The Ikenike, Ovenren and Gbogoniyan Dance of Ughievwen of Western Delta, Nigeria: A Historical Interrogation

Abstract: The arrival of man on the planet, earth was characterised by his membership of one society or another. Such societies were either the ones he was born into, or the societies that existed where he grew up. Which ever of this two suppositions, man acquired from the society its culture. In Ughievwen land of Western Niger Delta, the Ikenike, Ovenren and Gbogoniyan Dance group was one important aspect of the people’s culture that gave order and meaning to the social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious modes of organisation and as such distinguished them from their neighbours. African culture like other cultures of the world is dynamic, but this will not imply outright extinction or obliteration of the cultures. To worsen matters colonial historiography has tended to portray African culture as not worth studying. This perception has made many cultures in Africa including Nigeria, to pale into extinction. This paper examined the Ikenike, Ovenren and Gbogoniyan Dance of the Ughievwen group of western Delta of Nigeria as a way of refuting the fallacious Eurocentric perception and in the conclusion, it called for the revival of the Ikenike, Ovenren and Gbogoniyan Dance which is part of the Ughievwen people’s culture for better developmental strides