It's actually really great to be a part of this week's Edition and it only gets better with a very amazing topic to talk about. We chose to talk about cultural festivities in our various nationalities and tribes. In a country like Nigeria, they're a lot of tribes and so many traditions and most of these tribes have their own cultural festivities and most of them are a reflection of their cultures and beliefs.
I had the opportunity to read through a wide range of different cultural festivities and I must say it was quite great to see how well these celebrations impact the lives of people, some had some negative impacts though. For me, I'm an Akwa Ibomite and even though I haven't really had the chance to experience most of the festivities native to my own people I've heard stories about them. I'll be sharing with you some of those cultural festivals native to the people of Akwa Ibom.
The first festival I'll be talking a little about is a biannual aquatic festival connected with the people of Nsit Ubium It is a festival that is linked with a fertility cult and ancestral worship. The festival takes place around Mid-January- Mid- March.
The Nsit Ubium biannual aquatic festival also known as Mbre Mmong is accompanied by rituals conducted at the communal shrine, a colourful boat regatta and cultural displays recalling the migration of forebears.
My mom have told me stories of how fun the festival is, I could recall the smile on my her face when she described how beautifully dressed the dancers are, portraying the beauty of the marine spirits and they'll perform their water dances as the people celebrated along with them.
I longed for the opportunity to actually experience this cultural display first-hand so I had to ask my mom if it was possible for us to attend one. But then she informed me that she never wanted me to experience one because it was linked to initiations and various cults that weren't good and it certainly didn't go well with our religion. Hearing this brought me down a bit, because I want to experience our beautiful cultures.
Another main festival to celebrate the seasons, is the Usoro Mboppo, to celebrate successful completion and outing ceremony of girls in the fattening (Mboppo) room. It is a year-round activity and celebration. Various virgin girls are put in a fattening room where they'll be fed, massaged with oil and not allowed to see anyone or go out for days. They'll be in there room for a long while until it's time for them to go out. I wish I had the full details but I'm just talking from what I've heard, hehe.
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Another is the Usoro Ekoon festival of colourful masquerades or of mythological and cosmological spirits is also an all-year-round activity. Various dancing performances are on display during these festivals, a further confirmation of the abundant rich culture of the people of Akwa Ibom State.
I hope to one day be a part of one of these festivals, as a tourist of course 😂, because I wouldn't want to be in any way caught or initiated into any spirit cult. But then our cultures wouldn't have to be buried because we've experienced civilization.
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