The Igala people have a rich cultural heritage with traditions deeply connected to their Identity, spirituality and community, preserving and revitalizing their cultural practices, language and traditions, knowledge is crucial for maintaining their legacy.
Ways to engage and involve community members are as follows-
Language preservation .
Documentary and promoting the Igala language through lexical resources like dictionaries and language learning materials can help preserve their Identity.
Cultural Events and festivals .
Organizing cultural events and festivals such as Egwu, Aboko, ogo, ogani, and Eka festivals, can promote Igala culture and traditions while fostering community engagement.
Traditional knowledge documentation.
Documenting traditional knowledge in areas like medicine, agriculture, and craftsmanship can ensure its continuation and promote cultural sustainability.
Challenges in cultural preservations
Inadequate funding .
Insufficient funding hinders the development of cultural tourism and preservation efforts.
Government lack of support
Lack of Government support and policies change that favor tourism development especially NGOs and private initiatives affects the growth of cultural preservation initiatives.
Insecurity and modernity
Insecurity issues and the influence of modernity can negatively impact the preservation of traditional and cultural heritage .
Benefits of community engagement
Economic benefits .
Cultural festival can generate income for host community by creating jobs and stimulating Economic activities .
Social benefits
Festivals foster community identity and pride, promote cultural preservation and enhance local particiption and engagement .
Cultural exchange
Community engagement in cultural preservation effort can facilitate cross cultural communication and promote the revitalization and preservation of ethnic Identity.
Iniatives for community engagement.
NGOS like Afrikae lanquage and cultural Education center are working to the preservation of Igala culture and traditions through lanquage studies and documentation,
cultural promotion and Education and also we have K-Igala organization , if they are encourage by Government finacially and non-financial malterials ,they will scale – up thier activities .
Community -based tourism
Developing community based tourism initiative can help promote Igala culture and traditions while generating income for the local communities.
– Benjamin Ibrahim, a freelancer, writes from Lokoja.
