~ Ōgwû Ekpeye, a yearly traditional festival, is celebrated in honour of the first daughters across Ekpeye communities
By Oyagiri Monday
The Ekpeye traditional society has many ceremonies and festivals ranging from burials, child dedication, ówû, circumcision, marriage, and annual festivals.
Particularly, the Ōgwû Ekpeye is a festival traditionally celebrated by the Ekpeye tribe of Rivers State. The festival does not end with the fall of the moon; rather, its celebration is timed around the appearance of the new moon, and the festival generally lasts for about a month.
Notably, one specific week of the month is designed for full eating, drinking, and community feasting. The remaining weeks involve social visits, traditional dances such as girls dancing with clay pots and boys playing the Âlá masquerade, gatherings in camaraderie groups, and communal celebrations rather than ending with a lunar phase collapse.
In Úpātá Kingdom, one of the federating Kingdoms in Ekpeye Ethnic Nation, Ōgwû has its traditional effects, representing profound social, spiritual, and communal renewal. Events marking the end of the festival are as entertaining as the beginning.
At the Palace (Ùdhò Ny'údū Úpātá) of the Ñyê-ïshï Èlé Úpātá Lôwétü Lî Ny'údū Úpātá III of Úpātá Kingdom, HM Ny'údū Dr. Felix Enene Otuwarikpo, fnipr, at Edeoha, maidens from Ochigba and Ulá Úpātá Communities were received. 13 masquerade groups from Edeoha Town also performed at the Palace to the admiration of the Ny'údū Úpātá, title Chiefs and visitors at the royal court. The visit of the maidens and the masquerades form part of the traditional rites to close the festival.
Celebrated annually between September and October, its a major cultural festival and, it functions as the traditional "Ekpeye New Year," marking the transition between farming seasons and cementing indigenous identity. The traditional and socio-cultural effects of the festival includes spiritual cleansing and renewal (Ūçhî ēñwü lî ãgbälá).
Before the main festivities begin, Úpātá communities observe a sacred folklore (Ûkó èlé) night followed by the ritual of Ūçhî ēñwü at dawn. This custom is explicitly aimed at driving away evil spirits and negative influences from the land. "It ensures the community enters the new cycle spiritually cleansed and aligned," Ny'údū Otuwarikpo, in retrospect, calmly explained.
One of the most distinct effects of Ōgwû Ekpeye is its focus on the girl-child and firstborn daughters (Ōgwû Ādäûñwô/ Ōgwû Ûgbédé). "The Ekpeye culture recognizes the dignity of womanhood. Our forefathers instituted the festival to
celebrate and elevate womanhood," the Ñyê-ïshï Èlé Úpātá Lôwétü confirmed in admiration of what he described as "our heritage."
Historically, the Monarch emphasized that the festival also aligns with honoring maiden's transition into adulthood. During the festival, young maidens beautify their bodies with Ábî (camwood powder), wear fine new traditional wrappers, and dance in the village square.
This superlative form of dressing gave rise to a time tested Ekpeye proverb: "Don't marry during Ōgwû, because all girls are beautiful during Ōgwû Ekpeye." Beside, the festival strengthens communal bonds and encourages mandatory homecoming.
The festival acts as a powerful force for social solidarity. "It is a mandatory time of homecoming where every son, daughter, and even household workers returns to their ancestral parents," Chief Nkechi Anyike, Eze Agbugbodhi Úpātá, recalled.
In order to foster absolute togetherness, families do not consume meals individually. Relatives, cousins, nieces, nephews and neighbors gather in ancestral family halls to eat communal pots of food especially bhîdhí Èdë (cocoyam dishes), hence the alternate name Ōgwû Èdë and bond over shared local delicacies.
The festival strengthens and preserves the peoples' oral history and moral upbringing, Ny'údū Otuwarikpo gave more insight. Because, during the folklore night (Ûkó Elè), families gather from dusk until dawn to listen to professional folklorists.
The historical effect is the intergenerational transfer of indigenous knowledge. Through traditional storytelling, proverbs, and folk songs, young people are taught the values, ancestral migrations, such as the age long migration story of Ekpeye migrating from the ancient Benin Empire, along with his warrior father, Akalaka; passing-on the moral codes of the Ekpeye kingdom.
Part of the effects is the unique reinforcement of social structure and masquerade art (Ówû). While the girls showcase traditional attire, the boys and young men participate in the Ówû mask culture. These complex masquerades, portraying characters like the elderly lady Ówû Åñākâñï or, the presence of the agile and intimidating Ògbûmâdûbé are not just for entertainment. Traditionally, they act as instruments of 'social control, education, and political satire, "utilizing animal and human personas to mirror society and correct bad behavior in the community," Ny'údū Otuwarikpo summed.