Contest Alert! 1 Picture 1 Story | Ekpe Festival Ceremony | 8th July 2023

Hey all! Greeting to everyone, today I am enlightened to join you guys in participating in this wonderful contest, introduce myself I am your humble friend @successjoh I lives in the city of Umuahia in Abia State, hope I am welcome my follow community friend.
The story I am presenting before you all is all about my village program called ekpe festival that always take part every new year been January.
I have been taking part in some contest but today contest is quite different as I appear with real ceremony story in my home town.

I came from a village called Obugwu in Ariam Usaka community, my village is one of the best village that always came up with best cultural ceremony which ekpe is one of them and it always hold every January of the year and it is known as ekpe festival like I told you before, Obugwu community in Ariam Usaka is located in south of Abia State, if you want to come around to celebrate with @successjoh this coming year ekpe festival you locate me with this Map
The ekpe ceremony celebration of every year, according to our traditional rules it is done to appreciate the gods of the land for keeping the people seeing new year, before the ceremony take place the elders of my village always go out and do some sacrifice to appeal the gods before the main date of the ceremony.

On that faithful date of the ceremony some of the young people will use hand of palm fruit to create circle at the village square where a sacrifice of a goat will be carried out, early morning at the ceremony day some of the young man and woman and old people from different community always came to my village square with their local drum that brings up different sounds, they move around the village with their wrapper which always been the dressing code of the ceremony called ekpe festival, after moving around all the village finally they will return to the village square to have rest so that they will prepare for the main program which will commence towards evening time.

As evening time came there will be as many local drums 🥁 bring different sounds that sweet the heart of everyone. A local ground gun will be shot many times and the masquerade will be led out by the old people to dance in the front of everyone, after the masquerade dancing the first time he will be led to rest as the prepare for the final program which was when the sacrifice of a goat will be done. The second appearance of the masquerade another local ground gun will be shot showing that the end of the ceremony is about finished, the masquerade will dance and cut off the head of the goat while everybody will dance till the ekpe festival end.
Thanks @suboohi for organizing this wonderful contest, I appreciate your efforts.
Special invitation to Cc @fredkese @megareigns @aviral123

Let support Steem For Pakistan in delegating our steem power