The Ikeji festival is an annual four-day festival held by the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

Arondizuogu Arondizuogu (Aro-ndizuogu) is a town inhabited by the Igbo subgroup, the Aro people in the Imo State of Nigeria. The Arondizuogu community is believed to have migrated from Arochukwu in the present Abia State, to their current settlements in across ...

, in

Imo state Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, between the months of March and April to celebrate the harvest of new yams and the Igbo culture. The inception of the Ikeji festival dates back five centuries and is an Igbo festival which unites all Igbo race across the globe as they return to the south-eastern regions of Nigeria to witness and partake in the festival. The festival is marked with the display of numerous masquerades dancing around the villages, music, and practice of the Igbo traditional religion.

History

There are two theories as to the history of the Ikeji festival but the generally accepted theory propounded by the people of Arondizuogu claimed the first Ikeji festival took place in the 16th century and its purpose then was to solely appreciate the gods of the land for providing them with a bountiful harvest of new yams.

Economic significance

The Ikeji festival serves as a source of revenue for Nigeria through tourism as foreigners as well all the Igbos in diaspora travel back to Arondizuogu to witness the festival.

Ito-Ebule

The Ikeji festival is marked by various activities; the most popular is a competition named ''Ito-Ebule'', which translates to “Untying of the ram”. It is the most anticipated activity and is held on the last day of the Ikeji festival. The Ito-Ebule is characterized by the display of occult powers by various self-proclaimed sorcerers who have come from all regions to willingly partake in the Ito-Ebule competition. During the Ito-Ebule competition, a ram is tied to a tree and sorcerers who have entered the competition are asked to go and untie the ram. According to the tradition of Arondizuogu, only the most powerful sorcerer amongst them all could successfully untie the ram. Coincidentally, the most successful sorcerer, who had won the Ito-Ebule contests numerous times by successfully untying the ram annually, was the traditional prime minister of Arondizuogu named

Pericoma Okoye Chief Pericoma Mezuo Okoye (born 1948) was a Nigerian singer, songwriter and traditionist. His first name 'Pericoma' could alternatively be spelled as 'Pericomo' 'Perry-Coma' and 'Perry-Koma'. He was predominantly known throughout the Igboland ...

In media

The Ikeji festival is shown in a Nigerian

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

movie titled ''Lion of Africa''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeji festival Festivals in Nigeria March events April events Igbo calendar Yam festivals