Awka Agog As Traditional Priest Proclaims Imoka Festival Calendar

ONITSHA – The Traditional Leader of Awka Community laws and customs (Akadi­ana-Awka), Ichie Patrick Nweke has announced the new lunar moon to usher in month by month calendar of feasts and festivals for the community this year. Igbo lunar calendar has 4 Igbo days (izu) arranged in a cycle of four native market days of Eke, Oye, Afo and Nkwo, with the four native mar­ket days multiplied by seven native weeks making 28 days per English month. Thus in a year, the tradition­al Igbo days totals 336 days almost 29 1⁄4 days extra to equal about 365 1⁄4 days in English calendar.

In some Igbo communities, the 13th month is insignificant and does not have any feast attached to it but Awka traditional time keep­er, Ichie Patrick Nkwokie Okoludo Nweke popularly called Akadiana Awka from Okperivillage of Amik­wo quarter contended that the 13th lunar moon/month counts or may not count depending on overlap of yeas like leap year. Nweke aged 90 years (as at March 17 2025) observed that it is because of necessity to avoid ambiguity that each community decides a tradition­al ruler or traditionalist to handle matters of fixing dates of feasts/fes­tival to fall under each lunar moon/ month guided by the appearance of the sun and moon and rotation of the earth. In Awka, the 11th lunar moon/ month or onwa ili nofu is for collec­tive prayer for peace and progress as to draw the lunar year to an end, returning to a new 12th lunar moon/ month of Onwa ede mmuo meant for ngu aro (chronicling of new lu­nar calendar) at the end of lunar year in April.



On April 19th 2025, the Ngu aro Awka commenced with the ritual consultations and sacrifices by Umu­diana/Okperi elders including Aka­jiofor, the Chief Priest of Udo deity and Traditional Practitioners at the age-long shrine near Ogbugbankwa. But the proclamation, however, didn’t give the exact date of the cer­emony of Osonogbo procession to inform Awka kits and kins at Umu­okpu village, now sandwiched by Amawbia town about the forthcom­ing Imoka Day. The silence of Akadiana Awka to mention the actual date to com­mence the Imoka Day festival fol­lowed the negative outcome of consultations by traditional practi­tioners of Awka to get the approval of Imoka goddess.

Throwing light on the ascertain­ment of the wish of Imoka goddess, Nwokoye who is the head of all Ajana priests in Awka and priestly custodian of Ajana Umudioka re­vealed that the Ezenwanyi (goddess) of Imoka had arrived Okperi village of Awka where the Ngu aro Awka was being performed. Accompanied by the priest of Imoka Shrine, Nnake Okeakpu of Umu-Eleke Kindred, Nwokoye hint­ed that the Imoka goddess demanded for performance of certain appease­ment ritual before the decision to go on procession of cane-wielding youths from Olulu Imoka to Imuo­kpu to inform their brethren about the date of the Osonaogba proces­sion and 2025 Imoka Day. Nwokoye announced that the coming Sunday, being April 27th this year has been rescheduled to reconvene the meeting to allow time to meet up with the ritual demands of the Imoka goddess before the Aka­diana would release the actual date for the Osonogba procession and Imoka Date.

Thereafter, Akadiana announced this year’s Ngu aro, noting that the sighting of the moon usually falls on the 12th lunar moon /month of Awka calendar during the period of olili ede mmuo or feast of cocoyam and ushers activities or feasts/festi­vals which come up in each month. According to Ichie Nweke, after the ngu aro in the April month of ede muo, the next lunar moon which is the beginning of new native year falls in Egwu Imoka festival, as the first 1st Awka lunar moon around May, Akadiana announced that the first lunar month being the feast of Imoka would fall on the day the new moon is sighed in the English month of May. However, he deferred the an­nouncement of the day the Imoka Day would be occasioned by the de­mand of the goddess of Imoka for ritual appeasement.

Chief Nweke said: “We have per­formed our yearly Awka lunar moon calendar being April 20th 2025. I have told them that the new moon to be sighted in May is declared Onwa Egwu Imoka (month of Imoka Feast/Festival) which should read “onwa mbu Awka” (first Awka lunar moon/month). He told newsmen that the first new moon that would be sighted in May would mark onwa mbu (the first lunar moon/month) of Imoka Dance (performance of Egwu Imoka dance).

Nweke observed: “Due to vital in­formation during the Ngu aro feast, I was constrained from announcing the exact date/day of Egwu-Inoka festival until Sunday April 27th this week’s Sunday. He observed that the date for the celebration of the feast of Imoka has been put on hold until the com­pletion of ritual performance to appease the Imoka goddess coming Sunday, April 27th this year..

He observed that as usual, the 2025 Imoka Feast coincides with Christians’ Easter and Muslims’Sal­lah, arguing that Chrisiatians follow Christ like Muslims do for Prophet Mohammed Chief Nweke called on the people of the world to be law abiding and show love to one another, as accord­ing to him, different religions look up to Almighty God for salvation and prayers. Speaking to newsmen on the side­line of Ngu Aro, Nweke predicted terrific storms and floods that would destroy property, cautioning Nigeri­ans to be on the alert and be prayer­ful, calm and law abiding. He, Akadiana, announced that the first lunar month being the feast of Imoka would fall on the day the new moon is sighed in the English month of May.

However, he deferred the announcement of the day the Imoka Day would be. Addressing newsmen on the im­port of the (Awka lunal calendar calculation (Ngu aro Awka), the Chairman of the Imoka Festival and community leader from Umudioka, Anayo Obiakor said Awka has tradi­tions and ptocesses, noting, ”every month in Awka history has a cele­bration attached to it. Obiakor popularly called Opia Awka Worldwide pointed out that the Ngu aro marks the end of lunar month calendar by which new calen­dar is fixed, with Imoka feast taking the lead.

“Imoka is the joint spirit of the entire Awka . It’s not a mere festi­val. There are so many connotations to it.

That’s why Awka people don’t consume a special specie of monkey, but dedicate it to the Imoka deity. According to him, Awka people through their representatives con­verged for this year Ngu aro which he said has been, but remains fixing the date because of certain cultural aspects and information that have to be concluded like consulting the ancestors by those who understand the ancestral language and releasing the guidelines. Obiakor said: “In the course of counting the Awka lunar calendar, something came up and we were told our fore-fathers were not happy town because a lot of atrocities and evil things have occurred and need to be tackled first That’s why the lunar moon was put on hold to enable us cleanse the land.

In that line, we have stepped up into it, but instead of getting a new date, wev were asked to go back and purify the land before Imoka date would be purified due to cultural and spiritual interpretation,” Obia­kor hinted. He said the people concerned have fixed Sunday April 27, this year to meet up with clearance and requirements, “that’s the time when the actual date of Imoka will be pro­nounced.So ntoday, there’s no Imoka date.

Speaking, an Umudaina –Amik­wo stakeholder, Peter Ikechukwu Okeke disclosed that Ede mmuo has been activated and Imoka goddess came, but protested in anger against the humiliation of Umu-Eleke, the custodians, demanding for ritual ap­peasement before it would go back to Olulu Imoka (shrine). Okeke pop­ularly called Ejima confirmed that Akadiana is keeping the confirmed date to himself meanwhile and hoped the meeting would hold before the next lunar moon, stressing that until then, no masquerade would ap­pear to herald the Imoka Day. Corroborating him, a commu­nity leader from Umudioka, Chief Nonso Anagor Okafor Nwezeoku (Ozo gbuluenyi) said he was not dis­appointed with failure to fix Imoka Day when the local economy booms because of unresolved issues, add­ing that Awka is spiritually-inclined and Awka people are disposed to fulfilling all traditional religious demands.

He expects the appeasement rit­uals which includes masquerade display/performance from Olulu Imoka to Amikwob and goes back to finalize the ritual process would be performed this coming Sunday to usher in Imoka, the most popular festival in Awka..