Oghu (pronounced: oh woo) is the king of our town's traditional/cultural festivals. It is generally celebrated between the months of June, July and August. By the end of June all planting has been completed and the first rounds of weeding of grass from the farms has also been done. Then the villages begin preparation for the great Oghu day. One fortnight before its Oghu day, each Village celebrates a mini occasion welcoming the season. This is done at the home of an Oghu Chief called "Onye Isi Oghu".
There may be four or five Oghu chiefs in a village, depending on the number and arrangments of kindred groups in the village. This means that there will be a short ceremony at the home of each chief. Early in the morning of the proclaimed day, a few local Oghu dancers and singers gather at the home of the chief and perform for about one hour. This abbreviated ceremony is call "Ito Nkwa".
After this performance, the oghu season has officially started and all music which are not Oghu songs are banned till the season is over in August. Church or religious songs are exempted from this ban. Any one who breaks the rule may be subject to severe penalty which may include a fine of a huge goat. From the standpoint of local income and economic conditions, this is a severe penalty.
For Umuaka as a whole the oghu dance is not performed in one day. In fact, the villages are arranged in groups of two or three. Villages which are in the same group celebrate Oghu on the same day. This arrangement permits people from the rest of the town to attend the performance of other villages, or for friends to invite, accommodate, and entertain other friends for one or two days. That is the spirit of Umuaka and the significance of Oghu festival - a special period for sharing and spreading goodwill.
The Oghu Dance
By the evening preseding the Oghu day, the village squares where the dance takes place have become spotlessly clean. Between five and six in the morning, the oghu town crier - called "Nwa Ohu Uzo" has crisss-crassed the village chanting an Oghu song. No one sees Nwa Ohu Uzo. Breaking this rule carries a penalty and the penalty is especially heavy for females.
By seven o'clock, the drums and wooden gongs are already playing, summoning the village to the dance areanas. The special Oghu dancers take their places and the crowd stands behind them. The music from the various dance instruments delivers special messages and the dancers perform according to the tune while adding color and charm with their individual skills. Oghu Umuele is very popular. Dancers from this villages seem to have perfected the art and skills of the Oghu dance. They are majestic in their footwork, body movement, and songs (abu oghu).
The dancers wear a special loose attire with different colors. Their faces are not always completely revealed but there is no difficulty identifying a particular dancer. To participate in the dance one must be a male and must have been initiated by one's family. Proper initiation rites involve an invitation of oghu priests who are presented with special foods, wine and money. The child who is being initiated is then ushered in to dance before the high priests and other spectators. This winds him the rite to dance at Oghu festivals and to grett the community from the dance floor. Males who are not properly initiated are not allowed to dance or to step into the dance floor. Doing so will involve a severe penalty. Females play only the role of spectators in the oghu dance. But there is always a female representative called "Ada Echere", meening the awaited daughter. Generallyh, her role is ceremonial. She rarely dances to the music, but walks into the dance floor to shake hands with dancers and drummers and to offer monetary gifts as part of her job.
The dance goors on till about eleven o'clock. By this time powerful masquerades (Egu Udo) are beginning to emerge. Their appearance signifies the end of drumming and dancing. They may enter the dance floor and the drummers play a special tune that is meant and reserved for them. A careful observer at this point will notice young girls are beninning to flee for dear life.
The masquerades usually carry cames with which they jokingly scare young unmarried girls. young girls who are unable to outrun the masquerades often cling onto men or married women for protection. Once a girl clings unto a man or a married woman for protection, the masquerade should leave her alone. Apart from Egu Udo, there are two other masquerades namely, Nwa Okwa Mkpuru and Nwa Onye Ure. They alwasys go together and perform together. Nwa Ojwa is usually ugly and harsh while Nwa Onye Ure is very gentle, polite and dances gracefully. Once the Oghu dance has been performed by each village, Nwa Onye Ure dancers organize and visit families of their choice. During each performance, they receive different types of gift. These performances are repeated frequently, especially on "Eke Market Days", until the second week of August when the Oghu festival is officially over.
