Ọkanga
The name of my home town is Okwoamankwọ Ngwo.
The name of this dance is Ọkanga
This dance is indigenous to the people of Okwoamankwọ Ngwo
I will give a little explanation about the dance to the best of my knowledge
Ọkanga is a dance that is well performed by the singers.
This dance is performed by only men and used during burial ceremonies.
It is also used for ceremonies like traditional marriage, as well as in government functions on invitation.
I will explain to you why this dance is performed.
What this masquerade dance signifies in my home town is
anybody who is initiated into this masquerade, benefits from the exciting performance of the masquerade dance upon death during the burial ceremony.
Sometimes children participates in this dance just like the elders but whenever the masquerade that owns the dance appears,
Children will be stopped from performing the dance at that moment. This is also applicable to women.
The procedure for performing this Ọkanga dance is such that,
that attracts wealthy men to burial ceremonies. The wealthy men among others will give and have drinks served to the owners of the dance.
Once the dance owners are done with drinking, they will proceed with the dance to the venue of the burial ceremony.
There is no particular attire for performing this dance.
A person well dressed cannot perform this dance to avoid staining their attire.
Strength and joy is employed when dancing to this music.