How I Spent My Christmas Holiday In Ekinrin-Adde, A Typical Peri-Urban Community|By Oludara Ibileye

For a long time, I had not spent Christmas outside my comfort zone but this year my family and I chose to go on a vacation to the village. I usually got excited when I was given that kind of news but this year it was different probably because I have grown older, my grandma isn’t staying in the village any longer or the thought about me doing all the work and the cooking when we get there because I’m an only girl. I was still excited all the same but not just as much as I would have been 6 years ago. It was really an exciting and a challenging experience for me from the shopping to packing. Omo I was stressed and I had not even started anything yet.
Getting to the village days before Christmas there were different programs organized by the people of the community, events like different clans coming together to visit and know more about their roots ,like the clan where I am from agbalogbo clan of the Ekinrin Adde community who paid a historical visit to abudo . Historically, the agbalogbo clan of Ekinrin Adde were said to have migrated from abudo several generations ago to settle in their present abode with their kith and kin from different clans to form modern Ekinrin Adde .

My siblings and I got the rare privilege to see a lot of things during this visit to our ancestral home but what was really captivating was a pound which the people believed to have mystical powers that gives good health and wealth .in those days women brought their newly born to bath and drink of the water. It was also a common belief that when there is no rain in the land for a long time the men of the community go to the pound to dig and clear its bed and surrounding of dirt. Usually before they returned to their houses the rain would have started to fall. Some of the members of the clan fetched the water into bottles so they could join in the riches of the water. After the tour of the place of origin, refreshments were served to the members with a live band entertaining. Then we all returned to our houses.

As Christmas got closer, we anticipated more and more where in the night the children in the community gathered in front of baba’s house for moonlight tales. Surely no child wanted to miss where baba tells them about the mysterious Santa that comes to visit them at night and how Santa does not give gift to the children who behaved badly. After this story you will hear the children having little whispers and gist about how they want a gift from Santa which we call Father Christmas.

On Christmas day, my mom and I cooked the meals that would be served to us and the guests with the local cooking pots under the tree receiving the unpolluted breeze. After we ate we were told that some awesome people from our community had decided to throw a Christmas event right in the middle of Ekinrin Adde. We all chipped in, seeing lots of villagers and people from the city .Laughter echoed through the streets, and it felt like something magical was happening, where we had live band, dances and dramas to serve as entertainment.

After the meal, we all danced and made our way to the market square in search for the festive masquerades that were to be out that evening. As children we were always scared of masquerades but this time around we all stood as big girls and boys taking pictures dancing while the masquerades entertained us.

On Boxing Day, the paramount ruler of Ekinrin Adde bestowed a traditional title to an illustrious elder of the land who has done absolutely wonderful and has contributed greatly to the community. During this program all the chiefs and clan obas of the land were present along with their wives who we call the oloris. The Oloris did their traditional dances round the community barefooted following the beats of the drum with a particular royal footstep according to their ranks in the royal home. The dance, which is called Iwolori, is absolutely breathtaking because of the resplendent dressing of the oloris in their royal beads and other costumes.

Their perfectly choreographed steps are delightful and comely. Special traditional delicacies like punded yam with egusi, amala and gbegiri etc were served with locally made palmwine which was presented in calabashes to become chill.
The next day, we were again presented an opportunity to witness a different aspect of the rich culture of Ekinrin-Adde as a great member of the community was laid to rest at a very old age.

People from different communities, states and countries gathered to celebrate the life of the icon, where dirges were rendered, local drums like the talking drums and the gongs were played while the pallbearers danced to the tune of the music while holding the casket trailing closely. The members of the family of the deceased wore printed t-shirts bearing the face of the one they lost. In Ekinrin-Adde it is a regular custom when someone dies at an old age, the in-laws dance from their homes to the house of the dead carrying palm fonts and gifts to pay their last respect to the family of their departed in-law.

The Christmas holiday was coming to an end and everyone had to return to their houses to begin their daily activities. My family and I returned days after. At the end of the day, going to the village didn’t turn out to be bad: I had fun, cooked local delicacies, learnt about my origin, rested, learnt to speak my local dialect better, spent time with my family and met new people .

Oludara Ibileye, is a Mass Communication Student, Veritas University, Bwari, FCT, Abuja

Lovely.....

Ijumu