FORM, CONTENTS AND FUNCTIONALITY IN THE MYTHIC ORAL SONG-TEXTS OF ẸGỤ OMELIMỌ OJENỌKỤ IN ỤMỤSỤMẸ-OBỊẠRỤKỤ

Abstract

The concern of this paper is on the form, content and functionality in the mythic oral poetic song-texts of Egu Omelimo ojenoku as are hatched during the Omelimo Okumeshi (the festival celebration of Okumeshi). The paper also dwells on the myth of origin of the Ojenoku festival dance, the movements or the dramatic shifts during the in-performance, proper, as well as the aesthetics, symbolisms and functionality, therein. The concluding part of this same paper is on the factors inhibiting the effective enactment of the Ojenoku festival dance cum song rendition, and the recommendations to upholding the tenets of the dramatic dance. The methodology encompasses oral interviews, personal observations, video recordings of the dramatic performances, as well as the recourse to the library and the internet for further clarification. And, because the festival dance cum song-texts are culture based, Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski’s “Theory of Functionalism” and William Bascom’s “Functional Theory of Folklore” are adopted as the bases for the theoretical framework for this paper, so as to depict the socio-cultural functions of the Ojenoku festival dance in Umusume Quarters in Obiaruku.