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POPULAR NIGERIAN FESTIVALS

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Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country is greatly endowed in terms of cultures. With a population of over a hundred million people, it has several ethnic cultures and festivals. Quite a number of these are organized at an ethnic level. A few however, are or­ganized or funded by government at various levels. These government organized festivals are better organized and certainly get better publicity. They also attract greater audiences. Worth mentioning in the various festivals include:

 

Arugungu fishing festival – a fo   ur day festival organized annu­ally in Nigeria’s North Western Kebbi State. It derives its name from the town, which is host to the festival. It was started in 1934 to mark the end of hostilities between old traditional rivals: the Sokoto Caliphate and Kebbi Kingdom.

 

 

 

EYO FESTIVAL

Eyo festival – held in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve center. It is said to be a prelude to the famous Brazilian carnival. During the festival, Eyo masquerades come out to perform and individ­uals who come to watch are prohibited from wearing hats.

 

 

 

YAM FESTIVAL

Yam festivals – these are also popular in Ghana. They are held in various communities across the country. They vary in size and significance from place to place. They signify the harvest of yams. And in certain communities, it is a taboo to consume yams-a local staple-before the festival. The popular yam festi­vals are held in the south eastern Nigerian states of Cross River, Enugu. During the period, yams are first sacrificed to local deities as thanksgiving before people can consume them.

 

OSUN FESTIVAL

EMIDIVOsun festival – held in Nigeria’s South Western Osun State. It is a festival in honor of Oshun, the river goddess, an important Yoruba deity. Usually a week long, sacrifices are offered to the deity for protection and is watched by thousands of tourists.

 

 

 

 

DABUR FESTIVAL

Various Durbars held in Northern Nige­rian cities like Kano, Katsina, Zaria, etc. during the various Muslim festivals. It is a traditional horse riding ceremony which entails paying homage to traditional Emirs. In ancient times, durbars are organized to enable potential recruits in the military to show their horse riding skills.

 

 

 

Christmas lighting – organized throughout December of every in all States of Nigeria. It usually starts from end of November to mark the begin­ning of the Christmas season. It includes showcasing several plays, songs and oth­er events climaxing in fireworks to usher in Christmas celebrations.

Calabar carnival- tagged as Africa’s larg­est street party. It’s held on December 27th every year in Calabar, the serene capital of Nigeria’s Cross River State. The carni- val-probably Nigertia’s biggest-attracts tourists from all over the world. It is fash­ioned after the Brazilian carnival. It sports street dancing and displays by fancifully costumed performers, showcasing up to 50,000 performers. It highlights a month end celebration of the Christmas season.

Abuja festival- organized annually in the nation’s capital. It showcases cultur­al troops from the various communities around the country. Usually a week long, it also attracts tourists from all over the world as they watch beautiful and rich cultural displays from across the country. It is an opportunity to see the whole of Nigeria in one place.

 

EGGON FESTIVAL

Eggon Carnival – organized bEMIDIVy the cul­turally rich Eggon people of North Central Nigeria. It’s held during the Easter cele­brations. It showcases one of the richest and oldest cultural traditions in the country. Various wonderful cultural displays includ­ing artifacts of the proud Eggon people. Visitors from across the world come to be a part of the annua major international event.

This Post Has 31 Comments

  1. Thankfulness to my father who stated to me regarding this webpage, this weblog is really remarkable.

  2. Audrey

    These are so fascinating. Thank you for sharing all about popular festivals in Nigeria.

  3. Very interesting to hear about festivals and celebrations in another country! I would love to experience one of these one day!

  4. Nkem

    I’ve been to Nigeria several times, but only during Xmas season, so I’d love to visit some of these festivals throughout my life.

  5. Cultures and traditions are the most beautiful thing that exist, they really allow you to enter the mood and characteristics of a people and therefore learn new things through differences.

  6. I have to admit, I don’t know much about Nigeria. I always love reading your posts and learning more about different areas and people. How is the Coronavirus situation down there? Will you still be able to have some of the festivals you normally do?

  7. I know so little about Nigeria. It is awesome to see such a strong culture in these festivals. And I love that there is a Christmas one–I intend to look more into it to see what it is like compared to the rest of the world.

  8. ashley

    These festivals look amazing! Would love to visit Nigeria one day.

  9. I had no idea about all these! Great info!

  10. the Eggon festival sounds like a great experience. I would love to visit Nigeria one day.

  11. Wow! I haven’t heard of these festivals till now. I hope to experience it.

  12. Steven Morrissette

    All those festivals look super cool. I like to learn from different culture and I find that festivals are a great way of learning.

  13. katrina Kroeplin

    all of that looks amazing. i love to fins out about different cultures.

  14. Kristine Nicole Alessandra

    It would be so nice to witness these festivals. My dad used to take us to witness some local festivals and they were so memorable. My favorite is the flower festival in Baguio City, Philippines. Someday, when I get to visit Nigeria, I would want to see and experience your festivals too.

    1. That you be nice. Knowing other people’s culture help a lot with knowledge-ability and diversity

  15. Never heard of them until now but all those festivals sounds amazing and interesting as well. I love learning more about people’s culture and tradition.

  16. Monidipa

    All the nigerian festivals look awesome. Although never heard of them but they look enjoyable!

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