Daily Trust Sunday

Intriguing traditiona­l wedding rites of the Igede people

- By Eseohe Ebhota, who was in Oju, Benue State

with Eastern Nigeria, they adopted some of their traditiona­l wedding rites.

“It is known that in Eastern Nigeria when a couple is getting married the traditiona­l way, the groom sits in the audience out of the sight of the bride. Then when the bride dances out with her maids, she is given a glass or horn of wine to go give to her husband-to-be. She then dances round with the wine in her hand, in search of her prospectiv­e husband. So many young men beckon on her but she doesn’t answer them and she kkeeps dancing until she finds him. Then she kneels before him, takes a sip from ththe wine and then gives him to drink. ThatT way, every one gathered sees and knowsk who her husband is,” he said. AdogAdoga added that after drinking the wine,win the groom puts the dowry into the horn, stands up and dancdances with her.

“This is also how it is now beingbei done in Igede-land. In theth case of the Igede people, theth groom is dressed in the traditiona­ltr colours of the IgedeI people which is a bbbt beautiful combinatio­n of blue, black and white. After this first stage, the couple ggoes into the house and wear a seconds attire. This time, it is the Igbo traditiona­l outfit or the traditiona­l outfit of the tribe the Igede girl is getting married to, be it Idoma, Yoruba, Efik or Igbo.

“When the couple comes out, they go to the girl’s parents to seek their blessings in the union and they also go to the groom’s parents who also say a prayer for the new couple. Then they go to their seat and the ceremony continues from there,” he said.

It is at such times that the Igede, proudly display their richly endowed culture.Food is served lavishly, those who want to enjoy the Igede traditiona­l cuisine go for hot, soft pounded yam served with beniseed soup cooked with chicken or game; while those who prefer continenta­l dishes go for rice and salad.Drinks are also served and people drink and make merry. Kegs of fresh palm wine suffusing the occasion with an irresistab­le aroma is served afterwards with beer and soft drinks accompanyi­ng.

What has changed drasticall­y in modern Igede traditiona­l marriages is music and dance. Popular Nigerian music is played in most cases and the people dance to its high tempo, cosmopolit­an rhythm.

Benue State popularly called the “Food Basket of the Nation” as it exists today is a surviving legacy of an administra­tive entity which was carved out of the protectora­te of northern Nigeria at the beginning of the twentieth century. Benue State possesses a rich and diverse cultural heritage which finds expression in colourful cloths, exotic masquerade­s, supplicate­d music and dances. Traditiona­l dances from Benue State have won acclaim at national and internatio­nal cultural festivals.

These dances include Ingyough, Anchanakup­a and Swange among the Tiv, and Anuwowowo and Odabaru among the Idoma. The socio-religious festivals of the state are equally famous. The Alekwu ancestral festival of the Idoma for instance, is an occasion when it is popularly believed the ancestors emerge from the spirit world to re-establish contact with the living in forms of masquerade­s.

Marriage, funerals and other rites of passage provide occasion for rich displays of the people’s cultural heritage. Fishing festivals and communal hunting expedition­s are colourful and memorable social events among various communitie­s. The Igede Agba (a new yam festival) and the Ujo festival are the most important social occasions among the Igede and Igumale/ Agila people respective­ly.

The Igede people can be found in two of the 23 local government­s in the state namely: Obi and Oju. Oju Local Government Area was created in 1976 and shares boundary with Obi, Ado, Konshisha and Gwer East Local Government Areas of Benue State, Ebonyi and Izzi Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State and Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State. While Obi local government area was created in 1996 and has its headquarte­rs at Obarike-Ito. The local government area derives its name from the Obi stream that flows in the area and shares boundary with Ado, Otukpo and Oju local government areas of Benue State.

The people of Obi Local Government Area also speak Igede language and are predominan­tly farmers, cultivatin­g maize, cassava, groundnut and yams. The local government area is home of the popular Igede-Agba festival, a colourful annual celebratio­n which marks the yam harvest season in September.

The headquarte­rs of Oju local government area is in Oju town where there is a College of Education. The town is home to rich deposits of bauxite and limestone and the people who speak Igede language are known for production of yams, cassava, rice, maize, groundnut, guinea corn and soybeans. Pottery and carving is also popular in the area. They speak the same language with the people of Obi local government but there are minor dialectal difference­s which differenti­ates the Oju man from the Obi man.

 ??  ?? An Igede couple on their marriage day
An Igede couple on their marriage day
 ??  ?? The food basket roundabout, Makurdi
The food basket roundabout, Makurdi

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