Contest: A Tale About Our Religious Festivals (Ikeji Cultural festival)
IKEJI IZUOGU
Ikeji is a joyful traditional and annual festival celebrated by Izuogu people of Igbo race in Imo State, Nigeria, west Africa.
This festival dates back to five centuries ago to our great grand parents; Izuogu na Iheme.
It is normally celebrated around March or April of every year to celebrate the harvest of yams and to thank the gods for the last farming year, while praying and offering sacrifices for the farming year ahead.
This festival is done before we return to our farms for a new farming year.
To announce the date for the occasion, the elders meet and select a date for the celebration to start.
It lasts for 8 days, within which people return from all works if life to participate in the celebration.
Within the 8days, the celebration is rotational, it's shifted from one community to another according to their market days.
The place for the celebration is usually the market square of any community. While the youths and able bodied men display in the arena, friends, well wishers and other lovers of the tradition will seat around, drinking, making merry while they financially appreciate the masquerades and men dancing and displaying in the arena.
Every year, as the festival approaches, young youths of about 18years (men and women alike) who are willing to join the masquerade cult are initiated after they meet all the requirements.
On the days of the celebration, only initiated members can come out in the open to display alongside others.
Friends and relatives from far visit the homes of their friends to celebrate with them. When they come, they are well entertained with food and drinks.
During the morning hours, masquerade go from house to house to display and in return are giving money.
But by evening, everyone nooves towards the market square for sightseeing.
Able bodied men, young and old are seen in the open singing and dancing individually or in groups.
Some choose display of their manliness or strength, do so by forming a cane from Palm fronts with which they flog each other.
Others also indulge in displays of charms Like;using bascket to hold water or walking around with a living piton pet. The things you see at this festival is highly unimaginable.
The climax is the last day, which normally happens at Nkwo Achi
This festival is hugely sponsored by donations from far and sundary, and it's well organized that the organizers have security men scartered all over the arena to arrest and penalize violent people.
They also have food and drinks for visiting masquerade groups.
That is all about our cultural festival "Ikeji Izuogu"
I want to cease this opportunity to thank @sabbirrr for organizing this contest.
I also thank you my audience for reading through my post.
Wow. Nice post
Thank you sir
You are welcome