OGANI ANGWA OF IGALA KINGDOM

Ogani Angwa, the war festival in Igala Kingdom

Ogani as an Igala word means acrobatics. But in the case of Angwa in Idah, Kogi State, it is not an ordinary acrobatics. Ogani Angwa involves strength, height, stamina, and blood relation in addition to the traditional aspect or factor attached. You must have your father or mother or both from Angwa before you can be one of the 9 acrobats. Each of the 9 represents a clan or division of Angwa. Saying that Ogani Angwa  is not an ordinary acrobatics is not a hyperbole. The person who has been chosen to be worthy to represent the clan will be pure, clean, sacred and far away from sleeping with a woman days before the Ogani activities. In addition, while the acrobats can roll to the left and right during the performance, the direction of the rolls of the acrobat is determined by his relationship with Angwa. Yes, you can’t roll to the right and left if your father and mother are not from Anwga. You can either roll to the right if your father is from Angwa or roll to the left if your mother is from Angwa. No mistake is made during the performance as it will be a sign of bad thing, an elder told me. Further more, it is a taboo for the acrobat to fall during the performance. It also means a bad is about to happen in the clan or … The Angwa Idah Ogani is an event mixed with joy and fear especially if you are not from Angwa and just a spectator because the spirit sometimes posses the acrobat which makes him feel like demonstrating his strength with the horn in his hand. But do you know one wonderful thing about Ogani Angwa?

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