Festivals are extremely important to the African people, these festivals play major roles in our contemporary social life and are necessary for cohesion and mobilization.

Different festivals promote peace, solidarity, and a sense of unity amongst The African people and since Nigeria is a country full of diverse cultures and traditions, they have multiple festivals that are celebrated annually.

The particular festival I am about to share with you took place in my home town; which is in the Southern region of Nigeria some time ago in April and the festival is called the KABOWEI SEIGBEIN CULTURAL FESTIVAL.

The Word SEIGBEIN means to throw away evil, thus the festival is held for purification and it is celebrated annually in order to Purify the land and remove anything that signifies evil.

The festival lasted for 10 days with an event or series of events for each day and it featured celebrations, dance, sports competition, music and other fun activities.

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The festival started with a dance procession by community members around the whole community.

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Community members continued with their parade at night holding torchlights in their hands while walking around the community.

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PERE DAY.
The Pere (which is also known as a king) His Royal Family, palace chiefs, and some prominent leaders in the community also danced around the town.
The king and his Royal Family were the only ones permitted to be dressed in red, while the chiefs wore white attires.

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A Female dancing procession across the town supported by other men.

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FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT FINALS.
The Winning Club of the football competition was presented with a trophy by the King of the community.

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WAR BOAT REGEGATTA, SWIMMING, AND CANEO COMPETITION.
Of all the events that took place during the festival, the war boat was my favorite and I enjoyed it very much.
This event is carried out mainly to recall and celebrate how the forefathers of the day engaged in different wars during their time and how they went to wars using a war boat.

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The 8th day of the Festival which was referred to as Kabowei Day featured the Elephant dance display, Masquerade dance display, Wrestling Competition, and other cultural activities.

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ROYAL BOAT CRUISE

Sons, daughters, community members, and well wishes of the Kabowei clan assembled in a boat barge and sailed across neighboring communities with a band of musicians playing and singing on the Barge.
On the 10th day of the Festival community members also assembled in the same barge, and cruised from one community to another dancing to the tune of Reggae songs which marked the end of the festival; It was called a Reggae Love Boat.

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I always look forward to attending this festival and I can’t wait to attend next year's, It has been a pleasure taking you on this journey through the culture and tradition of the African People and I hope you enjoyed reading this.

All pictures are mine except stated otherwise.

Thank you so much for reading.
Until we meet again, Much Love.