Politics and Development through the Eyes of Dance-Culture: The Ososo Akpodo Dance Paradigm
SURU, Cyrus Damisa Ph.D
Lecturer,
Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies,
Nasarawa State University,
P.M.B.1022, Keffi, Nigeria.
Phone: +2348035042011/+2348074505896
Abstract
The place of dance in politics and development needs not be questioned. This is because dance is one of the strongest articulators of human activities and life, mirrored and projected in politics and the development of most societies. Our concern here is that the human structure in the society is a similitude of the engineering assemblage of tools to produce a product. Therefore, in this article, attempt is made to consider how the Akpodo funeral dance performance is ‘engineeringly’, democratically and dynamically used to satirise, criticise, comment on politics, and connect the past with the present among the Ososo people of Edo State, Nigeria. Attempt is made here also to present the functional responsibility of dance, funeral dance in particular, as a catalyst for democratic tradition, political stability and security and development. We adopted the descriptive and analytical data gathering methodology and, the participant, non-participant-observation and interview methods, added to written materials and on the spot photographs assessment to search out our findings. Our findings were that Ososo Akpodo funeral dance performance dynamically and ‘engineeringly’ communicate, satirise, comment on political issues and promotes security, continuous existence of the Ososo people culturally and democratically. The paper concluded with recommendations particularly, that the indigenous dance performance(s) of our societies be studied, and adopted for use in view of its germane didactic imperative and suitability to the current global political trend, democracy and as paradigm to arresting some of the security challenges that Nigeria is bedevilled with.
Introduction
First, perhaps also quizzical and dubitable, is the concern of dance with politics, security and development. Second, is that one of those neglected but germane aspect of culture that has served political development in the world is dance. However, one may be tempted to align dance place in the society as mere cabaret for entertainment in the homes, clubs, courts, palaces and political receptions as a kind of fraternity, even as an appendage to religion. It is more than that as this article is set out to unravel.
Dance from the prehistoric and traditional African society has served (still serving) as an instrument of politics and development as it was deployed to satirise, criticise, and condemn the ills and excessive powers of the rulers and the nobilities in the society via the annual festivals and other traditional gatherings where song-dances featured prominently. Political opponents use song-dances to pull the crowd to themselves at every available public gathering. This truism, as a way of paradigm, is found in the dances of Ososo people of Edo State, Nigeria where dance is employed as a historical and political dialogue with the ancestors, the living and the unborn, to checkmate the ignoble and untoward activities of members of the society particularly, the aristocrats and the politicians.
As it were, man grew from simple belief in the supper-beings to finding solutions to meet his other daily needs, to becoming socialised and later the development translated into political organisations and the struggle for supremacy of place and power. Rodney (1972, p.11) enumerates the progression this way:
Firstly, the progress from crude stone tools to the use of metals; secondly, the changeover from hunting and gathering wild fruit to the domestication of animals and the growing of food crops; and thirdly, the improvement in organization of work from being an individualistic activity…through the participation of many.
From the simple realization of dance as food to the super beings, dance realities followed the developmental stages as well as the political achievements of man. It serves as a weapon for political and developmental progress at celebrations like the National Independence Day and the likes. Dance also became a desideratum for every achievement of Africans, Nigerians in particular. This is observed for instance by Suru (2012, p.315) about the Ojude-Oba of the Ijebus of the South-western Nigeria that upon achievement and at every end of the year:
the king and the people (including those in diaspora) are brought together in oneness and brotherhood to felicitate and conciliate their gains for the year. At these events, dance is married with money, not to display affluence or social standing but to share with others, successes and achievements which providence has brought to them and in return they desire to share with others in dance.
In Nigeria today, as always, dance is applied to address every human condition as affirmed by scholars. For instance, dance can be used to espouse political issues (Udoka 2004), economic issues (Shaibu 2006) and the likes. It can also be used for entertainment and recreational purposes (Akunna 1999), as instrument of communication (Bakare, 1994) etc. In agreement with Suru above, Bakare (2005, pp.85-86) affirms that:
Dance in the African society is not mere entertainment but a folk media of human communication. As an art, dance communicates the culture of those who own it. It then follows that it communicates every facet of our live since our culture is the vehicle through which the African mode of living is transmitted. Their achievement in technology, commerce, trade and warfare, their behavioural pattern and belief systems, their moral values and historical experiences, their mode of occupation and geographical environment…
Thus, as a non-verbal medium of cultural expression in Nigeria, dance is aptly, presented in the Akpodo funeral rite of the Ososo people of Nigeria.
The Akpodo Dance.
Akpodo dance usually commences with the sound of the Agidigbo (slit-drum). According to HRH King Obaitan A. Adeloro, the Olososo of Ososo in an interview the drum is a mass communicator, as well as, a socio-political signifier of the funeral of an important male personality, particularly, a political figure, a masquerader, an Itakpo grandaunt, a chief or a king in the Ososo society. It is usually played by any child of the family as selected or elected by the spirit of the departed. This is joined by the Osomokuru (a ‘facekurade’, Ododo, 2004) to arouse all and sundry to the occasion. The first dancers, according to the Ososo tradition, is the spirit of the deceased, whose effigy with all the paraphernalia associated with and identifying his status, is displayed at the entrance of the family compound. The second before others is the Osomokuru whose duty it is to do an itinerary tour of the entire town with bells on his body (to announce his coming) and a machete to cut down any supposed enemy that stands in his way as a way of cleaning the society for the easy passage of the spirit as it were to be welcomed into the occasion. This stage serves as purification signal for the final funeral rite to commence, and it is a form of traditional democracy.
The Akpodo, like the Ekpodo- Ososo female version of funeral rite as Chief Ajayi Ubuoro puts it in an interview “is the highest political age grade that an Ososo man can attain before he can be appointed a chief or a king in the society”. In other words, according to the Ososo tradition, a man is regarded as an Okhogbe, a youth or, a political neophyte, until he has been admitted into the Akpodo, having satisfied the traditional passage and rite needed to be a member.
On admission, he is referred to as Akpodo until his demise. Thus, dance group formation and politicization among men in the Ososo society, traditionally, is informed by age and class graduation or categorisation. Upon death, an Akpodo will be accorded any of the dances that are relevant and has to do with his vocation while he was alive. Ososo culture demands that every male child of the society from early in life be initiated into a dance through an age-grade. From this age-grade dancing, political associations are formed and development is fostered. Eyinlaro Ogegogo, an indigene, a member of the Akugberoro age-grade and a graduate of the 2004 Itakpo festival, in an interview, spoke on the issue:
Membership of age-grade encourages unity and this is demonstrated in the culture of collective participation in dancing activities such as; festivals, member’s naming, funeral, house warming, title taking etc. and also road clearing or rehabilitation; sanctions and punishments in the case of stealing, violation of traditional rules, disloyalty to the constituted authority, a fight with one’s in-law, illegal divorce of one’s wife and so on. It is in dance we show our agreement with or disagreement to any wrong step taken by any member of our group to the society.
The nature of the age-grade system in Ososo is such which is related more to socio-political activities of members of the society than simply membership of an age-grade. This is reaffirmed by Ayeni (2004, p. 15) an indigene. In his words:
People of same age-bracket usually belong to the same age-group. Members of an age-group are never classified to be those born in the same year. One’s parents have the authority to decide the age-group their son should belong to seldom,…Age-groups are highly connected with communal activities such as construction of roads, clearing of public ponds, cooperatives, marriage ceremonies, burial ceremonies, security of public buildings.
The words also corroborate Ogegogo and advance the place of dance in socialization and political formations. Ayeni links dance and age-group hybridization to the history, growth and development of the Itakpo Festival. This is a festival that gives political statement and, marks the freedom of the Ososo people from the hands of their earliest oppressors. According to Ayeni D.S. in an interview “dance and dancing activities of the Ososo people have come a long way. It has accompanied the celebration of Itakpo from 1982” till date. Below is a list of the past known political age-groups that have graduated from the Itakpo festival where dance featured prominently. The groups according to Ayeni (2004) are:
Omonomo Jeuweri - 1892-1896
Edikare - 1898-1902
Asoboodu - 1904-1908
Ekusowe - 1910-1914
Ekubode - 1916-1920
Okiboya - 1922-1926
Ekutama - 1928-1932
Amigoloya - 1934-1940
Agudufi - 1942-1944
Okinauoya - 1948-1950
Egbe Ofin - 1950-1956
Egbe Ilaju - 1956-1962
Eku Akunlese - 1962-1968
Eku Asokedile - 1968-1974
Eku Omokudu - 1974-1980
Eku Ategbeya - 1980-1986
Eku Ominira - 1986-1992
Eku Akemire - 1992-1998
Ekugberoro - 1998-2004
To become an Akpodo in the Ososo society Chief Irefu Michael maintained in an interview that the individual must, like the current political dispensation - democracy, follow by participation, in the graduation process and meet all the cultural requirements needed. There are years in between each celebration and graduation in the Itakpo festival. The years are periods allowed by tradition for age-group members to socialize and discuss politics. A graduate at this festival is referred to as an Akpodo (a victorious person). During these years, members are tested in dance through their adherence to the values of the society. The test, which lasts for two weeks, takes place during dancing at the Irevho-the village square, located at Idegwa, Ikpenna, Egbetua and Ani communities of Ososo and at the bottom of the mountain they are expected to climb to consummate the rite- of- passage. The mountain climb symbolises successful completion of the rite. But significantly, it is an elevation to the highest plane in the social and political echelon of the society. The notion is that the participants have danced their ways through life to a Heavenly realm (top of the mountain), where it is adjudged to be the dwelling place for the super-beings.
As it were, like we have it in most political party constitutions, there are laid down rules governing participation. Such rules include:
1. No member must take or marry the wife of another man.
2. No member must steal.
3. No member must do evil to another.
4. No member must marry a non initiate.
5. No member must have any sexual affair with a woman.
6. Members are expected to shun every evil tendency during this
period and afterwards.
And, all members are under some ritual observances called igugwe affirmed by John Olode in an interview. He stated further that those who zose (broke the rules), are considered as ohgbiyege (a worthless individual), and such is adjudged not to have completed the rite of passage leading to an Akpodo properly and thus, cannot hold any political office in the society. As a matter of fact, such a member according to Mr. Ayo Ikare in an interview is exposed at any dancing activity when he slumps, falls, collapses or even dies mysteriously. Furthermore, the processional dance by the grandaunts from the mountain, meets democratically with those of the awaiting families, (like the modern electorate) at the bottom (to affirm their competence) after which they dance around the town in family groupings before proceeding to their various homes, where dancing continues.
Other dances that are associated and performed at every Akpodo funeral dance rite are the Ishoko, Ijabi, Ilogun and Ujo dances. Unlike the views of Bakare and some dance scholars, dance pattern in the Ososo society is not mainly for the audience’s delight, to ease of tension and boredom, it is a language designed traditionally to articulate their socio-political world-view.
The Ishoko Dance
The Ishoko – hunter’s dance formation is traceable to the migratory experiences in the early political history of the Ososo people. The dancers moved democratically en masse with a leader in front from their former settlements to the present. This formation is regarded as a war tactics applied to keep their oppressors away. The Ishoko -hunters dance pattern of movement is employed to keep this migratory experience in memory. Like the Yoruba Ijala dance, a type of hunter’s dance, Ishoko employs pulsating movements with staccato but understandable rhythm from the Ulo, iron gong.
The Ishoko dance is usually directed and punctuated by two musical instruments, the Arigede drum and the Ulo - iron gong. The hunters (dancers) stand in a circle with the Arigede drummer at the centre. The lead dancer plays the Ulo in agreement with the Arigede drummer to dictate movements in and out of the circle in centrifugal and centripetal traditional dance patterns. This form of non-verbal communication, Devito (1980, p.240) states as we found with dance generally “exists in a context and that context helps to determine to a large extent the meaning of any non-verbal behaviour”. The Arigede provides a continuous rhythm that keeps the dancer’s movement within the circle while the Ulo contextually communicates by the action and the movements in and out of the circle, a democratic message, “united we stand and divided we fall”. The floor patterns for Ishoko dance are as presented below:
The Ishoko Dance Floor Patterns
The Ishoko dance is usually performed at the funeral ceremony for an Akpodo. This dance sets out to spiritually re-unite the deceased with the living members, the family he left behind and the society in general.
Ijabi Dance
Another Akpodo dance formation is found in the Ijabi dance. It is a kind of victory dance that is performed by the elders and Akpodo members to re-enact their past political experiences during the Ijalomo wars and during the Nupe Kingdom slave raid era. It is today a kind of social and political entertainment dance that takes place at the compound of a deceased male elder. The victory dance enactment begins with the slicing of a dog at the first instance. The killing of the dog is not an expression of worship but a mockery, and political symbolism of the killing of the Ijalomos (Nupe warriors) concluded in an interview by Mr. Ayo Ikare. He stated further that afterwards, the Ogodo – a spear, is fixed into the earth at the centre of the dancers in a concentric formation. Each elder, dances around the Ogodo, removes it, dances around the circle with it and returns it to where it was as a reaffirmation of his continual allegiance to the Akpodo and the society in general. This is done until the last member of the group has completed the circle, exchanged greetings with the rest of them and the Ogodo is returned to the centre, piercing the mother earth again and again to stand still. This is liken to the gravel which is the staff of authority in the National Assembly of Nigeria and elsewhere.
Ogodo
A group of elders dancing the Ijabi dance round the Ogodo.
Movement within the circle is zigzag. These are movements and tactics required in war situations. Bakare Ojo (1994), Kofoworola, Ziky (2004), consider circle movements as significant to command communication. For instance, Bakare (1994, p.27) affirms that when dancers are in a circle formation, “this gives a feeling of communality… it means they have something in common. It suggests that some sort of affinity exist among them”. Usually, as it is typical of most ethnic dances, apart from the smaller circle of dancers, the spectators also form a larger one outside it. Below are the Ijabi dance floor patterns.
The Ijabi Dance Floor Pattern 1
The Ijabi Dance Floor Pattern 2
The circle or “ring” formation in Ososo Akpodo dances, apart from the communal engagement comments on the issue of democracy, tyranny, and re-construction etc. The exchange of the Ogodo suggests the process of democratization, and the piercing of the Ogodo into the earth signifies joint agreement and oneness. These positions and actions of movement in the Ososo circle dance pattern are applied for communication. For clarity, we have included the perspective design of dance movements around the Ogodo by the Akpodo members:
KEY
- Lead Dancer
- Dancer
- Ogodo
- Okanga Drummer
- Space of Performance
- Direction of Movement
Perspective Pattern of Movement for an Ijabi Dance.
Conclusion
Dance, as articulated in this article, can be a source for didactic learning for politics and politicking. If the Nigerian politicians and others around the world can borrow a lesson from the Ososo funeral dance performances, development in our nations will not only be rapid but also yielding and fruitful. This advice is borne from the application of dance, aptly, to checkmate the society vis-a-vis political interest and social development.
The idea of traditional politics borne from age-grades, unions, professional guilds and the rest as found in the rural areas or settings can be a viable source for true politics and democratic reality. The process in Ososo town is a good paradigm in which the citizen is made to go through rigorous training on endurance and perseverance, in the cause of the rite, and this eventually transforms the man into a better citizen ready for politic and his role to the society.
It is also imperative, as it is typical of most African societies, that the spirits of our forebears, like we have in the funeral dances of Ososo, be invited to play active roles in today’s politics across the globe. This is necessary going by the words in the Nigerian national anthem for example that states “The Labour of Our Hero’s Past shall never be in vein”. The ancestors are to guide the living in the traditional belief. Their labours cannot be in vein if the living allow the ancestors to guild and direct them as in the case of the Ososo society.
References
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DeVito, J. A. (1980). The interpersonal communication book (2nd Edition). New York: Harper and Row, Publishers Inc.
Kofoworola, Z.O. (2004, October). Dance as reflection of cultural values and practice: Case study of Nigerian dance forms. A paper session presented at 17th world congress by international dance council (CID) at Naxos Island in Athens Greece.
Ododo, S.E. (2004). Facekurade’ theatre: A performance model from the playing and technical aesthetics of ebira-ekuechi festival in Nigeria. (Unpublished Ph.D Thesis). Submitted to the Department of the Performing Arts, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
Rodney, W. (1972). How Europe underdeveloped Africa. London: Bogle-L’Overture Publications.
Shaibu, H. (2006). From natural talent to professionalism: The challenges of a Nigerian dancer. In Ahmed Yerima (Eds.) Critical perspectives on dance in Nigeria. Ibadan: Kraft Books Limited. pp. 293-30.
Suru, C.D. (2012) “The Sociology of “Spray-Dancing”: A Study of the Ijebu-Igbo Society of Nigeria.” The Dramaturgy of a Theatre Sociologist: Festschrift in honour of Ayo Akinwale. Pp. 315-325. Ilorin: Department of the Performing Arts, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
Udoka, A. (2004). Dance in search of a nation: Towards a socio-political re-definition of dance in Nigeria.” Nigeria Theatre Journal. Abuja: Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists. pp. 217-235.
Resource Persons
Name Address Age
HRH King Obaitan A. Adeloro Okhe 68
Chief Ajayi Ubuoro Ikpenna 67
Chief Irefu Michael Ikpenna 72
Mr. Ayo Ikare Ikpenna 67
Eyinlaro Ogegogo Yola 56
Mr. Olode John. Okhe. 49
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