The Ugie Ivie Festival of Beads of Benin
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
The researcher intends to undertake:
A detailed study on the role and place of Ugie ivie coral bead in defining the socio-cultural, symbolism and religious meanings among Benin people.
A probe into the various Ugie coral beads ceremonies of the Royal court of Benin, to educate people that the Igue is not celebrated without the other Ugie ceremonies. And also to educate people and the society on how the Ugie in the Royal court is celebrated.
Documentation of the various Ugie festival ceremonies in Benin kingdom Edo State, Nigeria, thereby contributing to the growing knowledge of festivals in Nigeria, Africa and the world.
CHAPTER TWO
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
THE BENIN ROYAL PALACE AND THE SOCIETIES (CULTS)
The essence of this study is an exposition of the royal Ugie ceremonies of the Oba of Benin. To lay a solid foundation for the task to be accomplished it is imperative to give an exhaustive analytical overview of the social-political structure of the royal palace (Eguae) with respect to the societies/cults (Otu) that participate during the observance of the royal Ugie ceremonies.
The kingdom of Benin at present stretches across seven Local Government Areas of Edo State, Nigeria. These are Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba–Okha, Orhionmwon, Uhunmwode, Ovia South West, and Ovia North East Local Government Areas. It is located in the forest region. The ancestral seat of this vast kingdom is Benin City. Right in the very heart of this ancient city of Benin is the Eguae Oba N’ Edo (Benin Royal palace). Eguae is the Benin name for Royal Palace, the official abode or residence of the Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba of Benin kingdom.
The Oba’s palace (Eguae) is bound on the North by Adesogbe, on the South Ogbe Ezoti, on the East by Ogbe N Alaka and on the West by airport roads. The Eguae (Royal Palace) was moved to the present site by Oba Ewedo in about 1255 A.D. Before then, the palace had been variously located at Ugbekun, Uhunmwun–Idurimwum and Usama communities respectively from where it was moved to the present location.
The Eguae Oba N’ Edo (Royal palace) contains several Ugha (chambers), halls and location where different royal Ugie ceremonies take place.
UGHA WITHOUT SOCIETY OR CULT ENTRANCE INHIBITION
Ugha denotes rooms or chambers within the royal palace in Benin kingdom. At the moment, there are some Ugha and locations within the Eguae–Oba (royal palace) without society or cult entrance inhibition. They consist of the following areas: palace wall, Ugha–Erhoba, Ugha–Ozo–Lua, Ugha–Ehengbudu,_ Iwowa, Okegbudu, Urho–Ike and Urhokperre.
- Palace walls: These are made up of mud and brick wall fences around the royal The walls extend through Adesogbe, Alaka, Ezoti and Airport road, beginning from the Obas quarter.
- Ugha–Erhoba: The Ugha–Erhoba is situated on the Alaka–Adesogbe axis of the The Ugha–Erhoba is the ‘temple’ or room housing the reigning Oba’s departed predecessor ancestors’ important objects. After the death of an Oba, the new Oba within three years of his accession to the throne must assign craftsmen to fashion out a statue of his predecessor, as well as other paraphernalia. Such as staffs and effigies (Ukhure and Ilao) to be used in recounting the predecessor’s life history were placed on the altar erected to his memory.
- Ugha–Ozolua: The Ugha–Ozolua is an open space within the royal palace where several social and traditional ceremonies take place. One notable feature of the Ugha– Ozolua is the Aro–Ozolua; alter of Oba Ozolua, a great warrior Oba who reigned when the Portuguese first visited Benin.
- Ugha–Ehengbuda: This is another open space within the royal palace where some Ugie ceremonies are held. The Ugha–Ehengbuda is in memory of Oba Ehengbuda who reigned about 1578 A.D. and was reputed for his magical works.
- Iwowa: Has been described as the treasure house of arts. According to Agboaen- Eghafona and Ikechukwu (2004:4) the importance of Iwowa resides in the fact that it was no longer regarded as a collection of objects for religious purposes, but as a treasure In this regard, high ranking chiefs in pre-colonial Britain had their own Iwowa. Some of the objects in the Iwowa were items decongested from the long- standing collections that were used for ancestral worship but kept in other places. Some Ugie festival ceremonies take place in the Iwowa.
- Okegbudu: Okegbudu is a large space by the entrance to the main palace building. In this place, the Oba performs traditional and social functions.
- Urho–Ike: This is a location where the lame porters guarding the Erie (abode of the royal wives or queen) Some Ugie ceremonies also take place here.
- Urhokperre: This is the main gate into the entrance and exit of the Benin Royal Apart from this primary function, many important Ugie ceremonies take place at Urhokperre. The Urhokperre is located near the present Unity Bank plc. In addition to Urhokperre, there is another entrance and exit gate of the palace. The gate is located opposite the Oredo Local Government works department.
CHAPTER THREE
UGIE IN THE ROYAL COURT
Through the ages, man has recorded his personal life experiences and sojourns in drawings, paintings, artefacts, sculptures, weaving, drama, music, songs, festivals and other forms of art. These expressions form part and parcel of the cultural heritage of mankind, and in many ways help to articulate human history, norms, customs and way of life.
To the Edo society, festivals constitute an essential appendage to their accomplishments. These festivals are usually celebrated with music and dance, which provide entertainment throughout the period of the celebrations. Apart from their entertainment value, festivals provide an opportunity for the memories of our forebears to re-assert themselves in the consciousness of the people, with the hope of leaving the world a better place. Festivals also form a part of the heritage of humankind and have traditionally been passed on for posterity. These festivals constantly remind people of their past which is usually compared with the present so as to ascertain whether communities are progressing or not and to document other dynamic changes. Furthermore, festivals enable celebrating communities to devise programmes to improve the areas in their culture where these has been neglected.
The main focus of this study is on the royal Ugie (festival) of the Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba of the Benin kingdom. There are cycles of Ugie rituals held periodically within the confines of the Benin royal palace. Some of these ceremonies are of a private nature, while others are public. During these Ugie ceremonies, the palace is always the centre of ritual activities aimed at the well-being and prosperity of the Omo N’ Oba and the Edo people.
In this work some Ugie ceremonies are analysed. This study presents the celebration of each event in the sequential order of its occurrence. It is relevant to note that most of the annual royal Ugie ceremonies occur in the month of December; however, there are a few that take place in other months. This study focuses on three of the most relevant Omo N’ Oba’s Ugie ceremonies held in December.
Otue Ugie-Erhoba
The Otue Ugie–Erhoba precedes the other royal Ugie ceremonies. The chiefs accompanied by their individual dance groups dance to the palace to pay homage to “Umogun” (the Oba, who dresses in his full traditional regalia of beads) and pray for his longevity on the throne. This event is usually a spectacle to behold as chiefs in their complete ceremonial robes (white robes from the waist down with bare chests, and beads around the neck and hands), according to the hierarchy in the palace, display their artistic prowess to the admiration of all.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE EWINI MUSIC
Royalty in Benin traditional society is accorded inestimable prominence; therefore every community in the Benin culture enjoys being identified with such a celebrity-oriented establishment. This chapter unravels the suitability and functionality of the Ewini as a type of royal music genre in the Ugie festival, taking into consideration its (i) socio-cultural context,
(ii) formational procedure, (iii) instrumentation, (iv) organisational set-up and (v) analysis of Ewini music in the various royal Ugie festivals. This will go a long way to support the fact that Benin’s or rather Africans do not simply make music for the sake of music but their music is culturally and philosophically imbued.
Nwamara (2006), states that before a person can understand the music of a particular people, he or she must fully understand the culture of the people and the relationship of the music to that culture. Similarly, Ewini music can only be understood if aptly viewed from the point of cultural peculiarities of the Benin people as divorced from the polarity of opinions enmeshed in the cultural diversity of African societies. The usefulness of any Benin traditional music is highly dependent upon its functionality and suitability. Ewini is the kind of music typology that has stood the test of time in royal affairs in Benin kingdom. The genre has a lot to say about the culture of its owners as Oguno (2006) rightly stated that “the traditional music of a people is to a great extent, a mirror of their culture”.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSIONS
It is well known that Ugie ceremonies or festivals are recognised as an essential part of the Benin people’s culture. These ceremonies are the bastion of Benin tradition and the basis of peoples’ self-expression. The different royal Ugie ceremonies serve as a rallying point by which the people are identified as an entity. To this end, one can say that Ugie festivals have survived the test of time despite modernization encroaching on some aspects of the sociocultural life of the people.
Apart from the entertainment value, and the fact that they provide an avenue for reminiscing about their forebears, these Ugie ceremonies also reveal some deep-rooted and salient elements with deep unavoidable theatrical implications. Hence, these elements are gems of good music and are important in Benin culture.
Furthermore, an analytical appraisal of these Benin royal Ugie festivals show that apart from serving as an occasion for religious worship, the celebrants use the different Ugie rituals, music, dance and mime to solve practical problems through a rapport with the forces that control them.
Ugie festivals are experiences with inherent theatrical efficacy. In these ceremonies, there are some imperatives, which might be useful in planning a new musical order based entirely on the local way of life. Along this line, most Nigerian music practitioners are gradually acknowledging the existence of the art of festivals as a total representation of Nigerian culture. An in-depth study of Ugie festivals exposes the fact that like theatre, festivals are also reminiscent of the Edo peoples’ past, and as such they challenge people to look critically at their situation in order to change their ways where required.
A careful observation of these Ugie ceremonies reveals a glaring similarity between them and other musical forms. They have the following elements: musical performance (events), performers (participants), and an audience. Therefore, the issue now is how do we improve on the state of traditional festival music, looking at the different Benin royal Ugie ceremonies?
RECOMMENDATIONS
In realising the quest for an improved musical form based on the Nigerian local way of life, firstly, one would boldly suggest that there should be a radical departure from the known to the unknown. The Ugie festivals music content which is the ‘known’ element should yield its musical materials which could then be incorporated into a process of unravelling the unknown within the traditional music setting.
As stated, Ugie ceremonies are full of songs, music and dance. For example, a study of Ugie- Erhoba and Ugie Igue-Oba, the two ceremonies that use local indigenous instruments and materials, such as drums and gongs, could enhance indigenous music practice. In this connection, the incorporation of the forms of these Ugie ceremonies would not only enhance musical production, it will greatly enrich the African music theatre with music and dance which is inherent in virtually all the Benin royal festivals.
Secondly, it is necessary to take that which is available from the previous generation and to pass it on to the present generation in order to preserve it for the future. Undoubtedly, these Ugie festivals represent the passing generation, while the documentation of these festivals represents the present which through re-enactment is preserved for the future generation.
Consequently, this can only be achieved through a systematic integration of the forms of these ceremonies into the African music theatre. Some of the important lessons include the skill and order of making musical instruments, learning how to play them, development of costume and decor, preservation of history through oral narratives, exploration of the power of music in heightening cultural activities, creating fancy and ectasy.
Thirdly, the people need to be acquainted with their cultural environment as a first step towards teaching them about their cultural heritage, through participation in Ugie ceremonies or festivals. In this light, Bascom and Herskovits in Akpabot (1975:3) are of the opinion that, “culture involves not only the institutions that frames man’s reaction to fellow members of his society but also the extra-institutional aspects of human behaviour, including language, relation between language and behaviour, between personality and culture, and the system of values that gives meaning to the accepted modes of behaviour of a people”.
Fourthly, there is a need for music scholars and music practitioners to continually tap from the immense knowledge of locally trained musicians, choreographers and several guilds who through hereditary involvement now posses knowledge in traditional cultural norms.
Fifthly, music practitioners should familiarise themselves with the local language, knowing fully that the language medium of communication is a fundamental and essential tool to music scholars and practitioners. For example, all the songs and the incantations during any of the Benin royal Ugie festivals are rendered in the indigenous Benin dialect or language. Therefore, an understanding of the language of communication is a necessity.
Finally, the author would like to state that this dissertation topic has a direct relationship between the development of human powers, body, mind, spiritual being and training on the one hand; and, experiences and other forms such as art, beliefs and social institutions, on the other hand, which form part of the Edo society and race. Therefore it is imperative for the writer to recommend that these Ugie festival ceremonies be continued not only for their intrinsic value, but also for their fulfilment of peoples’ self-expression, which create in them an enthusiasm for life.
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