Iguaro Nando and its stimulating cultural fiesta

 ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – The cultural festival of   ‘Iguaro’ Nando in Anambra East Local Government Area held  last week is an annual ritual of the Igbo renaissance and their rich cultural values.

 The Iguaro festival  is one of the most colorful festival celebrated in Nando community because it has a prime position in the life of the people due to its economic importance.

The oracles and prophetic utterances, which are key features of the festival are reputed for their positive bearing on  the progress and development of the community.

 The  ‘Iguaro’ is the ritual proclamation of Igbo lunar calendar  performed yearly by the people of Nnado and has been there for  hundreds of   years as the founder of Igbo days of “Eke, Oye, Afo and Nkwo.

 It is  a sort of annual prayers for the progress of  the  community at the beginning of the farming season. It is one of the Igbo cultural festival  that has refused to go extinct despite the advent of Christianity in the area. This  wonderful festival came alive last week when the entire people of Nando and Ikem  marked their first ‘Iguaro onwange’ in the year, announcing the beginning of the farming session.

During the period,  chief priests are expected to visit  all the  deities asking for protection, bumper harvest , prosperity and unity of the people within the year.  It is a time to appease the gods of the land to enable the people farm peaceful with expectations of good harvest.

 The ‘Iguaro Nando, which is the counting of Igbo lunar calendar, starts with Iguaro’ onwange, first month of the year in Nando calendar and it normally comes up in May  every year, usually to usher in the farming session in the community. Without the Iguaro, onwange,no body enters his farm for cultivation of  crops.

 Before the festival  which attracts the people of the community from home and abroad, the five deities in the community are consulted for blessings upon the people. The deities are Ezedu, in Akato Ikem, Omalagba in Dagama in Ikem,Iyi -Eri  in Isi Iyi , Iyi ojie  Obaruisioye  Nnado and Iyi Obaruisioye, Obaruisioye in Nnado.

To herald the announcement of  new month, the  chief priest  of Iyi ojie deity, Igwe  Onukwube Udemezue  will first  pass a  proclamation by making public announcement before other priests will make their announcements for the celebration. Igwe Onukwube Udemezue despite being the first to announce the festival  will be the last  to  celebrate it and after his celebration, the  festival comes to an end .

It is celebrated in different Igbo market days, Eke, Oye, Afo and Nkwo,which  climaxed on Nkwo market day. Before the commencement of the festival, the chief priests will will visit their deities and the town square and pray for the fruitfulness of the land in preparation for the farming  season.

Speaking to our correspondent, the chief priest of  Iyi Ojie Ubarunisioye, Igwe Onukwube Udemezue said that the celebration is  not ocultic, but purely a religious activities in Nnado community for progress and development.

 “There is nothing festish in the Iguaro, it is simply our method of counting our lunar moon. We started our year with this celebration and after this festival our people are good to go to farming and without this celebration, nobody goes to farm. During this period,we pray to God for prosperity ,peace and unity of the people”, he said.

According to him,the festival is just to mark the new lunar month in Nnado calendar and it is called onwa nge,the first month of year to begin farming activities and economic activities.  He said, it normally takes four Igbo market days  Eke, Oye, Afo and Nkwo to conclude the ceremony and immediately after that people move into farm and others activities for the year.

 According to him, during the festival prayers are said for the good of the people and the prayers are to appeal to God Almighty to watch over His people through out the farming season with hope of great harvest.

” We also offer  prayers to  the  gods of land for  fruitfulness and the almighty God who is the beginning and the end. We also offer prayers to be fruitful in child bearing and it has been effective over the years. We don’t kill people and we don’t encourage evil in our tradition. Any person with evil intention cannot come out  here to celebrate with us because  if he does the gods of the land will go after him. We are not  native doctors,we are  simply traditionalists,we are not involve in evil activity” he said.

He has served for 11 years in Iyi Ojie Ubarunisioye in Nnado as the chief priest and he explained that the purpose is to safeguard the land from evil and work towards the progress of the people.

” During this period we commune with our God for protection and guidance and we have been having result over the years. After this celebration, you will start to see good things happening to the community . I am encouraging the others Igbo communities to think inwards about their culture and values, there is nothing criminal or wrong in tradition, even the Jew where we copied,  Christians have their tradition and they are still observing them” he said.

Another chief priest of  Ezedu deity in Ikem,Igwe Ezedu  Udenze said his job is to be the messenger for the Ezedu deity and obey the tradition and culture of the land. According to him, before any masquerade can  move out into the street during the festival it must first appear before him.  He said the feast of iguaro onwange  means that the year has started and people can go to farm and start their business for the year.

The Iguaro is like Christian Gregorian calendar . The tradition and Christianity has no difference,we worship the same God Almighty and you cannot do anything without calling on the God Almighty before proceeding to the intermediary.

“Nobody can see God and nobody has ever seen God, various religious groups use various means  to communicate with God. For you to be a traditionalist, you must not engage in evil,you cannot be armed robber, killing persons and involving in bad things that retard the progress of the people” he said .

 He said the Iguaro is like Christmas to Nando because during the festival, everyone both home and abroad is expected to come home and this year because of the COVID-19 many people could not  come home to witnesses the festival.

“During the festival all age grade in the community will come out with their music or masquerade and dance in the public. During the festival also , we pray for the progress and development of the community and any person who has evil intention does not come out to celebrate with us.

“We worship the God as Christians worship  same God and before we start,we will call on the God almighty,who is creator of heaven and earth. You know that God is every where and nobody has seen him. There is nothing like fetishism in traditional worship. We don’t kill and we are not native doctors,we don’t even make use  of charms ,we only just prayed as our forefathers thought us and it has been working for us over the years” he said.

An expert in Igbo culture and traditions, Dr Alex Anedo of the Department of African and Asian Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State said that the celebration of Iguaro has nothing to do with worshiping idol, rather, it is a means of venerating God almighty for his goodness for  the people.

According to him,in Igbo culture,the deities are ways of lives among the Igbo and it  cannot be  abolished because tradition and Christianity are ways of life. He said the efficacy of the traditional worship is still effective and nobody should take it for granted.

Anedo also stated that the Iguaro is to mark the new year in the Nnado and has been like that for years and the people are getting results from the practices.

Speaking also on the matter,  the former president general of Nnado community, Hon. Christopher Ikechukwu said the festival is significant in the community for many reasons, saying that during the festival they used to pray for the progress and development of the community. According to him, the festival is just to announce the beginning of a new year where people can go to farm and  engage  in other business on their own.

” We don’t play with this festival  and being a Christian does not means that one should abandon his tradition. We  don’t do evil things during the festival and any person who comes here  to celebrate  with charm or evil intention will not survive the ceremony. There is nothing like festish activity on the festival and if there is any, people like us would not  get involved. I wouldn’t like to do anything that will hunt my children because my father did not do anything that is hunting us. We don’t do charms here” he said.

He further stated that people did not return this year because of the coronavirus but that next year it would be greater than this.