THE IJAW WATER HOME

The Ijaw Water Home is cultural tie to the Ijaw people of Nigeria's Niger Delta region. Due to the riverine and swampy nature of their environment in the south south states, they have over the years, established a perfect relationship with the rivers that surround them.

Because of their attachment to rivers, the Ijaw cultural, social, economic and religious lives are defined and influenced by water.According to some Ijaw elders, "water is friendlier to the Ijaw people," however, every Ijaw is expected to be a good swimmer so he or she can survive capsizing of boats when it happens.

Everything about the Ijaws is interrelated with water. "Unlike in the north where they dance like antelopes, the Ijaws dance like fishes. Their dance steps are like the movements of the fish and the wagging of their tails in the waters.

The Ijaw masquerades usually wear heads of the fishes. All festivals have their origins from water. Ways of life are influenced by the environment which is surrounded by water."

The lineage of the Ijaw people is traced to Benin in Edo State, where they migrated from and settled in Yenagoa, where they fish in the region's waters and engage in little farming. "The Ijaw culture and customs are water dominated. This is because God has blessed them with water. They are fishermen and also do a little farming.

Yearly festivals are also water related. One of such festivals is the Obunem festival. It is related to the beginning of floods. It is the time farmers are bringing their food stuffs from the creeks and when the waters are overflowing farmlands," he said. The yearly Obunem festival, is celebrated from the 26th of June to the first week of July. It is characterized by the paddling of the Ijaw ceremonial boat regattas accompanied with all night singing and dancing, with women dressed in colorful attires and presentation of gifts to community leaders and clan heads.

The bigger event is celebrated by all the communities at a designated community with overall paramount rulers. Boat regattas as part of Ijaw festivities, symbolizes "the early days when their forefathers used to go to war in the waters so as to conquer neighbouring communities and make them their slaves. There are two types of boat regattas: the ceremonial boat regatta and the war boat regatta.

The Ijaw war boat regattas are painted black to attack neighbouring villages. The attackers are also painted in black charcoal as a form of camouflage.

"Canons are put in the boats. A small traditional pot is usually tied to the rear- end of the war boat, which dangles from one point to the other. As the boat passes by a community, the warriors challenge member of that community to dare them by cutting the rope that holds the dangling pot at the rear of the boat. Somebody from the community swims across to cut the rope signifying the beginning of the war. If you don't want war, they simply allow the boat to pass to the next communities,".

The ceremonial boat regattas on the other hand, are usually colourfully decorated and have a tail similar to that of the fish and are also used for marriage ceremonies, annual festivities and carnivals to showcase the culture of the Ijaw man.

Another event celebrated by the Ijaws is the Ogori (Leopard) festival. "There was an animal which was a spiritual leopard that had killed and tormented the Ijaw people in those days.

One Ijaw man killed that animal and today we do the Ogori celebration to commemorate the killing of the leopard.It is celebrated by jubilations in different communities, dramatization of the fight, boat regattas and shooting of canons and dances. The Ijaws have a lot of idioms and proverbs which are water inclined. One popular Ijaw proverb goes thus: "when you see a hippopotamus pursuing a canoe in the river, it is not actually interested in the canoe, but what is inside the canoe. As soon as the person insight jumps into the water, that ends the pursuit.

A common proverbial saying among the Ijaws is that: One does not get annoyed with a bad canoe when you are inside it. Meaning you cannot say let me do away with the canoe because it is bad in the middle of the sea until you have a replacement or else one risks going down with it.

It is used when the people in the Ijaw community are becoming something else. Another proverb is that: no matter how tall the okro tree is, it cannot be taller than its owner. This is because at whatever time the owner wants to harvest it; he will bend the tree to cut off the fruits. The Ijaws use this idiom at a point a child is trying to go astray.

The economic strength of the Ijaw people lies in the rivers. Apart from oil exploration in the Ijaw land that has defined the economic future of not only the Ijaw people but Nigeria and its place in the world, everything inside and around the Ijaw water is of huge economic value.

•Culled from www.pointernewsonline.com

List Of Ijaw Traditional Marriage Rites

List of Ijaw traditional marriage rite. In the first place, do they have a culture? This question is usually asked because of how scattered the Ijaws are, but the answer to that question is affirmatively Yes!

In case you don't know, the Ijaw culture is very unique and quite different from all others. For the very fact that they live along the coastlines, their traditions/customs are expected to be river related which is not far from the truth because they are in love with water as a people.

The Ijaw traditions are usually centered on water with beautiful display of their cultural values such as in meals, burial rites, festivals, and in marriage ceremonies.

Their uniqueness involves all aspects of their lives, from their day-day ways of life down to their tasty traditional dishes which makes even a non native to always salivating for more after being served.

Their foods usually contains almost all types of sea fishes both cooked and smoked, shrimps, crabs, and prawns. Merely putting these down here is already making me feel like going for that Ijaw tasty meal.

Anyway, let's not get sidetracked with that as our focus on this article is marriage related. Good!. Ijaw tradition marriage ceremony goes beyond uniting of two people in love to also bringing two families together in some unique special ways which is different from other ethnic groups as far as their marriage traditions is concerned.

The Process Of Marrying An Ijaw Lady Are Outlined Below:

*Just like every other tribes, after an Ijaw man meets a lady he likes to marry, the usual friendships ensued which serves as courting giving them opportunities to know themselves better.

*At a stage when it's clear that the friendships deserves extending into marriage, the man informs his family about his intentions and arrangements would be made to visit the bride's family. The  date for them to come would be given to him along with the list of things to come with.

* He is expected to come with some quantities of local gin and other alcohol beverages, Kola nut are usually not permitted because it is against their traditions to break kola nut for prayers. This visit affords both families to meet each other, socialize together and have some free reign of drinks together.

* At this meeting even though it is somewhat informal, both families have a spokesman to have things properly coordinated and it is during this visit that the date for traditional marriage is chosen.

*The bride's family have upper hand in choosing the date after this, a proper list containing the comprehensive list for the traditional marriage is then given to the groom's family for them to through and have some necessary adjustments made.

At the end of every other things comes the proper list for the traditional marriage without which the groom has to go back and reorganize himself to meet up.

Ijaw Traditional Marriage List Are As Follows:

(1.) Money for the bride's waist and for the brothers

(2.) Money for parents of the bride, tobacco, and for their attires

(3.) Mortar and Pestle

(4.) Box of clothes

(5.) A Canoe and fishing net

(6.) Lantern

(7.) 20 litres of dry gin (Ogogoro)

(8.) Salt.

If you have read the above list clearly you will discover that apart from salt, no other food item is found on the list and that should make you ask some questions why? Well it is just one of the uniqueness of their cultures.

A typical Ijaw person will tell you that it is better to give him the instruments for farming than giving you some finished products and which I believes, there is enough sense in.

While going through the list you may also have noticed some things that are not all that relevant to urban living such as canoe and the fishing nets, and even as that, there are also traditionally not neglected but are monetized to make up for the lack.

The bride price varies from clan to clan, family to family, but mostly depends on the financial abilities of the groom. When the day for traditional wedding finally arrives, people and relatives from far and wide are invited after the bride's parents and her people had made sure that every necessary requirements has been taken care of.

At the marriage celebration, the Ijaws usually add one spec to liven up to the occasion by presenting other maidens dressed in the same attire and instead of the groom, asks his family members to choose their bride and this is to confirm that the bride is not only known by the groom alone but also his family members as well.. and that to me, has some additional meaning to what real marriage is all about and should be.

As the occasions draws to a close with every necessary customs duly observed, the gifts accepted, the groom and his bride would then be blessed traditionally.

Finally, with all sorts of merriment and dances, the newly wed is escorted to her husband's home by friends and women in the family along with gifts of various types.

culled from www.constative.com

YEWA: THE LAND, THE PEOPLE AND THE CULTURE

The Yewa clan is a multi-ethnic, multicultural diverse sub ethnic group of Yoruba people located in Ogun State, South west region of Nigeria with an estimated population figure of 1.8 million people spread across the present day five local governments of Yewa South, Yewa North, Imeko Afon, Ipokia and some communities in the present Ado-Odo Ota and Abeokuta North local governments areas of Ogun State. The Origin of the people is linked to the cradle history of Yorubaland of the popular Ile-Ife and Oyo traditions.

According to early history as enunciated by the accounts of Samuel Johnson, Anthony Asiwaju and Kola Afolayan, the early Yewa settlers were great warriors, hunters and princes who were said to have migrated from Ketu, Ile ife and Oyo in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries . Another migration also took place in the 18th and 19th centuries as a result of Dahomey and Egba invasions of some Northern Yewa towns. These migrations of different groups largely resulted in settlements of independent kingdoms and chiefdoms of diverse ethnic and sub-ethnic groups that constitute the various Yewa towns and villages.

The Yewa people in the contemporary history, are predominantly farmers and traders largely found in the western part of Ogun State, Nigeria. It borders Lagos to the South, Oyo State in the North while its close location to the international Border of Nigeria and Republic of Benin in its Eastern border has considerable effect on international commercial activities. It must be mentioned that the area was a major slave trade route to the coast which made it subject of external attacks by slave merchants in their bids to force open the slave routes to the sea.

Essentially, the Yewa people as a multi-ethnic language community consists the Sabe, the Ije (Ohori), Ifonyin,Eyo, Egbado, Ketu, Anago and the Egun speaking languages.

On the Northen part of Yewaland are Ketu towns of Ijaka, Ijoun, Owode ketu, Igan-Alade, Egua, Tata, Ilara, Imeko, Idofa etc. In the South are the Yewa other towns of the Ketu and Ije (Ohori),Oja-odan, Obele, Pobe, Ibeku, Iselu while further south are the Ifonyin, Ikolaje, Ihunbo, Ilase, and Ifonyintedo. Located in the Eastern part are communities' refered to as "Egbado". These includes Ilaro, Ibara, Ilewo, Imasayi,Imala, Ilobi, Ibese, Isaga, Iboro, Joga, Ayetoro, Idofoyi, Tibo, Keesan, Oke-odan, Igan-Okoto, Sawonjo Erinja, Igbogila, Ajilete among others. South of the Egbado are the Anago, Eyo and Egun people who settled in Ipokia, Agosasa, Ijofin, Maun, Tube, Ibatefin etc. It's people also includes the Egbado and Awori towns Ado odo, Igbesa,Ikogbo, Agbara, Alapoti etc.

Like other communities across the globe despites its multicultural orientation, the Yewa community has a relatively good history of peaceful co-existence among its people and neighbors, perhaps because of its well coordinated community relations and high respect for native authority residual in the Obaship Institution and native authority which plays significant roles in native administration, native laws, peace and security including societal norm and values. A typical Yewa man is a symbol of a quintessential personality and a good example of Omoluwabi.

The Yewa Traditional Council otherwisely referred to as "Council of Obas" is a veritable Institution in this respect. The complimentary roles the Council is playing in conflict management and resolution has great impact in enduring peace and peaceful co-existence in the Community. The Council is headed by the Olu of Ilaro, who since 1993 became the President and Paramount ruler of Yewa land following a consensus agreement among the crown- heads of Yewa towns and Communities.

The various sub ethnic groups that is today known as Yewa were administratively grouped under the Egbado Division of the then known Abeokuta province. In 1995, following a report of research conducted by the "Yewa think tank", (a group of prominent educated elites and leaders of thoughts) it was unanimously resolved that the people formerly referred to as Egbado be forthwith known and called YEWA . The change according to Anthony Asiwaju was "motivated by the need to tackle an identity problem of correcting a double misnomer that had applied to the wider multi-ethnic and the particular sub groups formerly labeled as "EGBADO" and more significantly for self determination of the entire people who not only share cultural but also geographical affinity over the Yewa River to explore new ground for Unity and Progress"

Significantly, the Yewa people are notable for their very rich cultural heritage. Its popular type of music includes bolojo, agasa, ajangbode, ponse etc while the people are traditional worshipers of Egungun, Gelede and oro cults.

Dapo Oke, the Ajiroba of Imasayi in Yewa North of Ogun State, writes from Ijebu Ode

•Culled from www.nigerianecho.com

Bayimba International Festival

Bayimba International Festival of Music and Arts is held every year in kampala, Uganda's capital and is organized by the Bayimba Cultural Foundation since 2007. This exciting three-day festival takes place annually during the month of September and provides a platform for known and upcoming artists from Uganda, the African continent and beyond to showcase their artistic talent to an ever increasing and varied public.

The mission of Bayimba Cultural Foundation is to uplift music and arts in Uganda and East Africa by promoting original cultural exchange and creativity, contributing to making Uganda and East Africa a significant hub for music and arts in Africa. To achieve its objectives, Bayimba Cultural Foundation organises a number of activities on an annual basis. The Bayimba International Festival of Music and Arts – of which the first edition was organised in June 2008 – is the most visible activity of the Foundation. The Foundation firmly believes that the planned activities offer an attractive and irresistible programme of music and arts to a wide and diverse audience. The Festival and the other activities of Bayimba Cultural Foundation are set to add value and to expose the music and arts of Uganda locally, regionally and internationally. 

The Festival will also build public awareness for domestic tourism, social responsibility and understanding the role of creativity within society.

To successfully achieve its objectives, Bayimba Cultural Foundation has established partnerships with numerous actors in and outside Uganda (e.g. Oxfam GB, HIVOS, Club Rouge, Sarakasi Trust/Kenya, Sauti za Busara/Zanzibar, Timitar/Morocco, Mundial Productions/Netherlands, Kampala City Council, Minister of Tourism, the Department of Culture, Uganda Tourism Board, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Civil Aviation Authority Uganda, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation). Our partners are not only willing to help in networking and mobilising the public, but play a major role in creating the Bayimba International Festival of Music and Arts as a brand that is genuinely aiming at developing music and arts in Uganda and the region.

Epe-Ekpe (New Year) Festival In Togo

Voodoo has a special place in the life of the people of Togo. The nature-based belief system emerged at the end of the 16th century in the town of Tado on the Mono river, which separates the country from Benin to the east. 

Followers worship a single god, the Mahu or Segbo-Lissa, through more than 200 deities who are represented mostly by clods of earth.

Every year in the village of Glidji, 30 miles from Lome, Togo's capital city, members of the Guin people of Aneho, gather to celebrate the annual Epe-Ekpe or Ekpessosso festival in September marks the start of the New Year The festival attracts pilgrims from across Togo to worship, sing, offer sacrifices and seek blessings. Increasingly, followers from Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria come to worship, and it has become a tourist attraction for many Western visitors.

Amongst the various activities involved in the celebration is the presentation of the sacred stone which is collected from a sacred forest and whose color would be interpreted by the high priests and communicated its meaning to the worshippers. About 100 metres away from the high priest of the sacred forest, thousands of pilgrims gathered in the public square to sing, dance and recite incantations.

The traditional "taking of the sacred stone" ceremony was started in 1663 by settlers from the former Gold Coast — modern-day Ghana — and has now taken place 353 times.

The colour of the sacred stone is believed to indicate what the future holds for the coming year ahead. The interpretations are along these lines:
Blue means abundant harvest and rains
Red means impending conflict and war
Black means famine, disease and devastating rain fall
White means peace, goodluck and abundance.

This year, the stone was blue colored. The mystical stone was passed around the public square under the watchful gaze of voodoo elders and about a dozen police officers. Bare-chested and with leaves wrapped around their necks, a small group of voodoo worshippers emerges from a dense forest in southern Togo.

The oldest among them, a man in his sixties with decorative beads around his neck, carefully holds up a blue stone and closes his eyes.

"We started the ceremonies six months ago," says Nii Mantche, the high priest of the sacred forest, from his position on a wooden stool. Today is the climax — the release of the sacred stone. I am the only person to take out this stone from the depths of this forest."
"The stone is turquoise blue," a Guin dignitary and elder Togbe Kombete declared into a microphone.

Some followers (mostly females of all ages), wearing cloth wrappers up to their chests and long multi-coloured beads around their necks and arms, would dance vigorously and many fall into trances as the singing and dancing erupted around them. All covered women who attained the 'trance stage' were relieved of their beads and tops, baring their breasts as the music climbed to a fever pitch and dances became wilder to celebrate the good news.

*culled from www.cp-africa.com

EVALA, One Of The Biggest Cultural Events In Togo

Every year, the second half of July is dedicated to the celebration of Evala in Togo. Traditional festival at first, the event has taken an international scale attracting thousands tourists and curious people worldwide.

Evala is an initiation rite for Kabyè people (Ethnical group in the North of Togo). For about two weeks, young people from the various areas of the Kozah prefecture are engaged in a traditional wrestling. The objective is to prepare these young men for adult life.

The myth that surrounds the event attracts every year many people and creates liveliness in this part of the country usually quiet. Hotels are overcrowded by visitors and storekeepers seize the opportunity to realize good business.
During the periods of Evala, the numerous places of interest of the locality (zoo, national museum, Tamberma castles…) are also visited by curious people.

For the edition 2014, it is planned several events among which huge concerts, operations of raising sensitizations on the HIV / AIDS and sessions of free screenings. The President of Republic of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé, government members as well as diplomatic representations accredited in Togo all usually travel to the Kara region during the periods of Evala.

*culled from www.africatopsuccess.com

Celebration of people, lives, history and culture of Badagry

The Badagry Festival began its humble beginnings in 1999, as a remembrance for the slave trade era and the significance of the town in the era. In 1999, AREFO organized the first Badagry Festival. Throughout the years, AREFO has spent hundreds of hours organizing the festival and have been instrumental in evolving it into the festival that we know today.

Annually, on the 3rd week in August, hundreds of thousands of people converge at Badagry, Lagos to be part of the action that is The Great Badagry Festival. Badagry is completely transformed and is
filled with fascinating sights, smells and sounds as hundreds of fine artists, musicians, dancers, exhibitors and food vendors take part in this one week celebration.
The Badagry Festival features differing acts and performances.

On our acts and performances includes Liberation Day Celebration, Football Competition (Oba Akran Cup), Arts & Crafts Festival, Nature/Water Sport Activities, Vothun Henwhe Festival, Zangbeto Exotheric Masquerade Festival, Gbenepo Royal Carnival, International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and Its Abolition, Carnival Day and more!

*culled from www.badagryfestival.com

The Udje Dance In Urhobo Land

Pic by Google : Udje Dance 

The Art of combining vocal or instrumental sounds to produce beauty to form harmony and expression of emotion is music.

Dance is an art form which is the rhythmic movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music. The Urhobo, numbering about three million people, occupy mainly the western and northern fringes of the Niger Delta River of the present Delta State. Large pockets of Urhobo people also live in the contiguous states of Bayelsa, Rivers, and Edo, and as immigrants in many Yoruba-speaking areas such as Ife, Lagos, and Okitipupa.

Large communities of Urhobo migrants are now settled all over Nigeria, including Jos, Kano, Maiduguri, and Yola. Many have also settled in C6te d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Liberia. According to Tanure Ojaide, "The Urhobo in their present environment are said to be an amalgam of different waves of migrating groups and an indigenous group that absorbed them. 

The main group migrated from the Edo region, where they had settled in a space called "Aka" (associated with Benin) and had been forced to migrate at different periods during the tyrannical Ogiso dynasty.

Oral history and myths are still replete with stories of Urhobo people being selectively used for human sacrifice by the Obas, which led to their escape by land and rivers through areas like Abraka, Ologbo, and along the Niger River. At least one group migrated from the Ijo area through the Amasuoma clan. There also appears, from Urhobo vocabulary, some remote Igbo connection, which could be because of the period of migration along the Niger River and proximity to the western Igbo group of Ukwuani. Onigu Otite's The Urhobo People has a detailed historiography of Urhobo, taking into account Hubbard's colonial work, Egharevba's study of Benin and neighboring groups, and Obaro Ikime's study of the Niger-Delta peoples".

The Urhobo people presently in the central part of the state, enjoy making and listening to music which is predominant in all their ceremonies. Music is employed to reflect many moods; drumming can signal the emergence of war and even the beginning of festivals.

The Urhobo now occupy some twenty-two clans/kingdoms that can easily be divided into southern and northern terrains. The southern Urhobo border on the Ijo, Isoko, and Itsekiri. These live across mangrove swamps and very luxuriant rain forests.

The major occupations of these groups of Urhobo are fishing, hunting, and farming. Those to their north, far from the wide rivers but still riverine, also farm, hunt, and fish. Nowadays, many Urhobo live in urban areas such as Sapele and Ughelli and form the overwhelming majority in the politically contested town of Warri. The urban Urhobo are mainly traders.

An Urhobo musician is expected to be dexterous with the use of various drums as well as be a Poet. He is expected to be poetic in his songs creation. Example is the "Udje" songs which are long poetic renditions, is an example of the peoples' expectation of their music maker. The songs and drumming are fused into a harmonious blend. The songs make use of repetitions to create a desired poetic effect on the listener.

Dancing and singing, is ever so lively and they range from the vigorous "Udje", "Ikpeba" and "Opiri" to the gracefull "Ikenike". Udje dance is a rythymically vigorous and well appreciated Urhobo dance.

Udje is a unique type of Urhobo dance in which rival quarters or towns perform songs composed from often exaggerated materials about the other side on an appointed day. Udje songs are thus dance songs sung when Udje is being performed. In traditional Urhobo, major crimes were punished either by selling the offender into slavery or by execution. Minor crimes were, however, punished by Satire.

Udje Dance Songs are Satire:

The songs strongly attack what the traditional society regards as Vices. There are blatant lampoons as when barrenness, ugliness, and other natural deformities of a person are sung. The singers want what they consider to be positive norms of the society to be upheld. Thus, central to the concept of udje dance songs are the principles of correction and determent through punishment with "wounding" words.

The songs are very relevant as societies everywhere continue to fashion means of protecting their ethical and moral values. In the udje dance song tradition, excesses are checked since there are sanctions against falsehoods as well as lampoons against natural defects.

The songs maintain a delicate balance between the general good of the society whose ethos must be upheld and respect for the law-abiding individual.

•Culled from www.thepointernewsonline.com

Culture Of Ibi Ukwu (circumcision) in Igbo Land

Ibi Ugwu (male circumcision) is the removal of the foreskin covering the head of a penis. It is an ancient Igbo tradition and practice that has its origin in our traditional religious rites. Most Igbo parents have their sons circumcised for cultural reasons.

In times past, we circumcised both male and female children. But these days, we, Igbos, have stopped female circumcision and genital mutilation of women in virtually all our communities.

For some male newborns, ibi ugwu is done on the 3rd day after birth. While, for others, male ibi ugwu is performed on the 8th day after birth, which incidentally is same as two weeks in Igbo calendar. But, in some Igbo settlements outside the shores of Nigeria, male circumcision is postponed until adulthood as a sign that one is now a man ripe for marriage and the responsibilities of life.

However, we are mainly known (among comity of ethnic tribes and nationalities in Nigeria) for circumcising our sons on the 8th day after birth.

During circumcision in Igbo land, the foreskin of a male penis is freed from the head, and the excess foreskin is clipped off. If done in the newborn period, the procedure takes about five to 10 minutes.

Adult ibi ugwu takes about one hour. Ibi ugwu generally heals in five to seven days.

Our forefathers recommended ibi ugwu to prevent and treat the inability to retract the foreskin of the penis or to treat an infection of the penis in older boys and men.

There is evidence that ibi ugwu has
some health benefits which include:

*A decreased risk of urinary tract infections .

*A reduced risk of some sexually transmitted diseases in men.

*Protection against penile cancer and a reduced risk of cervical cancer in female sex partners.

*Prevention of inflammation of the head of the penis and the foreskin.

*Prevention of the inability to retract the foreskin and to return the foreskin to its original location.

*Ibi ugwu also makes it easier to keep the end of the penis clean.

Like most Igbo cultural procedures, there are risks associated with circumcision. However, this risk is low. 

Problems associated with ibi ugwu include:

*Pain

*Risk of bleeding and infection at the site of the circumcision.

*Irritation of the head of the penis.

*Increased risk of inflammation of the opening of the penis.

*Risk of injury to the penis.

By and large, It is shameful for a male to be uncircumcised in Igbo land.

*culled from www.obindigbo.com.ng

Ikeji Festival Of Igbo People

The famous Ikeji festival is a long held Igbo tradition passed down through the ancestry of the Arondizuogu clan emanating from Arochukwu in Abia state. It is a festival of the entire Aroh people spread along the Southern part of Igboland.

The Ikeji festival is an annual home coming ceremony and gathering of all Aroh descendants from home and abroad to give thanks to Chukwu for making them see another New Igbo Year as the celebrate the spiritual and cultural significance of ji – the yam.

The event is mainly an eight day festival of merriment and spectacular display of masquerades coming out in their glamour to thrill the ever teeming crowd that converge in Arochukwu to witness the annual occasion. The highpoint of masquerade display during Ikeji festival is usually the performance of Pericoma masquerade, a masquerade known for its jaw-dropping acrobatic displays.

The first four days of the festival, the eke, the oye, the afor and the nkwo days are also named after the four native market days of Igbo culture. On the eke, everybody turns up in the market to buy and stock up their homes in preparation for the next day, oye in which all the livestock bought on the eke are killed and made ready for merriment and feasting on the afor and nkwo respectively. This merriment and feasting spans the remaining four days as visitors and dwellers alike go about from home to home participating in the feast.

The famous Ikeji festival used to be an exclusive Igbo festival but today it is a multi-cultural and has also become a multi-racial event going by the volume of tourists that troop into Igboland for the annual Igbo cultural festival.

Ikeji festival literally transforms the serene scene of Arochukwu village life to a commercial hub driving a swamp of tourists, researchers, fun seekers, 

businesses and corporate brands to one location for eight good days.

With adequate security in place for lives and properties, and the highly hospitable nature of the Aroh people, Ikeji festival has over the years become a festival of international repute and has shown inherent potentials as a income generator in the tourism industry of Igboland.

Each year, the famous Ikeji festival boosts trade, commerce and tourism to Igboland, given the huge interest being expressed by members of the international community in the festival. A great number of Nigerians in Diaspora and foreign visitors never fail to visit Igboland for the big festival which is now gaining international attention.

So, Voila! There it is! I have simply highlighted the economic possibilities and tourism potentials that could be harnessed and developed to make more Igbo people richer during the famous Ikeji festival. Peace!!!

*culled from www.obindigbo.com.ng

The Origin Of Igba Nkwa

The origin Of Igba Nkwa 

Igba Nkwa, the traditional festival in celebration of the Nsude's legendary exploits in warfare centuries ago. The ceremony is typically performed in remembrance of Uto Nsude, one of the greatest war generals in Igbo history. Igba Nkwa is observed once every two years in Nusde community of Enugu state.

This celebration and remembrance of Uto's glorious past has become a tradition that has survived modernity and defied Christianity and has become one of the greatest celebrations of valour in lgboland. But for government's lack of interest in developing its potentials in tourism, it would have rivaled the popular Zulu war festival in South Africa.

During Igba Nkwa celebration, young men and women will file out with dane guns and machetes, dressed in battle gears — the symbolic essence of Nkwa. For a male son of Igbo extraction, celebrating Nkwa without a gun is like not taking part at all; and as one grows older, one graduates from wooden to dane guns.

The older still, the longer the barrel of the gun. And those who cannot afford to acquire one are hilariously advised to sell their mothers in order to buy one, or otherwise hide under their beds to avoid the shame of facing their peers, empty-handed on that day that valour is celebrated.

Uto Nsude, in his lifetime was reputed to be the greatest warrior in the entire Oshie clan of the present Enugu State in particular and Igboland in general. His exploits in battles and his near superhuman powers were legendary.

He was reputed to have obtained a human head at the age of five, and on his death shortly after in his prime, he had obtained the greatest number of human heads from inter-communal battles. At a period when there were no wars to engage Uto's attention, he resorted to being a mercenary warrior, travelling far and near to help prosecute one war or the other.

In one of those expeditions in the present day Benin City, Uto was said to have fallen into a trench dug by a strange medicine man. He had contracted a strange disease which manifested fully on his return to Nsude, and it was later found out to be ' omelumma' (chicken pox) which could not be cured by the local medicine men.

To suffer from such a disease was a curse and to be afflicted with it was abominable at that period. Despite Uto's standing as the district's major inspiration, he was still subject to the tradition and custom which demanded that those suffering from such cursed diseases are ex-communicated in an isolated place.

He was consequently carried to the wilderness (iwhe egu) in the outskirts of Nsude, the highest point of the Udi hills and around the ' Agu Ajali' where the community has common boundaries with Owa. There, at Akpata Uto he died of chicken pox and as custom demanded, he was not given a ceremonious burial befitting his stature.

Consequently upon his death, many mysterious things happened in Nsude and other nearby towns in Oshie clan that were founded by his siblings, and for the first time, they suffered defeats in inter-communal battles. Native doctors had revealed that Uto was angry at the ignominious way he was buried.

His son, Ugwu also expressed anger that his father who accomplished so much for Nsude and his Oshie kinsmen, was not accorded a ceremonious burial and was in fact being forgotten so soon. Thereupon, the Oshie clan consulted with each other and agreed to accord Uto a befitting funeral ceremony and to repeat it every other year in his honour and in remembrance of his exploits and valour.

Nkwa therefore originated following the death of Uto the warrior and it is celebrated to sustain the memory of his famous conquests. Like all celebrations in Igboland, Nkwa has also assumed a social dimension. On its day, thousands of people troop to Nsude, the cradle of Oshie clan, from all parts of the country to witness the one-day carnival.

Getting ready involves kitting oneself in those traditional costumes and fearful war attires, testing the dane guns and disguising oneself with painting.
Hours later, the jingling noise of the hundreds of iron bells (called ikpo ) worn around the waists, dane guns in the right hands and the gun powder bottle on the left, the celebrants will file out in thousands, chanting war songs and gyrating to the Eke-Uto Square where the famous Ikpa music will be reminding everyone who comes to dance, to ensure he brings along a human head.

In centuries gone by, it was abominable to dance to the Ikpa except you are an accomplished warrior who had obtained a human head from one of the several inter-communal battles. Surprisingly, (in fact, it remains one of the mysteries), despite the dangerous weapons employed during the celebrations, rarely are serious accidents recorded.

Another notable thing about Nkwa is that it has also defied the tendencies of foreign religions, especially Christianity. Even though pockets of critics have tried to label it a pagan tradition, it has continued to attract people from all religious persuasions. Little wonder that of all days in the calendar, Nkwa is celebrated only on (Afor) Sundays, preponderantly in the month of November of every leap year.

*culled from www.obindigbo.com.ng

Ede-Aroh Festival In Abagana

Two Masquerades in cane flogging contest.

Ede-Aroh festival is an annual festival held at the Afor market square every last Afor market day of the year in which cocoyam is celebrated. To every Abagana person, if sowing and harvesting of yam is the reserve of men, then sowing and harvesting of coco-yam is exclusive to women; balancing the activities of sowing and reaping between the sexes.

During Ede-Aroh festival, women bring portions of their cocoyam yield to Aroh deity in gratitude of Aroh's protection and guide. The cocoyams are prepared and eaten as bond of brotherhood among the people.

In preparing for Ede-Aroh, the Aroh priest is engage in a series of activities designed to make the occasion successful. He sacrifices to the Aroh deity and solicits its protection over the people throughout the duration of the festival. He also implores the gods to grant him the will and health to perform his duties creditably. The masquerades that are organized by the elders visits the Aroh (priest) a night before to find out if Aroh deity has granted his permission so that the festival could be celebrated.

They also give thanks on behalf of the womenfolk and the children of the town to the deity for his protection in the previous years and seen assurance that protection in the previous years and seen assurance that he would continue to do until the next festival. 

Most of the dangerous masquerade appear in the night in order to perform at the Aroh square between 12 mid night and 3am. Some perform in the day time at the same Aroh square while other worship at the Aroh shrine.

During this period, the council of elders is summoned by the priest to the Aroh shrine to ascertain the most appropriate date which should be announce to the public for the ceremony. This is done through divination "igba-afa". It is the responsibility of the diviner to foresee all the ills that might be fall anyone or all and ensure all the necessary ritual are performed for the success of the festival after ascertaining the appropriate date which must fall on an oye market day, this is announced to the public.

Ede-Aroh is a two-day festival in Abagana. For the youths particularly males, Ede Aroh is a period to show manly strength and display their ability to absorb pain and yet overcome struggles of life. The 9 villages that make-up Abagana come out with masquerades who compete against each other in a well-organized cane-flogging contest for two days.

On the first day of the Ede-Aroh, the competition takes place at the popular Omenka (A.k.a Badunka) Square. While, the second day of the contest which is usually bigger is hosted at Aroh Square. 

The cane-flogging contests typically commence by 12noon, and the winning masquerade(s) go home with diverse gifts ranging from cash to cows or rams. Meanwhile, youths from the 9 villages who may not be wearing masquerade costumes also compete amongst themselves.

On the evening of the second day of Ede Aroh festival, the entire community is shutdown as both the old and young troop to Aroh Square to witness a razzmatazz of masquerades and other Igbo cultural nuances.

*culled from www.obindigbo.com.ng

Sacred Places and Things In Igbo Traditional Religion

In Igbo traditional religion, there are certain places and things that are considered highly sacred. These "sacred" places or things could either be a piece of land, a certain kind of animal, specific water bodies, masquerades etc.

The specific places or things we, Igbos, consider sacred in our traditional religion are relative to particular communities. Here's what I mean; what is considered sacred in Ogidi community may not be held in sacredness at Abakaliki. Hence, we, Igbos, have saying that goes: " Ihe ndi na-eri, ka ndi na-aso, " which literally translates into " what some eat, others consider sacred. "

However, whatsoever a particular Igbo community considers sacred in Igbo traditional religion has a very significant and interesting story behind it which has informed the adoption of that belief. For instance, in Agulu community, crocodiles are considered sacred and should not be hunted for any reason, because Agulu people believe crocodiles were messengers of Chukwu sent to protect the people from attacks emanating from enemy communities.

Now, let us considered some category of things we, Igbos, consider sacred in our traditional religion.

*ANIMALS:
Some animals we regard as sacred in Igbo traditional religion include; tortoise, monkey, python, fish, crocodile etc. As we have noted earlier, it is not every one of these animals that are regarded sacred in every community in Igboland. An animal that may be sacred here may not be sacred there. Let's take Awka community as an example. Igbos who hail from Awka hold the monkey as sacred, because they believe it is an animal that is owned by their traditional deity – Imooka. Whereas, Igbos who hail from Nimo consider the monkey as "ordinary" and rear it as pet or, for commercial purpose.

*TREES:
In every community in Igboland, you are bound to see certain trees that are condoned off with either red or white cloth indicating that members of the community consider such trees sacred. The kinds of trees you'll find condoned off in such a manner could either be ogirisi, ofo, oji, udara, and akpu These kinds of trees have huge significance in Igbo traditional religion. For instance; ogirisi and ofo are highly respected as sacred, because they are used for spiritual purposes such as; taming insanity, offering sacrifices to the gods, sealing judicial decisions, blessing and cursing people.

*MASQUERADES:
All over Igboland, masquerades are considered sacred and holy. They are highly respected, and women are not allowed to enjoy close proximity with them because we, Igbos, in our traditional religion, assume masquerades are visitors from the spiritual world who are sent carry out a mission on earth.

*OSU :
Osu are people who have been considered servants of any of the traditional deities we have in Igboland, and as such, these people are considered as sacred persons who should not be hurt, injured or murdered for any reason. Please note; it is not the individual osu that is revered but the deity he or she belongs to and serves.

*PIECE OF LAND
We, Igbos, in all our communities, have certain places we consider sacred points in line with our general wish. For instance; places considered as shrines or, forests of particular deities are considered sacred places. And, most often, women are not allowed full access to these places.

*WATER BODIES:
In Igbo traditional religion, a sacred water body could be a lake, river or, stream which has been generally accepted as belonging to a specific deity. Such sacred water bodies are points of spiritual activities. For instance; rivers Njaaba in Imo state, Idemmili in Obosi, Ngene in Amawbia, Edem in Ezira,
Agulu lake in Agulu etc are all considered sacred water bodies in Igbo traditional religion.

*culled from www.obindigbo.com.ng

Traditional Marriage : A Glimpse At Urhobo Culture

THE Urhobo ethnic group of Delta State is one of the five ethnic groups found in the state. Located at the central part of the state with over 100 communities scattered across that zone, most of their folklore says that they are a people whom their ancestors had migrated from Edo State at various times; and further migrated to the various communities, which had formed part of Delta State.

Being descendants of the same ancestors, most of their customs and traditions are similar and in certain areas the same such as the breaking of the kola-nut and the donation of cash to wedge the kola-nut presentation, prayers and blessing pronounced before the sharing of the kola and drinks, payment of bride prize, burial rite e.t.c.

Of all the customs and traditions, the traditional marriage rite is one unique one; generally because of the uniformity as to how the process of taking a wife from that area is carried out.

Naturally, when a suitor no matter where he is from is interested in an Urhobo maiden, he courts her. Once she agrees to marry him, the marriage process has begun. Unlike in some other ethnic traditions where the bride goes to inform the father of the intentions of the groom wanting to announce his intentions formally, in Urhobo culture, she goes to her mother first who is more of her primary custodian.

Then the mother would in turn after getting the necessary information from the daughter, go to the father to inform him of a certain gentleman that is interested in marrying their daughter. The father as he pleases would in turn ask the young man to be invited to see him.

The groom on his first visit would come alone with a bottle gin to be formally identified and on a later date would come again with his parents and with few other close relatives to formally speak on behalf of their son. This is known in Urhobo kingdom as "Ghore-Etse" when translated means to knock.
When coming for this visit, the suitor must come with a bottle of schnapps and with any number of bottles of wine that he can afford. It also important to note that upon every visit, bottle schnapps must accompany any other drink he intends to present.

As with any gathering kola nut is presented by the host and prayers are offered. Then the spokesman for the guests would state their mission and identify their son that is interested in their daughter. The bride would be called upon and informed of the mission of the guests and be asked to give her family the permission to go ahead with the process.

Upon her agreement, the drinks and gifts presented by the suitors family would be accepted and a date is given to the suitor to come and pay homage with drinks and gifts to five important family members of the bride, three from her father's and two from her mother's; And usually the oldest family members.

After this visit, another date would be fixed for the introduction (Evughe). This time around, extended family members would be present. The suitor this time would come with more assorted drinks as he can afford. According to custom, another date is usually fixed for when the groom is to come collect the list of things to bring for the traditional marriage, but in order to save time and reduce the stress, some families would prepare the list before the introduction to hand over to the family of the groom upon request.

The most unique part in this whole process is the presentation of the list. The content of this list in Urhobo land includes the bride prize and some other items. Upon presentation, the both families will go into negotiation. From research, everything on the list is negotiable, apart from the bride prize which is N120, Kerosene for extended family members and cigarette. The others which include money for the father, money for the mother's waist for pushing out the bride during labour, the number of drinks to bring e. t. c. are all negotiable. Some items like the kerosene usually come before the day of traditional marriage which would be shared to the women in bride's extended family.

After all agreements have been made, another date will be given for the groom to come to collect the date for payment of the bride prize and traditional ceremony proper. A negotiable amount is usually paid to get this date. It is worthy of note that the date chosen is usually influenced by the bride and groom.

According to tradition, the bride prize is never to be paid on a market day. However, if the date chosen falls on a market day, the groom is usually asked to pay the bride prize the day before the traditional ceremony of eating and drinking. While paying the bride prize, the money is never paid in the house. Two witnesses from both sides would step outside into the compound and choose a corner for the money to be handed over.

As custom demands, when the money is handed over, the sum of N20 shall be returned to the family of the groom, which means the bride was not sold and she still belongs to her family. So upon death, the woman shall be returned to her father's compound for burial or in a house built by her children in her name, in her village or quarters if she is from the same town as her husband.

*culled from www.thepointernewsonline.com

Iyeri Festival Of Ughelli People

Among the Urhobo speaking people of Ughelli, the Iyeri festival which is celebrated annually in the month of September, is the most popular amongst the festivals celebrated in the clan.

The origin of the festival according to Chief James Emekpe, dates back to an Ughelli princess named Irivwidide. She was childless but was loved and respected by her people. During her life, she was chief priest of an Ughelli deity called Orevwo, initiated by Ogele, her son Ugheni, the ancestor of the Ughelli people.

According to the tales surrounding her, she usually invoked the powers of her deity, Orevwo in all wars against other people. She was a very great warrior who was very courageous and brave. Though female, she not only planned the wars but also partook in them. Stories have it that she was never defeated in battle.

During such wars, she made use of Orevwo the war deity who at such times turned itself into a deer (Orhea). Whenever an attack was on, the deer would appear in the front of the people directing them on how to go about it. It is also said that it showed signs of either victory or defeat to them. For example, if the deer crossed from the right side of the road to the left in front of them. It meant victory and if it crossed from the left to the right it meant defeat in which case they would withdraw.

Consequently, the deer became a sacred animal in the clan and all the natives were forbidden to kill or eat it. These activities of Idide and Orevwo helped the people in no small measure.

Before her death, the childless Princess requested that on her death, a festival be celebrated annually to immortalize her name. The feature of the festival was to be the washing of the ancestral 'Ihenri' that is the relics of an ancestral shrine made from the horn of big animals, set aside for that purpose.

These relics otherwise known as Ihenri are generally kept by the eldest members of the main family group. She further instructed that on the day of the festival, the Ihenri be collected from their various shrines and taken in a procession to 'Echeode' stream near Otovwodo to be sanctified by washing after which they would be returned and placed at the spot where she was buried.

Thus, the Iyeri festival was born at her death in obedience to her request. The festival is nine days festival.

The first day is marked by general dancing comprising men, women, girls and boys. Usually, it begins at dawn till late in the morning.

Though it is a free dance, sexually abominable acts are excluded. Later in the day, animals are slaughtered and there is exchange of food and other gifts items between the natives. The citizens also pay homage to their Ovie by bringing food and other valuables to him. In fact, it is a period of showing affection and appreciation to one another.

At about 5pm, in the evening, the real event, which is the washing of the Ihenri, takes place. As the bearers of the relics proceed to the stream, the traditional shout of Obe Kpo Vo, Ukpete awhorhe kpete awhorhe rents the air from the excited natives.

At the shrine, the relics are sanctified by invoking the spirits of the gods of the clan and those of the ancestors. Prayers for peace, prosperity and good health are said in the traditional manner. Therefore, the celebrants blowing the horns return with joy and are generally welcomed by an equally joyous crowd who continue dancing till dusk.

On the second day at about 5pm, the Ihenri relics are collected and sent to Orevwo shrine to be worshipped and this time, they are served with pounded yam and soup. They are taken back to their various family shrines where they are formally served by individual family heads.

While the Ovie(king)v serves the frivwivie(clan ancestors), the other family heads serve the ancestral shrines of their fathers. This ceremony is popularly called 'Iye Esemo' or Iyeri Uvo.

The third day is set aside for the worship of spirit of their departed mothers. It is believed by the people that both the spirits of their dead fathers and mothers should be served and adored equally during the period. It is known as 'Iye Iniemo'.
During this period, different dance troupes perform to the admiration of all, especially the royal dance Ema which is used to pay homage to the king.

On the evening of the eight day, the Iwereko people statge a colourful boat regatta known as Umalokun. It is the padding of canoe on the Ughelli River by gaily- dressed celebrants. Apart from the boat regatta, there are series of traditional dance that precedes and ends it.

Early in the morning of the ninth day, the festival is formally brought to a close. There is the bearing of wooden torches through all the streets of each town that make up Ughelli clan and then into the bush. This ceremony is meant to drive back to the abode all spirits that have come to the town for the celebration of the festival. Thus the clan yearly festival is formally closed.

*culled from www.thepointernewsonline.com

Olobor Festival In Ogwashi Ukwu

''Olobo'' is an indigenous phrase or acronym for masquerade in Ogwashi-uku kingdom, it is a crowd puller of some sort and its existence is as old as Ogwashi-uku Kingdom, it is a highly revered dance that is one of the very best and still well maintained amongst the people of Ogwashi-uku.

The Olobo dance which features the use of cane or wipes by the escort and mask wearer is predominantly a male affair but watched in admiration by men and women, old and young, children and adults alike. The masquerade comes in various colours of rafter palms and very colourful head mask that adds beauty to the face of the mask wearer and to the delight of spectators who giggles at the site of a male masquerade wearing a mask with a female face design and with lipstick to match in famine dance steps signalling the attraction of a male masquerade.

In fact, the beauty and dance movement , including the flogging of both the masquerade and its escort and their ability to endure the pains from the cane remains the unique attraction of spectators.

Because of the high regards and attendant crowd for olobo in Ogwashi-uku kingdom, it became imperative for the Organiser's of Ogwashi-uku carnival to re-introduce the dance into the Carnival with one day set aside solely for the display of olobo masquerade. The Olobor festival was conceived to add more glamour to the beauty of the Ogwashi-uku dance carnival but most of all to sustain its cultural legacy.

Keeping the Heritage alive for generations yet unborn.

THE GREAT OTAMIRI RIVER

THE OTAMIRI RIVER is the major river that washes through the Ihiagwa autonomous community, in the Owerri west Local govt area of Imo State, Nigeria, West Africa. This river runs from Egbu where it has it's major base or Ishi mmiri rather as it is called in the Igbo Language, through to Nekede, Ihiagwa, Eziobodo, Olokwu Umuisi, Mgbirichi, Umuagwo, and finally to Ozuzu in Etche town of Rivers State of Nigeria, where it finally joins the Atlantic Ocean.

This River is of a very great significance to the people of Ihiagwa autonomous community as it serves as a source of water for domestic use and other purposes especially in those olden days before the introduction of pipe borne water today in the community. Beside it's importance as mentioned above, the river serves as a major boundary between the community and it's surrounding communities such as Obinze e.t.c.

In fact the importance of this river cannot be overemphasized even though there have been some speculations over the years by some people that the river has the characteristic of drowning only outsiders. This statement is very wrong. This is because the OTAMIRI RIVER IS A SACRED RIVER, and also named after the community's Chief Deity i.e the OTAMIRI DEITY, which abhors evil. Because this deity abhors evil, it only drowns those that come to the community to perpetrate evil. This is done to cleanse and purge the land of evil in all it's ramifications.

This simply means that the river does not drown outsiders that come to the community with good will and thoughts. Except of-course in the case one has come to the community with evil thoughts or has done something very evil in his or her community and have come to Ihiagwa to seek refuge, then the persons life is in jeopardy if he or she steps into Otamiri river.

*culled from www.ihiagwa.com