Canoe Trip and Ikogbo Masquerade Festival

This day trip with the Nigerian Field Society was another great opportunity to get out of Lagos. I went with three other teachers, and Melody and Andrew and we took canoes through a beautiful waterway to a village.





I couldn’t believe how beautiful the land/water was leading up to the village. It was a very interesting day to learn more about the Yoruba culture. It was a long commute and very hot, but well worth it.





Below is a great description of the trip written by another teacher who went along:





Ikogbo Masquerade Festival
By Cristiana Jurgensen

This weekend we went from a quiet, peaceful river lush with green foliage to a loud, exciting, drum-filled masquerade party! It was all part of another amazing trip organized by the dedicated group of adventurers at the NFS.






We started off at Isasi (pronounced as Ishashi). There, small canoes took us (about 50 members in all) up the river on a magical, relaxing one-hour boat trip that made one forget the go-slows and noise of Lagos. We arrived in the village of Ikogbo and were greeted by their Chief. They quickly set up chairs for us to relax and enjoy our picnic lunches while we watched (and in some cases participated) in their traditional Ikogbo Masquerade Festival.






This festival, held once a year, honors the Egun, the physical
representations of the spirit world. Men dress up in elaborate costumes and dance around the main square of the village. A handful of drummers work up a sweat while they pound beautiful rhythms that vary according to which spirit is being represented. The atmosphere is joyful and the ©¯characters©˜
play with the audience and invite them to join in the celebration. The children especially enjoyed the animal characters, complete with horns and a tail.







The rest of the villagers joined in, singing and dancing. A special treat was to see a village elder, dressed beautifully in all white, dance while the rest of the village clapped and sang to him. The children (both from the village and our own!) imitated his foot stopping and twirling with great amusement.




Matthias, who was also this trip©ˆs organizer, knew exactly what to do and showed the NFS©ˆs appreciation in the traditional manner. He approached the dancers and placed 20 Naira notes on their foreheads while they where dancing. Many other members joined in and did the same. The villagers were honored to have us there and grateful for our shows of appreciation.

We made it back to the canoes just in time for a light rain shower to cool us off on our way back downstream. It was another wonderful adventure that leaves you tired and dirty, but also glad to have taken part in something so magically Nigerian.

Marine Ball

The marine ball was a fun time this year! You can see the picture with a group of teachers.



The picture with my marine friends Michelle and Andrew.




All of the Marines with my friend Shevonne's (who is now in London)parents.

A Day at the Beach

Melody, Andrew, Michelle and I took a short trip to the close beach on a Sunday.

Benin City and Okomu Forest

On our first long weekend of the year, 4 other teachers and I headed out on a trip with the Nigerian Field Society.










Benin City is the Edo State capital and one of Nigeria's historical cities, capital of the old Benin Kingdom. It is famous for its ancient bronzes, which are some of the most prized antiques in Africa.




We flew from Lagos to Benin City and Philip Omodamwen, a bronze artist, welcomed us in his workshop. He showed and explained in detail the bronze casting manufacturing process. It’s incredibly expensive and they still produce the same way they did hundreds of years ago. Very impressive!













The next place we visited was the historical First Palace, the house of Chief Odiamen. The next day we visited the High Priest of Benin (Osemwegie Ebohon). He welcomed us very kindly and showed us around. His garden is full of statues, pots, masks and may shrines still used today.. In one of the shrines we found some skulls, blooded clothes, a deer head and a pot full of worms. They were preparing a festival, so we were able to enjoy music and dancing.





We left for Okomu National Forest. We had strong rain the night before, so we had to change the bus to 4Wds. We passed rubber plantations and it was so good to see some preserved land in Nigeria. We stayed at a lodge in the forest and even went on a few hikes.















On the way back to the airport I rode in the back of one of the trucks. It was such an experience to drive through the city traffic and puddles from outside of a vehicle. An experience that mom, I promise that I will not relive, but an interesting one.


















It was a good weekend trip and very good for me to see somewhere else in Nigeria other then Lagos.

I've included a few video clips. I have discovered that am by far the worst video taper there is, but I really think the driving one is worth watching despite the quality of it. :)