Gworok (Kagoro) And Significance Of The Months Of December And January

By Emmanuel Gandu

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: The months of December and January are special and of great significance in the life of Gworok people.
So special that it is like, and most comparable to the Gworok clarion call when every son and daughter of Kagoro identifies oneself.
The Gworok clarion call is a wake up call to indigenship, to honour, dignity.
It’s an umblical-like attachment to ones roots and ancestry.
This Gworok clarion call is : “Nnuan Oegwaza nyin shio’aa” – just like the Igbo man would say – “Igbo Kwenu”.

(1) December is significant to the Oegworok because it is the month of stock taking, of completion, of wholesomeness, and accomplishment.
It’s the month when the people appreciate God for seeing them through from the beginning of the outgoing year.
(2) January is the special month set aside for prayers of thanksgiving to God for His protection, blessings, deliverance, and guidance in the outgone year, and seeking a better fruitful coming year.
(2) December and January are the months of harvesting from the abundance of God’s benevolence.
(3) These are the months of spiritual and sacrificial cleansing of the Kagoro hill (Buwok Afan) by the Chief Priest in the shrine on the mountains.
(4) January is the month for the formal declaration of the beginning of the hunting season.
These hunters showcase their skills, powers and prowess through gallantry and the quality of the hunt as displayed by the animals skins, tusks and skulls following a triumphant return from weeks of hunting expeditions.
(5) The first day of January is a special day set aside for the Afan National Festival – a celebration that draws the attention of the entire country in general and Southern Kaduna in particular to join sons and daughters of Gworok in their home coming to the Afan Carnival on the Rock.
The Afan Festival is a celebration comparable to the Argungu Fishing Festival, Eyo Festival Lagos, the New Yam Festival of the Igbos, the Calabar Carnival, and the Durbar in Northern Nigeria.
(6) December and January are the months for :
(a) Preparation, screening, and selection of young boys in readiness for the April/May age group ceremonies of initiation into the “Oeboi” (cult) system.
(b) Preparation of betrothed maidens (like the fattening room) for their suitors.
(7) The month of January marks the beginning of settling of land disputes between individuals, families, and communities.
It is also the month of negotiation for new farmlands prior to the commencement of the farming season.
(9) January is the month of strategic planning by the Oegwam Zwang (Chief Warrior) on defense of the town from external aggression.
(10) January is the month when the singles mingle in the village square under the moonlight in search of the beautiful flowers for possible betrothal.

Nnuan Oegwaza nyin shio’aa ?

Peace 🙏