This article will be focusing on hospitality as it concerns visitors and the ways Africa precisely the Igbo’s welcome them. It will also highlight the importance placed on the visitor at any given time and why a visitor must be treated nicely.
The word hospitality is a much-known word which a lot of people use as regards to their individual beliefs concerning taking care of a visitor. In this day and time where hotel business has become the centre of attraction for every country which has become a stronger part of tourism, we tend to see hospitality just in the light of hotel business but before this time and age man was known to be a very hospitable animal especially when it comes to welcoming a visitor.
In Igbo tradition, a visitor is highly respected and greatly cared for. This is seen in the way and manner they use to entertain the visitor. For us to have a proper understanding of how they Igbo’s classify a visitor we will try to define the word visitor according to the Igbo ideology.
Who is a visitor?
According to Igbo definition, a visitor is someone who comes to the house with or without prior information to the household and this person may be known or unknown to the household. What this means is that a visitor can be anyone who visits the house at a particular time as long as he/she has not made him/herself an enemy of the house. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the visitor may not have informed the people he/she is visiting before coming yet the Igbo’s will welcome him/her with open arms because they believe that any whatever you do to a visitor, you are doing it to their Chi (God).
This is why the Igbo’s will go out of their way to entertain a visitor to the fullest since they understand that any good gesture they render to the visitor will be rewarded by their Chi (God). Another important thing to mention here is that a visitors life is highly placed which is why the Igbo’s go a long way in making sure that the life of their visitor is highly secured at all cost.
For the Igbo’s entertaining a visitor i.e. the food and drinks is carefully prepared so that the visitor gets to eat and drink the best of the best, the house has to offer. This gesture is done without any form of holding back such that the host or the head of the household gives out whatever he has with open heart and cheerfulness.
Once the visitor is welcomed into the house, the head of the house will present the kola nut as a sign of love and acceptance. If for any reason the head of the house does not present a kola nut, the visitor will understand it as not being welcomed in the house and this can make him/her leave the house even while he has not yet met with the entire family.
If the visitor is one who is not from that community, his host has to guide and direct him/her through their customs and tradition so that he/she does not go against their laws. If for any reason the visitor goes against any of their laws, the matter will be handled with utmost care in such a way that the visitor who is the offender may not face the consequences of his actions so as not to make the community to commit a crime against their Chi (gods) by punishing the visitor.
In conclusion, the visitor is believed to be an ambassador of wherever he/she is coming from, this is why he/she must try to maintain a high level of decorum so as not to portray his/her people in a bad light.
