Known by 'englishers' with such words as function, ceremony and so on, we in the southwestern part of Naija prefer Owambe, yes Owambe, a name now being borrowed by other ethnic groups to describe their various parties. Also unpopularly called Ariya, the Yorubas are arguably the Nigerian tribe that elaborate events the most and have over the years, not surprisingly, industrialized it. We can sooo do party! Owambe- meaning (s)he is there; we are the ones doing things, (similar to ebeano in Igbo) not in the literal sense but in that african communal sense of belonging which makes the niece of the cousin of the maternal uncle of the celebrant's stepmother see the event as his own and he in turn invites his friends and friends of friends and associates to join in the feast. That is Owambe, the kind I guess, that Mary invited Jesus to, where He turned water to fine wine. Oh My. Even Jesus attended Owambe. He was there! Not the same as Mogbo-moya (I heard and I branched) translated as gate-crashing, meaning one don't need to know the celebrant or be invited, one just needs to hear there is a party somewhere. That's all.

Twice within two weeks I recently journeyed down to the headquarters of all Owambes in the Yorubaland; Lagos aka Gidi. Not of course as a crew member of Ovation, Veleta Celeb or Arise, but to be part of the frenzy and the celebrations. My very own friends' weddings. Its been a long time since my last ariya. Suffice to say that several of my friends from the other tribes have variously been amazed at the frequency and extent we have taken this lovable thing to. They often tell me things like "You Yoruba people and owambe, na wa o" To them we are just too extravagant and sometimes unnecessarily excessive. I agree with them but... Read here...https://bamsky007./2014/10/16/owambe/