Aju festival (iwa akwa) is celebrated every three years between the age of 21 to 24 years and above in the the town of ugbo in awgu local government area of enugu state.
Aju festival is a festival where boys are initiated in to man hood and given the opportunity to make their contribution in social cultural and political affair of the community.
This festival which is celebrated every august starts about seven month before the festival week with NKATA EKWA, which gives every celebrant the opportunity to celebrate the with his age mates and family members.
In Nkata ekwa the celebrant sends an invitation massage to his IKWU and UMUADA with some kegs of palm wine and other things to inform them that he will be celebrating Iwa ekwa.
After the NKATA EKWA which every member of the new age grade must have celebrated in their individual home, it will be time for the festival proper.

In the first day of the festival, all the UMU EKWA will assemble in their individual village square to entertain the villager and their guest with IZO EKWA which will be done in group.
After the group performance, each celebrant will come out in the village square to dance and do some agana, in the process of agana and dance, friend, relation and well wishers present their gift of akwa money and other things to the celebrant.
After the performance from each celebrant, it will be time for their successor to come and give their EGBE EKWA.
Their succussor(ndi na enye egbe ekwa) will come to the village square with their EGBE NTA, release some bullet in the air and do some IZO EKWA to show their strenght before leaving.
The first day of the festival comes to an end with IZỌ EKWA from UMU EKWA.

The traditions of the Igbo are very interesting. Any pictures?

The second day of the festival is MGBAHE ISHI.
In mgbahe ishi which is in form of a carnival/parade, the umu ekwa will zọọ ekwe round the entire town making a stop in each village square to zọọ ekwa for them.
Before the parade which will be done simultaneously, the ugbo okpala people will release a certain number of gun shot to in form the rest of the village that they left/about to leave their village to meet their oyibo kin that lives miles away from them.
When the ugbo okpala get to oyibo, umu ekwa from oyibo will usher them into their village square OBODO IKE (its not always easy at this stage because ugbo okpala will want to show their strenght) when every thing is settled and the ugbo okpala are brought in to the village square, another gun shot will be released to inform the other villages that they have arrived, both the ugbonabọ and ngene ugbo will also release their to inform them that they got their massage, and izọ ekwa will start in their villages.
Simultaneously they will move to the next village for their performance untill they go round the town. Each village will wait in their village sqare to welcome their people and their final izọ akwa for that day which will mark the end o mgbahe ishi.

odumchi: The traditions of the Igbo are very interesting. Any pictures?

Yes

Three day after mgbahe ishi, the entire village, friends, well wisher, and guest will gather at the ORIO UGBO in ugbonabọ for the final IZỌ EKWA which is IGBA NA IZU.
Coupled with the izọ ekwa, there will be otheq entertainment for our guest and people, like

Akunaeche enyi ndi oyibo with their
adanma
shaba
police
otenkwu and
owa ọji.

Amala ubo ndi ugwu ede.

Okolobo ndi ugbonabọ.

Ogene umu oyibo and

Akunaeche enyi from other villages.

For more entertainment there are dances from our NJOMU (women).

We have the OYORIMA dance from njomu oyibo.

OPI IGWE from njomu ugbonabọ.

OTU CHINEDU and other.

the first day of the festival. just got only this three pic frm oyibo and ugbonabor.

the second day of the festival, ngbahe ishi ngene ugbo group

ugbonbor

the last day

ugbo okpara and oyibo goin to orio

iwa akwa

more

Nice pictures, Nedu.

I'm guessing that you have just participated in your own Iwa Akwa, lol.

Anyway, do you guys have Ozo na Nze in your part of Enugu?

odumchi: Nice pictures, Nedu.

I'm guessing that you have just participated in your own Iwa Akwa, lol.

Anyway, do you guys have Ozo na Nze in your part of Enugu?

yes we hav nze and ozo in our place. And 4 ur guess, u may be right.

more picture of iwa akwa.

iwa akwa

ngene ugbo performance in orio.

I like the fact that our people are still interested in our festivals. But what i find annoying from the picture is that almost everyone there are wearing jeans and t shirt. Is that how much foreign culture has stained our own culture?

afam4eva: I like the fact that our people are still interested in our festivals. But what i find annoying from the picture is that almost everyone there are wearing jeans and t shirt. Is that how much foreign culture has stained our own culture?

Lol, well that is how we see it.
But wait a minute, what could they have worn?
I hope u were not expecting them to just cover their unclothedness with cloth just like our forefather do?
Like iwa ọgọdọ.

ugbo okpala/oyibo performance

ugbo okpala/oyibo on aju day

umu akwa ugbo okpala/oyibo and their ogbu opu.

m

VEry colorful. Nice.

Where did this festival take place?
When I said ibos have no culture, my friend ndukwe thought I was lying.

What is this nonsense? Are they Africans? Ibo festival in jeans and t-shirts. I dey laugh!

beautiful

kindabigg: Where did this festival take place?
When I said ibos have no culture, my friend ndukwe thought I was lying.

What is this nonsense? Are they Africans? Ibo festival in jeans and t-shirts. I dey laugh!

Pls correct the bolded...

Our culture is our pride.

nedu210:
Lol, well that is how we see it.
But wait a minute, what could they have worn?
I hope u were not expecting them to just cover their unclothedness with cloth just like our forefather do?
Like iwa ọgọdọ.

lmao!! But come 2 think of it..e 4 make brain na!. Nice pictures though..very colourful and am sure it must have been so much fun!!

No elders in this village? justSaying...

Great pictures! thanks for sharing.
I love our tradition more than life it's self, so seeing things like this really make my morning! congradulations to the boys,
true sons of the soil!