Afan festival

Traditionally, the festival marks the end of crop harvest for the year and the beginning of hunting expeditions.[5] According to Achi in Achi et Al (2019), the Afan festival celebrated by the Agworok every second Saturday of April (now every 1 January) annually is a carry-over of the traditional hunting ceremony carried out by the Atyap, north of the Agworok.[7][8] The exact date when this festival was began could however not be ascertained, but it is believed to be first held when the Ankwai clan still on the Jos-Bauchi Plateau circa 1500 A.D.[5]

An Agworok traditional medicine woman at the Afan National Festival 2020.

The Agworok (Kagoro) people are made up of two major kwais (clans) i.e. Ankwai and Kpashang, each with its subclans. The Ankwai is the older group while the Kpashang is the newer clan consisting of migrant groups.[3] For decisions concerning war- related matters, important festivals which involve the kick-starting of the tilling of land in the beginning of each rainy season and brewing of the first pot of beer for the Afan festival, there are subclans among the Ankwai responsible for these functions.[5] The Kpashang clan on the other hand, takes charge of the paramount rulership of the land.[3]

Apart from the physical protection that the hills offer the people, they are held with spiritual reverence by them also. To begin the Afan festival, the Chief Priest (A̠gwam A̠bvwoi) climbs up the hills to pray for protection from A̠gwaza or Uza, the God of heaven and earth. He afterwards shouts, "O Afan, O Afan", assisted by his colleagues and the people (who were usually warned to stay away from the hills) respond in like manner.

The Chief Priest then sanctifies the hills and very early in the morning on the next day, the hunting expeditions are begun. At the end of the expedition, returning jubilant hunters and indeed the entire village shout, "O Afan, O Afan" as the hunters approach home where beer (a̠kan) readily prepared in every home awaited each hunter.[5]

Much of the cultural and traditional practices of the people were however weakened with the advent of Christianity and Western Civilization which caused the dumping of the activities considered "pagan" in the Afan Festival especially with the coming of the first Christian Chief of Kagoro, HRH Agwam (Dr.) Gwamna Awan, JP in 1946 who shifted the date of the event to January 1 of every year, on New Year's Day.[5]

In the 1982 Afan Festival event, HRH the Agwam Agworok accompanied by over a thousand people and tens of groups of dancing troops was reported to have as early as 9 a.m. rode through the town on horseback, amidst salutations from his subjects, before finally arriving at the palace at 11.45 a.m., where he gave his Afan address, expressing his people's gratitude to God for a beautiful harvest even with the "shortfall in rain supply". He afterwards took his seat amidst applause and exclamations of, "Long live Afan and the Chief". One after the other, the various dancing troops then gave their cultural displays.[5]