Introduction

The Gaani Festival is an annual festival held in every part of the Greater Borgu which includes those in Benin Republic and Borgu Areas of Nigeria. This festival is as old as the Borgu Empire itself. It takes place on the 12th of Rabiyul Awwal. There is also exhibition of horse riding in all Gaani Festival as this is relatable to the ancient horse riding of the intercine period in the West African Subregion. The programme for celebration varies from one community to another community of Borgu. Even though this celebration varies, four events are manifested during every Gaani:

.Borgu Identity

. Horse and horsemanship

. Initiation of princes and princesses into the royal class

.New initiation names

Etymology

Gaani is the mispronunciation of the word "Gaari".

Gaari translates to saddle in all the major languages of Borgu: the languages which are Bokobaru, Bissa, Tchenga, Boo. As this festival is attributed to horsemanship, the correct pronunciation is Gaari Festival.

Bokobaru Gaani Festival

Currently serving in Kaiama gave me the privilege to witness and document the 2023 Bokobaru Gaani Festival. Kaiama is a town located in the North of Kwara State. It is also the headquarter of Kaiama Local Government situated in Kwara North of Nigeria.

Few days before the event; Mr Abdulmalik Umar from Kainji National Park informed us about the festival and suggested we should be part of the event in order to get familiar with the tradition of the community where we are serving.

On September 28, 2023, Liasu Musefiu Oluwayemisi(The Corper Liaison Officer), Abdulrahman Mukthar(Environmental Community Development Service co-ordinator) and I(Creative writer Taleeb Mariam) met with Alhaji Ibrahim S. Muhammad (Secretary to the Emir's Office) to get more information on where the event is going to take place , how long it takes for the event. Alhaji Ibrahim took his time to tell us the history of Kaiama from inception, how the name and place Kaiama came into existence.

He told us the event started on 27th of September (Maulud Nabiyy, which is 12th Rabiu Awwal of the Islamic calendar). He said there would be Emir's Eve(which he called Emir's Wakekeep), other events like shaving day for princes and princesses initiates , horseracing and cultural display grand finale also comes after. This shows there is chronological order related to the celebration.

Chronological Order of the Celebration in Kaiama

. Maulud Nabiyy -12th Rabiu Awwal: This is a day for the celebration(as celebrated by the Tijaniyya sect of Islam) of the birth of Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah (SAW) which marks the beginning of Gaani Festival. Maulud Nabiyy determines the day when the festival will start each year. This has actually led to a misconception that the Gaani Festival is the celebration of the birth of the Prophet. The only common thing between the festival and Maulud Nabiyy is that the day and month when 12th Rabiu Awwal falls into will determine the day for the start of the festival.

. Emir's Gaani Eve: This is also known as Emir's Wakekeep. It is a day to remember the past ancestors and Emirs that have ruled Kaiama from inception i.e a night to honour departed monarchs and ancestors.

. Shaving and Barbing Day for Princes and Princesses initiates: On this day, the Ki Yenzide(Magajiya) cut out little part of hair at the center of the head( here, the Princes and Princesses were given royalty names)at a cubicle-like building at the frontage of Emir's palace. From there, the princes and princesses moved to the next stage where group of shavers cut the hair completely, after cutting , they were taken to the Queen mother house where they were bath with water boiled with herbleaf called ewe okun. A new cloth was worn after the bathing. After wearing the new cloth, the Princes and Princesses moved to where drumming was taking place( there is this believe that if the Prince or princess being drummed for is not a real prince or princess, his or her body will get swollen). Also note that each prince and princess brought 4 yards of cloth dropped in 2 buckets Infront of the drummer (this means 2 yards of cloth is dropped in each bucket).

. Horseracing and Cultural Display: On this grand finale, the Emir of Kaiama , HRH Alhaji Mu'azu Shehu Omar, Bagidu Kiyaru iv , Senator Suleiman Sadiq Umar representing Kwara North, and other dignitaries were also present.

There was a beautiful display of durbar by horse riders with their horses adorned in different multi-coloured attires. The cultural groups like the Boyeru dancers, Dan Kwairo , Gumbe dancers from Kainji also thrilled the audience with different dances.

Environmental Sanitation by Corps Members in Kaiama

The 2023 Bokobaru festival documentary will not be complete without pointing out the efforts of the corps members serving in Kaiama, with the officers from Kainji National Park, alongside students from Government Secondary School, Kaiama to make sure the whole community is kept clean.

We all converged at the big roundabout to carry out environmental sanitation. This cleaning started all the way from big roundabout to the Emir's palace.

It was an exercise worthwhile! Seeing the happy faces of the residents while we were cleaning, the prayers received from them also showed their ways of appreciation.

Bokobaru Gaani Festival is definitely a memory that will be around for a long time. Lots of memories were made.