By Osaigbovo Iguobaro Benin
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, performed the 2017 annual Igue festival rites with sacrifices and thanksgiving to his ancestors for sparing his life and members of his household and the Benin Kingdom.
Members of the Benin royal family, chiefs paid homage to the royal father during the colourful indoor event which held at the palace in Benin City, the Edo state capital.
The sobbing of the crowd added glitz and glamour to the ceremony which is one of the most paramount festivals in Benin.
Igue festival is a royal rite that offers platform for cultural, spiritual rejuvenation and fortification of the monarch spiritually.
Our correspondent reports that the royal rite began at dusk with prominent Chiefs of various classifications in a dance procession into the sacred ancient royal chambers where they offered prayers for the preservation, blessings of the Oba’s life, peace and prosperity of the land.
This was closely followed by the traditional “Isikhuen group” who supplied ancestral songs for easy acceptance of the sacrifices and thanks offered by his royal father, while the “Ifiento society”, led a retinue of traditional troupes to function in other capacities at the palace.
