Ovala’ is in Aguleri dialect what the central Igbo language calls ‘Ofala’. It is arguably the climax of all the sociocultural festivals in alaigbo. Aguleri, an ancient kingdom in present-day Anambra East Local Council, will be agog with its 125th Ovala beginning from Monday, 30th December through Monday, 6th January, 2025. His Royal Majesty, Dr. Michael Chukwuneme Idigo V, Ezeudo, the traditional ruler of Aguleri is the celebrant.
A festival refers to activities put together to celebrate or commemorate an event. Festivals are held usually annually or at specified times to mark specific events. Festivals can be religious, cultural, seasonal, social or political in nature. It is essentially a celebration that unites people for a common goal and its significance is frequently defined by special customs and activities. Various groups, peoples and cultures are known for various festivals. The Ovala festival, though not common, as it is only celebrated by kings, remains one such very special festival in Igboland today.
As a festival, the literal meaning of the word ‘Ovala’ is not immediately understood,  except in an attempt at describing its epic structure and content. Its conceptual connotation, nonetheless, inheres in the celebration of traditional kingship and the relationship that bonds the king and the traditional Igbo society. In the past, Ovala festival was known to be celebrated only in Aguleri, Onitsha and very few other ancient Igbo kingdoms with established traditional rulership institutions and monarchies. This is a result of the republican status of the Igbo communities as commonly expressed in the aphorism, ‘Igbo Enwe Eze.’  Over the years; however, the festival has become somewhat rather a fad among many new towns and communities in Igboland. Today, Ovala has become a festival celebrated by traditional rulers (kings) in many parts of Igboland and even beyond. It is the major and biggest celebration of traditional leadership and trado-political governance in Igboland. It is the celebration of the epitome of traditional kingship in the Igbo cultural cosmology.
Aguleri, the ancestral home of the Igbo nation has a long history of organised traditional leadership and dynasties and customary obsevances and festivals among which Ovala ranks the grandest and most significant. The first account of Ovala in Aguleri modern history held in 1900 with Omanyinya Onyekomeli Idigo, progenitor of the present-day Idigo Dynasty of Aguleri kingdom as the celebrant. Since that epochal event, Aguleri has held an unbroken record of Ovala festival for 125 years, affording her the pride of place as the town with the oldest Ovala festival culture East of the River Niger. As such Ovala festival has become an integral part of the cultural heritage of Aguleri kingdom.
The Significance and Importance of Ovala
The Ovala festival is deeply rooted in diverse traditional, socio-cultural, historical, spiritual and philosophical significance. The celebration of the Ovala festival connotes profound and diverse royal, trado-political, cultural, social, spiritual and philosophical significance. Basically, the Ovala is a celebration of royalty, the traditional authority of the king, and the unbreakable unity of the community. The festival enhances and validates the position of the traditional ruler as the Essence around which the peace, stability and peace of the kingdom revolves. It is a representation of the mystique, regality and majesty of traditional monarchy in Aguleri. It is a dramatic expression of the power of the royal institution in providing leadership and preserving the people’s traditional and cultural heritage. During Ovala festivals, traditional rulers symbolically renew their kingly mandates bequeathed upon them by their people. This mandate is often seen as divine as it involves a re-establishment of ties with the ancestors and the people.
From a philosophical viewpoint, the Ovala serves as an ontological expression of the trado-political and leadership authority of the king or traditional ruler.
Annually, Ovala celebrates the traditional ruler’s successful leadership and governance over his kingdom in the past year. It affords the people of the kingdom a moment to honour and express appreciation and recognition to the traditional rulers’ leadership and authority. It consolidates the king’s influence and powers within the community and beyond as well as affords an interaction and mutual relationship with modern political authorities, ensuring that traditional governance systems are respected alongside contemporary political structures.
The Ovala Aguleri festival also has its spiritual significance. The traditional ruler is also seen as having significant measure of spiritual authority. In ancient Igbo communities with traditional legacy for Ovala like in Aguleri, the traditional ruler who is the Igwe and Eze Aguleri, uses the Ovala as a period of deep spiritual reflections and stock-taking of the activities of the past year. The festival is usually preceded by a retreat during which the traditional ruler undergoes spiritual preparation for the Ovala for the good of the people. During this period, the Igwe/Eze Aguleri offers prayers, and sacrifices and seeks divine blessings for the protection and prosperity of the kingdom. In Aguleri, the successive Eze Idigo who are always of strong Catholic Christian faith specifically begin the festival with a Holy Mass of the Ovala, and also attends a special Ovala Thanksgiving Mass on the Sunday following the festival. These spiritual activities including all the prayers offered to the ancestors and gods of the land are meant to ensure the continued protection, growth and progress of the people of the kingdom.
In Aguleri, the Ovala Festival specifically provides a rallying muster time for unity and social cohesion. It is often celebrated annually immediately after the end of each given year, initially on the first big Eke market day of the new calendar year, but now changed to the first Saturday of the year. It marks a time for thanksgiving festivities and provides the opportunity for the community to come together in celebration, expressing gratitude for the year’s blessings while looking forward to a prosperous year ahead. Thus the Ovala festival has become a great unifying tool for the people as it fosters a collective identity and interactive activities by bringing together different groups within the community and society to celebrate their shared heritage and culture. The Ovala festival is an event of social prestige as it serves as a public display of traditional rulers’ prestige, nobility and dignity. In the Ovala Aguleri outings, the traditional ruler is also accompanied by other nobles, chiefs of cabinet and non-cabinet status, title holders and distinguished community leaders during the public appearances.
In Aguleri, the Ovala festival also integrates some anthropological connection to significant past events in the people’s history. An instance is the Addah masquerade cultural carnival, now celebrated as part of the Ovala festival activities. The Addah carnival commemorates the victory of Aguleri forces over the rampaging Addah warriors who some centuries ago, attacked parts of the neighbouring Omabala communities and subsequently invaded Aguleri but were resisted and crushed in Aguleri. The symbolism of that historic victory is remembered and celebrated today in the form of a carnival of multi mini-masquerade and youth rally, as part of the annual Ovala festival in Aguleri. This captures the socio-cultural role and propensity of the Ovala to serve as a historical connection to specific critical events in the past.
Culturally, the Ovala serves as a magnificent showcase of the traditional and cultural heritage of the people. Over time, the Ovala has served as a powerful tool for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the people. The Ovala activities, especially in Aguleri is richly embedded with rich cultural and entertaining activities. Preceding the Ovala is usually an all-night vigil of traditional dances, music, traditional fashion parade, and folklore stories that connect with traditional history and culture. Besides, an entire day during the Ovala festivities is devoted to a major masquerade and musical carnival showcasing various types of masquerades, music, dancing, and arts. This has proved a veritable platform for the younger generation to get accustomed to the culture of the people. As a symbol of cultural heritage, the Ovala further serves to preserve the traditional and cultural identity of the people. It brings about a sense of cultural pride and a preservation, enhancement and celebration of the custom and tradition of the people.
On the economic importance of the Ovala, there are significant economic benefits given its inherent role and status of the Ovala as a major socio-cultural event that showcases the tourism and other economic potentials of the communities. The Ovala projects and boosts the immense tourism potential of the people as it draws large number of visitors and participating guests from different parts of the country and beyond to experience and appreciate the culture of the people. The Addah cultural carnival which is now an integral part of the Ovala Aguleri festival draws thousands of participants and guest-fans from across the country. These developments enable socio-economic cultural interaction and engagement with other peoples and cultures with implications for enhanced economic and business activities.
The Ovala festival remains a unique royal celebration embraced by many traditional rulers in Igboland today. It depicts and represents a deep expression of the traditional leadership life and culture of Igbo communities. It serves as an emergent validation of the traditional kingship institution in Igbo societies. Its profound nature and contents have diverse significance in the cultural, social, spiritual, and political life of the traditional leadership and the community. Through its rich socio-cultural and traditional contents, the Ovala festival also fosters significant potentials for preservation of the cultural life and identity of the people, unity and social cohesion, economic advancement among many other socio-cultural and economic benefits.

FRED IDIGO

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