Festivals

The Story of Eghogho: A Celebration of Manhood and Community

The History

The Auchi Eghogho Festival is a cultural reunion event for all age-groups in Auchi Kingdom. It is a festival based on the age-long manhood/age-group tradition of the Auchi people. The manhood/age-group tradition is locally referred to as “Irhua”in the Auchi dialect and it means initiation into manhood. According to folktale, the “Irhua” tradition dates back to the period when the people who occupy the present location called Auchi migrated from Benin during the reign of Oba Ewuare around the 14th Century.

The Age Group

The age group tradition over the years has remained an event every young Auchi man and woman as well as parents look forward to in anticipation. This is for the singular fact that it brings about merriments and a sense of achievements for all concerned.

It a time where the participants feel they have attained adulthood and their parents feel a sense of fulfilment that their ward has reached the age of responsibility whereby they could saddled with important tasks and decisions. “Eghogho”, connotes joy, felicitation, merriment, fun, happiness in the Auchi dialect.

Age Groups 1890- date

S/No	Name of Age Group	Year of Initiation
1	Uma-samughele (I)	1890
2	Umumekhai	1892
3	Ayobo-erha	1894
4	Uma-khuamaia	1896
5	Alemogie	1898
6	Uma-khemhe	1900
7	Okhizoga	1902
8	Atsabokpe	1904
9	Oyeluma	1906
10	Umaniemhe	1908
11	Umareghe	1910
12	Uma-olomha	1912
13	Uma-okpoghomha (I)	1914
14	Umakpoghomha (II)	1916
15	Uma-samughele (II)	1918
16	Okheloya	1920
17	Ogbeluma	1922
18	Umo-tsemobo	1924
19	Uma-khanomha	1926
20	Ozemoya	1928
21	Uma-khalomha	1930
22	Uma-okhagbemaokhai	1932
23	Ogalumha	1934
24	Uma-okhanilamhai	1936
25	Okhioya	1938
26	Ulokho	1940
27	Okakagbe	1942
28	Uma-otsekhamhe	1944
29	Ozumareghe	1946
30	Uma-okhabamhai	1948
31	Uma-otsabomhai	1952
32	Aiwara-ekpe	1954
33	Irualogie	1956
34	Oshioze	1958
35	Otu-ibo	1960
36	Uma-khanemaobo	1962
37	Aitsighi-wilekpe	1964
38	Uma-okhafomha	1968
39	Eshiomogie	1974
40	Ikhazebode	1975
41	Umasamughele (II)	1976
42	Aizebe-oghie	1977
43	Ogiagbelhe	1978
44	Agbomhe-asimhi	1980
45	Umakpoghomha (III)	1982
46	Okhumhe-ode	1984
47	Eneshiosimhi	1988
48	Oshiozekhai	1990
49	Egielhemhe-asimhi	1992
50	Egielhemhe-iya	1994
51	Aloaye	1996
52	Okugbe-khafu	1998
53	Aidokhai	2000
54	Afe-akhuye	2002
55	Emho-abino	2004
56	Ainevbo	2006
57	Umakpoghomhe-nofhua	2008
58	Azomode	2009
59	Enemie-lama	2014
60	Auchi – Okpa 1	2016
61	Osomegbe	2018
62	Al-Ballad	2022
63	Akpoghomha	2023

Cultural Significance

The Eghogho festival is packaged to fuse tradition with modernity whereby participants and spectators alike are provided the opportunity to go back in history and rehash one spectacular aspect of the Auchi people which have gone into extinction for the younger generation to learn about their past.