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OGBAUKWU: NIGERIA'S CAVE DESTINED TO BREAK UNESCO'S
WORLD HERITAGE SITE RECORD - SAYS OSIBEROHA UCHE OSIBE
The much known but inadequately publicized Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala
Cave in Orumba South local government area of Anambra State, Nigeria is set to
tower among other caves in the world. This is as a result of findings of
research sponsored by the New Africa Foundation for Research,
Information, Education and National Development (NewAfrica F.R.I.E.N.D)
and conducted by the New Africa Foundation for Arts, Culture and Tourism
(NewAfrica FACT). The outcome of the research findings shows that of the ten
criteria from which one out of ten criteria is required to attain the
status of the World Heritage Property, the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave is
found to meet eight out of them (the ten criteria) - a
potential world record at that.
No known cave or tourist attraction site has been known to possess
up to 8 criteria as is with Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and
Waterfalls in Anambra State,
Nigeria
In this interview, with the Founder and Executive Director of New
Africa FACT, a cultural heritage and tourism promotion cum development
non-governmental organization, Osiberoha Uche Osibe who is also the
Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls
Tourism Foundation (OCWTF), the tourism development activist throws more
light on the nature and importance of the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave as a
veritable tourism destination point. His view is captured below by BEATRICE ONUCHUKWU:
Sir, can we know much about the town where the Ogbaukwu Cave
is sited.
Thank you very much. Owerre-Ezukala town is one of the most
populous communities in Orumba South local government area of Anambra state in Nigeria, west of Africa.
A boundary town that is bordered in the north by Awlaw town in Enugu state; in the South-east by
Umuaku-Isuochi in Abia and one-time by Eziama town also in Imo state.
Owerre-Ezukala serves as a major outlet to the South-east, South-south
and northern part of Nigeria.
Sir, can we get to know about this Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave
and Waterfalls that is creating wave in the tourism industry.
Yes, the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls from the
research findings of natural/physical scientists and writers
is believed to have been formed by flow that creates lava tunnels or tubes,
solution dissolution (and to an extent non-solution dissolution) as well as
limestone. It belongs to the limestone caverns family formed by solution
process. Beautiful limestone of great sizes and shapes among other solid
minerals abound within the cave environment.
Apart from evidence of abrasion and erosion in
limestone caves formed through non-solution process. a solution process
of rain water is known to attack and dissolve rock salt (calcium
carbonate of limestone) to widen the cracks and joints of the rocks by
disintegration of rock
One major thing is that the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave is
a massive cultural and historical monument with a natural cavity or
opening within the earth, reaching out from the surface of the earth to the
realm of light. Measuring not less than 10 kilometres in length and
extending to Awlaw-Ishiama and Nkwuli-Awlaw axis of Enugu state and the border
of Egere in Awgu local government area and Amuda-Isuochi Umunneochi local government
area of Abia state, Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls, is
known among scholars and tourists as the biggest and largest cave in West
Africa at least.
The landscape is a mixture of sandy, rocky, dryly and wetly stuff,
as well as a natural beach for relaxation.
Another significant thing is that it possesses great
waterfalls that cascading from a height of about 60 metres, all year
round with its heaviest flow peak during the rainy season enough to generate
electricity.
The Cave's waterfalls have their sources from a
confluence of the swampy Edegere and Ozu ukwu stream, both in Iyiafo village of
the community. Just as it splashes down, the waterfall forms a natural swimming
pool at the base where tourists swim or take their bath.
From the base of the waterfalls, the waterfall moves further
about a mile to join a nearby supernatural lake (Ogbo-ori) joining
another Akpagha which joins Obiyi river which embraces Utulu river to form a
bigger Mamu river, a tributary of Oji river. It is this Mamu
River that traverses several rivers in
many communities to join Omambala river (from where the name of Anambra State
was derived, moving further to form a tributary of River Niger.
What major fascinating features can be found in the cave that
you would say makes the Cave a major tourism destination point
Infact, many tourists have visited the cave and ended up saying,
there is nothing that is not in the Cave. I join them to say also that there is
nothing that is not in the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls.
On entering the Cave, the visitor feels the clement weather
in and around the Cave, On deseeding into the Cave , a visitor sees the
waterfall, after which he washes his or her hand and moves to rest either at
the first naturally-rock-sheltered reception point obu agu nta (small
lion’s den) or obu agu ukwu (big lion’s den) where the visitor/tourist
gets exciting moments watching traditional wrestling matches and mock
battles take place.
Inside the cave are varied tunnels and inter-connecting
passages leading into different roomy apartments of varying shapes and sizes.
Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls is a
naturally-carved rocks, with two different entrances, one serving as an entrance
and the other an exit point offering an escape route in a case both of
emergency or danger.
It is here that the major interesting scenic spots abound and
local guides help tourists to appropriate the best out of tourism sites either
with candles and torch in the absence of electrical connections inside
the Cave.
Security wise, the Cave offered a good hide out in terms of danger
or insecurity since the olden days.
Villagers were and are still known to find refuge inside it.
A visit to the cave usually turns out a visitor's delight as a
visitor is likely to see scenic places of interest from a particular
tunnel of about a door-post size made of sharp, slender pinnacle hanging from
the roof (stalactites) and another pinnacle in form of a door curtain growing
from the floor (stalagmites). Both the stalactites and stalagmites join
to form another tourist attraction structure of nature like a
pillar
Interesting thing in the Cave is that a spiritual force was once
known to inhabit the Cave. Traditional religionists claim it was the God
Creator that resided inside the Cave from where He stays at a particular entry
point of the Cave to dispense justice to disputing parties that came on
consultation either over a missing or stolen yam, cocoyam, cock or maize. After
listening to a petitioner, the Spirit was known to pass judgment and the
offending party punished accordingly .
According to legend, the unknown GOD of Ogbaukwu that
inhabited a large living room inside the heart of the enclave abandoned it
When the spirit at Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave abandoned the
place it had occupied, a search party of elders from the community was sent to
Arochukwu (the voice of God) in what they called Ije Aro or Ije Chukwu
to find out if exploits of the famed Long Juju or Aro oracle were manifested by
the fleeing Ogbaukwu spirit.
The journey was futile following marked disparities between the
two supposed spirits in method of operational modalities. Unlike the Owerre-Ezukala
spirit which nobody can associate with any shrine or priest, the Aro oracle was
said to have developed out of a small shrine in Ibibioland and graduated to
become prominent after many years of the establishment of Aro State.
Unlike the God of Ogbaukwu, the Arochukwu oracle had agents that
specialized in attracting clients to the oracle and those that were charged and
declared culprits were deceptively said to have been sacrificed to the oracle
only for them to be sold into slavery through the backdoor. The Aro oracle was
defeated in the 1901 / 1902 British expedition. The oracle was said to have
fled to another cave near Okigwe.
Final destruction of the shrine took place in 1912 after the
agents resurrected the practice of the consultation of the Aro oracle
Since the futile Ije Aro by elders of Owerre-Ezukala, no one
has been able to locate the whereabouts of the God of Ogbaukwu compelling the
natives to contend that the spirit had gone up to Heaven.
The only evidence that the ‘missing’ God of Ogbaukwu existed is
the face of the unknown God sculpturally etched on the ceiling in one of the
roomy apartments inside the cave.
Few metres after it is a bewildering nature-made hanging
roof without a supporting pillar
Moreover, there is a particular awe-inspiring tunnel leading to a
bottomless pit referred to as Ogba ekesu. At present, the place is
blocked because of danger it poses. It has a tale of danger warning every
tourist to avoid the area as no one is known to have returned alive to tell the
story after braving it.
Opposite the centre of the Cave where the God of Ogbaukwu
once inhabited, is a tunnel leading to a route through which a
visitor/tourist can explore the cave until he/she gets to a point where a
neighbouring town of Awlaw in Oji river local government area borders Egere in
Awgu local government area , both of Enugu state and Amuda Isuochi in Abia
state.
There are further scenes of attraction like an architectural
piece depicting human settlement and socio-economic development when early men
hunted for food and engaged in pastorals. These human habitation and activities
are made manifest in downstairs and step-stone leading to the upstairs,
rock-structured household dwelling, master bedroom, flattened traditional rock
bed, wardrobe, storeroom, dane gun and domestic utensils, rock-moulded salt,
and industrial items like spanners of rock inside the Cave.
Following a step-stone, a visitor gets to a an enclosure
where a leg of an elephant (ukwu enyi) naturally made of rock, depicting
high artistic value is found.
There is also a tunnel leading into an apartment in the Cave
that is like a pen where animals are kept and called animal kingdom obodo
anumanu in local parlance. Here can be found life-size rock-made animals
like antelope, etc in their resting, squatting, stooping or standing positions.
There is also a rock-made snake.
The Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave cannot be exhaustively explored
as there are numerous small tunnels that are blocked and unable to accommodate
a human size. However, it can take a visitor/tourist about two hours to have a
relative satisfactory exploration of the cave.
Is there any suggestion that the Cave might have been a cradle of
civilization given the historical, natural and cultural findings and
formations in the Cave
No one can say for sure the beginning or evolution of life.
Oral history backed by observations of the physical, cultural, religious and
historical occurrences in the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave goes to fuel
speculation that the cradle of early civilization started there. This is one of
the reasons the NewAfrica FACT team tends to regard the cave as having met one
of the ten criteria for becoming a world heritage site .
A forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex or
city qualifies for enlistment on the UNESCO World Heritage Site as long as it
is of special cultural or physical significance.
To qualify for enlistment, the nominated site(s) must be of
outstanding universal value and meet one of the ten criteria set out since
2005.Before the modification was made in 2005, one set of ten criteria was
broken into six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural
heritage respectively.
Taken one after the other, the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and
Waterfall property is believed to possess eight out of the ten criteria that
qualifiy a property to be considered as having outstanding universal values for
enlistment on the World Heritage Site. The cave/waterfall is likely to break the
record as no property on the World Heritage Site is known to have met half of
the criteria talk less of eight out of ten criteria. There is the undying
desire for a quicker step to be taken to include the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala
Cave and Waterfall in the Tentative List for possible selection and placement
on Nomination File as well as its evaluation and determination of recommended
nominated property for enlistment on the World Heritage Site. The
Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfall property can be matched against the
ten criteria for selection:
(i) Under the cultural phenomenon, a property is
considered for enlistment on the world heritage site if it “represents a master
piece of human creative genius.” At the entrance of the cave, a visitor can
find two different overflowing rocks that provide sheds for relaxation, leisure
and playground/mock battle field or wrestling arena. In side the cave that
looks like a natural dome, the visitor can also find the entrance and
exit points in times of danger, similar to architectural device by mankind for
safety sake.
In the course of exploring the cave, a tourist can find master
piece of human creative ingenuity with the natural stony sculptural leg
of an elephant or probably a horse.
There is also a nature-architectured downstairs and upstairs as
well as roomy apartments for human habitation, wardrobe, kitchen, toilet, uko
agu, and an earthly life size forms of animals made of rock in their
natural pen or animal kingdom (obodo agu).
Like in the caves discovered in the period of Stone Age in Spain
and France where early men lived, the sculpturally carvings on the
wall and floors of the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave depict ancient human-like
activities and high artistic value of the early men who gathered food, hunted
for animals and engaged in pastorals. The engravings also depicted beautiful
nature decorations and evolution of humanity and animal migrations.
(ii) Again, a property for enlistment “exhibits an important
interchange of human values, over a span of time, or within a cultural area of
the world on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts,
town planning, or landscape design.”
Caves like Ogbaukwu in Owerre-Ezukala was used as a shelter
for and place of protection for early men against wild animals , harsh weather
and unfriendly neighbours.
The formation of the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala has a touch of
class in architecture, and town planning design such that there is an
entry and exit points, upstairs, step-stones and down stairs with tunnels
and roomy apartments of different sizes and shapes as well as
wardrobe, kitcjhen and other household and industrial items.
The enclosure within the living room with a compound depicts
post-colonial Nigerian traditional home made up of a parlour or master bedroom,
mkpuke (detached wife’s room, kitchen, open space, and a pen-like
enclosure where domestic animals are kept. There is a compartment where
the awe-some architectural manifestations of hanging roof without
supporting pillars.
Except they were naturally formed, the decorative stone
carvings/designs patterns on the walls and floors of the cave can be attributed
to an intelligently-fashioned works of high artistic value and products
of the cultural environment.
What can one say about the “face of the unknown GOD”
scripturally-etched on a roof of a room inside the centre of the cave.
The property to be inscribed on a world heritage site should
be one that “bears a unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or
to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared.” The
Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls site is regarded as a cradle
of civilization dating back to the Stone Age period through the iron Age
Oral tradition alludes to the fact that early civilization grew at
the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave since the Stone Age. There is the
possibility that they lived together as a community inside the cave and had an
ancient type of government and centre of meeting. Various sounds re
produced from different stone as they are played on to
produce different danced to at traditional wrestling or mock battles at
the arena of big lion’s den) (obuagu ukwu)
As with the caves in Spain and France, the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala
Cave has carvings on its walls and floors made from cut
chippings of pieces of stone into desired shape though Egypt and Mesopotamia
are acclaimed originators of writing, the natural development of sculptures and
engravings in rocks in Ogbaukwu wonder cave give expression to an earlier form
of primitive writing/communication.
There is also the prevalent cultural tradition of divination since
the ancient time. It is still in practice till date.
Legend has it that Ogbaukwu /Owerre-Ezukala Cave
was at a time a place where the natives consulted an unknown GOD. This spirit
being was said to have able to discern the mission of those who came
to seek justice and inquire from it over disputes. As republicans,
Igbos were individualistic, egalitarian and had a segmentary political
system devoid of central government but a village of assembly
of native and council of elders (ndi amaala) consisting of ofo
holding family heads and opinion mouldersThe judicial system had no set
rules such that a respected elder, ward or village elders can be
approached by any of the parties to a dispute to intervene and settle
same. Beyond these, spirit, medium or oracle consultation can
be opted to settle disputes at times referred to it by the
disputants, wards or village. Individuals and families were known to have
consulted Ogbaukwu spirit. Disputes usually referred to the spirit are those
that proved difficult to establish the guilt verdict.
A guilt judgment was passed on the culprit after the
consultation at the open entrance into the cave . Due to incessant,
insignificant inquiries., the Ogbaukwu GOD as said to have abandoned its
habitation inside the cave to a place no one has been able to identify.
A search party\s effort to find out if the Ogbaukwu spirit was one
that people consulted in large numbers at Arochukwu was futile.
A criteria is equally met for a property to be enlisted on
the World Heritage Site when it “is an outstanding eXample of a type of
building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which
illustrates a significant stage in human history.” The
Ogbaukwu//Owerre-Ezukala Cave is an outstanding naturally-formed
building,, architectural and technological piece consisting of downstairs, and
step-stone leading to the upstairs. It boasts of tunnels and roomy
apartments that can pass for a place of human habitation at the
early civilization.
After the Ice Ages, life is believed to have evolved from ape man
to real man some hundreds of thousands of years. Running away from
wild animals, enemies and harsh weather, the early men found out that caves
were more conducive and secured to stay/live. At Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala
Cave, the stream (spring) that gives rise to the waterfalls provides
water to drink for human survival.
The Stone Age men fashioned rough stone implements as tools and
weapons. The existence of household items, weapons of war like dane gun, made
of rock still baffles scholars of speleology and visitors/tourists.
Opinions are divided as to whether the formation of these stone implements
etched on the wall or and floor of the cave is natural or originated as a
result of human activities by early men who made sharp implements
including axes by striking rough pieces of stones against each other to hit,
cut or chop off chipping of pieces of stone to get desired shape.
Moreover, to be inscribed as a property on the World Heritage
Site, the property is expected to be “an outstanding example of a traditional
human settlement, land use or sea-use which is representative of a
culture or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become
vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change.” Inside the
Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave, is a balcony for security operations and
intelligence gathering, as it affords one the chance to stay inside the cave
and still have a wholistic view of its entrance. This enables one to stay
inside to be secured and be able to monitor intruders in order to take preventive
measures or counter moves against danger, insecurity or emergency situation.
As a settlement of early human kind, Ogbaukwu Cave
and waterfalls are not far from it. You know that ancestors of man
according to historians, archeologists and other writers appeared about 50
million years ago. What you see inside the Cave though of natural rocky
formations, shows semblance of activities of early men and cradle of
civilization that once manifested therein.
In the Old Stone Age, the early men only knew about hunting
for animals using roughly fashioned stone implements with handle as weapons.
They also had cut chippings of pieces of stone to desired shapes for carving
and painting on stones and walls of caves as well as other sheltered
settlements.
The New Stone Age men who had lived on trees and later caves
improved on the original creations by making axes which had thick end. These
axes were shaped by striking rough pieces of stones against each other while
holding the thick end with fist and using the narrow end to hit, cut and chop
wood. He learned to scare away wild animals and cruel neighbours in order to
secure himself in caves and other sheltered settlements by making fire in the
bush and at the entrance to the caves.
The Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave is believed to have existed from
the Old Stone Age period of over 500,000 B.C. to the New Stone Age period of
3,000 B.C. within which period discoveries were made of paintings and carvings
on the rocks in the caves in France
and Spain
.
With the much beautiful nature decorations and cave engravings
depicting evolution of humanity and animal migration, it is believed that early
life which had existed in Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave traversed the periods of
Stone Age through Iron Age. Otherwise how else can one attribute the seeming
naturally, intelligently- fashioned domestic items like dane gun, and
industrial item like spanner, all made of rock. Same with the sculpturally
carved face of the unknown GOD of Ogbaukwu contends that civilization grew at
Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala at the same time of Old Stone Age and Metal Age except
that it not only developed to a noticeable level in Africa’s Egypt because of
River Nile and Asia’s Mesopotamia because of Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, but
also influenced much of history and civilization of Europe and world. After Egypt and Mesopotamia, the third cradle of
civilization developed in 3,000 B.C. around the Islands of Crete and between Egypt and Greece
and around the Augean sea, a branch of the Mediterranean sea
at the Eastern part.
A writer had identified some wonderful artificial works done in
the ancient times which he dubbed the “ Seven Wonders of
the World .” These were:(a) the Pyramids of Egypt , erected about
4,000 B.C. to serve as tombs of the Egyptian kings (Pharaohs);(b) the Walls and
Hanging Gardens of Babylon( which were created by Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon complemented the Hanging Gardens which were irrigated from waters
pushed from Euphrates by a revolving crew;©The Status of Zeus or Jupiter (The
status called Zeus by the Greeks and Jupiter by the Romans was carved by the
great Greek sculptor, Phidias stood at 49 feet with gold-robbed Zeus seated;(d)
The Mausoleum (The magnificent was erected in honour of a Persian ruler (Asia
Minor) though now in ruins, portions tomb of it can be found in the British
Museum );(e) The Temple of Diana at Ephesus (It was constructed during the time
of Alexander the Great by Greeks architects to portray the means the ruler
spread civilization);(f) The Goths destroyed the 400 feet long and over 200
feet Wide temple in A.D. 40;(g) The Pharos or Light House at Alexandria (The
first light house to be built in the history of the world was established after
the death of Alexander the Great to lead mariners to the commercial
nerve-centre he founded); and (h) The Colossus of Rhodes (The now destroyed
huge bronze status of Helios or Apollo, the sun god of 120 feet high took 12
years to make by Greeks. It was put up at the entrance of the harbor, an Island
of the coast of Asia Minor ).
Today many handiworks and works of nature pass for the modern
wonders of nature. In this wise, Ogba kwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave is a natural and
cultural monument that is long overdue for enlistment as a mixed property on
the World Heritage Site. Infact it has broken record as a
yet-to-recognized world heritage site/property. The New Africa Foundation
for Arts, Culture and Tourism (NewAfrica FACT), a subsidiary of New Africa
Foundation for Research, Information, Education and National Development
(NewAfrica F.R.I.E.N.D) is sponsoring the NewAfrica FACT to go into another
round of research to actualize further exploration, survey, excavation and
archeological studies of the Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls to
throw more insight into the nature, other causal formation and date of the
existence of the cave.
This will go a long way in confirming or disputing the oral
historical contention that Ogbaukwu/Owerrre-Ezukala Cave belongs to the cradle
of early civilization world heritage monument what with the myth of God’s abode
and etched face on the ceiling of a room in the cave, evidence of human
settlement and activities since the era of Stone Age and the rock carvings on
the wall and floors of the cave.
Is any festival periodically as a form of traditional or cultural
event associated with a god or idol.
One major thing about the Ogbaukwu Tourism Festival is that it is
not a traditional festival in the sense of according honour to a god or idol.
However, its celebration usually coincides with a traditional festival called Ajala
Onwa Ato (a cultural festival held about the month of May every year to
usher in the harvest period of plenty of farm yields like maize and
cassava. This time plenty of consummation of these local dishes is
observed
The Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Waterfalls Tourism festival
has become one of the major cultural heritages of the people that
has been sustained till date.
It helps as a vehicle to foster unity among the
people of Owerre-Ezukala and between the host community and tourists from in
and outside Nigeria.
The festival is held beginning with every last Saturday of May and rounds up
the next or two days. This year's festival holds on Saturday 25, 2013
During the festival, an opportunity is created for
show-casing of the heritage of the people, cultural value, tourism, relaxation,
and entertainment in form of mock battles, traditional wrestling, music,
dances, beauty contest, football tourism, exhibition of fabrics - local
arts and craft as well as local dishes and African continental.
Modern times have not witnessed any ritual ceremonies performed
during or after the event, this is more so when the cave has no shrine where a
traditional priest can perform rituals before it is celebrated
Rather, a Christian Pastor or clergy is usually invited to come to
the site and offer prayers and bless the site before the commencement
of Ogbaukwu festival and exploration tour to see the wonders of
nature at the cave site.
The NewAfrica Team equally initiated the establishment of five
outstations of the Federal Ministry of Tourism , Culture and National
Orientation including but not limited to the National Council of Arts and
Culture (NCAC), Nigerian Tourism Development Council (NTDC), National
Commission for Museum and Monuments (NCMM), National Institute and Hospitality
and Tourism (Nihotours) and Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization
(CBAAC).. This was made possible through a letter by the Osiberoha Osibe-led
NewAfrica FACT to the then Minister. Later the Boar of Trustees of the OCWTF
keyed into the initiative.
Presently, Ogbaukwu/Owerre-Ezukala Cave has been recognized
as what NewAfrica FACT research team recommended as the Nigerian Multi-media
and Film Cultural
Village or what has become known as a Nollywood Cultural Village.
The .Nigerian Multi-media and Film Cultural Village is envisaged by New Africa
FACT as a place where experts in television and films/home videos
can edit/produce films, direct casts, and cinematography using
availability of live recording equipment, High Definition Camera (HDV) audio
mixers , Non Linear Editing facilities and digital video & audio
mixers to fast track its actualization.
We envisage Ogbaukwu Heritage Business and Leisure resort,
Tourism Education and Training Programme, Information Technology hub,
museum, art-life galleria, and paintings, fabrics, game village and
aero-plane/jet landing ground, etc,
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