Social Cohesion through Festivals in Nigeria and the Traditional Performance Space of Biase New Yam Festival of CRS.

Festivals are common to all human societies, and they vary according to the ecology and the social structure of the people. Nigeria as a country is endowed with lots of cultural activities and festivals, sourced from its multi-cultural communities. These festivals, be it secular, cultural or religious play essential role in any found community. This paper on Social Cohesion through Festivals in Nigeria looks at the Biase New Yam Festival of Cross River State, as a platform for fostering unity, peaceful co-existence and also an opportunity to develop and share culture, showcase values, identity and pride of a people. It analyses the different events that make up the festival, with its contribution to national development. The paper examines the historical trends as manifestations of the people's culture and assesses its traditional performance space. Many festivals remain undocumented and unexplored in many parts of the country as a theatrical performance, making them loose out in the rich repertoire of drama, dance and music. Moreover, understanding the importance of festival in promoting social cohesion can lead to the development of more effective strategies for preserving cultural heritage and promoting communal harmony. Historical and survey research methods was adopted for the study. It also involved participatory observation of festivals, interviews, documentary analysis, and presentation of pictures. By contributing to knowledge, the paper presents vivid account of the New Yam festival as an occasion that gathers visitors not just from the host community, local government areas and Cross River State at large, but also tourists from different states in Nigeria and beyond, while it contributes to the development of culture. The festival is celebrated due to historical legend, as dictated by men for thanksgiving to the gods for a successful planting and bountiful harvest.