BY LUCY EZELIORA
IT was a huge celebration at the palace of the Obi of Ubulu-Unor kingdom, Obi Henry Kikachukwu as he celebrated the annual Ineh festival with his people and chiefs of various quarters who came to pay homage to the monarch.
The occasion featured cultural displays by the various quarters, among which were Ubulugbo village, Anioshie village, Umuota village, Agbodu village and Asaba- Ubulubor village.
Culture was displayed in full as the Obi appeared in a red and white royal garment studded with various indigenous beads and beautiful the royal dress designed for the ceremony.
Beaming with smiles, Obi Kikachukwu welcomed the Ogbus with a golden sword design especially in an indigenous way to showcase the festival is war mood.
Usually, at the beginning of the festival, yams are offered to the gods before distributing to the villagers.
This ritual is performed either by the oldest man in the community or by the king or an eminent title holder.
The yams are set aside as offerings to the deities and ancestors showing gratitude for his protection and kindness.
After the prayer of thanksgiving to God, they ate the first yam because itis believed that their position bestows on them the privilege of being intermediaries between their communities and the gods of the land.
Obi Kikachukwu, in his welcome speech commended his people for coming together to celebrate Ineh. He said it is the true symbol of Ubulu people.
Highlights of the celebration was a special dance called Egwu Ogene performed by Obi Kikachukwu and his wives, alongside the diokpas and red cap chiefs who came to pay homage to the Obi and celebrate the Ineh festival with him; this dance was displayed according to their order of seniority.
Also, special dishes of yam were served, as the festival symbolised the abundance of the produce.
He went further to shower accolades on all Ubulu- Unor sons and daughters. He said, “our women are moulded by God and very beautiful; our men are exceedingly blessed and our children are educated and intelligent.
Our land is fertile, if you throw water with bean seed, it germinates. Our land is where people find peace; we are peace loving-people, we accommodate others and we do not call for war but if we cross it, we fight and we know how to fight and win. However, we give room for understanding”. Having praised the organizers for a successful cultural festivity, he affirmed that the Ubulu-Unor people are more a well cultured, people. “our People are the most cultured people with due respect to other nationalities. It is not open to interpretation or analysis; it is a statement of fact.
We give a big kudos to the organizers for projecting, promoting and propagating our culture, our folklore, the essence of our language, our food, the essence of our existence, what God made us to be and educating our children our values of our purpose in creation. In fact, the festival encompasses all”.
The Obi who was filled with joy went on to praise the media for promoting Ubulu-unor culture and for also being part of the huge success.
