Ch.+5b+Festivals

=Igbo Festivals=

By Danielle Green, Ch 5b, pg 36-45 (Things Fall Apart)

(Argungu Fishing Festival in Nigeria) (Yam Festival in Nigeria)

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v The Yam Festival also called the “Homowo” or “The Hoot at Hunger”, is celebrated in all of Nigeria v The Yam is one of the most abundant foods in the area. v They honor the earth god, Ala, and the yam god, Ihejioku. v The Yam festival is held at the end of the rainy season in August v They offer the yams to the gods, to give thanks to them v The Argungu Fishing Festival is when a competition is held amongst over 1,000 fishermen v The men fish on the Sokoto River, which is not open for fishing so that there are many fish for the festival. v Now, many more activities are held other than just fishing. v Some of the other activities are swimming, diving, wrestling, and arts and crafts. v The “Mmanwu” Festival, mmanwu meaning masquerade v Each costume is supposed to represent a spirit v The Oshun Festival, which celebrates the Yoruba water spirit of marriage, love and gold. v Offerings to the spirit are given during the festival. v The Igue Festival, which is the oldest cultural festival and the most anticipated. v “It is celebrated to mark the end of the Benin yearend to offer prayers for peace and prosperity in the new year”

[|Learn More!] "Nigeria: Festivals and Cultural Tours from Africa Travel Magazine." //Africa Travel Association (ATA) – The Leader of African Travel & Tourism//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. . "Yam Festival." //A Multicultural Thanksgiving at FamilyCulture.com//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. <http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/yamfestival.htm>. "Yam Festival in Ghana and Nigeria." //Vivienne Mackie's Homepage//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. <http://www.vivienne-mackie.com/articles/holidays/family/yam.html>. "YouTube - ICAM Celebrating Iwa-ji (New Yam) festival 2005 - Women Dance." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// Web. 06 Nov. 2009. [].

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[] Checked by JGD, YK, JG