Sunday, November 26, 2006

Abuja Carnival

I spent a couple of hours wandering up and down the procession of floats at Abuja Carnival late this afternoon and early evening. The event was based around Eagle Square, what passes for public space in the city. As usual, the show had been poorly publicised, with only a few thousand people turning up. This is a pity, because the array of costumes and music is quite amazing. I wonder how many other events on the planet could rival the sartorial plenitude of this event.. The incredible cultural variety of Nigeria is condensed into one place, and one cannot but feel awed by the country's seemingly endless diversity.

As dusk wore on, the interlaced polyrhythms grew denser and the dance of the masquerades more frenetic. Durbar horse riders galloped about, the smell of horse manure the fragrance of the dusk air. I returned to my car by the time it was dark, to find someone had lifted both my wing mirrors. It was a small price to pay. More pics here.

3 comments:

MsMak,  2:12 pm  

Sorry about your mirrors. Those were cool pictures, although compared to other events i'd seen in the past it looked a little shoddy. How much was the entry fee by the way?

Why would i want to go for an event like this when i know planning and preparations were poorly handled and my safety/ that of my car are not guaranteed?

Iheoma Obibi 9:46 pm  

sorry about your mirrors. They thought it would be better on there car rather than on yours. Did not even know it had started. They still have not got the publicity right they should learn a thing or two from Cross River state - with their mountain race. The whole world, cat and dog know it is happening.

Jeremy 10:07 pm  

Hey Iheoma - thanks for that thought - I think like that often. It softens the impact. I was ok about it until this morning when I heard it will cost N12,000 to replace them!

Meanwhile, please post about the African feminist forum on your blog.

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