It was indeed an exciting display as some women were seen brandishing their waist to the tunes that was drummed, in the recent Ofala festival that held in Anambra State.
The Ofala Festival is annually celebrated amongst the Igbo people majorly in Anambra State.
It serves as a renewal right for the Igwe or Obi as similar to the Igue festival in Benin and the Ine, Osi or Ogbanigbe Festival in many mid-West Igbo communities of Nigeria.
Ofala can be described from the clipping of two Igbo lexicons ọfọ which means authority and ala meaning land.
The festival is celebrated within two days mostly in October by the Obi and is a customary obligation that must be performed every couple of years without fail.
Some historians also believe the festival is related to the New Yam Festival in Onitsha and devotion of the king to the safety of his people.
The festival marks the end of a period of retreat sometimes called Inye Ukwu na Nlo when the Obi remains incommunicado and undergoes spiritual purification for the good of the community.
At the end of the week long retreat, the Igwe emerges during the Ofala to bless his subjects and say prayers for the community. Ofala is celebrated annually in some places beginning from the coronation of the Obi to his death, the latter of which is called “the last Ofala” while other towns may require it to be celebrated every two to three years.
Masquerades are also on the display of Ofala festival, which women should not go near, because they are symbols of spirits. However, the video of two women prodigally dancing and whining their waist to the rhythm of the masquerade tunes is something that is thrilling. The sight of the women and their waist was laughable enough to demystify the masquerade.
