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(Pever-Ge 1985, 107). Doki infers that
" the Girinya dance emerged as a form of
revenge against an enemy guild. The dire
need to stem the killing of the Tiv brothers
by the Udam people necessitated
the emergence of this dance guild " (99).
Therefore, the Tiv Girinya was borrowed
from the Udam.
Also, the Idoma Oglinya, John Onah
notes, " is a popular warrior tradition in
the general context of Idoma society...
Oglinya evolved as a conscious artistic
device meant to serve specific function
of war and protection of Idoma people
in the past " (2017, 143). While Erim
Erim (1981) dated the emergence of the
Idoma Oglinya " to the period of migration
from Apa c. 1535-1745 " (in Onah
143), Onah adds that " during migration,
militia groups emerged to ensure safety
of migrant groups " (143). However, as
time went on, " indigenous warrior techniques
could not withstand the superior
firepower of the colonial forces. Thus, the
original institution was submerged but to
resurface as a recreational art which inevitably
incurred changes and mutations
in the style of performance " (143).
The Igede people's Ogrinye is a dance
of the brave. The term " brave " as used
here can be understood from two perspectives:
as a warrior of the Ogrinye
group and a successful member of the
Igede community. In the former context,
" brave " refers to warriors or warlords
who went to war with neighboring communities,
triumphed, beheaded, and returned
home with the head of the enemy.
Agene Agbo maintains that members of
Ogrinye are strong and brave warriors
who dedicated their lives to save the territorial
integrity of Igede land. When such
revered men returned home victorious
from a war with the head of an enemy,
such a person is accorded the title, Ibatu.
The head(s) of the enemy were kept in
an Ugbaju (ant-hill). The rationale for
this storage method is to allow the ants
to feed on the flesh thereby leaving the
skull of the enemy. The term assumed a
new meaning when the Ogrinye moved
away from its ritual base to a social performance.
In this context, " brave " refers
to Igede sons and daughters who distinguished
themselves in the land.
The Ogrinye dance is an elevated ritual
dance performed on very rare and special
times in Igede land, such as to honor
a fallen hero. This dance is performed
during the hero's funeral as a mark of respect
and honor by members of the warrior
guild. The funeral ceremony takes
place for two days from the early hours of
the evening to the early hours of the next
day when the warrior is buried. At night, a
fire is lit and members of Ogrinye file out
in full vigor as they engage in the Ogrinye
dance steps. While dancing, they scream,
shout, charge towards each other, and hit
their cutlasses against each other. Oboh
Michael notes that although ordinary
members of the community can partake
in the dance, they are forbidden from
attempting to hit their cutlasses against
that of the Ibatu. The consequence of
doing so is to be blinded instantly. The
hitting of cutlasses by warriors is a core
aesthetic of this ritual dance. However,
while the warriors possess magical
power, the non-initiate does not. Because
the warriors operate on the same level,
hitting their cutlasses does not have any
negative effect. It only has a negative effect
when it is done with a non-initiate,
who of course does not possess the same
power as the warriors.
The ritual performance of Ogrinye
is highly restricted. Participation is exclusively
reserved for members of the
warrior ensemble, though women and
children are allowed to watch. Some level
of sanctity is expected of all members
of the Ogrinye ensemble. Specifically,
they are forbidden from stealing and fornicating
(Obam Otibam, oral interview).
Ogrinye is performed in the Ojiya (village
square), in the market square, and in the
compound during the burial rites of a
member of the Ogrinye group. Obam further
maintains that Ogrinye means " power
because only the strong and brave are
members of the group. " Membership of
Ogrinye is limited to adult males in the
community. According to Ode Ikwe, " so
long as one is 20 years, he can be a member
of the Ogrinye group. " However, before
a member is called an Ibatu, he must
go to war and return with the head of a
human being. " Ibatu is a title accorded
a brave warrior who returned victorious
from the war front with the head of the
enemy. Oftentimes, the Igede people go
to war with neighboring communities
over land disputes and other forms of
communal disagreements. The essence
of going to war is not to prove one's
bravery but to defend and protect Igede
lives and property. Ogrinye has a specific
32 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | SUMMER 2022
structural organization, including:
1. Ada Ogrinye (head/leader)
2. Ongo'mueje (singer)
3. Aluuba (drummers)
4. Angi chewo (dancers)
An interesting aesthetic element of
this dance is that members could jump
into the burning fire and dance in it for
some seconds before jumping out. Obam
Otegwu maintains that no burn or injury
is sustained in the process and that " the
dancers are immune to the fire. " Also,
community members bring yams to the
arena that are roasted in the burning fire
and eaten by all those present. Dancing
and singing continue until morning
when the hero is buried. Before internment
of the deceased hero, the neck of
a live chicken is cut off by one strike of
the cutlass, one of the hero's eyes is then
opened and the blood of the chicken is
poured into it. Then the corpse is buried.
The Ogrinye dance makes use of a number
of instruments, namely Oko (flute),
Egbong-Uba (long drum), and Ekpiri
(short drum).
As the societies continued to grow in
tune with global realities, the duty of safeguarding
lives and property became the
sole responsibility of the federal, state,
and local governments. This began to affect
the efficacy and potential of Ogrinye
and, more importantly, threatened its extinction.
Although it is impossible to point
out the exact period when these changes
started, the activities of the Ogrinye at
some point no longer fell within the provision
of the Nigerian constitution. The
performance started receding, members
grew old, and many died without passing
this creative mechanism to the younger
generation. This decline, coupled with
the force of colonialism and the introduction
of Christianity in Igede land meant
that the mystical and magical component
of this performance dissuaded many
young males from being recruited as
members of the ensemble. To keep this
performance alive, Ogrinye was demystified
and removed from its ritual context
to a social performance.
In this new performance context are
two perspectives: the celebration of great
warrior hunters and the celebration of
Igede sons and daughters. According to
Ajiga Paul, " Ogrinye is performed to celebrate
the sons and daughters of Igede
who did remarkable and good things in
the community. " Gabriel Ede adds that
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