04/08/2026
The Öka Concept of Nwadiana.
di [H] = husband, lord and master; di m = my husband
di [H] = colleague, partner age-mate; di anyï = our age-mate; our friend
di-ana = lord and master of the land; free-born
nwa-di-ana = child of the lord and master of the land; child of free-born
But: nwa-di-ana = child of the daughter and nwa = child
So: di-ana = the daughter = lord and master of the land; free-born
An Öka adage says:
nwa-di-ana nwe ana = the child of the daughter owns the land
But the lie of that adage shows up in the following piece from our venerable Özö Amanke Okafor’s book “Awka System of Marriage: The Best In The World”:
The name “nwadiana” was a proud name in Awka town. It meant, our daughter’s son! Or, our daughter’s daughter! He or she (nwadiana) was held in high esteem. Everyone was eager to greet him, or her, on a visit to the community. He or she was an honoured visitor at all times. As they held him in high esteem so did nwadiana hold his mother’s people in high esteem. His mother’s people – ndü ikwu nnie (ikwu, people, nnie, his mother) were precious to him.
After the official visit, which was called “mgbu eghu nwadiana”, a boy’s life was linked with that of his mother’s people.
If her father and mother had died early, and there was no person in his paternal family to take care of him, his mother’s people took him over, so that he did not perish.
If he was oppressed in his father’s family, his mother’s family intervened and gave him succour.
On occasions, a daughter could run back to her people with her children to avoid their being kidnapped and sold into slavery in the bad old days when life was very insecure; and the children would grow up with her people.
The daughter’s family always took over her young children while they were young and helpless, and brought them up until they grew up and were able to stand by themselves. They trained them, and did for them, what their paternal family had failed to give them.
Sometimes, people would not know that the young man in the village, who did everything with the other young men, was not a native until the day he was to return to his father’s people.
For return to his own people he must. For although his mother’s people might care for him, he had no rights of property there. He was not entitled to any land there. He had rights only in his father’s family, not his mother’s.
Besides, nwadiana must not lose his roots. A person’s roots – only traceable through his father – were very important in Awka. No matter how long a time he might live with his mother’s people they did not forget that he was not a native-born. And some day somebody would taunt him with it!
That was why when nwadiana grew up to manhood his mother’s people encouraged him to return to his father’s people. And if they didn’t do so themselves because they had become very fond of him, his father’s people took steps to see that he returned home to them.
A classic example was Joseph Ndife Okafor of Umubele Village, Awka, who was nick-named “Gambia”. He was a highly-¬placed civil servant, who was sent by the Nigerian Government to assist the Gambian Government in Gambia, and he worked in the Gambia till his retirement from service. Because he worked so long with the Gambian people he was given the nick-name “Okafor-Gambia”.
Joseph Ndife Okafor lost both his parents at an early age. His mother’s people of Umudioka Village, Awka, took him over, and cared for him. His maternal uncle, Mbonu Anunobu, took him to Northern Nigeria where he was working, and put him to school. Joseph grew up to manhood with his mother’s people. He became so fond of them that he took his uncle’s surname – Anunobu – as his surname. When he became a man, and seeing that he was enamoured of Umudioka Village, his paternal family of Umubele became worried that if care was not taken he might become an Umudioka man. So they mounted pressure on him, and succeeded in bringing him back to his paternal family. Great was the joy on the day he returned to his roots!
Joseph Ndife Okafor-Gambia is dead. He died in 1979. In the brochure, ‘Order of Memorial Serivce’, printed by his children for the celebration, at St. Faiths Pro-Cathedral, Awka, of the 25th Anniversary of his death, on Saturday the 2nd day of October, 2004, they gave a brief history of his life. They wrote as follows, among other things:
“Pa Okafor’s attachment to the Anunobu family of Umudioka, Awka, in particular his maternal uncle, who took him to the North and ensured that he received western education, was so strong that he adopted Anunobu as his surname. At some point, his paternal family of Umubele, Awka, fearing that his true identity would be lost, forcefully ensured his return to his kith and kin at Umubele, a return that led to a great reunion with his kindred”.
The paternal family might be rejoicing, but the departure of nwadiana to his own people was often-times heart-rending to his maternal family, who might have grown very fond of him; and it was particularly so to his age-mates with whom he had grown up, and with whom he had done many things in common. But Awka law was implacable on that point – he must return to his roots, or he had no rights of property.
Let’s go back to our Öka adage given above. It says:
Nwa-di-ana nwe ana = the child of the daughter owns the land
Query: Nwa-di-ana nwe ana onye? = the child of the daughter owns whose land?
Answer: Nwa-di-ana nwe ana di-ana! = the child of the daughter owns the land of the di-ana!
Query: Onye vbü di-ana? = who is the di-ana?
Answer: Di-ana = the daughter = lord and master of the land; free-born
Query: Di-ana be onye? = the daughter in whose house?
Answer: Di-ana be nnie/nnïa (nne ye/nna ya) = the daughter in her maternal home.
So, we may conclude that:
Nwa-di-ana nwe ana n’ikwu nnie, where the mother is Di-ana!
So, the Öka law that says Nwadiana has no rights of property in his mother’s home, ikwunnie, is wholly arbitrary and has no basis in natural genesis. The woman is the Di-ana who owns the land at her maternal home. Her child – the Nwadiana – inherits the Di-ana’s land.
Credit: Emma Anizoba
![The Öka Concept of Nwadiana. di [H] = husband, lord and master; di m = my husbanddi [H] = colleague, partner age-mate; ...](https://img4.findhealthclinics.org/029/229/1353559710292293.jpg)
