Kunduke floating can pep up Ogbomoso Cradles Carnival - worth considering

Kunduke floating can pep up Ogbomoso Cradles Carnival – worth considering

Femi OGUNLANA

In the heyday of Egungun festival, Kunduke featured prominently, it added colour and was a spark of intense excitement.

Kunduke, for those who might not know (the indomie generation), is the name called the “junior Egunguns,” so to say, markedly different from the “senior” ones, which are usually decked with charms and excel in dispensation of magical powers, offer elaborate propitiation, go about accompanied by specialized drummers and lieutenants bearing amulets and other fetish items on their behalf, and inclined to engaging in fiendish face off against recalcitrant rivals.

But Kunduke’s nature is different. Usually a preserve of the uninitiated young chaps; its usually neat, colourful costumery sewn in layers, makes its appearance more pleasing. However, it’s “licensed” by tradition and custom to go about clasping canes (specifically atori) which it brandished to beat spectators or rivals at random – particularly when they converged at their playground or rendezvous at Okelerin. Kundukes are a delight as they complemented and added to the allure of Egungun festival. Their vibrant performances, elegant posture and gangling-like gliding movement, and the guttural sound articulated in their throat were all part of the glamour.

Meanwhile, like the “seniors,” called “Egungun nla,” it’s also an avenue for the participants to rake in cash as people willingly dashed them.

But gradually, it faded out. Though Egungun nla tradition still manages to plod on, Kunduke practically went into extinction.

However, the advent of Ogbomoso Cradles Carnival, which is still in its infancy and trying to assume a character of culture and tourism promotion and development, will certainly be boosted by floating of Kunduke processions as an integral part. This is a viable option to explore towards attaining a more interesting and extravagant carnival that will leave to its billing as a carnival of diverse cultures; fostering unity and communal identity and which attendees will grow to savour, thus becoming a veritable tourist attraction spinner.

How this is weaved into the five-day event will be the key. Perhaps, a procession of Kundukes will be featured on the last day, the day of the grand finale, let’s say 100 Kunduke ensemble getting unleashed to participate in the parade of different town’s associations or groups paying homage to traditional rulers. Or probably, incorporated to engage in daily processions. Or alternatively host Kunduke Day! I am sure it will become one of the striking differentia of the festival. No weapons will be allowed except the customary atori clutched by the masked beings. The senior Egunguns displayed individually in the maiden edition of the carnival, having Kunduke ensemble will add to the grandeur.

However, in the face of the hardship in the land, the committee may have to assist in providing the Kunduke apparels for volunteers which can be retrieved after and preserved for another edition. The best feasible way will have to be worked out. The world is evolving and the Egungun tradition should be made to evolve as well to enhance its entertaining frontier and transform to amplifying its tourism potentials. It is our culture and as His Imperial Majesty Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye Orumogege III, the Soun of Ogbomosoland, has repeatedly affirmed, God created diverse cultures, gave each race its culture, unique to it, and He knows why He gave us Egungun as part of our culture. While this piece is not to canvass worship of Egungun or to indulge in the associated rituals, harnessing its tourism potentials in the mould of “Baba Keresimesi show” (the famed Santa Claus during Christmas), is its crux. The Kunduke aspect or the whole Egungun festival can be restructured to embody modern flairs for increased entertainment and revenue earning. Tourism is a potential goldmine. No “Makinde aircraft” will target it, it’s a legit source of revenue.

Let us unleash 100, 200 or 1001 Kundukes during the upcoming Ogbomoso Cradles Carnival. The appearance of a floating mass of the masked beings will provoke an electrifying atmosphere, igniting instant longing and excitement. The spectacle incontrovertibly will be a star attraction that will bring tourists in subsequent years.

We must dare to unfurl the unusual to stage an extravagant display for lasting impression and impact.