ABSTRACT
This project is aimed at exploring icons and motifs found in the Egwu Ogba festival of the Ogba people in rivers state of Nigeria through adaptation of the icons and motifs for designs and the use of various techniques of textile production such as batik, tie and dye, screen printing, stenciling and block printing processes, mixed media. The researcher also employed patchwork, quitting, embroidery to produce unique works with fabrics, textile inks, wax and dye stuff as a media of production of works for good textile end uses. To carry out this work, the researcher gathered information during field work, review of related literature on different festivals, studying of photographs, witnessing the Egwu Ogba festival and also by oral interviews with elders of different communities in Ogba land. The icons and motifs were explored on paper as drawings and translated for mass production of textile materials like window and door blinds, beddings, table mats, flowers vases, center rugs, backdrops, cloths, wall hangings, and other house hold materials.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Ogba is one of the three groups which make up Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni/ Local Government Area of Rivers State of Nigeria. It is situated at the northern extremity of Rivers State. According to Ellah (1995), Ogbaland “stretches from about 4.50oN to 5.30oN and extends from about 6.25oE to about 6.40oE. Spatially, it covers an area of 920 sq. km in the Northern part of the Niger Delta region located within the River Niger flood plains. It is bordered on the West by the Orashi River and on the east by the Sombreiro River. Its location in the Sombreiro-Warri deltaic plains, which consists of coastal plains sands and other tertiary deposits – marine, mixed and continental deposits typical of deltaic environments situates it in the rain forest zone of southern Nigeria.” Ellah further asserts that “the area can be divided into four ecological zones:
The Sombreiro river plains (eastwards)
The Orashi river flood plains (westwards)
The central well drained lowlands and farm mosaic (between the Orashi and Sombreiro rivers
The non-tidal freshwater swamps basin.”
“The highest part of Ali-Ogba is the well drained lowland and farm lands with altitude ranging from 15m to 22m. In general, the land is characterized by a gentle sloping topography of less than 10 degrees in many areas. This relatively low
altitude gives the area its characteristic flat and monotonous low relief interspersed by many wetlands (swamp /creek basins), which crisscross the central low lands and empty into the two main river systems; Sombreiro and Orashi”. (Ellah 1995) Ellah (1995) also notes that “as a result of its geographic location, Ali-Ogba enjoys all year round high temperatures averaging 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the day with overnight lows ranging from 65 to 70 degrees. Also, the area has at least ten months of rainfall totalling over 80 inches per year with very high humidity in the summer months. The climatic conditions and topography support a wide variety of plant and animal life. The floral consists of economic trees especially oil palm trees and a variety of plants species of great pharmacological value as human elixir.”
According to oral history, the progenitor of the Ogba people, Akalaka migrated from the ancient Benin Kingdom as a result of some rebellion in which he was implicated, thus his flight southwards from Benin. Akalaka was said to have had two sons namely: Ekpeye and Ogba and Ogba who in turn had two children: Egi and Igburu.
The Ogba people with an average population of 281,000 according to the 2006
National Population Census figures speak Ogba, an Igboid language, a branch of the Niger-Congo language family cluster. There are three internal dialects or idiolects in the Ogba language viz: Egi, Igburu and Usomini. These three internal idiolects correspond to the three clans of the tribe. These three clans are spread across thirty-nine towns and villages in the following order: Egi Clan – 16
communities namely Oboburu, Obagi, Obigbor, Ohali-Elu, Akabuka, Ogbogu, Obite, Ede, Egita, Akabta, Obiyebe, Obiozimini, Erema, Ibewa, Obukegi and Itu- Ogba Igburu Clan – 12 communities namely Okposi, Ogbidi, Obigwe, Amah, Ohiauga, Elehia, Ikiri, Osiakpu, Elieta, Uju, Egbada and Okansu; Usomini Clan – 11 communities namely Omoku, Obrikom, Obie, Obor, Okpurukpuali, Ebogoro, Aligu, Kreigani, Ohali-Usomini, Idu-Obosiukwu and Idu-Osobile.
Before the advent of the British colonialists, the Ogba people were predominantly farmers, hunters and fishermen largely as a result of their natural terrain. According to Ellah (1995), the physical landscape of Ali-Ogba presents a variety of natural resources: relatively well-drained land and rich soils in many areas, fresh water rivers, creeks and wetlands, secondary forests and abundant sunshine and rainfall all year round.
As a result of these endowments, the natural environment supports an agricultural economy based on fishing and farming for production of a wide variety of crops such as cassava, yam, maize, coco-yam, plantain and banana, including many vegetables such as okra, pepper and different types of melon. In addition, fruit trees such as paw-paw (papaya), oranges, guava, mango and pineapples are widely grown in gardens around buildings in the communities. Thus, in many respects, Ali-Ogba mirrors other upland communities of Rivers state in the production of a variety of agricultural products.
The Ogba people had several strong cultural and spiritual activities that were celebrated by all and sundry across the three clans of the tribe. The different kinds of activities which the people celebrate include traditional marriage rites, burial ceremonies, chieftaincy installations, birth ceremonies and several festivals. However, the Ogba people hold in high esteem several of their festivals which are celebrated with several rituals and for different purposes. Amongst the different annual festivals celebrated by the Ogbas are Nchaka, Igbogwe, Egwu-Ukahsi, Egwu-Ohali, Ebviam, and Egwu Ogba festivals which is celebrated by the Egi clan.
According to Microsoft Encarta (2009), festival is a kind of “communal celebrations involving carefully planned programs, outpourings of respect, rejoicing or high revelry, established by custom or sponsored by various cultural groups or organizations. Such secular celebrations differ from religious festivals and feasts in that the focus is not on the significance of the rituals of holy days of a particular faith but on the public honouring of outstanding persons, the commemoration of important historical or cultural events, or the re-creation of cherished folkway”. Festival can also be loosely defined as a time set aside for a public celebration whether religious or secular, although festival is fundamentally derives from ritual. Mircea Eliade, Romanian-American historian of religion, on other hand, notes that festival time is sacred, that is, it participates in the spiritual realm in which patterns of men’s religious, social or cultural institution and activities are established. Thus, a participant in a festival identifies himself with the sacred time through ritualistic re-enactment of the events that inform man about his origin, identity and destiny.
Egwu Ogba festival is a cultural heritage through which the life of the community is reinsured. The Egwu Ogba Festival identifies the people as a group, thus, strengthening their unity and cohesion. Religious and social values are exhibited and renewed during the Egwu Ogba Festival. People use the occasion to solicit for blessings from God and the departed. The Egwu Ogba festival is the rallying point for the Ogba people, celebrated with considerable enthusiasm by the Ogba indigenes in the month of August every year and lasts for a month. The festival is as old as the history of the Ogba people, which dates back to early 15th century. The Egwu Ogba festival over the years has evolved a good number of iconographic and symbolic forms which the researcher intends to explore.
However its pertinent to understand the concept of iconography and symbolic forms properly before proceeding with the icons and motifs of the Egwu Ogba festival. In this light, the online resource center, en.wikipedia.org defines iconography as “the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct from artistic style.” Wikipedia further states that “an iconography” may also mean a particular depiction of a subject in terms of the content of the image, such as the number of figures used, their placing and gestures. Encyclopaedia Britannica on the other hand states that iconography is “the science of identification, description, classification, and interpretation of symbols, themes, and subject matter in the visual arts. In this vein icons and symbols pertaining to
the egwu ogba festival have over the years been generated from the natural environment of the Ogba people, especially from wildlife and traditional religious activities. The researcher has considered it necessary to study these art forms in order to bring it to public awareness as well as adapt them for production of textile design objects.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Egwu Ogba festival has become an integral part of the religious and social life of the Ogba people but its artistic potentials remain largely unharnessed with respect to using the various iconographic and symbolic objects associated with the festival as an artistic medium for creative expression. The icons and motifs that exist on the masks, musical instrument and paraphernalia of the Egwu Ogba festival are not found in modern textile prints. Thus, there is the need to explore means of adapting the motifs and symbolic forms of the festival for production of textile designs.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study are as follows:
1. Identify the iconographic and symbolic elements of the Egwu Ogba festival.
2. Study the art forms from visual and literary evidence
3. Explore by drawing process the rich cultural heritage of Egwu Ogba festival to create aesthetic fabric design using different textile techniques.
4. Produce fabric materials exploring different production techniques.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study will create awareness about the existence of the Egwu Ogba Festival particularly its symbolic and iconographic significance. It will also inspire textile and fashion designers to further explore the icons and symbols. These will help to preserve the art forms which presently are threatened by Christian influence.
It will also provides ideas, concept and forms that can open and rekindle the interest of the researcher and the Ogba people at large in the rich arts and aesthetics of the icons and symbols of the Egwu Ogba festival.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The Icons and symbolic forms of the Egwu Ogba Festival is translated into motifs that the researcher deployed in the designs and production of textile materials through different production techniques like printing, quiting, patch work, sewing, batiking, tie-dye, stuffing.
1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
In the course of this study, data collection for the work was particularly difficult and created major constraints to the full realization of the research. Logistic challenges of travel and oral interview was another major significant limitation. Meeting the traditional rulers, elders and community leaders in their homes was not easy amidst preparations that were in full gear. Shortage of resource materials
like textbooks, and journal articles on the Egwu Ogba festival severely limited the work of the researcher.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
A STUDY OF ICONOGRAPHIC AND SYMBOLIC OBJECTS OF THE EGWU OGBA FESTIVAL AND ITS ADAPTIVE POSSIBILITIES FOR TEXTILE DESIGN
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