IGUE FESTIVAL

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Igue festival in Benin KIngdom (Nigeria) is the pride of the people of the kingdom. the festival is majorly an avenue to offer prayers to God for the coming year and to also thank him for the ending year. The Bini people have a long lineage of Obas, and Igue is also an occasion to celebrate Ugie-Evhoba among other occasions. During this period, the anniversary of their deaths is celebrated by the Bini people , and for seven days propitiations are made to the spirits of the departed Obas. This is done to invoke their blessing on the reigning monarch and their families and subjects.

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Confirmation and conferring of titles on deserving citizens by the Oba are carried out during the festival, although this could be done any time the Oba deems fit. While it is also a period to drive away evil spirits (Ubi) and bring blessings (Ewere) to every home in the kingdom, it is a period traditionally set aside by the Bini to thank the gods for blessings on the Oba, his palace, harem and subjects. Ancestral gods are worshipped for protection and propitiation done in the various palace societies. The shrines are considered holy and therefore defied traditionally. The Oba pays homage at the shrines and he is accompanied by some of his chiefs. Indeed, it is a period of merriment, rituals and dancing.
The Bini have a long lineage of Obas, and Igue is also an occasion to celebrate Ugie-Evhoba among other occasions. During this period, the anniversary of their deaths is celebrated by the Bini, and for seven days propitiations are made to the spirits of the departed Obas. This is done to invoke their blessing on the reigning monarch and their family and subjects.
During the seven days of elaborate traditional and cultural activities, Bini chiefs are seen in their enviable traditional regalia, including the Iloi (Queens) in their Okuku (hairdo). It is a rare occasion of their public appearance, where the Oba's stalwarts (Ifietes) are seen in active service. Traditional dances like Esakpaide, Ohogho and above all the display of Eben by the chiefs while dancing and paying homage to the Oba in Ogiukpe at Ugha Oba or the Oba's chamber.

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The Igue festival, which is a period for offering thanks to the gods for sparing their lives and to ask for blessings, is also used for offering sacrifices to some shrines in the palace. During this period, chieftaincy title holders display their Eben emblem in the Ugie dance as they appear in their traditional attire, according to the type of dress the Oba bestowed on individual chiefs during the conferment of title, while the Oba seats majestically in the royal chamber (Ogiukpo)

During the festival, Ugie dance is performed by all important chiefs, including the Iyase, leader of Eghaevbonore. When Chief Esoghan dances with the Eben, the Iyase follows with the Eben. After homage to the Oba as leader of his subjects or Eghaevbonore, nobody else dances with the Eben as homage to the Oba on that particular day.

The Ugie dance as typified is a ceremonial palace dance performed during the annual festival in honour of the Oba. It is also an ancestral dance by chiefs who perform sacrificial and priestly functions in the shrines at the end of a successful year while soliciting for a happy new year.

As the chiefs dance with the decorative Eben symbol of authority, they chorus incantations, and using Edo proverbs they communicate wisdom, pay homage and answer questions through gesticulations during the Ugie dance at the palace.

The Igue festival has however endured and continues to retain its main features despite modernisation in all aspects of political, economic, sociological and technological development. The Bini Kingdom still pays so much attention to traditional matters because, according to the Iyase of Benin, Chief Sam Igbe, tradition is supreme.

Before this year's event, the Iyase had appealed to all Bini chiefs, Enigie Edionwere, Igiohen and all elders and leaders to encourage and organise youths to enable them take more interest in the Ugie-Ewere celebration. He also appealed to motorists to respect the celebrants on the roads, stressing that, "this festival is a way of expressing our love, joy and goodwill to our people."

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It on record that it was during the Igue festival that the British on trade expedition turned down the advise of Benin chiefs not to defy the tradition of the people by insisting on seeing Oba Ovenranwen Nogbaisi. The spontaneous reaction of the chiefs ended the life of Consul Philips and his team. This resulted in the Benin Expedition of 1897, which created room for the looting of Benin historical relics including the FESTAC symbol yet to be returned to the ancient city of Benin.