Calabar Carnival and the Promotion of Indigenous Culture in Cross River

8/20/2019 Calabar Carnival and the Promotion of Indigenous Culture in Cross River

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Calabar Carnival and the promotion of indigenous

culture in Cross River from 1999-2013. (Histor and

international studies!

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1.0 +ac,ground of stud

In a bid to develop cultural tourism in Nigeria, a number of

states of the Federation have recently developed carnivals in which


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they showcase aspects of Nigerian and popular cultures in street

performances. Cross River State, Rivers State, Lagos State, and the

Federal Capital erritory, !bu"a are at the forefront of this initiative.

Carnival Calabar in Cross River State is probably more popular than

the rest, "udging from the organi#ation, publicity, patronage, utilitarian

thrust and artistic profile of the carnival.

In terms of organi#ation, the carnival held every $% th and $&th

'ecember, it is run by a commission made up of technically

competent members who are either drawn from the performing and

visual art industry(academia or are connoisseurs of the arts). he

commission also collaborates with and draws technical manpower

from the well*established carnivals of rinidad and obago and Rio in

+ra#il. !s part of technical manpower development for Carnival

Calabar, worshops and series of interactive sessions have been held

over the years for creative personnel involved in costume production,

float construction, headgear production and other technical activities.

In $-)$, a detachment of a band from +ra#il participated in Carnival

Calabar probably to strengthen the technical partnership, while also

providing a different variety of cultural performance$.


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oreover, varieties of promotional "ingles are shown in

numerous national and international media networs prior to the

carnival. he ripple effects on the indigenous culture are remarable,

particularly in cultural dances, arts, local craft and musical

performances/. he thrust of the carnival appears to be utilitarian to a

large e0tent, and this feature is uni1ue. his is e0emplified in the fact

that every year, the carnival theme addresses a particular development

issue within society. he fact is that Carnival Calabar has been

developed to become a medium through which societal shortcomings

can be addressed2.

Carnival is define as a public celebration or parade combining

some elements of a circus, mass and public street party. Carnival,

creates room for organi#ation and e0pression of thoughts towards

improving the lots of the society. Carnival Calabar shares the burden

as a theatrical form to find lins and connections to all committed to

the power of theatre in maing a difference in the human life span

.he carnival is in the mould of applied theatre, about which creates a

practice that sees to debate vital issues and see those concerns

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration_(party)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_(performing_art)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_partyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_(performing_art)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_partyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration_(party)


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transformed into new stories, to provide people with a means to wor

their way through difficult periods.

he acclaim of the carnival also arises from the nature and

1uality of artistic display or performance. he carnival is an

assemblage of visual and performing arts displayed as costumes,

mae*up, dance, choreography, props, carnival float on wheels,

special effects and sound production. any of the presentations are

products of comple0 creations usually put together by groups of

artistic and technical personnel with the aim of depicting indigenous

culture3.

herefore, this study will e0amine Carnival Calabar and the

promotion of indigenous culture in Cross River State from )444 to

$-)/. he study systematically lays out the general themes of the

carnival through the period of study 5)4446$-)/7, and the band8s

interpretation using the float as an inde0 throughout the years under

review. he float is so chosen because it is the most dominant singular

visual art form in the carnival train and can be described as

ambulatory scenery that embodies the theme of the production in

aesthetic and functional units that depict indigenous culture.


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1.1 tatement of research problem

he Cross River State government has mapped out some

strategies to conceptuali#e and implement an integrated tourism

master plan that will give a uni1ue tourism flavor to visitors and

residents of the state. he uni1ue festivals and recreational facilities

that abound in the state have not been fully developed to international

standards and ade1uately utili#ed in order to enable them showcase

the rich tourism potentials of the area. his under development as in

the case of festivals and recreational facilities could be traced to

inability of both the government and private sector to invest

sufficiently in these tourism sub*sectors. his could also be lined

with inade1uate information on the tourism potentials that are

inherent in the development of festivals and recreational facilities. o

a large e0tent, little is nown about the vote of this festivals and

investment in recreational facilities in the development of tourism.

his study therefore e0amines the influence of Carnival Calabar on

the development of indigenous culture of Cross River state.

1.2 &bectives of the stud


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his research evaluates carnival Calabar and the development of

indigenous culture in Cross River State.

Secondly, the study systematically lays out the general themes

of the carnival through the period of study 5)4446$-)/7, and the

band8s interpretation using the float as an inde0 throughout the years

under review.

hirdly, to e0amine the effect of Carnival Calabar, on

organi#ation and e0pression of thoughts towards improving the lots of

the society.

Finally to provide a base for further research adding to e0isting

literature as well.

1.3 cope of stud

he scope of the study is narrowed down to Cross River State. Cross

River State is located in the southern part of Nigeria, It has )9 local

:overnment !reas richly endowed with wonderful indigenous

culture.

1./ ignificance of the stud

his study will be relevant to government, organi#ations,

communities and private individuals who are event managers. he


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findings of this study will enable government to mae policies that

will enhance the development of the carnival as well as create

enabling environment for the carnival to thrive. he study will also be

of importance to organi#ations to invest and maret their products

during the period of carnival. It will also help communities to

showcase their cultural heritage as well as develop them. Individual

will also have opportunity to display their talents and other theatrical

abilities during the carnival float.

1. Research ethodolog

he research wor employs a library based methodology as emphases

will be laid on primary sources to include;


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methodology, literature review, chapteri#ation. Chapter two gives a

detail account of the establishment of Calabar Carnival, chapter three

focuses on Carnival Calabar and socio*economic development, while

chapter four discuses the impact of Carnival Calabar on indigenous

culture and Chapter five will be conclusion, recommendation and

bibliography.

1.4 5iterature revie6

In recent times Festivals and events have been view by various

scholars as having a range host destinations, and they in most cases

are divided into economic, socio*cultural, environmental and political

impacts 5+augh, C., $--37. any researches on event has it main

focus on assessing the economic impacts of events with less empirical

research on socio*cultural impacts. =ven less attention has been paid

to environmental impacts of events. It has been observed that many

scholars have placed more emphases on the economic impacts partly

because of the need of event organi#ers and governments to meet

budget goals and "ustify e0penditure, and partly because such impacts

are most easily assessed. 5!gnes, >.,$--27


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Recently, it has been recogni#ed that the economic aspect alone

is insufficient, and awareness of the need to measure also the

intangible socio*cultural impacts has been increasing in recent years

5 aylor ?., $--37.he locals have most often been the interest group

that is taen into accounts. oday socio*cultural impacts of festivals

are very difficult to measure and as a result, some framewors and

scales have been developed to effectively evaluate their impact on the

people and the environment 5hompson, @.,$--)7

uch wor has been done in an attempt to develop standardi#ed

measures for economic and non*economic impacts of carnival events.

he lac of standardi#ed approach has limited the comparability

between events evaluation across economic, environmental and

socio*cultural criteria. =1ual emphasis must also be placed on

evaluating both event. 5+rocett,< and +all. R.,$--2.7

Recently, an attempt towards a holistic approach in impact

evaluation has emerged, and comprehensive wor has been done to

weave together all the different components of event evaluation into a

single framewor so that overall assessment can be made 5


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borrowed accounting and finance, and it brings together the social,

economic and environmental aspects of events into one framewor

5aylor, ?., $--%7.Bowever, many researchers have been conducted in

a global perspective but none has highlighted the cultural impact of

these two leading carnival events with specific reference to Cross

River State which is the gap in literature that this wor wish to bridge.

Carnival and culture have a whole lot in common. @ust lie

carnival is an integral aspect of human life, culture too is the totality

of human life and culture is seen in the eyes of carnival. Carnival is a

product of culture and one cannot do without the other. he centrality

of carnival to cultural sustenance of rinidad and obago has been

stressed in the various Carnivals, Calabar pre*event publications.

Bowever, these publications have opened a new window on

carnival, highlighting carnival as a space in which history as memory

and national heritage are continually being made and remade. his

e0plains why most countries that organi#e carnival do it in a way that

it can teach young people about their roots and culture; and one of the

best ways to teach young ones, is through the performing arts, as it

provides the avenue for young people not only to see physically


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socio(cultural features of their society, but it offers them the privilege

to practically e0perience the woring of their culture.

In the carnival and event brochure $-)-, in a bid to mae

carnival a cultural event, the former :overnor of Cross River State,

'onald 'ue has ensured that communities wor together to develop

stronger friendship and greater love for their respective cultures and

the other cultures of the world. 5Carnival, Calabar preview $-)-, /37,

declares that carnival is an art, and as an art, it offers as all dynamic

arts, the tool as self e0pression and e0ploration which helps us go out

in search for our roots which is our cultural heritage, and this

ultimately, helps us celebrate what mae us different from the rest of

the peoples of the world.

Carnival lie culture creates a sense of value and belief in

individual or the culture of a community. It helps the people to

appreciate what they have as a people, it enables visitors to interact

with the host community and helps the people en"oy and meet with

others. Carnival provides both the host community and visitors alie

with a uni1ue vibrant and valuable culture.

1.7 $heoretical frame6or,


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he Calabar Carnival is a tourism and a recreation pro"ect.

'emand as well as supply of recreational and tourism facilities is

directly related to higher living standards, higher income, greater

education, improvement in transportation facilities, political stability

longer vacations, etc. hese issues have been dealt with by many

urban and regional planners. In general, recreation and tourism are

viewed as service industries 5=glash, R., $--37. Ahat this means is

that not so much of economic benefits should be e0pected from it as it

is a bag of mi0ed blessings.

wo theories which have captured the place of tourism in the

development of third world economies are the functional approach

and the political economy approach 5Lea, )4437. he functional

theory according to artins 5$-))7 and as amplified by ?acer, A.


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element which involves the description of the impact of the tourist on

the economic, physical and social environment of his destination. he

functional approach is a model for looing at tourism as an

interconnected process or a system with inputs, and outputs, lins and

feedbac mechanisms. he functional view pays little or no attention

to issues of profitability, economic e0ploitation and ine1ualities

preferring rather to focus attention on how to provide a description of

the attributes of the industry in terms of the tourists, their destination

and various impacts.


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Calabar carnival, we may add the costume designers and a litany of

middlemen and women. he conse1uence is that a bul of the tourist

e0penditure is retained by the above cabal. In addition, these agencies

ensure that the tourist is confined to isolated enclaves separated from

most of the local population. !nd finally, the tourist pacage maes it

impossible for host countries to gain ade1uate control over their own

visitors. In fact this approach sees nothing economically or socially

beneficial in engaging in tourism. Rather it views tourism as an

e0tension of imperialism and a reflection of patterns of trading lins

and spheres of influence which must have been established over time.

Calabar Carnival and the Promotion of Indigenous Culture in Cross River

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