Our Festivals Can Exist Side By Side Christianity, Ikwele Celestine Okafor Speaks Ahead of Ibusa People's Ine Festival

 Our Festivals Can Exist Side By Side Christianity, Ikwele Celestine Okafor Speaks Ahead of Ibusa People's Ine Festival

His Royal Eminence, Chief Engr. Celestine Okafor is the Ikwele of Ibusa and also the Ibusa community's Chief Priest. The Ikwele, by his traditional office, is the custodian of the Ine Festival which the community is preparing to celebrate. In this interview with Ibusa Community Advocate, PEN MASTER (EMEKA ESOGBUE), His Eminence shares his experience of the festival with other forms of culture with readers. He also speaks on the expected role of the government toward social-cultural growth and development of the community, using the instrument festivals and offers historical opinion on the cultural relationships shared by Umejei and Ikenga. More interestingly, he also renders an oral historical narrative on the role of the Ikwele in Ibusa wars with other communities and how he also prepares the warlords to defend the community. Excerpts:

Pen Master: You have been very busy lately preparing for the upcoming Ine, a festival of your people. It feels good to meet you at this point despite your tight schedule. Anyway, you are the Ikwele of Ibusa, an important traditional position to your community. Your Royal Eminence, can you introduce yourself to our teeming readers?

Okafor: (Smiling) Thank you very much, Pen Master. I am His Royal Eminence, Chief Celestine Olisanekwu Okeibunor Okafor, Okemmor the First, Ikwele of Ibusa. I am  the High Priest of Ibusa, the Spiritual Head of our town and the Guardian Spirit and Elder Brother of  Umejei, the founder and progenitor of Igbuzo. That brother was known as Ikenga. People, scholars, journalists and authors have written stories on the origin of Ibusa. But you will hear from me in due course then you can hear my story and be the judge on the most authentic of the history of our people. 

Pen Master: As the Ikwele, the Chief Priest, you are also the principal character of the Ine Festival, which your people are expecting soon. Tell us about this festival of the Ibusa people.

Okafor: The Ine is a festival of peace. It was introduced by our forebears as an annual festival to usher in peace in our Ibusa community. It will interest you to know that the cultural processes of this festival start from the Ikwele's Palace after the performance of some rituals followed with the paying of homage to the Ikwele by the community's War Chiefs being the Odogwu, Uwolo, and Iyase and also the Ogbuu group. The festival then commences with a procession across the villages that make up the Ibusa community, often stopping at some chosen villages for the people to welcome and honour the Ikwele with their gifts. The procession is followed later in the evening with celebrations that re-enact our culture and values. This is then followed with the cleansing ritual usually carried out in the middle of the night to chase the devil out of our town. What I cannot reveal to you here are details of these nocturnal rituals but bear it in mind that they are neither diabolical nor harmful  in any way since the essence is to bring about peace and unity to sustain the community with its people.

Pen Master: Thank you for providing us an overview of the Ine Festival. I am sure that our people now have a hint of the festival. Now, what should we expect in this year's edition?

Okafor: (Cuts in) Please, expect a very rich and robust reenactment of our culture and please, please, watch out for a rebranded Ikwele this time. You would be seeing an authentic Chief Priest, adventurous warrior and Guardian  Spirit of the people. The Ine Festival of this year will be grand, huge, enhanced and will involve the whole of Ibusa including His Royal Majesty (HRM Obi Prof Chelunor Nwaiboshi, the Obuzor of Ibusa), the Diokpas, Chiefs and leaders of our Ibusa community, captains of the industries and friends of our community. Anyway, we are still preparing; working towards it.

Pen Master: Well, it is enlivening to hear that this year's edition of the festival will be an improvement of the past ones. Now, Your Eminence, Some observers share the understanding that Ibusa is one of the Anioma communities with a dying interest in festivals and other forms of culture probably because of the influence of Christianity and forms of Westernization? Do you also support this assertion?

Okafor: (Shaking his head) No, I don't share that view, not at all! Pen Master, haven't the people seen what Ogbewele and Umuodafe are doing with the Iwu Festival in the community? The Umueze people of the community have also ensured the grand celebration of the Ulor festival, taking it to the next level. They are getting more  colourful because everything in our westernized world today must be dynamic. You don't expect our sons and daughters scattered all over the world to start flying down for our festivals. No, but there are the ones who are holding our festival flags aloft and we are proud of them. Ibusa festivals are vibrant and exciting. They can never die. We appreciate Christian values but we also have our traditions, our own cultural values, indigenous to us. They will all go side by side.

Pen Master:. ..but as communal assistance, have you received any financial support to further this Ine Festival?

Okafor: Well, we have been receiving support from some prominent sons and daughters of our town. I cannot name them all in this interview but they include my elder brother, the incisive writer and filmmaker,  Zik Zulu Okafor whom you know very well; big brother, Mike Ajukwu, Admiral Dele Ezeoba (Retd), Dr Henry Nzekwu, Onwa Ibusa, Chief Barr Fred Chijindu Ajudua, Obi  Dr Henry Ajudua, my other big brother, Chief Nduka Nwaezeigwe, the Ugobueze of Ibusa and many others whom I can't thank enough. The current Oshimili North Council Chairman, also our brother, Hon Chief Innocent Esewezie has always been a support to this cultural endeavour of our people in no small measure. All the same, this doesn't mean we have all the financial resources we need for the festival. In fact, we are requesting the sponsorship of the government, individuals and corporate bodies to assist this festival of our people in any possible way they can. This festival is for everyone and we will continue to preserve it by celebrating it according to the ways of our ancestors. 

Pen Master: Your Eminence, let us come back to the social order of Ibusa, your community. Why is the division of the people and traditional institutions so high in this community? Do you know, as the Chief Priest?

Okafor: I don't think there is a lot of divisions in Ibusa compared to neighbouring towns and villages. The Obuzor has done well to keep our town together but you can't completely rule out dissenting voices in a community as big as Ibusa

Pen Master: Okay, but back to the Ine Festival. Is there any role the Government can possibly play in the future? 

Okafor: Yes, to tell you the truth, the Government has a huge role to play in the matters of cultural development and sustenance of communities with Ibusa inclusive. That's why they have cultural departments, parastatals and agencies in government. In the case of Ibusa, and Ine Festival immediately, the government has to support the festival and other forms of culture with their presence and financial support no matter how small. This will help to enrich the social development of our people. Pen Master, the social sphere of life is as rich as the political sector. I am sure you know that it is the social values that ensure that good men and women are bred in societies and found in political offices where they represent the interest of the people. One fundamental essence of festivals is that they bring the people together thereby promoting peace in society. You know that the government presence is felt more where peace thrives. Again, the supreme value of the Ine Festival is that it ushers peace, which is its essence to the Ibusa community.

Pen Master: The Ikwele seems a unique dynasty in Ibusa and also the only existing dynasty in the community at the moment. Please can you tell our readers something about this family?

Okafor: The Ikwele is a royal family founded by Ikenga, Umejei's elder brother. The Progenitor, Ikenga, as I said earlier is the elder brother of Umejei that accompanied him from Isu to his final destination that became Ibusa. And because he was older than Umejei, Umejei would wait for him to perform the New Yam Festival, Iwaji and Ifejioku, considered as the bumper harvests by the people before he, Umejei would follow with his own performance. He often delayed for Ikenga, his senior brother to have his performance. That was why in those days in Ibusa, no family or village would commence the New Yam Festival rituals until the Ikwele family had celebrated their own. This is factual but you know,  as I said to you earlier, culture is dynamic so, a lot of things have changed.

Pen Master: I am very much interested in this Ikwele institution, knowing that not many of the likes of the traditional institution exists in Anioma. Tell us more about the traditional status and functions of the occupant. 

Okafor: Well, the Ikwele is the Chief Priest as well as the Field Marshal. He is never limited to the Chief Priest alone, meaning he is deeply spiritual and physical. This is indicative of "Owouta," traditionally greeted him. The greeting iteslf is spiritually and physically inclined; spiritually because the Ikwele is the Ibusa community's Chief Priest and physically because he is also the Field Marshal. Pen Master, nearly everyone in Ibusa knows the Ikwele to be the Chief Priest but it seems that only a few know him to be Field Marshal. 

Pen Master: Specifically, what role did the Ikwele play as the Field Marshal? I am sure that our readers will like to know your war efforts or contributions in times of organized armed conflict between your community and others. Is the Ikwele seen in warfronts?

Okafor: Pen Master, you will understand that the Ikwele Igbuzo is not just a Chief Priest. In the olden days when we usually faced inter-tribal wars with neighbouring Communities, the Diokpa of Igbuzo would call upon the Ikwele to prepare the Iyase and his warchiefs to go to battle. If the Iyase was not proving successful in the war, the Diokpa Igbuzo would alternatively call upon the Ikwele again and ask that the Uwolo be prepared for the war. If the Uwolo goes without succeeding, the Ikwele will prepare the Odogwu who happens to be the head of all the warlords. If for anything, the Odogwu does not succeed in the said war, the Ikwele himself would prepare for the war. You already know him to be the Field Marshal so, on getting to the warfront he kills all his opponents and cuts off their heads, which he is expected to bring back to Ikwele shrine. It is for this reason that he is greeted and traditionally praised with "Ikwele di agana," "Nke ji isi mmadu ekule nmili, weli igiliafor nmadu tua ngige."

Pen Master: Interesting! Your Eminence, permit me to ask you one more question on this war prosecution of the Ibusa people and your traditional role as the Field Marshal. How exactly did Ikwele achieve the success?

Okafor: Like I just told you, when the war gets tough, the Ikwele appears in the warfront and assumes the role of a Field Marshal. The Ikwele is promptly called upon to help defeat the enemy. He may get fired with 'uta' na 'ube,' which is a bow and arrow, prevalent in the days. The Ikwele as the Field Marshal is Ibusa's War General and all the Warlords are under him and this is why they must pay homage to the Ikwele as traditionally required.

Pen Master: Do you have words for people who will be attending this Ine or Ichu Ekwensu Festival as they call it?

Okafor: They should troop out in their hundreds to celebrate with us. It is going to be a massive culture reawakening and re-enactment with nostalgic songs, traditional music and dance. It will be a day for fun, big fun. 

Pen Master: Thank you, Your Eminence for your time.

Okafor: Pen Master, I must thank you, too.