SLC-S25/W2 | Community World Tour : Festivals & Celebrations

Ibibio Isongo
Iya
Akwa Ibom Isongo
Iya
Ibañ Ibibio ennó uyooooooooo
Ooooooooooooh
Annang Mma
Eyei Eyei, Eyei

The above are greetings in the Ibibio culture, usually used in a traditional festival or celebrations to appraise the Ibibio clan, Akwa Ibom, under the Ibibio clan and Annang as a subculture in the Ibibio clan. I'm a traditional man, and I've attended lots of traditional festivals and celebrations which have exposed me to certain unknown traditions. We have lots of celebrations in Ibibio culture, and a few of them are stated below.

• Crowning the village head

• Ekpo Festival

• Traditional Marriage

• Udia Ebene ye Unñoño nkpo

• Great Kernel Festival, etc.

These are a few of the traditional festivals and celebrations in my culture, of which I've attended 2 and watched 1.

I wasn't born and brought up in the village, but I know our culture and tradition, and I can speak our language fluently. This is my personal experience in two traditional celebrations I attended in two different villages. The first was in Nsit Atai, where a member of the Steemit platform went to pluck a flower from. A Traditional Marriageis a local form of marriage that happens when two parents get to celebrate the union of their children, traditionally, after meeting with the individuals involved and receiving traditional rites and dues as requested.

In English, this traditional dues is called bride price. Some may choose to go into a white wedding after doing the necessary consultations and paying of traditional rights, while others may choose to do it traditionally with the villagers from the bride and the groom's side. This is what Ubikool did, and I experienced a lot of traditional displays and rites performed.

It's your marriage day. Everyone is happy whenever they hear such an announcement because there are two things involved — Food and dance. It's such an enjoyable thing to do one's marriage traditionally, as some say it is less expensive than going the modern way. Before any traditional marriage is done, agreements must have been made, dues paid, traditional rites done and the like before the celebration. I witnessed Ubikool doing his traditional rites and paying off some local food items.

In traditional marriage, certification is done by the village council. After they were given the green light to plan their marriage, his family prepared a bouquet of food the night before so that they could present it to the groom's friends and relatives. The bride's family also did the same in her hometown, as the man must marry her from there before taking her anywhere he wants. On the D-Day, the groom travelled a long distance to the village of the bride for his marriage celebration to be held.

He had accomplices, which were his groomsmen. They dressed in a room and came out to the venue that was prepared. It's a custom that the groom must come out to meet his wife and not the wife first. I was there to take pictures with him in my own traditional attire. I journeyed all the way from Uyo to Nsit Atai with @ngoenyi to attend this wedding. So traditional songs were played for them to dance to. You need to see how @ubikool shook his waist. He turned round and greeted both families before settling with the master of ceremony.

Traditionally, the groom is to be tested for fitness before the bride comes out. This is to check if the groom is capable enough to perform his duties or has any disabilities. He was given a task to dance to a particular beat. If he danced well, his wife would be brought to him, but if he doesn't, his wife won't be brought out. Guess what? He nailed it.

Traditionally, the bride is to be brought out by a relative, and that was done. She danced gracefully and was given a task to do beforehand. It didn't end there; they were to perform a major traditional rite for blessings. The bride this time took a drink with her to her parents to show them the man she wants to marry. After approval and blessings by the parents with some words of advice to the groom, they accepted the union.

_{Meeting her parents}

The groom also did the same by taking his wife to meet his parents for blessings and advice. This is done with a drink. Their drinking the content means they have approved the union. Everyone was excited and happy that they were finally called husband and wife. Gifts were presented to the couple, and pictures were taken. Some words of advice were given to both of them before the marriage ended. If you check the video below, you'll see me and @alli001 dance in grand style, with so much happiness. I shook the hell out of my waist.

Bride's Family	Groom's Family

Traditional marriages are important celebrations in the local village. If for anything, we turn up in our numbers, and traditional attires must be worn to signify the event done. ** Local food produce is usually shared and donated in this tradition, and traditional songs are played as well. In most cases, people hire traditional dancers to dance at the event to make everything look colourful. All these were what I experienced during the traditional marriage of this Steemian, which is a local celebration. The video shows our dance steps.

_{Screenshot of my dance from the video}

During the traditional marriage celebration, the following are presented to the bride's family by the groom's family since the groom's family is marrying from the bride's family. That's the tradition. It's a must that the following drinks must be in place for presentation that day**. Without these gifts for presentation, the rite isn't complete.

• Ufofop and hot drinks

• Champagne

• Clothes and a few others.

In my village, we don't drain the groom's family of their money because they want to marry our daughter. We are considerate and allow for open relationships and peace, free from extortion. The following are some customs that are traditionally made before a traditional marriage celebration holds, and this is the significance.

• Introduction: The groom's family is expected to formally introduce themselves to the bride's family in their own village since they are marrying from the bride's family clan. The significance of this procedure is that it shows respect, commitment and interest in the union that is to be bonded. Even though the bride's village is as far as flying in a plane, you must visit her family with your family if you want to marry her.

• Marrying an Adiaha or first daughter means extra responsibility on the part of the groom, as you'll have to buy a couple of goats, as we don't joke with our first daughters. The list is always long compared to that of the second daughter. The significance is that this first daughter tends to be the head of the family, and now that she's gone, responsibilities are channelled to others. Everything was spent on making the first daughter become who she is. In some cultures, you'll pay all that was spent on her.

• Collecting a bride price list and payment. This is where the agreement comes in to show that you really want to marry. It's called consultation. You pay off the bride price before you are given access to take the daughter from the village. Failure to do so means no marriage. Livestock, drinks, money, clothes, wrappers and food produce are usually sampled on the list.

• Family meetings and the like are necessary to show acceptance between both families and to bond them together. This is necessary for peace and unity to prevail between both families.

If you're planning to marry traditionally or untraditionally, you must be prepared to do the above.

This celebration was held in Edot, Nsit Atai Local Government Area, in the family compound of Mr Muffat. This is the location on Steem Atlas and Google Maps.

TYPE LESS SMILE MORE

Mbufo eya edioño ata owo iden Ibibio ke nna enye añyehge isiñ ye nna enye atagha ukod ke more.

You know a certified Ibibio traditional man by the way he shakes his waist and moves his legs in a dance.

Such a beautiful way to end this personal experience on traditional celebrations, as I'm that traditional man that's certified. Check out if I shook my waist and moved my legs well in the video below. Culture is the totality of the way of life of the people. What is your way of life? I invite @genomil, @sualeha and @sahmie to join this challenge.