The primary purpose of this website is to provide accurate and authentic information about Onitsha.
Onitsha ceremonial life involves a series of festivals, with each festival forming part of a continuum that helps to symbolically relate each aspect of social life to the wider reality. Six main festivals are celebrated in one Onitsha year. The basic sacred divisions of the year are set by the phases of the moon. The Obi proclaims each of the 28-day lunar months ONWA and defines the ceremonial sequences in terms of the seven four-day weeks OGE ISA that comprise each month.
S/N | EVENT | WEEK DAY | MKT DAY | MONTH | DATE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | IFEJIOKU | MONDAY | OYE | JANUARY | 6 |
2. | IKA AJACHI | SATURDAY | OYE | JUNE | 7 |
3. | ILO AJACHI | MONDAY | OYE | JUNE | 23 |
4. | IKA UMUATU | SUNDAY | OYE | AUGUST | 10 |
5. | UMUATU EZE ONICHA | MONDAY | OYE | AUGUST | 18 |
6. | UMUATUEZE IDI | FRIDAY | OYE | AUGUST | 22 |
7. | UMUATU IKPALA ISI | TUESDAY | OYE | AUGUST | 26 |
8. | UMUATU OSOSO IKPALA ISI | SATURDAY | OYE | AUGUST | 30 |
9. | UMUATU ONICHA | WEDNESDAY | OYE | SEPTEMBER | 3 |
10. | IDO ANYU | SUNDAY | OYE | SEPTEMBER | 7 |
11. | IWAJI IKOLO AWADA | WEDNESDAY | OYE | OCTOBER | 1 |
12. | IWAJI IKPALA AWADA | THURSDAY | AFOR | OCTOBER | 2 |
13. | IWAJI IKOLO EKE | FRIDAY | NKWO | OCTOBER | 3 |
14. | IWAJI IKPALA EKE | SATURDAY | EKE | OCTOBER | 4 |
15 | IWAJI IKOLO UBENE/UBULU N'IKEM | SUNDAY | OYE | OCTOBER | 5 |
16 | IWAJI IKPALA UBENE/UBULU N'IKEM | MONDAY | AFOR | OCTOBER | 6 |
17 | IGO URAI | TUESDAY | NKWO | OCTOBER | 7 |
18 | MGBAPU AFA OBODO | WEDNESDAY | EKE | OCTOBER | 8 |
19 | INYEDO UKWU NA NLO EZE ONICHA | WEDNESDAY | EKE | OCTOBER | 8 |
20. | IWAJI IKOLO UGWUNAOBAMKPA/EKWENSU | THURSDAY | OYE | OCTOBER | 9 |
21 | IWAJI IKPALA UGWUNAOBAMKPA/EKWENSU | FRIDAY | AFOR | OCTOBER | 10 |
22 | OGBALIDO | SATURDAY | NKWO | OCTOBER | 11 |
23 | INYEPU UKWU NA NLO EZE ONICHA | MONDAY | OYE | OCTOBER | 13 |
24 | OFALA TRADITIONAL DAY | TUESDAY | AFOR | OCTOBER | 14 |
25 | AZU OFALA TRADITIONAL DAY | WEDNESDAY | NKWO | OCTOBER | 15 |
26 | OFALA CEREMONIAL DAY | FRIDAY | OYE | OCTOBER | 17 |
27 | AZU OFALA CEREMONIAL DAY | SATURDAY | AFOR | OCTOBER | 18 |
28 | IWAJI IKOLO IKPALA EZE | SUNDAY | NKWO | OCTOBER | 19 |
29 | IWAJI IKPALA EZE | TUESDAY | EKE | OCTOBER | 20 |
30 | ITO UKPUKPA | FRIDAY | EKE | OCTOBER | 24 |
31 | IKELEBEJI/IKOLO BIOJI | TUESDAY | EKE | OCTOBER | 28 |
32 | OSISITE UGWUNAOBAMKPA | SATURDAY | EKE | NOVEMBER | 1 |
33 | OSISITE EZECHIMA | SUNDAY | OYE | NOVEMBER | 2 |
34 | ORURU ANI | WEDNESDAY | OYE | NOVEMBER | 26 |
35 | OSO EKWULO | WEDNESDAY | OYE | DECEMBER | 16 |
36 | IGA ONICHA | SUNDAY | OYE | DECEMBER | 24 |