Festival: Karimjo ethic group celebrates Abeh-Dah Cultural festival an annual event in Karim Lamido LGA.

By Amos Joshua Karim.

THE KARIMJO (KHIYUI) ABEH-DAH CULTURAL FESTIVAL AND THE CELEBRATION THAT COMES WITH IT!

The origin of a society is traceable to its norms and beliefs as these are core elements which are tied to our day-to-day activities in life. Culture encompasses the mode of behavioural exhibition centering around the code of conduct unanimously agreed by a group of people who share common ideological conceptions. 

The Karimjo Abeh-Dah cultural festival as the name implies is an annual festival that celebrates the tradition, beliefs and norms of the ancestry of the Karimjo community's legendary tradition over centuries. Hence, culture is always believed to be a total way of a people's life which ranges from dressing, marriage, communication, funeral rites, eating habits amongst other practices, and as such, the Abeh-Dah festival initiative is never an accidental orchestration, but a deliberate celebration which is aimed at bringing to limelight what has been handed down to the present generation decades ago. Abeh-Dah festival precisely came to existence since nineteen ninety seven after a critical search for a holistic way of restoring the ancestral practice amongst the Karimjo people.

The Karimjo community are found in some parts of the world, traceable and dominantly in Nigeria,in Taraba in places such as Karim Lamido Local Government it headquarters, Gassol, Ardo-Kola and Lau among others. The Abeh-Dah occasion is mostly celebrated second week of April every year.

This said festival is one of the strategies employed by the community's elders to revive the tradition of the people which is fast going into extinction. It is no doubt that with the invasion of the white man with westernization, most of the once revered and cherished Africa cultural practices have been relegated to the background. The Karimjo's tradition is not an exception either. This cultural event has been instituted to in a way eliminate the false campaign about how primitive and barbaric the African culture is as insisted by the Europeans and other invaders.. 

Amidst this daunting challenge, the Abeh-Dah festival is persistent to remain relevant amongst the good people of Karimjo. The word "Abeh-Dah"contains two lexisms which are translated as "Come and See". The word come and see is literally conveying an official invitation to Karimjo as a people, the neighbouring communities, including all manner of people across all works of life to grace the occasion as such a gathering provides an opportunity for the Karimjo community to reflect on the practices of their fore-fathers which are considered sacrosanct in the lives of the people.

It is against this backdrop that during the program, series of cultural displays are observed with the view to reminding the younger generation of the tradition of the community. The beehive of performances usually staged to commemorate the Abeh-Dah festival include Dodo dance (kuah), Bori (se'ema),Dauh ji'i(heroic performance),Waiwoh (Women's display) Shi(cult rite) and numerous other showcases to draw the young one's from shrinking away from their ancestry.

Recalled that during the event, elders pass down some oral mechanism and antidotes such as folklore and folktales to the younger generation to enhance easy acquisition of the ongoing cultural preservation efforts. Suffice it to say that one's culture is one's identity and this is why the Karimjo elders will leave no stone unturned in making sure their traditional values do not die in their hands but are successfully handed to the next generation.

Therefore, it behooves on all to assume the position of agents of socialization in handing down the message to the younger generation irrespective of age, religious or political party affiliations in order to consolidate the efforts of the ancestors. This is because socialization involes employing different efforts for reawakening and instilling cultural consciousness amongst the forthcoming generations. Key players in the community should collaboratively reunite with others to deliver this crucial mandate and as well responsibly avoid the wrath of posterity over failure to preserve their culture.

On the other hand, children should be encouraged to learn to imbibe some moral virtues which the society has approved, and of course, will go a long way to reducing restiveness, hooligans and a whole lot of unwholesome attitude which are suddenly becoming the order of the day thereby gradually bringing the society into deteriorations and a shadow of itself.