By Reuben Abati


SOMETHING serious seems to be happening to the age-old "owambe" culture in Nigeria, a reflection of the dynamism of culture and of the telling manner in which economic conditions impact on socio-cultural expressions. The "owambe" phenomenon is one of the established patterns of social life, particularly among the Yoruba speaking people of Nigeria. By the 70s and 80s, up till the 90s, no weekend was complete without someone throwing a lavish party: every social incident, including the purchase of a new car, even a second hand car, or a refrigerator for the household, deaths, birth, a promotion in the office, weddings, a journey- pilgrimage to Mecca or Jerusalem, or any trip overseas, or return from such trips occasioned huge celebrations; if a new house had just been completed, it had to be "warmed," and if it was a car, it had to be "washed", not with soap and water of course, but carton loads of drinks, greedily consumed by neighbours who were called upon to share the glory of success.


The social station of the celebrant determined the scope and richness of the celebration, but for major events like funerals, child naming ceremonies, weddings, graduation parties, there was a conventional template which social pressure turned into an obligation. The character of that template is like this: to really belong to the "owambe crowd" , a Yoruba word that means "we have it, so we can flaunt it"; no party is complete without the notorious "aso ebi" (group attire) which every invitee is expected to buy and wear as a tag of identification with the celebrant; the party itself is deliberately loud, with food and drinks generously provided, and wasted (owambe!); and there would be a musician on the bandstand, the more popular the artiste the better. The venue of such parties used to be a school field, or the streets, deliberately shut down to attract more attention, until state governments banned the holding of parties on main roads. One notorious man once shut down the Lagos-Benin expressway for his mother's funeral party! Soon, it became fashionable to rent events centres, really expensive events centres; and the party could go on all night-long.


The owambe parties became so frequent and often resulted in armed robbery attacks, and high rate of vehicle accidents the morning after; consequently, some state governments banned night parties. Still, this did not discourage the party goers and the generous celebrants. Parties held during the day-time were just as robust and showy, and the Yoruba were the most notorious promoters of this culture, with the men's expansive, parachute-like agbada, and the women's headgears of different designs, shapes and sizes, all creatively embroidered and worn with accustomed grace.


On a typical weekend, an average couple could be invited to about five parties, with five different "aso ebis", changing from one attire to the other, rushing from one end of the city to another. Usually what was meant to be a lot of fun, was invariably a lot of work and quite an expensive pre-occupation. Most persons woke up on Monday morning, completely worn out, groggy from weekend partying, and broke-celebrants expect gifts, the musicians expect to be decorated with cash: and this is a spectacle unto itself, naira plunking, later demonized by the Central Bank of Nigeria as an abuse of the national currency, but no one has listened, is a special art, easily converted into an entertaining spectacle by those who have mastered it. So common was the owambe among the Yoruba that other Nigerians who seemed to be more restrained soon began to organize owambe parties too: the oil boom had made easy money possible, and for years, Nigerians really lived it up. One contemporary English dictionary, describes the Yoruba as "the fun-loving people of West Africa!"

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