Okpotú, the lake festival’s roar

oróro

Source term: bull-roarer

oróro: bull-roarer (oróro fọụn, play the bull-roarer). Okpotú: lake, deity and April festival of Kolokuma.

Every April the Kolokuma Ịżọn keep the festival of Okpotú, a lake at Agadagbabou that belongs to the whole of Kolokuma and is counted among its deities. Swimmers cross the river, and a bullroarer, the oróro, is whirled to make its sound. The young women circumcised the year before come out dressed for the day, in short wrappers worn like shirts, with headties tied on their arms and fancy umbrellas in their hands. Agadagbabou itself is remembered as the old site from which most Kolokuma towns migrated to where they stand now.

Particulars

Object

A bullroarer whirled at the Okpotú lake festival; form and material not described.

Function

Whirled during the April festival of Okpotú, the lake at Agadagbabou and deity of all Kolokuma, alongside swimming across the river and the appearance of the young women circumcised the year before.