INTRODUCTION Rituals and festivals are part and parcel of the African religion; despite modernization and civilization,

the rituals and festivals have proved impervious (not that they have not been affected by change, but that they have withstood the test of time). What then is a ritual and a festival? John S. Mbiti in African Religions and Philosophy notes that: Ritual is a set form of carrying out a religious action or ceremony. It is a means of communicating something of religious significance, through word, symbol and action. Therefore, a ritual embodies a belief or beliefs John S. Mbiti, in the same book, African Religions and Philosophy, defines Festivals as occasions that bring people together to form a corporate groupFestivals accompany all the major rituals of personal life. In order to get an explicit understanding of the topic- Rituals and Festivals, there is the need to analyze both subjects separately. RITUALS AND ITS TYPES With the above mentioned definition of ritual, it can be identified that the African cannot in any other be separated from his daily performance of rituals, since rituals cover the entire life and death of the African. The African have, therefore, developed various kinds of rituals and these can be divided into two broad categories: Personal rituals and Agricultural Rituals. PERSONAL RITUALS Personal rituals are those performed along lifes journey of the individual as Mbiti puts it. They begin during pregnancy; continue at birth, naming, and teething, puberty, at circumcision or clitoridectomy, in other forms of initiation, at engagement, marriage, childbearing, eldership, old age, death and when one has become a living dead. Personal rituals can at the same time be a

communal one since the African is not an individual on its own, because the African dwells on collective responsibility. Besides the performance of personal rituals has a lot of significances in the sense that the performance of such rituals draws attention to the uniqueness of the individual; they tell the individual and those around him or her that he or she matters, that the individual is valuable, and that he or she is a member of the wider community. They also separate him or her from one status and introduce him or her to another. For instance, the initiation rituals terminate an individuals status as a child, and introduce him or her to adulthood. AGRICULTURAL RITUALS The African continent provides a favorable climatic condition and a fertile ground for all kinds of agricultural activities. Since the African is incurably religious, agriculture also provides an avenue for the performance of rituals. The rituals that are performed here are also broad just as that of the personal rituals. This is because such rituals covers farming, stock keeping, hunting and fishing, as well as food gathering. Farming rituals are those that have to do with the earth, the soil, the crops and the seasons; they come out with rituals in making new fields, planting first fruits and harvest. Plants and animals play a significant role in the performance of both personal and agricultural rituals. This is because they form the materials that are used in these rituals. Such plant parts which feature in the rituals are: roots, stems, branches, stalks, blood of the animals and the animal skins. Now that the subject of rituals have been dealt with, it is expedient to draw the curtains down on the rituals and tackle its twin subject, festival. FESTIVAL Festivals are special days and occasions that mark a historic event in the past, and as defined by Mbiti in the introduction is seen as occasions that bring people together to form a corporate group. Festivals just like rituals for individuals, families and the entire community may accompany birth, initiation, marriage, and funerals.

Similar to rituals, its performance is feted by a greater majority of the community, though in some African communities like Nigeria, where women are not allowed to come out from their rooms, in times when masquerades are organized the welcome the return of the spirits.