Why Igbos should celebrate Hanukkah.

By

Francis Duru 

Among the Igbos NOW we have those who DENY their heritage, ignore OMENALA and hold it in utter contempt and also those who COLLUDE with the ENEMIES of their people to under-mine and sabotage their wellbeing. We also have those in the movie industry who deliberately MISREPRESENT Omenala to make it appear evil, backward, and odious BUT they forget that their ANCESTORS kept the land which they handed over to them and now with their borrowed NEW, MODERN ways they are about to lose it to better focused and determined enemies. 

Rewind to Israel in the days of King Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. The Hellenist Greeks dominating over the land of Israel was determined to STAMP out Israelite beliefs and Practices. They banned Torah studies, banned CIRCUMCISION, banned the Jewish festivals and Rituals and began to promote Idolatry and pagan rituals. They readily found and enlisted RENEGADE Jews who were ready to abandon their CULTURE and RELIGION for that of the Greeks. 

These are the proverbial BUGS that eats up the fruit from within. The House rats that invites the bush rats and shows them where the fish is kept in the Kitchen. We always have them in every age. Among the Igbos we have them NOW. They do NOT see anything GOOD in their own CULTURE and RELIGION which incidentally is the same with what held away in Israel during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. 

Antiochus sent his Hellenist Army to overrun Israel and Jerusalem to stamp out the Israelite religion, desecrate the temple and institute Pagan worship and the sacrifice of unclean animals at the Temple and resettle large populations of gentiles on the land. Thousands of Israelites were killed and the Temple plundered and desecrated. 

But there was a Family in Israel that became the nidus of resistance. The family of Mattathias and his Five sons. Eventually it was his First son Judas Maccabaeus that led a small Jewish force to overrun the Hellenists and recover the temple and cleanse it and then rededicated it to the worship of the Elohim of Israel. The NATION has never depended on NUMBERS to achieve great things in its history.  In the defining Battle, Judas Maccabaeus had only 10000 men to fight over 60000 enemy infantry and another extra 5000 enemy cavalry BUT still prevailed. 

But a Miracle occured in the Temple. It normally took 8 days to prepare the oil used to fuel the lamp at the temple. The Hellenists had destroyed all the oil but one jar was left. Enough to light the temple for one day. But eventually this lone jar MIRACULOUSLY provided light for 8 days giving the Jews enough time to prepare fresh supplies of oil.

This is the reason the Menorah (Hanukkiah) has 8 candle stands with the extra one that provides the source of light for the 8, making a total of 9. The more hidden miracle is that Judas Maccabeus and his relatively small force was able to preserve the Torah and the culture and traditions of Israel till this day, To be a LIGHT to the NATIONS!

In the same manner, a small group of Igbo are TODAY determined that OMENALA and the entire gamut of Igbo traditions and religion will against ALL odds SURVIVE and FLOURISH and be a beacon of hope and source of Light for the people DESPITE the RELENTLESS onslaught by FOREIGN religions and values. Just as the internal collaborators and renegades were shamed in Israel, those who continue to sabotage the return of our people to our HALLOWED ways would be shamed also. Nkem Frannie Duru Loretta Duru Awotile Martins Duru Ij Maryfavour