Ivom

Ivom is the great festival of shagba, the honour of a Tiv man of standing. The host raises a large earth mound, the ivom (the word means a heap, like a yam mound), and on the festival day the host, the person he honours and pairs of dancers climb it in turn to dance to the drums, before a feast for the host's age mates, kin and guests.

Hosting an Ivom was the highest step in a Tiv man's traditional achievements (shagba), reached only after a marriage feast, a dance hosted for his age mates, buying a horse and owning an indyer drum. It honours the host, the person he hosts it for and his ancestors, and is believed to bring fertility, good fortune and social order to the community.

Building the earth mound; brewing millet beer; praise songs composed for the host; an all-night vigil with indyer music and horse dances; the host's arrival on horseback; climbing and dancing on the ivom; couples dancing on the mound in pairs; feasting and gifts between kin.

The fullest account of Ivom is a 2024 study by the dance scholar Tijime Justin Awuawuer, based on interviews with elders in Gwer and Konshisha and on his own observation of two festivals: one hosted by Atsalegh Dogo at Mbalim-Njiriv on 22 March 2008, and one hosted by Shagbaor Organde at Taraku on 28 March 2009.

Its origins are uncertain. Some elders link the first Ivom to a man who married a woman from the upper Cross River (whom the Tiv call Udam); others connect it with the yam heap and the farming that is the source of Tiv wealth; some say it grew out of ijiir kyaa, a gathering at which a man of honour displayed his akombo and spiritual objects. The study distinguishes several kinds: ivom i kwaav, held to show the host's prowess to his age group, and ivom i tyo, approved by his kinsmen and accompanied by rites, which includes ivom i sorun tar, held to restore the fortunes of the land, and the ivom of the biamegh rite, the highest of all. An Ivom may be built fresh on a new site, or an old one renewed on the place where a former Ivom stood.

Hosting an Ivom is the last step on a long path of honour. As one elder, Ordugh Gbe, set it out: a man first marries within his community; then holds a marriage feast for a wife from a distant clan; hosts a genga dance for his age mates; buys a horse; acquires an indyer drum; and finally climbs and hosts the Ivom. The right to host is reserved for men who have distinguished themselves in this way. The intending host must ask his kinsmen (ityô) a year in advance, so that the clan can farm enough to feed the guests, and must then have the consent of his mother's kin (igba); March is the usual month. Elders describe the process as spiritually perilous, and the host invites his maternal kin to witness every stage so that no one can harm him.

The festival itself takes about ten days, beginning with the brewing of millet beer (burukutu or tashi). After the site has been consecrated, the young men of the community build the mound together, traditionally of mud and local blocks, though in 2009 cement and burnt bricks were used. A composer is engaged to make praise songs about the host, his wife and his ancestors, and dancers rehearse every day. On the eve of the festival people travel from far away to keep vigil at the host's compound, dancing all night to the indyer, and horse dances come from age mates, maternal kin and well-wishers. On the day itself, the host is brought into the arena on horseback, climbs the Ivom, presents the person he is honouring (a son, a brother, an age mate or a sister's son) and declares his achievements in verse. Couples then climb the mound in pairs to dance to the genga and agbande drums, sometimes for hours. In-laws are invited to give and receive gifts, and nephews bring gifts to their mothers' brothers.

The Tiv see the Ivom as a source of fertility, good fortune and social order, and as an occasion that draws whole communities together.

The Nigerian Tourism Development Authority's festival calendar lists the festival as "Ivom (Amar or Genga)", a prestigious (shagba) marriage-dance festival and a competition between age mates, held between January and April; the study likewise notes that Ivom is also called amar, "dances". Ivom has no fixed venue: it is held at the home of whoever decides to stage it, and the calendar's "Igba LGA" does not match any Benue local government area. For the marriage feast that is one of the steps towards Ivom, see Akiga Sai's description of the Tiv marriage dance in the article on older Tiv dances.

Sources: Tijime Justin Awuawuer, "An Exploration of Ivom Dance Festival of the Tiv People of Nigeria", Canadian Social Science 20(6), 2024; Nigerian Tourism Development Authority, Nigeria Festivals and Tourism Events list; Akiga Sai, History of the Tiv (1935), translated by Harold M. Bergsma and Martin L. Akiga, Africa 85(4), 2015.

Dance and Social Status Festival

See the Tiv people and the Tiv language in our Nigeria Heritage Archive: the states and local government areas where Tiv communities live, neighbouring peoples, population figures and sources.