19/12/2022
Do you believe in dada?
In Igbo land, it is believed that children born dada are of spiritual origin
The word 'dada' also refers to children born with matted kind of hair and, though it's of Yoruba origin, the sentiments around it are more dominant in Igbo land.
The hair is similar to dreadlocks and is tough to comb. That's probably why the bearers are sometimes called dreads - but not in Igbo land.
The Igbo people call children with dada 'Ezenwa', meaning 'The Child King'.......... One could argue that this is because the toughness of the hair denotes resilience, which a king should exude, or that it is because the hair most times sits over the head like a crown.
The reason behind the name, however, resides in the so-called 'spiritual origin', which apparently gives a dada immeasurable wealth and success.
The Igbo people observe many traditional rules and beliefs when dealing with a dada.
The most important of them is the ritual performed before clearing a dada's hair. The hair must be cut by a
priest(traditional) or a grown up who had dada too, but since the advent of Christianity in Nigeria, most parents would rather employ the prayers of Catholic priests.
The ceremony also entails calling friends and family over and treating them to a nice feast after the shaving.
Dadas whose hair is cut without the proper ceremony are believed to die within three days after the shaving or started growing it all over again after getting terribly sick. Though, there have been cases of those who survived after being shaved without the ritual. Some dada do grow back no matter how many times it's been cut,, so long as the ritual is not carried out. Prior to the shaving, touching a dada's hair, whether to feel its roughness, to scold the wearer by pulling at it, or to comb it, can be tempting considering that it looks unusual; but that would only make the child sick - unless of course you are the mother. Why, because only the mother can touch the hair without making
the dada sick. Th
