The Nigerian Field Society

Event Details

Wuru Dagarang Festival, Jos – 15 December 2007

The Wuru Dagarang Festival in Ganawuri was a spectacular experience and an opportunity to see some of the cultural traditions of Jos Plateau. This particular festival is always celebrated on the 2^nd Saturday in December. Unfortunately, transportation was limited and not everyone who was interested in participating was able to go. We owe a huge thank you to the people of Ganawuri, and most especially to Chom Bagu, our host, who is doing great things with the Tenn Heritage Foundation and other activities that complement his work in conflict resolution and linguistic & ethnic heritage preservation.

The Wuru Dagarang festival celebrates the Tenn (Aten) people’s “coming down from the hills,” with horse races, traditional dancing, and speeches. The Tenn moved up into the cliffs of Ganawuri hills of Jos plateau during the jihads of the 19^th century. British colonial officers convinced the Tenn to move out of Dagarang in the hills, where trypanosomiasis was endemic, to Korohai in the more open agricultural land below the hills. Also known as “sleeping sickness” trypanosomiasis was causing chronic infection and high mortality among the Tenn. When they came down from the hills 78 years ago, they brought with them their ponies (particularly adapted to the hills with their short legs), hunting skills, and social and cultural traditions, which are celebrated in the Wuru Dagarang Festival.

An MC provided introductions and explanations of the event in the local language and in English for the Nigerian Field Society visitors.

The horse racing (two heats of several rounds each) is a very local event, with the horses owners and families of the horse-riders among the crowd watching the events.

There were several speeches, dances by women’s groups as well as hunters’ groups in traditional attire, and even a marching band.

The colors yellow and orange, as seen in the women’s dress and in the commemorative cloth many were wearing, hold significance for the Tenn. These are the “colors of survival” that represent the famine foods the Tenn people survived on when locusts destroyed all their crops. Yellow is the color of the edible locust bean flower and orange is the color of the fruit of the fan palm.

Residents of Ganawuri and surrounding areas participated in the festival and a number of men dressed in the traditional hunter’s attire.

After the Festival was over and the field emptied, the dancing and partying continued on through the night, with many enjoying the local brew and palm wine. Our small NFS group departed before dusk, though, to find a hotel for the night. Ganawuri does not have a guest house but as this festival becomes more popular, they may build a guest house for tourists.

Getting there

You can either drive through Kafanchan to get to Ganawuri or you can head north on A3 toward Jos, where the road to Ganawuri branches just beyond the railroad tracks, north of Asop Falls on the Jos road. Because of the distance, I recommend staying over in Jos or Kafanchan instead of trying to do it as a day trip.

Rating:

Easy to Moderate, depending on how tolerant you are of the heat and dust.

Security:

No known security issues. We met several police road blocks on the road but had no problems.

Gear:

Be sure to bring plenty of water (twice as much as you think you need) and sunscreen. A picnic lunch before the festival begins is a good idea. Wear suitable footwear for traipsing about in the dust. Bring a sweater or sweatshirt, since the evenings are cool up on the plateau.

Costs:

Fuel – approximately 1½ tanks, depending on the vehicle; passengers should consider helping offset the driver’s expenses. Also, bring small bills to give to dancers in the festival.

Timing:

It takes about 2½ to 3 hours to travel to Ganawuri, depending on the route, traffic, and how many times you stop for photo-taking en route. Asop falls is right on the way, so you may want to take advantage of the opportunity to visit the falls on your way back. We left Jos early in the morning, were at the falls in one hour, and departed about

2 ½ hours later before the day got too hot. There is a picnic area above the falls to enjoy a picnic lunch before heading back to Abuja.