KALABARI CULTURE
Below are some aspects of the cultural heritage of the Kalabaris:
1. ama buro = this is a kind of procession when a group of people recently bereaved of an aged loved one go round the city in traditional attires, accompanied by singing and druming men and women.
2. bibi fe = a ceremony performed for a recent bride which traditionally empowers her to cook and eat in her husband's home.
3. bele tein = a kind of ceremony performed for a man and a woman who intend to marry but are related by blood through distant ancestral link. It involves exchange of drink, etc.
4. bu pikima = this is the practice of going before an oracle to declare that one is innocent, by taking an oath.
5. din koru = an all - night burial rites performed for the dead. It involves singing, dancing, eating, praising of the dead, etc.
6. din krama = final burial rites performed on the 7th and 8th days following interment for a recent dead.
7. dubu gbain = the practice of going back to a recent grave after four or five days following interment in order to fortify it.
8. duein boma nume = a kind of native dirge composed and sung by a chief mourner, accompanied by other singers and instrumentalists, to praise a loved one who had passed on.
9.duein amana = this is a prossess of tying up the pelvic, groins and the buttocks of the dead to prevent the contents of the bowel gushing out.
10.duein doku = this is the practice of embalming the dead locally with lime + camphor +alcohol, etc.
11. iru kari = this is the practice of pouring drink on the ground for the dead ancestors. It is done, either to appease them or to solicit their help in a time of crisis.
12. iria = a kind of ritual performed with traditional attires, beads and other jewels by a woman who is about to get married or had just weaned a child or lost a loved one.
13. nonju piri dibi = the practice of burying a wicked person such as one that had bewitched people, in a special burial ground.
14. oru gbo = this is the practice of someone invoking the anger of the gods or godesses of the land against another who had violated his or her rights, etc.
15. ogbo gbo = this is the practice of someone taking another who had offended him or her, before the traditional court of the land. It is usually presided over by chiefs.
16. ye dokima = the practice of burning some personal belongings of someone who had died recently with the belief that he or she will need them in the land of the dead.
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