Ine Festival of Issele-Uku
AN EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT
By Charles Nwam

Saturday, 29 September 2007 would have passed like any other day in the lives of so many Nigerians but it was not so to the indigenes of Issele-Uku; the local government headquarter of Aniocha-North in Delta State.

Issele-Uku located on the express road that leads from Benin-Agbor-Asaba, has a population of over half a million people and used to be a vibrant and strategic town of the ancient Benin Kingdom.

Over the years, the town has developed in size and population but most importantly has held on tenaciously to it’s culture and tradition, that today one of it’s annual traditional festival called the “INE” Festival is fast becoming not only a tourism attraction and destination, but also a home coming event for all the sons and daughters of Issele-Uku and it’s environs.

This annual INE Festival has become a vehicle for showcasing indigenous music, acrobatic dance displays and celebrating the unity of all the villages in the town. It is also being used as a platform to educate the people of the history and rich cultural heritage of the Isseles. Little wonder why the “INE” festival is fast becoming a tool for the promotion and encouragement of domestic tourism attraction for Delta State and the country in general.

The “INE” festival is a highly revered event among the indigenes of Issele-Uku and this year’s own was no exception. On that Saturday, as early as 9am the traditional ruler of the town, His Royal Majesty Obi Henry Ezeagwuna, a well built handsome and energetic young king in his middle forties, fired several gun shots into the air. This firing of gunshots signaled the end of the 7 days Iba-Nzu ceremony and the beginning of the much-expected “INE” festival.

As soon as the guns were fired into the air, all the other titled chiefs residing in different parts of the villages of the town automatically responded to the kings gunshots in their own ways, after which all roads led to the palace of the traditional ruler of the town, His Royal Majesty Obi Henry Ezeagwuna. The palace, which was full decorated in beautiful colors, had canopies for every titled chief of the town. The chiefs had arrived at the palace with their entourages, colourfully decorated with beads and ornaments, beating drums, dancing and rejoicing, awaiting the arrival of the king. Few minutes later, the king’s wives, both his own wives and the ones he inherited from his father, led by the king’s mother came out in a single file wearing white weaven cloth with a major artistic hairdo synonymous with the ancient Benin women.

All of them singing to a particular rhythm of a kind of music walked majestically to the venue of the festival and took their position awaiting the arrival of their husband - the king. After some hours of dancing and jubilation from all sides of the palace, with different drumbeats from different titled chiefs, the whole palace was heated up with different music from every chief’s canopy, each of them trying to out beat each other. Some of the younger chiefs were running and dancing from one side of the palace to the other while the older elderly chiefs who could not run around like the younger ones just remained in the canopies allowing the younger members of their entourage to do the dancing on their behalf.

All of a sudden several gunshots were fired into the air again and His Royal Majesty (HRM) Obi Henry Ezeagwuna, the Obi of Issele-Uku and the crowned head of Ezechima clan walked out majestically from his inner palace. Dressed in a maroon coloured cloth nitted with different types of beads that covered him from his neck to below his ankle with ornaments of different sizes and colours. He wore a royal crown designed like a long cap with two young men carrying his two staff of office called “Ada”.

As he stepped out of his palace, he walked straight to his father’s grave side, collected one of the Ada from one of the young boys, threw it into the air severally times caught the Ada in the air and danced to a special music supplied by a special group of young boys from a particular sect in the town. There was a tumultuous noise of jubilation from the crowd of people that had traveled from far and near to come and watch the king and the festival.

The king then did the royal dance to the admiration of all the titled chiefs of the town who had at this time retired to their canopies awaiting the king’s arrival. As His Royal Majesty took his seat the master of ceremony welcomed everybody to the occasion and announce the order in which the titled chiefs were suppose to dance to the king with their entourage to pay their annual homage in grand style to the high throne of H.R.M Obi Henry Ezeagwuna the obi of the Isseles and the head of the Ezechima clan. It was indeed a very colourful ceremony as all the titled chiefs trouped out to perform the “INA-AKA” ceremony in an order led by chief Steven Ashiedu, the Iyase of Issele-Uku followed by chief Okumabua, the Odogwu of the town who I gathered came in from United States of America to perform this feast. Closely followed was chief Osadebe Ijei & chief Ogwuluzeme Anene, the Uwulo and Omeifesuani of the town respectively.

Then came the turn of chief Ike Odoe a one time Director in Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja now the Oji-oba of Issele-Uku who also performed the “INA-AKA” ceremony in grand style. Another interesting chief that gave extra colour to the event is the Chief Abayomi Akinlaja, a Yoruba man from Oyo State who was given a chieftaincy title called the Okeosisi of Issele-Uku in recognition of his numerous contributions to the town when he served as a Divisional Police Officer in Issele-Uku so many years ago. He came there with his Yoruba folks dancing the Issele-Uku traditional music in their “Eko for show” way.

After the titled chiefs have had their turns, three other Ogbantu chiefs paid special tribute to His Royal Majesty in their own ways as the tradition demanded, after which the king retreated to his inner chambers for about 2 hours. During which time, he welcomed and entertained some special guests and granted interview to some journalists there present. The energetic king in a chat with NTA crew appealed to Delta State Governor Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan to strive and create employment especially for the youths to keep them away from evil, stressing that an idle mind (of a graduate) is the devil’s workshop. He also appealed to the governor to endeavour to provide an adequate environment and infrastructure that will enable our idle youths to be self-employed. He appealed to the Federal Government through the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation to assist in upgrading the “INE” festival in order to attract tourists and be included in the tourism calendar of Nigeria.

- Charles Nwam sent this piece from Abuja