IGUE FESTIVAL

There are many Festivals in Nigeria, some of which are dated to the period before the arrival of the major religions in this ethnically and culturally diverse society.1 Festivals in Nigeria can be categorized into four, which are music, film, cultural, Christian and Muslim festivals. Most importantly, celebration of cultural festivals such as Argungu fishing festival (Kebbi State, North Western Nigeria), Calabar Carnival (Cross River State), Carniriv (River State) to mention a few is acclaimed to be a unifying force connecting people from different race and background together.2 This is because celebration of these cultural events in most cases remind people of their past. It is regarded as heritage resources that facilitate social cohesion. Celebration of cultural festivals serves as vehicle that drives the economy of a community through the derivable economic benefits especially during the festive period.3Against this backdrop, this study examines the socio-cultural and economic impact of the Igue festival to the contemporary Benin Kingdom. The Igue festival is the biggest and most flamboyant of all the festivals celebrated by the Oba and people of Benin Kingdom. It is normally celebrated with a lot of pomp and pageantry during the first half of the month of December (first fourteen days of the month) of every year.4 The Igue festival is a set of annual cycle of rituals and rites that are performed to purify and strengthen the Oba and the kingdom in preparation for the New Year

Cultural norms and values are ingrained in the beliefs of every cultural group or people. Every culture contains a set of norms and values that are deeply embedded and taught as religious practices that allow certain individuals to try to connect. Like all other people, the Benin people have rich heritage which they have re-enact through festivals that are part of their culture and traditions. One such event that has persisted for a long time is the Igue festival celebrated annually by the Benin people. Overtime, this festival have become a phenomena where traditional beliefs are at work.1 In the Benin, the various ceremonies are traditional religious and cultural practices blended and married in an effort to connect people to the distant ancestral past. The ancestors, despite their distance, are acknowledged as the sustainers of everything. Without a doubt, the religious purposes associated with the Ugie (ceremonies) serve to both inspire and enlighten the people as humanity tries to connect with the divine through its cosmological experiences.2 Many religions, and cultures around the world have various festevals, which serve as reminder of things that are very important to the community

This research work examines the impacts of modernizationontheIgue Festival in the Benin Kingdom using Ekiadolor Town as a case study. Itcovers the historical foundation of Ekiadolor Town and the impactsofmodernization on the Igue Festival in Ekiadolor Town. There is alsoabriefexamination of the Benin history from the period of gerontocracy totheObadynasty, the different traditional practices that characterizes the Igue Festival, and how modernization have impacted the celebration of the Igue Festival inrecent times.