Welcome to the Official Site
of the
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Paris, France.
This site contains links to information about
Nigeria’s rich and diverse cultures, tourism, news and a host other sites which
carry other useful information on the nation.
The New yam Festival is an occasion when every Igbo person gathers to celebrate the
Iwa ji afo (New Yam Festival). Yam is the main agricultural crop of the Igbos and
also the staple food. The Festival therefore, celebrates the prominence of yam in
the social-cultural life of this part of Nigeria and is one of the biggest festivals
celebrated by the Igbos August of each year. The celebration symbolizes the conclusion
of a work cycle and the beginning of another. Before the festival starts, the yams
are offered to gods and ancestors first before distributing them to villagers. The
ritual is performed either by the oldest man in the community or by the king. They
eat the first yam because it is believed that their position gives them the privilege
of being intermediaries between their communities and the gods of the land. The rituals
involved in the new yam eating are meant to express the community’s appreciation
to the gods for making the harvest of their yams possible.
At the new yam festival, only dishes of yam are served since the festival is symbolic
of the abundance of the produce. So much of it is cooked that, no matter how heavily
the family eats or how many friends and relatives they invite, there is always a
so much food left over at the end of the day. It’s in fact a season of merriment
and togetherness.
Fishing Festival: Boat regattas are part of the socio-cultural life of the riverine
people in the Niger Delta. The boats do not have engines but they are rowed manually
with traditional paddles by over twenty to fifty people on board depending on the
size of the boat. Boat regattas are special festival to celebrate attachment of the
people to water, as fishing is their dominant occupation. When there is a bountiful
catch and sea yields boat regattas are held that year. The masquerade group known
as Owogbo is used to celebrate the end of the fishing season in Bonny, Rivers State.
Each of the major houses in the Bonny Kingdom has their end of the fishing season
locally known as Fungu. The masquerade is the traditional way of paying homage to
the sea gods. They carry a carved shellfish. The masquerade is usually brightly colored
with locally made fabrics. Both men and women take part in the dancing.
The Abuja carnival is a 4day carnival held annually in November. Various Musicians
and dancers from the 36 states in Nigeria come to grace this ca
rnival. Each state
gets its own shop window in the 60-huts arts and craft village. The opening ceremony
holds at the Eagle Square, with Children’s performances at the millennium park. There
is also a Grand Durbar of horsemen and women parade in their gleaming costumes and
jewellery. Their horses are clad in rich costumes and decorations and their riders
are adorned with swords, polished and glinting and rich traditional headwear and
robes. A masquerade fiesta also holds, followed by a regatta that takes place on
the third day. It ends with a street parade through the city. Horsemen numbering
up to 5,000 make up the street parade Durbar procession through the designated area
of Abuja There are also Crafts exposition and lots more which include Textiles; Leather
craft; Carvings; Bronzes; Beads; Paintings; Plaited Baskets etc. Travellers are advised
to book their hotel rooms early.
The Argungu Fishing Festival is an annual festival takes place in Arugungu, a riverside
town in Kebbi State in the north west of Nigeria, about 64 miles from Sokoto. The
festival originated in 1934.Hundreds of local men and boys enter the water, armed
with large fishnets. They are joined by canoes filled with drummers and men rattling
huge seed-filled gourds to drive the fish to shallow waters. Vast nets are cast and
a wealth of fish are harvested, from giant Nile Perch to the peculiar Balloon Fish.
Furthermore there’s canoe racing, wild duck hunting, bare-handed fishing, diving
competitions and naturally, swimming. Afterwards, there is drinking, singing and
dancing into the night. The festival marks the end of the growing season and the
harvest. A one mile (1.6 kilometer) stretch of the Argungu River is protected throughout
the year, so that the fish will be plentiful for this 45-minute fishing frenzy. About
5,000 men take part, armed with hand nets and a large gourd. During the alloted time,
they fight for the fish in the river. Nile perch weighing up to 140 pounds (63.5
kg) are pulled out of the river, and the biggest are offered to the local Emirs who
organize the festival. This festival began in the 1930s and has captured the nation's
interest. It now includes many other events, such as canoe races and diving competition.
The Eyo Festival is unique to Lagos, and it is widely believed that Eyo is the forerunner
of the modern day carnival in Brazil. On Eyo Day, one of the main highways in the
heart of the city (from the end of Carter Bridge to Tinubu Square) is closed to traffic,
allowing for procession from Idumota to Iga Idunganran.
Here, the participants all pay homage to the Oba of Lagos. Eyo festival takes place
whenever occasion and tradition demand, but it is usually held as the final burial
rites for a highly regarded chief. Among the Yoruba, the indigenous religions have
largely given way to Christianity and Islam, but the old festivals are still observed.
The traditional leaders of the Yoruba are the Obas, who live in palaces and used
to govern along with a council of ministers. The Engungun ("en-GOON-gun") festival,
which honours the ancestors, lasts 24 days. Each day, a different Engungun in the
person of a masked dancer dances through the town, possessed by one of the ancestors.
