THE NIGERIAN PARTY WAY: Interesting things to look out for at Yoruba owambe

‘All the party wey dem de do for Lagos city, na there wey you go find mummy Risi, she no dey carry lasti o she not de giri…’ sang the famous Nigerian artiste, Simi. 

When it comes to throwing parties and attending parties, Nigerians indeed do not carry last! From music and dance steps to uniforms and food, Nigerian party organizers combine these elements to organize interesting parties. The origin of the tag ‘owambe’ can be traced to the Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria, meaning ‘to be there’ more like ‘I was there to witness the event’ it eventually became a term generally used by different ethnic groups in the country. The yorubas are especially known for the exceptional way they throw their parties. There are different parties one can attend, they include Wedding parties, birthday parties, burial parties, naming ceremony parties, house warming parties, graduation parties, and so on. Here are some of the interesting things to look out for at Yoruba parties.

1. Aso Ebi

What is a Nigerian party without Aso ebi?

 When my grandfather died, I could remember that his burial ceremony was divided into days, the first day was the service of songs at his residence, the second day was the commendation service at the church he attended where he lived, the third day, his body was transported to his second house in his native town, the fourth day was the wake service and the fifth day was the funeral service and reception. I kid you not, my family wore different ‘anko’ in other words, uniform for all the events. Aso ebí in Yoruba means uniform for the family. The historical background to the adaptation of aso ebi can be traced back to the age group meetings popular in the Yoruba communities. From then it became a tradition that all members of the family wear the same cloth for their celebration, before it became a practiced culture to pick a uniform fabric for all those who would be in attendance. The significance of wearing a uniform is to show support to the family or person celebrating. There are different types of fabrics used for aso ebi, they include lace materials, Ankara materials, Ofi materials, gele materials, and so on. When I have a party to attend, one of the things that interests me is the fabric the organizers pick. I would quickly go online to search for different styles I can sew and send them to my designer. Aso ebi does not only show support from the attendees but also their interest and co-activeness in the celebration. There is also a way aso ebi allows for an unspoken kind of connection among people, especially friends that attend the same parties. For example, during our graduation party in school, my friends and I marveled at the different styles we cut our uniform fabrics and even people I did not speak to on a regular basis complimented my dress, as I did theirs. Aso ebi is absolutely not compulsory for parties but it is one of the interesting things to add to one’s party.

2. Party Food

At the times I have attended parties, one of the things I also look out for is their menu. I mean, who no like free and better food?? I have heard somewhere that there are some parts in other countries where a host invites people to his party and still sells them food at reception. My mind screamed ‘it can never be in Nigeria’. No one will even attend such event! One of the places where Nigerians are sure to eat free food is at parties. I am marveled at the fact that Nigerians still go out of their way to host their attendees without charging them for food, even with the hard situation of the country. Party food at Yoruba owambe include, jolof rice, Fried Rice, Chicken, meat and fish, porridge, amala and ewedu, pounded yam and egusi, semo and vegetable and many more. There is something about the Jollof rice that one cannot explain, it is as if there is a secret ingredient they add to it. Nigerians even say, ‘bottom pot party jollof’, little wonder why some people can say they are craving party jolof????. For me, when I attend owanbe, I look forward to eating amala and ewedu because there is this very delicious taste it gives that I have failed to achieve at home. Apart from some culinary mistakes, owambe food is usually very delicious and interesting to look out for.

3. Music

Music is always a necessity at parties. What it does is to keep the attendees entertained and keep them in that partying mood. In a Yoruba party, the organizers can either pay a Disk Jockey (DJ) to play our selected songs for the events or a live band who would perform their favorite songs physically. Popular live bands in Nigeria include, Eboni band, Shuga band, Veentage band, among others. For a Yoruba party, I look forward to a live band, for me it keeps me in a partying mood more especially with their habit of calling people by their names and hailing them. There are different genres of music that does it for me, they include, Highlife, Fuji, Juju and Hip-hop songs, their different tones and beats put various dance steps in my head that I dance better, well only in my head????. So far, I haven’t seen a party without music, I would even say that it is compulsory.

4. Money Spraying

When we celebrated my grandfather’s burial, while we were still in the church, I did not only look forward to the party jolof at the reception, I was also looking at everyone who came for the burial, my parent's long time and new friends, and our distant relatives. I was looking at potential money sprayers, those I knew would spray my parents, this is a little secret but I volunteered to help them pick the money, you know so I can slide one or two in my purse????. Well, apart from getting sprayed, I personally enjoy watching people get sprayed also. Spraying has indeed found a way to become a culture at parties. However, the Nigerian government has started taking serious action against the this act as it has been seen as a disrespect of the country's currency???? Nigerians have not let this stop them from their fun, I have in fact seen a party where fake money was sprayed on celebrants. What it took was to give the celebrants real currency before or after the party while they spray the fake one just to feel the party mood. You get?????

Conclusion

When I attend parties, I pay keen attention to everyone, there are different characters to behold, from those ones could call life-of-the-party, to the bougies, otherwise known as the rich uncles and aunties, then the steppers, who know literally every dance steps and how to dance them, and to the reserved and shy ones who just have their fun whilst sited. These also contribute to why I love to attend parties, especially Yoruba parties. The Nigerian party life is nothing similar to the western party life(at least the one I attended one time), it is relatable, enjoyable and most of all, interesting.