Owerre-Olubor Ogbanigbe 2010

Ogbanigbe 2010

By Frank Monye

When the bus carrying my two little daughters and myself left Lagos at 9:15 a.m. on Thursday, 28^th October, I had no doubt that the minors with me would have a pleasant excursion.  It was indeed their first time to witness this century-and-a-half old carnival, which may also be referred to as the autumn festival of peace.

The minors, as is characteristic of children not up to the teenage, bothered me with several questions about the names of places along the highway.  They even posed questions as to the distance from Lagos to Owerre-Olubor and the hours it would take to arrive at the destination.  Even though they had interacted with their grandpa before now, they were eager to see him again in his costume and dance at Ogbanigbe, especially after he had become the traditional head of Umuikpulu.

A stop on the way afforded the children the opportunity of eating in one of the highway restaurants in Ore.  The children relished the cuisine, though I did not eat with them, as I was satisfied with my meal of bananas and groundnuts.

We arrived in Owerre-Olubor at 3:15 p.m. but grandpa and grandma were not available for the grandchildren to hug.  We entered the house through the back door and waited in the lounge for the two householders to arrive.  Though it had rained some minutes earlier, there was still sweltering heat as there was no electricity to power the fan hanging overhead.  Electricity supply in the whole of Anioma has always been a trauma.  One would not be wrong to describe Anioma as the land of darkness as far as the national electricity supply is concerned.

Friday, 29^th October, was serene with Umuikpulu Youths Association conference as the major event that took my time and attention.  Later, at about 9:30 p.m. I visited the Odogwu of Owerre-Olubor, Chief Lozie Ogwu, and I had the privilege of meeting some guests among whom was the president of Owerre-Olubor Progress Union, Chief S.E.K. Ojogbo, who came with his youngest son and also some gifts for the Odogwu.  The Odogwu accorded me the privilege of receiving the gifts on his behalf and of moving the vote of thanks.

Of course, 29^th October was the eve of this year’s Ogbanigbe, and the night took a new turn when the wind wafted to me the drum sound of the mock Ogbanigbe jointly held by Idumu-Etiti and Umuikpulu.  This was about 11:30 p.m. and I had left Odogwu’s residence to recline a bit in Diokpa’s Place.  I braced up as the drummers and dancers moved past Diokpa’s Place for their first call at the Odogwu’s.  By the time I reached Odogwu’s place it was quite a crowd that I met; every foot of the front lawn had somebody standing on.

I squeezed through until I got to the Odogwu who was already seated on a chair and dressed in his costume.  He appeared to me dressed like Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi – the chief of the Buthelezi tribe of South Africa; and I noticed that two video cameras were set at him.  The Odogwu’s wife, standing behind him, appeared with regal dignity in her coral headgear.  She had suddenly moved to the next level – that of a consort!

The Odogwu of Owerre-Olubor, Chief Chukwuelozie Ogwu

Left to right: A female cousin of the Odogwu, and the Odogwu’s wife - Margaret

The drumbeat produced heavy rhythm and the dancers did their choreography with frenzy as the Odogwu arose and moved on with his lance and matchet to do the traditional salutation – first with his kinsmen and then to Diokpa’s Place to salute the Umuikpulu village head, Ndudi Smart Monye.  The train with the troupe then moved on to Idumu Etiti to salute the chiefs there and together on to the other villages.  Of course, the size of the troupe increased and also the momentum of the carnival as the train moved from village to village until the wee hours of Saturday, 30^th October – the Ogbanigbe Day proper.

Not too long in the past, poetic songs and innuendoes charged the atmosphere – portending the great carnival to begin in a matter of hours.  Whitewashed natives – men, women and children displaying freakish hairstyles – walked the streets with songs in their mouths.  You could smell the scent of something to appear shortly!  Some ebullient ones even strutted about and stalked the land like conquerors who would soon display the spoils of war which they had taken from the battlefields, so to say.  It is not that these scenes are extinct in the land of Olubor.  We still have such scenic preludes but to a lesser extent.  Such preludes add pep to the Ogbanigbe and should be sustained.

An Owerre-Olubor woman, during this Ogbanigbe, went down memory lane and narrated how epic songs were use to praise great accomplishments and heroism, whilst innuendoes were composed into songs to highlight the evil acts of some natives.  She said that the former songs were aimed at commendation, whilst the latter were to warn and deter natives from dastardly acts, uncultured behavior and similar vices.

I asked this woman why she did not mobilize others to do the epic songs and innuendoes, but she did not answer.  I guess the tacit answer was that renascent Christianity had relegated this festival, of commemorating the cessation of wars, to the valley of fetish and so-called paganism.  Whereas today’s Christianity is replete with paganism, the new churches are telling their gullible flock to shun this commemorative carnival of very high cultural and touristic value for our homeland.

For instance, the crowd, though great this year, would have been much greater if the new-age church movement had cared to look at the positive side of Ogbanigbe and if the church people had attended in large numbers with their friends who were natives of other towns. Two things would be immediately gained through this, namely – it would showcase Owerre-Olubor as a place of reckoning in Delta State and which ought to be visited annually by non-natives; second, it would give brisk business to the food and souvenir vendors who trailed the troupe as the carnival moved round the town.

Photo: courtesy of CF Monye

In the rear is a food vendor pushing her food cart

 Photo: courtesy of CF Monye

The young ones too relish the carnival dance

Photos: courtesy of CF Monye

The summary of this is both political and economic empowerment to Owerre-Olubor.  How we have been missing these opportunities because many of us always looked at the seamy and dreary side of the Ogbanigbe!  Ogbanigbe is the “Christmas” of Owerre-Olubor; and if it is paganism, much more so is the popular Christian Christmas.  I do not want to expatiate on the paganism of Christmas in this short narrative.

Oral tradition is the unwritten history of our people.  One oral tradition has it that Ogbanigbe started as a feast of rejoicing to celebrate the end of famine in the early 20^th century.  There appears to be a ring of truth around this oral in view of the global economic crunch of the 1930s.  But Ogbanigbe festival preceded the 1930s; natives who were born decades earlier were born into the great festival. And so this oral tradition is flawed.

The other tradition says that Ogbanigbe began as a carnival/feast to commemorate the peace that followed the cessation of the Ekumeku war levied against Anioma by the British in their slave raids as well as expansionist drive into the hinterlands of Nigeria.  This cessation, according to the latter tradition, was the period when fugitives began to return to their respective homelands; and this is traceable to the mid-nineteenth century AD.  Related to this story of war is the tradition about the slave raids by Benin warlords, and these Benin military incursions preceded the Ekumeku war by centuries.  However, this tradition propounds that these raids, known as Aya Idu, ended about the time of yam harvest – which explains why Ogbanigbe is held shortly after the New Yam festival.

This second tradition is more popular in Anioma than the isolated one about famine.  The bearing of arms – the lance and matchet – during Ogbanigbe further lends credence to the second tradition about the cessation of the Ekumeku war.  However, the fixing of Ogbanigbe a week after the new yam festival is a matter of convenience as there would be abundance of yam during this season for pounding as meal for the festival. But what is the meaning of the word, Ogbanigbe?  Perhaps knowing its etymology can help us to unravel the true circumstance that led to this happy festival.

Saturday, 30^th October 2010, was the long-awaited date.  Though it had been cloudy in the morning, the day brightened afore-noon.  Drumbeats could be heard in the distance, perhaps from the place of primogeniture, Umudese.  I had an urgent need for something and I dashed down to Agbor to get it.  Lo, as I entered the bus to return, two passengers were discussing the traffic jam that would occur along the Owerre-Olubor/Ogwuashi Uku road on account of Olubor’s Ogbanigbe!  Though they mentioned Ute-Ogbeje’s Ogbanigbe happening the same day, it was not with as much emphasis as that of Owerre-Olubor.  In fact the Ika Weekly reporter who covered our Ogbanigbe is a native of Ute-Ogbeje, but he was in Owerre-Olubor from mid-morning till past 7 in the evening; which means he did not attend Ute’s Ogbanigbe.  One can deduce from this that Owerre-Olubor’s Ogbanigbe is more splendid, scenic and has more momentum than Ute’s.  Perhaps, to this reporter, Olubor’s Ogbanigbe has more touristic value!

I was getting set to put on my Ogbanigbe costume, having just exchanged pleasantries with my two uncles from nearby Obior, when I heard drumbeats and chanting at very close range.  The troupe had reached Idumu-Etiti and was en route to the Odogwu’s place in Umuikpulu.  I dived into the room, so to say, and quickly dressed up as I had to meet the troupe at the Odogwu’s place where I intended to start my photo shots.  It was yet mid-day, but the carnival had reached a high pitch!  My heart went pit-a-pat as I dashed out and, with trembling hands, took two snapshots of my father seated in front of the house and flanked by his two younger brothers from Obior.

Diokpa Ndudi Monye flanked by his two younger brothers

Straight, with quick steps, I meandered through the back of Chief Okafor Mokwuye’s compound to burst into Odogwu’s frontage.  The lawn was filled with happy people under the beautiful sunshine.  Further to the front I moved, took an introspective look at the Odogwu in his costume, set my camera at him and snapped.  In this first outing (he became Odogwu only in December 2009) Chief Lozie Ogwu appeared to be the cynosure of the whole carnival.  His costume was peculiar and his bearing mercurial.  His presence of mind, poise and great composure were attributes to be noted.  Odogwu’s wife, Margaret, was resplendent in her attire with coral beads constructed like a diadem perched on her head.

The train moved together with Odogwu, the lance-bearers and ndi oga onotu to the next port – the Iyase Clement Okoh’s place in Umunofo.  They would thereafter come back to the three stations, namely, Umuikpulu, Idumu-Etiti and Umu-Agboma, all of which they had bypassed en route to the Iyase.  This is the traditional protocol and it had to be strictly followed.

The road to the Iyase’s place was strewn with sideshows – comical and unpleasant.  There was the acrobat who swung 360 degrees in the air and landed safely to the admiration of many onlookers.  There was the duo that continually mimicked the spiritism of the cherubim and seraphim church.  Young lovers too would not allow themselves to go unnoticed as they danced along, cuddling themselves.  Thuggery was the unpleasant sideshow as the skinheads engaged themselves in brawls at the slightest provocation.  Also unpleasant was the spraying of water and yoghurt; but the spraying of perfume as well as the sharing of sweet-smelling powder attenuated the unpleasantness caused by the water and yoghurt sprays.

A sideshow: two young lovers cuddling themselves

The introduction of uniformed vigilante helped a lot to check thuggery and unruly behaviour among the youthful ones.  The men were conspicuous in their dark green uniform and black beret.  The selection was good, as these men looked healthy and manly too.  Indeed, they fit the task thrust on them.

The train finally reached the Iyase’s place.  The driveway on the frontage was relatively long and contained a large part of the crowd.  The Iyase came out, not in the customary battle attire known with Olubor’s traditional chiefs at Ogbanigbe, to meet, dance with and to salute the Odogwu, the Isama, the lance-bearers and ndi oga onotu.

Formalities finished with, the train moved on across the road and through the marketplace on to ihun ogu – a shrine in Idumu Etiti.  Ihun ogu is an open place and not a grove, and there  the chiefs, lance-bearers and ndi oga onotu danced to the seeing of everybody.  I should mention that traffic was held up each time the crowd moved across the major motorway.  Of course, the Police were there to give lawful backing to these movements.

Because of time-lag the troupe hastened to conclude two other visitations in Idumu-Etiti – one to the Isama’s place and the other to the village head Chief Odu’s place.  There was a snag, however, as the drummers and the crowd rushed ahead of the chiefs and lance-bearers to Diokpa Ndudi Monye’s place in Umuikpulu.  Before the chiefs and lance-bearers reached Diokpa Ndudi’s place in Umuikpulu, Owerre-Olubor’s prime-minister -- the Iyase Okoh – had taken permission to withdraw on grounds of ill-health.  Out of the five traditional chiefs of Olubor, only three had taken office; and now one of the three had withdrawn, thus further increasing the missing links in the five-some.  That did not augur well for the cynosure that Olubor’s Ogbanigbe used to be among ogbanigbes in Anioma.

Seated from left to right: The Isama Edward Ehinze, the Odogwu Lozie Ogwu and the Iyase Clement Okoh

Be that as it may, Diokpa Ndudi came out of his ogwa to meet and dance with the troupe.  As a village head, the diokpa would not necessarily dress in battle attire and so his smart national dress with a black velvet cap was fit for the carnival.  Having danced, Diokpa Ndudi went back inside his ogwa to do the traditional salutation with his ekiri – that is the type of matchet borne by the chiefs and lance-bearers.  There is something to note in this type of warrior salutation, and it is that the two machetes clash lightly four times – alternating the sides each time.

Without much ado, the train moved on; this time to Ohenle Edofi – that is the chief priest Ale.  In all the Anioma lands which have the Edofi as god-patron/matron (or patron god/matron goddess, as the case may be) there is always an ohenle who invariably is the priest of Edofi in that land as well as the custodian of the ancestral grove.  Often a successor is not readily available at the demise of the Ohenle; the Edofi chooses the Ohenle and reveals such one when he has come of age for the priestly office.  The Edofi is a spirit but whether it manifests as a god or goddess is not quite certain.

Because of his crucial position as a denizen of Owerre-Olubor, priest and custodian of the Edofi grove – the final port of the carnival – the Ogbanigbe troupe and crowd must stop over at the Ohenle’s place for dance and traditional salutation with the chiefs, lance-bearers and ndi oga onotu.  Lest I forget, “ndi oga onotu” are the traditional provosts of the town.

The Ohenle Ale comes across as a great dancer and a confident and brave fighter, much like a tiger.  This characterization is what I could deduce from his choreography and manner of salutation.  When he emerged from his ogwa to dance with the Odogwu and the relevant ones, the drumbeat went up to a higher pitch, the atmosphere became charged and the carnival’s tempo increased remarkably.

By the time the carnival train moved out of the expansive frontage of the Ohenle’s courtyard it was well past 6 o’clock in the evening and one wondered how the troupe, who were already worn to a frazzle, could visit the remaining two village heads and the Ogwude of Owerre-Olubor before returning to Edofi forest for igbu agbor.  Igbu agbor is the final rite of the Ogbanigbe.  The wobbling and floundering that marked these final stages of the great festival showed inadequate planning of Ogbanigbe 2010.

For instance the Ogwa Ani (the council of chiefs and village heads) did not hold any meetings to plan for the Ogbanigbe as had usually been the case in the past.  To prevent a repeat of this floundering in future carnivals, something positive should be done about the time-lag, the missing links in the five-some of traditional chiefs, the drumbeats as well as the singing.

To this end, I suggest the drawing up of time-table which should be held by the Iyase as the director of ceremonies for Ogbanigbe.  This time-table should allow the carnival to take-off by 12 noon (or an earlier time).  To prevent the sort of time-lag which occurred at Ogbanigbe 2010, the time-table should allow NOT more than 15 minutes at any port of visitation.  Clutching a time-piece, the Iyase as the controller of ceremonies should hasten the pace of activities so that time is not overspent at any station.

I think the beauty of Olubor’s Ogbanigbe will not be up to the mark if the five traditional chiefs are not complete at the carnival.  Their proxies, as represented by the lance-bearers, will certainly not make the mark.  And so, every effort should be made to assist the remaining two villages to have their traditional chiefs before Ogbanigbe 2011.  Perhaps the onus is on the reformed Owerre-Olubor Progress Union Headquarters to effect this proposal.

Some eyewitnesses at Ogbanigbe 2010 complained about the desultory patter of the drumbeats.  Certainly, this was because of lack of cohesion among the drummers and possibly the singers too.  Well-coordinated rehearsals, about two weeks before the Ogbanigbe as well as on its eve, should be adequate to correct and prevent this obvious lapse.

I look forward to our making Olubor’s Ogbanigbe into a rainbow festival – the sort that will have widely accepted cultural and touristic values and also impact.  This will bring our homeland into the limelight and expected renown.  We will do well to take to heart the suggestions made here and to implement them so that Ogbanigbe 2011 may prove better.