THE COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT THE IRIA CEREMONY (Fating Room), in Ogu Town, The right to the double wrappers.

THE IRIA CEREMONY  (FATING ROOM)

IRIA CEREMONY

The Iria ceremony is a mode of a traditional form of communication in which girls of puberty age transits to womanhood. It is a way of telling the public that these girls are now ready for marriage. In the good old days, it was a disgrace for a young girl to be pregnant without performing the Iria ceremony and it constituted a lifetime abuse to herself and parents. It is also a traditional way of a mother, in particular, showing love to her female children. During the Iria ceremony, the young girl is kept out of circulation and fed with whatever she needs. Traditional cosmetic is used to bring the beauty of her skin to light. The young lady usually looks very attractive during this period because of maintenance especially if the parents are financially buoyant. Some fortunate ones got engaged to prospective husbands before the Iria. In such cases, the prospective husband does take responsibility of the lady during the period. Some who do not have such engagement are indirectly informing any prospective husbands that they are ripe and ready for marriage. After Iria ceremony, the girl’s daughter enjoys freedom as parental control is reduced. A mother and father who exhibit too much parental control will no longer be tolerated for such behavior. If they do, even outside members of their families will rebuke them. The accompanying statement is usually (ma ari iria so ka) meaning “has she not performed the Iria ceremony?” However, that does not mean that the young lady is completely free to misbehave. If she does, it is at her own peril as people in the society or relatives of prospective husband would discourage such a union. By our tradition, these young girls are meant to be virgins but absolute reality, this is not so today. Some of them even live with men as husband and wife but tradition accepts that since they have not given birth to children, they are accepted as virgins and are qualified to participate.

The real Tradition

Traditional look

The previous winner handing over to the present one.

Participants matching with Chiefs as she'll also be scored

Presentation of certificate by the Chiefs

The right to the double wrappers. The Iria ceremony gives the woman the right to tie double wrapper. Any woman who has not perform this ceremony is supposed to tie a single wrapper. In organized culture like Bonny, you can easily identify the status of a woman by her made of dressing. In Bonny, even if the woman is married except she has performed the Iria ceremony she will not be permitted to tie two wrappers. We, the people of Ogu operate similar culture and tradition with Bonny although ours is very loose. We may call it civilization but I considered it wildness and disregard for culture and traditional values. In the good old days, in Ogu a married woman who ties a single wrapper for occasion is communicating something else. Such behaviour   was usually questioned by older women in the community because it was not an accepted norm.

The Right of the Double Wrapper