Feok Festival Costumes: Evolution & Socio-Cultural Importance

Abstract

The Feok festival is an important festival celebrated annually by the people of Sandema and its environs, to commemorate the victory of the indigenes over slave raiders led by ‘Babatu’ in the 18th century, and to celebrate good harvest. The historical evolution and cultural importance of the Feok festival costume was studied using descriptive survey. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit respondents for data extraction. The final sample size for the study was 70. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. The final data was coded and inputted into SPSS version 16.0. The SPSS ran the analysis and the results were presented using descriptive statistics. The study found that the Feok costumes were originated by warriors, traditional leaders and ancestors who fought and defeated Babatu, as revealed by respondents during the study. The survey further shows that the costumes, which are now annually used in the celebration of the popular feok festival by the people of Sandema, were specially designed to protect the warriors from weapons of war. The research equally established some degree of economic spin-off through the sale of tourist-targeted costumes and hand woven fabrics. Some recommendations were also detailed towards the preservation and sustenance of this important cultural art form.