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| LOCAL COCK |
Local fowls (okuko Igbo) is the local species of fowls. They
are not bred in a cage. Rather they walk about, getting their food from kitchen
waste in the compound, from the farm and bushes. They can come in different
colours. There is the white fowl, the black fowl, the brown fowl, the spoted
fowl (black and white or brown and white), there is also the fowl ash in
colour. There are other types of local fowls that I bet you might have never
seen or heard of. See them here.
Related Post: Different Kinds Of
Fowl And Their Uses
I am going to share with you in this post what local fowls
are generally used for in Igbo land. Unlike the broilers and other types of English
fowls which are mainly reared and demanded for meat, local fowls are bred for
offering rituals and sacrifices to the gods. Nevertheless, some people prefer
to eat the local fowls because they are tasteful, better than the broiler. But that
is an exception.
Read: why local fowl is more tasteful than broiler.
Let’s state again that local fowls are demanded basically
for offering rituals and sacrifices to the gods. The Igbo people believe so
much in the forefathers that their usually offer rituals to their spirits and
to the sacrifices to the gods. There are special seasons when some sacrifices
are made. Popular among these seasons is the new
yam festival. In such occasions every elder goes to the Nkwo market to buy
ritual items and the cock which will be used for the sacrifice on the following
Eke market day.
Related Post: How to Celebrate
the New Yam Festival in Igbo Land