fbpx
iri uzu festival

IRI UZU FESTIVAL IN UMUIGWE COMMUNITY, ACHI

 

 Iri Uzu festival is a yearly festival  celebrated in Umuigwe community, Achi in Oji River local government of Enugu State

August, September, and October are three unique months of the Igbo Cultural Calendar. Every year, thousands of Igbo sons and daughters join together to celebrate the annual  Festival. This age-long festival, which is as old as the Igbo culture itself, typically takes place between August and October, with the date fixed by each group.

The official purpose of this festival is to thank God for his enablement and blessing toward the blacksmiths. Iri Uzu festival is unique because it is peculiar to blacksmiths who inhibit this particular section of the town. in my previous article, I explained a lot of things about these people, and I  recommend you go read up the post to know them better.

Every year, Umuigwe community holds a festival in appreciation to God for his enablement,  its a day to rest and take a break from work, a day to appreciate the work of art.

 Blacksmithing craft is a special gift to the people of Umuigwe in Agbadala Achi, for example, when a person from this community has a problem that affects him, financially and otherwise if he tries to sort it traditionally, it could be traced back to his lack of involvement in crafts. Not always. A few of the young men today participate in the craft while doing other businesses that are of interest to them.

Uzu Festivals take place every year towards the end of August and last for two days, but before the festival, each and every family in the community invites their friends and good wishes from far and close to come with them to celebrate.

On the first day of the festival, families prepare their houses to receive visitors; they make assorted dishes, palm wine, and other drinks. Each guest comes with a drink to support the host, after which they begin the celebration.

 

 

When it gets to mid-afternoon, everyone in Umuigwe gets together at AforIgwe for more entertainment, Agbadala Achi’s traditional ruler visits the square of the village to celebrate with them, they begin by praying and thanking God for a year’s great work. The traditional ruler opens the event and  celebration commences 

Note that on the first day of the festival only powerful masquerade graces the occasion, the strongest masquerade in Agbadala Achi is ‘Ayoba’ which comes out once a year, on the first day of the Iri Uzu Festival, Ayoba comes out with another powerful masquerade like Idemili, Ikoro, etc.

On the second day, some other masquerade comes out to entertain the people, the presence of the  masquerade in the event is for entertainment only,

If you miss the event then follow us to watch the video on YouTube

18 thoughts on “IRI UZU FESTIVAL IN UMUIGWE COMMUNITY, ACHI

  1. Amazing! You really doing sublime work, am so delighted. You equally brought it close to everyone to watch on you tube…. You deserve some accolades 💝

  2. Great attempt to re-energize African culture. The beauty of this one lays more on the link between craft and culture. Very insightful! Thumps up!!
    ORTEGA

  3. I would like to get across my admiration for your kindness giving support to individuals that require assistance with your issue. Your special dedication to passing the message across had been unbelievably valuable and has surely allowed many people much like me to realize their endeavors. The interesting help denotes much to me and a whole lot more to my peers. Regards; from all of us.

  4. I have not checked in here for some time as I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are great quality so I guess I will add you back to my everyday bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error

Enjoy this blog? Please share...

Follow ChocoNaija
Subscribe
LinkedIn
Follow by Email