ARTICLE: OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE,OUR PRIDE BY OTUGO CHINONSO EMMANUEL

OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE, OUR PRIDE

With the acceptance of civilization, most of our past was utterly forgotten. Our heritages was a story belongs to saga, a lost or rather traded for the "WHITE MEN". Things that would have thrilled our forefathers in the past are looked upon by the jet-age youths as being old fashioned or just plain boring.

I must confess in pronouncement that i did share this opinion with my interlocutors, being a jet-age youth, but i was made to given it a second thought when i was coaxed into accompanying my parents to our hometown,Abagana for a festival which is normally celebrated on the every Afor market day, of December, every year. Abagana is a big village or either called a city by some compatriots of Abagana. It is in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State. Each year, the sons and daughters of Abagana and other neighbouring village travel from distance and near to the at Afor market square, the venue for the annual "EDE ARO" festival.

The origin of this festival goes as far back as when the first group of settlers fled to the plateau for safety and decides to dwell there. Tradition has it that the very first celebration was held at the summit of the Afor plateau. Ever since then, it has been strictly adhered to.



The 2013 "Ede-Aro" festival which i witnessed purely as an observer, playing no active role at all, was all the excitement, jubilation and ecstasy i could wish for. It all began on the 30th of December, preceding the authentic and actual day of the festival being 31st of Dec. All men mostly, the youth, woke up early and left for "ipia osisi"activity, which entails the normal procedure to undergo before the main celebration of Ede Aro to come in the following day. In the square of Afor market, each and every masquerades, groups and all quantities of cane is shown at its peak and also bears the task of utilization at flogging exercise. Thereafter, results from the conducted flogging event takes pronouncement with the specific prices arrogated to the champions. They are; 2 tubers of yam and 1 big nourished goat. Eventually, there would be a deposition of which to be done internally, at the central bank of their stomach. That deposits encompass the cooked tubers of yam with the big goat gotten from the triumphant over the flogging activity. Throughout the day, there was much celebration, ululation and tintinnabulation of the enjoyment songs from the victorious exhibition.

The night passed or as usual, the men gathered together to discuss over a cup of freshly tapped palm wine and women turning in early in readiness for the next day.
Very early the next day of 31st Dec, the women set-off peeling the cocoyam and getting all their spicy ingredients for their cooking, while the young boys start getting their masquerades and even the elders at their perfect superstition getting all ready for their big and awe masquerade exhibition together. The teenage girls, my peers were not allowed to do the cooking as it is believed that they were taught by their mothers and as a pupil cannot know better than the master the mothers were needed.

31st of December finally arrived and the festival was scheduled to begin at noon so as early as 8:00a.m that morning the women were up again adding finishing touches to their meals and finally turning the cocoyam, the old fashioned way. The festival began when the "Eze Aro"(chief priest) and he was followed by the members of Aro deity, the masquerades and agitated guys in their agitative ways. Young "Pino pino" girls, young niggas for boys and elders in both respective genders came last, all in their beautifully made up and looking pretty and handsome unlike their elegant attires. Then the food was first served to the gods in constructed material, which is the owner of the day and there was more than enough to go round and every member of the deity ate to the heart's content.


Finally, after all the exhibition of the day like; dancing, singing, eating, tourism, displaying of masquerades in differences and merry-making, festival came to a fabulous end, making it an enviable one & day, in the late hour of 6:00 in the evening. Everyone dispersed in gigantic and had a blissful night sleep.

All in all i would unequivocally say that, such traditional heritage or inheritance of our ancestors, handed down to the modern generation should be of a thing of honor, prestige and respect as it was of a tremendous importance irrefutably to our ancestors till it went down to our hands, the new generation. It should be attended in such a way that when we passed away, our children will never go defatigated in taking it from us and as well rejuvenating it till the end of the world. And also not to be constant at colonization by the white men cultures and technological events both in internal and external factors. As it is only traditional heritage that unifies, pacifies and harmonizes the constituent village in togetherness. In some tangible ways, it gives glorifications to the supreme deity(God). Also, it gives me this sense of inner pride just knowing that i really do have a heritage and should try to incorporate it with civilization and not abandon it for civilization because a plant without roots cannot survive.
"Know your roots, that's how you know who you are"

*WHENEVER THERE IS NEED MOMENTOUSLY, WE PICK UP THE PEN, THE ADVOCATOR OF THE MIND*