This celebration is held on the 1st of January each year, before the celebration takes off, there are always preparations made in-wait for the great feast.
Oji (kola nut) has great importance attached to it in Ezinihitte and the whole Igboland in general. To the Igbos, the kola nut is not just the small seed in actual fact as Ogaraku confirmed “The seed is very often bitter to taste, it is merely the non-juicy unattractive, red, or yellowish small content of the pod of a tree called Osisi Oji. Kola nut excels more in Igboland for socio-cultural significance compared to its value in any other ethnic group in West Africa”. The kola nut is among the things which the Igbos deem very important. When this kola nut is presented, the ceremony accorded to it is performed by the oldest member or person present and he carries out what is called “igo ofo”. This may consist in blessing the kola nut, as well as the persons present and the person who provided it in giving thanks to their ancestors and in wishing those present good fortune. After this, the youngest knowledgeable person splits the kola nut ceremony involves: presentation, blessing, splitting and sharing.
The first formal preparation was done by ’Ndi Eze Ezinihitte’ (Ezinihitte traditional ruler), chiefs and Ndi Nze. The celebration of the get- together usually rotates among the component towns on the principle of seniority of descendance. The oba oji Ezinihitte (kola nut saucer of Ezinihitte) also rotates from the community where it was held to the next community to hold it. This was done by Ndi Eze, December of each year, these titled men the Ezes) receives the oba oji Ezinihitte from the Eze who held it last at the boundary of Eze’s community. This receives of oba oji is followed by sixteen (16) gun salute (canon short). This is followed by the handing over of the oba oji Ezinihitte to the hosting community by the Ndi Eze, chiefs and Ndi Nze at the host’s place and acknowledged by another sixteen (16) gun salute, (canon shoot). According to the 1976 program of events the above is the first step in the preparation activity. Following this is ‘’the inspection tour of the hosting community by Ndi Eze (traditional rulers)’’. This is to satisfy themselves that the hosting community had no existing trouble that could hinder the celebration in their town.
The preparation ceremony also involves the cleaning and arrangement of canopies and sits by the central age- grade in that community and this done in their market square. All these preparation are done for the oji celebration day. On the early morning of the 1st of January the celebration is kicked off by twenty one (21) gun salute (canon shoots). As this festival is one of the traditional practice in Ezinihitte that has been given Christian outlook, religious services were held in all churches in the clan to command the day into the of God. Traditionally, there is also visit to the shrine at Orieukwu Oboama na Umunama to rub the “u” far ndu’’ (calcinter) or ‘’Nzu Uwaoma’’ according to Eze N.N.Anyanwu “symbolizing peace, wealth, birth,love and unity and takes us back to our common parentage in Ezinihitte”.
“Ekpe” dance presides over before the “Ikoro” (community drum) plays to summon the arrival of guest and dignitaries. The “Ekpe” dance has been accepted by Ezinihitte development association as the official traditional dance for the presentation and reception of Oji during the ceremony. At the arrival of the traditional rulers who gather at the palace of the hosting Eze before proceeding to the market square where the ceremony is taking place, they are welcomed with twenty one gun salutes as the traditional fathers of the day. After the traditional rulers must have taking their site, the hosting Eze (traditional ruler) arrives with the Oba Oji Ezinihitte with his Chiefs and Nzes and carried it to the dias. After the arrival of Oba Oji the opening prayer is said and the ceremony moves on in full swing.
As the tempo of the festival increases, songs, ekpe and address will be presented sequentially. The celebration is marked by a carnival of traditional rulers, Chiefs, Nzes, Ozos and other titled men adorned with colourful masquerades and dancing groups. The main feature of the feature remains the presentation of kola nuts and Nzu, which symbolizes peace, love and unity. Oji (kola nut) and Nzu or Ufara (calcinter) are now presented in order ofrelationship its presentation is by order of primogeniture (starting from the eldest community to the youngest). The procedure for receiving kola nut (Oji) is that the number of persons to receive kola nut (Oji) on behalf of each town will be the number of the component villages which makeup the town. Eg.14 persons will receive Oji on behalf of Oboama na Umunama which is made up of 14 villages while 10 persons receives on behalf of Onicha community which is made up of 10 villages etc. On the same line of action, the persons to receive Oji will be expected to be in traditional attire, ready to dance to the Ekpe (the official dance of the festival) while proceeding to receive Oji on behalf of their towns. Any town or community that came to receive the “Oji” their traditional ruler will come out from where the Ezes are sitting and receive the kola nut and calcinter first and then hand it over to his people who came to receive the Oji then they will dance back to their canopy while the Eze goes to sit down. This “Oji” and “Nzu”or “Ufara” are presented by the traditional ruler of the hosting community.
After the presentation, a short speech follows to thank everybody who took part then tradition dances will played one after the other and inspected by the “Ndi Eze”. Entertainment takes the other of the day and this ends the festival. [Umuhu, Ibeku and Lagwa who forms Okwuato have been carved out of Ezinihitte by the creation of Ezinihitte local government, they still take part but they don’t host the festival.]
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