Edo state has a very rich tradition of festivals and masquerades through which the people either appease the various gods and goddesses, purification of both the land and individual celebrant, initiate men or women into age-grades or as a traditional get-together.
More than one hundred major festivals are celebrated in the state between September and March every year.
Those celebrations offer opportunities for re-unions of members of the family and friends, it also offers opportunities to v
isitors to see and feel the rich cultural heritage of the state. More than one hundred major festivals are celebrated in the state between January and December every year.
Like other festival celebrated in various parts of Edo state, Ivbamen is celebrated annually for a week in April or May by Ozalla clan in Owan to initiate young men between 28 and 30 years of age into manhood. It also marks the end of one year and the beginning of another.
The festival is as old as Ozalla clan itself. Each celebrant participates in it for three consecutive times so that by the time a man of 28 reaches 30, he must have completed the full turn.
No young man is allowed t
o participate in the festival less than twice and if any celebrant dies after performing the ceremony only once, for instance, it is regarded as bad luck for the person. Ladies also perform public display of their nakedness as the acceptable symbol of innocence and purity.
The date of ceremony is announced five market days earlier by the clan head with the co-operation of the chief priest of river Orhuen. The celebrants then start physical training to enable them run the eight-mile distance from the town to river Orhuen.
They also make public announc
ements about their intention to participate in the festival and promise to bring to the elders information about any obstruction that comes their way.
