Bibliography

The evolving face of ‘Iwa Akwa’

The paper examines the Igbo traditional coming of age festival, the ‘Iwa Akwa’. More specifically, it focuses on a scene of spontaneous modern, creolized and eroticized choreography danced unexpectedly by a group of children in Umukpa, Obowo, Imo State, Eastern Nigeria in January 2012 at a family friend’s celebration. Observation of this scene conjured questions about tradition and its preservation. The paper considers the effect of popular music and dance culture on the ‘Iwa Akwa’. In a world where technology has made cultural exchange more mobile, the author considers the survival of traditions as they increasingly contend with the modern era. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]

Title: The evolving face of ‘Iwa Akwa’
Author: Uzor, Tia-Monique
Year: 2013
Periodical: African Performance Review (ISSN 1753-5964)
Volume: 7
Issue: 1
Pages: 104-115
Language: English
Geographic term: Nigeria
Abstract: The paper examines the Igbo traditional coming of age festival, the ‘Iwa Akwa’. More specifically, it focuses on a scene of spontaneous modern, creolized and eroticized choreography danced unexpectedly by a group of children in Umukpa, Obowo, Imo State, Eastern Nigeria in January 2012 at a family friend’s celebration. Observation of this scene conjured questions about tradition and its preservation. The paper considers the effect of popular music and dance culture on the ‘Iwa Akwa’. In a world where technology has made cultural exchange more mobile, the author considers the survival of traditions as they increasingly contend with the modern era. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]