Masquerades Receive Flogging Prizes As Anambra Community Celebrates Agwu Festival

By Julie Sylvia, Onitsha

All roads on Sunday led to Agukwu Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State, as the community celebrated her 2023 Agwu festival, that was purely to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the people.

It is a general belief that Igbo race originated from the community before migrating to areas where they found themselves today irrespective of distance.

Fielding questions from newsmen, the chairman of the Agwu Festival, Prince Ifeanyi Onyesoh, expressed satisfaction with the celebration, adding that Agwu ushers in prosperity and removes stumbling blocks in the community.

His words, “Agwu brings prosperity and removes stumbling blocks. After this Agwu festival, we expect the rain to fall and water the entire place for calmness, farming and new things to come in. Thing like this festival is what we expect the State Ministry of Cultural and Tourism to look into with a view to organizing it for tourism.

“Those who say tradition is going into extinction or that it is fetish don’t even know their background (history), we should maintain our culture and tradition,” he further explained.

Contributing, the chairman masquerades screening committee, for awards to the best dressed and highest flogging masquerades, Chief Innocent Igboabalu, who is called, Oba Onodugo, by his admirers, stated that, ” Today I am the INEC chairman, prizes were given to the best dressed/performed and highest flogging masquerades.

“Each year we celebrate Agwu festival, that is purely to showcase our cultural heritage, we present prizes to three best dressed masquerades to take first, second and third positions.

“We also present prizes to those masquerades that flogged the highest during masquerades’ flogging competition. The first, second and third, in order of flogging, receive prizes too.

“This is an age long tradition which unites the people living within and in Diaspora. With Agwu what is hot is made to be cool. Parents should guide their children and impact Agwu spirit in them because those who worship Agwu do not go hungry or suffer unnecessary agony,” he advised.

He went further to disclose that he would celebrate his personal Agwu by the next Eke market day pointing out that, ” It will be full of merriment and thanks giving to Agwu,” he added.

In his own speech, a chieftain of the community, Ozor Obiekegwuna, disclosed that Agwu is of four parts that include, Anyanwu, Mmiri, Ana and Ifufe, adding that the four make up the four Igbo market days of Eke, Orie, Afor and Nkwo.

He lamented that some people abandoned tradition where there is truth for imported religion which according to him is today full of deceit that resulted in killings, assassination, greed, falsehood, wickedness, among other ills that were not in practice in those days.

Expressing satisfaction with the Agwu festival, one of the age grade groups that participated, Odinana Nri, led by her chairman, Akonam Amaechi, revealed that who ever that does not welcome Agwu may not be true born of Igbo.

“That person must be a fool who may not be aware of when he is carried past his father’s compound. He may not be true born of his father,” they stated.

The chairman who was ably represented by his Financial secretary, Reuben Remcy Ofodile, said this year’s Agwu festival celebration was more than the Ofala festival as people turned up in their large number.

The age grade prayed God to continue to bless the community as the origin of Igbo race, adding that any other claimant to the origin of the Igbo race is a fake.

Pic shows masquerades during and after the flogging competition