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Chief Godspower Okeoghene Okpohro the Oletu Ekpa, Owerewe Oloriega of lgbide kingdom gives us a breakdown of the origin of Abame festival and other juicy information.
Enjoy it.
Could you please shed more light on the Abame Festival and what is the significance of the festival?
It is a festival of graduation from “young hood into manhood”. In lgbide kingdom, you are not called a man, until you take part in the Abame Festival even if you are married. It is the final ceremony into manhood. By all standard, if you are married, you are regarded as a man but for you to graduate into manhood in lgbide you must perform the Abame. In lgbide, we have streets we clear, we have water ways we repair, we also have local bridges we repair. It is those who wish to graduate that carry out the aforementioned repairs. They would do these jobs for five years after which they take part in the Abame Festival, then you are regarded as a man and also you are free from all manual labours in the town.
Abame has its origin in the seasonal bailing of communal fish ponds. In the days of lgbide people, there were fish ponds jointly owned by communities. Bailing of such ponds were usually done about late January to February when the level of waters has reduce chilling. Consequently, arguments often arose as to who enter the ponds first to start the bailing of the water, at the end this constant problem keep on occurring until the elders came up with the formula of wrestling among bodied men at the bank of the ponds compelling those who lost in the wrestling battle first mandatorily enter the ponds to start the bailing. These contests elicited much excitement and interest having ended the arguments at the pond bailing.
The focus and aim of Abame now is for participants to show that they have attained “Manhood” (come of age) and to be called men and no more boys that they used to be. Years after, many participants will joyously and boastfully be heard saying: “Me muabori ki lwire whe”. The groups that performed Abame dance went through hard manual labour, rigorous training and discipline to get there. It is never easy; it involves a lot of time and money, perseverance and submission to groups will. To become a man in lgbide is not easy. As you can see, neither the origin nor the process and practice today shows any fetish act repulsive to Christianity. That is why we say Abame Festival is a Religion friendly and good for all. Abame is a cultural heritage like Jewish Festivals accepted by Christians the world ever. Igbide people being one of the first set of people to embrace Christianity are not given to idol and fetish practices. We will continue to repeat the history and origin of Abame Festival to educate the young ones, the old who have not been opportune to hear it, the first timers to this festival and the misguided or mischievous persons. It is a well-known fact that Europeans willfully branded most African cultural heritage to be idolatry and devilish to disparage or run Africans down.
What about those in diaspora, do they also take part in the manual labour?
Yes of course, if you are in town and any of the aforementioned labour is taking place, you must be part of it because you are yet to perform the Abame ceremony.
I assume before you are given a chieftaincy title in lgbide, you must have performed the ceremony. Suppose you got your chieftaincy title outside lgbide, will you be exempted from the manual labour?
No, you take part in the manual labour even if you are a bishop
How do they take part in the ceremony?
Those who took part in this year’s Abame ceremony registered 5 years ago. Another set would register this year.
What are other benefits apart from being regarded as a man?
In Isoko culture, when we entertain, with kolanuts and drinks, money is usually used as wedge, when such money is shared you are not given. Every community has its cultural symbol.
How many communities make up the kingdom?
It is seven communities but for the purpose of the Abame festival, it is group into 3 namely biggest UNUAME Group, comprising Ekpo, Owodokpokpo and Urovo. 2ndlargest AZAGBA comprising; Uruwhre and Oteri while ETAME is Okpohro and Egbo. All who naturally hear of the festival would come and watch. Because it is an interesting festival, all the Royal Fathers of Isoko and Isokos and non -indigenes including Urhobo and government functionaries usually attend the festival. It is the desire of lgbide to raise Abame cultural and Urie fishing festivals to the standard of first class tourist centre in Delta State, capable of generating millions of dollars. Those days when we were still under the colonial rule, the district officer specially requested he would be presiding over the ceremony and when they left, the governor of the state comes personally or send the commissioner for culture.
What costumes do they wear to wrestle?
Skirts (buluku) and bear foot. We mingle with the Scottish hence the skirt.
Why is it not modernize, maybe wearing of canvas?
Ordinarily you don’t wear shoes into the pond to bail, so even as this year we are not bailing pond and it is a social ceremony, it still has to be natural. Apart from fishing, we produce groundnut in large quantity, we are the largest producers of groundnut in this part, (Isoko and Urhobo). We also plant sweet potatoes in large quantity and we are oil producing community. We have 8 wells and 1 flow station even as the oil has affected our produce.
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