I hated my tribal mark – Olaiya Igwe reveals

Nollywood veteran Olaiya Igwe has revealed that he once hated his tribal marks despite wanting it as a child. The actor, while speaking o the culture, disclosed that he admired it while growing up.

Olaiya explained that he grew up in a polygamous home, revealing that his father had six wives but five children. He explained that tradition in the family required only the first child from each wife to bear tribal marks, but he insisted on having one because of how “sharp” and attractive he considered it at the time.

“In my family, my dad had six wives but only five gave birth and my mom was the second to the last. Traditionally, only the first born from each wife was mandated to have tribal marks, but because I was very sharp, I requested for it. But when I eventually understood the meaning of tribal marks, I started to dislike it. I realised it wasn’t really our culture; it was lack of exposure,” he stated.

Olaiya also spoke on the relevance of tribal marks in modern times, stating that technology has brought about change and improvement to the society.

”Does it stand as DNA? No. These days, DNA can expose who truly belongs to a family. Somebody might give all the children tribal marks thinking they are from the same lineage, only to later discover otherwise. It was when I saw the late Ade Love and Sunday Omobolanle’s tribal marks that I started liking it again,” he added.