Aro Festival: On the Brink of Extinction

Some years after Chimamanda Adichie brought Aro Festival to global prominence in her award-wining novel Purple Hibiscus, what used to be an elaborate festival is gradually winding up as a mere yearly ritual.

Every year, usually during the yuletide season, Ndigbo return home from all over the world to celebrate with their loved ones. Surpisingly, in the past a good number of people made their way to Abagana, Anambra state not to celebrate Christmass, but to witness the famous Aro Festival usually held in the month of December.

As a child, Adichie visited Ezi Icheke, Abagana to watch mmuo, masquerades. Little did she know then that years later her keen observation of the Aro Festival will occupy a chapter in a book that will bring her to prominence worldwide.

"When we got to Ezi Icheke, cars lined the road almost bumper to bumper," wrote Adichie. "the crowds that pressed around the cars were so dense there was no space between people and they blended into one another, wrappers blended into T-shirts, trousers into skirts, dresses into shirts. "

This discription is true for those who attended Aro Festival some years ago. Unfortunately, today this discription can not hold water for the crowds that attend the event. Every year, the number of people who attend the festival is reducing and even Adichie herself will not describe it like this if she is to visit Ezi Icheke again on the festival day.

An excellent faction (a combination of fact and fiction), Purple Hibiscus hinted that Aro Festival was on the brink of extinction. Just like in the dark ages in Albion (the oldest known name for Great Britain) when the new religion expelled the old religion shrouded in sorcery, Christianity and western exposure have come to kill Aro Festival.

This development is coming at a time when the world is focusing on tourism as a means of generating revenue for developmental purposes. This is also happening at a time when Nigeria is considering breaking away from over-dependency on crude oil and focusing more on the non-oil sectors of the economy.

Abagana, being a major Aro settlement in South-eastern Nigeria, witnesses a massive influx of Aro people in Diaspora during the Aro Festival held to celebrate Ade Aro (New Cocoyam Harvest). People from across Anambra and beyond, including foreigners also attend the festival to watch a galaxy of masquerades never seen elsewhere at a time. Cultural dancers, drummers, flutists, contortionists, acrobats, snake-charmers, soloists, and a litany of spectators clad in resplendent attires make the festival have a look of a world-class carnival which can be harnessed by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism as the staple of the tourist's itinerary.

Since the advent of Christianity in Abagana, Aro Festival has been suffering. This can be attributed to the fetish practices of Aro worshippers in the past. According to Nduka Nwosu in his article entitled Ibiniukpabi: Futile Search for a Slave God (2002), Aro's major contribution to civilization is "the issue of slave trade and the killing of twins and their mothers as well as children whose early set of teeth formed from the upper dental region. These were considered anathema and death was the answer". Though these fetish practices have been stopped, the stigma lingers on.

To crown it all, Nwosu also wrote in glowing terms that "today more than 90 per cent of the Aros worship the God of the ancient Jewish kingdom, Jehovah." Christian leaders forbid members of their churches from attending pagan rituals, including Aro Festival.

Adichie wrote how a Catholic church Reverend Father admonished a member of his congregation for watching masquerades at the Aro Festival: "you understand that it is wrong to take joy in pagan rituals, because it breaks the first commandment. Pagan rituals are misinformed superstition, and they are the gateway to Hell."

As the wind of Christianity and Western exposure sweep across Africa, Nigerians must realise that they have a cultural heritage which must be preserved otherwise her identity will be lost for eternity and her posterity will be denied of the opportunity of knowing their root.

Nigeria should learn from other countries that abused their heritage and ended up regretting ever doing so. One of such countries is China. In 1966, China initiated a political programme known as the country's Cultural Revolution under Communist leader Mao Zedong. As part of the programme aimed at halting the old way of Chinese life, Mao appealed to the Chinese people to destroy anything associated with traditional culture.

Unfortunately, this sad development heralded Chinese greatest cultural damage in history- the destruction of some parts ot the Great Wall of China which hitherto was the staple of the western tourist's itinerary.

Waldron Arthur wrote in his article Great Wall (China) that "the magnificent wall surrounding Beijing was torn down for quarrying during this period. Other wall ruins were also destroyed."

In the meantime, as China began to realise the indispensable contributions of tourism to national economy, the Ming Wall began to undergo extensive renovation of thier most visited locations in 1980s.

Now the question is must Nigeria wait for Aro Festival to die completely before considering what to do to save her? Oil wells have only fifty years to dry up. Sooner or later, non-oil sectors of the economy will be the only hope for Nigeria. The time to act is now.

The new religion can confortably accommodate Nigeria's cultural heritage. Through acculturation, the church can absorb the good aspects of the old religion and halt the unwanted ones. The church in most part of the Igbo land have accepted Ikeji (New Yam Festival) and even allowed "women" masquerades to enter the church court during bazaars. "Women" masquerades are harmless since they do not carry charms around.

In the same vein, Aro Festival can be transformed into an interesting and harmless carnival which will appeal to everyone and serve as a major tourist attraction for Nigeria just like the Argungu Fishing Festival and the Abuja Carnival.

In sum, apparently, people do not value what they have until they loose it. When they loose it, they start looking for it. Aro Festival must not be lost before its value is realised. A word is enough for the wise!

WINNERS OF THE INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC INDEPENDENCE ESSAY COMPETITION (50 STARS @ 50)

S/N NAME(SURNAME FIRST) UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT
1. NWANKWO ADAORA LINDA IGBINEDION UNIVERSITY, MEDICINE
2. OJUKWU ELOCHUKWU FRANCIS NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY, MEDICINE
3. UKPONG VICTOR UBONG UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, ACCOUNTING
4. BALOGUN OMOKOVIE SEUN LADOKE
AKINTOLA
UNIVERSITY, MECHANICAL ENG.
5. EMUNJEZE NICHOLAS IKHODARO UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, COMPUTER SCIENCE
6. ADEBAYO AYODELE ALABI OBAFEMI
AWOLOWO
UNIVERSITY, PHYSICS
7. OLADIPO OLANREWAJU OLUGBENGA BOWEN UNIVERSITY, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
8. SANNI OYEWOLE SULAIMON LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, POLITICAL SCI.
9. AROGUNDADE ABDULLAH IYANDA UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN HISTORY
10. ASOGWU CHIJIOKE PETER UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, MEDICINE
11. UDOH ANIETIE SYLVESTER UNIVERSITY OF UYO, ANIMAL SCIENCE
12. AWODIPE TOLU OLUWATOSIN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, EUROPEAN STUDIES
13. UMUNNAKWE CHIJINDU UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, MICROBIOLOGY
14. AJANTANA OGHENERO DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, PRIVATE LAW
15. CHUKWUKEME FRANCIS I.U. UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI, ENGLISH
16. UGOKWU EMMANUEL CHIMA UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, SOCIAL WORKS
17. ADEDOKUN ADEYINKA JOSEPH LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY, ARCHITECTURE
18. OWOH UKEMEOBONG ETOKOWO UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, MECHANICAL ENG.
19. ADIGUN IFEOLUWA OLATILEWA LEAD CITY UNIVERSITY, LAW
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IMO STATE UNIVERSITY, OPTOMETRY
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22. IMIRUAYE ELOHOR IRENE IGBINEDION UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE
23. DANWI NTITO-BARI PROFESSION UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT, EDUCATIONAL MGT.
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26. NYONG JOSEPH PETER UNIVERSITY OF UYO, PUBLIC LAW
27. OKOLI UGONNA EKENE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, PHARMACY
28. OVABOR NATHANIEL ONOSEMUDIANA UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, LAW
29. LABIRAN MORAKINYO JOHN FED. UNIVERSITY OF TECH. AKURE MECHANICAL ENG.
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31. BIEM FANAN JUSTIN BENUE STATE UNIVERSITY LAW
32. AWOLESI ADEOLA OLUWAFUNMIBI OLABISI ONABANJO UNIVERSITY, INDUSTRIAL & LABOUR
33. OKE OLUWASEUN PHILIPS LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY, URBAN & REGIONAL
34. ILOANI FRANCIS ARINZE UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI, MASS COMM.
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AWOLOWO, LAW
36. AGALA OGBOLE BENJAMIN BENUE STATE UNIVERSITY, LAW
37. UKEJE TIMOTHY KALU UNIVERSITY OF JOS, PHARMACY
38. IGBINOBA OSAFUGBE SANDRA UNIVERSITY OF PORT-HARCOURT, MICROBIOLOGY
39. OGILI EMMANUEL CHINONYEGU ABIA STATE UNIVERSITY, INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY
40. MFON EMMANUEL EMMANUEL UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
41. USMAN NABILA RABIU UNIVERSITY OF JOS, LAW
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49. GANJANG BWEFUK DAVID UNIVERSITY OF JOS PLATEAU, ENGLISH
50. ISAAC ANYIM CHINWENDU LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, COMPUTER SCIENCE

Original Source: http://www.intercontinentalbankplc.com/portal/general/pressrelease.php?n=91&m...

 

The Ordeal of the Innocent

Francis Iloani will soon blow your mind with his new novel entitled 'The Ordeal of the Innocent'. The novel tells the story of an innocent girl who encountered a litany of ordeals as fermenting forces of life played pranks on her. Totally unputdownable, this is a story cramped with intriques, sorrow and betrayal. Watch out!

THE RISK OF REFUSING TO TAKE A RISK

    Experience has shown that when you refuse to take a risk, that same risk will take you.

    History has it that most men who succeeded in life took risks; unlike others who refused to take risks, but had risks staring back at them. Such men staked all they had just to achieve specific aims even though they knew that something bad could happen as a result.

    For instance, by refusing to take risks to defend their rights, the entire Blacks in Soweto risked their lives under apartheid (the former political system in South Africa in which only White people had full political rights while the Blacks were forced to live away from White people). Oswald Mtshali writes in Night Fall in Soweto that black people were "slaughtered every night in the streets… cornered by the fear" of taking risks.

    Later, a South African man decided to take risks by crusading for justice and freedom. Dr. Nelson Mandela's courage and tenacity in the ugly face of risks led to the emancipation of South Africans and the eventual eradication of apartheid. According to Mandela in his Inaugural Speech in May 1994, "apartheid is an extraordinary human disaster out of which must be born a society, which all humanity will be proud." Although Mandela spent most of his life in prison fighting this cause, the risks he took liberated his people.

    In the meantime, note that the risk of refusing to take a risk is living with the risk until you opt to take that risk. Risks are like the air we breathe. They saturate our lives and drive us restless. Just like the east wind, risks blow us around until we decide to stand and take a wedge.

    Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. took a wedge in the over-powering influence of Whites over Blacks in America. He took a risk and said enough was enough by leading the greatest and largest demonstration for freedom ever held in America on June 23, 1963 popularly called The Great Match on Detroit. In a speech, Martin said, "the price that this nation must pay for the continued oppression and exploitation of the Negro or any other minority group is the price of its own destruction." Martin's ideas contained in his I Have a Dream speech wound up as America's ideology, years after he was assassinated.

    The fear of failure and its immediate aftermath make people to refrain from taking risks. But not taking risks is a failure with its immediate consequences as well.

    Take oil exploration in the Niger-Delta. Ken Saro-Wiwa's struggle for the preservation of Ogoniland led to his execution by Abacha's regime, but the aftermath of the risks he took can be seen in the manner in which government attaches priorities on the development of the region.

    Finally, it suffices that the wise will never evade risks. If you evade risks, the same risks end up overtaking you and waiting for you in future.