FUNCTIONS AND RELEVANCE OF COSTUME IN NGWAS EKPE FESTIVAL
ABSTRACT
This study was intended to evaluate the functions and relevance of costume in NgwasEkpe festival. This study was guided by the following objectives; To identify, describe the various costumes associated with the Ngwa-Ekpe Festival, to find out the roles specific costumes play in the celebration of the festival and To establish the educational values of the Ngwa-Ekpe festival and its art Elements. The study employed the survey research design; questionnaires in addition to library research were applied in order to collect data. Primary and secondary data sources were used for the study. The respondents under the study were 28 staff of The Abia State Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The study findings revealed that the costumes of the Ekpe festival include: the George wrapper, Ishiagu, OkpuAgu, loin cloths, beads, Ichaka and the masquerades. That the festival teaches the young generation of the Ngwa people the history and bravely of an Ngwa man. The findings of the study would promote cultural education among the youth in the Ngwa area while creating cultural awareness about African cultural
values.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 OVERVIEW
This chapter is the introduction to the research. It highlights the background to the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions to be answered, and importance of the study Festival is an event usually set by a local community. It centers on and some unique aspects of that community. It is a set of activities and practice
designed to entertain the people of that particular community.
Festival of many types serves to meet specific needs as well as to provide entertainment. These types of celebration oer
a belonging to Religious, social or geographical groups. Festivals also remind people of their traditions and in resents times also helps in unity among family.
The words costume and dress both refer to and imply the use of clothing to cover and adorn the body. To wear clothes, a uniquely human behavior, is an act that possesses great symbolic meaning in a culture and is closely connected to social interaction ( Risa, 2010). Costume served as a means of communication in social interactions. Individuals, through the wearing of costume, have historically revealed their personal identity along with other socially pertinent information.
Costume was not only a form of communication, but was also viewed as a symbolic behavior. Humans are unique in that they wear clothes and can adorn themselves with expensive objects. Through this act, they created meaning and passed it on to others. Since symbols were given arbitrary meanings, costume became symbolic when meaning was assigned to it. Individuals were not usually isolated from others; as a consequence, costume and appearance became a means that influenced all members of society. Symbols on costumes were a silent but powerful way to quickly communicate multiple facts. People in a society first had to define their costume in cultural terms before they prescribed it with symbolic meaning. Without social
interaction, symbolic meaning cannot be impaired. How can individual desired to be perceived was defined by the values that his or her culture upheld.
Costume, as perceived symbols, acted to define social groups and provided visual Reference information to others. This information helped individuals tell insiders from outsiders. Individuals in similar positions wore equivalent costumes and thus were seen as belonging to a certain group. As a society grew more complex, symbols became increasingly important in maintaining its structure. It was very important for individuals to know and understand the meaning imparted in their culture’s costume, for symbols could transmit a variety of messages from the easily discernible to the ambiguous. A challenge
in studying costume is figuring out the meaning behind the symbols which members of that society would have understood at a glance, but which are now long forgotten or can only be faintly Comprehended.
Costume assigned symbolic meanings were powerful tools which historically provided much information about an individual. In hierarchical societies, costume exhibited many subtle meanings and denoted where an individual belonged. This rigid social structure was visually reinforced by the costumes people wore, because symbols of status on clothing were a guide to who possessed the most power. Costume also served to distinguish gender and reflected the different roles the two genders played in their society. Men and women historically were separated by clothing styles that belonged exclusively to their gender. Typically, women in the past have not physically toiled as hard as men and would subsequently wear garments of longer length. Women generally would also wear more jewelry than men. Wearing a costume designated for the opposite
gender marked an individual out for criticism and showed an overstepping of one’s traditional roles
