THE EGHUGHU FESTIVAL OF ADUHANHAN PEOPLE OF EDO STATE AS A PARADIGM IN PERFORMANCE STUDIES

Abstract

Modern advancements have had a diminishing influence on mosttraditional festivals and celebrations, thus engendering a paradigm
 shift of attention from the sacred-religious aspects to their social entertaining components. It is within this purview that this paper
investigates Eghughu Festival of Aduhanhan people of Edo State and evaluates the performance components, concerning other
social activities, and the role and significance of this festival in performative studies. Employing the framework of Performance
Studies, the paper adopts a mixed-method approach and participatory observation of the festival, as the primary source of materials. The paper using Historical and Descriptive techniques however provides a historical overview of the Aduhanhan people and the Eghughu festival, as well as to describe the festival in process, respectively. The study, however, discovers that performative elements of space/setting, mimetics, dramatization, spectacles, plot, masking and, most importantly, traces of “restored behaviour” characterized the festival. Further evaluation reveals that the performative elements have gained prominence and attention because the sacred-religious components of the festival have been greatly affected by modern advancements (including Christianity). Consequent to this, the level of enjoyment or the ‘aesthetic communitas’ and the ‘unspoken authority’ given to the observer/audience to become active participants were salient features of Performance Studies inherent in the festival. The studytherefore concludes Eghughu Festival emerges as a paradigm that transcends its immediate cultural context, providing a rich tapestry for understanding the nuanced relationships between tradition, performance, and cultural identity in 21st-century Nigeria.