An Appraisal of Cultural Festival of Afizere (Jarawa) People of Jos East Plateau State, Nigeria

An Appraisal of Cultural Festival of Afizere (Jarawa) People of Jos East Plateau State, Nigeria

Chapter One

Aim and objectives of the study

The aim of this study is to appraise the cultural festival of the Afizere, while the objectives are to:

1. document the historical events of the cultural festival of Afizere of Plateau State,
2. examine the roles of the cultural festival of the Afizere,
3. analyse the various art costumes and instruments used by Afizere ethnic group during the cultural festival and
4. assess the sustainability of the Afizere cultural festival.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

This chapterreviewed related literature,which discuss the relevance and functions of cultural festivals in Africa, Nigeria and Plateau State so as to appraise the cultural festival of Afizere people of Jos East Plateau State. There are negative and positive history that accompaniedsituations in Africa thatman had gone through, from the colonial period to independence. Many imperialist historians of Africa, during the colonial period based their writing on their European prejudices and personal feelings,which made them to  assert that Africans had no history and art objects. This could be thereason why the American missionary, Stone in Thompson (1983), states:

In the nineteen century ascended a lofty granite boulder and looked down upon the Yoruba city of Abeokuta. What I saw disabused my mind of many errors in regard to Africa. The city extends along the bank of the Ogunfor nearly six miles and has a population approximately two hundred thousand (200.000). Instead of being lazy, naked savages, living on the spontaneous productions of the earth, they were dressed and were industrious (providing) everything that their physical comfort required. Men are builders, blacksmiths, iron-smelters, carpenters, calabash-carvers, weavers, basket- makers, hat-makers, mat-makers, traders, barbers, tanners, tailors, farmers and workers in leather and morocco…they make razors swords, knives, hoes, bill hooks, axes, arrow-heads, and stirrups. Women most diligently follow the pursuits which custom has allotted to them. They also make soap, dyes, palm oil, nut-oil, the entire native earthward and many other things used in the country.

This also seem to be an expression of art found in most societiesaround Africa, which gives evidence of the creative impetus of the artists. The Europeans had always attributed the stylistic roots of African art to near eastern or western civilization, and even to ancient Egypt and Greece. This might be because, they were more at home with the ideas of such civilizations.

Definitions of Festival (Cultural Festival)

Cultural Festival, according to Laopodi (2003),is a special day or period, usually in memory of an event with its social activities, food or ceremonies or an organized set of special events such as musical dance or play, usually happening in one place. The essence of staging cultural festivals therefore, suggests that their role in any society is fundamental in contributing to the everyday existence of that society.Festival is an occasion when people come together for the celebration of their culture. Bayo (2010) also states that, cultural festivalsare social occasions where membersof dancing groups and people come from different communities for the enjoyment of leisure, recreational activities and cultural rite.However,Banjoko (2009) view cultural festival as a way to create an opportunity for people to celebrate, worship as well as perform different cultural traits of the society.

Cultural festival,according to Hornby (2005), “is a series of performances of music, plays, films and others, usually organized in the same place once a year, and also a series of public events connected with particular activity or idea‟, while Merriam (2016),  defines festival „as an event or community gathering, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some themes, so as to display the unique aspects of the community”.

Origin of Festival

The origin of festival can be traced to the Stone Age period in the five hundred BC (500BC).It is a time were the ancient people come together to roast meat and also celebrate the killing of an animal in the bush. Cultural festivals practiced in Africa are said to have started as a re-enactment which has always served the purposes of religious celebration, socialization and the cultural re-integration of the society (MacDonald, 1992).Festivals in Africa started with magical dance of the ancient people, which is the imitation of animal movements by styles. MacDonald further states that, today cultural festivals does not strictly mean adhering to the past, but summarises the present and projects the future of the society, which is reflected in the style and form of the cultural festival.He further states that, the preparations for a festival began long before its date in any part of Africa.

The essence of staging festivals therefore, suggests that their role in any society is fundamental in contributing to the everyday existence of that society culturally. Some of such festivals welcome the seasons of the year, such as the harvest, rains, the full moon, religious occasions, and others. Similarly, the end of the year has begun to witness the hosting of cultural festivals in some state in Nigeria in particular and Africa as a whole. It starts when elders in the society makeconsultation with the spirit through the chief priest. Cultural festivals are one of the few consistently positive foray for indigenous communities to forge and assert a more constructive view of themselves both intergenerational and as part of their drive for respect as distinct cultures in broader national and international communities.Cultural festivals today offer exciting varieties of dances, and people showcase dance for different reasons and in different ways. Some bdances can express feelings like sadness or happiness. In any part of Africa, dancing is part of celebration. According to Colin (1976),

…children are also being taught things they never knew before, the same things are reinforced for the men, for all adult men of the village are expected to take part in the teaching, singing and the dancing. Throughout Africa, dance is an integral part of religious life, and is used even on occasions that have a purely festival appearance, to reinforce beliefs and values.

This is an event celebrated with magnificent masked dance and song, which sometimes reaches a climax in wild celebrations. According to Stokstand (2008), dance probably has been around, as long as people live. The cave paintings, thousands of years old, show what look like dancing figures. Furthermore, through dance, societies asked their gods for good crops or bravery in battle. All people dance, because the human body is made to move.

The people then used the time for cultural festival to appease the gods,and thus secure happiness. It was one of the highest cultural expressions of art which revealed the enriched man‟s spirit.Thus, the chief priest and the elders would make announcement of the day for the festival (Bayo, 2010). According toHassan (1994),Africa, and particularly in Nigeria,

„cultural festivals own their origin to the traditional religion‟.   Festivals in Nigeria, as in other parts of Africa, are celebrated throughout the year, and are celebrated with reason for success and protection.

Festivals in Africa

In many African communities, life cycle events such as birth, puberty, marriage, procreation, eldership and death are accompanied by varieties of ritual celebrations, in which participants dance, sing and perform in order to make the occasion exhilarating and

memorable. African societies have masquerades which appear during burial ceremonies performed for all dead adults. Leuzinger (1976), states that, „in most cases, the aim of the performance is not only to imbibe religious awe or to seek ancestral protection, although these play a part, but to entertain the mourners and bring glory to the memory of the dead man and his successor‟.

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CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE

Introduction

Thisresearch is an appraisal of cultural festival of Afizere(Jarawa)people of Jos East Plateau State. This chapter therefore, specifies the procedure employed in carrying out the study. This procedure includes research design, methods of data collection, research instruments and tools, research population and sample and methods of data analysis. Sullivim (2005) states that, “research methodology and procedure, providethe framework of any research, hence selection of the right methodology is crucial to the success of any approach, plan, guide or roadmap for achieving a good result”.

Research Design

This research is an attempt to identify, document and analyse the forms,roles and significance of the cultural festival of the Afizerepeople of Jos East Local Government in Plateau State.For the purpose of achieving this goal,the researcher adopteda qualitative procedure. Sambo (2005) states that, “the usefulness of qualitative method whichdescribes social phenomena or events, as they occur to individual in particular or to culture in general”. However,to enhance the effectiveness of the research, historical and descriptive methods are employed.Historical method is described byAdogbo and Ojo(2003) as unfolding what is not known as well as recording cultural development of a people,while Yusuf (2013) observes that, the descriptive method of research is generally considered as  a method of systematic collection of data through information obtained by the use of examination of records, interactions, among others. In a research procedure, discussions are made on the researcher‟s observation.Adogbo and Ojo (2003), agreedby stating that, the descriptive approach is all about attempts to create a real or vivid picture of an object or events in the mind of the reader. Through these methods, the researchereffectively provides a clearly detailed analysis of the cultural festival of Afizere with the aid of pictures and records.

Research Population and Sample

In research population and sample, according to Adogbo and Ojo (2003) the number of people living in a place”. The population of Jos East in Plateau Stateis about 124,661 (National Population Commission Statistic (2017) http:www citypopulation.com), and a sample of the population was used for the study. The custodians, audience and the general Afizere people constitute the population of this study. These are dancers, and people who participated in the cultural festival as well as the general populace in the area. In view of the fact that the population size was quite large, there was need to reduce it to a manageable level. Simple random sampling was employed where each member of the targeted population had equal opportunity of being selected. Using the above sampling methods (simple random sampling), a total number of one hundred and twenty-five (125) members of the population were selected for this study.Fifteen (15) young dancers, twenty adult dancers, thirteen (13) elders, twelve (12) custodians, fourty (40) audience and twenty-five (25) respondents from the general populace were interviewed for the purpose of collecting

In view of Yusuf (2013), assertion that, when a large population cannot be managed within the time of study, it becomes impossible to include the whole population.samplingtechnique was therefore used to select a portion of the population. This means that, the population was determined by the number of audience, custodians, and people participating in the dance groups of the cultural festival as well as the people who live in the area of study.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND DICUSSION

Introduction

This chapter presents findings from the field on the cultural festival of Afizere people of Plateau State. Visual elements and aesthetic features were considered with sources of influence and roles also taken into account. The analysis and discussion of thecultural festival are presentedbased on the objectives of the study, under the following sub-headings: origin, location, festival, masquerades, custodians, dancers, dancing styles, audience, costumes, musical instrumentsand significance of the cultural festival.

The Origin of Afizere (Jarawa) 

In an interview with Ada John Isha¹an elder in the community, mentioned that, the ancestors of the Afizerecome from Chawai in Kaduna State. The Izere chiefdom of Afizerepeople migrated to Plateau State which retain many features of the people‟s culture that remain dear to them, including a festival which makes even the paramount ruler dance. They are known to be a very peaceful people and one of the ethnic groups in Plateau state. Ada Bitrus Dabo²also an elder states that, the first settled at Shere, Plateau State and due to their rapid cattle expansion, they moved South ward to Afuwozi and later to Fobur plains.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

From the discussion in the first four chapters, there were attempts made to see the various aspects of the cultural festival of Afizereand its artistic forms. Issues were raised and discussed in the body of the works. Chapter five is the concluding aspect of this research, where by, findings are drawn out of the summarised work. This is done under  the following subtopics; summary, finding, conclusion and recommendations.

Summary

The study explored cultural festivals around Africa and in particular the activities of Afizere cultural festival, defining what they are by name. The study also discussed the historical background of the Afizere (Jarawa) of Plateau State, Nigeria. The problem of this study was the insufficient information available on the Afizere cultural festival ethnic group of Plateau State. It was stated that no comprehensive academic work, to the knowledge of the researcher, has been done in this direction. The study appraises the cultural festival of the Afizere. The objectives of the study were to document the historical events of the cultural festival of Afizere of Plateau State, examine the roles of the cultural festival, analyse the various costumes and instruments, used by this ethnic group and assesses the sustainability of the Afizere cultural heritage, which were achieved. The study was justified because a documentation of the cultural festival to bring out the elements enshrined in the cultural festival being practiced is made available in this study. The study also focused on the review of relevant literatures which further reveals the gaps existing in the previous studies, especially in the examination of the form, content, and interpretation of Afizere cultural festival of Jos East Plateau State, Nigeria.

The methodology designed was from the suggestion of other experts cited. Such as unstructured questionnaire which were administered to the custodians, audience and dancers. Interview was carried out. The historical and descriptive methods of data analysis were used in this research. The various methods used in this research include, fieldtrip, oral interview and photographs. These methods, helped in the analysis of the data collected from the observation and interviews during field work which were organised under specific headings for documentation.

Findings

Based on the study the following findings are advanced.

1. The Afizere cultural festival also known as Igoon–Izere, brings the various communities together to display their culture, to maintain peace, unity, and also to preserve the festival from extinction. Visitors from outside the communities also come to witness the Afizere
2. The roles played by the various groups that participate in the Afizere festival are: the chief custodian (chief priest) introduces the cultural festival, performers who are the dancers and masquerades that entertain the people at the festival and audience which constitute the villagers and visitors that witness the festival and add colour to the festival. The different categories of dancers that is, the male dance group, male lead dancer, male flutist, drummers, the young female dancers, and elderly women dancers.
3. There are different form and kinds of musical instruments such as twin-gong, horn, rattles, drums, and flutes, while costumes include; cross belt, singlet, hand ponytail, hand band, head band, fly belt, wrappers for women and short nickers for men, as well as a wooden tray with a gourd on top (to serve water to people who are thirsty) usually carried by an elderly Afizere
4. The study found out that, ritual sacrifice of fowl and goat to the ancestors for the festival of Afizere, have active participating categories which are the custodians, performers and audience. The groups consist specifically of the chief priest and his escorts, village heads, elders, youth, dancers, masquerades and the general populace for
5. The study also found out that, the traditional cultural festival of the Afizere, costumes and dance are influenced by the different ethnic groups surrounding them due to the change from traditional attires to western ones because of
6. The ajankai masqueradedancers are masquline, and they appear seasonally depending on the kind of roles in which they are to perform. The ajankai masquerade has several sounds like whispering pine. Afizere believes that the ajankai masquerade emerges from the spiritual world of the ancestors. Some of the functions of the ajankai masquerade include theatrical entertainment. The abage is a fierce masquerade than the ajankai, which is not allowed to come out in public. It only comes out during circumcision and puberty

Conclusion

In conclusion,contrary to western popular belief that Africans had no civilization, there were varieties of highly advanced civilizations. Slavery did some level of damage to some of the cultures of Africa. However, these original festivals were able to survive the brutality of such earlier scholars. One could say that as rich as the African culture is, the colonialists did not only robed Africa economically but also culturally. They wanted Africans to abandon their rich cultural heritage which include festivals, ceremonies, rites and dances,so as to embrace their own culture. In general terms, cultural festival has played an important role in individual relationship. Festivals started as religious celebrations and evolved into celebrations of a specific theme usually as repeated events in one specific time of the year or an agreed season in a community.

The Afizere Jarawaof Jos East Plateau State Nigeria,as other African societies,such as the Zulu people of South Africa and the Ashanti of Ghana,do participate in festivities throughout the year on the basis that, their ways of life was adapted to the rhythms of nature. These cultural festivals bring people together for social interaction and to have knowledge on the norms of the community. The circumcision ceremony,for instance, is a sign of membership in the society and among the age group who had under gone surgical removal of the foreskin of boys‟ male organ, the female excision. During puberty ceremony, boys are initiated into adult in the forest and are back for ceremony. Burial ceremony of elderly persons above ninety years of age that die, so also hunting, is only trained person who sacrifice their lives to go to the mountain for hunting.

The annual cultural festival for instance, usually ushers in a lot of activities such as group dancing, auguries verification, cultural display, drama, beauty contest, and many other activities at the event. Dance is a medium of communication and one of the expressive modes of culture in cultural festival. It expresses a way of life with its accepted values and exposes them to some spectacular dance steps with rhythm in dramatic form. In the Afizere communities, during these cultural festival, messages are communicated in various forms through songs that reflect of the society‟s happenings. Some songs are satirical in content, while others are praises of indigenes, who in some ways have contributed to the progress of the community.

The cultural festival procession is done in line from district to district. Therefore, each group is adorned with cultural costumes which are to some extent, rich and gorgeous. The dancers move in line in their colourful costumes which add a glow to the dance, and it is also very essential to wear the right costumes that best fit the dance steps.The Afizere as any ethnic group has a tradition, which is largely practiced among the people and the ethnic group that exists within Afizere with different art forms and activities during their cultural festival. They display their culture during the cultural festival occasions such as the circumcision, puberty, burial and hunting ceremony. The demonstration of the dance styles in various forms to also showcase to the young generation the importance of coming together. The practice of the cultural festival is the same with other part of African cultures that existed long ago. Most Nigeria cultures express their artistic activities during cultural festival organized by the diverse ethnic groups we have in the country. These cultural festival is an evidence that Nigeria does not only have the cultural festivals as historical document but are still celebrating them to kept the rich traditional heritage alive.

Recommendations

It is important for the Nigerian societyto be educated about the importance of their arts, particularly in the area of cultural festivals beyond seeing the cultural festivals as fetish and primitive. This study, “An Appraisal of cultural festival of Afizere(Jarawa) People of Plateau State”, has brought to the fore, possible areas of the festival which need cultural sustainance.For the Afizerecultural festival to remain competitive and sustainable based on the following recommendations aregiven;

1. The preservation methods of the Afizere cultural festival should be made to address the decay and dwindling nature of the indigenous technology used in the production of musical instruments and
2. The Afizere should promote the cultural heritage by encouraging the use of original songs, dance, costumes and instruments during the festival for sustainable development.
3. There should be further studies on the areas of costume and instrument used during the Afizere cultural festival such as tanning leather skin anddrum
4. The youths should be educated on their cultural heritage, and encouraged to document the historical events of the cultural festival.For that, the researcher is not advocating a return to the worship of theAfizere traditional religion, but thatthe festival,which brings all young and old within and in diaspora, should be encouraged.

Contributions to Knowledge

1. The study established that, traditional values associated with cultural festival are panacea to national
2. The study confirms that the formation of cultural groups, cutting across all age grades with practical demonstration and orientation, has maintained the values ofthe Afizere cultural

Notes

• Ada John Ishah (2015) is a member of the Maigemu community who explain more on the origin of the Afizere. Ada John is sixty-three years old. The interview by the Researcher was conducted in his resident, on the12/26/2015.
• Ada Bitrus Dabo, (2015) from Fursum community also added more light on the origin. He is sixty-five years, which the interviewed was done in John resident on the 12/26/2015.
• Ada John Ishah (2015) made more contribution on the origin same
• Ada Jonathan Izang (2016) from Katon Rikkos a kingmaker in the community with an age of sixty-seven years was interviewed on the 01/02/2016. Talks more on Afizere location and their
• Ada Gwong Ajik (2016) an old man from Lamingo, age seventy was also interviewed same dates 01/2/2016. The old man explain Afizere festival and ceremonies celebrated during this
• Ada Abashi Yakubu (2015) from Shere community age fifty-five years. An elder in the community who narrates the circumcision ceremony of the Afizere.11/17/2015
• Ada Bulus Enoch, (2015) fifty-six years, also added more on Abashi statement on the circumcision of the youngboys
• Ada Joseph Ajiji (2015) an elder in the community of Kyan Rikkos age sixty-five, explain puberty ceremony of Afizere, which marked the beginning of adulthood. 03/17/2015
• Ada Joseph Ajiji(2015), continue to elaborate more on the initiation of Afizere that same

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