Written by DOM EKPUNOBI, Onitsha
In the past, it was unusual to observe the Nwafor Ogidi, the annual festival of the Ogidi community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State without tales of violence, maiming or even death.
The festival is the largest celebration in Ogidi and the community regards it more than Christmas, New Year and Easter festivals. It is usually observed by Christians and non-Christians in Ogidi and beyond.
However, the festival is largely pagan-related, though people of other religious groups participate fully in it to the extent that Ogidi natives resident within and outside Anambra State fix their annual leave within the festival period in order to be involved or to observe the festival.
The Nwafor Festival usually takes place on the first Friday that falls on the local market day of Afor every year and it lasts for three days, that is, Friday Afor to Sunday of the festival week.
This year, the festival started on Friday July 3, and lasted till Sunday July 5.
Some of the peculiar features of the age-long festival were exchange of visits, merriment, exchange of gifts and masquerading by young men, irrespective of their religion.
An old man in the area told Oriental News that when it comes to Nwafor Festival, everything about religious inclination was put aside as everybody was fully involved.
In the past, some ugly stories were normally associated with the festival especially in relation to the masquerades, where some unbridled young men use machetes and other dangerous weapons to fight themselves.
This year, as preparation for the festival was going on, the President-General of the town's union, elders and other stakeholder were apprehensive, anticipating crisis of diverse magnitude and thus began on time to put down plans to stem such unpleasant actions.
The leaders took proactive measures to ensure that all those who would participate in the masquerading were guided to abide by the rules stipulated by the community to ensure a violent-free festival.
The leaders also directed that non-natives in Ogidi should not participate in the masquerading to enable the elders monitor movement and activities of the masquerades.
Other security arrangements made was that on the day of the masquerading proper, the elders dressed in their white attire should patrol the roads with a view to discovering masquerades and persons who might go out of the way to constitute nuisance to other people.
In the same vein, the Divisional Police Officer for Ogidi, Mr Hassan Musa and his men drove around to monitor events while the vigilante group from Idemili North and South commander, Mr Arthur Ilongwu and his men complemented their effort by deploying their men to flash points within Ogidi.
Even the Chief Priest of Ogidi community's Inwele Shrine, Chief Felix Agbata and the legal adviser, Barr. Pat Agbata had earlier called on all and sundry to do everything possible to conduct themselves peacefully in other to have a peaceful celebration.
Tracing the history of the Nwafor Festival which makes waves across the South-East geo-political zone, the Chief Priest of Nwafor Festival, Chief Felix Obika noted that in the last century, Amokwe the only daughter of Inwele, Ogidi's progenitor requested that she be remembered with the Nwafor Festival.
It was told that while Amokwe lived she played significant role in Ogidi by keeping for the community the arms and ammunition after Ogidi came back from wars.
She was, however, said to have been forgotten after her death because she did not marry and had no child of her own.
According to stories, one day, Amokwe who possibly was unhappy because she was forgotten appeared to Ogidi and requested that Nwafor be celebrated in her honour during planting season and the community has kept faith to that request till today.
The Chief Priest of Nwafor, Chief Obika also narrated the story of one famous convict in Ogidi – Okeleke Anakwudo – who was serving a prison term somewhere and when it was time for Nwafor Festival, he miraculously escaped from prison and came down to Ogidi for the celebration only to go back and presented himself to prison officials after the festival to continue his prison term.
He said that the authorities reviewed his humanity and discharged him and he then returned back to Ogidi a free man.
Male children from10 years and above always wait patiently for the Nwafor Festival week as the Oye day within the festival week provides them an opportunity for being initiated into manhood and to qualify for initiation into the masquerade group of the town.
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