Ikuru Lizzy
Alhaji Asari Dokubo, the Paramount Ruler of Torusaramapiri, Kalabari ethnic group in Rivers, has called for citizens’ reorientation in cultural values and heritage.
Dokubo made the call at the second edition of the Kalabari New Year festival, organised by the Kalabari Renaissance Foundation at Elem, Kalabari, in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers.
Speaking on significance of the event, Dokubo said it represented a return to the traditional values of the Kalabari people.
He also stressed the need for the people to prioritise their cultural norms and values so as to preserve their ancestral identity.
“This is not just about celebration, it’s about recreating ourselves, bringing us back from death; it is not just Kalabari, it’s about all of us and our values.
‘’It is time we begin to re-evaluate ourselves, join hands, revive our traditional values and heritage so that we don’t loose our cultural identity and spiritual trajectory,” Dokubo said.
Mr Harry MacMorrison, Chief Administrator and Chairman of Kalabari Renaissance Foundation, said that the event marked the beginning of a new calendar year for the Kalabari people.
He explained that the festival was an annual ritual, observed after Nov.15 when the tide cleansed the pollution from popular Sombrero River, describing the annual occurance as a renewal of the Kalabari people.
MacMorrison further said that though the festival was not new to the people, the initiative by the Renaissance Foundation had made it more unifying.
“It is the renewal of the people, Kalabari area is a saline environment and at specific period of the year, the Sombrero River flows in and pollutes the river.
“However, Nov. 15, across Kalabari, the tide turns and takes all the fresh water that polluted the saline river back to the Sombrero River,’’ he said.
MacMorrison further explained that with the natural occurrence, the Kalabari calendar year ended every Nov. 15 while Nov. 16 would mark the beginning of the year in the community.
Mr Badaki Aliyu, President, Tourism Association of Nigeria, commended the organisers and the people for preserving their age-long culture.
He also applauded the paramount ruler for sustaining the trend, saying that the festival would continue to promote unity in the area.
“We won’t take this visit for granted, we will do a lot of research and publicity on this.
“We will also ensure that these natural tourism potentials are properly channeled for the economic good of the people,” Aliyu added.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Jane-Frances Oraka
