Odemimon Festival Otuoke

Otuoke is the headquarters of Ogbia Central Government Area, is located in the present day Bayelsa State and it is a centrally located community in Ogbia.

Otuoke is made up of four compounds – Yizi, Ewokiri, Apolo Swan, Apolo Tama and Otuaba. The Odemimon Festival is as old as the community itself.

The birth of the Odemimon Festival is circumstantial, during the floods when the River Orashi overflows its banks into the bushes and towns, snails and animals make any available dry land their home. And this is normally a good season for hunting and picking of snails, because on one of such snail hunting expeditions by the youths of Otuoke, they stumbled upon a calabash structure (Obuo) used for drinking palm wine.

This they later discovered, was a totem for a deity and decided to use the Obuo as mask for a masquerade display. They prepared a shirt woven out of palm fronts, they used the leaves of a shrub (Ipumu) to weave a crown and collected native rattles (Ikpokoro). These they wore on the first person on the line; a young man name Obasuku and danced to the town.

The same period the next year, Obasuku fell sick and when his family consulted the oracles. It was revealed that the masquerade performance should be continued as a festival.

The masquerade dance became hereditary which resulted in the person to carry the masquerade each year to be an old man from the Obasuku family, and is appointed by the deity. The Obasuku family also takes charge of the welfare of the masquerade.

The timing of the festival is based on moon counting. It is normally celebrated before the appearance of the moon in October. Thus, the last Saturday of October was chosen as the day of the celebration. But the activities start on Thursday and rounds off on Saturday.

On Thursday, there is an inter-community traditional wrestling (Ogbudu anda) among the youths. On this occasion, wrestling talents are normally discovered.

On Friday, cultural dances are featured in the day. And in modern times a band normally entertains in the night.

On Saturday, the grand finale, first, two masquerades (male and female) dressed in weeds dance round the town escorted by youths. At about 2.00pm the festival masquerade (Akpo) is ushered in from Akpo creek with gunshots (loaded with gunpowder and carbide) fired at it. The masquerade chases people based on where the shots are fired from.

The festival is always celebrated amidst heavy downpour, indicating that all is well with the masquerade carrier. Lack of rains on that day is a bad omen, indicating that masquerade the carrier will soon die. The masquerade is expected to performs till dark.

The machete carried by the masquerade is the same old machete carried by Obasuku on that first day and it is normally sharpened on human head. And anyone injured by the masquerade later takes a bottle(s) of local gin (Ogogoro) to the priests for appeasement and they are cured.

The Akpo masquerade is normally escorted by a smaller masquerade – Igele which is believed to be the wife. It is a comic masquerade, holding a fork stick instead of a machete. It dances and the household that does not give will be infested with masquerade that night after it exposes its’ buttocks to them. Foods items collected are cooked at the shrine to entertain the masquerade participants.

Pregnant women do not participate in the festivities, as it is believed that the sight of the masquerade causes miscarriage. Thus they are kept at a separate place (Ewokiri) during the masquerade performances.

Normally, flooding brings in fish and food, so during the festival, there is always plenty of food and entertainment and as gifts to visitors.

It is also believed that the festival brings fertility to women.