A Semiotic Appraisal of Ayélèrémẹ̀ Festival in Ìpè Àkókó, Nigeria

Abstract

Yorùbá traditional festival is a veritable source of data for the study and understanding of the general ways of life of the Yorùbá at home and in the Diaspora. Observation shows that not much scholarly works had been done on festivals in Àkókó Area of Oǹdó State, Nigeria. This paper brings forth the cultural semiotic analysis of Ayélèrémẹ̀ festival in Ìpè-Àkókó. Cultural semiotics is a signification theory investigating a sign-system in a culture. Our findings show that Ayélèrémẹ̀ festival which is a sign-related festival is performed in commemoration of what Ọkpàrà did to his wife at the arrival of their first child. Among the codes used in the festival are Ùtà, iconizing the presence of Ọkpàrà and his wife and number of Agbóginá strings signifying the number of first born children. The paper suggests that a building be inscribed with the names of Ọkpàrà and his wife to immortalize them. Keywords: Ùtà, Ọkpàrà, Ìtèlè, Ègùn, Agbóginá