A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF SATIRE IN THE POETRY OF ÀLÚKÚ FESTIVAL IN ÒKÈ IGBÓ TOWN

Traditional Yoruba satirical festivals have become a veritable means through which social critique and evaluation find expression over time and space. One such satirical festival is the Aluku festival in Oke Igbo, a town in southwestern Nigeria. This paper attempts to undertake a semiotic analysis of satire in the poetic performances of the Aluku festival. With specific reference to semiotic theory, the study examines the construction of meanings through the interplay of language, symbolism, and performance context. Using research methods such as textual analysis, participant observation, oral interviews, and audience participation, this study explores how satirical expressions serve as a context for performative utterances. The analysis reveals that Aluku festival poetry is a complex sign system, revealing metaphor, irony, and exaggeration as key semiotic strategies for social commentary. The interplay of these semiotic elements reveals the effectiveness of satire as a tool of social commentary and how the audience can decode the implicit meanings of these poetic utterances. The study further emphasizes that poetic expressions in festivals extend beyond aesthetics to serve regulatory and didactic functions within the community. By situating the study within the spectrum of global relevance, it reveals that indigenous poetic forms are dynamic sites of meaning-making and resistance. This paper argues and concludes that satire in Aluku festival poetry is a semiotic tool for negotiating identity, reinforcing norms, and sustaining cultural relevance in contemporary Yoruba society