EYO FESTIVAL IN LAGOS-25 APRIL 2009

Today,25th april 2009 the eyo festival is taking place in honour of late Otunba Tos Benson.The eyo festival is staged specifically in honour of an illustrious diseased person.Otunba Tos Benson was until his death a remarkable judge and one of the foermost citizen of lagos. The eyo festival is an ancient occasion in the historical lagosian society.The famous eyo Agoogoro Eyoo which means what a tall and imposing eyo have the slogan mo yo fun e mo yo fun ra mi meaning i rejoice for you i rejoice for myself.

The eyo masqurade parade began by traders from badagry on lagos island .the point of performance then was known as oke ita which was later found to be the lagoon end of Glover road,ikoyi Lagos.This was the sites where successive kings and chiefs in lagos used to visit to watch adamu orisa play in those days.According to the Governor of lagos,the eyo adamu orisa in the views of international spectators rank in the pangentory oon a higher plane than the rio carnival.

The Governor fof lagos invested in the festival within the context of uplifting the play to an international standard with an eye for its potential economic impacts on the residents of lagos state.The order of events for the programme takes a full week with the following processions, the senior eyo group, the adimu(identified by a black broad-rimmed hat),goes puplic with a staff when this happens it means that the event will take place the following saturday.Each of the four important ones Laba(red),Oniko(yellow),Ologede(green),Agere( purple),will each take their turns from monday to thursday.Today ,is the grand event where they all come together to parade the street of lagos.


DubarThe Durbar festival dates back hundreds of years to the time when the Emirate (state) in the north used horses in warfare. During this period, each town, district, and nobility household was expected to contribute a regiment to the defense of the Emirate.Once or twice a year, the Emirate military chiefs invited the var­ious regiments for a Durbar (military parade) for the Emir and his chiefs.

During the parade, regiments would showcase their horsemanship, their preparedness for war, and their loyalty to the Emirate. Today, Durbar has become a festival celebrated in honor of vis­iting Heads of State and at the culmination of the two great Muslim festivals, Id-el Fitri (commemorating the end of the holy month of Ramadan) and Ide-el Kabir (commemorating Prophet Ibrahim sacrificing a ram instead of his son).

Of all the modern day Durbar festivals, Katsina Durbar is the most mag­nificent and spectacular. Id-el-Kabir, or Sallah Day, in Katsina begins with prayers out­side town, followed by processions of horsemen to the public square in front of the Emir’s palace, where each village group, district, and noble house take their assigned place. Last to arrive is the Emir and his splendid retinue; they take up their place in front of the palace to receive the jahi, or homage, of their subjects. The festival begins with each group racing across the square at full gallop, swords glinting in the sun. They pass just few feet away from the Emir, then stop abruptly to salute him with raised swords.

The last and most fierce riders are the Emir’s household and reg­imental guards, the Dogari. After the celebrations, the Emir and his chiefs retire to the palace, and enjoyment of the occasion reigns. This fanfare is intensified by drumming, dancing and singing, with small bands of Fulanis performing shadi, a fasci­nating sideshow to behold.

Arugungu Fishing Festival
This colorful annual festival takes place in Arugungu,("ar-GOON-goo"), a riverside town in Kebbi State, about 64 miles from Sokoto. The leading tourist attraction in the area, the festival originated in Aug. 1934, when the late Sultan Dan Mu’azu made an historic visit. In tribute, a grand fishing festival was organized. Since then, it’s become a celebrated yearly event held between Feb. and March. During the festival, hundreds of local men and boys enter the water, armed with large fishnet scoops.

They are joined by canoes filled with drummers, plus men rattling huge seed-filled gourds to drive the fish to shallow waters. Vast nets are cast and a wealth of fish are harvested, from giant Nile Perch to the peculiar Balloon Fish. Furthermore there’s canoe racing, wild duck hunting, bare-handed fishing, diving competitions and naturally, swimming. Afterwards, there is drinking, singing and dancing into the night.

The festival marks the end of the growing season and the harvest. A one mile (1.6 kilometer) stretch of the Argungu River is protected throughout the year, so that the fish will be plentiful for this 45-minute fishing frenzy.

About 5,000 men take part, armed with hand nets and a large gourd. During the alloted time, they fight for the fish in the river. Nile perch weighing up to 140 pounds (63.5 kg) are pulled out of the river, and the biggest are offered to the local Emirs who organize the festival. This festival began in the 1930s and has captured the nation's interest. It now includes many other events, such as canoe races and diving competition.

Festivals Nigeria has many local festivals that date back to the time before the arrival of the major religions, and which are still occasions for masquerade and dance. The local festivals cover an enormous range of events, from harvest festivals and betrothal festivals, to the investing of a new chief and funerals. It seems odd to Western ways of thinking to see a funeral as something to be celebrated. But for many of the tribes, death means joining the ancestors, and so the deceased must get a good send-off.

The dances that were once performed by members of each village have now been taken over by professional troupes, who tour villages performing at each local festival.
The Muslim year revolves around the three major festivals, Id Al Fitri, Id Al Kabir, and Id Al Maulud. The main event in the Islamic calendar is the festival that celebrates the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month-long observation of fasting. During the hours of sunlight no one must eat or drink; some very religious people will not even swallow. Each evening at dusk is a celebration of sorts, as the family prepares to break the fast. In towns people do so by going out to one of the markets, where stallholders will be prepared for the hungry people. At the end of Ramadan there is a celebration, which varies in style among the different Muslim tribes.

The Christian calendar is also celebrated, chielfy in the south of the country. Christian groups have moved closer to the rituals of their indigenous religions when celebrating Christian festivals.

The Benin Festival
This ceremony takes place at the end of the rainy season, after the harvest has been gathered. It is partly a kind of harvest festival but also serves another purpose - eligible young men and women of the village are displayed before each other to be ritually acquainted.
The festival occurs once evey four years, and only the very wealthy can afford to have their children take part in the matchmaking ceremony. But all the villagers are able to join in the festival atmosphere.

In the past, the young girls who took part in the festival traditionally wore no clothing, but in modern times, because nudity is frowned upon, they are clothed.
The chief parts of the girls' display are the numerous heavy armlets and leg ornaments that they wear. They are so heavy that the girls must hold their arms over their heads during the entire festival, in order to support the weight of them. Their hair is intricately plaited with coral beads.
Both boys and girls have elaborate markings painted on their bodies. The boys also take part in a tug- of-war as a demonstration of their strength.