Adulthood ceremony is a unique celebration; it is the rite-of-passage that guides a young man into adulthood.
Adulthood ceremonies can range from a simple occasion to extraordinary event that covers days and culminates in a special moment. Nigerians typically celebrate rites of passage with music, dance and ceremony. At his or her naming ceremony a child become a member of the community. In Ibenafe community, South Ibie, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, an adolescent assumes the responsibilities of adulthood at initiation. Adulthood festival is called “otu”, and the festival is celebrated every year.
Ibenafe community is one of the villages that make up South Ibie Clan. The yearly festival is celebrated among the youths within the age bracket of seventeen to nineteen years, both male and female. The adulthood ceremony is performed in the month of Dhul-Hijja in Islamic calendar, precisely the tenth day of the month when Eid el Kabir Sallah Festival is celebrated. The ceremony is not restricted; it is open to both girls and boys of the same age. A male child matures faster than his peers is likely to be initiated ahead of his mates. To start the ceremony, all the age-groups will assemble at the king’s square, venue of the ceremony. When all is set, a representative from the immediate senior age group comes to the centre of the arena with a gun.
He calls on the president of the new age group to stand up and move to the centre of the arena. While standing, the representative, at the top of his voice, will call the initiates seven times and their president will answer seven times also at the top of his voice. The call is followed immediately by shooting into the air. The representative calls the president of the initiates in a special dialect, saying, “Omorualogbomhi”, to which the president replies, “Eiyah”. This literally means the “new initiates” to which the president replies that “we are here”. After this ceremonial call by the representative from the immediate senior age-group and the subsequent response, the ceremony starts. Songs of praise are both individually and collectively rendered by well-wishers, to which they all dance. The ceremony is for a period of seven days with live music playing all night and day long.
The ceremony involves the following:
Ekpo (Dress Code): Every member of the age group has a uniform dress they wear on particular days. On the first and the last day of the festival, the age-group members can wear other clothes; however, they must wear the traditional beads and red cap to identify them anywhere they are.
Emhale (Food): All male members of the age-group are expected cook food and bring to the venue; they have a time table among themselves for cooking on daily basis for both day and night. There is a committee that monitors the food and equally shares the food among the age group members and visitors.
Efoye (Ritual Process): The Efoye aspect of the ceremony is the process of casting away all the evils associated with adolescence. The Efoye Is usually done on the 6th day, a day before the end of the festival. Every male member of the age-group will cross an elderly woman who has stopped menstruating and who he can never have sexual contact with till he dies. Thereafter, the individual will move straight to a nearby river or stream to take his bath. The reason for doing this is never to see the downfall of your age-group member and not to plan evil against age group members.
Financing: Financing is a major aspect in any association. The age-group members usually start contributing towards the festival three months before the commencement of the festival. They usually do an estimate towards the festival and come out with a specific amount each person will pay. Deadline for payment is two weeks before the start of the festival. The age group members who reside in the village and do the running around pay less amount than those in the diaspora. The money contributed is managed by the age-group executive members. Record of income and expenditure is kept. The females do not contribute financially. Some of the things they collectively spend money on are: To buy gun powder in the dane gun which will be used at intervals during the ceremony; kola nuts and bottles of wine, which are used individually and collectively to entertain guests during the ceremony; and payment to the musician for service rendered during the ceremony.
Illenili (Naming): The age group must be given a name which will be known to the community. The naming is done by the eldest man in the community in conjunction with the council of elders in the village. On that day, immediately after breakfast all the age-group members assemble at the residence of the Odiogbele (oldest man) in the village. The Odiogbele comes out to address them, emphasizing the significance of the celebration to the participants, after which he calls out a number of traditional names for the new age-group and requests them to identify themselves with one of them. The Odiogbele subsequently calls the name seven times, to which the age-group members respond seven times. At the end of the call, a gun is fired into the air by the president of the age-group. From the Odiogbele’s house, the age-group proceeds on their jubilation and dance round the town. At the end of their town round they all assemble in front of Okhainho’s (king’s) palace. The king welcomes and congratulates them on their achievement. The naming is usually done on third day of the ceremony.
Ayatse (Venue): The festival takes place at a central location in front of the Okhaimho’s palace. Bamboo and palm fronds are used to construct a hut where the age-group members will sit for period of seven days; every member of the age-group is expected to participate in building the hut. There is a fine for persons who are conspicuously absent during the construction. The male members of the age-group bring chair and tables to the venue for sitting throughout the festivity period.
Otu (Age-group): Every quarter in the community is expected to bring someone within the fifteen-nineteen age bracket, both male and female, to participate in the festival. If any person within the age bracket is in diaspora, a family member can stand in for him/her, and the proxy will participate in every activity of the age-group.
Benefits of age group festival:
The ceremony comes with some benefits for the age-mates. They are largely developmental for the individual and the community. First, it is a taboo for any member to take another to court for whatever offence. Second, it is against traditional practice to plan or carry out any evil act against any age-mate. Third, it is forbidden for any member to seduce an age-mate’s wife or daughter. Fourth, it is obligatory for new initiates to respect and obey their parents and, by extension, the larger society. It is an offence for one to quarrel violently with one’s parents or to engage in a brawl with any of them out of annoyance. Fifth, the initiation ceremony also teaches the initiates never to violate any societal order for communal work even if it involves the call for war against neighbours. Sixth, it encourages independence. Seventh, it discourages childish behaviour as it establishes acceptable standards of conduct. Rites-of-passage help our children to make clear distinctions between past, present and future behavioural expectations. Finally, it marks the transition into manhood or womanhood as a youth.
