March 06, (THEWILL) – For four days, illustrious sons and daughters of Evazu from far and near, fun seekers and culture enthusiasts gathered to celebrate Ugwudoro Festival and showcase their rich cultural heritage. The occasion also provided an opportunity for indigenes of Evazu to map out strategies for investment and development of the clans.
One of the indigenous festivals in Enugu State, the Ugwudoro Festival was celebrated with various cultural activities at different locations within the community. Some of the activities include rites exclusively performed by the men folk, as culture demands. Still this did not affect the thrills and frills of the annual event.
In the past, the festival was celebrated on every third month of the Igbo annual calendar, but due to rural and urban migration among the youths, the organoisers decided to celebrate on every first Saturday in January.
This year’s event lasted four days, beginning as usual on Orie, the first day of the traditional Igbo week. It is called Orie achicha because in the days gone by, if someone paid homage to any family they would be served achicha delicacies. That is how achicha became the delicacy for the day.
On Afor Ugwudoro, which was a Friday, revelers and masquerades danced and chanted round the streets of Ekeagu. Guests, fun seekers and people from neighbouring communities all participated in the celebration that apparently left many with sweet memories.
On Nkwo Ugwudoro, which is the main day of celebration, there was dancing, wrestling and a hiking competition amongst the young men who have been fully incorporated into the masquerade family.
During the event, the National President, Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Chief Godwin Abumisi, said that except the community invests on the festival, there would be no headways, while describing the people’s cultural heritage as an income earner, if well harnessed. According to him, the development of the community’s cultural products could attract foreign investors and investments in the hospitality industry, holiday seekers, outbound tourists and inbound tourists, thereby creating job opportunities for the unemployed. As a result, there will be boom in transportation and trading will experience significant growth, among other businesses.
Abumisi said, “For me, the festival has become an inheritance for the people of Evazu community and it is one of best organised festivals that the people enjoy and respect. The festival has it dos and donts, though the custom of the people has been affected by modern civilisation, education, Christianity and the activities of the youth themselves. The fact that the masquerades have a way of enforcing its own laws terrifies the opposite sex.
“During my speech in Eziani, I told them to shun the idea of packaging our masquerades and giving them out free-of-charge. The Evazu people must invest in it. This year, I saw how it went. I am very much interested in culture and I wouldn’t want the festival to die in my presence. Come 2023, I shall be completely involved in rebranding the festival by getting unique outfits that could make the day more attractive to woo international tourists and investors and in doing so, there will be job opportunities for residents of the community.
‘Outside Ugwudoro, which is the most outstanding cultural festival, there are festivals such as Ugwudoro Udummiri and Ogugochi, as well as Oku Ezi.
“Every society without a culture is a decaying society. The way we eat and dress is part of our culture. For example, the Igbo eat pepper very well and I can say there is no health benefit in eating pepper, but I cannot eat without pepper. Any society without a culture doesn’t exist.”
On investing his personal funds on rebranding the festival, Abumisi stated, “I am going to commit my personal resources into the development of the Ugwudoro Festival. I want to show the way and let other people fellow. I have a number of young people, who are billionaires in my clan that I can persuade to invest their money on the festival and they will do so. One of the things I did this year was to raise public awareness of the festival. I promised to cook for anybody that would go to Ekeagu and return without buying water. To the glory of God, most of them respected that and on my side I kept to my promise. I spent money and that was money well spent. It is an inheritance and you grow up witnessing it, as the older ones are withdrawing, the younger ones are taking over.
“It does not involve ritual sacrifice. It is a cultural heritage that does not involve ritual sacrifices. There is a particular family at Amube that is saddled with the responsibility of unveiling the dates and activities with palm fronds or branches of the palm tree at Ezianu Square, which is a symbol of victory. This does not change the fact that from inception the people already had fixed dates for the celebration of the festival. Nobody else can tell the people when the festival will take place apart from this same family at Amube.
“When the family comes out at Eziani and throw the palm frond, the festival begins immediately.”
Recalling an event that took place in 1986 and its significance to Ugwudoro Festival, he added, “In 1986, Jude Ikechukwu Ani was ordained a priest. I was the chairman of the Ordination Committee. After the ordination and before the worshippers in the church, he knelt down and the bishop blessed him. Other priests hugged him and he went ahead to hug members of his family. A big masquerade named Ejiero from his clan Amube suddenly walked into the church and hugged the priest.
“To a large extent, that act showed to the world that our masquerade had nothing to do with ritual sacrifice and there was no conflicting interest between Christianity and our culture.
“Any priest that comes to Ekeagu and talks about the people of Evazu withdrawing from Ugwudoro Festival is absolutely talking nonsense and the people won’t listen to him because Ugwudoro festival does not indulge in any form of ritual sacrifice. During the festival masquerades only enforce their authority with whips.”
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
