Ugie Ewere Festival Song
An audio recording of a rhythmic vocal performance by a male ensemble, captured by Northcote Thomas during his anthropological surveys. The recording features a call-and-response structure with energetic, a cappella delivery and descending melodic lines. It was recorded during the Ugie Ewere festival in Benin City, a ceremony intended to bring blessings to homes.
Community Notes
Onyeka Nwokike
Sep 12, 2026
The Ugie Ewere (Leaf Ceremony) is the concluding event of the broader Igue Festival cycle, which consists of nine ceremonies designed to purify the kingdom and renew the Oba's spiritual powers. Centered on the presentation of sacred Ewere leaves, known as leaves of joy, the ritual involves youth gathering these leaves from the outskirts of Benin City to bring to the Oba's palace and local households, where they are placed over doorways or on foreheads to invite good fortune. According to The Igue Festival: History, Rituals, and Meaning, the tradition commemorates the marriage of Oba Ewuare the Great to Princess Ewere around 1440, while the Centre for Nigeria Progress notes the leaves serve as a symbolic New Year gift. Indexed as NWT 0005 and often referred to as the Igue Festival Song, this recording is among the earliest captured by Northcote Thomas on wax cylinders after his arrival in Southern Nigeria in January 1909. Captured while the Benin Kingdom was recovering from the British Punitive Expedition of 1897, Thomas's work during this period included audiences with key figures such as Chief Obaseki, Chief Ezomo, and Chief Ero, as noted in the Northcote Thomas Archives. Copies of the recording are maintained within the British Library Sound Archive.
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