The Poetry of Igue Festival’s Song-Text

This study attempts a poetic analysis of the Igue festival song text. Igue festival is one of the major cultural markers among the Edos, a strategic ethnic group in Nigeria. It is an annual event that ushers in a new year for every Edospeaking person. It is characteristic of the famous “head washing” and the significant display of ‘Ewere leaves”. These are two important cultural practices are central to the royalty and overall development of the Edo kingdom. The study indicates that beyond the historical and cultural implications of the songs is an intricate and predominant interplay of poetry and other aesthetic resources. The songs were analysed based on the critical approach of literary stylistics. This approach was used to examine the literary forms and functions of the selected text within the framework of oral literatures. Finally, it is discovered that the songs have creative potentials and artistic qualities which justify their appreciation as essentially literary masterpiece. Key words: Poetry; Igue; Edo; Orality,; Festival; Songs