What is today known as the Amaseikumor festival in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, has so many intriguing features as of today.
It is crucial that the festival is as old as the Kingdom itself, it is celebrated annually by members of the Kingdom and guests would throng out in large numbers from different parts of Ijaws to celebrate this rare festival.
As we are made to understand, the festival has three very distinctive cultural settings and with even a fourth feature of thanksgiving at the end of the carnival.
These very dynamic and interesting cultural activities that made up the Amaseikumor festival includes : Gbaraun Egbesu Ogele, Ibolomobo-ere, Amaseikumor proper and the thanksgiving service.
The Present State Of The Festival At The Moment Of Compiling This Report
It would be recalled that today (19/04/2017) has marked exactly three days that the festival has begun in Gbaramatu Kingdom.
Today marks the grand finale of a sub segment of the festival which is the Gbaraun Egbesu Ogele, as the exercise have lasted for three days.
The Gbaraun Egbesu segment that ended today focussed solely on the communication between members of the Kingdom and their Gbaraun Egbesu deity. This was done daily with offerings to the Gbaraun god; the chantings, incantations, libation and the invoking of their gods to cleanse the Kingdom from whatever evil that must have befallen it.
It was further learnt that a total of 21 rams were slaughtered daily as sacrifices for their gods. Chief priests of different Ijaw Kingdoms were also hugely involved in this process.
After the different incantations and invocations; beautifully decorated masquerades mostly with white attires numbering about 10 would come out to display to entertain the audience that are in the Gbaraun Egbesu sacred shrine.
The coming and exit of His Royal Majesty, Oboro Gbaraun II, Aketekpe Agadagba, Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom is usually announced with seven traditional gun powder (Ikurusi) and in the afternoon while the Pere is seated, seven Ikurusi will be fired again.
The Gbaraun Egbesu sacred shrine is so beautifully build that it looks like a stadia, a museum with several other appealing statutes that beats human comprehension.
At about 7:55pm, the King retires to his Royal castle in company of three other Kings across different Ijaw Kingdoms.
In his place, the Gbaramatu traditional ruler continued to pray for the growth and development of members in the Kingdom.
The Ibolomobo-ere Festival
With the conclusion of the three days Gbaraun Egbesu Ogele today, the festival would assume another dimension tomorrow with the coming onboard of Ibolomobo-ere.
Stay tuned as GbaramatuVoice Newspaper bring you more details about the Ibolomobo-ere festival as a sub segment of the Amaseikumor festival live from Oporoza, the traditional headquarter of Gbaramatu Kingdom.
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