple observation by a traveler and all thoughts and views express here are of the writers of this article and it is not influenced by any tribe. Therefore no one should take this post personal as it is only to talk about Nigeria Tribes and their culture (Way of Life as it relates to their food). With the above in mind, below is a list of Animals that are forbidden by some tribes in Nigeria but are delicacies for other tribes in same Nigeria.

1.       The Dog Meat

2.       The Alligator Meat

3.       The Snake Meat

4.       The Cat Meat

5.       The Snare

The Dog meat: From our previous post, you might have noticed that the calabar’s uses the dog meat in a special delicacy refer to as “The Dog Meat Pepper soup” this means that the calabar’s like the dog meat and they obviously enjoy eating this meat but a visit to an Urhobo village named OTUMARA might just change your view about this meat. According to that part of Urhobo, the dog has biten someone to death, for that the village took an oath not to eat such animal that has the ability to kill a human and this can be seen from the lists of animals that this particular people forbid eating, animals like the Lion, Tiger, Snake etc. This simply means that this people have grouped dog as a carnivorous animal, instead of a domestic animal as it is popular refer to. For other tribes, they view the Dog as pet and it is normally bad to kill a beloved pet not to mention eating that same pet. So when you are in calabar feel free to kill a dog and eat but when you are in some other part of the Country (Nigeria) like the Urhobo land please be certain such act is allowed as eating such forbidden animals come with a price.

Read Also:  People And Culture: Nigerian Tribes and Their Different Types of Pepper Soup

The Alligator Meat: The next meat you will have a second thought before eating it is the Alligator meat. To the east of the Delta state is the tribe known as the OROGUN. This tribe forbids the eating of the alligator; it even seems that this tribe worships the Alligator. According to the locals, an indigene that eats and alligator will have rashes and pulse on his/her skin and fall sick and if this animal is killed by an accident it has to be buried (this means that they perform a burial ceremony for an alligator) ridiculous some might say, but that’s their culture and you have to comply. Now here is the controversy, the OUT ARA indigene mentioned earlier that forbids the eating of Dogs actually enjoys the eating of alligator. So when you pay a visit to OROGUN in Delta state, eat other meat except the alligator but if you want to perform burial rights for a dead animal you can just try killing one.

The Snake Meat: The controversy is just getting started, while the eating of dog is very common in calabar, eating snakes is not so popular. Although there is no real evident that they forbids the eating of snake meat but it is not common among the calabar. But then the Isoko’s have no problem eating the snake, even other parts of the Urhobo’s that is close to the isoko’s have little or no problem eating this meat. The point is, while one meat might be forbidden in some tribes in Nigeria, in other tribes it is been enjoyed.

The Cat Meat and The Snare: There are different types of cat; to read about a very distinct type of cat please read the article Nature The Sand Cat: Meet The Exclusive SAND CAT . Everyone is aware of the unending war between the cat and mouse. In most Urhobo land the cat is kept at home to drive aware rodents like the Mouse (rat), it’s an effective way of keeping the mouse at a distance. And it is also a meat that is enjoyed by many, according to the locals in URHUMI village of Delta state, the cat has lots of Oil that gives it a very nice aroma when it is been smoked and its fats are seen when it is used to cook. But according to the OGHAREKI tribe in Delta state this same animal is linked with Witchcraft and spiritism. According to the OGHAREKI locals, demons can easily posses this animal and then use them to poison and kill humans. But then the OGHAREKI have no problem eating the Snare which is forbidden in the URHUMI village.

So when visiting villages in Nigeria, it’s important you know what they forbid and try living by their way of life so as to be at peace with the locals before living. What do you think about these Nigeria Villages; please drop your comments below